Oct 18 (Sun - day 73)
North Bend to Camano Island, Washington
Weather - clearing- temps mild, 50F (10C)



Image: In western Washington the Skagit Valley area and Island County have homes of varied architectural styles. Since we have a liking for barns, this one happened to catch our eye.



Today was moving day. It was nice to get Gus ready with no rain or wind to contend with and no rush to be out before checkout time.



What a great stay we had, despite a bit of damp, coastal fall weather. Good-byes were said, with hopes to return during the Christmas Holidays, and then we trekked off to our next destination, Rae's parents home on Camano Island. The hi-ways were not too crowded and we moved effortlessly over I-90 to I-405 then on to I-5. Traffic was easy, weather clearing, with no wind, and the fall colors were terrific.



During our trip we've continually faced the challenge of finding a gas station that is designed for 'big rigs'. Filling Gus with fuel, can, at times, be tricky. Some locations are more difficult to maneuver in when your RV and towed auto are 49 feet in length....with the car dolly there is NO backing up. So you had better be able to pull through at the pumps or you're in a world of hurt. Getting a good perspective on maneuvering room (usually done in moving traffic with poor visibility) is difficult at the best of times and when we stopped in Stanwood to fill up it was close....so close we thought we might leave part of the Red Rocket behind, but we just made the turn into the gas station and just made it out....a really BIG WHEW!



As we pulled into Rae's parents driveway the weather was looking promising, so thinking I would have plenty of time to unload the Red Rocket and move the car dolly in dry weather I just parked Gus and left things for later. HA HA....what's the saying, never put off till tomorrow what you can do today....the rains came and guess what, everything just sat there waiting for a drier moment.



Even with the current showers some areas on Camano Island were experiencing a shortage of water due to an extended dry spell this year (not something we ever thought would happen on the northwest coast of Washington). Rae's parents have a well that supplies their water and the level was extremely low. Knowing this, we came prepared with a full tank of water for use in Gus, so we just had to hook up the electrical and we were all set. Then it was time for visiting, catching up on news and planning out the next few days. The adventure continues...



To see more of 'The Great Adventure 2009' images click HERE



To read more about our travels click HERE