Tacoma

6/1/11

Left Yellowstone area about 7 AM and drove to Coeur d’ Alene, snow covered mountains with sun peeking through occasionally.  We ate lunch at a rest area with prairie dogs scurrying around their holes right nearby.

6/2/11

Left camp at 7 and drove into WA to the little town Tokio, WA where we gassed up and ate b’fast.  While today will end the first leg of our journey, we have talked about the immensity of the wide open spaces across many of the states.  So much food is being produced – from corn and beans to beef and pork.  Here is Eastern WA we again see cattle farms….hundreds of acres of rolling shrub and grass covered hills with cattle seen every few miles.  Traveling across this land our hearts swell with gratitude to God for such blessings. 

Then there is the sheer beauty of so much of America….stunning at times.  And we have more to come!  At this point it appears that we’ll get to Ken and Krista sometime mid-afternoon today.  Ken has hired a fishing guide for tomorrow and he and I and Nate plan to go fishing.  Should be an eventful day!   Marty wants to do some food shopping as well as our laundry.

Arrived by Ken and Krista at Ft. Lewis just South of Tacoma about 3 pm.  Got my fishing license for tomorrow and then Ken, Nate and I are going fishing with a guide on the Columbia River!

Idaho where we stayed at Beauty Creek NFS campground.  All day we drove through and around beautiful

May 30 and 31

5/29/2011

Today we drove about 400 miles whereas yesterday we went 501.  We’re camping tonight in the Badlands, but it’s very windy and chilly.  We ate in our small camper and also cooked our hamburgers inside tonight because of the wind.  Today we had a rather strong east wind which no doubt pushed us along and gave us better fuel mileage.  Before today we were getting 15 mpg.  I am still hoping for some days of 16 mpg so that our average ends up being closer to 15.

Even though it was drizzling a bit before supper, we took a short walk to a couple spots that had boardwalks.  The trails are really muddy and not great for walking.  Right now our plan is to take the “loop” drive toward the town of Wall (where the drug store is) and camp somewhere West of here.  We have four days to get to Tacoma so we can take our time.

Time for another round of Rummy Cube – yep, I beat last night.

5/30/11

Woke up around 7 AM, left Badlands in the rain and fog and cold temps.  We drove to Custer State Park and made reservations for camping one night here.  When J and J were little we used to hike and they would occasionally cry out, “mud alert” – but after driving the Wildlife loop of the park, we now have “ass alert” as there have been 20-30 burros standing in the road begging for food.  Julie and Jackie will well remember them because one of them stuck his nose in the window of our car a few years ago.  Today we’ve seen a lot of Buffalo, Prong Horn Antelope, Mule Deer and earlier lots of Prairie Dogs. 

In many of these parks these animals roam freely and since we’re here relatively early in the season they are often very close to the road.  Presently the sky is clearing and clear warm weather is predicted for tomorrow.  Tonight we’re camping at the Sylvan Lake campground in Custer St. Pk.

On the way to Sylvan State Park, we passed through two tunnels  - one so narrow we pulled in the side mirrors and I had Marty watching out the window to make sure we didn’t scrape the camper on the side.  Another tunnel was low and Marty got out of the truck to make sure we had enough room between the AC and the top of the tunnel.  We’ll post some pics.

This is the one - yep, we fit through.

 Here's a shot of some of the scenery around the Sylvan Lake Campsite where we stayed.

Today, the 31st we drove about 500 miles and are staying in a campground North of Yellowstone (where we hear they had 16 in of snow last night).  It's a great spot.  We believe we have about 750 miles to go yet before we're at Ken and Krista's house.  Anxious to see them.  BTW, the Yellowstone River is right behind our campsite.

Will post more later.

Day One - Flying Goose Campground. Fairmont, MN

5/28/2011

We left the house at 5 AM after being awakened by the neighbor’s dog yipping.  Drove 170 miles to Davenport, IA for b’fast at a Cracker Barrel.  Tonight we plan to stay in a private campground in Fairmont, MN.  It’s a gray cloudy day with brief periods of sun.

Total drive today was 510 miles - arrived here mid-afternoon, had our wine and cheese, took a walk, and will now start supper.

 On side of truck window - Marty's handiwork.

 Jam packed.

First campsite - really nice place, cool breeze, sunny afternoon and evening.  Will talk later....to the Badlands tomorrow.

One more week

A week from today we'll be somewhere in MN - we hope.  However, one little glitch, which had we not caught it now, could have cost us time and probably a lot more money.  I discovered an electrical problem with the camper and had it all traced out by a mechanic we use.  Grateful to have it fixed at home, it was still a bummer to learn that the bill was well over $300!  Oh well...

Will be talking with you later!

Getting close now

Planning done.  Getting close - 3 weeks to go.  Doing trial run with truck camper next week for weekend with friends.  Excited and READY!

Truck Tires

I just had a really wonderful thing happen - at a Sears store of all places.  Back in August, 2010 I bought a set of tires for our truck and spent $900+ on four new tires.  Well, about two weeks ago the guy changing our oil told me these were the wrong tires and were not rated high enough for this truck.  To make a long story short, my wife pushed me to go back to Sears to at least talk with them about this and so today I went reluctantly. 

The manager came out and immediately looked at my receipt and then at the truck and he said, "I'm so sorry, we sold you the wrong tires."  He messed with his computer and then said, the difference in cost between what you bought and the correct tires is $117 - would you be willing to pay me that and then we'll just swap the tires for you.....about one hour later I left with four brand new 10 ply tires with 80 lbs of pressure in each of them.

So, if and when you need tires, buy them at Sears and tell them you're here because they treated another customer really well.

Bruce

Update

Well, 40 days till I leave the Counseling Center.  My last day will more than likely be Tuesday morning, April 26.  We plan to go to Michigan to see our grand daughters in a school play that night.  Then, that weekend we are camping with friends and May will begin.

As far as planning for our trip goes, all necessary reservations are made, we have purchased the MILEPOST, planned our route for the most part, had the pickup camper all checked out and now it's just the exciting anticipation.  Funny, I always wonder if the trip itself will be as much fun as the preparation...I think this will be.  I am already feeling less work pressure - glad to leave some decisions up to the new guy starting April 4.  I just have to get through 3 more payroll periods.

So, my next post on here may be from somewhere along the way on our lifetime trip to Alaska.  We're all ready - except for the packing :)  Watch for more after Memorial Day weekend.  I'll try to put up pictures along the way too.  Bruce