May 12th, 2024 - Travel to Canada

 Another beautiful morning to travel.  After packing up, we headed north.  Past farms:

Past the pines:

More farms - I just love farm houses and barns:

Into the mountains we shall go:

Isn't he just the cutest?!

To the border crossing:

We were in line for about 45 minutes.  When we got to the crossing, we were asked the usual questions:

• Where are we going?
• How long will we be in Canada?
• Do we have any alcohol or tobacco products?
• Do we have any guns?
• Do we have any ammunition?
• Do we have any pepper spray or tasers?
• Do we have pets?
• Are they fully vaccinated?
• Have a great time!

And away we went...

We continued our journey:

We made a stop at the Chilliwack Walmart for essentials and food.

When crossing into Canada, there is a list of items that could not be taken so we did not take!  But we were not even asked about them - You never know!  

We arrived at Camperland RV Resorts and Cabins - Passport America Park (which means we get a site for 50%) in Rosedale and set up.  Since it was early, we decided to take a road trip around the area.

Harrison Lake:

Love the next two pictures - they almost look painted:

Harrison Lake area is beautiful but it reminded me of a beach town.  Since today is Sunday, it was crazy busy so we moved on to Deer Lake area:

Look who we found - or maybe he found us:

We picked up some firewood and made our way back home.  Here is our spot:

This is really a nice park.  Sites are spacious and private.  I would definitely stay here again.

Our view:

What a great day!  Tomorrow we continue our journey north so stay tuned and enjoy today.

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 87 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Washington: Riverside Drive; College Way; I-5; WA-542; WA-9

Canada - British Columbia: BC-11; CA-1; Bridal Falls Road

May 9 - 11, 2024 Mount Vernon, Washington

We debated on when to leave today (May 9th) because of the traffic situation in the Seattle metro area.  Oh My Goodness, it is always crazy here..

So after dumping our tanks, we were on our way.  Another great weather day - Mount Rainer:

Traffic, Traffic, Oh My!  We just moved very slowly for MILES!:

As we continued our journey and going north on I-5.. we were able to see Mount Baker - Beautiful!:

Once we got past Arlington, it was smooth sailing.. and the scenery was beautiful:

We arrived at the Mount Vernon Elks Lodge, talked with Sandy, the camp host, found our spot, and set up.  We needed some parts and supplies so Andy did those errands - thank you Andy.

We ended the day with dinner and drinks at the Lodge.

Stats for May 9th:

Miles Traveled: 94 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Washington: Main Avenue;  WA-167, I-405; I-5; E. Collage Way; Market Street 

The last two days were spent preparing and planning for our trip to Alaska.  Mostly it was planning our trip thru Canada.  The ALCAN is shut down around Fort Nelson because of wildfires so we will be keeping track of that.

So tomorrow we plan to cross the border into Canada and head north.  Not sure how much internet I will have but I will update when I can.  We are excited!!

Stay tuned and enjoy today.

Happy Mother's Day!

May 6 - 8, 2024 New Inverter and Preparations

On Monday, May 6th, we left our family and headed south.  The weather was rainy and "crappy".  We pulled into the Puyallup Elks, dumped our tanks and settled in.

After setting up we did do a check on where we needed to be tomorrow and just hung out.

Miles Traveled: 61 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Washington:  WA-9; WA-522; I-405; WA-167; WA-410; Main Avenue

On Tuesday, May 7th, we made our way to Infinity Coach in Sumner, Washington.  If you have been following, we have had issues with our inverter/charger for a while now.  Last month, it really gave us problems and we knew we needed something new.  I am not going to give you the details but we found Infinity Coach and made an appointment...over a month ago.

So today we arrived and there was not a record of our appointment BUT...the folks that we talked with do remember our situation and they did our assessment.  Honestly, I figured that we would have to wait a week or so but they did it that day!!!  WOW! 

Have to give a shout out to the young lady who did all our work.  I am always excited when I see young women in a field that typically were all men.  Good for you.

We spent some time talking with the owner, Jim, about his parents, the business and RVing.  What a great guy and we HIGHLY RECOMMEND if you have any problems with your RV.

We ended up back at the Elks later that day and decided that we would stay here another night or two - just to be sure everything worked.

Happy Anniversary to us - 36 years!  No we did not do anything special but that was okay.  

On Wednesday, we both did some chores around the motorhome and truck, phone calls, some future planning, etc.  

I did a grocery run and saw that "the mountain was out"!  Coming home, I called Andy and said "put your shoes on, lock the motorhome, and I will pick you up - we are going for pictures"!

Our spot at the Elks:

Me, coming in to pick him up:

Mount Rainer in all its glory!

It almost looks fake, doesn't it.

It is a nice weather day when the mountain is out.  The local news will say "Great weather today, the mountain is out."  Remember, this is the Pacific Northwest, where there is lots of clouds and rain.

But when you have a clear day, the view is SPECTACULAR!

Tomorrow we head north so stay tuned and enjoy today.

May 3 - 5, 2024 Spending Time with Family

On May 3rd, 2024, we left our spot in Richland and headed west.

Wineries and Vineyards that went for miles:

The hill folds were caused by the Ice Age Floods.  Just heard about them yesterday so I need to check it out when we come back.  But imagine this - 1200' of water here and they figure it happened over 40 times.  Wow!  That is also why the soil is so rich.

Lots of farming:

Check out that mountain in the background:

Many rivers and lakes:

Nice roads - wonder where they go:

Going up:

And heading down:

WOW! Pictures do not do this justice:

An animal bridge!!!

Heading up to Snoqualmie Pass: 

Coming down the other side:

Spring!

Coming into the city - Yikees!

We made it to our daughter's place and spent the next few days getting caught up.  It was so great to see everyone.  Thank you Sandy and Mike.  We will see you on the way back.

We did take some time to get some pictures.

Love this picture of Mike's Mom, Sandy, and me.  We were laughing at something.

For years we got together with her and Raul in Yuma and had lots of laughs!  We figured it was 8 years since we saw each other.  I was off the road for a while and now she is off the road.  It was good to see her.

All of us:

The Grands:

The Great-Grands:

What a wonderful time!

Stats for May 3rd:

Miles Traveled: 242 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Washington: Columbia Park Trail; I-182, I-82; I-90; I-405; WA-522;  WA-9

Tomorrow we head south before we head north so stay tuned!