The Art of Puppy Scooping

Odometer: 75,352.2

Good evening! We are back in Bozeman, or still in Bozeman depending on how you look at it, and we love it here! The weather is beautiful; the views are spectacular, with mountains on almost every side; and we love the feel of the place as well.

First of all, Bozeman is home of Montana State University, the state Agricultural school, so the college here has a similar feel to Davis. Second, with half the population of Davis, Bozeman has twice the square mileage. What does that translate too? Everything is spread out, with plenty of space, and there are mini-parks everywhere.

The people here are very nice, too, on average, and, as I said, the weather is awesome!

So, what has been happening recently? Well, we took a trip up into Hyalite Canyon, where we stayed for several days. The first night we made soup over our fire pit, and got back into the RV just as it began to snow.

It was a brisk night, but not unpleasant, and we woke to a light dusting of snow across the forest. It was pretty amazing. That first day, we wanted to hike up to the nearby Palisade Falls, so we packed our backpacks, as well as our lunch, and took off.

Now, you have to understand that we are 12-14 miles down a forest road, the last half of which is gravel, so when we arrive at the trail-head, and find it paved, imagine our surprise! The hike turned out to only be ¾ of a mile. We decided that that was not nearly enough, so we scouted around, and found a deer trail leading away from the falls, and around back to get above them.

The ascent was almost rock-climbing, though it was varied enough to make the puppies traversal quite easy.

At the top, we were greeted with fabulous views that our cameras refused to capture adequately.

We, then, decided to follow the river/creek which fed the falls up further into the mountains. We followed it for nearly a mile past many mini-waterfalls before deciding to head back.

By that point we had forded the river a couple of times, and found that the deer trail scaled many a muddy slope that people would do better to go around.

The trek back down the river/creek was uneventful, and once we reached the falls we turned to begin our reverse climb down the steep grade; herein lies the art of puppy scooping.

You see, with Naga well ahead and moving easily, I was in the lead of the three beings following. What that meant was that when Cal would get too ambitious and start running down the mountain, unable to stop, a look of panic on his face, I had to reach out, and scoop him from the mini-avalanche he was perpetuating.

This resulted in a series of scoops that went something like this:

Calcifer makes eye contact with me, his ears back, his eyes sorrowful, as if asking, “Must we do this again?”

I would smile and say, “It’s ok, buddy, I got you.” And he would lower his head, let out a little breath and dive down the mountain. Inevitably, he would choose a bad path, and his speed would increase past the point of his control, so I would reach out, palming his chest and directing him to the side.

Then, safely at my feet, he would look up at me, excited and glowing with happiness, before looking down the mountain and grinning, almost asking, “Again! Again!”

When the hike was at an end, and all scooping behind us, we returned to the RV with no injuries and enjoyed the rest of our time in the National forest without significant event.

After another day or so in said forest, we realized that we really like Bozeman, and if we are to truly see if this is the place for us, we must actually spend time in the city.

Back down the mountain!

Thus, we have spent the past couple of days in Bozeman proper, exploring, walking the streets, meeting random people, and in general getting a feel for the culture and environment here.

Result:

We love it! We have not found a single thing that turns us off of here, and there is so much to love. We haven’t fully decided yet, but we are ever so close to making a decision; please be praying that God leads us to the best choice! :-)

So, with that in mind, we have chosen a church to try out tomorrow, and are excitedly seeking out more and more info about this place. Who knows, our next post might name Bozeman home. ;-)

May your mountains be snow covered, and your roads clear and dry. Good night, and God bless.

Helena-Butte-Bozeman!

Odometer: 75,264.5

        So, since the last post, we have had a whirlwind journey. We went north, back up the 15 and found that, on second pass through, the area was very lovely, but didn’t grab us in the same way. After spending some time there, we decided that it was not where we were to be, so we were off south, to Butte!

        Now, Butte is an old mining town, high up in the Rockies, and…not for us. Though it was pretty in its own way, we were not enticed to stay on. Thus, on to Bozeman!

        Bozeman, now that’s a city. Here we are, nestled between 3 mountain ranges (or so). Snow topped peaks tempt us in every direction; there are parks around every bend; trees are everywhere! At this very moment, we are parked in a Wal-Mart parking lot, directly next to a park. It is pretty amazing, actually.

        Bozeman is a college town, home to Montana State University, and full of modern amenities which we are accustomed to and spoiled by. We managed to fit in several errands before stopping for the night, including Costco, Lowe’s, and the Gallatin National Forest Office. We spoke for a while with a very nice forest ranger, who pointed out some great camping spots in a canyon by some trailheads leading to waterfalls. We are at around 5,000 feet elevation, and the cool, brisk evening air is so refreshing!

        So, what’s the plan? We are heading up into the Rockies to the south, and will likely be out of communication range for the next few days. (Don’t expect to hear from us before Friday, at the earliest.)

        Did anything interesting happen? Aside from beautiful mountains and sweeping vistas, not really.

:-D

        So, with no further ado, I bid you all a fond goodnight. May your plans coalesce into bright happy things before you!

Unusual Montanans and a Change in Plan

Odometer: 74,981.5

So, we aren't in Missoula anymore. We have, in fact, ventured forth, traveled through the Great Falls and trickled on down to Helena...Well, I guess trickled up to Helena, as we are up river, now.

We have passed through our absolutely favorite part of Montana (and the US) so far, in the stretch of interstate 15 in the middle 1/3 of the journey from Great Falls to Helena. The Missouri River was beautiful; the oaks, aspens, and other not-pines were gorgeous. The mountains were rocky (pun intended), jutting, and stupendous! Both Morgan and I felt like we could live among that landscape. Thus, starting tomorrow, we will be venturing back north to explore that region further. :-D

Now, the odd Montanans:
1. Whilst still in Missoula, we were parked at a Pilot Gas station for the night, and a gentlemen walked up to the bush/bark/grass bed beside our RV. He made eye contact and nodded to me, I assume, though what happened next makes me doubt this is the case.
     After said suspect eye contact, he turned, undid his fly and relieved himself on one of the bushes. I quietly put up the privacy screen, using it, for the first time, to keep private things out.

2. This very evening, but moments ago, whilst parked in a Wal-Mart parking lot, a bus labeled "Bozeman Health and Rehabilitation Center" pulled up next to us, but we think nothing of it. When the occupants begin to return from their run to Burger King, we realize that they look perfectly healthy and young. It was, in fact, a bus rented for a 21st birthday party, and, as such, we had the following conversation through the windows, accompanied by their hip-hop beats, making our RV a "mini," remote sub-woofer.

"Hey! Theirs a guy in there, and he's cool."
Other guy: "What?"
"There's a guy in there"-points to us-"and he waves!" He waves enthusiastically, and I wave back. "SEE!!!!!"
I smile and go back to what I was doing.
"Hey! WHERE ARE YOU FROM? SPELL IT OUT WITH YOUR HANDS - oh, he's opening the window."

We had a short conversation, during which I learned about the Birthday nature of their venture, and wished said celebrator a happy birthday. The one I was speaking to temporarily got his head stuck in the small bus window, but, thereafter, went back to party with his "crew."

A little while later, they kindly left us two beers on our front step, knocking to let us know of the gift, and my new friend loudly proclaimed his affection for me, as they drove off.


Now, you may think that this turned us off of parking lots: heck no! Both of these unusual experiences will provide laughter to my wife and I for years.

That is all I have, for now, but I couldn't pass the day without telling you how wrong I was about our time-frame in Missoula, and how much we are enjoying our stay to the east of that fair city.

May your random encounters be entertaining, and the scenery which backdrops your life be a showcase of wonder and excitement.

Missoula!!!!

Well, hello!

We are, in fact, still in Missoula. We have met some very nice people, one of which told us that it would be a very strange thing for Thanksgiving to come around, and not have snow on the ground.

This is, in point of fact, a place of snow. February 2014, there was a day that got 3' (yes, feet) of snow in one night. :-D In 1996, there was a 48hr period in which it snowed 6'! That's crazy, but cool. ;)

Also, due to the shape of the valley in which Missoula rests, winter is apparently almost entirely sunless. (Another tidbit from friendly locals.)

So, what do we think, could this be our permanent home? Probably not, though 9-ski resorts in the area makes it more than tempting, for the winter activities as well as the holiday rental market. :-P

Is it on the short list? Well, technically, yes. It is the most appealing place we have visited so far (with regard to long term potential). Still, it doesn't feel quite right. We will be in this area another few days before heading on to Helena, then to Bozeman!

God is taking us on a rollercoaster, and I have definitely found myself alternately elated and stressed over the last couple of days. But He is good, all the time, and we are both excitedly looking forward to what He has next for us.

That is all for now. May your wanderings yield fruit and the strangers in your life be kind, interesting, and memorable.

Fear Not; We are Alive! :-D

Odometer: 74656.7

Hello! We have been having a whirlwind adventure over the past few days, and service has been sparse, so I have much to convey. (Hurray!)

First, I was able to add an accumulator to our water system, and it has increased its usefulness, while decreasing the water pump’s on-off cycles, tremendously.

In addition, we have found a car charger for the laptop, which avoids the 12V to 120V to 20V process, which was required before. Now, we simply get to go 12V to 20V. It charges our laptop ridiculously quickly, and with sooo little power, it’s amazing!

On our way to Glacier, we passed a beautiful, little lake, which I cannot remember the name of:

We spent time in Kalispell and Whitefish, and learned that, since Glacier is a huge tourist destination, things that are free in most places (fresh water, dump stations, etc.) are, for the most part, not free in that region.

We have had some great camp sites:

Camped near a pretty little lake:

We took the Going to the Sun Road (the first half, at least). Sadly, the road was closed from Logan Pass down to the east side of the park for road work. Nevertheless, we were greeted with amazing vistas (Photos by Morgan):

Tons of mini-waterfalls:

And kind strangers who took our picture:

After Glacier, we headed down to Missoula, taking most of the day on a scenic route beside the Rocky Mountains. That night, we accidently parked next to a golf course, and were asked by a very kind officer to move several more miles down the road. Early the next day, we were able to run a bunch of micro errands and still visit the Ranger Station to inquire about good dispersed sites. They informed us that Rock Creek was riddled with dispersed camping sites, as well as many “closed” campgrounds. Apparently, in this neck of the woods, when a campground is closed, but not gated, it is free to use! :-D

So, thus informed, we headed off to Rock Creek:

After much investigation, we found a great, nearly private site at which we cooked dinner over a campfire!

And over coals. ;)

We have learned that Naga loves the feel of river currents. (At least, this is what we assume, as he jumped back in, several times, allowing the river to carry him a couple hundred yards before easily navigating back to the shore, running back towards us, and repeating the process.) And we have found ourselves more and more enchanted with Montana.

Both Morgan and I have realized that we greatly prefer what we have come to call “Not-pines.” In this, we generally include aspens, oaks, maples, etc. On the other side, we somewhat ignorantly lump all conifers into the “Its another pine” category. :P

Morgan really wants a tree identification book for Christmas. Perhaps something that has detailed pictures of leaves and bark, as well as maps of where they grow, and paragraphs about their life-cycles… Or something like that. ;)

The sunrises over the Rockies are spectacular. Sadly, where we have watched ours have been gorgeous, but not technically picturesque. i.e. it wouldn't have been a good picture.

All this to say: we are happy, healthy, and believe that we are narrowing in on where God wants us to be. :)

What does the future hold? Well, once we have found our new home town, I am seriously considering getting a teaching credential, hopefully to teach Physics as I have quite a fascination with the subject. I will continue writing, and working towards a career, whether full or part time, in that industry.

And Morgan? Well, she is considering working for a short time, but I think that we both want to start our family as soon as it makes geographic and financial sense and, more importantly, as soon as God wants us to. So, who knows?

God has been, and continues to be, good all the time, through that is amazing as well as stressful.

May God bless your adventures in the coming days, and may He stress you just enough to bring out your best.

Happy Sunday!

Odometer: 74,264.0

We are just outside of Whitefish, and have been for a couple of days. We have been hiking forest roads, playing with our dogs, and spending time together. For various reasons, Morgan and I hadn’t been taking the time we want to together: just talking, playing games, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company. God has given us the time and desire to dive back into our relationship, which, sadly, we had allowed to take a backseat to other concerns. No more!

So, aside from reveling in each others’ company, and enjoying the beauty of God’s creation, we haven’t been up to much. We will be heading into Glacier, tomorrow, hopefully missing any weekend surge from locals.

We had a funny thing happen, Friday. As we were working around our campsite, a strange dog came wandering up the road. He was an older yellow lab. I went outside to see what I could discover, and he immediately started jumping around, wagging his tail, and loving having a person about. He had a collar, which named him Titus (a pretty cool name, actually). We were going to call the number on the tags, but there wasn’t an area code, and we have no idea what the area code around here is.

So, I whipped out my handy dandy phone and plugged in the address that was also on the tags. It turns out it was just at the head of the forest road we camped on. Thus, we ventured forth, new puppy in tow.

We arrived at the house, which seemed to be undergoing a remodel, and found it vacant. Music playing in the shop next door led us that direction, but, alas, nothing. We knocked on doors, looked about, and called: “Hello?” but to no avail. There wasn't anyone around.

So, we leave Titus at the house, hoping he will stay, and head back to the campsite. As we go, I hear a weed-eater off in the foliage, so I walk that way. The source of the noise was a rough, but kindly, old man, working away.

I told him that we had found his dog, and he said that they often walk around in the National Forest, so Titus probably considers it part of his home. I informed him that I left his dog at his house, he thanked me, and we parted ways. Thus, our little adventure ends.

Funny added note: We were sitting in the RV yesterday, when the man with his wife, and Titus in the back, drove by. We had our windows, open, and so did they. So, after I waved, and the man waved back, I was able to hear him say, “That’s the guy who brought Titus home.”

It wasn’t a big thing, but it was entertaining to me. :-P

Well, that is all, for now, good reader. The lack of truly revolutionary, or entertaining, tales might explain the long expanse between posts. We are enjoying life, and settling into the new normal.

May the little adventures of your day leave a smile on your face and warmth in your heart.

A Wonderful Morning

Good Morning!

We are still near Libby Montana, and still having a blast. We took a couple lovely hikes, ate a small picnic, and had a lovely day of rest, during which both Morgan and I got over little bugs. (Nothing major was wrong;we were just a little under the weather.)

Thus, when this morning dawned a brisk 39°F, you can imagine, we were ecstatic! Cold is our bread and butter! (It was 51°F inside our rig.)

Calcifer and Naga shot out the door to do their morning business and were happy outside for a couple of hours .Then, our little one came back and wanted in; he had gotten wet and was chilled to the bone. :-( After a short time with the towel, and a longer time in front of our furnace vent, he was as good as new.

So, with nothing truly novel, or humorous, to share, I will take this short post to update you, fair reader, on the Almond wonder as a whole.

A non-renovated, empty Sunrader weighs in between 7k-8k lbs, depending on the model and year. This is humorous, as the axles are only rated for about 6k lbs (4k before ’85). Thankfully, starting our year (’85) they upped the back axle to a 1.5 ton, thus reaching the combined rating of 6k. All this is to give context to the following:

We, fully loaded and fully renovated(basically), went through a scale(well, two, to ensure accuracy) and found our weight to be a wonderful 6850lbs! :-D All our work improved the beast and dropped our full weight to less than an unmodified Sunrader’s empty! :-) (Keep in mind this is with 500lbs of person, dog, and dog food in the mix, not to mention our “dirty” tanks being on the full side.) ;-)

So, needless to say, we are excited about that. :)

As a side note, I was sitting near our furnace (which can raise the internal temp from 50 to 60 in 20ish min while it is 39 outside) and realized that it works in a really clever fashion. It lights a fire, and heats up a plate which air passes over to, in turn, heat the camper. So, it heats the plate until it is very hot, then puts out the flame, allowing the air to pull all the heat from the plate, only then relighting the flame and beginning the process once more.

Now, I am not that familiar with furnaces, so this might be common place, but it seemed really clever to me, and a very efficient way to not have a constant flame.

Anywho, those are just the latest things we have learned about our little camper that could.

We pray that your discoveries, this day, are exciting, and may your work prove fruitful beyond all hopes.

The Heralds of Rest

Odometer: 74131.9

Hello, good readers. I write to you from the rolling hills and lush forests of Montana! We are just outside of Libby, MT, and we are loving it!

But let me backup:

Yesterday, we drove up to Sandpoint, ID, and walked through the town, drove through many neighborhoods, and, in general, experienced the place the best we could.

Last night, we settled in a Wal-Mart parking lot, because the couple of locations we scouted out didn’t look promising. It is well we stayed there, though, for around dinner, a man came walking around our RV, looking closely at it. When he noticed us inside, staring back at him, he jumped in surprise, waved, and motioned towards our door, and then as if to knock. I went outside and what followed was an hour long conversation with a fellow Sunrader owner.

He looked over all we had done and was amazed. He took some notes, saying that he needed to make similar changes (in some cases) to his RV. We discussed the road ahead, for us, since he had just come out of Glacier National Park, and we are headed in that direction, and he recommended an alternate route. In the end, we parted happily.

So, today: We crossed into Montana, and it is gorgeous. The alternate route turned out to be incredibly scenic, and we saw fantastic views.

We stopped to have lunch at a day use area (The Big Eddy), and the dogs ran around, having a grand ol’ time.

We rolled into Libby just after 5pm, and everything was closed. (Small towns, eh?) So, we ventured forth into the charted wilderness, settling on a lovely spot with a great little view.

We hope to be here for a few days, enjoying our time, hiking, and finishing up a few tasks on the RV itself. Cell service makes this prospect all the more agreeable. (Hurray for posts and contact with the outside world!)

I will leave you with this simple thought: Is Home a place? A group of people? Or a feeling when all is right and comfortable? I say Home is where God wants you to be, be it a place, with a group of people, or in a certain emotional state.

Thus, I say goodnight to you, from Home.

Stress and Not-Russia

Odometer: 73970.9

Stress is an interesting thing. It can assault us when we least expect it. I, for one, have been stressed off and on since last night. The first reason: our inverter, which allows us to charge our laptop, camera, and several other things, broke. I tried to fix it, without success. Walmart, Best Buy, and Target all proved to not have good replacements, so we had to settle for a lesser substitute. (This is why we were not able to post last night. Our laptop was dead and, at the point it was realized that it would not be fixed, I didn’t feel like typing up a post on one of our phones.)

That aside, I foolishly have allowed other things to stress me, when I shouldn’t, but that is water under the bridge, and not of interest!

To our travels!

Yesterday, we departed Walla Walla, and drove up to Clarkston (and Lewiston) and took most of the day driving around, walking the downtown and looking in on houses for sale. (This was for fun, not because we want to live in C/L). In the evening, we took a walk down a greenbelt boarding the Snake River, allowed the dogs to go for a swim, and enjoyed a sporadic sprinkling of rain drops.

Today, we woke early, tried a new cereal, and headed off in search of a dump station. We found one easily, emptied our dirty tanks, filled our clean one, and were on our way!

We scaled the steep grade to get out of the C/L valley and were rewarded with an amazing view.

We drove through Moscow, without leaving the continent, and made it up to Coeur d’Alene. We stopped through a park near North Idaho University and one of the many lakes that fill these mountains. The park was lovely, and the puppies had a blast playing in the lake.

Finally, we finished our day with the acquisition of a temporary inverter, a wonderful meal, and a not quite as late as usual post.

So, as you can see, we are having fun and doing our best to not let the little things get us down.

We hope that this finds you in management of your little stresses and enjoying the larger things in life.

Uneventfully Beautiful

Odometer: 73711.5

The last couple of days have been relatively uneventful, but quite fun.

Yesterday, we had a minor tire leak repaired, and the technician sent us off, insisting that the fix wasn’t worth any payment, and that was just the first item of the day.

We drove a “back” way along the highway 84 corridor, near the Columbia River, heading east, and it was gorgeous.

We worked our way along the river, finally stopping in a National Forest roughly 15 miles south of the river valley, and stayed the night in a great spot.

Sadly, it didn’t have cell service, hence no post. :P

It began to rain during the night but that didn’t stop us from taking a short hike and running the dogs until they (and we) were exhausted.

This morning, we did a second reorganization of the RV, installed a couple of lights (both fixtures and bulbs) that we had been considering, and reveled in our work.

Just after lunch, we set off for Walla Walla Washington.

The Columbia River was beautiful, but, sadly, the surround country side, slowly slide back towards the golden brown we are so used to in California. Don’t get me wrong, that is beautiful in its own way, but Morgan and I were loving the green, and we are looking forward to it, again, as we head further north.

Well, it is late, and my lovely wife is already asleep as we rest here in the first Wal-Mart parking lot of this trip. So, I will bid you good night.

Sleep well, and may the beauty you find in the coming day speak directly to your heart.

Potable Water? Meh.

Today has been an interesting day.

To start, we flew up the coast, though we never truly left the ground. The views were gorgeous and the times we stopped revealed amazing scenery and yielded fun experiences.

We reached Portland in good time, and went in search of a dump station. Much ado later, we were able to dump at a local municipal plant.

We ran through a Costco for dinner (hot dogs) and to pick up a special item, which they didn't have. So, after finding that another Costco did have it, we went there. Mission accomplished.

At that point, we were ready to call it a day. So we went to a Love's travel center to fill up on fresh water, and stay for the night; little did we know what we had in store.

First, this particular Love's does not allow overnight parking. Second, their water isn't potable... No big deal, there is a Chevron a little back down the road, and a TA travel center besides, surely one of them will have what we need.

What followed was an hour of searching and besides one: "I've never heard anyone say it wasn't potable." and a: "They told me it wasn't potable, but I've been using it anyways. I'm not dead yet, eh?" we did not find any water for our tanks, despite visiting three gas stations, two truck stops, a Camping World, an RV park, and Googling all the surrounding rest stops. (I should say that there was a rest stop, forty miles south-east of us, which did claim to have drinking water... we were not inclined to take that drive after dark.)

Thus, all our wanderings were for not, and we were left with the distinct impression that everyone in Portland drinks suspect water, or water that is actually perfectly fine, but no one is willing to legally claim it is potable. Thus, when pressed, they will say something along the lines of: "I doubt they still used pipes with lead in them when this place was built, what? Twenty years ago? They knew better by then, right?"

*Sigh*

So, here we sit with our fresh tank at 4%, hoping the dawn will bring an outpouring of drinkable water.

That is all for now. May your water be truly drinkable, and your quests meet with better success than ours.

A Day of Rest

Odometer: 73186.1

     The Lord blessed us with a day of rest, today. We woke to what sounded like rain, but wasn’t. Fog was thick on the forest, and it was condensing in the trees above our RV and dropping down sporadically. It was a glorious start to a wonderful day.

     We continued with breakfast, quick showers, and the unexpected pleasure of a call from Morgan’s dad. She was able to catch up with him while I buckled down the RV for our departure (on foot).

     When food was eaten and call completed, we took off down the road with nothing but ourselves and our puppies.

The puppies loved the trek.

We passed under many beautiful trees,

walked down a road that seemed to be from an Arthurian tale,

and let a helpful tree take our group picture. (He didn’t know how to zoom.)

All in all, it was a beautiful walk, and when we returned, we set about a multitude of little tasks, mainly the reorganization of the RV. Such things take several days to perfect once on the road, no matter how well they are done beforehand.

And that is it. We stayed close to home and found ourselves enjoying a true, unhindered day of rest.

May your own Sabbaths be plentiful, restful, and fulfilling.


P.S. I apologize to disappoint but network connection out here is such that my short compilation of the RV Renovation would not upload. Thus, I must wait to upload it another day, hopefully tomorrow. Thank you for your patience!

Day 2 – Into the Wild

Odometer: 73186.1

     So, as can be assumed, we are alive and well. Our adventures have continued apace, and I am writing to you from just off of a forest road in the Suislaw National Forest. Where off that road? Well, let me tell you how to find us:

     First, you turn onto the well maintained gravel road and begin your trek up to the mountain ridge.

     Then, once you have lost all faith in the road, and find yourself on a thin path bordered by steep down-slopes, you know you’re heading in the right direction, at least you hope you are; there is no turning back now. Fear not, you only have 3 miles to go.

     The road rises and falls, ferns and blackberry bushes kindly cleaning the outside of your vehicle. Are you in the National forest yet? No.

     After three miles of sporadic potholes and the rise and fall of the mountain ridge, you enter the “forest” despite the thousands of trees you have already passed.

     Are we there yet? Nope; you see, as soon as the National Forest, and legal camping, starts, the occasional level sections cease to appear. The search begins.

     Finally, the trees open on both sides, revealing a view of the valley to the west and a nice little pull off to the east, and you will have found our spot! :-D

     So, was it a mini adventure getting here? Yes. Is it lush and green? Absolutely! (Now, for the ringer) Would any normal RV have been able to get in here? Hahahahahahahahahahaahaha! No.

     The Sunrader outdid itself traversing a rather unfortunate road and found us a temporary home unavailable to the standard motorhomer.

    Other than the off-road-ish trek into the mountains, we dealt with sediment in our gas, because Costco was filling their underground tank while we were pumping. (Side note, Oregon won’t even let RVers pump their own gas. Costco has attendants that do it.) This led to a sputtering engine, a frantic search for a mechanic in small town Oregon that was open on Saturday (there was none), and finally a trip to Auto Zone, where they recommended an additive to dissolve the sediment and help it pass harmlessly through the engine. (They are also the people who figured out that that was the likely cause.)

Thus, our adventures continue. God helped us fix our problem (the additive worked perfectly), found us a good campsite with 3G(this post stands as testament), and we are happy, healthy, and super excited to be on the “road,” again!

That is all for tonight, I do hope that this begins a new trend of nightly posts, in which case they will be short (shorter than this on average) and hopefully informative/enjoyable.

May all your problems be solved easily, and your mysterious roads lead to promising destinations!

P.S. RV Renovation pics will, hopefully, be posted on the morrow, sometime before midday. :)

Renovation at 99.99999999999999999%

Odometer: 72607.1-72896.0

Well, we did it.

Finished!

Completed!

The Exodus begins!

Wait… that sounds like a beginning, not an ending… I really need to work on these plot elements; I always seem to get them mixed up.

So, have you guessed what I am referring to? I suppose the title was a clue. I firmly believe that nothing is ever fully done, but this sucker is as done as it’s going to be, and we are on the road again!

Where are we?

-North of Redding.

That’s not specific; where north of Redding? There’s a lot of land up there.

-South of Yreka.

…

-That’s as close as we’re gonna get, so deal with it.

So, tired self-dialogue aside, we are excited to be in the northern half of California and hopeful to reach the Oregon coast, and our first multiday campsite, tomorrow!

Do we have pictures of the completed RV? Why yes we do, but you will have to be patient, as internet connections are slow, and I am in need of sleep. We shall have a more detailed post tomorrow, a true kickoff, if you will.

Good night, fair reader, and may your own, personal, eternal projects creep closer to that ever elusive goal, called completion.