Van now in USA

[mojo]

Having a nice wake up cuppa to this view out of bed.Makes a change from carparks.

 

[mojo]

We've made it! Pacific from the Atlantic after six weeks and 5,000 miles

 

[mojo]

Although the Pacific coast here gets half a year in fog.Woke this morning as it was clearing.

 

[mojo]

Newport ,Oregon turned out to be a pleasant place to spend a sunny afternoon.
Dawned on me today at the beach that it's not often a UK registered van sits on the Pacific coast.

 

[mojo]

Moving inland later today for Crater Lake NP . Leaving the Pacific coast never to return.Surprising how few vans take advantage of the many overnight spots .It feels we are the only ones who do it,other than the occasional sleep over car.
Another nice spot last night.Notice the trees bent over from the severe winds here that we have thankfully not experienced.
Glad we are not on the East coast with Storm Florence forcing one million to evacuate.

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[DiggerJon]

I hope you have good weather for Crater Lake as it is a right jaw dropper as is the surrounding volcanic scenery. I envy you!

 

[mojo]

Well,the Pacific sent me on my way with something to remember.Reversing from the very last lookout point I did not notice a small wheely bin down by the passenger front wing.
When steel and aluminium meet there is only one winner.A 50mm dig and scrape but not broken through the skin.Grrrr.
This joins the small dent in rear panel from the scooter handlebar from these ridiculously bumby road sections.Dont see how it could happen as you can not push it that close.
Just ordered replacement fittings from Gaslow to collect in Denver end of next week.
Our adapter seems to have received some damage to the thread that receives the USA filling point by some heavy handed operative.
Two chips on the screen now have plastic stickers to prevent frost.Habitation door latch will not release without a helping finger from inside so using cab door for exit/entry.
The small flood from a failed shower plug is sorted.Using metal washer to refit and plenty of mastic it probably more water tight than the original.

All the fun of a road trip.
Nice sleepover on the Umpqua River , Oregon last night.

 

[mojo]

Crater Lake NP 12 Sept

A nice scenic drive along the 138 to Crater Lake. A top sight,it must be as the Japanese tourists were there.A volcano that sunk in on itself and fills only from snow and rain.Hence the perfect blue colour from no impurities for its 2,000 ft depth.

A 33 mile road around the rim affords great views.

 

[mojo]

Being so close to the California state line,in American terms,we decided to route in to that state if only a little.
A little means four hours driving round trip .Checked at the state line for fruits,etc ,the only state to do this.
The highlight of the day was finding our best overnight spot so far on Goose Lake.
High above the grazing cattle reminiscent of the African plains we were early enough to get out the chairs and enjoy over a glass before the spectacular sunset.
A RV pulled in and we had a long chat.He uses 15 US gal for 100 miles to my 5 US gal .
He then left for a campsite somewhere !

 

[Lenny HB]

Been loving your thread and all the photos. Something we have always thought about doing, the cost of shipping and insuring the van is around twice what I expected but looks worth it for the adventure.

Habitation door latch will not release without a helping finger from inside

May be of help, if you take the cover off around the internal handle you may be able to sort it out if it is one of the common faults. If there is a black round cover about 3"-4"" dia and it's popped off (holds a spring in place I think) just a push and turn baynot fitting they have a habit of popping off on rough roads. The Hymer fix is a couple of self tappers through the side. Other thing to look for is bend rods that operate the latch.

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[mojo]

Thanks Lenny H B will take a look.
Well we certainly got a lesson in scale today , despite six weeks we still made the mistake of looking at the map and taking a LITTLE detour.
Leaving California at Goose Lake we got greedy and decided to dip our toe in to Nevada enroute to Boise,Idaho using the 140 .Great journey and views of high desert and miles of open space but a full 6 hrs of driving to get back in to Oregon near Burns town.
Some pics including the almost extinct shoe tree .

 

[mojo]

I did not know there are many Hymer dealers in the USA.They only sell Corado sliding door models.Funny when we called in for a part as the whole staff of the large dealership came out taking pictures.

 

[mojo]

Question,can I save this thread for posterity ?

 

[scousebird]

Question,can I save this thread for posterity ?

@Jim

 

[mojo]

At last we have found a city here that suits us.Boise in Idaho is modern,clean,dare I say sophisticated due no doubt to a strong Basque influence from the original settlers.

Restaurants with outside tables and shops selling real French bread and cheeses including blue.

We enjoyed our Al fresco Basque meal last night in a jolly atmosphere from the many university students out to party on the Saturday night.

This sunny Sunday had been spent in one of the many parks and cycling the 25 mile Greenway cycle route.

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[mojo]

 

[mojo]

Spent a night at the Craters of the Moon NP campsite.Convenient to get the scooter off for the loop road to various walking trails that afternoon and a ranger led tour of lava tubes the following morning.
A hire van with two Swiz guys asked to squeeze in on our pitch as no room elsewhere.They are here for 7 weeks and got a very good deal of 110 dollars per day out of season rate.
Leaving for the Nevada state line we routed through Twin Falls.Another surprising town with its huge canyon on the Snake River.Watching base jumpers from the bridge we noticed a info panel explaining that Evelyn Kneival tried to jump the canyon in the seventies and the earth ramp is still there in the distance.
A great golf course viewed down in the canyon so we booked a tee off time for the morning.That cut short our drive but that's the point of seeing what's around the corner.We pick up plenty of passengers to our front grill each day and hard work clearing the screen.Some pics.

Walmart has the pleasure of our company tonight.

 

[Theonlysue]

110 dollars a day??

 

[Colin Wilson]

Loving the thread.
For info - in the absence of aires or service points how are you sourcing fresh water and disposal of your grey waste and chemical toilet?

 

[mojo]

Fresh water from gas stations which we use often.Grey mostly on to waste ground and black on the many public toilets and plastic cubicles .
Sometimes the gas stations have dump points and state parks.

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[mojo]

Overnight using the truck stop in a one street town called Wendover .This town straddles the state line of Nevada and Utah by the traffic lights just up the street.We are in the Nevada side,hence the Casino's with nothing on the Utah half of town.The state line is also the timeline between Pacific and Mountain time.This means either 8 hours behind UK in Nevada and cross the street to 7 hrs behind in Utah.

 

[mojo]

If you look beyond the town in the background is Great Salt Lake where world speed records have been attempted on the Bonneville Flats.

 

[mojo]

Drove early for sunrise at the Bonneville Flats.

 

[mojo]

There were "multiple fatalities" in a shooting at a pharmacy distribution centre in the US state of Maryland, local officials say.

The shooting happened on Thursday morning in the Perryman area, Harford County, about 40km (25 miles) north-east of Baltimore.

There were also "multiple wounded", the officials say. A suspect was in custody "in critical condition".

US media report that three people were killed, and the shooter was a woman.

The Harford County Sheriff's Office has not confirmed this.

We ship back from Baltimore in January,must remember not to purchase medications from there before our return

 

[mojo]

Using a centrally located Sam's club for overnighting we used the scooter to view the State Capitol Building and Mormons Headquarters in Temple Square.The temple is off limits,notice the huge office building needed to organise all those funds coming in from the 12 million believers.Had to get the wheels balanced again after last week's fitters did a poor job.

Now at Canyonlands & Arches NP and camping in the desert.

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[makems]

Using a centrally located Sam's club for overnighting we used the scooter to view the State Capitol Building and Mormons Headquarters in Temple Square.The temple is off limits,notice the huge office building needed to organise all those funds coming in from the 12 million believers.Had to get the wheels balanced again after last week's fitters did a poor job.View attachment 257260 View attachment 257261 View attachment 257262 View attachment 257263 View attachment 257264
Now at Canyonlands & Arches NP and camping in the desert.

We loved Arches NP. Some great hikes and amazing scenery.

 

[mojo]

Some pics of our day in Canyonlands NP.Arches tomorrow.

 

[mojo]

Would like to say this is our night stop but we are still in the NP at 7pm.Everyone gone so Glenda suggests she cook our dinner here for sunset before wild camping outside the NP.

 

[mojo]

Arches NP was stunning scenery as expected.Also found time to view ancient rock art just outside of Moab town.Using wi fi on the hoof to Denver.Some pics.Must pay my subs soon or this thread will come to a grinding halt.

 

[mojo]

The Mercedes base van is very popular here.I notice a few possible cheaper rental vans,one is a truck camper and the other a car base.The truck camper would be best for wild camping.
The best laundry so far includes free coffee .Notice how cheap to wash
Pics

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