Better Late Than Never

Today was the day we planned to leave home for our trip to California.  We were up and ready to go by 9 am.  When Dave went out to back the motorhome out of the driveway and hook up the car, he noticed that the motorhome had a very flat driver's side front tire. 

Dave put in a call to our Good Sam Emergency Road Service and about five hours later someone came from Les Schwab Tires to remount the tire and put air in it.  We thought that five hours was a pretty long time to wait for service, but at least we were still at home and not stranded out on a highway. 

About 2:30 pm we were able to leave home, but first we had to drive to our nearest Les Schwab dealer that can handle trucks, the one just south of Kaady Car Wash on Mill Plain in Vancouver.  They checked the tire and found that a plastic grommet that goes on the valve cover had cracked.  The service person said that he sees a cracked grommet about once a year, so it's not that common, but does happen once in a while.

Finally around 3:50, we were able to leave Les Schwab, hook up the car, and head south on I-205 along the east side of Portland, OR.  We expected to hit traffic at that time of day, but we had very little traffic the whole way south, so that was a blessing. 

We stopped for the night at Seven Feathers Casino RV Park in Canyonville, Oregon, our intended destination for tonight.  We arrived here around 8 pm, which wasn't too bad considering what a late start we got. 

We took the shuttle over to the casino to get some food since I didn't feel like cooking after our stressful day.  After we ate, we played a penny slot machine and had some fun while winning $7.  I used to say that I wasn't a gambler, but I could get used to winning a few dollars occasionally!

Tomorrow we will continue driving south on I-5 as we tackle the Siskiyou mountain pass and hope to get through there after any snow and ice has melted or been cleared.  Our destination tomorrow night (we hope) will be an RV park in Corning, CA. 

Tires!

Do you remember when I posted about going to Prescott Valley, AZ, to get an alignment for the motorhome?  We knew that both front tires were worn because of being out of alignment, probably since we got this new motorhome in October, 2009.  Dave didn't discover the problem with the tires until we were half done with our trip.  The alignment folks told him that the tires would need to be replaced soon, but we hoped we could finish the trip and get home before that happened.

This afternoon when we stopped for gas just north of Ogden, Utah, Dave noticed that one of the tires was even more worn and was getting hot.  So we quickly found a Les Schwab Tire Center nearby and got the tires replaced.  These tires are BIG and EXPENSIVE!  But it was a necessary evil and we were very lucky that we didn't have a breakdown by the side of the road.  The Les Schwab store had to get the tires from their warehouse in Salt Lake City and then install them, which took 2 1/2 hours altogether, which could have been a lot worse.  Thank you, Dave Ramsey, for your advice about having an emergency fund and about being debt-free!

We were soon on our way, as planned, to spend the night at Golden Spike RV Park in Brigham City, Utah, just eighteen miles away.  We had called for reservations when we found out about the delay, so they had our spot waiting for us.  Check-in was friendly and easy, and the price was right at $30 for the night.  Wifi is working a bit slower than we would like, but it's adequate.  We have 50 amp power, so I have a load of laundry going.  And, oh yes, just to welcome us on our journey back to the northwest, it's raining and has been raining off and on all day. 

Before we left the Richfield, Utah, KOA this morning I took a picture of the lovely lilacs that were along the entryway and throughout this park.  Lilacs are my favorite flower.  What a wonderful fragrance!