Final leg of maiden
voyage.
Left Philipsburg
and drove all day to Rimrock getting in about 5pm. I have my choice of places to park and decide
to face away from the clubhouse this time.
I was making a few attempts to get into the spot and two fellows came up
and directed me in. This time I didn’t take out any hitching posts!
Boy was my throat
getting worse…has to be strep so I look for a place to use my TriCare “insurance”
for the first time. The closest place is
an urgent care in Moses Lake so I head out the next morning, leaving the dogs
in Roxie after a long walk around the area.
After over an hour wait I am told that it is only a cold and to get some
Benadryl to help me sleep through the night (and be able to breathe).
I drive back to Ephrata
and stop at the Dollar Tree to pick up a few things and realize I have lost my
phone. I go into the store and ask if
they have a phone I can use but of course I don’t know the number of the
clinic. It is in the phone! I’m standing at the cash register with the
phone in hand and the clerk is trying to figure out how I can get the number when
the lady checking out says “What clinic?”
I tell her and she gives me the phone number…WOW. I can’t believe any one has any number other
than their own memorized (and some struggle with that) these days.
Yes, my phone is
there. Stop by the business desk to pick
it up. SOOO, grab what I need there, turn
around and drive back to Moses Lake to pick up my phone. The lady that handed it to me asked if my son
had gotten hold of me. I said “No” and
she said she had called him to tell him my phone was there. HOW did she do that? I remember when cell phones first came out
there was an ICE (in case of emergency) that anyone could access but didn’t
realize that still existed.
 |
| Relaxing (?) with Oscar |
Get back in Simon
and call Andrew to let him know I had the phone. He had sent me an email telling me where it
was. Now back to Ephrata and
Rimrock.
The rest of the
time at RR was peaceful. Reading, resting and taking it easy. Taking the dogs on walks up the hill behind the clubhouse or over to the dog park. This was a very nice off leash area. Very large, covered in wood chips with doodie
bags and trash can, and a large barrel for water that was yucky since it didn’t
circulate. Only thing is some people
didn’t clean up after their dogs and there were "land mines" around especially in
the corners.
There were several
wind storms over the days and I couldn’t keep the RV door open so I had to
research how to do that. Another order
to Amazon or Camping World is in order to buy a door catch and a screen door
bar. Those are two other things I wonder
why they aren’t part of the RV from the factory. I also discover a toggle that will open the
screen door without having to open the plexiglass slide, got to get one of
those! And I’ve decided that the vents
need covers so I don’t have to remember to close them if it starts to rain
(forgot that one time and had a wet bathroom).
Shake down cruise so long punch list.
Ok, time to leave
to get back to Portland to make a dental appointment on 3 July. Get up Monday morning to get hooked up and
out early. Take the dogs for a walk, disconnect
and close up everything, put the animals in Simon and turn the key. Nothing.
NOTHING. Try my small jump
starter that has always worked in the past.
NOTHING. Go to the office to see
if anyone there has jumpers. A guy
getting ready to leave for the day said he did and came over to the site and
NOTHING!
Back to the
clubhouse to get a signal so I can call USAA roadside service. I get a call back from them saying about 90
minutes. Back to Simon. Take the dogs out and open all the windows so
the cats have air flow. Settle down at
the picnic table and waited.
Heard some
birds making a fuss nearby and walked over to see what it was all about.
I find three little birds
on the ground and mom and dad hovering over them going nuts if anyone came
close. I figured they had been blown out
of the nest in the wind storm the night before OR since they were pretty big
had been kicked out of the nest and were being encouraged to fly. Where they were they could easily be stepped
on, especially by the kids walking around that area or run over if a vehicle
tried to get into the spot so I reached down to pick them up and move
them. The one I was reaching for flew a
little way off. I walked over and bent
down again and he flew into the bed of the truck next to the site.
I went to another
one picked it up and it flew into the bushes in the “island” I was trying to get
them to. One parent went over there and
the other stayed at the site. I didn’t
try to get the other one at that point.
About a half hour later I walked over and all three were back on the
ground…OH well.
The caretakers of
the park came over with their big truck and heavy-duty jumpers and tried to
jump me. They said they heard a click
and maybe it was the starter. One said
if he knew where the starter was he’d hit it and maybe it would work. They leave and I go back to the table.
 |
| Waiting patiently for road side service. |
It has now been
over 2 hours since I called for roadside service. I went back to the clubhouse and call the
company who tell me it is on it’s way and say I might need a tow. They have only sent a truck to try to jump me
and the person on the way might be able to diagnose what was wrong and would
decide if I needed a tow (another two hour wait!!!). Back to the table to wait.
As I read the
local Penny Saver a gentleman walks over and says, “Won’t start.” I say “no we tried jumping and nothing.” He says, “Try it again.” I roll my eyes grab my keys, get in and turn
the key. VAROOM. He says, “I’m magic.” Turns and walks
away. OH MY.
A few seconds
later he turns around and says it is probably the starter.
Three minutes
later the roadside service guy arrives. He
is an employee in his own truck telling me that they are slammed and all the
service trucks were on other calls so he volunteered to take the drive out to
service me.
I don’t turn Simon
off. Put the dogs inside back up to the
hitch and get out of dodge! Thought
about leaving him running when I stopped for gas but at least I was in town and
took the chance. No problem.
By this time, it
is almost noon and I need to be in Portland by 2 the next day…stop somewhere or
drive through? I push through. Lots of short stops on the way to stretch and
walk the dogs.
About half way
home the check engine light comes on, GREAT.
I know that sometimes this is caused by the gas cap not being on
securely so I check and sure enough it is loose. Keep going and let Bill (my mechanic) check
it out.
 |
Wild Horse Monument. First time I saw this I
thought they were real horses. |
 |
| Wind power...and there was lots of wind |
FINALLY around 7 I
pull up to the house, get the animals out and collapse. Time to deal with everything later.
 |
| Another sunset at Rimrock. |
I had wanted to go
to the Grand Coulee Dam while here so I decided to swing north and visit it on
the way back. What a beautiful drive. This is definitely someplace I will come back
to and spend some more time at.
