We are on vacation to the West Coast – British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California. We decided to drive, towing a little 13-foot Scamp trailer. As owners of a small business, it has been ten years since we’ve taken a vacation longer than a week, and this vacation is long overdue.
We left home in Minnesota on Monday May 4th. Although we were aiming for shorter days it didn’t work out that way. We have Sarah, our 15-year old daughter with us, who likes to sleep in! Although I knew towing a trailer would cut into gas mileage, I wasn’t prepared for the reality. Our VW Passat gets 30+ mpg on the road, but with a trailer we were getting 17 mpg driving 10 mph under the speed limit, and significantly less driving when at the speed limit. So, we’re taking it a little slower, which adds an hour to the day. Even so, we got to our first campground in South Dakota at a decent time, primarily because we crossed into the Mountain Time zone just before stopping. Setting up is quick, and dinner was ready in no time. Here’s Deb and Sarah enjoying our first dinner in the Scamp.
Day two brought us to Billings, Montana. We stayed at the KOA that calls itself the 1st KOA in the country. We walked along the Yellowstone River at dusk. In the morning, a peacock walked by our trailer as Deb was standing in the doorway, then stopped for a bit of breakfast picking bugs off the front of our car.
Day three brought us to Missoula, Montana. We stayed here ten years ago, and Libby (our now 22-year old daughter) fell in love with a goat they had on the grounds. Alas, the goats are no longer there. In the evening the site next to ours was taken by a couple from western Massachussetts who had a Scamp much like ours.
Day four took us through the beautiful mountains and rivers of western Montana toward a destination of Spokane, Washington. Deb and I stopped at the Healing Rooms, where three of their intercessors prayed and prophesied over us. We had dinner at Frank’s Diner, which has won the award for the best breakfast in Spokane 11 out of the past 12 years. Even though it was dinner time, we had breakfast – blueberry muffin french toast. Yummy.
Day five took us over the Columbia River, where Sarah found a flower for her mom.
Lest you think we skipped the mountains, here is a picture of the Cascades, headed for Seattle.
After fighting our way through Seattle rush hour (ugh), we finally arrived in Burlington, Washington. KOA offered a free night for Mother’s Day, and we took advantage of it. Saturday, day six, took us over the ferry to Port Townsend, Washington. The ferry left from Whidbey Island, and the pass between the island and points north was called Deception Pass by the British captain that discovered it. Here are a couple of pictures at the Pass.
For dinner we met Libby’s friends from Bible College, Art and Jenene Morgan. We met in Bellingham, which required a drive up alongside Puget Sound. Here is a picture of the view along Chuckanut Drive, going into Bellingham, plus a photo of Art & Jenene.
Day seven took us across the Canadian border to see Deb’s family in Maple Ridge. We had forgotten to bring our passports, but they let us in anyway. We had a delightful time visiting with everyone. Deb’s brother and sister-in-law became grandparents on Mother’s Day, as Jason, their firstborne, and his wife Niki, graced them with a newborne grandson, Benjamin Peter Schroeder.
Day eight, Monday the 11th, was a time to relax with family before heading south. Deb’s mom is in a nursing home now, and it was good to visit.
Day nine brought us back to the U.S. After retrieving our passports from Art & Jenene (the USPS was supposed to deliver them overnight in time for our Saturday dinner, but didn’t make it), we headed for the Seattle/Tacoma KOA. As we pulled into the campground a gentleman noticed that our trailer turn signal wasn’t working. We checked it out, and discovered that none of the trailer lights were working. Uh oh. Amazingly, there was a VW dealer a few minutes away which offered evening service hours (up ’til midnight!). I made an appointment, spent an hour in their waiting area catching up on email (what else is there to do after you’ve sat in a couple of expensive new cars), and drove away with a new fuse for my antenna. Antenna, you say. Yes, it turns out the trailer lights were wired into the car antenna. It took a visit to a trailer shop, a couple of calls to our favorite service advisor in Mankato, Rick Pearson, plus the purchase of some larger fuses, but we eventually got the trailer lights working.
Day ten will wrap up part 1 of this saga. We are in Cascade Locks, Oregon, in the Columbia River gorge. We are so glad our trailer lights are working again, as it has rained all day today. We arrived at yet another KOA campground earlier than usual (before 4 pm), and enjoyed the pitter-patter of raindrops while we sat inside our cozy trailer talking and reading.
Here are a couple of photos from this afternoon, both in the Columbia River gorge.
Tomorrow we head south for San Francisco, to see our son Jon. More later…
