A matter of hours

I expect more than one post today as I get ready to pull out. I'm hoping there will be a cell tower close enough to Daroga State Park that I can connect and post pictures of the first day out this evening. There is a frisson of excitement in the air.

Oh. That was lightning!

I just knew that it would turn to rain on the day I was to leave. The entire week has been hot and sunny. I have half a dozen things to still load in the trailer or truck, including picking out my suitcase for overnights and getting the daughter out of bed and into the truck. ETD is 10:00 a.m. and I want to take the dogs out for a nice long walk before I close up shop.

And that's a big deal! I will have a checklist to be sure I remember to disconnect and stow everything. I have bungies and straps for all the stuff that I need to secure, but remembering to secure it all is the big challenge. Everything has to be unplugged from outlets because there is no clearance when the slide-out comes in. I'll be looking for a dump station as soon as possible so that I can run with an empty blackwater and graywater tank. Probably better go get gas this morning, too!

Then it's up to Everett and the starting point of U.S. Hwy 2. I won't be doing the whole highway on this first two-week outing, but will be out several hundred miles. That means over the Cascades at Stevens Pass and before we finish, we'll be into the Rockies at Glacier National Park. Q and I will be camping for two nights at Daroga State Park north of Wenatchee as we start assessing whether everything has actually been packed. Then on Monday we'll move to Spring Valley RV Park near Newport, WA. On Tuesday, we'll leave the trailer and drive to Glacier National Park in Montana to hike and enjoy that incredible sight. That's as far as I'll get on U.S. Hwy 2.

By evening, we'll be in Whitefish, MT where I'll get Q on the Empire Builder westbound. That will get her back to Seattle Wednesday morning so she can be at a job interview the next day and take M to the airport for her weeklong trip out east. I'll sleep in the truck Tuesday night and take a leisurely drive back to Spring Valley on Wednesday.

Then I'll try to catch up on all the work I need to get finished. Still paperwork to handle and a book to get out for Mark Sawyer. I'll be busy out there for two weeks before I head back for a week in Bellevue and figure out what I didn't think of and still need. I'll be staying at Vasa Park most of that week.

For now, it's time to feed the dogs, get another cup of coffee, breakfast, and a shower, and start putting together the last of the things I need for the first leg. Pictures tonight.

Here goes!