We made the American Border late in the evening. I had been all worried about the food in our fridge and our dog food and various other things, I'd heard you were not able to take across the border, but the only thing we had to throw out were our green peppers...oh and the fire wood Marty has been hauling around for over a year. Every time we go camping, he loads the wood we had left over from the last fire we had in hopes that we'll burn it. It's been over a year!!! Anyway, the border crossing official made us carry each piece out of the box of the truck, back to the fence that divided the USA from Canada and dump it. Yep, just dump the wood on the other side of the fence...weird!
We camped at Sullivan Lake at the Noisey Creek campground. It was a chilly evening with lots of mosquitos, but we made ourselves at home for the night. In the morning we woke up and took Scout and Ryder for an early morning hike near the lake.
It was a great way to start the day. Looking back I am glad we got some "activity" in early as it turned out to be a very long travel day. One that involved another Ryder poo explosion in his car seat! I was tired and grumpy by the end of that day, so I was really happy when we finally pulled into a campsite in Plymouth Washington that had full hookups! I soo needed a shower and was desperate to do laundry.
Ryder's laundry was really starting to smell and so was he, so Marty agreed to take him to the shower with him. I went to. I stood in the change area of the shower stall and sudsed up Ryder while Marty held him. Once he was squeaky clean, I wrapped Ryder in a towel and went to sneak out of the stall so Marty could finish showering and so I could diaper Ryder before he peed all over. I opened the stall and...there was a guy standing at the urinal. I slammed the shower stall door closed, embarrassed. I gave the guy a few minutes, then quietly creaked the door open again, but the guy was still standing there! Clearly he had seen me and now had stage fright. I waited and waited, hoping Ryder wouldn't pee on me and listened for the heavy door to the Men's bathroom to close. Eventually it did and I could escape....awkward!
Once Ryder and Marty were clean, I had a quick shower and headed to do laundry. Funny how desperate one becomes to do laundry when several pairs of baby shorts are brimming with poo!!
Ryder happily "bouncing" in the RV park!
In an effort to keep out of the trailer so Marty (our driver) could sleep, I tried to take some cute pics. I propped Ryder up against Scout and to my surprise, he put his own arm over her and she stayed put!! Once Marty woke up, we packed things up and headed for Hood River, Oregon. We were super excited to get there as this was the destination where Marty would get to kiteboard. Hood River is known for it's wind, guarenteed wind and Marty couldn't wait to get his kite up in the air!
One of the greatest things about driving up the coast, aside from the scenery, were the drive through espresso places. Tiny little shacks/cabins that had a drive up window and served smoothies and coffees. We loved the mystery of where we were gonna get our daily java (lattee for me and smoothie for Marty)but we were never dissapointed. The only trouble with java on the go, as opposed to java before you go, is that it makes me gotta go...if you get my drift. This particular day, I couldnt' wait for a rest stop or gas station. My urge to go was urgent, so Marty pulled over on the side of the highway so I could run back to the bathroom in the trailer!!! Have I mentioned yet, how much I love having a trailer?????
Hood River was my favorite destination in the US. The city is quaint, tourist and dog friendly. The wind was perfect and the temperature warm! The only trouble with Hood River are the trains!! They run constantly right along the Columbia River blowing their horns at all hours of the day and night. WE found this out the hard way. The lesson we learned was, any time you pull into an otherwise full campground and feel lucky enough to get a beautiful site right on the river, you should wonder why? Why are you so "lucky?" I'll tell you why: the train pretty much runs right through your camper blowing it's horn when it hits your pillow!! The first time we heard the train whistle, I was feeding Ryder outside in a lawn chair. He absolutely lost his mind. I have never heard him cry like that. He was shaking he was so scared. I guess he just got startled, big time!!! After that we decided we'd have to move campgrounds. Ryder couldn't take the whistle and truth be told, neither could we. We had paid for two nights in advance, to stay there at Viento State Park, but after the first one, we decided just to donate our 20 dollar fee...not worth staying there at all!!
Marty's Dad and his wife, Trish, joined us in Hood River. They left their home in Kelowna on their motorcycle, pulling behind them the coolest little tent trailer.
We ended up all moving to Tucker Park Campground. A quiet oasis far away from the train. Debbie was the campground hostess and she was awesome!! There was a little hike down to the river where we found a cool little piece of private beach.
Jim and Trish had brought their little yorkie puppy, Angel with them. She and Scout are great friends. Watching them play together is hilarious!! They play hard and they sleep hard when they are together!
Marty and Ryder played hard too...but I didn't get any good pics of Marty kite boarding, it's just too hard with Ryder and Scout under my supervision.
It was easy enough to get pics of Marty watching the other kite boarders...
The rest of us tried to get a little exercise in too...
On the last day, Marty, Ryder, Scout and I found hiked to a waterfall that had a beautiful pool at the top that you could swim in. I had Ryder, in his carrier, so I didn't swim, but Marty did. It was the kind of pool, you basically had to jump off the cliff to get into. Marty surveyed the area for a bit before taking the plunge. Scout was right there by his side and when he jumped, I was sure she was gonna follow him in. She wanted to, but she chickened out! She ran across the top of the cliffs, crying and whining, wanting to join him. I have never seen her display such intense loyalty!! Eventually she found a place that only required a small leap and she took it! She swam right into Marty's arms. When it was time to get out, he had to help her as there was no real steps out. Adorable!!!
Looking back, Hood River was a place I wish we had stayed!! Saying Bye to that place was tough, but we knew we had many more adventures ahead of us. Jim and Trish headed back to BC and Marty, Scout, Ryder and I continued up the coast.
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