The plan was to leave home at 9am, but in true Bolgil fashion, we were late! Having said this, we weren’t that late ( it could have been far worse!), pulling out of the driveway at about 9.40am to begin what ended up being quite an epic day.

We had planned to get gas (petrol!) at the Husky station because it’s quite large and therefore no problem getting the big beast – Al the RV – in there and out safely. But we ended up waiting forever at the lights and a long time in the gas station to get a pump, and then discovered just how long it takes to put gas in Al. We were only putting a small amount (relatively speaking) in there to get us down to the US, supposedly, where gas is much cheaper. As it happens, we ended up getting some more in Merritt as we could already see by then that making it over the border was looking sketchy!

We took Highway 5A to Merritt rather than the main route so that we could limit having to go up and down over the mountains so much. That probably helped limit gas consumption, but we were already figuring that Al is going to drink way more gas than we’d even hoped for, and we hadn’t had high hopes!

By this time in the drive I was getting used to how Al handles – before now we’d only been out in Al a few times and they were relatively short trips but had included going up and down the mountain to Sun Peaks a few times – and I can’t exactly say that it’s a pleasurable experience driving Al. Firstly, Al was obviously designed to be driven by someone with much longer legs and arms than me because even with the seat all the way forward I can only just comfortably reach the pedals. Then there’s the steering wheel – it’s massive for one thing, and although it’s adjustable too, my arms are quite far stretched to be able to reach it and control the steering properly. More on this another day…!

Driving over the Coquihalla took far longer than it would have done in a car, and we did struggle up a few of the hills, but generally all was fine. We finally got to the border (the Sumas crossing) around 2.30pm and were prepared for the first degree and an inspection of the RV etc but were pleasantly surprised. Mufit and I still had to get visas so we had to get out anyway, but we had a very nice US immigration guy who made the process actually quite fun. An unusual experience, I know!

On the ‘other side’, we stopped in Sumas to let the dogs out to stretch their legs and other such stuff, then we set off again.

We continued on and stopped in Bellingham to pick up some groceries, have a late lunch, and buy the gas that we’d planned to buy. And if we’d thought it took a while to put gas in this morning, it took forever to completely fill the tank. In fact it wasn’t even from empty, it had been a quarter full and still cost us around $200 US!

We got onto the I5 and headed South towards Seattle. Luckily by the time we got there it was past rush hour, technically, but still very busy and slow-going. We eventually arrived at our destination – Chehalis Tribal RV Park – at around 8.30pm and found that the office had closed at 8pm. For the next nearly hour, we then had to drive up the road and figure out where we had to check in. When we finally got to our spot, it was dark but we had power and water to connect to so we had microwavable food for dinner, and went to bed shortly after that.

The last 2 weeks have flown by since returning from the UK. Our departure day has really crept up on us and so here we are, getting ready to start our month in Al the RV from tomorrow morning!

Still lots to do to get ready, although I’ve been working hard the last week making preparations. It’s amazing just how much stuff you need to take with you when you won’t have hotels to rely on; little bits and pieces that you take for granted at home, like tea towels and washing-up liquid. Of course, we’re not travelling to the back of beyond (most of the time we’re not anyway!) so they do have shops in the USA if we find that we forgot anything 🙂

I’m going to try to write updates every day but it won’t always be possible, and post pictures of course.

Bye for now, and see you on the road!