Maiden Voyage: Day 2 on the Road

Friday, 2 July 2010

Greetings from Utah!

Today is a three-state day on the road.  We’ve already traversed through Idaho and are now driving along the Willard Reservoir, which is part of the Great Salt Lake of Utah.  We’ll be crossing just a small portion of this state as we make our way to Wyoming for our next overnight stop.  We have tentative reservations for a 50-amp site at Warren AFB in Cheyenne, but we’re probably going to stop before then. (There’s about a 100-mile [160 km] discrepancy between what the Garmin is giving us as yet-to-be-driven miles and what the signs on the road are indicating.)  So, our new goal for the day is Rawlins.

Our Route from Boise, Idaho to Rawlins, Wyoming takes us on I-84 and I-80.

With another long day’s drive ahead of us, we didn’t waste time starting the second day of our cross-country journey.  At 8:00a, well rested after a good night’s sleep, we were pulling out of the RV park in Boise.  The park is well off the interstate, so it took us about 30 minutes of in-town driving to get on I-84E.

The temp was a breezy 62F [17C] when we left the campground this morning; the skies were clear with fair weather clouds adding interest.  As the day progressed, the skies remained clear, but the temps rose steadily.  By the time we stopped for lunch at the Juniper rest area at milepost 269 in Idaho (just shy of the Utah state line), the temp gauge was reading a hot 92F [33C].  Scrapping plans to eat at one of the picnic tables, we enjoyed our soup and salad lunch in the comfort of the Phaeton.

Typical scenery as we head from Idaho to Utah.
(the dashboard does make a good alternative to the dryer!)

On the menu … red pepper & tomato soup and green salad.

Western Kingbird at the Juniper rest area.
(thanks to empress ziti for the id)

The drive has been uneventful thus far … the best kind.  We passed through wide open flatlands, with little to no human population.  That’s going to change as we get closer to the eastern half of the US, so we’re savoring every moment. Once we hit Utah, the mountainous terrain added interest to our drive. 

amongst the amenities that Truck plazas offer …
fast diesel pumps and long handled squeegees.

“U” is for Utah!
(tip: look at the mountain on the left side)

One of the things we were concerned about when we were making plans for this cross-country trip was that we’d be doing it over the 4th of July.  What would the holiday traffic be like?  We certainly expected that it would pick up today, but that hasn’t been the case at all.  It’s been quite light all day.  Not that we’re complaining mind you.

That there was little construction to contend with along the way has been an additional boon — just a couple of patches, and even then, the single lane of eastbound traffic in those spots always moved at a steady pace.

We’re now on I-80, the second-longest interstate highway in the US (after I-90).  We’re also in our third and final state for the day.  We’ve been passing a steady stream of wind farms since we entered the state.  A lot of people don’t like these farms; they say the wind turbines spoil the scenery.  I disagree.  Besides, they’re a great source of eco-friendly power — how can anyone take issue with that?

Personally, I like the wind farms that dot the landscape.

The wind turbines look deceptively small from a distance …

… but just take a look at this propeller;
it’s one of three that is attached to a turbine.
(darn shutter lag!  I really did click before the truck passed us.)

The scenery is getting more and more interesting.  I’m going to stop blogging now and see what’s what around me.  More later …

Later … 50 miles from Rawlins on I-80

It’s 8:00p.  I’d hoped that we’d be at the RV park the next time I pulled out the laptop, but no can do.  Instead, we’re still on I-80, part of a long, long, long line of vehicles … so long, in fact that the vehicles ahead and behind us look like matchbox cars.  There’s no traffic moving in either direction.

The line up of big rigs behind us look like train cars.

Can you see the head of the line of vehicles ahead of us?
I certainly can’t!

The Phaeton waits patiently for the traffic to start moving again …

… and so do I!

We’ve been at a complete standstill, our engine turned off, for 30 minutes now. With all hopes of arriving at the campground in Rawlins before the office closes at 9:00p dashed, a few minutes ago we called and made a reservation to guarantee a site for the night.  Good thing we decided early on not to go all the way to Cheyenne!

Around us, people are walking dogs on the westbound lanes of the highway or entertaining kids that are putting up a fuss after a long day of driving.  As for us, we just finished eating dinner.  That’s the beauty of traveling in a self-contained unit.  Are we enjoying the delay in our travel plans?  No, but at least we feel like we’re getting things done while we helplessly await the re-opening of I-80.

I’m even going to use this time to get caught up on the blog from where I left off earlier.

After all the flatlands we’ve driven through, the rock formations of Utah and Wyoming were a nice change of pace.  Near Green River, we even had some red rocks from the very northern tip of Flaming Gorge adding color to the scenery.

From wide open spaces …

… to interesting formations …

… to layered rocks in the Green River area.

Tollgate Rock towers over I-80.

to the right of the Green River Tunnel entrance is Castle Rock.

I’m no Ansell Adams, but I like the B&W treatment of this photo.

Westbound traffic is starting to whiz by.  Granted there’s quite a bit of delay between seeing vehicles, but it looks like we might be on the move soon.  More later …

Later … Western Hills Campground

We’re set up for the night.  I’m too keyed up to go to bed, so I’ll relax a bit by finishing up this blog entry.

Around 8:15p, we started seeing vehicles coming down the westbound lanes of I-80.  With a couple more clicks of the shutter, I put the camera away and we settled into the cockpit to start driving again.

First vehicles heading west.  There’s hope that we’ll be moving soon.

I’m a sucker for sunset shots.

It was another 15 minutes before the traffic ahead of us had moved enough for us to start rolling.  Once we got going, we moved at a steady pace through the 14-mile [22 km] construction zone.  With the westbound traffic using one of the two lanes on our side of the highway, we were traveling slower than the posted speed limit, but at least we were moving.  From the time we started rolling to when we passed the last vehicle in the westbound queue was 30 minutes (we were averaging 50-55 mph; you do the math to calculate how far we were backed up).

It turns out that the cause of the back up was a jackknifed travel trailer.  With the westbound lanes of I-80 closed to traffic, it must have taken a small miracle to get emergency vehicles in there to reach the people in the vehicle and move the trailer and it’s tow-truck onto the grass median.  Personal belongings strewn about the side of the road were testament to the serious nature of the wreck.  Hopefully, the driver/passengers were not badly hurt .

I did say that I’m a sucker for sunsets; this one’s looking west.

We pulled into the Western Hills Campground around 9:45p.  With only 92 sites, this is a smaller campground than the one we stayed in last night.  It’s also much closer to the highway.  We’re in site 134 for $27/night.  It’s an all gravel, pull-through site with no concrete pads, trees, or other obstructions to present a challenge when maneuvering into the space.  In other words, ideal for a late night arrival.  That there’s 50-amp service is good as we needed to cool the interior of the coach down after a hot day on the road.

This is where we spent the night.
(photo taken on 3 July)

We were set up within 15 minutes, water and electricity hooked up, and all items on the arrival checklist taken care of.  Mui, who has the ability to just drift off to sleep once he sits down, went to bed almost immediately.  I don’t have that talent, so I stayed up to finish the blog and send a few emails.  The latter wasn’t meant to be.  Internet here requires an access code.  Unlike last night’s RV park, there was no after-hours packet waiting for us.  We’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning to get the code so we can let friends and family know that another day of traveling has been successfully concluded.  Luckily, I can write the blog offline.

Until tomorrow … goodnight!

Start Odometer	End Odometer	Day’s Mileage
9037	9631	594 [950 km]

Statistics for Today

Oh by the way … wildlife sightings today consisted of one chirping bird; and four deer, all victims of vehicular traffic.  To end on a positive note, though, we did see three deer grazing roadside just before we turned into the campground.

Next Up … Maiden Voyage: Day 3 on the Road

Maiden Voyage: Day 1 on the Road

Thursday, 1 July 2010

The year was 1985.  We were living in Utah.  That fall, we flew to NYC, rented a car, and went touring.  Our trip looped through DC, Niagara Falls, and New England.  Somewhere along the way, we stopped to visit Old Fort Erie.  As we waited for the National Park Service Ranger to begin a presentation that would bring the War of 1812 alive, we chatted with a couple seated on the grass next to us.  It turns out that they had taken a sabbatical from work, bought an RV, and were touring the US and Canada for the next year.

That was it … that was when our dream to wheel around North America was born.  Twenty five years later, we’re starting to realize that dream.  We bought the coach; now it’s time to take it back to Virginia so we can enjoy having a “condo on wheels” to explore all the wondrous sights we’ve yet to see.

Let the cross-country drive begin …

Our route from Portland, Oregon to Boise, Idaho is on I-84.

Too excited to sleep in, we were up before the alarm went off at 6:30a.  We didn’t waste time getting ready for the day ahead, yet we seemed to be moving in slow motion.  A three hour time zone change will do that to you!  It was 8:00a by the time we got around to having breakfast at the Pacific Grill (adjacent to the Red Lion).  It turns out that this was another “we don’t have single eggs” place (see this blog post for the inside joke).  At least it wasn’t a dive; the patrons didn’t look at us like we’d just landed from outer space; and the food was good.  So, no real complaints.

Mui had stocked the Phaeton’s kitchen with dry goods in May, but we needed to get some fresh groceries and stuff.  To make the most of our time, we devised a plan to divide and conquer.  I went grocery shopping at the Trader’s Joe near the storage facility; Mui went to prepare the motorhome for the road.  Our timing was perfect — I was waiting for him curbside with the shopping cart when he turned onto the side street near the shopping strip.  A few minutes to load up the groceries and we were on our way out of Portland.  It was 9:45a and we were about an hour behind schedule, but so be it for our first day.  Soon we were on I-84E, driving through the beautiful Columbia Gorge.

(Apologies in advance for any spots on the photos; most were taken through the bug-spattered windshield.)

And we’re off.  Does Mui look happy or what?

Glimpse of the Columbia Gorge … albeit a hazy one.

The John Day Dam is one of the hydroelectric dams that span the Columbia River.

A wind farm on the Washington side of the Columbia River.

The drive has been pleasant and easy as we continue to roll down I-84.  Traffic has been negligible.  We’ve passed a lot of RVs of all classes and sizes — not a common sight in the suburbs of DC.  The overcast skies of Portland have been replaced with blue skies, enhancing the beautiful scenery.  We even had a few wildlife sightings along the way — ospreys nesting on the Columbia River; a big horn ram with an impressive set of horns grazing roadside.

The Columbia River is the longest river in North America that drains into the Pacific.

I had to chuckle at the way the sign is worded.
(the building belongs to Pendleton Grain Growers)

The temp was a dry 75F [24C] when we were summiting the Blue Mountains at 4,193 feet [1,258 m].  Now that we’re on the flatlands, it’s warmed up considerably, but it’s still comfortable enough that we have no need of the A/C.

We made a few stops at rest areas to give Mui a chance to stretch his legs, and had sandwiches for lunch during one of those breaks.  We are otherwise sticking to our plan to just drive straight through without dallying for sightseeing. With Mui assuring me that driving the Phaeton is easy and pure pleasure, I’ve been able to put the footrest up on the passenger seat and relax with plenty of legroom. :-))))

Blogging in comfort!

Happy honeymooning!

Still in Oregon; still on I-84.

We have miles to go before we call it a day.  More later …

Later … Hi Valley RV Resort

One state is behind us … there are many more waiting to be traversed.

It’s 10:00p.  A few words to wrap up today’s post and then I’m off to bed to get some rest.  Aside from a bit of “coach rock” (similar to the dock rock one might experience after a cruise), we’re both feeling pretty good.  But as the adrenaline from having accomplished a successful first day of RVing starts to recede, the weariness is setting in and the bed is looking better and better with each passing minute.

Around 6:30p, we pulled into the Snake River View rest area (milepost 1) in Idaho.  Cranking up the Woodall’s camp directory I’d installed on the laptop, we searched for RV parks in the vicinity of Boise.  Since we restricted the search to “big rig friendly” campgrounds with 50 amp and internet service, we got two options.  We picked the smaller of the two (194 sites vs 224 sites) and called the Hi Valley RV Resort to make a reservation — $31.10/night with our Good Sam discount.  From what I’ve read on the blogs, that’s probably a bit on the high side, but we’re OK with slightly higher rates on this trip.

Our accommodations for the night set, we took a bit of a breather and walked to the overlook to check out the views of the Snake River before getting back on the road again.

Mui and the Big Rig!

The rest area has an expansive view of the Snake River.

The Snake River is the largest and longest tributary of the Columbia River.

We would have arrived at Hi Valley around 8:00p, but en route we stopped at a Lowe’s to pick up an essential item that we’d been unable to pack in our carry-on bags — a lightweight stepladder that Mui could use to remove the bodies of the bugs that had committed suicide by flying into our windshield (may they rest in peace). Hence, it was 9:00p by the time we pulled into the RV park.

We still had plenty of daylight by which to set up the Phaeton for our first campground experience.  The office was already closed, but the manager had left us a packet in the night box with all of the essential information, including a map showing us where to find site 39.  Though not especially wide, the pull-through site turned out to be easy enough to maneuver into (despite one small tree branch) and there was plenty of room to deploy our slideouts.

Parked for the night!

Going through our arrival checklist, we made short work of setting up camp.  I have to admit that I was impressed with Mui’s knowledge of what needed to be done, when and in what order.  Seeing him in action, one would have thought that he’s an old hand at this.  He’s been doing his homework and that paid off tonight.

Let’s get the utilities connected!

Once on shore power, we engaged the A/C to cool the rear half of the coach.  After putting water on for pasta, Mui went outside to clean the windshield.  I used the time to unpack the two carry-on bags with which we’d traveled to Portland.  There wasn’t much to put away, so I made short work of that chore and then went about setting the table for dinner.  By the time the windshield was sort of pristine, the pasta was ready to serve.  We would like to have savored our first meal aboard the Phaeton, but that will have to wait until another time.  There just wasn’t any time for the niceties tonight.

Make sure you get all the bugs off; I need a clean windshield to take pictures!

Now to get some shuteye in preparation for another long day on the road tomorrow.

Start Odometer	End Odometer	Day’s Mileage
8603	9037	434 [694 km]

Statistics for Today

Next Up … Maiden Voyage: Day 2 on the Road