After researching the repair facilities in and around Seattle, we headed South to Bend Oregon. Coach Masters there has a great reputation, is a Tiffin authorized repair shop and best of all...my parents are nearby. We had planned on seeing a Mariner's game, visiting an old friend in Port Angeles and going along the coast before heading into Central Oregon for a much needed parental visit. But taking the short cut has been a great decision. We made the appointment for the Beast to get her oil changed, the slide outs fixed, some small body work repairs and the windshield replaced. So once again, we headed out early, trying to beat Seattle traffic and breezed right through the major cities in the Pacific Northwest. We made a stop at Camping World after Portland for a stretching, shopping break. After the farming communities we headed off the interstate across the mountains toward Central Oregon. A beautiful ride!
We arrived in Fall River in time for dinner and a cool quiet nights sleep. I enjoyed walking around the property while Eric and my dad (the repair wizard!) fixed many issues with the Beast. Alaska was a little rough on the Beast and I couldn't wait to get her back in prime condition! After a couple of days of repairs, cleaning and organizing she was back to almost normal.
A huge thunderstorm rolled through one afternoon with tons of hail pelting down. Some of the pellets were thumb size and one broke the vent in my parents ceiling. It was the loudest I have ever heard. After a while it finally stopped. It looked like snow outside and the pups loved eating the hail. Max, my parents schnoodle, wondered what the heck they were eating. He tried some since they must be yummy and promptly spit it out.
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| A bakers dozen of ducks on a log |
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| A great place to walk the pups |
After some much needed retail therapy with my mom, we enjoyed a great lunch along the river. It was so good to spend time with her. The next morning it was up early to ride into Bend and Coach Masters for the repairs. Since we were pretty sure the repairs would take a day or so, we arranged for an overnight stay in their lot. We took off to try to fill the day with the pups. Bend is an outdoor living kind of place. We had coffee along the River at the Old Mill District and walked the paths for the morning.
It grew very hot as Bend is experiencing a little heat wave. We seem to bring strange weather wherever we go. We headed back to the shop to plug in the Beast to their 50 amp (woohoo!) service, turn on the air conditioners for the pups and go get some dinner to bring back. It is kind strange camping in a parking lot, but after a good nights rest we were up and back to the Old Mill for coffee and long walks. I'm trying to work off all the Apple Fritters from the Moose is Loose that are hanging on!
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| This is what your water filter looks like after Alaska! This was a new filter a couple of months ago |
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| The Beast camped out at Coach Masters |
We were hoping to have the windshield replaced today and the body work completed by the end of day. We stopped by the Windshield repair facility to find the old windshield out, but the new one was not the right size. The correct one should arrive the next morning, so back to Coach Masters we went. Early in the morning, the body shop is ready for us. We are hoping the windshield arrives and we can run the Beast over for the install then head back to my folks place. It is cooler there and so quiet. To be continued.....
