Back in the U.S.A.

Day 68  Sunday August 21, 2016                            Riverside, WA   Glennwood RV Park

342 miles towing            11.3 mpg

This was a very difficult, stress full travel day.

We left Big Country RV Park at 08:00. 

Followed 97 most of the way.  Got on some wrong roads that made the trip longer and slower.  One of them was a beautiful mountain road between Kamloops and Monte Creek.  It was slow and curvy, but beautiful.  We picked up 97 again and after about 20 miles on a divided highway along the top of a ridge above tree line we ended up in heavily congested resort towns on a skinny two lane road with bumper to bumper traffic that followed Okanogan Lake for miles.  To make matters worse, I was almost out of gas and those little towns don’t have gas stations fit for people with trailers.  I finally found one after my Fuel Tank Low light was flashing at me. 

Tourists floating down what looks like a drainage ditch.  This went on for miles.

One of many vineyards in Oliver, B.C.

Once we got out of that mess, we came to the wine region of British Columbia at a town called Oliver.  Wineries everywhere.  The Napa Valley of Canada. 
In Osoogoos, B.C. we arrived at U.S. Customs at 2:45. They asked about fruits and vegetables, alcohol, and any goods purchased in Canada.  But didn’t ask about firewood!  Then they pulled us over for inspection, but were very nice about it.  The agent asked me to open the camper and asked me inside with her.  She looked inside the refrigerator and pantry and nothing else.  Then she spent a few moments telling us three different ways of getting to Spokane and the different experiences along each of the routes.  And onward we went.

The next biggest town would be Omak, WA, about an hour away.  We went there and went to Burger King because we were starved and needed instant gratification.  We then sat in a Walmart parking lot wondering where we would stay the night.  We were back in the land where cell phones have data networks that work.  We found one six miles back up the road.  We called ahead to make sure they had spaces and they did.  Fifteen minutes later, we had a spot.

This was not a very nice RV Park.  It was full of permanent residents living in old camping trailers driving old beat up trucks.  Some of them had plywood skirting around them.  There were some large 5^th wheels with nice trucks to tow them.  These were the people who lived there because they worked in the area.  At this point, I was just happy to have a place to stay.  Did I say it was 94^o.

It was a long, hard day.  But we’re back in the U.S.  Our plans are to work our way to the Yellowstone area.  I want to spend some time on the Madison River 1^st, then go to Mammoth Hot Springs campground in the park through Labor Day weekend, then work our way home.