Rufus...

Sounds like the name of an ol' hound-dog, doesn't it?

It was a warm day today - we saw temps above 80º... and plenty of smoke as we crossed into Oregon from Washington. We timed our Seattle passage to miss rush hour (why do they call it that, when no one is able to actually rush??)

I stopped frequently to check the hubs and tires with the IR thermometer - all good. Joan did a great job packing the boat; everything rode well. We ran further than we anticipated, mostly because the first couple RV parks we checked with were full or didn't have a site left that we could fit in.

We settled for the night in Rufus... just off the Columbia River, but feels like it's WAY off the beaten path. This RV park had space. Kinda easy to see why, but we are plugged in, have the satellite TV going, and the guy running the park fixed me up with wifi. It wasn't easy getting on, but we have NO Gs on our phones. Joan is able to sign on (sloooooowly) with her iPhone... my poor Droid is waving its arms in the air and saying, "Danger, Will Robinson!!" I always get a better signal than Joan, but not tonight.

I got back into the swing of driving a truck after 4 1/2 months on the water. Big Red does a fine job with our 25. Only butt-clenching moment today came when we heard what sounded like an explosion... and the road in front of us filled with shards of rubber as the rear tire of the 18-wheeler right in front of us blew out! We zigged, we zagged, and managed to miss all the big pieces... just glad we weren't right beside that when it went off (he had just passed us)!

I wouldn't call the place we are in tonight a "destination" park; mostly permanent or long-term looking rigs in here. But, we're down for the night, got around 14 mpg for the day, the truck, boat and trailer did fine, and the smoke from the fires isn't too bad. Odds are pretty good we won't need the heater tonight.