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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIGsQoTNiVE <----Click on this link to view the video Andrew made riding the slick rock after we talked to him. It gives you a real good idea of what it looked liked to ride the the slick rock in Moab.
Moab Utah
Moab Utah Summer Vacation, June 2010
We started our trip to Moab Utah on Friday the 18th of June. My dispatcher helped make my work load easy, and I was able to leave a few minutes early, and we had everything ready at home. Because traffic is so busy on Fridays on Interstate 5 we left to take Interstate 90 east over the mountains and then drop down through the tri-cities (Richland, Kennewick and Pasco) before crossing into Oregon and continuing east to Pendleton. We stopped in Zillah, WA for sandwiches from Subway for dinner and ate while we kept driving east. The weather was very nice, considering we had just finished 26 consecutive days of rain at home and we hit 75 degrees which hadn’t happened yet this year at home.
We stopped a second time for fuel just below Cabbage Hill at the big casino/travel plaza. Premium fuel was cheap at $3.03 a gallon. I always burn premium fuel when we are towing in hot weather, it really has nothing to do with power, but it’s a fact that an internal combustion engine runs much cooler on higher octane fuel. We stopped for photo’s on the over look and continued up the pass to Immigrant Springs State Park. Sadly all the good sites were taken, and we didn’t see a single site our trailer and truck would fit in. We drove up to the horse camp and found it empty so we parked in a site. Then we saw the rules for the horse camp, absolutely no camping unless you have a horse with you.
Just then the ranger showed up and told us we could occupy the Host Site for the night since they didn’t have a host for the season yet. That was fine with us, it was a big site and we could leave everything hitched up since we would only be here to sleep for a few hours and then depart early in the morning. Colton and Nora helped with the set up chores and the trailer was ready in just a matter of minutes. We all went to sleep fast; just travelling seems to be tiring. The park is right next to the freeway though, so there is the constant roar of vehicles to hum a person to sleep (or keep you awake).
We were up at 6:00am Saturday morning and on the road at 7:00am. Just minutes after pulling onto the freeway the check engine light came on. I had really checked everything closely before leaving home, from fluids to belts and hoses. I had also cleaned and serviced my K&N air filter, which requires after cleaning and drying it to then also oil it. Previously the mass air flow sensor had picked up atomized oil from the filter and this had caused the check engine light to come on, so I was hoping this was why we now had a red light on the dashboard. Not a minute later I got my second warning light to check gauges and I was shocked to see my temperature gauge was approaching 260 degrees, and looking out my mirror I could see a huge plume of steam streaming from our engine.
I pulled over quickly and shut down the engine. Orange (lifetime) antifreeze was dripping down the side of our trailer and Suburban. After the steam cleared I could see that it was a relatively simple thing, Suburban’s have two heaters and the T-fitting that branches off the coolant to both cores had split in half, and we had lost almost all our engine coolant. I had to remove the air box (filter assembly) and remove the mass air flow sensor to get at the broken fitting but I was able to disconnect both heater hoses, and loop the supply side line from the engine straight back into the radiator creating a closed loop. Then I put the MAFS and the air box back on and we could drive ourselves to help.
My first thought was go straight to the Chevy dealer in LaGrande and let them fix it. But when we arrived in town it was obvious the dealer was a small town dealer and wouldn’t be open on the weekend for service of any kind. But next to the dealer was an auto parts store and even though they weren’t open I could see a gentleman in the back stocking parts. He opened the store for me and set me up with a ¾ inch T-fitting and Colton and I repaired the Suburban right there on the side of the street in downtown LeGrande.
Nora and Sandy took Olive for a walk up-town; they had seen that the local farmers market was just setting up when we pulled in. The local police checked on us to make sure we would be alright just as we were refilling the radiator and getting ready to button things up. After washing up we were on our way again, the whole ordeal took two hours from the time we pulled over on top of the pass till we were back on the freeway leaving LeGrande heading for Idaho. The truck ran fine the rest of the day, and after the 3rd time I turned the engine off and on the computer had stored the trouble codes and cancelled the check engine light for good.
We drove all day and made it as far as Brigham City north of Salt Lake when we decided to stop for dinner at Denny’s. Then it was just a short drive down the road to a private RV park where we stopped for the night. Sandy and I met a young couple touring the US in 1968 VW Westphalia camper van. The old Volkswagen was completely original; the guy they bought it from had stored it for over 25 years. What an adventure this young couple was having, and they weren’t rich, they were both bartenders by trade and had saved just enough money to travel for a few months on the road.
We left early Sunday morning and traffic was light through Salt Lake City. Good thing, because it seemed like the whole freeway system was under construction there. I got a little nervous driving parts of the freeway for mile after mile with no breakdown lane. If my heater hose line would have ruptured in one of those construction areas that would have been real ugly with no way to get off the road. It had been over 14 years since Sandy, Colton and I had last passed this way as a family, Nora wasn’t even born yet. So the scenery was pretty much new to them, though I’ve passed through here quite a few times for work since I prefer to take I-15 south to and from Arizona over taking I-5 through California.
When we got to Spanish Fork we made our exit from Interstate 15 to State Highway 6. Sandy spotted a grocery store and needed to get some more groceries, but I reminded her we were in Utah now and finding a grocery store open on Sunday isn’t the easiest thing to do. The one she saw was closed, but we did get directions to one a couple blocks away that was open, and they even had a gas station with relatively cheap fuel, this time $3.13 a gallon for premium. So after getting groceries we started heading south and east on Hwy 6. Lots of ups and downs, more high winds all day long it seemed, and one monster pass that we topped at 7780 feet.
We stopped in small city park in Price and enjoyed home made sandwiches. We drove through the charming old town before getting back on Hwy 6 and following that to Interstate 70 and going east 35 miles and turning south on Hwy 6 again for the short drive into Moab. The last couple miles into Moab are pretty dramatic; the tan colors of the desert give way to bright red and orange colored rock and soil that makes this area so different. It had been a few years since I had been to Moab but the scenery doesn’t disappoint those lucky enough to see it first hand.
Of all the pre-planning I had done, I had put in GPS waypoints for trails and stops along the way, but I had forgot to put the campground we had made reservations for. With Sandy trying to decipher the directions from our Trailer Life directory we wound up right downtown the busiest part of the day lost. I thought I had seen the campground coming into town, but they use two different names so it was confusing. But we turned around and went back and checked in. Our site was nice and clean, but they do put you in close to your neighbors. Colton used our gauge to check and make sure we had enough room for the slide out and we did. We set up real fast and the kids were off to the pool to cool down.
It was really hot for us after coming from such a cold and wet spring. Later that evening we found out the mosquitoes were real bad this time of year here. Just when you think you are going to enjoy sitting outside in the evening while things cool down you find it’s beyond annoying they are so thick. Thank goodness we’re not really camping; the inside of our air conditioned trailer is quite comfortable even when it’s super hot outside.
Monday morning we left early for Arches National Park, just a couple miles from our RV resort. With advice from a guest at the resort we had talked to earlier, we drove straight to the back of the park and began our hiking tour to several of the arches. Even though it was mid morning it was already warm out, but not hot like back in Moab. High in the park the air is a bit cooler and the wind kept it very comfortable for us. We were able to hike to four different arches including Landscape Arch, the second biggest arch in the world and take lots of great pictures. The kids are still fun to be with, though they like to joke how they would rather be at the pool back at the resort. By late morning and hiking a few miles we were already tired and ready to head back to the trailer. We planned to return to Arches on Wednesday.
Later in the afternoon Monday we went downtown to explore, and also to scope out where the slick rock biking area was. We walked through the old part of town, bought a few souvenirs and checked out the visitor’s center. We then drove up to the recreation area so we would know where it was when we tried to get there in the dark Tuesday morning. We drove right by Lions Back, a hill made famous by a family who drove their basic Chevy Blazer up the rock only to lose their brakes coming down the rock and crash into the sand below. It’s a frightening video to watch on YouTube. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpbkTncjEOs ßCut and paste). We enjoyed swimming and watching some TV before bed, knowing we would be getting up real early.
Tuesday morning we were up at 4:00am and on our way to the slick rock riding area before the sun even came up. We didn’t know what to expect, none of us had ever done this kind of riding. We weren’t all decked out with safety gear like we saw some people had in the videos, just normal biking attire and helmets. Starting out it was obvious we wouldn’t be doing the whole twenty mile course. We started on the trial loop, just 2.5 miles and my lungs were heaving from the first low gear climb we encountered. I had aired down every ones tires to 30psi so they would get good traction on the rocks. For everyone but me this was good, but the extra weight my rear tire has to carry felt like my tire was coming off of the rim at times.
There were some insanely steep uphill sections where we would just pull wheelies we were applying so much torque, and then some down hill that felt like you would go over the handle bars. It was a real balancing act using the right proportion of front and rear brake descending. In several places I was too scared to ride my bike and I got off and walked, but I was so surprised to see Nora challenge the course in places I wouldn’t. With every steep uphill climb we would have to stop for a breather before continuing on. We made the two and half mile loop with only one banged up knee when Nora tried to climb a steep section with a step up, but other than that we did alright. Sandy says this is a place where more guts than brains is a good thing.
But collectively we agreed we had enough of rock riding for our first day out, and now the sun was well into the sky and it was going to get hot out. So we loaded up the bikes but hoped to return to slick rock for a little more riding later in the week. Nora and I opted to ride our bikes home to the campground from Slick Rock, it’s almost all down hill and only a short section would be on the shoulder of the highway. It was so fun to coast at a high rate of speed down from the mountains into town. Then we toured back streets through town, looking at all the different homes as we worked our way back to the trailer. We spent the rest of the day swimming at the pool and being lazy in our trailer.
For dinner Nora picked out a restaurant from a flyer we had picked up that listed many of the local eating establishments. The food was reasonably priced and the menu appealed to everyone. When we got there for an early dinner around 5:00pm we parked right in front and walked in. We were seated at a big booth and the service was fast and friendly. Our meals were served very quickly and everyone loved what they ordered. Then after dinner we stopped at the dinosaur museum and rock shop, I found a piece of petrified wood in the shape of an egg and polished so that would be a souvenir gift for mom’s bowl of stone eggs when we get home. More swimming after dinner and we all went to bed rather early for a vacation night.
Wednesday we got up early again and this time we returned to Arches National Park before the sunrise. This time we spent time exploring Delicate Arch, which involves a hike of two miles in and an elevation gain of what looked to me like a thousand feet but Sandy thought it was more like five hundred feet. I’m sticking with a thousand, sounds more impressive, but she’s probably right. Because we were so early we were the only ones at what is most likely the most famous arch in the park, and that was a special treat, because later in the day the rangers limit how many people can actually approach the arch at a given time, and no one wants to take pictures of the arch with someone you don’t know standing in the view.
Sandy had to overcome some maternal fears, to get to the base of the arch you are literally walking on a steep side slope and one slip you could very well tumble over the edge to eternity, it’s guaranteed you would not live to tell about it. But we were all safe and when the first hikers behind us arrived on scene we left the arch for them to enjoy to themselves. We laughed and joked a lot on the way back to the Suburban and stopped at several other arches closer to the entrance. We enjoyed a picnic lunch behind one of the arches, Sandy had brought an apple, some cheese and crackers, plus we all had water bottles. It felt good to be doing healthy things on this vacation.
By late morning we were ready to head back to the trailer. We couldn’t take Olive with us on any of these trips into the National Park so she remained safe and secure back in our trailer. It’s not really a problem either, I don’t like being gone more than a half day at a time, and further more it’s just too hot to be outside all day. We returned to the trailer around lunch time and the rest of the day was spent hanging out at the pool. No one in this family does the fake and bake at the local tanning salon, so it was nice to be able to be pool side and get a little color on our skin the natural way. After five days in Moab sun both Colton and Nora have pretty impressive natural tans, at least compared to their friend’s back home.
Thursday morning we left early again, this time to ride the Klondike Bluffs trail. We had to drive north out of town. There we turned into a gravel parking lot and began our trek into the mountains. First we rode along a gravel road, and then it turned in a dry river bed that was impossible to ride our bikes in because the sand is as soft as powdered sugar, but red in color. After the sand wash section we climbed into a narrow box canyon and this is where the actual biking became a real challenge. Trying to ride over rough rocks, going over steps sometimes a foot high, and keeping our pedals from colliding with the rocks on the side was a real test of skills.
Finally when we broke out of the canyon we hit the bottom of a huge slick rock section, and we also encountered our first dinosaur footprints in the rock. I believe this was the highlight of the vacation for Sandy; she had wanted to see those footprints for a long time. To be able to see the detail they left behind, clearly seeing the shape of the foot, the indent from the claws, it was impressive. I didn’t do any homework to know how old these footprints were, they are formed in sand stone though and it’s incredible to think we are standing and riding our bikes in the exact same place these huge creatures used to live.
We climbed and climbed with our bikes, its slow going using the lowest gears our bikes have to make our way to the top of the ridge. All the time we have to go around huge cracks and faults. Finally near the top we all stopped for a well deserved snack. We had fresh apple, cheese and crackers, and always lots of water. We sat in the shade of a large juniper tree, so nice to be above the mosquitoes, and really I didn’t see any kind of flying bugs at all. After a good break we roared down the mountain; Colton and I have the suspension on our bikes to smooth things out, the girls just have to stand up on the pedals and let there knees be the suspension. What took an hour to climb went by in a blur and we were back at the canyon.
There we met a bunch of other mountain bikers who also were coming off the mountain. We followed them and learned there was second trail around the sand wash part we lugged our bikes through on the way up. On the bypass I had a blow out on my rear tire. I quickly replaced the tube with a new one and we were under way. By now the sun was really beating down on us and there was no escaping it. We started really cranking up when we hit the dirt road back to the parking lot but again I had another flat tire. Colton, Sandy and Nora rode on without me, I’d used my only spare tube I had with me, and when they got to the Suburban they would come back for me as I hiked out. Oh this was the last thing I wanted to do, walk in this hot desert sun with a bike I couldn’t ride. Just like my commuter bike at home, I may take my bike to Les Schwab when I get home and have them mount their new high tech super light weight solid tires, and never have to worry about flats again. Sandy and the kids met me up the road; we loaded my bike, and drove back to camp.
Then it was time for the pool and Sandy and Nora went back downtown. They had met a local woman who owns a pet store in town and she is also an artist. She had received a commission to do a sculpture in New Denver British Columbia, and she had never been there. We were able to tell her all about that little town, as it is one of our favorite hangouts when we are on our trips in BC. Sandy brought her travel brochures we had picked up and still had in our trailer from that area. We cooled off in the afternoon with shaved ice. This was the hottest day, 103 degrees.
Late in the evening the kids and I racked up the bikes and returned to slick rock for the second time. The kids (and I) are really into this slick rock riding adventure, so we had to get in one last loop, riding the same loop we had made the first time on Tuesday. It was nice to get up there just before sunset, and our biking skills had improved so much that we were able to bang out the 2.5 mile loop in just a half hour. The almost pure vertical climbs are hard on me, I have the muscle but I tend to run out of breath fast, and some of that is the elevation here, were operating at least a mile higher than at home. At the end of our ride we were treated to a great moon rise and sunset over the red rock, and we struck up a conversation with a young man from New Zealand who was filming the bike course with a helmet cam. We’ll try to remember his U-tube name (“CallmesideshowBob”) though his real name is Andrew and look up his video when we get home.
Nora and I decided to ride our bikes back to camp and let Colton drive the Suburban back. I tell you it’s a real hard thing for a dad to do, turn the keys over to a 16 year old son driving the most important piece of equipment you own. I shudder to think what would happen if we lost the use of our tow vehicle this far from home, but I do trust him and so I did. We actually caught up to him in town and we threw our bikes on the rack and then drove the last couple miles back to the campground.
The one thing I least expected to be a problem when we made plans for Moab would be that we would be tormented by the mosquitoes. Moab is in a canyon and the Colorado River flows right through it with lots of marsh land surrounding the river. We simply could not enjoy our time outside in the evening because the little bugs would suck you dry. And truthfully they seem to present even during the day, hanging out in the grass strips between the trailers. We also noticed that where ever we traveled through desert areas, all the green plants are very green, so in addition to lots of rain back home, my guess is the whole west coast including areas like Moab have received an abundance of moisture not normally associated with the desert.
So it was nice to jump in the Suburban and not have to worry about the mosquitoes as we approached the campground which is very near the river. When we were back at the campground I left the bikes racked on the Suburban, there was no way I could be outside long enough to transfer the rack and bikes to the back of the trailer; that would have to wait until morning. We’ve noticed that the sky was just full of bats at four in the morning when we made our previous excursions, so they must eat a lot of flying bugs every night, and that’s a good thing.
Our time in Moab was over; Friday morning we would start driving north again heading for home. The kids really enjoyed the desert this time, Nora really fell in love with the climate even though it was extremely hot for us. We all wished that it wasn’t so far for us to drive to, we would love to come again, and it’s a really hard thing for me to accept that I simply won’t have too many more opportunities to take our kids on long road trips. I’ve crunched the numbers for our trip and there is simply no way a family of four can fly to a location like Moab, stay at a hotel, rent a car, and use outfitters for excursions without it being double to triple what our vacation cost including our huge fuel bill to pull our trailer twenty five hundred miles round trip. Plus we have all the comforts of home, including our dog with us.
Friday morning we left before most of the folks in the resort were even up. I was concerned about the near seventy eight hundred foot pass we would have to climb along with the extremely hot temperatures topping 100 degrees, so it was nice to get going early. I forgot to fuel the Suburban in town and the one gas station just outside of town by the airport is a real rip off being thirty cents a gallon more than in town, so I threw ten gallons in just to get me safely to the next town with more fueling options. The drive over the big pass was uneventful, the scenery was spectacular. At the summit are the remains of an old railroad town or maybe a mining town, nothing is really left but you can see the foundations from the buildings. One old store remains standing and it clearly has the towns name still on the front, “Colton”. But we didn’t stop for a picture, we just kept on driving.
Soon we were coming into Spanish Fork and hooking back onto Interstate Fifteen going north. The speed limit on the interstates in Utah is seventy five miles per hour and people drive crazy there. As we made our way north to Salt Lake City we must have seen five or more wrecks on the freeway. I wonder how many of those were caused by driving distracted. I know Washington just passed the cell phone law that bans talking on cell phones while driving, but it was obvious to me these folks in Utah had no such law yet. Things happen real fast at 75 mph, but so long as no one dies or gets seriously hurt it’s probably good for the economy. We had some real stupid driving in front of us and around us as we made out way north, and twice we got caught in the slow downs from wrecks.
North of Salt Lake City we stopped for late breakfast, early lunch at a Cracker Barrel restaurant. I had told Sandy and the kids about this chain, I frequently eat at them when I’m on the road for work. It’s quality food, affordably priced, and typically good and fast service. The trick is you have to avoid buying stuff at the country store that accompanies each establishment because then your meal just gets expensive. But truthfully, they do have some unique things in their stores.
After ordering our meal was delivered quickly and it was crazy how much food came with each meal. Colton ordered the chicken fried chicken breakfast, I ordered the chicken fried steak, and Nora ordered eggs in toast. Nora’s meal came with hash brown casserole and bacon. Sandy’s, mine and Colton’s meal came with eggs, the same hash brown casserole, grits, and a huge platter of biscuits and a big bowl of country gravy. I didn’t think we could eat all that food, but we all shared and when we were all full there really was very little food left to be taken away. Everyone enjoyed the meal and the experience of dining at Cracker Barrel. We fueled across the road and hit he interstate going further north.
I was watching my GPS and I realized we were making pretty good time with our early start and it became obvious we could make it easily to Mtn. Home. Truthfully there isn’t much between Salt Lake and Twin Falls as far as RV destinations. Sandy called the state park at Bruneau Sand Dunes and found out it was a first come first serve and they had spaces available. So we pressed on hoping by the time we got here we would still be able to get a site on a Friday night.
Near the Idaho Utah state line we realized that we hadn’t seen a single car going the opposite way in a long time, and we came upon an accident scene where they were just cleaning up. We saw vehicles on the back of wreckers and several semis. Some were all burned up and we couldn’t even tell what they were. It must have been tragic because the interstate southbound was closed and all the traffic was being rerouted to an old road that involved a lengthy detour of nearly thirty miles.
We stopped at Loves Truck Stop in Burley for fuel and pressed on for the dunes hoping to get a camp site. Our GPS guided us in, it had been way too many years since I was last there and I wouldn’t have remembered how to get there any more. We got a nice big site in the Wagon Wheel campground and after dinner we drove over to the dunes and played on one of the small dunes before returning to the trailer just as the sun was setting. It was a five hundred mile driving day and I was happy to be in my old stomping grounds if just for one day. The mosquitoes were as bad in Idaho as they were in Utah, so when it got dark out we stayed inside.
I was totally surprised when my laptop showed it had Wi-Fi connectivity through the state park. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a state park that had Wi-Fi before. I used the opportunity to upload more of our vacation pictures on my web site. One thing for sure though, three of us slept great in Idaho, we could have the windows open wide while we slept, no more air conditioning. At ten thirty I had to get up and ask my neighbors to turn off their bright flood lights they had left on the outside of their trailer, it shone right in bedroom. There was a group of girls camping from a local church across the driveway form us and they were nice kids, but according to Sandy they never got quiet all night. I slept through that part, but they kept Sandy up much of the night.
Saturday morning after breakfast we drove back to the dunes to conquer the biggest dune there is. We parked down by the lake and had to walk along a trail covered by some kind of desert willows trees. Well, it was a quarter mile of walking through the thickest swarm of mosquitoes I’ve ever seen. Even running didn’t help us evade them. Finally we came out at the base of the big dune and the further we climbed the further we got away from those pests, and also enjoyed a wonderful cool breeze off the desert floor. It’s a real grind to climb the six hundred foot high sand dunes, about the same amount of energy as it took to ride the slick rock in Moab.
Nora made the summit first, and then I made it and then Sandy along with Colton. Colton and I watched as some other young kids made the climb and they almost ran to the top. Then when they were at the very cornice they played king of the mountain and tried to throw each other off. I would like to have that kind of energy again. I was just glad I could make the summit with my family. I know if I could perpetually stay on vacation I would be healthier than what I am now, it seems when we are on vacation even though we do enjoy our food and vacation treats, we are usually very active. It was fun to enjoy the view from the top, but it was also fun to take huge steps down the side of the dune on the way back down. Sadly at the bottom we had to run the gauntlet with the mosquitoes again, and though I had hoped we could spend two nights in this wonderful state park, the mosquitoes made me want to leave, and I could also tell that my family wanted to go home.
So we hooked up the trailer and left Bruneau Sand Dunes for Mountain Home Idaho where I lived and played the first couple years I was in the Air Force. The town had grown a lot since I was there thirty years ago. I had looked up my old Chief Master Sergeant (Chief Dow) before I left home and put his phone and address in my GPS and since we were in town getting groceries and had some time to spare I gave him a call. His wife answered and called him to the phone.
He still lived in the same home he had when I was an airman there and after Sandy did some grocery shopping we drove over to his home. I had always admired this man and I had always wanted him to know how my life turned out, and I finally got that chance. He retired from the Air Force and became a broker and financial advisor working out of Boise for many years. We met his grown children and he shared briefly all the travel and hobbies he and his wife had done in the last thirty years. I wasn’t surprised to see he was still driving the same pickup truck he had when I was an airman there in the early eighties, but his Ford F-150 had just recently had a new paint job and looked like brand new. After a nice visit with them we hit the road for what would be our shortest day on the road, leaving Idaho and spending the night in Baker City Oregon.
On one section of road through a construction zone we needed to stop for a bathroom break. Just as we slowed to exit a Suburban pulled along side us with a hand written note “Bike Falling Off”! We waved thank you and stopped immediately. Somehow Sandy’s bike had come loose at the front wheel and jumped out of the restraint. It had dropped down about a foot and was still secured by the rear wheel, but the front wheel was very near the road surface. Luckily it had not made contact with the road and I used an extra bungee cord to re-secure it to the bike rack frame. I know the swing action on the bike rack is exaggerated on the back of the trailer and I think I’m going to invest in a rear view camera one of these days, the price of those units has come down considerably and I sure love having that in the motor home I drive for Boeing.
We arrived at Baker City around dinner time, only driving 200 miles. Sandy used our trusty Trailer Life Directory to find a Good Sam Park and I recommend Mountain View RV for a place to spend the night and explore this historic town. After setting up the trailer we introduced ourselves to our neighbors, two ladies traveling with a Nissan van pulling a matching white T@B trailer on their way to Colorado. They were so nice, they even offered to baby sit Olive while we went into town for dinner out and touring.
But first the kids and I went to the pool for a swim. We had the place to ourselves and the water was great. Here in Baker City it wasn’t hot out like back in Moab, but the pool was definitely heated and very enjoyable. I guess I embarrassed the kids, because I made friends instantly with total strangers. Another family from Portland came to the pool with three young boys, they were on their way home from a family vacation in South Dakota and had trailer camped there and back through Wyoming, Idaho and now Eastern Oregon. I so enjoy meeting people and hearing about their travels and sharing our adventures, but I noticed Nora stayed a safe distance away from me as we chatted.
Their little boys were fun; I even played with one flipping him into the air and splashing back down in the pool. I asked him if he could stand on his head in the pool and he showed me he could. Then I did it too, but he said I didn’t do it right, because I was standing on my hands on the bottom and he wanted me to stand on my head not using my hands. I tried, but that hurt my head so he won. We then went to the hot tub, but it was really hot so I didn’t even go in, I wanted to stay cool.
Back at the trailer we got dressed for dinner out. As we drove I saw a bunch of young boys playing basket ball at a school yard, all wearing red shorts and red t-shirts. At first glance I thought how odd that school would be in session on Saturday night, it was then I realized there were behind a big chain link fence with razor wire on the top, these were not students so much as they were young prisoners. I jokingly asked the kids if they wanted to stop and talk to them through the fence. But truthfully my thoughts instantly go to the fact that most minors that get in trouble are a direct reflection of how they are raised, and it says more about the parents and family than it does about the kids.
We drove around the small town and looked at our eating options. We finally settled on a Chinese place, but Sandy was concerned that there didn’t appear to be any cars in the parking lot. The sign said open and I said at least we’ll get fast service. We bravely went in, like a lot of Chinese restaurants there were no windows, but it looked very nice inside. We were seated and ordered a big meal since we had completely skipped lunch and now it was already late at eight o’clock at night. Our meal took a long time to come, but it was worth it. Everything was cooked so fresh and tasted wonderful. The left over’s would be enjoyed for breakfast or later at home Sunday night.
After dinner we then drove to the local city park where Sandy had spotted an old fashioned Merry-Go-Round. In fact the city park had all the old steel play structures not commonly found these days. Our almost grown teenagers played like kids, and Sandy and I did too. I then walked over to the library where the creek runs right through town. A group of young folks who looked a “little rough” were lying in the grass next to the pedestrian bridge; I passed them and commented what a wonderful evening it was and I think it shocked them, though I admit I do that on purpose. I think sometimes young folks want the older generation to be afraid of them, but I’m not. Personally I think some people take a little longer to grow up than others, but I like to believe there is good in everyone.
By the time we got back to the trailer it was totally dark outside. I stayed up late writing my journal and enjoying the Wi-Fi the Mountain View RV provides. Though I had wanted to stay another day on the road I knew I had lost the battle and my family was determined to get home on Sunday. So we pulled out of Baker City and made tracks for home. The drive through the Blue Mountains this time was uneventful. We passed the location we broke down on the way south and our Suburban was running like it always does, great! It handles our heavy trailer so well and it will take more than a broken hose fitting to make me want to trade it in on a newer tow vehicle.
We rolled down the big grade into Pendleton and soon we were crossing the Columbia River back into Washington State. We stopped in Naches for gas, Sandy bought a big box of fresh picked cherries from a fruit stand while I fueled, and they were so good. We decided to go home over Chinook Pass and avoid I-82 and I-90. There was lots of snow at the summit still; Tipsoo Lake was still mostly covered in ice and snow. It’s pretty bumpy coming down Chinook Pass until you get to Crystal Mountain and then you can roll the legal limit with a trailer in tow.
We got caught in a traffic jam just four miles from home crossing the White River into Buckley, it was the Annual Loggers Day event in town, but it didn’t take long and we were pulling into our driveway after having driven 2483 miles. I joked with Sandy it’s not a good vacation unless you log 2000 miles or more. Remember she had wanted to go to Shaw Island in the San Juan’s for a quiet week camping on friend’s property (I balked at the $300 ferry fee). After getting unpacked and re-acquainted with all our farm animals I sat down and added up all the receipts I had for the trip on our credit card. We had burned just over three hundred gallons of fuel (310.61) at a total cost of nearly one thousand dollars ($985.71) at the average price of $3.17 per gallon for premium fuel. Doing the math that comes to 7.9 miles per gallon average, acceptable for what we are driving I suppose.
Our camping fees totaled $387.00 for nine days and though we ate out more than usual I still don’t like to include food into my expenses because we have to eat whether we are home or on the road. So not taking into account the cost of our trailer, our RV Vacation was still dollar for dollar much cheaper than any kind of flying, hotel and rental car type of vacation.
I stepped on the bathroom scale and I had actually lost a couple pounds in a week. Though I can’t recall or put to words all the fun we had I remember the many laughs we had along the way. Colton playing the kazoo in the back of the Burb doing his rendition of the blues, Sandy threatening to strike him in the back seat with his own riot baton he brought along on the trip, tears streaming down her face because secretly she was laughing but she didn’t want him to know. A week of living together in the close quarters of our trailer (less than 300 square feet) there are the moments you’d rather forget, but mostly the moments I choose to remember.
My kids are great and though my wife might not agree, no definitely wouldn’t agree, but I would leave again tomorrow if I could on another adventure with them. It’s good to be home though. Love Dad.