FREE StationeryOur First Extended RV Trip – Part 1
Jan 16th, 2009 – It’s time to leave.
It’s finally time to leave. We’ve spent the last 5 plus days planning and packing for the trip. We’ve even gotten some great tips and advice from Wes’ folks who have been taking these long trips for years now. Still, we can’t help but be a little anxious and excited all at the same time.
The Plan:
The plan is to meet up with Wes’ parents at the first rest area after crossing into Oregon from Washington on I-5. From there we plan on following them in their 5th Wheel (5er) down I-5 into CA. From there we plan on cutting across to Laughlin NV for a week and then head up to Las Vegas for another week. Once we finish in Vegas, we will decide based on expected weather, how to head back north to Tacoma and Spokane to finish the trip.
We have reservations in Laughlin at the Avi Casina Campground for Jan 24th and at the Oasis in Las Vegas for Jan 31st. This gives us lots of extra travel time so we can loiter as we wish and take side trips if we see an opportunity. Other than that, our stops will be planned on a daily basis as the weather and scenery present themselves.
Sounds like a lot of fun… don’t you think?
Starting out in the Snow:
It had been snowing in Spokane and most of WA State now for weeks. We caught a little of it in Tacoma on our maiden voyage, but missed the real heavy stuff in Eastern WA. Since we got back to Spokane, it had continued to snow off and on, but just in small doses as a time. Still, the first couple hundred miles of our journey would be on snow packed and/or wet slushy roads.
At least the sun was showing this morning at 7:35 am as we pulled out of the driveway and pointed the motorhome towards town (Spokane) and Interstate 90.
The roads were snow packed, icy and bumpy for the first 30 miles or so. Boy were we glad we put the Styrofoam plates and paper bowls between our glass dishes. We thought the motorhome was going to shake itself apart even at the slow 40 mph pace we were keeping on the Freeway.
About 90 minutes after we had left, we were finally about 20 miles west of Spokane and I-90 turned to slush and then just to wet roads. It was nice to be done shaking, but when we stopped at the first rest stop, WoW, what a mess our motorhome was with all the black asphalt mixed with dirty snow and salt. The back end was totally covered and all you could see was the dirt.
No place to get it clean right now, so on we pressed on.
We turned off I-90 and headed south on HW 395/I-82 towards the Tri-Cities and the Columbia River. I was sure glad we had the Garmin GPS with us as the Tri-Cities had really changed over the years and the hiway over the bridge into Oregon and back onto the I-84 freeway west was total confusion. We had to go almost south east to get onto the freeway headed west.
RV Tip: Never travel without a good GPS unit. This little piece of technology saved us a lot of aggravation and kept us from getting lost on numerous occasions. Better than a map alone any day of the week!
We hit a little mild rain in Oregon along I-84, but it was a welcome change from the snow we started out in. As much as we hopped it would wash off some of the grime we had collected earlier in the day, it wasn’t to be. Snow, salt and road grime make for one tough sticky goo that rain alone can’t compete with.
Oh well, as long as the weather was gray, we could live with the RV being a little dirty… of course it was more than just a little dirty. We’ll fix that soon enough though.
We were behind schedule a bit due to the snow packed roads this morning. So, we decided to test the fuel economy difference at higher speeds. We weren’t pulling a tow vehicle (toad), so there was no problem getting the motorhome up to 65 to 70 mph on the flat smooth I-84 freeway in Oregon. Speed limit was 75, so we also had no worry of getting a ticket either.
The rest of the trip that day was smooth and at the higher speed, went rather quickly. It really made you keep an eye on traffic ahead and made Wes really pay attention when we went around slower traffic and especially trucks.
RV Tip: When passing large trucks, they tend to pull you into them as you approach the back of the trailer, level off midway through and then push you away as you get to the front end. When getting passed by a large truck, they push you away as they start to pass by and then suck you in as the trailer or box goes by you. Be ready for it, especially at higher speeds and in high wind situations.
By 3:30 pm we had joined up with I-5 south and were pulling off at the exit 282 rest stop.
The Oregon I-5 Exit 282 Rest Stop.
What many people, even in Oregon don’t know is that this particular rest stop is HUGE! It has parking area loops much like a campground in the trees. It allows overnight stays and the back loops are far enough off the freeway that it’s actually pretty quiet. The loops are meant for trucks as well as cars, so there is plenty of space even for the largest RVs and trucks.
Using the Citizen’s Band (CB) radio on an agreed upon channel we found Wes’ folks all the way in the back loop. We pulled up along side and had plenty of room to extend the slides, have dinner in the picnic area (or inside) and get a good nights sleep for an early morning start.
The rest stop really should be made into a campground as it’s really quite beautiful with lots of old growth pine trees and native plants. One of, if not THE BEST, rest stops in the US. You’ll have to make a point of checking it out for yourself next time you are in the Portland OR area.
I know, that’s already a lot for a BLOG entry, so we’ll cut it off there for today. We’ll pick it up on Day 2 next time.
Until then, here’s a couple of wonderful Valentines Day themed digital scrapbook page downloads for you. As always, no hassles and no signups needed. Just enjoy the scrapbook templates and think of us when you use them. If you like them, be sure and tell your friends and family so they can get them too.
http://www.freescrapbooktraining.com/scrapbook_pages.htm
Happy Scrapbook Travels,
Wes & Kathy
http://www.FreeTravelScrapbook.info
