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Going West Again

pat walsh

pat walsh

Junior Ranger
Well we are all packed, fresh water, cold dometic, air in the tires, etc. Tomorrow we are headed west via 90 stop over in Midland SD, on to Colorado Springs, CO and then canyon land and where ever the spirit (and weather) takes us - perhaps we will meet (or pass) one of you along the way.
 
Go for it, Pat. Have a wonderful, safe and exciting journey. Adventures all the way!

Wish we could be on the road, too. Still on baby watch, but not for long. Just got the news from the OB: if Alex doesn't go into labor this week, she'll be induced on Sunday the 24th. Sunday's child is full of grace.

Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sue
 
The morning we left home we had a storm and the neighbors big cottonwood tree was spralled across their yard.
We decided not to go to Colorado Springs and the Grand Canyon due to the fires.

So thus far we have been to the SD Badlands, traveled through the Sawtooth and Bitterroot ranges stayed in the high desert at 90 plus degrees trying to escape the sun in treeless campgrounds. Even the grass was not high enough to shade a toe. Then on to Oregon to Viento State Park on the Columbia Gorge our fist bit of rain and down to 51 degrees. Now we are headed south along 101 staying in Lincoln City KOA (ok for overnight). Hope to get to a state park tomorrow and stay a few days. It is 61 degrees now with a chilly wind. I am surprised that the campgrounds are pretty empty and lots of vacancy signs on the highways. They have had a lot of rain here.
We have met a variety of people along the way. Most very helpful!
One man in Mountain Home Idaho invited us to stay with him and his wife to get some air conditioning very kind but we stuck with our tear drop and did just fine with the fantastic fan.
Having a wonderful time and continually struck by the diversity of our country in rock, mountains, and people.
 
So we have been down the cost as far as Coos Bay and now are staying a couple of days in Waldport. Seeing lots of seals and some birds - not as many as we expected. Today is rainy and we stopped in a drug store and I asked the clerk if the rain was going to stop and he said not till Monday and that we are seeing the real Oregon "rain". But we are enjoying it anyway.
Next we go to Nehalan Bay and the on the 3rd to Timberlake Campground in Washington - near White Salmon. Then we will probably head home.
Having a relaxing time seeing the coast.
 
Parts should start drying up tomorrow, but Monday is supposed to start getting nicer than tomorrow. Sorry we couldn't have better weather for your visit. We ended up home a day early this weekend due to rain too (our friends were in a tent and decided it was too much for them). We have some other trips planned, and it was all for the best.

Have a safe journey!
 
We had a few very nice drives and naps in the rain. We were digging out some warm soxs last night and found 2 of our packing bags on the shelf were soaked.
They were on the left side of the shelf in the cabin. Then I checked the galley and found a quarter inch of water on the right shelf (so on the same side ).
Have not determined the cause yet. One interesting thing is I had cut that rubberized shelf liners for the shelves so things do not slide but now found out they are like a sponge. I could ring them out after airing for several hours.
Then we discovered that our dometic was off -- so lots of garbage -- but we are still smiling and enjoying the coast.
 
Pat,

Sorry to hear about the leak. We did have a torrential downpour last night. Will be interested to hear if you determine the source.

As for the dometic - there have been a couple of times that I discovered that I dislodged the cord when sliding it back into its place in the galley. As you say, result is garbage.

Glad you are having fun.
 
Well we are almost out of Washington going east. It is 105 in Clarkson (hwy 12).
So having not gotten AC we are motelling it for one night. Looking forward to Hwy 12 through Idaho.
After Waldport we stayed in Nehalem and then on to Astoria and then the Washington side of the gorge--found a great spot in Home Valley called Timberlake Campground. The sites are really well laid -ours was very private- out and populated by beautiful Douglas fir. We were going to stay 2 nights but it turned into 5 nights as we found so much to explore in the gorge.
 
Pat_W said:
Looking forward to Hwy 12 through Idaho.
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Are you taking Hwy 12 across Idaho & into Montana? If so & if you haven't been that way before, you are in for a real treat!

On the way to the IRG in 2010, we took Hwy 12 heading west from Montana...hopefully the construction is done there by now :D ...it was a very long trip due to the construction & only allowing one lane of traffic at a time for several miles. :crazy:

But when we got to the top of the pass (and out of the construction), there was a nice visitors center...great place to finally take a break.

Lolo Pass.jpg



Heading west on Hwy 12 once again, we encountered this sign


99 Curves.jpg


Got a good chuckle out of it...but it wasn't kidding...felt like we were on a continuous amusement ride that only went downhill & was quite dizzying! I must say, when we finally got to Lewiston, I felt like we were still going around bends in the road even while driving on a straightaway!


Craig at DeVoto Cedar Grove.jpg


The scenery was beautiful & at the recommendation of my brother (who was the one who told us to take this route), we stopped at DeVoto Memorial Cedar Grove along the way. I did not know cedar trees could get that big around or that tall! The tree in this picture was not the biggest one there. We were the only ones at the Grove, so we took the hiking path around for a nice little hike.

Despite all the winding around, the scenery, including the river,was beautiful & I would recommend it to anyone traveling that way.

Safe travels!

:cool:
 
Betsy that is the route we took. It was so beautiful and as you say dizzing. After we went that route we wanted to find a place west of 90 to spend the night. So without looking around much on the map we drove to Red Lodge Montana planned to stay in the KOA for a quick overnight. Well it was in the high 90's and we did not like the look of the campground so continued on (212) I think much to our surprise we found our selves in Bear Tooth Pass wow I think the most beautiful drive I have ever been on. I hope some of our pics are good and will enter them later. It was an awe inspiring drive that later took us to Cody Wyoming. Our little tear did marvelous in those high mountain curves, climbs and declines and Cary was right our van could handle it without the breaks.
 
Pat_W said:
Betsy that is the route we took. It was so beautiful and as you say dizzing. After we went that route we wanted to find a place west of 90 to spend the night. So without looking around much on the map we drove to Red Lodge Montana planned to stay in the KOA for a quick overnight. Well it was in the high 90's and we did not like the look of the campground so continued on (212) I think much to our surprise we found our selves in Bear Tooth Pass wow I think the most beautiful drive I have ever been on. I hope some of our pics are good and will enter them later. It was an awe inspiring drive that later took us to Cody Wyoming. Our little tear did marvelous in those high mountain curves, climbs and declines and Cary was right our van could handle it without the breaks.
Click to expand...

Pat,

Glad to hear things went well with your trip...beautiful area. Look forward to seeing your pictures.

Ah, Beartooth Pass....been over that one. A couple of times that come to memory...Once at the end of June when there was still 5-6 ft. of snow...watched some crazy college kids snowboarding down the back side...One other when we didn't quite make it to the top in our diesel VW Rabbit...the engine went. The irony is, the day before, Craig had just finished replacing the head (which had cracked), himself while we stayed in a campground in North Dakota (remember now, this is all on the same trip). So the new head was only 1 day old. This time, there was a problem that didn't rear its ugly head (no pun intended) until we were a good ways up the mountain. The valves bent as a result of smashing into piston heads (didn't find that out until later). :cry:

The closest place to get any service work done was in Billings, MT – 90 miles away. We knew once we stopped, the only way we could get the car started was to roll start by going down the mountain. So, that night, we slept in the car by the side of the road & did just that the next day. Well, we made it to Billings & VW. After a bus trip back to Minnesota, a new engine (covered by VW, as the head Craig had replaced was faulty), 2 weeks later & another trip to Billings to pick up the car & back to Minnesota. Needless to say, our original trip was never finished…on a side note, that same Rabbit didn’t live a long life…4 months later, while moving to Utah, pulling a trailer with everything we owned, we were hit by a semi while crossing the continental divide west of Rawlins, WY. :crazy:

On a separate note, the trip where we met snow up on Beartooth Pass…we were headed to Yellowstone…spent a week there & headed back home through Cody. Spent a couple of days there seeing & doing stuff & then, on the way out of town, blew a head gasket on our Dodge Caravan (over 4th of July weekend). Spent the holiday helping Craig replace the head in the hotel parking lot…

Needless to say, Wyoming has not been kind to us… :D :D

:cool:
 
Boy you guys are hitting all my sweet spots.

Bear Tooth is one of our favorite places for so many reasons. If you are a botanizer the place is incredible because all the plants you may be familiar with are so small there.

The drive west off of Lolo defies logic, it just keeps on going down, every inch of it a curve. The history of the pass is equally interesting; this is the area where Lewis and Clark party nearly starved to death.

If you are ever in the area, the pass further south, Lemhi pass, is a wonderful place to visit. The road is not great but at the pass is worth the visit and when we camped there the Daughters of the American Revolution of all people had a great little campground there. This is the historic site where Sacajawea was reunited with her Shoshone family. Almost no one visits the pass which enhances the feeling of being in a special place not only of spectacular scenery but of great historical importance.

Must get back to the area…
 
Betsey,

Wow, you have an interesting life with Craig! Craigs roadside mechanic shop, part time tour director, and what other skill sets we do not know of yet. I want the full version, not the Readers Digest Condensed version.
 
Betsey, we're taking our Raindrop to Alaska next summer. Can we take Craig along as the wagonmaster / chief mechanic?
Mike
 
Mike,

I think if you are bringing Craig along you are guaranteeing a breakdown. Yes, he is the master at roadside repair (he actually enjoys it he says) but it happens all the time to him. That part makes me nervous when traveling with him, I always think it is going to rub off on me or something.

I still remember the day Craig and Betsey blew the cylinder head in Cody. Craig calls me up at work and asked if he had a JC Witney catalog on his desk. He did so I grabbed it and he asked me to go look up cylinder heads. I just said ".....Oh Crap". Knowing he was going to be stranded there for a bit I suggested they spend some time at the Buffalo Bill museum, highly recommended it and told him he would spend a bunch of time there while the head was being repaired at the machine shop. His answer was "ya, I know, we spent yesterday at the museum right before the head blew". Still though one of his greatest accomplishments, making that repair, I think.

Cary
 
Jenn said:
Pat: Enjoying reading your adventure journal and look forward to more and your pictures.

Betsey: Your a lucky woman! What else can I say??!!

Mike: I cant fix your car if it breaks down, but you can take me to Alaska next summer!! Alaska and Florida as well as the whole south east of the US are on my list.
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Let me know when you are coming to Tennessee! You can park or can even come inside. We are hospitable.
 
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