The Hagarstream is on the road

[TinCrumpet]

Originally Posted by Smartstream

Hi
Ive been soooo busy..I'm run ragged
We'll catch up at the weekend over a Mug of Ale or 2

Lili you are always busy, but that's alright as long as you find a little time for us once in while.

Back to the desert. As we were getting ready to leave Irene snapped this pic, that's Mike on the left in case you didn't know.
Attachment 143804

I think the birthday boy was still hitting the birthday wine.

It's past the witching hour..in fact its 1 hour after..alls well but and I just cannot sleep..
I have such a busy day tomorrow and that flipping pumpkin is still hollow..
Im not looking at the others closely as we are saving them for our Adventure
But I couldn't help but spot the special one..I love the snap..Just love it

[Mike Leary]

It's called "hair of the dog", Dan, took me the rest of the day to recover from the night before with you two happy campers.

[Smartstream]

We left Lee Vining in the morning on the way to Yosemite. The road up to the Tioga Pass is a significant climb 7% to 8% grade for eleven miles through scenery like this.


You officially enter the Park at the top of Tioga Pass.


The scenery through the park is magnificent.



This is El Capitan.


Yosemite Falls.


And the infamous Half Dome.

[Mike Leary]

Great pics! You hit the weather window perfectly. Predictions are for 14 degrees in the next few days around here; mite be time to go down the hill for the season. All the best.

[Smartstream]

Originally Posted by Mike Leary

Great pics! You hit the weather window perfectly. Predictions are for 14 degrees in the next few days around here; mite be time to go down the hill for the season. All the best.

Yeah Mike we kept an eye on the weather throughout our trip. So many things to see but we didn't want to be uncomfortable in temperature extremes. We tried to find a happy medium and still find interesting places to visit. For the most part we were pretty lucky in our choices.

Leaving Yosemite we spent three days in Sacramento with Irene's folks and her sisters and their families. We then kind of made a run for home as Irene wanted to be home for her birthday. Also we have run up and down the highways from L.A. to Washington so many times that we don't really tour much in that area.

At any rate we are home safe and taking a day or two to get back to the real world. Thanks to all of you for following along on our little adventure.

Cheers, Dan

[Mike Leary]

Originally Posted by Smartstream

At any rate we are home safe and taking a day or two to get back to the real world. Thanks to all of you for following along on our little adventure

After that trip, which I sure would not call a "little adventure" and knowing you guys, I'd not be suprised to see you down here soon. Hey, we can pull strings in Ajo.

[Airslide]

That was a great trip.. you guys should be commended for taking the time to outline the adventure and post all those pictures.. Thanks for taking us with you!

Vinnie

[Smartstream]

Thanks Vinnie, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Mike in case you haven't noticed we are not real fans of the desert. We like trees and water.

Here is a recap of our trip.

We went a total of 16,301.4 miles in sixteen weeks and four days. The GPS showed our average moving speed was 42.3 mph.

We visited thirty-four states and four Canadian Provinces.

The most expensive diesel we bought was $4.73/gal and the cheapest was $3.52/gal. I don't want to know out total fuel cost.

The only mechanical failure on the coach was a compressor for the dash air. I did an extra compressor swap because I failed to check belt
tension. We did use the dash air about 90% of the time we were on the road. The blower fan started making a funny noise the last two days.

We had a brake issue but again that was my fault for failure to check the fluid level. Adding brake fluid solved the problem.

I did replace one head light bulb that burnt out.

I did have a few strongly worded discussions with the water heater. It was difficult on occasion but I did take a hot shower everyday. The issue
of a replacement is still on the table.

Speaking of water the Flow Pur water softener we bought was great and we enjoyed soft water showers the entire trip.

We liked the MaxxAir fan that I installed before the trip so much that I installed a second one mid-way through the trip.

The cork floor I installed was not so good and will be replaced as soon as I get a chance.

The drivers and passenger chairs purchased from Discount Van and Truck were very comfortable and after sitting in them daily for many hours I
would recommend them to anyone looking for replacements.

We used Woodals and Camp Club USA books to locate RV parks. After Labor Day we were able to use the Camp Club 50% discount about 50% of the time. The $50 investment was paid back many times in savings at the parks we used. Our routine was about 4:00 pm Irene would drag the books out and start looking for a park. A few phone calls and we would choose a park.

We picked up guide books and maps from AAA offices as we traveled from area to area.

I hope this information is useful to anyone contemplating a trip or maybe considering some modifications or upgrades. If anyone has questions or
comments feel free to ask.

Again thanks for following our adventure, I hope you enjoyed it,

Cheers, Dan

[Flying Gypsies]

I suspect there are many of us on the forum who didn't chime in but lived your trip vicariously. Thank you so much for the entertainment and wonderful chronicle.

[Mike Leary]

Originally Posted by Smartstream

Mike in case you haven't noticed we are not real fans of the desert. We like trees and water.

Being northwest "Mossbacks" ourselves, our first trips to the desert were like yours, but, like good wine or single malt, the desert is an acquired taste. We'll clink a glass to you two in January,as we sit in shorts and tees.

[Florida 55]

Thank you for sharing your trip with us and the other forum members. This is the reason we bought our Airstream in 2011. I hope we can take our trip of a lifetime in 2012.

[Smartstream]

Flying Gypsies and Florida 55 Thanks for following along and glad you enjoyed it.

Mike, Irene and I both were born, grew up and lived our lives in Los Angeles which is a desert by the sea with irrigation. In all that time the taste was never acquired. That is why we moved to the northwest when we retired. Remember life does not exist without water.

Another little tidbit from our trip, we visited eight National Parks and three National Monuments.

Cheers, Dan

[DIR1]

Hi guys, thanks for all the wonderful piccy's , good information and advice... we truely enjoyed your trip... you two put a lot of time effort into taking us all along!! ..ok, hugs to you.. gail and don

[JulianneJ]

Dan~ Just had to let you know I became a foster mom for Great Dane Rescue. My new roomie is an 18 month old Brindle named Stormy. All I can say is she is awesomeness wrapped up in a Dane suit! Cheers to the Danes ~Julianne

[TinCrumpet]

Originally Posted by Smartstream

Flying Gypsies and Florida 55 Thanks for following along and glad you enjoyed it.

Mike, Irene and I both were born, grew up and lived our lives in Los Angeles which is a desert by the sea with irrigation. In all that time the taste was never acquired. That is why we moved to the northwest when we retired. Remember life does not exist without water.

Another little tidbit from our trip, we visited eight National Parks and three National Monuments.

Cheers, Dan

Hey Dan
When we visit...remember..no drops!
We've been looking back at your snaps
and some made my knees wobble !
I remember Bob telling us he wasn't fond of
Heights but he still ventured high..and Vinnie Drove over that wooden rickety bridge..I'll NEVA forget Hx2 driving the Airstream over Hoover Dam..urghhhh...

[Mike Leary]

Originally Posted by TinCrumpet

I'll NEVA forget Hx2 driving the Airstream over Hoover Dam..urghhhh...

The new Hoover bypass is a piece of cake.

[Smartstream]

Well it has been awhile since we have been on a real camping trip but here we are. We have had a couple of overnighters when I had my eye surgery and some local drives but this is the first real trip of the year. We are in Kalama, WA. which is about 30 miles north of Portland on I-5. We had a little rain the first day but no problem. This is what we see from the windshield.

We are here with 4 other coaches from a local RV club and we have a nice spot right on the river.

And naturally our flamingos wanted to come out and play.

Some of the flamingos had to stay inside.


Cheers, Dan

[Smartstream]

Wednesday we took a trip to the Bonneville Dam and toured the power plant. There are actually two plants and we toured the original plant. It has ten generators and the new plant also has ten for total output of 1200 megawatts. Here is the power house and generators



This is the spillway and fish ladders where you can see several fish.




I was thinking about adding some turbine power to the coach. Do you think this might be too much?


This is the Multnomah Falls seen from the highway.


And another falls one of many seen from the highway.


Cheers, Dan

[TinCrumpet]

[/QUOTE]

Im coming back to look after Tea ..

[zagarino]

Sounds like a great trip. Heading home to Hood River from SoCal. Maybe our paths will cross?

Scott