POST 679; 08/02/12: ON THE ROAD TO OBX

Yesterday the lawn received it's last trimming from yours truly. Also spent a difficult day culling furniture items to be taken to OBX in the trailer. Many items offered by my Partner could not be included for lack of room...the trailer is STUFFED and weighs much more than is reasonable for the MPV to pull 3,000 miles over three mountain ranges.

After attaching the trailer to the MPV hitch, the rear tires were nearly flat from the weight. Les Schwab told me the rear tires were worn out and must be replaced, so invested another couple hundred $$ in new rear tires.

Wanted to watch "So You Think You Can Dance", but also needed some sleep, so listened to the pillow at 8:30 pm til midnight.

At midnight, said goodbye to E - perhaps for the last time - and drove into the night...

With continuing cataract fuzziness, it was difficult to see clearly...I kept on anyway, driving down I-5 to Bellevue - then picked up I-90 East, driving over the Cascade Mountains by way of Snoqualmie Pass, crossed Washington's desert to Spokane and continued on to Missoula, Montana, where I have taken a motel room for the night.

Was behind the wheel from midnight until 4:00 pm, having taken one hour to sleep as I crossed the Idaho Panhandle, and two hours to repair the broken belt.

Near Ritzville, Washington (about 30 miles West of Spokane), the water pump / alternator belt broke, bringing red trouble lights on. Stopped immediately as I knew the red lights indicated a broken belt. Phoned a local Ritzville Auto Company, who drove the 3 miles from town with three new belts. 1.5 hours - and $185.00 - later, the MPV was running like new again.




Full Moon over Washington's Columbia Basin.





Brooks Street Motor Inn, Missoula, Montana, where we are spending the night.

No, I did not receive any discount... "walkers" some times receive significant discounts, but I have not been so fortunate as of late.


Walked one mile to a local Chinese Buffet - and back.

Offering was not exceptional, but was OK.



Missoula is surrounded by high hills of the Rocky Mountains.

My MPV worked very hard today climbing a number of hills in compound low dragging our overweight trailer. After some 13 grueling hours , she was running well. There are a number of long steep hills still waiting for us.

Four years ago, the Bellingham Mazda Dealer - a personal friend - advised me to get rid of my MPV as it was even then nearing 1/4 million miles. Instead, I put $4,000 of in-depth maintenance into her. Performance today seems to have justified my decision.

In all, we drove 562 miles today. Not an exceptional number of miles for 13 hours on the road.
But then, many of those hours were climbing hills at 30 - 35 miles per hour.

MPV cruising speed today has been between 55 - 60 miles per hour.

Am surprised by my lack of stamina behind the wheel...but look forward to the rest of our trip back to the Outer Banks.