Travel has been fairly quiet. Saturday, Day 11, I spent updating the blog, paying bill, doing laundry; the typical Saturday stuff.
Sunday, I packed up and headed to Mountain Home, ID. It was a comparatively short day. I only drove 270 miles. It did rain most of that time. I arrived at Mountain Home RV Park around 2 p.m. MT. The park was gorgeous with spacious concrete pads and lush green lawns. The dog park was even notable. The grass was so green, you could play golf on it. And the people were very friendly. I didn't want to disconnect the car, so I ate in, watched a little TV and went to bed.
Monday, Happy Labor Day, was a bit chilly in the morning. Yesterday's rain brought with it a cold front. I woke up to a 45 degree morning. Burrrr! Got the Bus ready for travel. I expected a light traffic day because of the holiday. I was right about that for most of the way.
My next stop was Pendleton, OR. The route took me through the rest of Idaho and into Oregon. There were some very steep hills. I stayed in the right lane and took my time. As I got closer to Pendleton, about 15 - 20 miles out, there are grade warnings along the road. I read one that had a list of cargo weights and maximum speeds for those weights. For my weight vehicle, the maximum speed was 43 mph. I'm thinking okay, I'll use the air brakes and low gear and be fine. I continue on my way. About two miles later, there is a sign similar to the first one reading, This is your final warning. Oh no, am I in for a time. Well, I did okay down this 6 -7 mile, 6% grade hill. The air brake worked great and I was doing fine. Then, well you've seen the road signs warning of a curve ahead? No joke, this one looked like a cinnamon bun. The road curved to the right in a sever circular direction. (Okay, I exaggerate a little.) So glad I had control of the Bus. That's not the end. As I'm coming out of that curve, there is another sign showing the road curving in the opposite direction. I was very happy to see a flat straight away at the bottom of the hill. Here is a YouTube video link of a trucker taking us for this ride. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqBSBe0v0v8 Yep, that's pretty much what it felt like.
The campground was only two or three more miles. Once I got set up and the dogs taken care of, I googled the route. I discovered it's called Cabbage Hill and the curvy parts are called Deadman's Pass. I went from an elevation of 3,626 feet to 1,359 feet in the span of six miles. That is a 2267 foot descent. Yes, my ears were popping.
I got to the campground. Disconnect the car and the hitch would not store as it should. And when I went to move the car, the steering seemed unresponsive. Great. What am I going to do now? I drove the Bus to my site. I couldn't get it leveled. So I walked to the office and was assigned another site. Drove the Bus around the campground to the new site which thankfully was more level. After I set up and walked and fed the dogs, I made a phone call to our friend Bob and asked him about the hitch and the possible damage to the car. He wasn't familiar with my brand of hitch but thought that as long as my car tires were not scuffed or worn, I should be okay.
I moved the car to the site and it handled just fine. I took some soapy water and poured it on the hitch joint and it behaved properly. I must have been so sensitive from the drive down Cabbage Hill, that I wasn't thinking clearly. I kept my cool and didn't panic. All is right with the world.
I rested a while then it was time to get something to eat. My neighbors were enjoying the weather so I popped over to say "Hi". Lovely people. I said I was on my way to eat dinner, they invited me to join them. They were going to a Mexican place in town a bit later. I got out my chair and a glass of wine and enjoyed their company before we went to dinner.
Thank you, Dana, Gail, John and Kathy for the enjoyable meal and great conversation.
I'll give you a break from reading. My time in Pendleton was great. I have some fun stuff to share and some pictures. Hang in there, it will be posted soon.
Thanks for traveling with the Bootle Poodles.
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