Sorry about not getting the post up late last night/this morning. I had saved Friday and Saturday's pictures previously, but our signal after church would not work long enough or strong enough to load or save anything else. I could not publish even one picture. This morning is marginally better, but I will know more when I hit the Publish button.
Our weekend post has oodles of pictures this week. We passed through some of the prettiest places on earth and we could not resist taking a few pictures even with sun glare and bug guts on the windshield. I hope you can appreciate the beauty in spite of the imperfect pictures.
Friday was a full day to begin the weekend and it matched both of the other two days. We had needed to get on the roof and replace two Air Conditioner shrouds all week, but there had been too much snow and ice to attempt it. Friday we had to get up there and thankfully, the sun and 41 degree temperature cooperated. The ice was not all gone, but it was safer to be up there.
Our weekend post has oodles of pictures this week. We passed through some of the prettiest places on earth and we could not resist taking a few pictures even with sun glare and bug guts on the windshield. I hope you can appreciate the beauty in spite of the imperfect pictures.
Friday was a full day to begin the weekend and it matched both of the other two days. We had needed to get on the roof and replace two Air Conditioner shrouds all week, but there had been too much snow and ice to attempt it. Friday we had to get up there and thankfully, the sun and 41 degree temperature cooperated. The ice was not all gone, but it was safer to be up there.
The front shroud was completely gone and we had a temporary tarp on it while parked. The second shroud was horribly brittle so we were replacing it too. It was so brittle that when I let it drop off the edge onto the partially snow covered ground, it busted into a bunch of pieces.
Bro. Kevin had brought a six foot ladder and that made it possible. I lifted KJ up through the escape hatch and then I climbed the ladder outside and handed the boxed shrouds up to her. Then I took the ladder inside and used it to climb through the escape hatch to the roof. Together we removed the tarp and old shroud, unboxed the new ones and installed them.
The original screws that hold the shrouds on are nearly impossible for me to get. They do not come with the new shrouds anymore and every RV dealer tells me they do not carry them. I usually go to the hardware store and by #10 sheet metal screws 5/8-3/4" length and use big washers. Bro. George supplied them to me in Montana.
The view was beautiful!
While Kelly Jo was getting the inside ready to ride, I emptied the holding tanks, filled up the fresh water tank and added four gallons of windshield washer fluid.
After that, it was time to crank the BoggsMobile, turn it around and hook up the Green Machine.
We caught a short nap before church trying to be prepared to drive a few hours after church. I was not very successful with the nap, but we really enjoyed our last night with our wonderful friends at Sun Valley Church. We love Pastor Metzger and his people and we are already looking forward to returning soon.
When church was over it was difficult to pull ourselves away, but it finally had to be done. The BoggsMobile pulled out of the parking lot a few minutes before 10:00. It took us about 40 minutes of back roads, state Hwys, city streets and five miles of I-90 to navigate the first 24 miles to the brand new Loves on the west side of Missoula.
The bus only took on 76 gallons of diesel, which means we had over 120 gallons still on board. We certainly did not need to stop and I hate to take time to stop at the beginning of a night trip. But Missoula is the cheapest I am going to see diesel until December so I took advantage of it.
We left Loves exactly one hour after we left Sun Valley Church.
Turning west from Missoula through the panhandle of Idaho and into Spokane, Washington is mostly mountains so our speed averages were not setting any records. However, the roads were clear of snow and ice. That was a big plus.
We have been over that pass four times now, once with the truck and trailer and three trips with the bus. We have done it twice now at night and we hate to miss the scenery, but sometimes it must be done.
We followed I-90 over 250 miles and then continued on Hwy 395 toward northwest Oregon. Two years ago we stopped for rest at a rest area near Sprague, Washington, but this year I had my eyes set on the Hatton-Coulee Rest Area about 50 miles further.
We made it about 3:35 AM Mountain Time after 304 miles and 5 hours and 45 minutes. I laid down at 4:00, set my alarm for six hours, woke up 20 minutes before the alarm and we were rolling only four minutes after 10:00 Mountain time.
There is just a tad bit of town driving on this route, but eventually, we wound up on I-84 going west across the northern edge of Oregon. I-84 wondrously beautiful because it runs along the Columbia River Gorge for probably 200 miles.
It is so good that Kelly Jo rousted Odie out of her cave and nestled her near the front so that she could see the wonder.
It is also the reason you get to see 532 pictures of the Columbia River complete with bug guts and reflections courtesy of the bus windshield.
This is the third time Kelly Jo and I have driven this route in the bus, 2010, 2017 and now 2019, we never get tired of it and we always drag our feet every inch of the way.
Here we are, dragging our feet.
Mt. Hood
We may have a first for Mile Markers, Odie taking pictures out the windshield. She is normally ensconced about 20 feet behind the windshield behind the curtain of her bunk. Wow! Wonders never cease. Here is her contribution. Thank you, Odie.
We turned south on I-5 at Portland and that marked about our halfway point for the day. Once the Portland area traffic receded, we enjoyed a leisurely afternoon climbing up and down mountains all the way to a rest area near Grants Pass, Oregon after 505 miles and eight hours and thirty minutes.
That comes to 809 miles in about 20 hours since we left the church. Pretty good for us nowadays.
We turned south on I-5 at Portland and that marked about our halfway point for the day. Once the Portland area traffic receded, we enjoyed a leisurely afternoon climbing up and down mountains all the way to a rest area near Grants Pass, Oregon after 505 miles and eight hours and thirty minutes.
That comes to 809 miles in about 20 hours since we left the church. Pretty good for us nowadays.
We filled up with diesel again at Loves in Roseburg, Oregon about 60 miles before we stopped. We only took on 96 gallons, but the price jumps to the moon once we cross into the People's Republic of California.
On Mountain Time we stopped for the night at 6:35 PM but, we had crossed into Pacific Time so it was 5:35. However, time was changing back an hour Saturday night, so I set my clock for the actual time of 4:35.
Crossing Lake Shasta
(A few of you will get this) While crossing Lake Shasta I thought I saw a bus named Silver Chief with an older haggard looking gentleman sitting in a lawn chair out front playing a Telecaster and writing a song. I took a picture as I passed and when I looked at the screen, the phone captured nothing but the lake.
We did make it to Arbuckle and we did begin revival. We are already having a great time. I took two pictures at church and we could not get Odie's to load. We will try to post them later in the week. If you do not hear from us, then you know we are having problems with the cell signal.
Thank you for reading.
Davy
We all had showers and retired early for the night. I was in bed by 7:40. I had my four hour night in by 11:40, but I hung in the bed laying as still as I could and grabbed about four more hours after 1:30. Not bad for me at all.
The low for where we slept was 47 but I noticed about 5:30 AM Sunday, it was 32. What? I started the generator and warmed up the engine with the electric block heater for a couple of hours. When I cranked the Detroit, it fired right up.
We left the rest area a few minutes after 9:00 expecting a normal day of driving. I immediately realized that I had forgotten we were still in the mountains. In fact, the first 172 miles was mountains in Oregon and northern California.
The mountains were beautiful, but the sun was shining so bright on the windshield of the bus, it was almost impossible to get pictures without glare. We do have a few (Mostly marred) pictures of the drive and pictures from the first night of revival.
A few with majestic Mt. Shasta in the distance
The low for where we slept was 47 but I noticed about 5:30 AM Sunday, it was 32. What? I started the generator and warmed up the engine with the electric block heater for a couple of hours. When I cranked the Detroit, it fired right up.
We left the rest area a few minutes after 9:00 expecting a normal day of driving. I immediately realized that I had forgotten we were still in the mountains. In fact, the first 172 miles was mountains in Oregon and northern California.
The mountains were beautiful, but the sun was shining so bright on the windshield of the bus, it was almost impossible to get pictures without glare. We do have a few (Mostly marred) pictures of the drive and pictures from the first night of revival.
A few with majestic Mt. Shasta in the distance
Crossing Lake Shasta
(A few of you will get this) While crossing Lake Shasta I thought I saw a bus named Silver Chief with an older haggard looking gentleman sitting in a lawn chair out front playing a Telecaster and writing a song. I took a picture as I passed and when I looked at the screen, the phone captured nothing but the lake.
We did make it to Arbuckle and we did begin revival. We are already having a great time. I took two pictures at church and we could not get Odie's to load. We will try to post them later in the week. If you do not hear from us, then you know we are having problems with the cell signal.
Thank you for reading.
Davy
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