(Segment 1 already posted – May 3 – 9) (Segment 2 already posted – May 10 – 15)
MAY 16, 2024 – SUMMERHILL FARM RV PARK, CHELAN – site 1
Got up early. Why? Because both of us had been in bed by 9:00 pm. So, up and Adam (as they say) and a breakfast consisting of link sausages, easy over eggs, toast with wild blueberry jam (French, of course), a small easy peel orange each, vanilla yogurt with fresh blueberries, and juice. (We do not go hungry on our trailer adventures.)
Then for me – get the inside of the trailer ready for departure, and for Andy – to do all the hard work outside. But then there is the actual hitch-up. For us, this is a two-person job. And quite frankly, we are pretty darn good at it! So, now we are ready for our next adventure after a sad good-bye to our dear friends Craig and Marsha.
Then up and over Sadis Pass, to Toppenish, and north until we were through Chelan and on to the next three nights at Summerhill Farm RV Park. (Or so we thought!)
If we had known what was in store for us, we would have headed directly for the barn! Holy crap! Never again will I book a camping spot on Union “Valley” Loop Road out of Chelan when to get to the “valley” (if there really is one), you must first climb a 15% grade (or so it seemed) narrow road for 3 miles while your engine is screaming. (And in our case, I mean literally screaming!) And guess who is driving at this point? ME! And I’m telling you true – if I could have beamed myself to any other place in God’s universe, I would have done so with no regrets. Frankly, I was scared shitless! Yes, YOU READ THAT RIGHT! This intrepid woman who took on 3 stepchildren, started a company choir in downtown Seattle, designed a home and acted as the general contractor, and traveled all over the world with no ability to speak even one foreign language was worthless by the time we got to camp. And that’s just some of the adventures I have subjected myself to over the years. But driving up this road, just about did me in. Not to mention that our truck was not sounding well at all. Andy was very concerned. And when Mr. C. is worried, I might as well jump off a cliff!
Then came the ordeal of backing into our assigned site – site number 1. First of all, it was more than a 90-degree backup to get the trailer into position. And to make matters even worse, there was hardly any room in front of the site to allow for easy maneuverability.
Our gravel site
The site across the way from us. Notice the picnic table with the downward slant.
Another look at the site
And Andy is one of the best backer-uppers I have ever met. He should be since he’s been doing it for over 30 years! Whoever designed this layout obviously had never parked a trailer.
Because, in well thought out campgrounds, the sites are angled in such a way that the driver can pull ahead on the main road, then angle back to the left into the site using his or her left side mirror. Because the hookups for electric, water, and sewer are on the left and within sight. (Many campgrounds require backing in from the right. Which is fine if there is ample room, and the driver and spotter can easily communicate.) So, with the help of a partner to assist, it’s usually not that difficult to safely park a trailer, RV, motorcoach, etc.
If I had any doubt about the layout of this place, all I had to do was look at the barren hill and sites across from us. The lowest one especially caught my eye. Narrow, curved, fairly steep pull up tilted to the right. At the top of this drive-through site, complete with a picnic table which wasn’t even level and positioned right next to a drop-off, it was actually flat. But I can’t even imagine being on this barren site on this rocky hillside in mid-summer. The rocks would retain heat like coals on a BBQ. Crazy ridiculous!
After we got almost set up, two other trailers pulled in. And from watching them try to park their trailers, and have the same problems we did, we commiserated. One of the wives told me at this point her husband was absolutely furious. And I get it. So, was I.
So, do you think I was able to get a good night’s sleep. Not bloody likely! I dreamt all night of driving off cliffs. That is, when I could sleep at all! Maybe tomorrow will be better.
MAY 17, 2024 – SUMMERHILL FARM RV PARK
Well, after yesterday’s driving fiasco, I did not sleep well. Of course I didn’t. Sometimes I don’t sleep well when everything is fine and dandy. So, why would I even begin to think I could sleep soundly after yesterday’s death-defying experience.
The original plan for today was to drive to Leavenworth and spend the day with our dear friend Linda. But there was a definite problem with our truck. It was making a noise that was somewhere between a scream and a low whine, and at times kind of a growl. Not a noise you like to hear from your truck’s engine. And it would get louder when you turned the steering wheel.
So, as we were driving down the hill from hell into Chelan, we decided to seek out an auto mechanic to make the truck stop making that awful noise. Well, good luck with that! On a Friday, when the auto shops are already completely booked, you might as well be trying to buy a baby giraffe.
But one shop, Chad’s Quick Auto was very helpful. The owner took the time to come out and listen to the truck and offer his thoughts on what might be the cause of the problem. He felt our truck probably required a power steering flush, new fluid, and possibly even a new pump. Oh, happy day! But the shop was booked solidly for this Friday and would be closed Saturday and Sunday. (Of course, he and his guys need time off too. We got that.)
After calling numerous auto shops from Wenatchee to Winthrop, we were still in Chad’s parking lot. So, Andy went back into the office, and luckily got an appointment for Monday morning at 8:00 am.
We said thank you very much and drove away much relieved that maybe by Monday afternoon, we could be back on schedule. Of course, that meant paying for another expensive night at the campground that I firmly believe caused the problem IN THE FIRST PLACE. Or at the very least, exacerbated a problem already in the making. But sometimes you must just bite the bullet. And take it like an adult. Which has never been one of my top strengths. I’d much rather write a scathing review and see this place sink into the hillside, never again able to alienate another unsuspecting moron who thought she had discovered a fantastic new place to camp near Chelan! Who also just happened to be behind the wheel for the entire arduous uphill ordeal!
After much consideration about should we drive to Leavenworth or just go back to the trailer and wait it out, we decided a trip to Safeway first was in order. Then directly back to the trailer to sit out our time until Monday morning reading, writing, eating, drinking, and generally enjoying each other’s company. Actually, not a bad way to kill time. And of course, there is nothing we can do about the situation. We will make this work! And we will not kill each other in the process!
In retrospect, this could have happened to us far from any campground or reasonable place to be stuck for a couple of days.
So, as Andy was taking about a 4 mile walk up the road and back, I wrote up today’s events, read for a while outside in the sunshine, and then cooked a nice dinner for us. Beef stroganoff and microwaved petite peas.
Then we read for a short time, played two grueling games of Skip-Bo, then an early to bed.
One positive thing I can say about this campground is that it is free from traffic noise. Of course it is! No one in their right mind would drive this road at night! (But I’m still going to write a scathing review!)
MAY 18, 2024 – SUMMERHILL FARM RV PARK (still!)
I am going to call today – STUCK IN CAMP DAY! Because that is absolutely where we are at this point. Our truck is sick, and the doctor won’t be in until Monday. But at least we are in a safe place with electricity, water, and a septic dump. The propane situation is a bit iffy, but if worse comes to worse, we have a 20 lb. tank in the truck that we use for our BBQ and propane fireplace. So, we should be just fine cooking in the trailer and having the furnace on at night.
Despite the fairly warm temperatures during the day, it is still chilly at night. Which is good. Much easier (and quieter) to run the heater rather than having the air-conditioner on all night. (Air conditioners are bloody noisy.)
So, our forced day at this expensive campsite – $80 on weekends and only $75 on weeknights, which is basically a gravel area with very close sites (see pictures) with our big back window aimed at the owner’s lawn and house, and a portable toilet (one hole) with 2 shower stalls, and no laundry facilities, or play area for children, or fire pits, or any of the regular amenities (like paved sites) associated with a high nightly price tag.
As our next-door neighbor was getting ready to depart this morning, he knocked on our open door suggesting that we might want to close that side of the trailer because he was getting ready to dump his black and grey water. And because the utilities for his trailer were so bloody close to our door, he was worried that the smell might be a problem for us. Great neighbor, but lousy design for either privacy or functionality. There is really no room between sites, and even our two camp chairs were a close fit.
As I’m sure you have figured out by now, we were not pleased with this campground.
I haven’t decided how to warn people about the drawbacks of choosing this campground. But being charitable at this point is not an option!
But we made the most of our day. Read a lot, Andy took a nice walk, (see pictures below) and I served us chili dogs for dinner. When the times get tough, there is nothing better than a big old plate of comfort food.
Looking down on the north side of Lake Chelan
Looking north at Summerhill farm
Then lights out to the sound of people playing party music until after 10:00 pm and the dog in either a nearby trailer or neighbor’s yard continuing its all-day and all-night incessant barking. Another couple of reasons I wouldn’t recommend this campground to even someone for whom I had no regard at all!
One more day to go before we can take our truck to see if can be fixed.
MAY 19, 2024 – SUMMERHILL FARM RV PARK (needless to say – unplanned)
More views of our site. In this one, notice Andy reading behind our trailer and right next to the hookup for the next trailer. Absolutely unacceptable!
The restroom and showers.
Really special to be right next to your neighbors hook up. NOT!
A closeup of the picnic table on the site just across from us. BTW, the trees you see are between site 3 and 4 up the hill. Gives you an idea of how bloody close the hilly, barren sites really were.
The lawn behind us was pretty. But a working farm is not a quiet place. Farm workers were forever going to the house in their noisy golf carts, etc. The noise would have been OK, if everything else would have been reasonable. Which unfortunately, it was not!
You can see a couple of the farm vehicles parked by the house. Nice house, but not what I want to spend $80 a night to look at. Grrrrrrrrr
Well, we made it through the night. But again, another day without a lot of excitement was anticipated. But we were wrong.
Andy went for another walk, I wrote up my travel report for the 18th, we had lunch and lo and behold 2 trailers pulled into camp together.
Today’s view of the lake from Andy’s walk
At first, we paid them no real attention. Until the driver of the second trailer got out of his truck to check out the space. Andy recognized the driver first, and then his wife came around the back of the trailer. It was our good friends Dave and Jeri with whom we already had plans while camping at Steamboat Rock. The four of us all kind of looked at each other with that “what are you doing here” face, and then we told them our story.
They too were not pleased with the drive to camp from Chelan. The arduous uphill drive should be THE FIRST THING YOU LEARN ON THE CAMPGROUND WEBSITE! Along with one of the posted rules on a sign near the entrance to the campground that states “no alcohol”. Really! That should also have been disclosed on their website. (We usually obey rules. But sometimes they just scream to be bent. And that is exactly what we did!)
Unfortunately, all the other campgrounds in the area had been booked solidly when I remember feeling overjoyed at finding an opening at this park. Now I know why there was space for us. This is a “fool me once” kind of place.
I later realized that every other campground was full because there was a jazz festival in town over the weekend, which BTW, we would have enjoyed attending. Ya think?
Anyway, at least we now had not one but two other couples with whom we could commiserate. The other couple being Dave and Jeri’s dear friends Doug and Ramona. And of course, Dave and Jeri’s doggo Sophie. And after having happy hour and dinner with these terrific people, we can certainly understand why these four people have been fast friends for decades.
So, our day was saved by the presence of these fun, intelligent people. Sometimes when a door is slammed in your face, another door is opened, allowing friends to walk in.
After a wonderful, shared dinner, we all decided that it might be time to call it a day. And what a fine day it had been! So, a couple of games of Sequence, a bit of a read, and our heads on pillows by 10:00 pm.
MAY 20, 2024 – RIVERBEND RV RESORT, TWISP – site 40
So, at 7:45 am Andy headed down the road from hell to see if the nice folks at Chad’s Quik Auto Clinic could fix our truck. If not, we would have to either stay put, or find some way of moving our trailer to Andy’s sister Katie and husband Rick’s home in Winthrop. Rick had offered to tow our trailer with his truck to their home, but we really did not want to put him to that much trouble. But if worse came to worse, that would be the logical thing to do. And leave our truck at Chad’s until it was once again drivable.
But, at around 12:30 pm, Andy arrived back at camp with a clean and gassed up truck. So, after hitching up, we said good-by to our friends Jeri, Dave, Doug, and Ramona and were once again on the road. And a “we will not be back” to Summerhill Farm!
But what a pleasant ride after we safely made it back down the hill into Chelan. First along the mighty Columbia River on US-97 to Pateros, then left along the Methow River on SH-153, and in Twisp, north on SH-20 towards Winthrop. Our campground being between Twisp and Winthrop.
It was quite a revelation for us to see the Methow Valley in May. Usually when we go to Winthrop, it’s to visit Katie and Rick, and it’s sometime during the summer. And by then it’s hot, the surrounding hills are brown, and the high peaks have lost all their snow. But in May, the valley is glorious to behold. Green and lush everywhere you look.
So, if you wanted to take a long loop drive some sunny day in May, you could go up and over the North Cascades Highway, down through Winthrop and Twist, drive down US-97 (past Chelan), and in Wenatchee turn right and head up SH-20 to Leavenworth and then up and over Stevens Pass. A beautiful way to spend a long day.
Arrived safely in camp to find we had been assigned a lovely spot. Not right on the river, but we could see it from our side windows.
After a bit of lunch, we called Rick and Katie to tell them we had arrived safely. They told us to come on up to their home for drinks and dinner. That had been the plan all along. But with truck trouble, we weren’t sure we would even be able to see them this trip. But it all worked out. Lovely drinks and a marvelous dinner of braised lamb shanks, a cannellini bean and veggie side dish, and green salad with heirloom tomatoes. Yum!
After dinner, we excused ourselves. It had been a long day. But we would be seeing them again the next day for dinner at The Veranda at the Casia Lodge and Ranch.
So, back to our trailer and an early to bed for these 2 weary travelers.
MAY 21, 2024 – RIVERBEND RV RESORT
Right across from our trailer. We couldn’t camp there because at this time of year, the mighty Methow River sometimes escapes it’s assigned path.
Looking downriver
Downriver from our site
Both of us slept really well last night. Do you suppose that was because we were parked in a nice campground and had a truck that was running properly? You bet your sweet bippy THAT WAS THE REASON!
It was really hard on us being stuck in a campground not knowing if our truck was too sick to be fixed in a timely manner. While having to pay an extra exorbitant nightly fee for the most basic campground amenities! Grrrrrr. So, when the owners periodically appeared, I wanted to tell them just what I thought of their campground. And believe me, I would have, except that Andy, who is definitely the better person, would have been mortified by my behavior. So, I shut my mouth and stayed as far away from the owners as possible.
But now, here we were in a lovely setting, complete with laundry facilities, which BTW were sorely needed after 2½ weeks on the road. So, after breakfast it was 3 loads of wash and a trip to Hanks Market in Twisp for provisions. (Great market BTW.)
At about 3:00 pm we headed up to Winthrop to spend the late afternoon with Rick and Katie and then the 4 of us went up to Casia Lodge (outside of Twisp) for dinner. A fine meal, with wonderful people, and then back to our trailer about 9:00 pm. Then a bit of writing and reading and another early to bed for both of us.
I have said this before, but it never ceases to amaze me that I can easily sleep 10 or more hours when I am in our trailer. And I don’t think it’s just from all the fresh air. We get plenty of fresh air on Camano Island. I think it might be the fact that Max, one of our orange kitties, is not pressed up to my body every minute I am in bed. His favorite position being me on my right side with my left arm around him. (I believe that is called “spooning”.) If he could have his way, I would never roll over, get up to go to the bathroom, or even move an inch while I sleep. I have tried explaining to him that this is impossible. But he just looks me in the eye, and flops down as close to me as he can get. Purring all the while. Do I miss him? Yes, I do. But frankly, I sleep a lot better when he’s at home and I’m in the trailer!
And yes, another wonderful day spent on the road even though I am beginning to miss our beloved critters and all the creature comforts only a real home can provide. (I might actually be getting a bit homesick.)