It is only a 45 minute drive from Coeur d’Alene to Spokane where we will spend the night. We couldn’t stay here one more night and we can’t get into Leavenworth until tomorrow night. We were lucky to get a spot in Spokane. That will be fun anyway. Craig and Pam have not been there. They have an amazing water fall downtown with a park built up around it.
We have reservations for dinner at Anthony’s by the falls which is right there overlooking them and its beautiful.
Since we can’t check in until 1:00 we can’t really leave here until noon, so, we are just chilling this morning. Bella is super chilled, curled up in her fuzzy bed.
Well, that didn’t work so I decided to do laundry. While it was in the dryer Rob, Bella and I went for a walk. They had a nice “nature trail” around the park. It started down by the dog beach and then went off into the tall grass. It was a nice dirt path and went down to the river in several spots. Several of them had nice beaches. One was even a nice cove that might have been nice for fishing.
The trail continued on for about a half mile and then came out behind Pam and Craig. So we stopped in to visit with them. I threw the clothes into the dryer and then Rob, Craig, and I went into town to Walmart. When we got back they dropped me off at the laundry and then they went to start packing up. Unfortunately the clothes weren’t dry yet, so I had to add more time. I finally got it all folded and back to the rig just as Rob was hooking up. As we were doing our lights check, just prior to departure, the people who were going to occupy our spot behind us arrived. Oops! They had to wait a few minutes for us to vacate. It’s a good thing we leave the area spotless!
The drive was easy peasy.
Craig and I stopped for fuel about a mile before the RV Park. Since I had been delayed with laundry before departure Rob had Bella. Normally she rides with me. Anyway, when I pulled up next to him at the entrance she saw me and sat up on the seat with her paws on the window sill. She was wagging her tail with a smile in her little face with a look that said “Mom’s here”. I reached in and pulled her out through the window and took her for a little walk. While out there I found a lavender bush and pulled some of the lavender off and gave it to Pam.
The Northern Quest RV Park, just outside of Spokane, is new and really nice. They have different tiers. Since we will only be here one night we chose the cheapest. We had nice grass, and a level concrete pad. Craig and Pam were in the spot right next to us for a change. The lots across from us had fire pits and the ones the other direction, the elites, had built in fire tables with comfy chairs around them. Very nice. The park also had some very cool cabins for rent. The park is apparently owned by the casino which is a block away. They have free shuttle to the casino as well as to the nearby golf course.
While setting up, (and while packing up) I usually do all the inside stuff and Rob does the outside. Inside is securing all the dishes and glasses with rods and tucking a dish towel in around glasses. We have two little tables and boxes that I call our desks and they go up on the couches for travel. The coffee maker and toaster oven go on the floor tucked in under the dinette, the knife holder and utensil holder go in the dish drainer, pulling in all the slides and making sure windows are closed, electrical stuff is off , etc. The outside is the water hose, electrical cord, sewage hose, chairs and tables stowed. Jacks up and hook up to the truck.
So when we got there I started opening things up. The refrigerator is a residential rather than an RV. That means two things. It doesn’t switch over to propane while traveling, it just turns off once power is disconnected, and second, it doesn’t have latches to prevent the doors and freezer drawer from coming open. So, we have to tie them shut and to keep the freezer door from sliding open we stick a pole down in front and then put a BFR (that’s an Army term for Big F......Rock) in front of it. We stole the rock from Sedona. So, I have to undo that. My bike travels inside between the two living room slides. The sofa slide also has the dinette and it fits snug up against the kitchen counter so I have to open it up to get to the bike. But.... I can’t open it very far because there are two drawers that always come open in the back while traveling. They open far enough that the slide will get caught on them and damage both the slide and the drawers. I have to get back there and shut them. Normally I open it about a foot, but that foot doesn’t allow me to get past the bike, so I have to open the recliner slide about a foot to be able to get back there. All of the slides I have to open just enough to get around them so I can make sure that nothing has fallen down or opened up (drawers or cabinet doors) to interfere with them. Ok, short story made really long here, I did my little combination of slides, closed the drawers, opened the recliners, and got the sofa recliner half way out and it quit. Same as with the bedroom, the motor is going but the gears seem to be shot. Come to find out, Craig’s only slide wouldn’t go either. In his case he pushed the button and absolutely nothing happened. No sound, nothing.
We are able to hand crank our slides, so we did. Rob got on the phone with Seth (he replaced our motor on the Bedroom slide in Lolo, Mt) to find out the part number and where he ordered it from. Rob had crawled underneath the rig and opened a panel so he could get to the motor. He took pictures of it and it looks like it is the same motor that is used on the bedroom. All 4 slides probably use the same type of motor.
We had passed a huge Camping World on the way in so Rob and I went there to see if they might have a replacement motor as well as a rod that is a bit rusted and looks like it may break at any moment.
While driving there Seth called back and gave us the part number and where he ordered it from. Camping World didn’t have it and it would take to long for them to get it. They told us of a couple other manufacturers where we could order it and have it delivered to our next destination where we might be able to have it installed. They also gave us a couple locations where we might be able to get the new rod. After three tries we were able to get a rod and a roll pin. Rob had to take it back to the park and then he and Craig cut it to the correct size, drilled the hole and pounded in the roll pin. At least that part is fixed. That rod is what attaches to the motor (and the hand crank) so that the slide can be cranked in and out.
By the time we got back it was time to get cleaned up and go to dinner. It was crazy down there. There is all kinds of construction going on and the park we normally get to walk through down by the water was closed. So was the walking bridge that goes across the water.
We parked and went to the restaurant. Yes they had our reservations, but there was no seating available on the deck yet. They took Rob’s phone number and said they would call when the table was ready. Due to the coronavirus we were not allowed to sit in the bar or wait in their waiting area. We decided to go for a walk.
We walked out to where we thought we would be able to get to the bridge and the view, but it was blocked off. The decision was made to go walk around the block to get to the bridge. My knees, both of them, were killing me from all the walking on concrete that I had already done, so I elected to stay back where I had a view of the patio and wait for the tables to open up. I kept Bella with me. It wasn’t to long of a wait. They gave us a real nice table right up against the railing, over looking the falls. It was lovely.
We had a nice meal of way to much food and desert. Unfortunately, peach season does not open up until Monday. We were really hoping for peach cobbler or better yet, peach ice cream. But no luck. The good thing is that we are headed to the Seattle area from here and there are more Anthony’s over in that area. Im sure that peach season will be over there as well.
We headed back to the RV park and waddled our way back to our rigs. I was miserable for about a half hour.
I took Bella for a walk. When we returned earlier I saw several large lavender bushes outside the RV park. I wanted to get some. So, Bella and I walked over there. I took a zip lock bag with me. I filled a quart size bag with the lavender, only taking off the bottoms of the plants so that they wouldn’t make a dent. I zipped it up and put it on the shelf next to the bed. Yum!
Another lovely day.
No comments:
Post a Comment