We made our way to Seattle where we are staying and resting for seven days. This year I am traveling with two dear friends, Erica and Chris. They have a 5th wheel and we are caravaning together. Erica has very close friends in this area and we are visiting with them.
Driving over 5000 miles during the last month, the trip seems like one big blur. We passed through 15 states, including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Washington.
We encountered severe weather in Arkansas including strong thunderstorms, hail, and 60 mph winds. We lost power the night we stayed in Arkansas. A day earlier we changed our route and headed north into Arkansas to avoid the worst of a predicted area of tornadic. Many tornados passed south of us while we were in Arkansas, including two long track tornados that were over a mile wide and tracked over 70 miles. We had extreme heat in Arizona. We now have beautiful weather in Seattle with lows in the 50s and highs in the 70s. The weather should be wonderful for the rest of the trip.
We are getting a fantastic deal on diesel fuel at Loves Travel Center using a TSD Fleet account. We are getting discounts of about 33% on fuel. Diesel averaged about $2.50 a gallon, and with our TSD cards, we are paying about $1.65 a gallon, saving about 85 cents a gallon. When you are driving 12,000 miles at 8 mpg, that makes a huge difference in the overall fuel cost.
The highlights of the trip for me so far were being in Monument Valley Utah, staying in Paso Robles, the town my cat is named for, seeing the elephant seals along the PCH, and passing through the Redwood National Forest.
We have been very isolated. Half the nights we stayed in Harvest Hosts spots. Harvest Host is a network of vineyards and farms that allow one or two RVs to stay on their property overnight for free. We are boondocking at these places, meaning we are not hooked up to water, electricity, and sewers. We are entirely self-contained and away from people. The most bizarre experience we have had so far on this trip was being unable to stop overnight at a Harvest Host that was a wildlife refuge. A lion broke out of his cage and was roaming free. I am not making this up. While standing at the closed gate to the preserve, a New Mexico wildlife officer drove up and explained what was going on. He started preparing his tranquilizer gun. Luckily we found a RV park a few miles away that had some open spots.
The cats are doing great. Paso Robles and Mountain Lioness adapted to life on the road right away this year. I think they could live in the RV forever.
The only real issue so far is a cracked windshield. A small crack appeared while we were in Texas. The huge windshield was hit by a rock flung up by a passing car that cut in front of me from left to right and then immediately got off a highway exit. While having the crack finally repaired in Phoenix, a second crack suddenly appeared. This crack was too long to be repaired, the second crack being about 12 inches long. Fortunately, the crack is on the far right side and is not in my field of view and seems to have stopped spreading for now. Oh, and I crashed the scooter yesterday, the first day I rode it, more on that later.
Chris planned out the route for the entire trip including making reservations at all the stops. Erica is a great cook. She has been cooking breakfast when we have time in the morning. She has also been cooking dinner every night. Chris is really great on the grill too. We are eating really well and healthy. After breakfast we start to think about what to eat for dinner. After dinner, we start to thing about what to eat for breakfast. This roadtrip really is the eating across America tour.
After our stay here, we will head over into Idaho and then to Grand Teton National Park.
For drone videos of our trip, check out Chris’s YouTube Channel, “Why Not RV”, and go to the drone footage section.
Oh, as for the motorcycle mishap. I arrived at Erica’s friend’s house for dinner last night. I was stopped and leaned forward to make sure that the headlight was working since I was going to be riding home in the dark. As I leaned forward, I accidentally rotated the throttle slightly. The scooter lurched forward. I had nowhere to go and hit the front of their house. I face-planted on a wood lattice breaking the lattice structure, and then the 290-pound scooter fell down on me on top of my left leg. Fortunately, I was wearing a helmet. Unfortunately, the main part of my head that hit was my face which is why I suppose some folks wear full face shield helmets. I felt pretty beat up this morning, but as the Black Night said in Monty Python said, “tis but a scratch, a flesh wound.”
Rob, I am so glad to see you and Chris & Erica all going about your lives and doing what you want to do. I have watched some of chris’s you tube videos, and I think they are very well done and are quite informative. Glad to see Dogs are represented on this trip. We did a trip to Seattle last year. Great earea and climate I dont see it on your schedule, but think about venturing north into Canada. Vancouver is very cool. Whistler mountain area is Nirvannna like…….. I really like the drone views. Makes me want to be out there with you guys. Maybe in a couple years.
Robrhe day drinkers are missing your company. I am glad to hear your having a good time except for the scooter accident. This is the first chance i have had to catch up on your trip. Jeanie AND i are at the cabin this week and l I’ll ke normal i am finding plenyy of thing to do. Stay safe my friend and your travel companions as well God bless and see you at Bees for cocktail hour.
Safe Travels, Tom
Thanks Tom. Enjoy the time at your cabin, a nice balance of work and relaxation is a good combination. Thank you for the well wishes for my travel companions and myself. God Bless you and Jeanie. See you at Bees again sometime this summer.