On the road with Herman. Bought a trailer. Couldn't pull it. Bought another trailer. (More cost effective than buying a new truck!) So far, can pull it. Spent 2 weeks cleaning, fixing, stocking, learning. Rolled out of Eugene on 9/7 to start a 5 week road trip. People ask, "Where are you going?" The reply, "Four Corners." The point where Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado intersect is our metaphorical destination. And, all points in between or around. In reality after turning right at my sister's place in Tetonia, Idaho, we have no itinerary, schedule or plan. We will go where the wind blows, the sun rises or sets and the whim takes us. We'll let Herman, the wonder dog, point and we'll follow.
For our first stop and our inaugural stay in the Chalet we stayed with our dear friends, Kristy and Jim. They have recently traded life on their floating home on the Columbia Canal for acreage in St. Helens. Graciously offered the guest bedroom, we chose to stay in the trailer making sure all systems work and to test our organizational skills. There IS a learning curve to life in a 6 x 12 ft space. This Chalet Arrowhead, built in 2002 in Albany, Or, is a hard sided folding trailer complete with 3 burner stove, propane furnace, shower, hot water heater, and 3-fuel source (110v, 12v, or propane) refrigerator. Open it has 8 ft of central headroom, a dinette that drops to a queen bed and a couch that expands to a double. Thirty seconds to drop the walls and collapse the roof, it sits low and wide with little drag and minimal sway, easy to tow.
Then it was on to mooch off old friends, Morris and BJ, in White Salmon, Wa. Always the gracious hosts, we drove the Fruit Loop checking out the local orchards, and picnicked on the banks of the Columbia. And sensitive to our needs, altho vegetarian bordering on vegan, they prepared wonderful shrimp scampi to accompany our meals of fresh black eyed peas and quinoa.
After that, we descended on friends, Carl and Nancy, near Enterprise. We got to hang out at their wonderful home full of objects de art and at the "farm" where they grow much of the vegetables they serve at their restaurant, Caldera, in Joseph. Herman got a taste of ranch life chasing deer, leading the pickup to the barn and becoming intimately familiar with the electric fence.
Fast forward to today, Sept. 14. Sitting outside our little Chalet in a gravel pull thru at Country RV Village lined up like dominoes with other assorted RVs, pickup campers and motorhomes. The sound of I-84 behind me quickly becoming white noise. Dinner of Zaterann's Dirty Rice pimped with chopped up sausage left over from this morning and beautiful homegrown bell pepper and jalapeno from our White Salmon stop, along with garlic and onion brought from Eugene, is simmering on the Coleman.
We drove here from Boise after buying a new car battery at Les Schawbs. Had a little "....rrrrrrrrrr" trying to turn over this morning when we tied to leave Grayback Gulch, a forest service camp ground about 30 miles north of town on Hwy 21 toward Stanley, ID. Our first boondocking, all trailer systems worked A-ok. Even the heater. It got into the low 30's!! Didn't want to get stuck in this or any other isolated location so asked the "volunteer", the retired auto pait and polish salesman who camps there 26 weekends a year and "helps out the ranger" picking up trash and talking up the visitors, where the Les Schwab was in Boise. Of course he knew exactly which exit to take and gave an unsolicited yet welcomed inservice on car vs trailer and 12v vs 6v battery systems.
Our plan was to go visit my sister in Tetonia, ID but it seems I miscalculated the amount of time it would take to get there and she is up to her eyeballs in alligators with work, officiating at a race, and multiple social commitments in Jackson, WY (over a mountain pass I don't want to negotiate to join her). So, we are dropping south toward Salt Lake aiming for Canyon Lands National Park. (subject to change at any time).
I have reactivated this blog at the encouragement of several friends who have expressed interest in where we go and what we do. I have often wondered in the past, just who reads or cares. Some folks complain, "there's too many words". So, in reality, I guess I do this for me! I have always tried to maintain a journal when traveling, not just to have reference for future nostalgia but also as an outlet and activity that entertains and helps keep me focused and engaged. I hope you enjoy reading and, please feel free to comment (no rudeness!) or email me directly with questions, salutations, or requests for more boring details.
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