Maiden Voyage: Day 3 on the Road

Saturday, 3 July 2010

Greetings from somewhere on I-80 in Nebraska.  We’re about 100 miles from North Platte, where we hope to replenish groceries before continuing onto Doniphan (near Grand Island) where we have reservations at the KOA for a 50-amp pull-through site.

Despite the whoosh-whoosh of the highway traffic, and the occasional toot-toot of passing trains, I fell into a deep slumber once I wrapped things up and went to bed last night.  At 4:00a, the sound of strong winds rattling the RV woke us up.  To be expected I suppose when you’re in the middle of vast, flat plains.  It was a little unnerving at first, but we soon got used to the noise and fell asleep again until the alarm sounded at 6:30a.

We took it easy this morning, getting a later start than we had initially planned.  But, the time was put to good use.  We got the internet code from the office and while I checked in with loved ones, Mui cleaned off the bug spatter on the windshield.  A thankless job, but it has to be done.

While we had wi-fi access, we also checked out towns about 500 miles [800 km] from Rawlins, Wyoming and then used our Woodall’s directory to find a campsite for tonight.  Having the CD version of the directory installed on the laptop has sure made finding a place to stay easy as pie.  That accomplished, we pulled up stakes, so to speak, and headed back onto I-80E.  It was 9:15a; the wind was blowing strong; the temp was 72F [22C].

We’re on I-80 all the way from Rawlins, Wyoming to Doniphan, Nebraska.

Our drive thus far has been through wide open spaces again.  We’re savoring these days as they will soon be but a distant memory.  The puffy white clouds dotting the blue sky have been a source of entertainment; as have the multitude of cattle grazing in the fields of both states.  Line after line of snowdrift barriers on the south side of the highway in Wyoming were a testament to the strong winds that we had a taste of in the wee hours of the morning.

Roadside scenery in Wyoming.

Snowdrift barriers are everywhere.

These granite rock formations near Laramie are named Vedauwoo.
(the name comes from Arapaho and means “Land of the Earthborn Spirit.”)

Wide open spaces and entertaining clouds.

We stopped for lunch at the Nebraska Welcome Center.  Up until now, we’ve not had to use the generator to power the A/C for our mid-day breaks, but the 98F [37C] temp today was a deal breaker.  We made quick work of our salad and sandwich lunch in order to squeeze in time for our grocery shopping at the Wal-Mart Super Center in North Platte.  Speaking of which … we’re about to take the exit into town.  But first, a few more photographs from this afternoon.

Roadside oil rig in Nebraska.

A grain elevator welcomes visitors to Chappell.
(population 878 in 2008)

More later ...

Later … Grand Island KOA

We were a bit later arriving at the campground than we had hoped, but all for a good reason.  Our groceries are replenished and we’re set for the rest of the trip.

After completing our shopping at Wal-Mart, we drove the remaining miles to Doniphan, near Grand Island.  About five miles out from the campground, we stopped to fill up, and more importantly, rid the windshield of the mess of bug spatter covering it.  This was our worse day for bugs committing suicide on our windshield — perhaps because of the cattle farms we passed en route.

The Grand Platte River Road Archway Monument
brings the “westward migration to life.”

What a mess!!!

When you don’t have a truck plaza handy, you have to be resourceful.

It was 9:15p when we pulled into the nearly-at-capacity Grand Island KOA.  A note above the after-hours registration box warned that there were no sites left that would accommodate big rigs, and that only pop-ups and tent campers were welcome at this time.  Having made reservations, this wasn’t a problem for us.  Within minutes we were parked in site 21.

There are 125 sites here, all shaded by mature trees.  The rather narrow pads are separated by grass strips.  At a nightly rate of $37 dollars, this is the most expensive campground of the trip yet.  I have to admit that my initial impression is not very positive.  Can’t quite put my finger on why.  Maybe it’s because the place seems very crowded.  Or maybe I’m just tired since this is our second late night arrival in a row.  In any event, it’s fine for a one night stay.

After setting up, we made short work of dinner — frozen entrees and some wine.  Then, we cranked up the laptop and took advantage of the free wi-fi to check in with family and friends.  Next, we pulled out the maps to figure out tomorrow night’s stop.  Adjusting our route to drive through Iowa before dropping into southern Illinois, we found a campground near Galesburg and made note of the phone number to call for a reservation tomorrow morning.

And so we’ve made it past 11:30p — another night without a chance to kick back and relax.  But we knew in advance this was likely going to be the case.  Pleasure RVing is just going to have to wait until next time.

A sunset shot to bid you goodnight.

We’re at the mid-point of our trip.  It’s been pretty smooth so far; keeping fingers crossed that it stays that way.

Start Odometer	End Odometer	Day’s Mileage
9631	10147	516 [826 km]

Statistics for Today

Next Up … Maiden Voyage: Day 4 on the Road

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

Bringing the Phaeton Home

Wednesday, 30 June 2010

Two more hours and we’ll be in San Francisco.  A connecting flight from there will take us to Portland, Oregon where the Phaeton has been in storage since mid-May.

Family and friends have been calling this trip a vacation.  I wish it were.  The purpose of our cross-country flight is to pick up the Phaeton and drive it back to Virginia.  Why can’t the maiden voyage of the coach be a vacation you might ask?  Vacations are supposed to be filled with exploration and adventure.  Unfortunately we don’t have time for that this time.

The flight has been uneventful thus far — that’s the best kind of flight, isn’t it?  Hoping to get better seats, we arrived at Dulles International early.  (The seats we pre-selected mysteriously disappeared from our reservation.)  Our strategy worked; sort of.  We upgraded to Economy Plus (E+) seats — exit row no less — for the San Fran leg; but we weren’t able to do any better for the Portland leg than the last row aisle seats I’d had to settle for during online check-in.  Oh well; it’s just a short flight, so we’ll survive.

It turns out that this Airbus 320 will take us all the way to Portland.

With our new seat assignments in hand, we headed off to get a late lunch.  Strolling up and down terminals C and D — stretching our legs before a nearly 6-hour flight seemed like a good idea — we checked out the various eateries before settling on Gordon Biersch.  My crab cake burger was quite tasty; Mui seemed happy enough with his half turkey sandwich and cup of chicken noodle soup.  A post-lunch stroll; a short wait at the gate.  Before we knew it, we were aboard United Flight 915 for an on-time departure at 4:00p.

The $59/person E+ upgrade has been worth its weight in gold!  Our exit row seats on this A320 have even better legroom than the first class seats we passed on the way to the economy cabin.

No complaints about the legroom on this leg of our flight.

After we reached flight altitude, we placed our bags on the floor to use as foot rests and settled down to watch The Ghost Writer (starring Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, and Kim Cattral).  The movie was full of suspense and kept our attention, but the plot was a bit convoluted for in-flight entertainment.

This flight’s scheduled to cover 2,419 miles [3,870 km] in 5 hours and 46 minutes. It will take us considerably longer than that to make the return trip in the Phaeton.  Not complaining mind you; we’re looking forward to our maiden voyage.

More later …

Later … aboard UA 544 to Portland

Call it what you want … a demotion … a downgrade … whatever.  From the exit row with extra legroom to the very last row of the economy cabin.  To add salt to the wound, the aircraft that is taking us to Portland is the same one that brought us to San Fran.  And the same crew as well.  Too bad we couldn’t have just stayed aboard and retained our seats.  Oh well; at least we’re on the aisle and not stuck in middle seats.  Besides, flight time is less than two hours, so we’ll survive.  Especially since we have 40-feet [12 m] of legroom to look forward to on our return trip (wink, wink).

UA 915 landed in San Fran about 6:15p, 30 minutes ahead of schedule.  After checking the departures board for our next gate assignment (surprise; it was the same one at which we deplaned), we headed to the food court for a quick bite to eat.  Nothing fancy —  a bit of Chinese food to share; a scoop of ice cream for dessert.  By the time we were at the gate for UA 544 to Portland, it was almost time to board the aircraft.

airplanes flying inside San Francisco Airport?
not really, they’re just for decoration.

chocolate or vanilla?

Boarding was the usual chaos times three, with announcements from three adjacent gates mixing and mingling in the already noisy terminal.  Our at-capacity flight pushed back on time and was wheels up at 8:20p.  No movie this time; just some TV programming.  I opted to blog instead.

We’re already on descent into Portland, so more later …

Later … Red Lion hotel, Portland airport

UA 544 was on the ground ten minutes ahead of schedule.  We were the last to deplane; except for the crew, that is.  We wasted no time locating the shuttle for the Red Lion and making our way to the hotel.  Check-in was swift and soon we were in room 263A.

The room is nice enough — clean and it has all the amenities one might want for an overnight stay.  We could use a couple of stepstools to climb into bed, though.

The Red Lion is convenient to the Portland Airport.

Where’s the stepstool?

Anyway, that wraps up our travel day.  Our body clocks are three hours behind Portland time; bedtime is at hand.  Tomorrow we pick up the Phaeton from storage and begin a new chapter in our travel adventures.

Next Up … Maiden Voyage: Day 1 on the Road