Leaving the Lower 48

Mile 1652. Wenatchee Confluence Park in Wenatchee, WA. One coyote, two deer, six mosquito bites. Sunrise 5:02am, sunset 8:58pm.

A few nights ago we camped at Maryhill State Park, a campground nestled on the northern bank of the Columbia River, the largest river in the Pacific Northwest. Our site looked out on the river and was close enough for us to dip our toes in the water and swim or kite water ski had we been brave enough to wade into the choppy waters fueled by 20 mph winds. Our front door opened onto a lawn larger than ours at home and in the evening we played Frisbee and walked to the river bank to watch the sun set behind Mt. Adams. This may be one of the last sunsets I’m awake for. The further north we travel, the later the sun sets.

Maryhill is for the most part in the middle of nowhere. Census in 2000 was 98. But it’s home to the Maryhill Museum of Art and Stonehenge Memorial, the latter commissioned to honor those in Klickitat County who died in WWI. The memorial, located on the cliffs of the Columbia and dedicated in 1918, was the first monument in the United States to honor the dead of WWI and is a replica of England’s Stonehenge. Sam Hill, a wealthy businessman, who the town is founded on and who commissioned the memorial, is buried here. Despite having built the first paved roads in the Northwest his dreams of a town never came to fruition.

Last night we rested at a campground in the town of Wenatchee at the confluence of the Columbia and Wenatchee rivers. Though we could see neither from our site we had an even larger front lawn and an extra bonus of big shade trees, a huge relief from the 90+ degree weather of the last few days. Wenatchee is an agricultural community of approximately 32,000. The roads leading into and out of the area are along the rivers and lined with apple and cherry trees. Sadly we can’t purchase product from the numerous fruit stands. Today we cross into Canada, leaving what the Alaskans refer to as the “lower 48”, and fresh fruit and veggies from the states are not allowed. Nor is raw meat, guns, ammo, pepper spray, and CBD products. Alcohol is limited to 2 bottles of wine each for the most part.

Posts on the RVing to Alaska Facebook group indicate Canadian Customs may or may not ask about and/or search the trailer and truck. One guy shared a hilarious story about his ordeal with Canadian and U.S. Customs. Canadian customs searched his RV and found pepper spray….in the trash, which he had forgotten to throw out. They made him turn around and go back to the U.S. to throw it away. Easier said then done because then U.S. Customs asked him about CBD products. He admitted to having three such products, but then was unable to find the third in his vehicle. Fortunately we are carrying neither pepper spray nor CBD products. And most who have crossed into Canada and shared doing so in the Facebook group have passed through in a matter of minutes. But just in case, we went through our refrigerator and cupboards last night and tossed out what we couldn’t eat and gave the extra bottle of wine we had to a camping neighbor.

I am writing now from the car. We boondocked last night and untethered power is insufficient to charge my laptop. So now I’m charging from a “household current” plug in the console of Mark’s truck. Gotta love this vehicle. We continue to meander along an agricultural river valley, this one for the Okanogan River.

There have been only a few mishaps since my last post. I forgot to secure my toothbrush one day and it ended up on the floor next to the toilet. Ick. And the other morning we had trouble draining the black water holding tank (from the toilet). Both have been resolved. The Aljo continues to be a good home on wheels.

To see a map view of where we are on this journey go to the home page of this blog. The camping icons indicate where we’ve been.

Oh, and for Dusty (the dog), who requested dog photos, here you go.