Watching the Wasatch...

Across Idaho and into Utah today.  Another beautiful day; even got a bit of a tailwind for much of the drive, making for around 14 mpg.  Until we got close to Utah, and irrigation, everything was pretty brown looking.  Well, except for the parts that were obviously burned.  No smoke today, though.

Little Izzy wasn't being too social today, until Joan coaxed her out of the carrier - you can tell she wasn't too happy about being held just then...

Idaho has a sense of humor about their diesel prices... they have cash, cash PUC, credit, credit PUC.  Four different prices that flash on the signs.  It took me a while, but I did figure it out: whatever price is the highest is what I will be paying.

Joan picked another Passport America park today.  I had my doubts after the past couple nights, especially when I saw a nice State Park from the road after our last fill-up.  But, the price was right: $13.50 for a full hook-up site, showers nearby.  The on-line reviews were OK... I held my breath as we got close.  Just far enough off the freeway that we shouldn't have much road noise, and then... it is a mobile home park that also has RV sites.  Looks decent.  The manager could not have been nicer and gave us a site close to the shower house.  And, it really is a house.  Or rather, a double wide manufactured home... use the lock code for the door and you have access to the whole place.  Even a washer/dryer if you want to use it.

He also gave us a recommendation for a good place to eat, after I inquired.  We took his advice and had a fine meal!  And back in time for adult beverages... in the cockpit, of course.  The view out the back...

OK, it looks better if you crop out the foreground and just enjoy the beautiful Wasatch Mountains...

That's what we're doing. :-)  Cheers!

So, we're going to be in Napa Valley tonight?

Ah, drinking some wine... looking at the beautiful vineyards in the lush valley.  Um... isn't that in Northern California?  Pretty sure we weren't going that way.  Joan navigates, I just drive the boat... or the truck.

I guess I misunderstood... it's Nampa Valley... yeah, there's an "m" in there.  We are in Idaho, not California.

Back to Rufus for a moment.  Here is what it looked like this morning...

Our view from the cockpit...

Yeah, those things on the top of the ridge are wind generators, so you know it is usually windy here...

There wasn't much wind last night or today; the smoke wasn't an issue; it was reasonably quiet (far enough away from the road); and we didn't have to run heat last night.  Even had a couple of the windows open all night... a first since we left Texas in early May.

The road was decent and the weather pleasant for the drive today... even though we weren't going to Napa Valley.  As the road departed the Columbia River, the terrain turned to high desert, something we've seen plenty of.  We stopped for food, fuel, and rest areas, taking time to check the tires and hubs at each stop.  Little Izzy was a champ again, but mostly slept in her carrier - never any fuss.

We crossed the Snake River into Idaho...

Stopped at the Idaho Visitors Center Rest Area...

As you can see from the photo above (shorts and a short sleeve shirt), the weather is beautiful, wish you were here.

We rolled into an RV park in Nampa (see the "m"), just northwest of Boise.  We have 30 amp power, cable TV (didn't have to set out the View Qube) and shade in the cockpit (where I'm writing this).  There have already been a couple RVers walk by... "Nice way to travel!"

Joan said we are a hit with some bikers who rode by, when they saw "Spearfish, South Dakota" as our home port.

The park isn't fancy (the hot tub isn't working right now :-( ), but it has what we need.  Kinda close to the airport, but I like airplane noise... just as much as Joan likes the train noise.  We didn't get "the trifecta" of airport, trains, and a prison nearby, but it will do fine.  Izzy is enjoying the shade in the cockpit (it's 81º), Joan is putting together some adult beverages and snacks, and she said there's no need to unhook and go out with the truck (I told her we could go out for supper if we are in civilization tonight)... it's all good.

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. 

Friends...

Ever notice how, as a departure time nears, the tasks escalate?  We had moved things from the boat to the truck and vice versa over the past couple days.  But once the boat came out of the water, the number of things to find a place for expanded.  And laundry needed to get done.  Even though the boat bottom was clean, there was still salt spray on... well, on almost everything.

As we checked off the projects, I heard my stomach complain about feeling empty.  Not a great time to stop... but, my Honey whipped up a meatball sandwich to hold me for a while.

While she was in the laundromat, Herb, Wilma, and Jake showed up... and brought hors devours!  "We knew you'd be tired and hungry."  Thoughtful.  We sat at the picnic table and enjoyed the conversation and chow.  And formulated a very loose plan for "warmer waters."  We'll be on the road at different times, but plan to wind up in the same place... maybe even at the same time. ;-)

Out...

Not sure what you're expecting with that title?  Wild Blue is out of the water, bottom cleaned, and placed on her trailer.

Every day starts out better with an Izzy image: she knows something is up today...

Here is the reason we are heading out...

No, we have nothing against trees.  But, these trees are turning colors.  Last year, we followed the fall colors as they moved south.  Since we are heading to Arizona, that probably isn't going to happen much... but, the colors (and the cold nights) are Nature's way of telling us to follow the birds.

We started the work day by getting the truck and trailer down to boat yard.  It was a mile and a half walk back to the marina...

Yes, we stopped for coffee and a donut (OK, I had a Diet Pepsi) along the way.  A few last minute things with Wild Blue, and we headed out of this marina and down to Marine Services.  We were 15 minutes early, and they went right to work on us.  It takes a while to position the Travel Lift, but things went fast from there.  I'll let the photos tell the story...

The whole process took about an hour.  They were fast and thorough - I was impressed that it all went just like they said it would.  Beth was the Travel Lift operator and the over-seer of the project... and my new best friend.

We strapped Wild Blue down to the trailer and headed for the RV park where we had already paid for a site.  The park is not overly occupied, and we are in a row pretty much by ourselves.  I thought that might be so they could show us off... or maybe they were concerned about the boat riff-raff? ;-)  As we pulled in, I saw a guy with a Teton Homes 5th wheel in the next row give us the "once over"... he looked as though he smelled something bad.  We smiled and waved.

There is a LOT to get done before we hit the road in the morning.  Frankly, road-mode isn't as much fun as water mode with the boat... but, it does allow us to get to the next fun water place.

Trending...

Yeah, I'm with it.  When you see on the news programs that a particular topic is getting a lot of notice, they call it "trending."  I'm old school enough, that a trend means: more of the same.  Well, the morning view is... more of the same.

Yeah, I'd say this foggy stuff is trending.  On the bright side, we have less than a mile to go today - to where the boat will be pulled out.  Then, the less-than-bright side: Wild Blue will be land-bound for the next 1,300 miles.

From our perspective, being trailerable is a good thing.  We like being able to be in our favorite cruising areas when we want.  Living on the boat on land... well, we are less than fully functional on land, especially regarding our water systems.  So, we make some changes in the way we do things (like using the park showers instead of ours), and find campgrounds or RV parks along the way so we can have an electric hook-up.

One more "shuffle" today: get the truck and trailer down to the haul-out facility (a little over a mile away), walk back to the marina, then get Wild Blue down there.  We are ready "to trend" south. ;-)

As I wrote the above, an improving trend...

A very full day...

Wild Blue is in Anacortes, ready to be pulled out tomorrow and get her bottom cleaned.

We left Friday Harbor this morning, knowing that we'd be dealing with fog most of the way back to Anacortes.  The view as we came out of the harbor...

That's Turn Island on the right side of the image - and a wall of fog at the horizon.  Within a couple minutes, it looked like this...

The visibility was down to about 50 feet at the worst...

Look close - there is a nav marker in that image above.  We monitored traffic (not a lot), and moved faster than I like in the fog to get out of the way of a ferry that was coming through a narrow area... never saw it (less than 1/4 mile according to the radar), but we could hear it, and saw the wake after it passed.  Good thing all that nav gear works...

It was nice having a second set of eyes to help scan - we considered having Joan take the truck on the ferry while I drove solo... and then decided we'd rather do it together.  Of the 22 miles in that run, about 18 of it was in fog with visibility less than 200 yards.  Fortunately, it began to lift after we crossed Rosario Strait, on our way towards Cap Sante Marina.

We put the boat at the slip, then climbed in the truck for the ride to Merv and Kathy's place to pick up our trailer.  On the way, there was some interesting fog around the bridge over Deception Pass...

That is fog swirling up and over the bridge (and that bridge is high above the water) - it made for a "tunnel" of good visibility right on the bridge, with the fog rolling overhead.  And off to the side...

Merv gave me a hand airing up the tires and greasing the bearings on the trailer.  We visited for a bit, then hooked up the truck and trailer, and hit the road again.

Back to Cap Sante, just before 6:00...

As we were walking to the boat, a young man passed us, said, "Hello," and then asked, "Are you Jim and Joan from the C-Brats?"  We got the opportunity to meet Sam - I have been following Sam's travels as he took his C-Dory 22 from the Puget Sound area up to Alaska.  Sometimes with others onboard, often on his own.  He had just graduated from college and planned this adventure.  I have a lot of admiration for that young man; it was a treat to get to meet him face-to-face (we had corresponded through the forum).

Sam had a supper date, and we were running late to meet with our friends Herb and Wilma for happy hour!  We visited on Herb and Wilma's boat for a while, then headed off for pizza... I have been craving pizza for days and we knew this place in Anacortes makes 'em good!

It was a good day - an interesting cruise in the fog back "to America," visiting with friends, and driving the truck - this was the most I've driven the truck in 4 1/2 months.  We need to get back in "road shape" - tomorrow the boat comes out, goes back on the trailer, and we head south.

It's time.  The 4 of us all agreed that the days are getting short and the nights are getting chilly here in the Pacific Northwest.  Back south, where we will get "another summer."

Going nowhere fast...

Well, for a while this morning, we are going nowhere.  The fog is so thick, you can barely see across the dock.  "Occasional patchy fog" was predicted... yeah, this is a bit more than that.  We'll be taking out time this morning, to see if this burns off some.  Otherwise, it will be a long, slow crossing.

Shuffle...

A beautiful morning in Friday Harbor today...

 We were up early, getting ready to roll: one last early morning to get the truck on the ferry.  No question that little Izzy was going to miss us...

 Joan checked on-line to see what the status was with the first morning ferry: only 10 minutes late.  I was surprised by the number of vehicles already in line (on a weekday in late September)...

We parked the truck and went up to the passenger area.  I still enjoy this trip, especially when we aren't on a tight schedule.  Nice light this morning...

 And always pretty scenery...

Plenty of running to get done once we unloaded from the ferry: made arrangements for a slip, arrangements for an RV site, double checked the arrangements to get the boat bottom powerwashed.  Worked in a supply stop (Wally World), a lunch stop (Carino's), and a recon mission at a music store.  A lot accomplished in a relatively short time.

Back in Anacortes, we stopped at the marina to visit our friends, Herb, Wilma and Jake, and meet a new friend, Ray.  We visited in the cockpit of Willie's Tug; solved some high level world problems, traded some stories, and laughed a bit.  Herb and Wilma graciously gave us a ride back to the ferry landing, where we walked onboard.

We are on our last ferry trip for this season right now - the truck is back "in America" and we are going back to spend our last night in Friday Harbor.  I kinda have some butterflies in my stomach, in anticipation of this next chapter.  Assuming all the ducks line up getting the boat out and the bottom powerwashed... oh, and going over the trailer, checking brakes and bearings... and then hauling another 1,300 plus miles, we're planning to head to Lake Powell for some more boat cruising.  Lake Powell is another amazing place - with the changing water level there, and the main portion of the lake over 200 miles long, and the endless arms and canyons extending off that... well, it's never the same experience twice.

So, two more days of shuffle, clean, grease, check, and shuffle some more... and, we're off.

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On edit:

Back in Friday Harbor, another shuffle: while one Washington State Ferry pulled out and moved over to the next landing so the ferry we were on could have the vehicle lanes.  We walked off and turned towards the marina.  One of the first things you see: the boats we worked on this summer.  Joan said, "Say good-bye to Kittiwake."

"See ya, Kittiwake.  Hasta la vista."

We could hear marimba music coming from the marina park - yep, their last time playing outside this year.  And coming up right behind us, a troupe of jugglers and dancers...

"Circus show at Brickworks tonight!"

See those juggling pins at the right side of the photo?  Not a planned part of the marimba band performance.  Nor the dancing...

Joan describes life in Friday Harbor as "ecclectic."  Well, even after "the season," it isn't dull around here.  Yep, I'm going to miss this place.

Tomorrow, we, and all our stuff, should be back in America.