Our Quick Trip Home: 5 Free RV Overnights Along I-10, Florida to Texas

Brownie from across the storm water remediation pond at Phipps Park, Stuart, FL

When I wrote about three-and-a-half weeks ago, we were camping at Phipps Park Campground, a very nice county park in Stuart, Florida.  We were going to drive Brownie, my 20-ft 1984 Lazy Daze mini-motorhome, back to St. Lucie Automotive in nearby Fort Pierce for a transmission-related repair on Monday morning (March 26).  We had an embarrassing amount of blue smoke coming out of the exhaust pipes, but we thought it would be a quick fix (a transmission modulator) and then we would happily drive home via I-20, doing some sightseeing along the way.  

But no, it was not to be as we envisioned.  First off, when we drove in the dawn on Monday to the mechanic, with the blue smoke billowing behind us, we started to lose power.  Steve was driving, and he got us safely to an empty parking lot, where we could call our roadside assistance. Brownie was towed again!  A friend suggests she has a thing for tow trucks and lifts.   

 Brownie being towed in again

Next, when they got into the transmission oil pan, they found metal shavings from our transmission, indicating that Brownie needed a new rebuilt transmission.  They told us we could maybe drive home to New Mexico and get the work done with the mechanic I normally go to.  But maybe not. Well, I wasn't willing to take that risk.  I respected the mechanic we were working with already, so I decided to delay our return and stay to get the work done. 

The blue smoke problem ended up taking two days, not one, so we spent another night in a hotel.   

Things got worse.  Due to some aftermarket changes done to the exhaust system, the mechanics couldn't get to the part of the transmission that identified which of two possible kinds it was.  So, that meant they couldn't order the new rebuilt transmission until they actually tore apart the existing one to identify the right part.  This entailed a pretty substantial delay, due to having to order the part and then leave Brownie up on the rack until it arrived within an unknown number of days.

Since the blue smoke modulator repair was done, we were free to use Brownie again for a few days, so we went back to Phipps Park and really enjoyed several days of relaxation.  We could drive Brownie around a little, so we went into town and saw some local beaches and ran some errands.  Steve saw alligators at Phipps Park, which is adjacent to a storm water treatment area (what I thought was a lake, it's so beautiful).

Then we had to drop Brownie back off at the garage on Monday (April 2) for her time up in the air.  This time, we knew we'd be staying at least two nights and perhaps as many as four.  So we picked a little nicer hotel, a Holiday Inn Express which had a pretty decent breakfast and nice grounds.   

I have some advice for anyone that finds themselves in this sort of situation on the road.  If I had it to do over, I would have picked a hotel or motel that was closer to where there were interesting things to do.  We picked hotels based on where the garage was, and there was nothing around us except other hotels and some fast food places. Now I realize I could have gotten us a room down by the beach where we could have sat outside and looked at beautiful things and gone out for coffee and stuff.  I don't think it would've been any more expensive, because we ended up using Uber to get out of the hotel once in a while, and that can run $25-30 round-trip.  Also, a rental car would not have been all that expensive.  I didn't consider doing that because I wrongly assumed it would be expensive, and daily rental might have been about the same as one round-trip using Uber. 

 We saw dolphins on a manatee cruise in Ft. Pierce!

Well, live and learn.  I do that a lot.  The replacement transmission came in surprisingly fast and we were out of the hotel after a three-night stay on Thursday, April 5.  We picked up Brownie at about noon and made our way north first on the Florida Turnpike and then on the freeway.  Because of the repair delays and costs, we needed to skedaddle home on I-10, without taking the time to see any tourist sites.  Steve wanted to do the majority of the driving, because he's comfortable driving faster than I am.  We figured we could drive about 300 to 400 miles per day.   
So here are the five places we stayed for free along I-10:

Thursday, April 5...Walmart at Live Oak, Florida.  It is posted No Overnight Parking, but all of the Internet sites that address Walmart availability had reviews saying that parking here is no problem.  It was quiet and we had no problems staying here.

 Our campsite in the rest area at Moss Point, Mississippi

Friday, April 6...Mississippi Welcome Center, Moss Point, MS.  This is the Best...Rest...Area...Ever.  Seriously.  There are actual campsites with covered picnic tables, paved pads, and garbage cans, behind the truck parking area.  It is supposed to be a picnic area.  I doubt most people driving cars even realize it exists, though, because it's beyond where the big trucks park and a little tricky to get to, with only one little sign.  If you check in with security, you can stay there one night.

Saturday, April 7...Chambers County Rest Area, Hankamer, Texas (west of Beaumont).  Runner Up for Best Rest Area Ever.  There is a nice big parking area for trucks.  We parked at the far end of it, away from the trucks, and had easy access to the bathrooms.  The really awesome thing about this rest area is the beautiful boardwalk with picnic tables and information about wildlife.  It's like being in a park.  That said, use your bug spray, because I didn't, and I paid the price.

Sunday, April 8...Rest Area, I-10W, Kerrville, Texas (about an hour northwest of San Antonio).  This was not a huge modern rest area like the two previous nights' stays, but it was fine.  There was a free dump station and potable water!  I was glad to use them, because otherwise I would have had to do that immediately on our return to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. 

 Van Horn Rest Area sunrise on the day we got home to Truth or Consequences, NM

Monday, April 9...Rest Area I-10 W, just east of Van Horn, Texas.  Another older, smaller rest area, but it was fine for us in a small RV.  We saw another picnic area on the west side of Van Horn that might have been quieter, with fewer big trucks. 

All of these nights were free, which was a great help after the expenses of the huge repairs in Florida...water pump, radiator, and transmission being the major ones.  

Since getting back here to Truth or Consequences on the day we left Van Horn, I've been busy with work.  Almost immediately, it was time to open Sun Gallery for Second Saturday Art Hop weekend.  I stayed behind the gallery and worked four days, then escaped to nearby Damsite Campground for a couple of nights of relaxation after the work weekend. 

RV repair expenses are cutting into my plans, but now some awesome new things are happening instead.  One thing is that the Rubber Tramp Art Community, the intentional community for nomadic artists that grew out of this year's RTArt Camp, is planning a spring gathering May 15 through 21, probably in northern New Mexico.  I can't afford to do pottery in Santa Fe all summer as I had wanted, but I can go to my community's gathering and do some other travel while I'm up north.

 What, no cat pic?!  Here I am at the Damsite Campground in TorC

 
 

           

Replacing Brownie's Innards, While Traveling Florida

Deer near my campsite at Clearwater Lake Campground,

Ocala National Forest

About a week-and-a-half ago, I found myself, with some unscheduled free nights and no campground reservations  during the tail end of "the season" in Florida.  It's a challenging time to find a campsite.  I checked for availability at Florida State Parks (I could snag a day here or there at the last minute, but I couldn't stay long) and at National Forest campgrounds.  Theoretically, there are no-reservation sites at Ocala, so I headed that way and spent a couple of peaceful nights (March 8 and 9) in a beautiful forest.  But the weekend was coming up, and my site was reserved.  To find another walk-up site, I'd have to cruise around the forest on Friday, and most of these sites get snapped up by people who can hang onto them for a while. 

I decided instead to return to Dixie County, where I'd stayed at Horseshoe Beach Campground the previous weekend.  This time I tried Shired Island, recommended by a fellow camper.  It was another awesome county park.  I commiserated with another full-timer that, when you don't have reservations, finding a county park or boat landing can be the best solution.  

Sunset at Shired Island Campground, a Dixie County Park

Shired Island, like Horseshoe Beach, is a campground that's right on the water, separated only by a little strip of nice beach.  There is also interesting tidal activity at Shired Island, but not the amazing bird-watching that I enjoyed at Horseshoe.  However, Shired Island is out in the boonies, rather than being urban, and I like that.  Not only is it in the country, it's right in the middle of the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge.  (This is the same Swanee River that Stephen Foster wrote of in "Old Folks at Home.")  This little parcel of county land is plunked here, and it's worth the $20 per night for non-locals.  I was camped without hookups, at the same price as if I had them, and that was fine.  There was plenty of sun for my solar and the water at these waterfront campgrounds is not potable, anyway.  

I stayed four nights (March 9-12), until it was time to go meet up with Steve, who was flying into Orlando the following Tuesday night.  

I spent a lot of this time dealing with health issues.  Before I left New Mexico in mid-February, I'd had a bad respiratory virus, and I was still coughing and blowing my nose as I zigged and zagged through Texas, heading for the Gulf.  I felt a lot better once I was in warmer temperatures and enjoying some consecutive days of beach camping, but this virus is a real hanger-onner.   

Then I got hit with some lower GI problem at Horseshoe Beach, and that took about a week to resolve.  It might have been due to using the water there at Horseshoe Beach.  I did not see the sign that said the water was not potable until I left.  I hadn't used the water very much--I usually use bottled water for drinking and cooking, and tap water just for dish washing and flushing, but I might have inadvertently drunk the water.  AND I'd put some of that water into my tank!  So, once I made that possible connection, I was better a few days later.  Coincidence?  I don't know.  Bad water is something I've heard of happening to other RVers, and why take a chance?  

Right when I was finally feeling better a week after the Horseshoe Bay gut problems, I had a food allergy hit me while staying at Shired Island.  It was severe.  I got hives on my hands and arms and a few other places, but mostly the arms.  I slathered the painful, itchy hives with Benedryl cream and took two Benedryl pills and went to bed.  If I'd been at home in Truth or Consequences, I think I would have gone to the ER, but I was a very long way from help.  It all turned out fine.  I woke up the next morning and am here to tell the tale.  I did have a lot of itching for days to follow, and I had a hard time eating.  The hives are just disappearing now, a week-and-a-half later.  

So, this has been the sickest I've ever been while traveling, and I have also had some personal things to grapple with.  Added to that are mechanical problems.  On my way to Ocala, I suddenly had power steering fluid leaking.  Argh!  I'd gotten a new power steering pump and lines in California in January, right before the RTR.  I cruised around to three mechanics before I found one who could help me (with frequent stops to pour in more PSF).  I needed another new power steering line.  Apparently the previous one, although new, was not exactly the right one.  Or so this mechanic said.  I may be jaded, but I am amazed by how often mechanics and other handy guys blame the last guy for doing it wrong or using the wrong product or part.  

 Sunset at Lake Whippoorwill KOA, Orlando

Anyhow, things got better once Steve arrived.  I got to the Lake Whippoorwill KOA in the Lake Nona area of Orlando in the afternoon and got the RV hooked up.  Steve flew in late at night and took a cab to the KOA.  We spent three nights there (March 13-15), mostly relaxing and enjoying getting to see each other again.  

 Got a haircut in the laundry room at the KOA by a nice lady who has been cutting people's hair there for 22 years!  I happened to show up on the right day.

We thought of going to Disney and either spending a day in one of the parks or just riding around the monorail and eating at a nice Disney resort.  But Gatorland sounded more like our speed:  an inexpensive, cheesy, funny tourist trap with thousands of rescued critters.  

 Steve arrived in time for Pi Day (3.14)

Unfortunately as we were about to leave for Gatorland on a Thursday morning, Brownie was making a whole lot of racket.  Her noise level under the hood had increased some when she got the new fan clutch back in California in January, and she was making more noise when cold, but that morning the racket was much worse!  We headed to a mechanic instead of Gatorland.  He gave it a look and said the problem was just the muffler or exhaust pipe, not anything that would make it unsafe to drive, and he recommended we go to Muffler Man.  So we made plans to do that the following morning and went on our merry way.

 Visitors see the front of Gatorland--there are thousands more acres of gator rescue land as part of the operation

 Steve with parrots at Gatorland

Gatorland was everything we'd hoped for...tour guides cracking stupid jokes, close encounters with critters we don't ordinarily see, junk food and gift shops.  

 Brownie at Muffler Man

Brownie got a new exhaust pipe and some welds at Muffler Man on that Friday morning, and we drove up to our next destination, North Beach Campground, a few miles north of St. Augustine.  

 Highway 1!

The drive was pretty exciting to me.  After all this way, I finally saw the Atlantic Ocean, plus we drove along US-1 on the opposite coast from the other US-1 that I've driven several times.

  The first Atlantic Ocean beach we got to

North Beach Campground Resort was a really wonderful place, and I could see why some people stay for the whole winter.  We stayed just three nights (March 16-18), which wasn't nearly long enough to enjoy the campground or the many fun things to do in the area.  At the campground itself, there are two beaches, the Atlantic and the Intercoastal Waterway, with restaurants at each.  Our back-in site was beautifully private, surrounded by trees and palmetto.  We ate outside on the deck at Aunt Kay's, the riverside cafe, where we first tried conch fritters.  We ate them everywhere we could after that.  

 Our site at North Beach Campground Resort

We anticipated rain, and we are sleeping in the dinette bed or, as I like to call it, the nest.  That is exactly where rain water has been leaking in through the rooftop air conditioner, ever since I bought Brownie last year.  I usually sleep up in the cabover bed, so previously the rain came in onto the dinette table, rather than a bed, and it wasn't hard to just put out some towels to catch the drips.  Now it became critical to get it fixed, because we sleep right under the air conditioner.  Steve did it!  After taking off the covers both on the roof and inside the RV, Steve determined that the screws keeping the A/C in place had gotten loose, and the rubber gasket that's supposed to keep water out of the house was not held tightly in place anymore.  I'm sure glad Steve could fix it, rather than having to call an RV technician at $125 or whatever per hour.  

 Steve on the Red Train

We used a trolley service, Red Train Tours, to get into St. Augustine by van on Saturday morning.  Then we took their 90-minute tour of the city, which was informative and full of more bad jokes.  

 Our pirate, in front of one of only three authentic Jolly Roger flags still in existence

After circling all of the historical attractions, we went to the Pirate and Treasure Museum, which was a lot of fun.  Our pirate guide told us lots of interesting history some more bad jokes.  Is it a blessing to be 62 and not remember any of them?  Arr, I don't know, matey.  

 Historical reenactors at Castillo de San Marcos...I laughed as I passed by, because the guy in the middle was complaining about traffic.

Castillo de San Marcos, a 1600s fort which was originally Spanish, but changed hands between several countries, including the Confederacy, was very interesting.  We ate abundantly at the Florida Crackers Cafe, which is on St. George Street, the main tourist trap retail section of St. Augustine.  (Aunt Kay's conch fritters win.)  I bought a bamboo saxophone on St. George, something I'd never heard of, but knew immediately that I needed.  We wrapped up our day too late to use the Red Train to get home, so we took a cab and got a personal guided tour of everything we saw on the way back to the campground, which was really nice.  

The next day, we'd intended to sit on the beach, but I was a picnic table potato and never left.  A fantastic campsite can do that sometimes.

 Relaxing at Loughman Lake Lodge

Our next destination was to camp somewhere near Titusville so Steve could go see space stuff at the Kennedy Space Center.  We didn't have any reservations, but I'd talked to somebody at Loughman Lake Lodge in Mims, and she said no reservations were needed.  No kidding!  We got there on a Monday and there was nobody camping there, the lodge/restaurant/bar was closed, and there was nobody to take our money.  There is, however, a family who caretakes the place, so they called the owner and we paid them $30 to spend the night, with hookups.  It was a very pleasant stay, but not a place we'd go back to, because there is a corduroy road to get in there.  Loughman Lake is probably a really hopping place on weekends when people come to take air boat rides.  

 Rockets behind the tour buses, from the RV parking lot at Kennedy Space Center

The next morning, we drove over to Merritt Island for Steve's NASA Kennedy Space Center tour.  We parked in the bus/RV lot for $15, and I spent the day lounging while Steve went inside.  He liked the tour very much and probably got his $50 worth, but I knew all that science would just make my eyes glaze over within five minutes.  I did a little painting and reading instead.  I finished a book called "The Kitchen House" by Kathleen Grissom, which was one of the best historical novels I'd read in a while, and I am ordering the sequel, "Glory Over Everything."  

Since we didn't want to go back to Loughman Lake and we didn't have reservations anywhere else, we headed a little ways south, during a big wind and some rain, to the Walmart in Melbourne.  This store has a huge lot and was a nice place to stay.

 Brownie takes another ride

The next day, we were headed to our next destination, Phipps Park Campground in Stuart.  I was driving and I pulled over to turn on the navigation on my phone, and Brownie started smoking and steaming from under the hood!  So bad that a passerby called 9-1-1, and we had several police cars and fire trucks there within about two minutes.  However, we had already determined where the steam was coming from--the water pump, it looked like--and there was no real danger.  I called my roadside assistance provider, Coach-Net, and Brownie was towed to a garage that they found for me, St. Lucie Automotive in Fort Pierce.  

So, Wednesday was shot, and Brownie needed a new radiator in addition to the water pump, with parts arriving on Thursday.  Steve and I spent the night at a La Quinta hotel a few miles away, while Sonja was in her kennel inside the RV.  (It's big enough to be a kitty condo, with food, bed and litter box.)  

We had time to kill on Thursday while the repairs were being done, so we didn't check out of the hotel until check-out time at 11:00, and then we walked over to a Shake and Steak for lunch.  We took a cab back to the garage and waited there a few more hours until the work was done.  

There was a suspicious amount of blue smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe when we left the garage, but they said it would stop doing that once an excess of fluids burned off.  But they were wrong.  The smoke got worse.  We stopped at another shop, 20 miles down the highway.  They did some more work. They blamed the last mechanic, can you imagine that?  I called the previous mechanic, and he blamed the new one.  So much blame to go around, while my RV smokes.  

We did make it to Phipps Park in Stuart, finally, on Thursday night.  Driving here was such an embarrassment, I wanted to put a paper bag over my head.  (Steve was driving, so I guess I coulda...woulda...shoulda...)  We got situated and made arrangements to stay here all weekend.  The mechanic in Fort Pierce that did the major repairs has ordered the part he thinks Brownie needs (a module or modulator, we are clueless, having become overwhelmed) and we will drive a smokin' Brownie 30 miles back north on Monday morning, hopefully under cover of darkness.  

These latest repairs throw so many plans into disarray.  I've spent a month's worth of income on repairs this year, and it's only March.  My plans to go to Santa Fe to do pottery this summer are deferred to next year, I think.  It's also unlikely that we will get to the Everglades.  We'll see what happens on Monday.  Probably when we get Brownie repaired to where she no longer smokes, we'll just start heading back home, via Sarasota, where we have reservations this coming week at Myakka River State Park that we hope we will be able to make.  

In this moment, I am sitting in a beautiful campsite for the weekend.  We haven't shopped recently, so I'm making some very creative meals and am glad my pantry includes good basics such as canned and dried beans, evaporated milk, chicken broth, tuna, etc.  We have plenty of solar to power our devices so we can watch movies and read books.  I spent yesterday planning our return trip.  There are musical instruments and art supplies.  Some quiet relaxation is a good thing.       

View from our campsite at Phipps Park Campground, Stuart, Florida

   

New Starter, New Stove, New Sites in Truth or Consequences

Getting towed out of my parking spot behind Sun Gallery

When I wrote a week ago, I was holed up behind my art gallery in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, in Brownie, my 20-foot 1984 Lazy Daze mini-motorhome.  I needed a new starter and was scheduled to get that done on Tuesday, when my mechanic (Austin at Rio Grande Automotive in Williamsburg, NM) was available to do the work.  

I called Coach-Net, my roadside assistance provider, on Monday morning, and my tow arrived Tuesday morning as planned.  The work wasn't complete that day, though, so I had to camp out in Sun Gallery overnight.  That went fine, except I really should have read the directions for the inflatable bed first.  Somehow I managed to have it set somewhere between "inflate" and "deflate," which translated to my butt being flat on the floor at 2:30 a.m.  Next time, I'll know.

Finally back in nature!

Wednesday, I finally got out of town and was thrilled to be on Bureau of Reclamation land just south of Williamsburg.  Free camping right on the Rio Grande.  If you want locations like this, make sure you check out the Free Campsites website.  

Yesterday, I had another RV repair scheduled.  I haven't had a working oven in either of my last two mini-motorhomes, and I really like to bake.  The stove in Brownie couldn't be repaired, and, due to the cost of a new stove, I had to think really hard about how much was the ability to bake actually worth to me.  My RV mechanic (Chip Baker in Elephant Butte, NM) recommended that I check out RV salvage yards in Arizona while I was there recently.  I did so, and found out that a used stove was going to cost about $325 to $400, which sounded like too much for a used stove, to me.  

 My new Dometic stove from the scratch-and-dent RV appliance guy on eBay

Off to eBay, where I was successful in finding a scratch-and-dent seller of RV appliances.  I watched his sales for a couple of weeks before ordering one of his stoves, to make sure he always got positive reviews from buyers, which he did.  I got a brand-new stainless steel Dometic three-burner stove for about $280 and paid $50 to Chip to install it, so I came out ahead of going the RV salvage route.  The oven door has a couple of small scrapes, but nothing more than I probably would've had within six months or a year, anyway.  And the stove works beautifully!  The flames on the burners are bigger than my old stove had, and the oven is going to be a lot of fun.  I can visualize myself baking cookies in Quartzsite for my van dwelling friends during the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous in January.  

 Free camping on the Rio Grande

Yesterday was a slow day at the gallery (one $8 sale over the course of two days!), so I closed up early and went to explore another Bureau of Reclamation site.  This one isn't in the Free Campsites website.  It's at 3rd and Turtleback, on the other side of the Rio Grande, and there's room for only one small RV and maybe another car.  Beautiful site.

 

 My wrist tattoo, which I got just about seven years ago, on the day my divorce was final

So, it's been a little over a month now since I moved out of my large Class A motorhome and started living full-time in Brownie, with no RV park space anymore.  I have saved myself $200 in rent and perhaps $50 in utilities, and I am having the time of my life.  The freedom to choose where I want to stay each night is exactly what I needed.  I know this life wouldn't be for everyone, but it is exactly right for  me.  And Sonja.

Sonja Shop Cat supervising from a stack of seats

 

Long Beach Peninsula and a Month of Camping Near Seattle

 

 

Me, in front of the Big Four Ice Caves in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest

When I last wrote (over five weeks ago!), I had been on the northern Oregon Coast and was about to head into Astoria to get the RV's oil changed.  

The oil change guy discovered I needed new U-joints, so I went to an AA meeting and, by the time I left, I had a phone number of a full-service mechanic who was expecting me and was willing to fit me in immediately.  I got the U-joints, plus new windshield wipers and a check on my tire pressure, and then headed back to Fort Stevens State Park for another night.

The next day, I headed up to the Long Beach Peninsula.  I utilized my campground memberships and stayed at a couple of resorts that were on my RPI or Coast to Coast memberships.  I stayed one night at Eagle's Nest Resort in Ilwaco, Washington, where I saw deer wandering around in the campground, and another night at Pacific Holiday RV Resort in Long Beach, which was set back just a tiny bit from the beach.  Beautiful.  With my various campground memberships, I paid about about $14 per night.

 

Beach at Ilwaco, Washington

I decided to wait on going to Olympic National Park until I got some more work done on my RV in Seattle.  I'd been checking on Yelp for the best RV mechanics all the way up the West Coast and found one in Everett, just north of Seattle, who was reputed to be excellent.  I have had several problems come up during my travels.  

One problem was a leak in a pipe that leads into my hot water heater.  I don't use my hot water heater very often.  Really, for one person who normally showers at the campground shower rooms, it's hardly necessary--I can heat up a little water to wash my face or my dishes.  However, when I use water (either from being hooked up to water or from my freshwater tank), it goes to the hot water tank, anyway.  So the water leak was a problem even when I wasn't using hot water.  There's been enough damage from this little leak that I'll need to get my linoleum floor replaced once I get home.  And, until I got the leak fixed, I had to carry about a half-dozen gallon jugs of water with me for all uses, not just drinking, but also flushing and dish washing and so on.  I knew life would become simpler once I could use my plumbing again.

I'd also had some occasional trouble lighting my propane fridge, and I needed a new solar regulator panel, and my oven pilot would light, but the oven wouldn't heat up.  And I had been planning ever since I bought Solveig (the name of my Toyota Dolphin, Norwegian for "house of the sun") to add a roof-top air conditioner.  

So, after exploring some of the Long Beach Peninsula in the southwest corner of the State of Washington, I headed to the Seattle area to see about getting these repairs and upgrades taken care of.  I loved the drive from the Peninsula to I-5, where I found an art trail at the Willapa Bay National Wildlife Refuge.  I stayed overnight at a Love's Truckstop south of Chehalis, where I was able to use wifi next-door at Starbucks to watch a little streaming Netflix.

Art Trail at Willapa Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Salmon swimming in the trees

I arrived in Seattle on Saturday, June 6th, and called up my son and my best friend, both of whom were able to meet me that day at Golden Gardens Park in Seattle.  This was one of my old places to hang out years ago when I lived in Ballard, a Norwegian ghetto in Seattle which has now become an upscale neighborhood just like all of the other upscale neighborhoods.  The park remains the same, takk Odin.  We hung out and enjoyed a meal and sat in the sunshine.

 The beach at Golden Gardens Park in Ballard

Then I headed up to the Tulalip Resort Casino near Marysville, Washington, which I returned to several times during my visit to the Seattle area.  Tulalip is very RV-friendly, with one parking lot devoted specifically to RVs and another overflow lot available when the RV one is full.  I tried a couple of other casinos while I was in the Seattle area (Angel of the Winds in Arlington and Snoqualmie Casino near Snoqualmie Pass), and there is no comparison.  Tulalip is free and has fairly flat parking lots with lots of landscaping that makes it possible to get a sense of privacy.  It's also easy to get on I-5 from the casino to head into the city. 

Casino camping at Tulalip

 
I called my new favorite RV shop, Ryan's RV Town in Everett, and got an appointment first for an estimate and later to have the work done.  Then I scheduled the rest of my Seattle activities around these visits to the shop.

It would take too many words to describe everything I did in Seattle, but the highlights were Steve's two-week visit and camping with my son Sly at a couple of nice Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest campgrounds.  I also got to see my dear friend Helen, my cousin Joanne, and several other close friends.  I would like to have seen everyone I know and like in the Seattle area, but my main purpose was to have lots of quality time with my son, and that was achieved.  I also got to celebrate Sly's 23rd birthday and my 60th birthday while in Washington.   

Birthdays are far out!

While Steve was visiting, we stayed at Tall Chief RV Resort near Fall City, Washington.  It's a nice old Thousand Trails preserve that feels like a state park (big woodsy sites) with amenities (swimming pool, laundromat, wifi, etc.).  Again, I used my campground memberships and the stay cost us $14 per night.  So inexpensive, in fact, that we decided to rent a car while Steve was visiting, so we could leave the rig and the cat back at the campground while venturing out to sightsee.  I also purchased a screened canopy while in the area, which was great for bug-free outdoor dining and relaxing. 

My new Coleman screened canopy--I can put it up by myself in just a minute or two!

We got an awesome deal on the rental car, and I have to recommend Flightcar to anybody who needs to rent a car at a major metropolitan airport.  It's a whole new concept in car rental.  The BMW we rented for two weeks was owned by a local guy who left his car at the airport while traveling.  Our cost was only $25 per day!  For a Beamer!  

Our campsite at Tall Chief, with the rented BMW

During Steve's visit, we mostly relaxed and stayed at the campground, taking a few day trips here and there.  One particularly nice day was when we took the Edmonds-Kingston ferry and visited the Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport, over on the Kitsap Peninsula.  Steve loves submarines!  Later we stopped in nearby Poulsbo at the Poulsbohemian, which has the nicest view of any coffee shop I've ever visited, anywhere.  

Steve, with a nice pie from Remlinger Farms

Before Steve's visit, Sly and I camped for a few nights up at Troublesome Creek, a Forest Service campground north of Index, Washington.  It was quite a long, bumpy road to get to the campground, and I didn't realize until we arrived that my bucket of gesso had overturned and spilled all over other art supplies and sketchbooks and so on.  By the time Sly and I got all the gesso cleaned up, there was also quite a bit on the cat, and weeks later she still has a few areas of gesso-clumped fur.  Troublesome Creek was gorgeous and worth the drive.

 Repainting a canvas found at a thrift shop while camping with Sly

After Steve's visit, I headed up to Turlo, a Forest Service campground on the Mountain Loop Highway east of Granite Falls.  This campground on the Stillaguamish River also turned out to be beautiful.  There were some nice swimming holes right in front of the campground's beach.  Sly was able to join me for a couple of days there, and Helen came up for a nice Sunday visit.

Sly

When Sly came up to see me at Turlo, we drove in his car about 15 miles further into the National Forest to hike to the Big Four Ice Caves.  These are the same caves which, just two days later, crashed in and killed one person and injured five others.  We were lucky to have been there before this happened.  The temps were in the 90s and the cave was dripping as if there was a rain storm inside.  I don't really understand while the Forest Service didn't close down this site before the accident happened.  

 

Big Four Ice Caves, two days before the cave-in that killed one and injured five

Sly and I also unexpectedly came across a 4th of July parade in the small community of Robe, Washington, which is just outside the National Forest.  We went there for a cold drink and stayed for the festivities.  

Independence Day Parade in tiny Robe, Washington

After this last camping trip with Sly, I went back into town and got all of my repairs done at Ryan's RV Town (except for the oven, which they recommended replacing, something I'm not ready to do at this time), and then it was time to go back on the road.  Much as I will miss those I leave behind, I was really relieved to be out of that big city traffic!  

Now I have been on the Olympic Peninsula for a few nights, but so far trying to see much of Olympic National Park has been hampered by gray, rainy weather.  I've hesitated to drive up to Hurricane Ridge because I know I won't be able to see much in this weather.  So I'm hanging out in the Port Angeles area for another day or so to see if the weather clears up before moving on.  Currently I am using the wifi and drinking coffee at the very friendly Bella Rosa Coffee Shop and debating whether to drive back up into the National Park for a campground tonight or just to stay in town at Walmart or maybe find the Elwha River Casino?  I'm seeing it's 4:30 pm, so I guess I'm off to find a free parking lot here in town.  Ah, the life of the wanderer!