South

By the end of October, the weather in our area gets freezing and gray. It is hard to keep your spirits up as the rain and wind knock all the beautiful bright-colored leaves to the ground. We have always tried to add a little adventure south into warmer climates to help us through the winter months. It lifts up our spirits and gives us something to concentrate on.

We've been busy getting ready for our next adventure. We've packed clothes and removed stuff we don't use from the camper. We've evaluated each item and decided whether it's going or staying. This includes finding a storage location for our items and packing them away. Our lists grew and then got shorter as we made decisions. We're almost ready to hit the road!

Our truck should be in tip-top shape for this trip. It cost us some savings to get it ready, but they were items we deemed necessary for our peace of mind. We also have confirmed our house visitor's schedule, and the place will be in great hands once we leave. Thanks to all of the folks who will be helping in this endeavor. It's so nice to have someone taking care of the home front.

Weather-watching has become an obsession. Ideally, we would like a window with a slight warm-up and no precipitation called for, but that will probably not happen. We will leave when we feel safe from ice on the roads. A little snow is manageable until we get past the Tri-Cities and closer to Eugene.

Finally, the day of departure arrived. Leaving Post Falls at about 8:00 AM, we drove to Ritzville, turned south, and followed Highway 396 southwest, turning west on Highway 84 to Boardman, where we fueled up.

Remember the weather window we were watching? Well, we hit it! As we left Post Falls, snowflakes slid gently down the truck window. When we hit Spokane, the snow had stopped. When we stopped at the rest area by Sprague Lake, the sun came out, and we had beautiful weather the rest of the day.

We continued downriver on Highway 84 past one of our usual spots, Arlington, assuming we could boondock at a flat gravel bed called Rufus Landing. When we arrived, we found that the site was closed until April 1st. Linda did some quick map reading and Googled up some options. Continuing on down the Columbia, we chose to spend our first night at Deschutes River State Park on the Deschutes River.

We chose site 21, a very nice spot just yards from the river. It was an easy day and our adventure has officially begun.

Below is a map of our travel route down to Yuma. I will update our progress the best I can so bookmark this post and enjoy the ride!