The Covid-19 Decision

 July 24th - 28th

Homeowners once again

 

During stressful times, one can make the dumbest of decisions and I am no exception to the rule.  I fear this decision just might be a monumental one too!  As a result, we are cutting our escapades short for the rest of the year and rushing back down to Georgia.

 

With the whole Covid-19 lockdown, things out here on the road were getting tense.  With each hop to the next city, town, or state, the rules change.  You never knew what was expected of you when you went into a store or restaurant if you could even find one open.  Sometimes this resulted in getting yelled at because you didn't have a mask or made the horrible mistake of bringing in your own bags.  Whatever!  

 

Most state, county, and National parks were closed.  Restaurants were closed.  Even in the campgrounds, restrooms, playgrounds, laundry rooms, exercise rooms were no longer open.  Most wouldn't even allow you to come into the office to check in.  I was over wasting our money and time when we could not visit any of the major sites or even go for a hike in a national park! 

 

So late one night, my crazy self got on Zillow and started looking for a house, condo, or cabin in North Georgia.  I figured we could buy something cheap, stay there in fall/winter, and hit the road again come spring when all the Covid-19 had blown over.  And who knows, maybe rent it out while we are on the road and make some money in the process!

 

So the bottom line is, we bought a cabin, sight unseen!

 

The 120-year-old log cabin

The Great Mad Dash of 2020

 

On July 22nd, we signed the papers while sitting at D's sister's dining table in Vancouver, WA, and then looked at each other and said, "what have we done!"  So immediately, I got on the phone and started canceling all of our previous travel plans, which were many, and started making new plans because we were about to make the fastest trek cross country which could possibly go down in the Guinness Book of World Records.

 

July 24th - 406 miles - Day One!

 White Salmon, Washington to Boise, Idaho

 

Our 2,560 miles in five days pulling a 17,000 lb fifth wheel bordered on the insanity!  Our Journey started on July 24th, with us pulling out of White Salmon, Washington making our way down the road to Gem State RV Park in Mountain Home, Idaho.

 

Within an hour we had reached our first hurdle of this... well, let's just call it an adventure.  A low, double tunnel!  We had chosen to travel down SR 14 on the Washington side and cross the Columbia Gorge at the Dalles and pick up I-84 there.  Our 5th wheel is about 13' 6" tall.  We knew by choosing the route we would have to deal with a tunnel that our rig was beyond the height limit.  But for us, the thought of crossing over the precariously slim Hood River Bridge again was far more intimidating than the tunnels.  Once in a lifetime was enough for us.  So off we went with fingers crossed.

 

Height clearance 13' 3"

We had sat and watched over the past two weeks as tractor-trailer after tractor-trailer traveled this road, so we thought if they could do it so could we.  D's brother-in-law, Dave and said the way they do it is to straddle the center of the road as you go through and that's exactly what we did.  So eleven miles down the road, just past the little town of Lyle, we approached the double tunnel and made sure another car wasn't in our way and sped through like madmen, holding our breath the whole way.  Whew! One down one to go! 

Scariest one minute of my life!

The second part, same as the first!

Yahoo! Sunshine and clear skies ahead!

Our second feat on this trip was driving across the Deadman's Pass in Pendleton, Oregon.  This mountain pass is 3,622ft above sea level.  The drive is challenging to say the least.  Heading northwest, you're forced to climb more than 2,000 feet in elevation that's chock-full of double-hairpin turns, as well as 6 percent grades.  The pass is 52.2 long miles starting in Pendleton and ending in La Grande.  Tucked away in the Blue Mountains on Interstate 84, this trail is notoriously known for treacherous conditions because of the steep double hair-pin downgrades.  I do believe we used up 2/3rd's of our fuel and aged five years on the 52 miles of the highway.

Deadman's Pass

At last, 40 miles south of Boise, Idaho, we finally arrived at Gem State RV Park in the small town of Mountain Home just after 7 pm and a long 9-hour drive.  Thank goodness I had booked us pull-through sites for all of these one-nighters!

 

Gem State RV Park

July 25th - 550 miles - Day Two!

Mountain Home, Idaho to Rawlins, Wyoming

The next morning, before the sun was up, we were already on the road and saying goodbye to Mountain Home, Idaho, and heading toward our next over-nighter in Rawlins, Wyoming!  This was going to be a long day for we had 550 miles to cover and would be an 11 hour day for sure!

We continued on I-84 down through Idaho until we picked up I-80, north of Salt Lake City.  Once on 1-80, we only had 250 more miles to go!  

We pulled into the park after a very long day and pretty much just ate dinner and went to bed!  I think I might have even slept in my clothes I was so tired.

Western Hills Campground

July 26th - 630 miles - Day Three!

 Rawlins, Wyoming  to  West Omaha / NE Lincoln KOA

Our next leg of the journey would prove to be an even longer day.  Once again we were up before the rooster crowed and moving on.  This day would continue the first part of our drive through the open plains of Wyoming.  Passing through the cities of Laramie and Cheyenne and then finally reaching the border of Nebraska.

The Lincoln Monument 

From I-80 the 12 1/2 foot tall bust of Abraham Lincoln rests on a 30-foot-tall granite pedestal at the Rest Area, east of Laramie, Wyoming, and can be seen from each direction.  The sculpture was built in 1959 on nearby Sherman Hill, overlooking the old U.S. Highway 30.  In 1969, after Interstate 80 was built, state officials moved the monument to become a centerpiece at the Summit Rest Area and Visitor Center between the cities of Cheyenne and Laramie.

 

Cheyenne, WY

Once we hit Nebraska, we quickly realized we were in dairyland.  I knew Nebraska ranked 4th in the nation for beef but did not know that milk was a big industry there too.  In fact, the state's dairy industry generates 138 million gallons of milk a year!

Dairy Farms along I-80

The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument

 

As you approach the town of Kearney on I-80 you will pass under The Archway.  Since it opened in the year 2000, the Kearney Archway Museum has stood as an enduring tribute to the adventurers who traveled the Great Platte River Road through Nebraska and helped to build America.

 

Finally, We  Arrive in Gretna, Nebraska!

Super small sites are the unfortunate norm for a KOA!!

Even with getting up and leaving out by 6 am, we still arrived pretty late in the day. This would be our longest day. 12 hours!  We ordered Hunt Pizza from the office and once we were hooked up and fed, we went to bed!  Three days down and still two to go!

July 27th - 535 miles - Day Four!

 Gretna, Nebraska to Benton KOA Journey

 

Okay...this has gotten old very quick. Getting up before the sun rises is for the birds and worms and not for this old girl!  But nonetheless, here we go again!

 

 

 

Today's trip will be spent traveling through Missouri, the home state of our 33rd U.S. President Harry S. Truman.  We will start out on I-29 in Gretna, then pick up I-70 in Kansas City and finally switch over to I-64 in St. Louis for the last 100 miles of the day.

 

Since this drive was very uneventful, here are a few facts that I found interesting about the state of Missouri.

• St. Louis is known as the “Gateway to the West.”
• The Gateway Arch is the tallest man-made national monument in the U. S. It stands 630 feet tall, more than twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty.
• Missouri is tied with Tennessee for bordering the most states.  The eight states are: Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
• The Pony Express, Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail, and California Trail all began in Missouri.
• Missouri was named after a tribe of Sioux Indians called the Missouris.  The word means “town of the large canoes.”
• In 1904 St. Louis hosted the first Summer Olympic Games in the U.S. 
  

Gateway Arch

Kansas City Scout Statue

 Benton, Illinois KOA

 

OMG!  another ten-hour drive day is done!  Yahoo!  However, when we finally arrived at the park, the sun had already disappeared behind the trees so we would once again be setting up in the dark.  I can't say anything about this park since we arrived so late except I am once again happy that I had enough smarts to book a pull-through site. 

 

I am pretty sure if we had to back into a site after such a long trip, we would have disturbed the whole park by the time it was all said and done.  A huge mistake we learned a while back was arriving after dark, tired, hungry, and having to back into a site! 

 

July 28th - 485 miles - Last Day!

Benton, Illinois to Willow Valley RV Resort

 

Well, today is finally here.  Our last day of getting up at 5 am, eating lunch at a truck stop, 2-minute potty breaks on side of the road (thank God we travel with our own bathroom), watching city after city fly by, and going to bed as soon as we park!  Here's to our last leg of this long haul across the U.S. of A!  2,073 miles down and only 484 miles left to go!

 

 

Illinois to Georgia

As we roll through Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee, my thoughts of what we will find in Georgia are heavy on my mind.  I can't say I paid much attention to the landscape until we starting seeing the outline of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Tennessee.  God, how I have missed these trees! 

 

 

The last two hours of the drive seem to fly by as we drive through the Chattahoochee National Forest and then finally back home in good ole Georgia.  I guess, no matter where we roam, part of my heart will always be here.

 

Willow Valley RV Park

It's a miracle!  We have finally arrived at the park and with enough light still left in the day to go check out the cabin!!  So now our next adventure begins.  The question that lays ahead of us is....will we love it or list it!

White Salmon, Washington

 July 5 - 24, 2020

 

 

As we made our way to our next location, we got to travel on the “King of Roads”!  This highway was built as the nation’s first Scenic Byway over 100 years ago.  The western section of the Gorge starts in Troutdale, Oregon and takes you to gorgeous views of lush green forest and majestic waterfalls.  There are many treasures to be found on this beautiful, historic highway. 

 

Our drive to the small town of White Salmon, Washington was luckily uneventful one except for the beautiful views.  We knew at some point we would have to cross this wide river from Oregon into Washington but were not expecting it to be on such a narrow bridge.   

 

 

This historic bridge is a vital way of crossing the Columbia River from Hood River, Oregon to White Salmon, Washington.  It was built in 1924 and is nearly one mile long. The steel metal bridge is supported by concrete pillars.

It's all well and good till you met a fellow RVer or Trucker!

When we approached the toll booth we were told to fold in our mirrors due to the width of the truck.  The lanes on the green giant are only 9 feet, 4.75 inches wide.  Our truck and fifth wheel are both 8 feet wide so that gave us a narrow margin of fewer than 9 inches on each side.  Needless to say, it was a long, loud roaring mile drive.

The Bridge’s narrow lanes were characteristic of what was built in that era when horse-drawn carriages and Model-Ts crossed the Columbia on what was then a state-of-the-art structure. 

The town of White Salmon is located east of Portland, Oregon and sits on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River and Mount Hood.  This small laid-back mountain town is filled with folks who love the outdoors, craft beer, tasty wine, good food and is at the center of the Pacific Northwest kiteboarding and windsurfing and whitewater scene. 

 

White Salmon will leave you wondering how on earth you haven’t discovered the Columbia River Gorge until now.

 

 

Mount Hood

 

Little did we know before our arrival that no matter what direction we looked, we would see the majestic Mt. Hood.  This area is where the Hood River and the Columbia River join together and is the heart of the Columbia River Gorge.  Mt Hood, the tallest peak in the state and is worth the trip to see.  The area is also known for its production of apples, pears, and cherries. 

 

 

 

Columbia River Gorge

The Columbia River Gorge is home to some of the prettiest waterfalls and jaw-dropping vistas.  Unfortunately, Oregon and Washington both had closed the state parks due to Covid-19.  All of the closings had gotten old real quick!

But at least we were able to see Multnomah Falls.  This is one of the world's tallest waterfalls, and if you're driving east from Portland on I-84, make sure you stop.  At 620 feet high, Multnomah Falls is Oregon’s top tourist attraction and the nation’s second tallest year-round waterfall!

 

Bridge Of The Gods 

Once Dave and Yvonne arrived at the campground, Dennis and Dave set out on another fishing lesson while Yvonne and I decided to drive into Troutsdale and do a little shopping.  Since I was too chicken to drive the dually across the big green skinny bridge, we decided to drive up and cross at the Bridge of the Gods.  Luckily, the lanes on this bridge were 11 feet wide each.  Whew! So off we went and even got a new purse to boot!  Gotta love Coach!

The Legend

The legend begins with the Klickitats.  In their tale, the chief of all the gods, Tyhee Saghalie, and his two sons, Pahto and Wy'east, traveled down the Columbia River from the Far North in search of a place to settle.

They came upon an area that is now called The Dalles and thought they had never seen a land so beautiful.  The sons quarreled over the land and to solve the dispute, their father shot two arrows from his mighty bow; one to the north and the other to the south. Pahto followed the arrow to the north and settled there while Wy'east did the same for the arrow to the south. Saghalie then built Tanmahawis, the Bridge of the Gods, so his family could meet periodically.

When the two sons of Saghalie both fell in love with a beautiful maiden named Loowit, she could not choose between them. The two young chiefs fought over her, burying villages and forests in the process. The area was devastated and the earth shook so violently that the huge bridge fell into the river, creating the Cascades Rapids of the Columbia River Gorge.

Bridge of the Gods Mural

For punishment, Saghalie struck down each of the lovers and transformed them into great mountains where they fell.  Wy'east, with his head lifted in pride, became the volcano known today as Mount Hood, and Pahto, with his head bent toward his fallen love, was turned into Mount Adams.  The fair Loowit became Mount St. Helens, known to the Klickitats as Louwala-Clough which means "smoking or fire mountain" in their language.

 

More time with the family! 

 

During our wonderful time with Dave, Yvonne, and their two dogs, Boris and Snickers, we decided to visit Dave's Bread Factory.  It would not due for me to live near this bakery!  The second you pull into the parking lot you can smell the fresh-baked bread.  I think, between the both of us, we bought 20 loaves! 

We also took the time to go visit Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Store.  These two stores are located right across from each other in Milwaukie, Oregon. And what kind of southern girl would I be if I didn't buy some yellow corn grits. Yum!

Dave's Killer Bread

Bob's Red Mill Outlet

 

Worst GM Dealership in North America - so far!

 D's Notes:  As one might guess, we drive a lot of miles and the maintenance cycles happen very quickly out here on the road.  The only solace in that is that we can depend on GM/Chevrolet Service to be consistent even up in Canada.  usually!

While we were in White Salmon, it was time for the 45K maintenance cycle.  This would involve a few things: Oil & Oil Filter, tire rotation, air filters, fuel filter, coolant system flush, and replace all six tires!

I made an appointment for this work with Tonkin Chevrolet Buick GMC, in The Dalles, OR.  This turned out to be a very large mistake.

I know that even the best of us have bad days.  This same adage applies to companies as well.  Well, for this dealership, it turned into a WEEK of bad days.

Monday, I took my work equipment and the truck in time for my appointment.  I set up my laptop and started working.  They had a LOT of work to do on the truck so I settled in for the day.

Around 2 or 3 pm, they declared that they were finished doing all of the work.  I paid up and when I got into the truck, the Oil change light still showed that it was time for an oil change.  I made them reset that before I left.

While driving back to the RV Park, the Low Coolant light came on.  I pulled over at the next available spot and I had plenty of coolant in the reservoir, but it was not up to the max line.  I continued on to the "house" and called the dealership from there.  They claimed that after performing the flush of the coolant system, a bubble sometimes forms and after driving a few miles, it would be forced out of the system and make the reservoir appear to be a little low.  The dealership and our RV were too far apart for me to just hop back over there so that they could take care of it.  We set up a time for the next morning for them to remedy their mistake.

Tuesday, I showed up with the truck and my computer again.  They remedied the low coolant level and inspected everything again.  Around lunchtime, I moved back to the RV to finish work for the day.  Later that afternoon, I was looking at the paperwork and realized that they did not do the Fuel Filter portion!  jeeesh!  So, I called again and got an appt for the next morning for them to finish the work.

Wednesday, I showed up with the truck and my computer again.  The service manager started apologizing and they jumped right on the missed work.  I also asked if they filled the new tires with nitrogen and that dealership doesn't even HAVE nitrogen!  (What the heck!?  Filling tires with nitrogen instead of just air is a known standard, especially for bigger trucks that haul heavy things.)  Eventually, they finished with the fuel filter change and delivered my keys.  I paid up and the manager started walking out with me to the truck.  I made the statement that I would be highly disappointed if we got to the truck and the computer's entry for the fuel filter was not reset... he stopped, halfway to the truck, and asked for the key to the truck... then ran ahead and made sure that it was reset before I got there.  *rolling eyes*  I left and started the drive back to the RV.  Within 10 miles or so, the low coolant light came back on.  (Cheese & Rice!)

Thursday, I looked at the coolant reservoir and it has fluid all the way up to the max line but still throws a warning about Low Coolant at the initial startup.  Once again, I called the dealership.  They said that we probably needed to replace the reservoir because the sensor goes bad.  I told them that they would never touch my truck again... and that was that.

Change is inevitable 

And those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything and boy were we in for a big change!  So, here we go again, buying another house!

Cougar, Washington

July 3rd - 6th

 

Very bad directions from Good Sam Club!

Where do I begin to convey how terrifying this trip was.  First of all, I have to clarify, (Thank you, Jesus!) that NOT all of the 7-hour drive was a nightmare, just the last 55 hell miles that took a mere 2 hours and 26 years off of our life's expectancy!!

All was good in the Crandall world until we left the safety of the interstate.  That's when it turned dark and bordered on the insanity!  All of this was to avoid backtracking.  Never again!  And yes, I just uttered the forbidden two words that you don't say until you are prepared to eat them later.  Well, I feel I can say without a doubt we will NEVER, EVER go down that road again.  Now that's not to say we won't make another mapping mistake, but, please God, don't let it be a doozie like this one was.  

 

Please read this post carefully fellow campers and don't take your RV of any size on NF 90 in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington State!

We learned later the letters NF stand for National Forest but in my book, it means No Forking Way!   At the end of the day, we had no one to blame but ourselves because I have to admit we did see a sign similar to this one stating the road was not regularly maintained.

 

The Gifford Pinchot NF consist of 1,368,300 acres of mountains, river valleys, waterfalls, wildernesses, and volcanoes.  The forest extends along the western slopes of the Cascade Mountain Range from Mount Rainier National Park to the Columbia River.

 

The views are breathtaking and home to the largest volcano, Mount Adams, the most dangerous volcano, Mount Rainier, and the deadliest, Mount St. Helens in the state of Washington.

Views before things got scary!

Us getting out and kissing the ground after we made it!

Lone Fir RV Resort

Once we arrived at the campground and got checked in, we had no more gotten set up when D's sister, Yvonne and her husband, Dave rolled in.  By then it was late afternoon and the park was pretty much full!  Looks like it was going to be a loud and crazy weekend.  Come to find out, this park is one of many that is located on Lewis River in Cougar and they were all booked solid. 

The small town of Cougar is in Cowlitz County, Washington.  Cougar is located around 30 miles northeast of the town of Woodland along Washington State Route 503 and situated along the northwest bank of Yale Lake, a reservoir on the Lewis River.

The park is located only 13 miles from Mount St. Helens but since we have been there, done that we opted for not visiting it this trip and just chill with the fam.

After hanging with Dave & D decided to buy a Washington State fishing license.  Since we are from out-of-state this meant a hefty price tag. But we felt it was worth it since Dave is an experienced fisherman and could give D, a novice, some pointers.  So we considered it a lesson fee.

A tall fishing tell:

Notes from D!:
Learning to Fish
I definitely watched many beginner's videos on how to prep the new rods, how to tie on the hooks/lures, and the theory behind casting.  I felt like I was ready to put those into practice.

Dave and I traveled east from the RV park and found a quiet area along the river.  We quickly got into place along the river banks, well away from the parking area.  I decided that since we were attempting to catch trout, I would use the new trout rig that we purchased for Penny!

I was doing great!  I was casting without any issues and reeling in smoothly, etc.  Then I noticed that directly across the river, a father and his two daughters were fishing a shadow in the river and quickly hauled in several good-sized trout.  After they had left, I even tried to add enough weights to cast over into that shadow, but never could reach it.

Eventually, I had to use the restroom.  There was a facility where we had parked the truck.  So, I left my rod & tackle box where Dave could see them, made sure he knew where I was going, and headed back to the truck.  After finishing up my business, I started walking back to our fishing spot.

Almost immediately, I was met by two game wardens.  They had big grins on their face and asked if I was "Dennis".  I said that I was.  They asked for my fishing license and I explained that it was in my tackle box.  The smaller warden said, "Is that back with your pink fishing rod & reel?"  ah jeeeesh... 

I could only laugh and explain that it was my wife's rod & reel, etc, etc.  We arrived at my equipment and I showed them my license and everything was good.  They were still laughing under their breath as they moved on.

A little emasculating, for sure, but still humorous.

Independence Day

Crazy, Crazy, Crazy!  These fireworks were over-the-top and not in a good way.  They have ruined fireworks for me forever!  In the beginning, it was all well and good, but then it just went on and on and on.

People were lighting off fireworks in the road with folks just driving by it.  Then neighbors located just on the back-side of the park use gasoline to light up a huge stack of pallets that resulted in the fire department showing up.  Who does that in the middle of a million-acre forest!?  Next, a neighbor down the road in another park starts a car on fire with his fireworks!  So, yet again, here comes the fire dept.  

By then it was well after midnight and the fireworks had been going off non-stop since 8:30!  Enough already!  You can't imagine how loud they were echoing off of the mountains.  I never want to hear another one again!  These folks were insane!

Continuing a Family Visit on down the Road

Our short visit to Cougar has come and gone and today we hop 2 1/2 hours SW to White Salmon, WA where we once again will be hanging out with Dave and Yvonne. :-)