Preparations for and travels before our Alaskan Trip - 2016

After spending the winter in Bothell, WA at the Lake Pleasant RV Park, we had appointments to have our motor home serviced in Oregon the first week in June. The coach work was to be done in Junction City and the motor and generator just up the road on the northeast side of Eugene, OR. Originally we had planned on staying in Bothell until the end of May before moving down to Oregon the week before our appointments in order to spend some time with Barbara's two sisters in Stayton. As usual, plans got changed. During the winter, we got to know and made friends with some good people at the Lynnwood Elks, including fellow Seahawks fans, golfers and a camping group. We joined the latter and went on several camp outs (what we call rallies) with them. Since one of these camp outs was to be held in Prosser, WA (east of the Cascades in the Yakima Valley) starting on 19 May, we thought that rather than come back to Bothell, spend a week, then turn around and travel back south to Oregon, we would instead spend some time in WA wine country and in the Cascades of northern OR. Again, plans changed when we looked at the weather forecast (cold!!) for the Memorial Day weekend in the mountains near John Day so we took a short detour to Walla Walla, WA before heading over to the Willamette Valley.

After saying our goodbyes to our camping group in Prosser, we spent part of one day and the night at one of our favorite wineries, Kiona vineyards in Benton City, WA before moving down to Kennewick for a night at the Tricity Elks.

Sunset over the Rattlesnake Hills - view from Kiona Vineyards, Benton City, WA

Mt Adams at sunset - view from Kiona Vineyards, Benton City, WA

While in Kennewick, we made contact with our good friends and fellow NKK members, Mike Carol Lowry and had dinner with them. From there we moved further east to Walla Walla and stayed 3 nights at the Elks lodge there – more sight seeing and wine tasting.

Famous dog statue on the street corner in Walla Walla, WA

RV parking at the Walla Walla Elks Lodge 287 - six 30 amp hookups

Leaving Walla Walla our next destination was the Elks lodge in Keizer, OR just north of Salem. Our route took us along the Columbia River – a little windy but a nice day. 

Mt Hood - view from I-84 west bound along the Columbia Gorge

Sailboarding on the Columbia River

We spent a week in Keizer, visiting Barbara’s sisters in Stayton (about 20 minute drive), shopping in preparation for our Alaskan trip and wine tasting. As our foam mattress had lost its memory, we ordered a Sleep Number mattress, which we found had to be shipped to a physical address – Barbara's sister Nancy agreed to receive it for us, so instead of heading from Eugene to Bend, we returned to Keizer.

While in Junction City, we discovered two other Newmar Fulltimers getting their coaches serviced, so we had a good visit and the promised to see each other again at the International rally in Colorado. Also while there, Barbara’s sister Nancy her husband Carl drove down and we had lunch at one of the largest Oregon wineries, the King Estate winery south of Eugene. Wonderful experience! It was great to have one-on-one time with them, as we usually meet at big family events.

King Estates Vineyards & Winery near Eugene, OR - view from entry road

Our view at lunch at the King Estates Winery near Eugene, OR

Back in Keizer we installed our new mattress and experienced one of the best nights of sleep in a long, long while.

Keizer, OR Elks 2472 - front entrance - note RVs beyond - over 40 full hookups

Keizer OR Elks RV park - our motor home 3rd on left

Before we could officially start our journey north to Alaska, we had to fulfill our commitment to participate in the 3-day RV Owner’s Lifestyle Seminar at the Okanagan College in Kelowna, BC the last weekend in June. From Keizer, we took OR-22 and 20 to Suttle Lake, then east to US-97 and north to Moro, across the Columbia River and over to Yakima. From Yakima we continued on US-97 to the Wenatchee Confluence State Park, north to Omak and across the border and up to Kelowna. 

Suttle Lake at the Suttle Lake National Forest campground - note Mt Washington just behind the hill 

Entrance to the Yakima Elks and Golf Course - Lodge 318 - beautiful golf course

Yakima Elks Lodge 318 RV parking - 38 sites with 50 amp power & water and 18 hole golf course

Kittitas Valley east of the WA Cascades - view from I-82-W looking north just outside Ellensburg, WA

Wenatchee River flowing into the Columbia -  nice 8 mile loop trail crossing both rivers

Confluence State Park, Wenatchee, WA -  one of the nicest state parks that we have stayed in - although pricey at $53 for one night with all the added charges for reservations and out-of-state fees.

After we gave our two well-received 90 minute sessions in Kelowna, on June 27^th we drove to Kamloops for a two night stay. 

Kamview Hts. RV Campground - east of Kamloops - note it's uphill - OK park but some noise from the Trans Canada Highway and trains just below the park.

Leaving Kamloops on June 28, as we crossed the Thompson River on northbound BC-5 we felt that we were truly starting our Alaska adventure. Another blog entry will follow soon, depending on our access to the internet, so stay tuned. 

Shelby with Tom and Barbara