Gerry's Full-Time Adventure

[TheTraveler]

Originally Posted by gbrown

Yesterday was my 70th Birthday. To celebrate, I got in my rig, "Sinatra" and got the heck out of Dodge. I've been preparing for several months. My personal stuff went into storage. My furniture went to Goodwill. And I started on my adventure to look for America. My first stop is Yreka, CA on my way up to the Olympic Peninsula. I have stops along the way to visit friends and family. Then I head east. The only future reservation is on August 21 for the full eclipse. I highly recommend that you reserve your camping spots now. Many RV parks are already full for that weekend.



This first stop is at Wiiaka RV Park in Yreka CA. It's a good campground that I have used several times before while driving into Oregon. It was 7 hours from where I used to live. And 7 hours is a long drive.



I plan on using this thread to document my journey.

Ok Gerry, I'll bite. Why Sinatra? And if you say "because I did it my way" I'll hurl..[emoji57]

[Phil Saran]

Originally Posted by KNMIB

Lake Pleasant RV park in Bothell. I don't have info in front of me but I found it on RV Park Reviews - Trusted Reviews of Campgrounds & RV Parks

Lake Pleasant RV Park is very nice we have stayed there twice (July 2013 & 2016). You need to call them to get a reservation (needed).

[sky_blue]

A couple of questions for my Washington state friends:

1. How difficult is it to get an RV with a toad on the Bainbridge-Seattle Ferry. I can't back up with a toad.
2. I'll be heading to Spokane from Seattle on US90. I figure a half way point is Moses Lake. Any recommendations for RV overnight spots in the area?

[sky_blue]

Originally Posted by TheTraveler

Ok Gerry, I'll bite. Why Sinatra? And if you say "because I did it my way" I'll hurl..[emoji57]

It's a Vegas.

[vkb]

Originally Posted by gbrown

Can one of youi please message me the campground that allows storage and where it is? That sounds like a great idea!

LAKE PLEASANT, BOTHEL, WASHINGTON west of Interstate .. secluded, but not far from stores etc.

It is a nice, well kept older rv park....they allowed us to park our rv(toyhauler) in a side area with elec. hookup only...so refrig can run....cost per day was minimal...we drove truck to Vancouver and parked it in lot across from dock. I researched every way to get to Vancouver...and we decided, since we had the truck this was best.

We drove up the day before and stayed at a small motel on the coast and drove in the next morning with plenty time to spare.

[sky_blue]

I've maged to make it to the Olympic Penensula with my trusty toad. Port Townsend is beautiful and historic..

[sky_blue]

Fay Bainbridge State Park across from Seattle. This is a great park. Just water hookup. But right on the water.

[Mo_Mike]

Originally Posted by gbrown

It's a Vegas.

Better Sinatra than ELVIS (Elvis would probably be over gross vehicle weight)

[sky_blue]

Hi all,
I made it to Coeur d'Alene,Idaho When I left Bainbridge Island, I took the long way aoound (south to Tacoma) rather than the Ferry. 1) Traffic in Seattle was terrible. 2) It was either $84 or $92 to put the Vegas and Toad on the Ferry (40' under/over). 3) It was May Day and many marches going on in downtown Seattle.

I went to Moses Lake. The best part was the drive up he Columbia Gorge to the Grand Coulee Dam. As amazing as the dam was, it pales in comparrison to the surrounding beauty.

Please advise me of other amazing places in Idaho that I should not miss.

[ArrrV]

Took our grands to Idaho last summer to see Craters of the Moon National Monument. It is an absolutely amazing place, and once out there (really out there) you will feel that you are out of this world. Literally. We also stopped at the Atomic City reactor museum. We all are kinda science and history nerdy and liked that too. There were two nesting pairs of horned owls out back of the parking lot last year. We stayed in Arco at a campground on the road to Craters of the Moon. The campground was clean, well run, and had a restaurant on the grounds with the best smoked potatoes and ribs we have ever had. We did not stay at Craters of the Moon National Monument campground because at the time it had no facilities at all, and was scheduled to close and undergo total refurbishment the week after we were there.
Have fun and drive safe.

[Smidge]

[ We stayed in Arco at a campground on the road to Craters of the Moon. The campground was clean, well run, and had a restaurant on the grounds with the best smoked potatoes and ribs we have ever had.



Craters of the Moon is in my OneNote folder for Places to go. Thanks for the post.

[Barrhavencobra]

I love the updates, please keep up current on your voyage.

Jim

[sky_blue]

One Month Report...
I've made through 5 states: California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and now I am in Montana. All in all it has been a fun trip. I probably started too early. I should have gone south first. I'm currently at the west gate of Glacier National Park. After this is Yellowstone and Craters of the Moon. The picture is from the RV Park. Those are the Rockies!

[rjhayes3308]

Originally Posted by gbrown

Fay Bainbridge State Park across from Seattle. This is a great park. Just water hookup. But right on the water.

Nice picture thanks for sharing.

[sky_blue]

Any suggestions for West Yellowstone?

[vkb]

Originally Posted by gbrown

Any suggestions for West Yellowstone?

from us... not too much ... other than you are near the Grand Tetons and there are some spectacular views...if you are on the west side...there is white water river rafting on the Gallatin River.

[sky_blue]

I've made it to Yellowstone. Before this I was in Butte, Montana where I woke up to no water. I looked outside and saw snow on the ground. The city water hose had frozen. Luckily I always travel with 1/3 tank of fresh water. I turned on the waste heaters so that I could drain the tanks before leaving.

I continue to have to fix the valences. Using screws on a thin particle board is plain stupid. Ever heard of mollies?

I'm amazed that I haven't seen any other Vegas/Axis on the road. Yellowstone has tons of RVs.

Next stop will be Grand Tetons.

[Teeitup26]

Originally Posted by gbrown

Yesterday was my 70th Birthday. To celebrate, I got in my rig, "Sinatra" and got the heck out of Dodge. I've been preparing for several months. My personal stuff went into storage. My furniture went to Goodwill. And I started on my adventure to look for America. My first stop is Yreka, CA on my way up to the Olympic Peninsula. I have stops along the way to visit friends and family. Then I head east. The only future reservation is on August 21 for the full eclipse. I highly recommend that you reserve your camping spots now. Many RV parks are already full for that weekend.

This first stop is at Wiiaka RV Park in Yreka CA. It's a good campground that I have used several times before while driving into Oregon. It was 7 hours from where I used to live. And 7 hours is a long drive.

I plan on using this thread to document my journey.

Congratulations. You're doing what i'm thinking and planning to do. I'll be reading your posts. How hard is it to break away from all the stuff and just go?

[sky_blue]

Originally Posted by Teeitup26

Congratulations. You're doing what i'm thinking and planning to do. I'll be reading your posts. How hard is it to break away from all the stuff and just go?

It was the most terrifying 2 weeks of my life deciding what to donate to Goodwill; what to put in the RV; what to put in storage. A month later, I am OK with my decisions.

Zen saying, "A journey of a thousand miles starts with one small step". Best decision I ever made.

[sky_blue]

Wolf spotted
Today I was driving the Grand Loop Rd in Yellowstone. There were two cars stopped on the road. I stopped and thought, "Oh joy, another tourist blocking traffic because there was a buffalo on the side of the road". But when I looked over, a wolf was staring at me. I reached for my iPhone to take a picture - and it was gone. That alone made the trip to Yellowstone worth it.