In the last post I talked about our issues with Scoopy’s back slide and all that entailed; getting her repaired and road worthy. Carrier RV Service had blocked off a full week, 40 hours, just for the slide work. Since there were other issues on our repair list as well, we knew the whole thing would have Scoopy in the shop for a long while. Luckily, our friends Glenn and Kris live in nearby Portland so we made plans to stay at their place for a few days and see our friends Dan and Sherrie on Whidbey Island. We also made an appointment for Scoopy to have her annual service at Cummins Northwest in Coburg on the Tuesday after Labor Day. We had our fingers crossed that the timing would work out and that we’d be back on the road on Wednesday, 9/7.
After visiting our son Zac in Bellingham, catching up with our Sammamish friends and spending a couple of nights at the Elks in Kelso, we arrived at Carrier RV in Eugene on Sunday evening, 8/28. We were just in time to spend happy hour with fellow travelers Bill and Diane, who were also at Carrier for some repair work. Traffic around Portland had been a nightmare so we were ready for a refreshing beverage and a catch-up convo. After Scoopy was checked in on Monday morning we loaded up our stuff in Toadie and headed back to the Portland area.
What better way to pass the time than a good old pedicure!
We cooked some halibut and salmon for our friends Rich and Emma while in Carnation.
Some funky power issues and a bad decision to not use our EMS at Tolt-MacDonald RV Park fried our transfer switch and left us without shore power for our three-day stay.
Boondocking in the Elks Lodge parking lot in Kelso.
While in Kelso, Steven managed to lock both keys in Toadie so we had to get someone out to retrieve them!
Less than 48 hours after leaving Scoopy in Eugene, we got the call from Carrier saying she was done! Whaaaa???????????????? What do you mean done? Turns out all the issues with Scoopy’s back slide were fixed in one day! Seven hours, to be exact! Everyone at Carrier was as shocked as we were that the slide had sustained NO water damage and did not need to be rebuilt! I guess, in their experience, extensive damage was expected, and therefore they had planned for the worst. That’s what they based their estimate of both time and cost to us. But, wow, we got lucky! How awesome is that?
We asked Carrier to go ahead and fix a few more things (including our fried transfer switch) and to also do Scoopy’s oil change and generator and chassis service. Then we cancelled her appointment at Cummins Northwest. We could hardly contain our excitement when we were back in Eugene and back in Scoopy on Thursday! So all-in-all, three nights away from home instead of seven or more. By 10 o’clock Friday morning, we were on the road heading for the Teton Valley! Oh, happy days!!
There is one downside to this good news. We did not make our planned trip to Whidbey Island to spend time with dear friends Dan and Sherrie. We did see them in April on our way north, but it’s a favorite stop with two of our favorite people, so cancelling a visit was disappointing.
In the days before getting back on the road, selecting our route to Idaho was a constant conversation. For the most part, I’m fairly decisive about which way to go but sometimes the choices just don’t seem that great. We’ve driven Highway 20 across eastern Oregon before (twice!) and found it to be quite boring. Plus, I wanted to avoid Bend. I know a lot of people love Bend, but I am not really a fan. For me, it’s too populated, congested and hot! To avoid it, I was considering driving through Portland and adding 100 miles to our journey traveling on I-84 before coming to my senses. LOL, Portland traffic. No.
We didn’t fully commit to a route until departure day, but somehow, our choice felt right. Highway 20 to Sisters, then Highway 126/26 to Prineville, John Day and finally I-84 into Boise and on to the Teton Valley. It was along this route that we settled into five different Elks Lodges in two days. That story next.
UP NEXT: Alaska Expenses.
…
So, so happy for you guys!! It's exciting when work is done on time, but days early for less than you're expecting to fork out – just wow! I'll be driving into Oregon from Idaho next year so I'll be keeping an eye on your route.