Alive and Well in Idaho

I’ve had a few emails from friends telling me that they miss my blog posts.  I miss my blog posts, too.  I write in my head every day but it hasn’t gotten any further than that, except for a couple posts that I wrote and didn’t publish. 

It’s not like I don’t have the time…I have more time on my hands than I know what to do with.  Therein lies part of the problem…I don’t want to be a whiner.  I’ve had some challenges this trip and I think if I wrote in the middle of the challenge I’d just whine and I don’t want to do that.  So you’ll probably get after the fact whining, which is different.  Then it’s just telling my story. 

Let’s back up a bit to May 10^th when I finally left Tucson in my McMansion motorhome.  That seems to be the name that’s stuck.  Back in December when I bought my Alfa and I compared it to my original motorhome, a Winnebago View, it felt like a McMansion and I haven’t come up with anything better, so I refer to it as my McMansion motorhome.

The day before I left Tucson there was a pretty horrendous windstorm that blew through town.  As anxious as I was to get on the road I didn’t want to deal with the winds so I delayed a day. 

May 10^th arrived and I was chomping at the bit to get going.  Lynn was my passenger and I was glad to have her with me for moral support.  The drive started out wonderfully and I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing.  I was a bit nervous at first driving this 40’ monster but I was determined to get comfortable with it. 

Some neighbors suggested that I take I-40 at Needles, CA, which I did, since I was heading for I-5.  The fun stopped almost as soon as I turned onto I-40 because of wind.  Strong side winds…really strong side winds. 

I guess there might be a downside to the extra height I have in my Alfa…more vehicle for the wind to hit.  AARGH.  It was awful and to make matters worse I couldn’t find an RV park!!

After thirteen hours on the road on day one I finally found one in Boron, CA.  It wasn’t much but it had everything I needed.  I was exhausted from fighting the wind for hours.  It was almost 8 PM and I needed a break.

The next day we got an early start, before the winds.  It turned out to be another long day (10 hours) because RV parks didn’t turn out to be as plentiful as I hoped, at least when it was time to start looking for one.  I finally found one in Cottonwood, CA and like the day before, it was awful, in fact, worse than awful, but it had the hookups I needed.  The man who checked me in wasn’t the brightest bulb around but he was impressed that me, a woman, was able to drive a 40’ motorhome, so maybe he wasn’t so dim after all.  I want to bristle as I write about his reaction but I kind of understand in a way and I’m impressed that I can drive a 40’ motorhome.  In fact, I still feel nervous as I’m about to take off.  Then I stop for awhile and the nervous builds up and I have to get back on the road again to DEAL WITH IT. 

Our last night on the road was at an RV park in Kalama, WA, on the Kalama River. I liked it there.  It was a challenge parking my McMansion motorhome but I managed.  I wanted to be down by the river which called for some creative backing up.  Fortunately, there weren’t any RVs on either side of me because there just wouldn’t have been enough room and I really wanted to be down by the water.  I’d just spent the past seven months in the desert and I was parched!!  I needed water and trees.

We arrived in Seattle on Mother’s Day.  I dropped my friend off and headed for Eastern WA. 

I have a friend from graduate school who has a 1400 acre vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills, not far from the Columbia River and Columbia Crest Winery.  After being cramped in an RV park for the winter I was looking forward to wide open spaces and visiting her provided that. She even had RV hookups!!!

So I went from mass humanity to out in the middle of nowhere with one other person.  No pun intended, but I was in Heaven!!!

When the winds started and I couldn’t sleep at night because my motorhome was being rocked in a way that didn’t put me to sleep I headed for Twin Falls, ID.  That’s where I am now. 

Before I finish this post…some thoughts...

    RVing is expensive…$200 a day for gas!!!!!!!!!!!

    Wind is not my friend when I’m driving my McMansion motorhome

    Not having a toad is the pits (more on this in another post)

    Maybe I’m not as adventurous as I thought I was

I have lots more to talk about but I think this is enough for this post. I'm glad to be back.  

Halfway between Seattle and Tucson,

Jeana

PS:  It’s my birthday today.  Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me.  I'm so glad to have another one.  Happy Birthday to me.