Sun 19 April Day 99  Nice & sunny but temps in high 60’s to low 70’s

Out Camping World, Burlington 11:50 and up to Bellis Fair Mall where there is a WInco to get Kerrygold butter for Michael & Adeline. Arrived at Winco @ 12:15 @ 40940 & on route again by 12:55.  Off road at Ferndale Pilot for gas at 1:05, approximately 40947 miles, ( I forgot to write it down so that is an estimate from our exact route home according to MS Streets & Trips). Out Ferndale & back on I 5 @ 1:20, the dashboard readout of miles to empty says 557. Arrived Customs line @ 1:35, scraped their barrier going into the booth but no dents just a mark on the paint. Cleared customs by 1:50.  Home, parked across from school @ 2:45 @ 40988.

We unloaded the fridge & some other stuff.  I drove the RV & parked in front of home to wash it. I sprayed it with “30 Second” cleaner & hosed it off. Then we had supper.  Sheila went down to unload clothes. & other stuff then we crashed & watched a bit of TV before bed.  More unloading, cleaning, etc tomorrow. 

So endeth the saga

Recap:

                        Total distance RV driven – 2,965 miles

                        Number of nights in RV – 98

Total gallons gas put in RV – 436.25 – note - ¾ full when we left &   almost full at home on return

378.919 USG used to go 2593 miles

Therefore gas mileage = 6.84 mpg over the whole trip

Sat 18 April Day 97

Cooler in the morning as we head north, but nice & sunny

I was up, had breakfast & got ready to go to the 2e tournament at Justin’s in Auburn.  It is only about 10-15 minutes from the casino. Sheila stayed to gamble & wander around the casino.  She found a $1.00 Blackjack table to try, which means she had fun without losing too much.  I played 4 rounds of 2e & lost them all by a wide margin.

 Then I headed back to the RV, arriving about 3:15.  Sheila had made a sandwich for me that was really good; I thought she had bought it at the casino. We hooked up the car & headed out of Muckleshoot Casino at 40822 @ 4:05.  We did hit some slow busy areas getting through Seattle but we kept moving, at a slow pace, but moving..  We saw another accident aftermath only this time I doubt there were any injuries.  A southbound moving van had caught fire on the inside of the cargo area.  There were 2 fire trucks, lots of foam on the ground and the truck was gutted at the centre of the cargo area and almost to the cab & the tail gate. It was backing up southbound traffic on the 3 lane I 405 and I clocked it and the jam went back about 9 miles to where cars were approaching the stopped cars & slowing up.

 We arrived @ Camping World about 6:15 @ 40914.  We drove in but it was jammed full at the back electrical area.  We were talking to one of the Camping World patrol guys and he said that the service bays aren’t open tomorrow as it’s Sunday and all the big entrance doors have outside power & water so why not park there, so we did.  We had to unhook the car to back up to the doors but that worked fine as we were going to Fred Meyers for their internet connection anyway. We had a supper at Fred Myers, gassed up the Focus and returned to the RV for the evening.

Distance – 92 miles – on road time – 2 hours 10 minutes

Fri 17 April Day 96

 Cold during the night but clear sky & sun is warming things

We were late up & slow because we decided that we’d stick around for the lodge lunch, (11 to 2).  I had a Taco salad and I ordered the large for 8.50 instead of the regular for 7.50.  It was a larger taco shell which was full to the top so there was a lot of ground beef, it was good! Sheila had a sandwich of chicken & prime rib with a side of tater tots.  Also very good!  She brought ½ the sandwich and tater tops home for supper tonight.  We pulled out of Kelso Elks @ 1:30 @ 40711 miles.  At 2 pm the traffic came to a stop, then a slow crawl.  We got to the accident site, a small car was sideways to traffic flow with the front up on the cement median barrier and it looked like it had been rolled and maybe run over by one of the stopped trucks.  I couldn’t see an undamaged spot anywhere.  I wouldn’t think anyone got out alive.  I could see some sheets spread around the front seat area, usually the indication there had been a body covered there. We cleared traffic and were rolling again by 2:20.  We stopped for gas @ 40771 from 3:05 to 3:20 at the Tumwater Pilot at  exit 99.  We encountered more traffic jams and backups getting to the Casino but arrived @ 4:50 @ 40822.   We went into the casino to look around.  No deals on food as it is a Friday night so everything is more. Their fancy buffet, The Spice Garden was $19.00 Mon to Thurs but Fri, Sat, Sun it’s $25.00, presumably because they bring in more Seafood on those days.  Sheila saw a line up at a show lounge and asked what it was for.  It is for a free Rolling Stones Tribute band. People were lined up an hour & a half ahead of time.  We came back to the RV for a supper of left over Sheila’s Elks lunch and a free Sub we got for using our Flying J/Pilot charge card, just a 6 inch but we could have anyone we wanted.  After supper Sheila went back to the Casino to try the free $5.00 credit we each got for signing up for a players card.

Distance – 111 miles  on road time – 3 hour 5 minutes - that’s less then 37 mph

At Muckleshoot Casino, nice & level, lots of room for the slide outs

That light on the pole gave enough light that after dark if I opened the blind on the side the car is sitting I could read by it, (if I sat on the couch with my back to the window).

Thurs 16 April Day 95

 cool at night into low 50”s or less, slight overcast in AM,   nice & warm in Kelso

Sheila got up & went to the indoor pool for a water aerobics class offered 9:00 – 9:45 am Tues. & Thurs. mornings.   We will pull out when she returns & head for Kelso Elks and their RV Pk.  She said it was a good class for developing arm strength because the ladies were using Styrofoam dumbbells for most of the class.  She’d like to be able to continue it.  Sigh!

Out @ 40462 @ 10:55 & off to a Pilot stn for gas.  Off hwy 11:55 @ 40512.  The RV took 61.473 USG.  We bought a foot long Sub for a lunch break because we get a discount with our Pilot/Flying J charge card. Back out to hwy to Kelso at 12:20. Sheila took over driving out of the gas stop. She drove to a rest area where we had our Sub sandwich lunch from 1:25 to 2:05. Then I took over driving.  Around 3 PM we were approaching Portland & the traffic ground to an almost halt. It was 3 lanes of solid bumper to bumper crawling through Portland and didn’t clear until we were over the Columbia River Bridge into Washington.  Then the I 5 was clear & moving fast.  We arrived at Kelso Elks @ 5:25 @ 40711. There was only one other RV in the lot and they have 12 power/water/cable set ups.  We went into the lodge and discovered they were serving supper, so we had lasagna with salad, delicious green beans and dessert for $10.  I phoned Ken to tell him I would be at the 2e regional’s game on Sat., (Sheila’s not sure she’s coming), but that we wouldn’t make the Sunday game.

After that, Sheila went out for a walk around the neighborhood & discovered there’s a Safeway within easy walking distance.  We caught a BBT on TV but the Blacklist wouldn't come in so over to the Elks Lodge for their WiFi.

Distance - 249 miles - on road time - 5 hours 25 minutes - extra long due to traffic jamb we only averaged about 45 MPH

Sheila by the RV at Kelso Elks

Looking towards the lodge across the RV area

Wed 15 April Day 94

 Very windy in Willows but sunny

We pulled out of the Willows Walmart at 9:20 @ 40169 Miles.  There is a lot of wind on the hwy but it is coming from the front quarter drivers side so it doesn’t affect the driving – much.  We stopped at the Mt Shasta rest area, (11:05 to 11:15) for Sheila to walk a bit to unstiffen, and then we were off again. Then, a lunch stop at the Weed, CA rest area from 12:25 to 1:00.  The dash thermometer was reading 49 F and it was still a bit windy. We are up a bit, maybe 3000 feet more or less.  We actually turned on the RV heater for a bit while driving. We noticed that going north you get a better view of Mt Shasta than southbound. We crossed into Oregon at 1:45 and started up the Siskiyou Pass.  The hill going down is a lot longer than going up because going up from the south you are already quite high and on the north side you go down to low elevation.  It is a 6% grade, one for 8 miles or more and others of 2 miles.  I put the RV in the “tow/haul” mode and just coasted down.  It kept the speed reasonable and didn’t rev too high, around 3500 rpm all the way down.  I did hit the brakes twice when I was catching up on a slow truck & there was a car beside me. I couldn’t get out to pass the slow truck in time to not run into him, so I braked.

We arrived at 7 Feathers RV Park at 3:50 pm @ 40462 miles.  After getting our spot, hooking up, having Tea, we went to the indoor swimming pool & hot tub for a swim, (Sheila) & relaxing soak, both of us.  Then it’s supper in the rig followed by TV, planning, & journal writing.

Distance – 293 miles – on road time – 5 hours 45 minutes