Spokane WA to Woodburn OR

Woke up this morning to two surprises... one was a half inch of fresh snow and the other was the above stuck to the door.  Sorry it`s not readable: I`ll translate.  It says we was BAD for parking overnight at the mall.  On the bright side, There`s no actual fine or anything and the Security Cop was pretty quiet about putting the notice on the window (he could have rousted us at 3:53 AM and told us to leave), so seeing as we`re not planning on being back this way for a while we`ll just treat this as a souvenir and a scrap booking opportunity.

After a nice IHOP breakfast, we were on our way as soon as it was light (no need for clearanceétail lights in the daytime!). 

Once we got out of Spokane we were back to bare ground again, so Gabby was again pretty happy about being able to walk on grass instead of snow.  Here are some pics of the scenery from Spokane down to Portland.  If you ever get the chance to travel along the Columbia River, you should.  It`s great! (Through-the-window pics don`t really do justice). 

We skirted around Portland, and arrived at the Woodburn Super Wal*Mart about 4PM.  It`s now about 8:45, and I`m pretty much all caught up on the emails and the blog thanks to my new buddy athomeBB29 who lent me his wifi signal.  It`s been raining pretty much since 3:00 or so, which at this point is a pretty good thing since maybe it`ll wash some of the gravel off the vehicles, and the outside temp right now is 41F.  Not balmy, but a real break from a couple days ago. 

Tomorrow we`ll hunt down a spot to take on water and de-winterize (probably the Pilot truck stop just down the road) and then we can kick into holiday mode for real. 

BTW, as I suspected and hoped, the tail & clearance light circuit seems to be fine now.  Some of the snow and slush must have gotten into the wiring at the back end somehow and shorted it out.  Something to investigate, but not today. 

On the road... again!

Sunday was relatively uneventful for the better part of the day.  We crossed over into the States (with no problems, as usual), and followed the familiar route through Bonner's Ferry and Sandpoint to Coeur d'Alene and Spokane.  Only one picture worth looking at from this portion: this is the rest area just west of Coeur d'Alene.  Note the lack of any white stuff on the ground (although to be fair the temps were still about 23F). 

We had a small adventure: after stopping to take on groceries near Spokane, we had an electrical short in the clearance/tail lights that kept blowing the fuse.  Discretion being the better part of valour, and not wanting to be rear ended by a maniac on I-90, we swung into the Spokane Valley Mall to try to fix the problem.  That didn`t work so we decided to be safe and just spend the night. 

On the Road!

OK, the people who thought I'd wait until Wednesday to leave are probably the same ones who thought I should stay home - or go to Winnipeg.  Temperature was a balmy -33.7C Saturday morning, so really no reason not to head out on the highway.  I'm starting to like those little magnet mount heaters, as with one of those stuck to the oil pan all night she cranked and fired without much difficulty. 

Fortunately I couldn't tell the temperature once we were in the Bounder, as my thermometers in there were frozen up.  But this was the view out the front window when we left about 11 AM, having had the defrosters running on high since about 8 while we were loading.  Eventually I stopped and fetched a fan from the back to get the air flowing on that side. 

My travelling companion had it a little better on the right-hand side: see, she even had her coat undone at one point!

After a stop in Ponoka to warm up and mooch lunch off Red and Diane, we had an uneventful trip all the way over to Cranbrook.  I have to say I'm impressed at the Bounder's ability to handle the cold even considering the obvious fact that it just wasn't made to travel in -30 degree temps.  Have to also thank the Ford chassis as it held together very well. 

As I expected, once we got across the Crowsnest temps warmed up considerably (as far as I could tell).  I thinke we had -10 or -15C in Cranbrook overnight, and the furnace was quite able to keep up since it didn't have the 90 KMH wind to contend with. 

Make up your mind!

OK, now it's getting silly.  Looks like neither Saturday NOR Sunday is gonna be a banner travel day... but Wednesday looks OK.  What do you figure the odds are of me waiting until Wednesday (trick question, since you already know the answer)? 

Just look at the poor Bounder.  I can't possibly make her wait longer, can I?

 

Uh oh.

OK, before you write to me and tell me Blogger isn't updating properly, I'm actually posting this on Monday the 14th.  But to keep things in order I've backdated.  So maybe every once in a while you need to go back and re-read the past posts!  Just kidding (maybe).  Anyway...

As you can see from above, the weather guy changed his mind a bit from earlier in the week, and now things looked not so good for the "wait til Sunday" plan.  In case you're wondering what the value of those below-the-line days are, here's the forecast:

Brrr.  Anyway, reset departure to Saturday, and DRIVE LIKE HECK.

The plot thickens...

Hmmm.  What day did I say we planned to leave?  Oh, yeah, that would be Saturday - THE COLDEST DAY OF THE FREAKIN' COLD SNAP.  Y'know, perhaps it would have been a wise move to put a block heater in the MH this summer (but really, who needs a block heater in the summer??). 

No matter, really... I think we'll just lay over and leave Sunday instead.  Weather's supposed to be improving the whole way early next week, so no point pushing too hard and breaking something.  Keep you posted. 

BTW, check the upper left corner - Blogger now has a poll feature which might be interesting to play with.  Keep watching there - I'll try to change it regularly.  If you have any ideas send me a note. 

Getting ready to head south - 2009 edition

Here we are in the countdown for another 5 or 6 weeks south.  Two main differences this year, though: 1.  Leaving in mid December and returning late January, instead of late Jan/mid March, and 2.  My travelling companion's a lot better looking this time around (might even share my bed this time). 

Oh, there seems to be a third difference, too:  3.  Last time we got out of Dodge just ahead of the big cold snap of the winter, this time it looks like we might be a week late.  Have a look:

The original plan is to head across to Cranbrook then down through Spokane to Portland, hit the coast and wander down to San Francisco.  Couple days there, then south and east to Phoenix in time for Christmas.  My Canuckleheads are playing there Dec 27, so it would be cool to see a game.  After that???

The weather's not looking great for a Saturday departure, though, and the SF forecast is rain next week.  Have to keep an eye on that. 

Smoky Lake Pumpkin Festival

Once again we borrowed Fuzzy and went to check out the Pumpkin Festival in Smoky Lake.  No camping this time - this was a day trip.  All I can say is... they certainly take the gourds seriously. 

Garner Lake - Fall Colours Tour

We snuck a nice (and unbooked) weekend to get a last camping trip in for the summer.  We thought e'd go a bit retro and head for Floating Stone, but it was closed for the season already so we backtracked a bit to Garner.  No matter - we spend most of the weekend in the car seeing the sights. 

While we were touring the fall colours, of course we had to take in the big perogy in Glendon and the UFO landing pad in St. Paul. 

West to BC!

I got a new co-pilot on the trip over to Chetwynd and Fraser Lake to visit the parents - we kidnapped Isabella (Fuzzy Belly) for the trip.  She seems pretty much a natural for the right seat, and I had her saying "on the road again" almost from the start. 

Of course, she has to get used to some road food for travelling - rotisserie chicken with all the fixins - does it get any better than that? 

Isabella got her first chance to swim in a real lake... think she took to it?  You tell me.  Only downside was that we neglected to remove the Pamper, so the lake level dropped a couple in inches by the time we left. 

Camping's not camping without 5:00 "Hooch Time".  This one's at Mount Robson. 

Cold Lake Airshow

We headed to Cold Lake for the annual airshow and a visit with Al and Cathy.  Boondocked at the rodeo grounds, which was OK - nice an rustic.  But no pictures again!  Somebody needs a smack! 

We decided rather than fighting parking downtown we'd pick up a bus from one of the marshalling areas.  This is part of the lineup that was ahead of us.  Needless to say we missed the first couple overflights. 

And this was the crowd in two directions when we finally got down to the beach. 

The Snowbirds did a great job, as usual.  As did all the other acts. 

East, to Saskatchewan!

I needed to be in Waskesiu for meetings, and it was time to pay a visit to Wendy's grandma in Humboldt, so we decided to make a trip out of it.  Of course the first night stop was in North Battleford at the WM. 

Then we swung south of Saskatoon to check out the casino... nice!  Free overnight parking - with power.  Not too crowded.  Feeling a bit sorry for them I left a small donation inside. 

The community campground in Humboldt.  Cozy would be the nice way of saying it.  Apparently I didn't take any pics of the Trailer Park in Waskesiu, so you'll have to take my word for it.  Campgrounds there were VERY quiet. 

Whitney Lakes again

Back out to Whitney again (quickly becoming a favourite destination!).  This is a viewing platform overlooking the North Saskatchewan, just south of Elk Point. 

Elk Island National Park

We took advantage of the free camping out at Elk Island to get a spring shakedown trip in.  Yup, that's snow in the background... but hey - we're not exactly tenting. 

Everybody's rarin' to go on another summer!

Huw and Bev even dropped by on their way through. 

Whitney Lakes Fall Tour

With the weather still being nice and having a feeling of accomplishment at getting the roof done, we treated ourselves to a fall weekend out at Whitney Lakes. 

It was a beautiful weekend and we had the place almost to ourselves. 

Roof renew

As you can see, the Bounder was due for some TLC to the rubber roof.  Counting on some nice sunny dry fall days in September I ordered the Dicor kit and waited. 

Sure enough, we got a perfect weekend, and over the course of about 4 days I was able to do the treatment. 

Not too much muscle work involved, if you're thinking about it.  The most work involved was in cleaning off the black streaks that worked their way under the plastic during the cleaning process (the kit said to keep the cleaner off paint, hence the plastic.  If I do it again though I might take my chances and skip the masking as that was the most time consuming part). 

et viola!  A nice white roof again!  Wear your sunglasses if you go up there on a bright day! 

Stats from Feb holiday

As promised, a little retrospective on the trip numbers for those who are interested (I guess if you weren't interested you wouldn't be reading this, right?)

Distance and Fuel
Of course, fuel is the biggie. Numbers aren't exact because both the Bounder and the Cavalier started and ended the trip with less than full tanks, but I think the quantities are large enough, at least in the case of the Bounder, that that doesn't make a lot of difference. On the Bounder numbers I extracted the estimated generator use at 2.25 litres per hour (generator manual gives the consumption at 1.75 - 2.8 litres per hour depending on load).

This is total fuel, including the amounts Don paid for (he was quite generous - thanks). So my actual out of pocket is somewhat less than this.

The distance is right off the vehicle odometers, which I've checked and are fairly accurate. The Cavalier odometer only accrues when the engine is on, so no towed distance is included. To make life easier I've converted all the distance to kilometers and the fuel to litres. The consumption rates are in miles per imperial gallon, though, because that's what makes the most sense to me. I didn't apply a conversion factor to the dollars - my bank statement shows a conversion of a couple percent either way at various points in the trip.

Unit	KM Travelled	Litres	MPG	Fuel Cost
Bounder	6,900	2,742	7.2	$2,230
Cavalier	2,864	245	33.2	$187
Combined	9,764	2,987	9.3	$2,417

Service and Repairs
Unfortunately the Cavalier fuel pump died outside of Phoenix, so that took a significant bite of the maintenance budget. But it is what it is: the fuel pump's not a factor of the trip and would likely have gone anyway even if the car stayed home. Other than the $$s it was not a significant inconvenience as it didn't leave us stranded anywhere or require a tow truck to get it to the dealer (we pulled it there with the Bounder). We were without it for about 2 days, and navigating Phoenix traffic in the motorhome made us really appreciate having it back.

I did some water line repairs on the Bounder and did an oil change/lube and a re-winterization on the way home - costs of all supplies are included. The Cavalier didn't require a service on the trip, but it did get a tune up and new plugs while it was getting its fuel pump replaced. I bought a small air compressor ($75) and a mini grease gun ($15) as permanent additions to the Bounder, but I didn't include these costs.

Unit	Service and Repair cost
Bounder	$ 75
Cavalier	$1,135
Total	$1,210

Camping
Here's a summary of the locations/costs. Costs look pretty good here, because we didn't pay for camping anywhere except Las Vegas. Helps to offset those fuel costs a bit.

Date	Location	# of nights	Cost
Jan 25	Rest area north of Great Falls	1	-
Jan 26	Wal*Mart Blackfoot ID	1	-
Jan 27	Virgin River Casino, Mesquite NV	1	-
Jan 28	Bally's Casino, Las Vegas NV	1	-
Jan 29	Riverside Casino Laughlin NV	1	-
Jan 30 - Feb 1	BLM Quartzsite AZ La Paz	3	-
Feb 2	Home Depot Casa Grande AZ	1	-
Feb 3 - 8	Desert Diamond Casino Tucson AZ	6	-
Feb 9 - 11	Harrah's Ak-Chee Casino Maricopa AZ	3	-
Feb 12 - 13	Wild Horse Pass Casino Phoenix AZ	2	-
Feb 14 - 16	BLM Quartzsite AZ La Paz	3	-
Feb 17	BLM Lake Havesu AZ	1	-
Feb 18	Riverside Casino Laughlin NV	1	-
Feb 19 - 25	Sam's Town Las Vegas NV	7	$194
Feb 26	Wal*Mart Cedar City UT	1	-
Feb 27	Wal*Mart Payson UT	1	-
Feb 28	Wal*Mart Helena MT	1	-
Total nights / average cost per night		35	$5.54

Water and dump stations
So you're thinking: OK, smartie pants, you did all this "free" camping so you must have gone for days on end without washing dishes or showering. I admit we didn't wash a lot of dishes since we were ALL in holiday mode, but no personal cleanliness suffered. The Bounder has a 62 imperial gallon fresh water tank and enough grey and black capacity to store the used water. Once I got the hang of RV showering (I didn't even bother trying when we had the trailer, as I couldn't fit in the shower anyway) I think showers used about 2 or 3 gallons at most.

The only time we had any concern at all in this area was at Phoenix waiting for Wendy's arrival, and this was my own fault. I hadn't bothered to dump when we left Tucson (although there was probably a dump station at Flying J where we filled the propane) on the rationale that we'd look for an RV park for Wendy's arrival. Losing the fuel pump in the Cavalier cut into our RV park search time, and we were still boondocking when Wendy arrived. Meantime we filled the grey tank (although we still had about 1/4 tank of fresh), so I moved about 5 gallons over to the black and we went on ration for a day or so. Lesson learned, for me: Don't ever bypass a chance to dump the waste tanks - you never know what will happen.

Anyway, finding places to dump & fill wasn't that difficult overall as I had printed some pages from the internet (Google RV dumpstations). If you travel and intend to dry camp a lot, I'd suggest you do the same.

While the Bounder was winterized (Jan 25-27 and Feb 27-29), a 5-gallon water cooler bottle with a hand pump provided lots of water for basic needs. Disposable dishes and cutlery and heat-and-serve meals (like yummy Swanson TV dinners) made this part of the trip a lot simpler, too. On the way south we put the waste water into the tanks and used the facilities with no concern since we were headed to warmer climes, but on the way back I tried to minimize the amount of liquid going into the tanks and dumped in lots of RV antifreeze to try to make sure the tank plumbing didn't freeze. We'll find out how well that worked in the spring.

Here's where we filled/dumped:

Date	Location	Comments
Jan 27	TA Travel Centre Cedar City UT	Free dump and water
Feb 2	Gila River AZ Shell Station	Free dump, water, and WiFi
Feb 14	Flying J Phoenix AZ	Free dump and water
Feb 19 - 26	Sam's Town (Full hookup)
Feb 27	Flying J Nephi UT	Free dump (didn't take on water)

Internet
If you followed the blog you noticed that updates were hit and miss. Both Don and I simply had laptops with built in WiFi - no external antennas or anything. We found spots with great reception, some with so-so, and some with none. Some businesses (like the Shell in Gila Bend, the Desert Diamond in Tucson, and Staples in Phoenix) knowingly provided a free signal for their customers. Sometimes we piggybacked on the signals of other RVers, with their specific permission or on an unsecured network. We made use of unsecured signals from unknown sources - probably businesses or homes - as well. Whenever we used any unsecured signal we of course assumed that the owner had set it up that way intentionally, thereby granting permission for anyone to use.

We paid for internet at Sam's Town - $19.99 for the week. At that point we'd been a few days without, so it was a worthwhile expense.

Internet access was probably the biggest area of annoyance, and when I do this trip again I hope to have a more reliable method. Aircard (cell phone)? WiFi range extender? Satellite uplink? (Yeah, right).

Other stuff
We put a total of 26 hours on the generator, which is a lot less than I thought we would. At an estimated consumption of 2.25 litres per hour and an average fuel cost of about $.81 per litre, that's about $1.82 per hour and $47 altogether. But for the convenience, it was well worth it. The generator ran mainly in the mornings and evenings in the locations where we were stopped for several days, to recharge the batteries from overnight and top them up again, and whenever we wanted to make coffee or use the microwave. Although we didn't watch TV much, when we did it ran mainly from the inverter, with the generator fired up on occasion to recharge. On travel days we didn't run the generator to recharge the batteries as much as they were kept up from the alternator.

The inverter (1500W) was very convenient - we used it to run the TV (see above) and we used it extensively to recharge laptops and cell phones. When the batteries were fully charged we also made coffee off the inverter, but we avoided doing that if the batteries were down much (eg if the furnace had cycled much overnight) as it drew the levels down quite a bit.

The solar panel unfortunately couldn't keep up with keeping the house batteries charged - being only a 100 watt panel and being flat mounted with no way to tilt towards the sun. It should be fine in the summer when the sun is higher in the sky, and I'll look at changing the mounts so that it's tiltable. I'm not sure if adding more panels is a good investment at this point as we'll probably have fairly mobile holidays and the batteries will charge from the alternator. We'll see.

We filled just once with propane: 13.1 gallons for $43.10. We started on pretty much a full tank and currently have about two thirds, so I would put the total consumption at about 16 gallons (US) and cost at about $53. Since we were sans hookups except for Sam's Town, the fridge ran mostly on propane (and worked great), plus we had consumption for cooking and heating. Except for a few nights at Tucson, nights were down near or below freezing so the furnace was turned on overnight (although I did have the thermostat set down to 55). Even on nights where the furnace kicked on several times the batteries were at 65-75% the next morning, so they held in there fairly well. The furnace did a great job of keeping the Bounder warm - although I brought along a catalytic heater to supplement if necessary we didn't use it at all.

I can't think of anything else that's of interest. If I've missed anything that you're curious about, let me know. I'll be here, quietly plotting the next escape (winter of 2009-10?).