We are on the road! We left home on Sunday, November 16. I am writing this using an iPad so it will be short. We loaded the motor home, shut down the house and managed to depart Dogstar farm by 2:00. We got as far as Kersley, spending our first night in a rest area there. I had made a batch of pasta sauce, full of vegetables from the garden, so we boiled up some pasta and called it a night. It was very cold. Cold enough to keep freezing the water lines (-13 C). Next morning we had a couple of eggs on a bun and pointed our noses south once more. We made it to cousin Lloyd's in Laidlaw by about 5:00 pm. After walking and feeding the dogs we had another meal of pasta and sauce. Too tired to think of anything else. We were in bed by 8:30 that evening.
Tuesday morning saw us at the border by 11:00. No problems there. Then we were really on our way. We spent the last two nights in rest areas having, you guessed it, two more suppers of pasta and sauce. Traveling through Seattle was hair raising and tense. Dennis did a great job of not getting rattled by the six and seven lanes of traffic, a gazillion semi-trailer trucks coming at us on all sides! It seemed like we went 100 miles, or more, in heavy, heavy traffic with never less that six lanes in our direction. After Seattle was Tacoma and Olympia. Unbelievable traffic! Portland was not much different. Not as bad as Seattle but bad enough. Then there are the mountain passes. Today was up hill and down dale continually. So was yesterday afternoon. However the good ol mo ho made the grade (literally) and here we are in a small town called Williams. Williams has just over 5000 people. It is a beautiful, quaint town. I notice the towns here in the USA seem much older that the towns in northern BC. They are nicely laid out, very pretty and everything is central. No big malls. A post office, churches, town hall, shops, all in a central spot with homes on straight, tree-lined streets. That is mot to say the wal-marts don't exist. They just aren't in the towns. They are out along the highways grouped with other big box stores.
Speaking of Walmart. We stopped at a mega Walmart to get some groceries as we finished our pasta sauce (thank Heaven!). We picked up a rotisserie chicken, some beer and wine (Apothic Red at $7.67 a bottle). Upon checking out, the clerk asked us where we were from. I said, "northern British Columbia, in Canada." "Oh," she said, "you haven't travelled too far then." I said that yes we had travelled a long way. In fact, we had been traveling for 5 full days. She looked at us like we were from outer space, and may as well have been as she had absolutely no idea where British Columbia was, or Canada, for that matter.
Now we are at the Almond Grove RV Park. We wanted full hook ups with wifi tonight so we sprung the $30 for a pull through site. It is not a luxurious park but we needed to stop and they had room for us, so here we are.
We have learned that pulling the van on a dolly restricts us from going anywhere we want. We nearly got stuck at a gas station yesterday as the turning spot was too tight. Unfortunately the van too a bad scratch from the license plate on the dolly. Today we had another tight spot giving the van yet another ding on the other side. Oh well we will try to fix that once we are in Quartzsite. Oh yes, and Dennis tore the bottom step off the motor home going out the gate, right off the bat! Other than those few minor mishaps, all has gone as well as it could. I can't say it has been relaxing so far, but it has been a good experience. Tomorrow we go through Sacramento and hope to stop at a rest area near Bakersfield. Then we will head east and off the I-5.
Traveling with the dogs has not been easy, but it's doable. If Rhaq and Finn didn't get on each other's nerves like they do, it would be simple. As it is, Rhaq has to be crated unless we're taking them for a walk. The crate is big and cumbersome. We have to continually move it to open the fridge, go outside, or get to the bathroom. We can do two of the things without moving it, but not all three. So it seems like we are continually sliding it forth and back as we access the door, fridge or bathroom. Oh well. That is just the way it goes.
No pics to send. We have spent all our time, thus far, on the road or at rest stops. The rest stops in the states we have travelled through thus far are incredible. BC could certainly learn a thing or two from the Americans where traveling is concerned! People are friendly and the roads are excellent, the rest stops abundant and clean and comfortable. They have very large pull through spots for big trucks and RVs. They have flush toilets, maps posted, and some have people there with free coffee and cookies. And they have pet areas. It all goes to making the trip less fatiguing.
I had better quit. It's a bit dull with out pictures so I'll try to take some tomorrow. I'm not sure how to load them with an iPad, but it's worth a try.
Bye for now.
