Nine days out and counting!  Finally spent enough time in the Palouse region of southwest Washington to get some decent images.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the incredible landscapes in this area.  A friend from Bellevue, Dirk, made a stop from his own road trip to come and explore the region with us for a few days.   Drove most all of the farm roads, both paved and unpaved, and saw wonderful sites - - Palouse Falls, Steptoe Butte, etc.

I'm happy to report that small town, rural America is alive and well in this part of the country!  The pictures below attest to that fact and the things we saw only enriched our explorations and added some great fun to our journey.  Each small farm community had its own character and were a delight to visit.

So far, the RV experience is going very well.  Towing 'Kody' the trailer over a mountain pass (Snoqualmie) for the first time was nearly effortless for 'Kermit' the Tahoe, and once again, I was able to back into our camp spot at the Lyons Ferry KOA and Marina on the Snake River near Starbuck.  I must admit, however, that the backing process was a little more time consuming and a bit more tedious this time - - my guide and spouse had trouble deciding just where I should be backing to, and how far, so my vision in the side mirrors was of him frantically waiving both arms in circles while our friend and guest stood chuckling.  We WILL get better at this!  All systems seem to be A-OK at this point.  We're getting hooked and unhooked a little faster each time we do it.

During a rainstorm a few days ago 'prudence' came calling to our little home on wheels and we decided to secure some campground reservations in areas where we intend to be during busy tourist times.  Sure glad we did - - even at the end of September, the campgrounds in Zion NP were nearly full already!

Tomorrow we'll hitch up and drive to Boise, ID to visit a friend from high school and get acquainted with that region.  Then we're heading east to Craters of the Moon National Monument where we'll explore the lava flow and the surrounding areas.  We were supposed to leave today, but some pretty high winds blew in and I decided I really did not want to tow in those conditions.  Nice to have the freedom to make those decisions on the spur of the moment.  That's one of the things we're enjoying about the RV adventure so far . . . nine days out and counting!

SHAKE DOWN CRUISE 101 - OH, THE THINGS WE HAVE LEARNED!!!

Spent the past 20 or so days getting to know 'Kody' the trailer while visiting the Washington coast.  Off-and-on weather gave us a chance to try all systems; some more successfully than others!  Very educational . . .

On this trip, we had visits from family as well as friends who were experienced RVers and who shared some very helpful hints with us.  Thank you to the Thompsons and Carls for that.

Some of the things I have learned:

Day One:  When filling the freezer, NEVER put too many items close to the door opening.  If you do this, upon opening the freezer, all the contents of the door tray crash to the floor.  This is particularly bad when one of the items is a frozen quart-sized plastic bottle, which of course breaks, spilling unfrozen vodka all over the floor.  (Jerry was NOT smiling!)  The good news is that the floor needed mopping anyway, and gave us relief that we had packed some extra towels on board.  Through this experience, I also had a lesson in bathtub laundry - - another lesson!  (No, I did not try to suck the vodka out of the towels . . . )

My next lesson was about what happens to our outside electrical cord when it is being pushed back into it's receptacle and suddenly recoils, coming out of my hand and completely disappearing into its holder.   In this case, even the head of the cord was sucked into the holder, and out of sight and reach.  The only solution was for Jerry (who again, was NOT smiling), to take the receptacle off the trailer and use a series of handy tools such as kitchen tongs, along with some choice words, to try to retrieve the cord so it could be used to hook us up to power.

We also learned that when we decide to do some impromptu 'dry' camping (no hookups/services), we should fill our on-board water tanks in advance so we don't run out . . . enough said about that . . .

I did a scientific, on-board test of our smoke alarm and found it to be work perfectly . . . enough said about that as well:)

All the education was not mine alone though - - Jerry is much better about remembering to install the cotter pins to secure the hitch bars now, and we found out about life with an empty propane tank in cold weather.  All sooooo very helpful!

Had many successes as well - - I backed the trailer into a camp spot without hitting Jerry, or anything located in and around the site, and I even made a complete u-turn towing the trailer through a residential area.  (Jerry was not smiling then either, but his eyes were very large indeed, and I heard great gasps of air coming from his side of the car).

We'll be back in Anacortes on April 17th, and will spend the next 4-5 weeks making some changes and modifications to our little home on wheels, as well as helping daughter Crista and family as they prepare to move out of state.  Then - - on the road for the real trip.

This picture is taken at Lake Cushman, near Hood Canal on the east side of the Olympic National Park (assuming I can figure out how to post another picture here).

More ramblings later . . .

Lynne

Soooo, here goes!  My friend and computer/blog/website-setter-upper guru, Karla Locke, helped me create this blog where I can record all our travel ramblings and pictures when we finally get on the road (very soon!)  Actually, she set it up and I took notes!  Thanks, Karla!

This is my first attempt at blogging, and decided to include a picture of our 'little house on the road', that we have named "Kody".  (I know it is a sickness - - this need to name our vehicles-:)  When we get going (April-on a shakedown cruise to the Washington coast; May-really getting on the road), I'll send you an e-mail with a note that there are new and wonderful things to see and read on this site, and if you would like to read it, you may.  Many of you have asked us to keep you updated on our travels, so that is the purpose of this blog.  (Of course, there is also the need to remember where we have been and what we saw!)

BTW, our kids are taking bets as to how long we're going to live in this 24' box without killing one another, but I figure if we can stick it out for 50 years, then we'll probably be able to take on this very big adventure.

More soon . . .

Lynne, Jerry and Kody (oh, and 'Kermit' the Chevy Tahoe that will lovingly attach itself to Kody for our journey)