Finally, the waiting, waiting, waiting is over. There was a different song playing on the radio this morning. No more Sunny and Cher “I got you Babe”. …good bye ground hogs day, good bye Twin Falls. We are rolling down I84 with Moab in our sights and Willie is serenading us. Typically we like to drive around 5 hours or 250 miles a day but today Wally has the pedal to the medal. We are going to be on the road for 8-9 hours and will travel about 450 miles.

 

 

The coach is running great and the final diagnosis for the issues we were having was the aftermarket performance module which was installed by the prior owner. The service tech, stymied by the low pressure in our HEUI pump finally thought to disconnect the module and reconnect all the sensors directly to the engine. Bingo, no more low pressure issues and the fault codes stopped appearing. WOO-HOO!!!

This HEUI pump is kinda a big, damn deal when it comes it comes to the operation of the Cat engine on our coach. The Hydraulically actuated Electronically controlled Unit Injectors (HEUI) use a hydraulic pump and engine oil to generate fuel injection pressure, and an ECM to control the pressure and amount of fuel injected into the cylinders. No pressure = No fuel which is why we couldn’t get the coach started back at Bruneau Dunes.  My non-professional summary is that the performance module was going haywire and sending erratic signals to the HEUI.

 

What is super frustrating is that the tech spent 11 hours (at $128 an hour) troubleshooting other issues and actually had disconnected sensors from the module to test them. He never thought to bypass the module until yesterday at 3:30 pm. Well, he got an education and so did we to the tune of $1,935 …ouch. I suspect that the HEUI pump that we had replaced before we left Anacortes hadn’t failed and it was this damn module all along.

Yesterday was mentally exhausting with all the waiting and wondering. The upside was it was warm and sunny so we spent the day walking the Canyon Rim Trail and playing ball with Bentley in Centennial Waterfront Park as Sucia watched from her crate. Poor buddy, she was in her crate again for 12 hours and it will be another long one for her today.

 

 

We also got to watch two base jumpers, attached to parachutes dive off the Perrine Bridge over the Snake River Gorge and glide to the ground below…wow, that takes some nerve!

 

 

I had a fabulous birthday lunch at Chipotle Mexican Grill, a hot shower later and a nice bottle of wine! Life is good…..On the road again…just can’t wait to get on the road again.

 

 

So I am guessing you have figured out we are still trying to get the issues with our coach resolved. You can check out the link for the rest of the saga if you are just tuning in.  Waiting, Waiting, Waiting. I can safely say that today will not be my most exciting Birthday ever but it will certainly be memorable.

 

 

Since we were relegated to a KOA just a few miles from the Freightliner Dealership for the weekend we decided to make lemons into lemonade and explore the Thousand Springs Scenic Byway. Driving through the Snake River Canyon on US 30 between Hagerman and Twin Falls, it’s easy to see how the Thousand Springs Scenic Byway got its name. An abundance of natural springs gush from the steep canyon walls and cascade into the river below. The water source is the Snake River Plains Aquifer, one of the largest groundwater systems in the world. It creeps through an area of several thousand square miles under southern Idaho’s porous volcanic rock before emerging from the springs in the cliffs. Today, hydroelectric projects divert some of the water so while you won’t see literally a “Thousand Springs” it is still an impressive sight.

 

 

The most outstanding experience was Miracle Hot Springs…not miraculous in that it solved our mysterious issue with the coach but miraculous in that it was just the soothing, blissful hour that we needed to soak away our cares. Truly, if it had been open we would have been back on Sunday for another hour. The best $28 I have ever spent.

 

 

The facility itself could be described as spartan but the mineral water was the real deal. Miracle Hot Springs is truly a Geothermal Oasis in the Desert. We Rejuvenated in the continuous flow of natural hot spring water that is soft to the touch and odorless with a sensational alkaline pH of 9.6. For $28 we had a VIP soaking pool for an hour which had a private dressing room and a private outdoor pool surrounded by a high stucco wall. Since I was with my man of 25+ years there was no reason to don the swimsuit!

 

 

 

We saw some jaw dropping beautiful country, visited the Hagerman Narional Fish Hatchery, saw the Devils Washbowl at Malad State Park, checked out the Hagerman Fossil Beds Visitors Center, took a walk in the Niagara Wildlife Management area and had some delicious ice cream at Cloverleaf Creamery. All in all, a nice day and a great way to get our minds off the real reason we were still in Twin Falls.

 

 

On Sunday our traveling friends, Tom and Laurie detoured over to Twin Falls to cheer us up. We were supposed to meet in Moab and spend our BD’s (Tom and I are just days apart) hiking in Arches National Park. We had a great dinner at Elevation 486 which overlooks the Snake River Gorge and spent the next day seeing some more of the local sites.

Did you know that just outside of Twin Falls was where the Minidoka War Relocation Center was built. The Minidoka War Relocation Center was in operation from 1942–45 and one of ten camps at which Japanese Americans, both citizens and resident “aliens,” were interned during World War II. Under provisions of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, all persons of Japanese ancestry were excluded from the West Coast of the United States. At its peak, Minidoka housed 9,397 Japanese Americans, predominantly from Oregon, Washington, and Alaska.

 

 

 

Now a National Historical site, it serves as a grim reminder of how actual US citizen of Japanese heritage were treated during WW2. The Supreme Court eventually ruled that it was illegal to hold US citizens as prisoner so they were given $25 and sent on their way. Wow, Roosevelt and Trump may share some common views on immigrants – scary.

 

 

I will spare you the ground hogs day episode of everything that went on with the coach on Monday but we spent the night again in the Freightliner parking lot.

 

 

Suffice to say, its not looking like we will make it to Moab for my birthday (Tuesday). Hell, at this point I would be thrilled to be rolling down I84 going anywhere. So come on Freightliner…Make this gals birthday wishes come true.

 

 

And so it continues… After our day of being DEAD IN THE DUNES and being towed to a Freightliner Elite Service Center in Twin Falls Idaho on Thursday, Road House was put on the service schedule for the next morning.

We got up early on Friday, packed up the pets and a bag so we would be ready to go when they knocked on the door.

Waiting and more waiting…. At 10:30 our coach was rolled into the service bay. We headed up to the customer lounge with Sucia in her crate to wait for an update. Bentley was hanging in the car as he’s not a lounge kinda guy.

Waiting and more waiting…. By 12:30 we were ready for lunch and had seen the Traeger infomercial on the big screen TV so many times that I was repeating the recipes. Time for a gourmet lunch…Subway sandwich delivered by Wally.

Waiting and more waiting…I think I was being really patient but knowing the staff were having a chili cook off at 1 pm I was beginning to wonder if anyone was really even working on our coach. After a chat with the very nice Customer Service Coordinator Rebecca, I learned that they were still diagnosing the problem. Hmm, not good news. The Service Manager said they need a couple more hours.

Tired of waiting, we decided to load up Kitty Sucia in the car with Bentley and go for a drive. I needed a cable to charge my iPad keyboard so we went to a nearby Best Buy. Got the cable and discovered that beneath the bridge we drove over was the Snake River Gorge. WOW,  what a beautiful sight right from the BB parking lot.  Out in the distance we could see waterfalls dotting the sides of the gorge.

After some further googling, we found nearby Centennial Waterfront Park down in the gorge. Again, stunningly beautiful. Bentley was thrilled as he got to go for a walk, play with sticks and run off leash as NO ONE was there. Well, it was raining off and on and windy. Really, windy…like 30 MPH windy. So maybe that’s why no one was there?

More searching on Trip Advisor suggested Shoshone Falls, also known as the Niagara of the West, is a must-see. With a 212 foot drop and a width of 900 feet, it is one of the largest natural waterfalls in the United States.

 

WOW, all I can say is WOW. We were both blown away and the only people there was a young couple. We happened upon them as the fellow dropped to his knee and proposed. Aww, that was so romantic and sweet. What a spectacular backdrop, maybe they will get married there too!

We left feeling a bit more relaxed but a very frustrating call to my gal Rebecca at Freightliner quickly erased that bliss. Seems they had the coach running but needed more time to diagnose some other issues. This might run into MONDAY…now I am not feeling any bliss. I calmly asked her what was causing the delay, was it a part they needed to order?  Well, she need to find out more and would call me back. Can I say at this point that communication is not their strong suit.

Waiting…so 30 minutes later she rang me back. No issue with parts but the mechanic was off at 5 pm and would be back at work on MONDAY. Seriously, this is an Elite Service Center and they only have one certified Caterpillar mechanic. Well, he was going to keep working on it until 5…lucky me! So we headed back to the service center to discuss our options. We needed water in the coach, could we stay on it there, could we drive it to the KOA just a few miles away? At this point I was way frustrated by the lack of information and the fact that had I not called back we might have not found any of this out until who knows when and our options may have been dramatically different.

Back at the service center, I had a nice chat with Rebecca. I apologized if I seemed frustrated but what were our options. After a chat with who knows who, she came back and said yes, we could drive to the KOA but would need to come back on Monday. And that was that…don’t know what the mechanic actually did to the coach, no one from the service department gave us any kind of update at all.

We got to the KOA, coach ran fine and I was way wound up by then but glad to be back in the coach with power, water and a full hook up. After a marathon venting session, I promised Wally I would let it go.

Turns out the KOA brochure was a wealth of info on the local area and things to do. With all the natural beauty we had seen earlier in the day, exploring around Twin Falls over the weekend would be fun. Bonus …there are natural hot springs and soaking pools nearby. I feel some bliss coming my way.

 

 

 

It started with the day that wouldn’t go out easy.  Our stop at Bruneau Dunes State Park seems to be doomed…then the weather forecast for Friday was grim, really grim. Being out in an open plain when the wind is gusting up to 40 mph did not sound like my idea of fun.

 

 

Well, that meant we needed to get rolling early the day after we arrived. Wahhh, was my response when Wally the weatherman informed me of the storm headed our way. “ But we just got here…so we won’t even be able to explore the dunes…this side trip was all for naught”. Yes, I was whining but knew he was right, we needed to roll.

 

 

Getting the coach ready to roll doesn’t take long and thankfully Ernie’s battery had fully charged overnight. The weatherman who is also the electrical guru and mechanic found a blow fuse in Ernie so hopefully our towing would go easier today.

Well, all was going well even with all my whining until Wally tried to start the coach. Engine was cranking but not starting. Yes, really.

After looking at the troubleshooting guide, Wally the mechanic tried cleaning the giant air filter and bleeding the fuel line. Still no go when he tried starting the engine, only a whole lot of black smoke. Next step was to run the onboard diagnostics. The error code suggested that the fuel actuator pump had failed. Now, we are seriously unhappy as that was just replaced during a routine maintenance evaluation before we left Anacortes.

 

 

No fuel pump means we were dead in the dunes…not going anywhere without the help of a really big tow truck who could get us to a certified Caterpillar engine repair center. Luckily, I had cell reception and found there were two within 80 miles. Yikes, this is going to be a whopping tow bill.

An hour later and two calls, both dealers were a week out for any type of diagnoses or repair. Well, as luck would have it there was also a Freightliner Elite Service Center in Twin Falls that is a certified for Catapillar engines and could actually get the coach on the repair schedule within 24 hours. YAY!!! Things were looking up.

Now to arrange a tow. Geico is our insurance carrier and they have RV policies with road side assistance. Looks like we were going to get to test how good our coverage is and how the customer service would perform. The Freightliner Dealer had given us a referral for a tow company that had the capability and equipment to service our 30,000 lb coach. Towing a coach is way more complicated than a passenger car for so many reasons.

After almost an hour on the phone with Geico and two reps later, I was getting slightly frustrated. Truly, patience’s is not always my strongest virtue but one thing I do know is that please and thank you get way more done than a bad attitude, so somehow I managed to keep my frustration in check! The first rep was talking so fast and most of the time I couldn’t even understand her. Somewhere along the line we were disconnected…I was actually thankful. After some searching for an appropriate vendor, the second customer service representative agreed that Big Tow looked like the best option but she needed to get approval from a supervisor.

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting….there was considerable extra time spent getting authorization to use Big Tow, then working on a bid as Geico paid by the mile and Big Tow charged by the hour. Finally, Regina the Wonder Rep had everything worked out, Big Tow was being dispatched and the tow bill would be covered by Geico. It was cool that Geico confirmed the tow’s ETA of 1:57 pm via text.

While we were waiting, waiting, waiting for Big Tow we packed up the pets food, got Sucia in her crate and readied the coach for a tow. We weren’t sure how the Road House would be towed, on a flat bed or on its rear axle but know there would be some extra jostling.

Around 1pm I spotted a really big truck headed into the camp ground – YAY, help had arrived. At this point we got the pets loaded into Ernie and parked in the shade away from the loud diesel truck. Thankfully, it wasn’t a hot day and there was shade! Looking for the silver lining in all this.

 

 

Waiting, waiting, waiting….we expected it to take about an hour to get the coach hooked up but of course being doomed in the dunes meant that nothing was going to go easy. The air system need to be activated and the tow companies fitting wouldn’t fit properly.

 

 

Waiting, waiting, waiting…the rear axle needed to be uncoupled and Rob, the tow technician didn’t have tools that were the right size. Seems he has never seen such an odd bolt pattern on a coach. Really!

Waiting, waiting, waiting…boy, am I bored by now. Finally, Rob found another way to solve the problem. Boy, was he really dirty by now.

Waiting, waiting, waiting…now Rob and Wally had to figure out the best way to attach the giant tow bar to the front of the rig without damaging the generator.

I won’t bore you with any more of the details but 2 hours later the coach was being pulled….very slowly out of the camp site. Once it was out of the campsite, more waiting ensued as Rob…who does have the patience of a saint, used a remote control boom arm to pull the coach out of the site, then up directly behind his massive truck. I think he actually had fun doing this part!

 

 

 

Okay…we are all hooked up and rolling. I can’t tell you how many games of mindless solitaire I played on my iPad but wow, was I happy to see the Roadhouse rolling. No Willie Nelson “On the Road Again” was played during the trip to Twin Falls since we actually weren’t driving the Road House. We followed with the pets in Ernie. So glad it wasn’t a two-fer tow and he was actually running.

 

 

We rolled into the Freightliner Service Department around 5:15 pm and more waiting began. Even though they were open until 9 pm, we finally found out that our coach was on the service schedule for Friday morning. The only good news was that we could stay onboard for the night in the parking lot.

 

 

Exhausted from all the waiting, Chick-fil-A just 2 miles down the road seemed like a good way to fill our bellies. That, a glass of wine, a hot shower and my electric blanket cranked on high put me right to sleep despite the drone of the adjacent freeway noise. Drifting off to sleep, I was sure we would be back on the road tomorrow. Hmm, or was that a fantasy dream?

 

 

 

 

Have you had one of those days that starts out seemly fine but unexpectedly turns on you then just won’t go out easy? That was our day driving from Walla Walla to Bruneau Dunes State Park in Idaho.

We left Walla Walla right on schedule at 9 am and our stop at the propane dealer on the way out of town was easy peasy, so conveniently located just 5 blocks from the RV Park and right near the freeway on ramp.

The drive to Baker City was beautiful and the fuel/lunch stop was uneventful.

The weather was fine…some wind in the passes, but sunny with spectacular fall colors.

 

The coach was running great but for some reason Ernie, our Chevy Equinox was not getting charge through the power cable from the coach. And that my friends is where the day started getting hinky. No charge means a dead battery which mean the power assist steering could be problematic which means Ernie could have problems adjusting his steerage to the bumps in the road – NOT GOOD!

Every hour we stopped to find a dead battery and spent time charging Ernie’s battery back up. Wow, did the drive time start to get really long. The five hour drive was now a seven hour drive.

I didn’t even connect the dog poop that I stepped in at our third rest stop as a bad omen.

Finally, we neared the cut off for Bruneau. Of course, that is where the freeway work started. Lanes rotated to the other side of the freeway which meant we missed the exit that google suggested. No worries, there were two other options suggested by my buddy google maps.

Hmm, it seems we actually took the most convoluted option.

 

We finally arrive at Bruneau Dunes State Park around 6:30 pm. Still not tragic and it appeared that the park was virtually unoccupied – sweet!

 

 

After pulling into the loop that suited us best, we discovered that yes, Ernie’s damn battery was dead…of course. Again not tragic but we needed to get the car disconnected from the tow bar in order to back the coach into the site.

Well, guess what now??? The tow bar wasn’t cooperating. The large bracket pins would not release come hell or high water. This really has never happened. On top of that when we tried pulling the coach forward the tow bar wouldn’t come out of the hitch receptor attached to the coach…really weird.

In the mean time, Wally had connected the battery charger to power and onto Ernie’s battery thinking we could recharge the battery in 15 or 20 mins while we disconnected the car from the tow bar. Seemed like a great plan except the battery was still 0% charged after 50 minutes of trying unsuccessfully to release the car from the tow bar. Can you sense frustration setting in?

Sometime during this 50 minutes of sheer frustration, I decided to accomplish something and slipped into Ernie to disconnect the air braking system. Hey…that was actually easy! Once I got that done, I put the car into park and set the emergency brake. Being a safety conscious gal, this seemed like a prudent idea.

I step out of  Ernie feeling jubilant when Wally informed me that if he ever got the damn car disconnected we could just roll it back off the road and hope the battery would charge over night. Hmm, I just put the car into park and without the battery charging further, the car couldn’t be shifted back into neutral. Well, Crapola!! The look on his face when I told him some dummy girl put Ernie in park was priceless.

In the mean time, Sucia was serious unhappy as she has now been in her crate (with a litter box) for over 9 hours – that constitutes kitty abuse according to her. So I fed her some super delicious squishy food and promised her that she would be freed from jail soon.

Did I mention we were missing a really beautiful sunset?

 

 

After some pounding, jostling and a bit of blood…Ernie was free. Miraculously there was enough charge in the battery to get him into neutral and rolled off the road. Yay..that means we could get the coach backed into the site and set up.

By now, it was dusk but we had the smarts to put on our bluetooth headsets and got the coach backed into the site with no further trauma. We got set up, fired up the traeger, freed the cat, fed the dog and then I poured us a glass of wine.

 

 

Things were looking better until I knocked Wally’s wine glass off the counter (silver lining… the glass didn’t break) and he came back from his dog walk to find Bentley managed to step in his own poop. Yep, I can’t make this stuff up. Are you ready for this day to be over? I know I am, except I am starving and craving some brown alcohol.

I know what you are thinking.. we burned dinner or the BBQ stopped working. Nope, we came through dinner unscathed and I sat down to write this post with a glass of Bulleit bourbon and ginger beer. Sigh, things are looking up!~!!

Well except, we took a look at the weather forecast and discover that Friday is going to be a windy, windy day here in Bruneau. EEK… 30 MPH with the possibility of gusts up to 40 MPH. I am going to keep sipping my delicious drinkie and hope the weather forecast changes but really…this day just needs to give it up!!

Four days ago we moved off the Beach House and are back in the Road House. It’s truly official when the galley on the Beach House is decommissioned, the pets are moved back on and we have our first meal on the Road House. Slow cooked Bison Bolognese over Orecchiette Pasta served with a Kale and Radicchio Salad were served in celebration. Slow-Cooked Bolognese Sauce

 

I have not posted much lately as we have been a bit preoccupied with closing down the boat and getting the coach ready to roll. The engine, chassis and brakes on the coach got a through inspection at the respective dealers. Wally changed all the fluids on the generator and repacked the entire storage area below the coach which we call the basement. We are going to roll leaner than last year for sure but never fear there will still be plenty of wine on board.

The Beach House is sparkling clean and ready to go north next spring. I spent one full day cleaning the upholstery and carpets. Yikes, did that need to happen but wow was I whipped after that marathon cleaning day. I think I logged about 6 miles just hauling stuff from the boat to the coach which is parked in the lot at our marina. Mostly it is the food and spices in the galley and clothes. About 20 blue tubs worth of stuff to be exact! I don’t leave food on board that little critters might be interested in. All of bedding gets washed and put away in giant plastic storage bags… lots of laundry was done. Even though we keep the heat on low and have dehumidifiers in the boat over the winter, I don’t like to leave clothes on board as they do get some boat funk smell.

 

 

We pulled the whaler out of the water last week and it also got a through cleaning and the engine got a tune up. It will be covered and stored on its trailer in the marina parking lot.

 

 

Getting the Road House ready to roll took longer than it should have. We had some critters sneak on board right after the Road House was moved to the storage lot…who knows where we picked up those hitchhikers. We evicted them before we left Anacortes for the summer on the Beach House but I had some extra cleaning to do inside the coach before we could move back on. Needless to say, everything in the kitchen is sparkling clean and sanitized. All the socks and most of the clothes we left in the drawers on the Road House got an extra washing.

EEK…we now have some permanent electronic ultrasonic pest gizmos. After the hitchhikers were discovered, Wally made a trip to the local Ace Hardware and came back armed for battle. I was skeptical when he showed me the gizmos and was sure we would be coming back to the coach to clean up the remains in the manual traps but to my surprise there was no carnage. Yay for the Victor Sonic Pestchaser. These plugin wall unit emits high frequency sound waves that apparently repel rodents.

SO where are we off to this winter? Moab Utah is our first stop but we have given ourselves a week to get there. There have been several stops along the way considered but given the time of year and the weather variables we will be winging it a bit on the cruise to Moab.

Arches and Canyon Lands National Parks are what is taking us to Moab. Fall is a great time to visit the parks as the weather is nearly prefect for hiking. We are staying on a 120 acre private property with our hiking pals Tom and Laurie. They are renting this cool RV and will be parked right near us. Our coach is well set up to dry camp for a week so this will be a great start to the winter on wheels.

 

 

From Moab we are headed to Santa Fe again. This was not originally on the itinerary this fall but our plans to head to Port Aransas Texas where literally blown out by hurricane Harvey. We decided to bag Texas this year and are instead heading to Palm Springs for 2 ½ months.  Then we will head to Arizona for another 2 months. It is a weird route with some backtracking but Moab was on the way to Texas and we were planning to meet friends there to celebrate birthdays and hike. Santa Fe was not in the plans at all until we got a text from some fellow RV friends and good grief it is only 400 miles out of the way! We just could resist seeing Sharon and Joe and their adorable white Boxer Cooper. Really, what the hell, we have time so why wouldn’t we go???

 

 

It was a great summer and I will miss the water but the cold days and rain are on the way, so I am excited to get the Road House rolling south and yes, we will be cranking up Willie’s “On the Road Again”. Continue reading →

We are back in Anacortes after a great summer cruising on the Beach House. It truly was the best summer ever in that we had unlimited time on the boat, we had lots of friends come visit, we made some new boating friends and ran into some boating friends that we haven’t seen in years, we caught LOTS of crabs, the weather was spectacular, the Beach House ran well with no mechanical issue (that’s a blessing on a boat!), there were amazing sunsets, we didn’t run out of wine (another blessing), Sucia and Bentley did great on the boat…really it was the best summer ever.

Now that we are back on land, the work has begun to get Beach House ready for her winter layover and get Road House ready to roll to warmer climates. The Captain has a list of maintenance chores for both, and I will be doing the cleaning and packing. Our plan is to be cranking up Willie’s On the Road Again when the Road House rolls on October 15th.

All work and no play makes the for a cranky crew so we have been enjoying seeing friends in Anacortes, taking hikes and walks in the community forest lands, Washington Park or the Tommy Thompson Waterfront Trail. While Anacortes is a small town, there is never a shortage of fun events going on especially in the summer and fall. The Oyster Run was crazy town with 20,000 bikes roaring into Anacortes for a free day long event. Tattoos, leather and oysters are the general  theme. The Seattle Cossacks put on an amazing stunt show and the Whidbey Island Roller Girls were quite a hit. We are also looking forward to the upcoming Beir on the Pier Cider and Beer Festival. It is a short walk from the marina so we can stumble home after tasting at 35 different breweries.

It was such a great summer that we are already looking forward to the next season on the Beach House. This summer we visited some favorite anchorages as well as some new destinations in the Canadian Gulf Island but I am ready to head further north next summer. I would love to go as far as SE Alaska but the Captain hasn’t committed to going beyond the Broughton Islands Archipelago.

This would be the furthest we have cruised in our own boat and while it is not Alaska, my sense of wanderlust will be totally satisfied. The Broughton Archipelago was named by Captain Vancouver for the commander of one of his ship’s during the famous exploration of 1792 when many of the now familiar English names were bestowed on the complicated waterways and over 240,000 islands along the vast coastline of British Columbia.

The Broughton’s are a remote group of 200-plus islands that are squeezed between the northern British Columbia Coast and the north end of Vancouver Island. To give some perspective of what I mean by remote, it’s important to understand the distances involved. British Columbia is larger than any state in the U.S except Alaska. As the crow flies, the length of its coastline is 600 miles. The distance from Anacortes, Washington, a popular jumping-off spot for cruisers in the San Juans, to the Broughtons is 236 miles. Not far in a car if you could just drive there, but there are no roads to get you there.  In a boat it would take the the better part of a week to cover this much water, some of which is difficult navigation due to currents and tide anomalies. Because of this, the only recreational boaters that venture as far north as the Broughtons are those on the way to Alaska and those who are passionate boaters who make summertime adventures on these coastal waters a top priority.

For those of you with a sense of adventure, get your calendars out and make plans to  join us on the Beach House next summer! You will likely have to drive, ferry and/or fly into find us. But the remote, beautiful scenery, the amazing fishing and our extraordinary company (ok that’s a stretch) will be well worth the effort.

 

We have spent the last 15 plus years boating in the San Juan Islands and until this summer we have rarely had time to spend time in to really explore many of the islands. Thanks to our new-found freedom called retirement, we have been able to spend all summer on the boat. While Beach House did venture into the Canadian Gulf Islands, we spent the vast majority of the time in the San Juan Islands enjoying some of our favorite anchorages as well as exploring some new ones.

Exploring Orcas Island had been on the agenda for September when the summer tourism crush starts winding down. We had been on the island years ago but not for more than a day so we were looking forward to renting a car for a few days and really seeing more of the island.

Orcas Island is slightly larger, but less populous, than neighboring San Juan Island. The island is shaped like a pair of saddlebags, separated by fjord-like Eastsound, with Massacre Bay on the south side, and tiny Skull Island just off the coast. At the northern end of the island is the village of Eastsound, the largest population center on Orcas and the second largest in San Juan County. Recreational opportunities abound, the Washington Ferry stops at the island, there is plenty of restaurants from quaint to 5 star, shopping, art galleries and ridiculous views for watching the sunsets. For us boaters, there are limited places to anchor and only two public marinas, both of which are not conveniently located for exploring unless you have a car. No matter, a car rental is easy enough, expensive but worth it for the freedom to see more of the island.

 

 

The Washington State Ferry does make a stop on Orcas, so you certainly don’t need a boat to visit the island. Drive on the ferry in Anacortes and voila …you are delivered to Orcas with your car. There are plenty of small inns, Bed and Breakfasts and rustic resorts to choose from. We visited West Beach Resort on the northwest side of the Island which is the place to be for spectacular sunsets! The resort has small cabins, many right on the water, is pet friendly and the small cafe makes a killer chocolate espresso milkshake!

East Sound is the main village on Orcas and is teeming with restaurants, art galleries, a local brew pub and well stocked grocery store. We enjoyed a fabulous lunch at Roses Bakery Café and visited a great pet shop to buy new Kong balls for the Frito Bandito The Frito Bandito and the First Aid Kit. This time we bought balls that float as to many toys have drowned on this trip so all new toys must know how to swim or at least float!

 

 

We love talking to locals and nothing is a better conversation starter than a dog. We have met so many people, learned so much about the areas we are traveling in by simply being open to meeting new people and brave enough to start a conversation with a stranger. Even with his grumpy demeanor, Bentley attracts people who always want to meet him.

Not only did we get great restaurant suggestions but also favorite hiking trails, where not to bike, best sunset beach and best bar. One of our other favorite meals, which was well endorse by several people we chatted with was at Buck Bay Shellfish Farm. We took a baguette and cheese picnic, feasted on a dozen freshly harvested, local oysters. Funky and quaint along with great view plus the BYOB policy made Buck Bay Seafood Farm a great picnic stop. They also have a super cute B&B room you can rent.

 

 

Orcas has two stellar hiking areas,  Moran State Park and Turtleback Mountain Preserve. Moran State Park is the bigger and more often visited of the two as it boast Mt. Constitution which rises nearly a half mile high above Orcas Island, and is the highest point in the San Juan Islands. Sitting on the crest is a stone tower replica of Russian watchtowers constructed in the Caucasus during the 12th century. In the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed this tower and the road and bridges which lead to the summit of Mount Constitution. From the tower you have a 360 degree view of the surrounding area including shots of Mount Baker, the North Cascades, and the other islands of the San Juan Archipelago. On a clear day the views are jaw-dropping beautiful.

 

 

No trip to Orcas Island is complete without a visit to the top of Mount Constitution; a perfect culmination for hikers and bikers in Moran State Park. If you are able to bike to the top, kudos and mass appreciation as all I saw was a serious ass whooping. Personally,  I preferred driving to the top and then going for a hike!

 

 

Turtleback Mountain Preserve is all about the hiking as there are no lakes or campgrounds like Moran State Park but the views are every bit as spectacular. We did a strenuous 3.5 mike hike that took us through beautiful filtered forests, savannah like areas with old oak trees and the views all around were unbelievable.

 

 

So of course, after a hike it is important to replenish fluids, right? We headed over to the only brewery on the island – Island Hoppin’ Brewery to sample a couple of their craft beers. It seemed many others felt the same way, as it was hoppin’ when we arrived. The beer was great, my favorite was the K-Pod Kolsch with 5.2% abv and 18 ibu’s. The bartender, well, he was a dud. Nice to look at but so not interested in chatting about the beer.

 

 

We also took a drive to Rosario Resort and Museum to check out the new marina and have a beverage in the bar. The resort is on the National Register of Historic Places and has quite a history. Built by Seattle Shipbuilder and Mayor Robert Moran in 1906, the now resort was originally built as a private residence, with the centerpiece of the mansion being the Music Room, featuring a two story 1913 Aeolian pipe organ, 1900 Steinway grand piano, a Belgian stain-glass window picturing the harbor at Antwerp, and two mezzanine libraries overlooking a Tiffany chandelier, which depicts various performing arts. If you do spend time on Orcas, Rosario is well work the drive as the mansion/museum is open to the public for self-guided tours daily and there are organ concerts and a Rosario history narrative on Saturdays. The restaurant gets good reviews and the views out over Eastsound are beautiful. Of course you can stay there too! The property was recently purchased and is going through a much needed face lift. The new marina looks really nice and is a big improvement over the old one. In addition to replacing all of the docks, the improved breakwater means more protection inside the marina.

 

 

We really enjoyed our time at Deer Harbor Marina … so much that somehow our two nights turned into four. This is a full service marina, with a fuel dock, pump out, small store and café, laundry and garbage drop off…everything a boater really needs. There is a nearby pizza place and the Deer Harbor Inn Restaurant, which will pick you up at the marina in a limo for dinner. Sweet! Our meal there was good and we were able to sit outside on the deck with a view of Deer Harbor and Crane Island off in the distance. We also took advantage of the free use of the marina van on two different days.

 

 

 

Renting a car on Orcas was easy. A quick phone call to Orcas Island Car Rentals and voila, a sassy PT Cruiser showed up in the parking lot the next morning with the keys in the ignition. So small island! Only bummer was they have a no pets in the cars policy so Mr. Bentley did not get to go cruising with us!

I did take advantage of the great local seafood and made a delicious Lemon Thyme Clam Linguine for dinner one night. Lemon Thyme Clam Linguine

 

 

Hiking, great restaurants, a local brewery, fresh oysters, views of the water and islands at every turn, quirky art gallery’s, quaint farm stands, fresh blackberries on all our walks, Wow, who knew that Orcas has so much to offer. So glad we finally had the time to explore Orcas Island and I hope you get a chance to spend some time there too.

 

 

 

For those of you who have a dog or multiple dogs you know exactly what I mean when I say our dog Bentley smells like Frito Corn Chips when he sleeps. So much so we have nicknamed him the Frito Bandito!

 

As a kid, I loved Fritos and was always thrilled when the little bag from the variety pack ended up in my school lunch bag. Those were the days, no worries about calories or transfats. Haven’t had Fritos in years but the distinctive odor is all Bentley and usually a sign he could use a good bath!

 

 

 

 

We were talking about bathing the Frito Bandito but one thing led to another and he escape the privilege. Fabreeze just seemed easier! In the meantime, just as we were reconsidering our laziness, the Frito Bandito managed to slice the big pad behind the wrist joint while taking a night excursion to shore, then proceeded to almost tear the chunk of pad off playing ball the next day. I know, why did we let him play ball? Well, someone thought it was a good idea at the time but when the poor dude came limping back with the ball, someone had to carry him down the dock.

 

Never fear, we have really good first aid kits for both the humans and the pets onboard. Many of the products cross over but we put extra supplies in the Frito Bandito’s first aid kit such as tramadol for pain, antibiotics for wounds and bacterial infections such as giardia, Benadryl and children’s aspirins which are safe for dogs. The Frito Bandito is also allergic to bee strings so we carry a injectable dose of Benadryl and a Epi-pen.

 

So out came the first aid kits, the saline solution and peroxide. The wound was really dirty so the can of pressurized saline was just the ticket for rinsing the wound. Once it was clean, I then rinsed the wound with peroxide which made the boy poor cry which in turn almost made us cry.

 

Once all the crying was done, a gentle application of anti-bacterial ointment went on, then a gauze pad and then the grand finale – vet wrap. I love this stuff, as it is an elastic bandage that is self sticking. It is a must have in a pet first aid kit as well as a human first aid kit.

The Frito Bandito was a very good patient and seemed grateful for the wound care treatment. He was such a good boy that special treats were in order…cat food with hidden tramadol and antibiotic pills. Yummy!!!

 

Given my years in animal welfare and friends in the human medical field, I am a pretty competent doggie nurse and can generally gauge what we can self treat and when a trip to the vet is in order. That said, good first aid skills and supplies are a necessity when you are boating, especially in more remote areas.

For now, the Frito Bandito is on boat arrest, with limited shore excursions for the next 7-10 days while his pad heals. He is not overly happy about no ball playing but I expect he will make a full recovery at which a time a bath will be the first order of business!

 

 

Ay, ay, ay, ay! oh, I am dee Frito Bandito. I like Fritos corn chips, I love them, I do. I want Fritos corn chips. I’ll get them, from you.
Ay, ay, ay, ay, oh, I am the Frito Bandito. Give me Fritos corn chips and I’ll be your friend. The Frito Bandito you must not offend.

 

That question and the following one …”what do you do all day on your boat” are frequently asked by non-boaters when they learn we are spending the summer on our 42 ft motor yacht, Beach House. Honestly, I am rarely ever bored as there is always something to see or do when we are on the boat.

 

A typical day starts with coffee on the aft deck which is screened in with canvas and isenglass creating a cozy sitting area even in cool weather. Catch up on some news, email or maybe read a bit. I love watching the wildlife, especially the birds and often can take a great photo this time of day.

We have to feed the pets and take Bentley out on the back swim platform so he can do his morning tinkle. Eventually, Wally will take him to shore in the dinghy (if we are anchored out) for a full business walk.

Depending on where we are, perhaps a hike, some kayaking, beach combing or a bike ride will be on the agenda. By then it is lunch time and at least once a week we hit a pub or small café for lunch. Then it may be nap time for some of us, others may read, make a few phone calls or do some boat clean up or projects. Boats are like houses in that there is always a small repair or maintenance to do such as cleaning and oiling the teak wood or cleaning the salt water off the windows.

If we are at a marina, we occasionally rent a car or scooters and explore the area. We don’t have a washer/dryer on board so there is laundry to do and like everyone else we have to grocery shop. We do major provisioning before we leave Anacortes, filling the freezer and all the storage areas with pet food, household essentials, snacks and beverages. Grocery shopping after that may be finding a local farmers market on one of the islands or a regular sized store on some of the larger islands. Usually, I am on the hunt for fresh produce, fruit or farm fresh eggs.

Again, depending where we are, fishing and crabbing could be the major activity of the day and if successful, the catch of the day will be featured on the dinner menu. We really love exploring in our dingy, which is a 13 ft Boston Whaler. The whaler has a 50 hp engine so we can easily go 25 MPH and get most anywhere we want to go to explore.

By now we have meandered into cocktail hour. If we are boating with friends, which is often, this is usually an animated time where we catch up on the days events, tell boating stories perhaps play cards or just enjoy each other’s company.

Cocktail hour is followed by dinner and again if we are with friends, the menu is usually discussed earlier in the day and plans are made about who is hosting, who is preparing what and when dinner will be served. I love to cook…so no, we don’t eat always eat burgers, hotdogs or ever eat prepared food from the store deli.

There are after dinner chores to do, dog walking and hopefully an awesome sunset to close out the day. Again, we might play a board game or cards, read or do some future trip planning. Wally is our official weather man and boating is dictated by the weather so that is an important discussion that happens daily. The weather and especially the wind will dictate where we will go. We have to evaluate if there is adequate protection from the wind to anchor or if a real storm is a brewin, we might head to a marina and enjoy some shore time in a small town for a few days.

There are so many variations on what we do each day because we move around with the weather. Some days involve cruising to get to the next destination and other days it is just as I described above. The variation and the freedom to pull anchor and head somewhere new is what makes everyday special on the water.

Is it always idyllic? Nope, some days the water conditions are not what you expected, the wind and current decide not to play nicely together which makes traveling by boat less than fun. Some nights the wind howls, yes even in the summer and the boat rock and rolls with the wind waves. If this is happening, one has to be concerned about the anchor pulling or someone else’s anchor pulling. These infrequent occasions mean a restless night onboard. Most nights, we are lulled to sleep by the lapping of water or it will be so calm and peaceful that I forget I am on a boat. One thing is for sure, no two days are alike.

So there you have it, the short sweet version of how we spend our days and why we are rarely bored.