Not Shivering in Eugene

A variety of issues cropped up to keep me in Eugene this weekend. None of the Walmarts allow overnight parking, so I thought I’d end up at an RV park. Then I had an epiphany and I moseyed over to Our Odyssey to find out where Sean and Louise spend the night in Eugene. I’ve been reading their blog for so long and this is the first time I’ve used it as an overnight parking resource!

As it turns out, the Valley River Center (a giant mall) allows up to two nights of RV parking in a remote treed lot against a winding river and walking path. Great location!

I pulled out of AM Solar early this morning since I was meeting Joan in Albany, about an hour away. I got to the Valley River Center around 9, parked where I thought I might be able to stay, and hoofed it to the mall to find security so I could register.

As I got closer to the buildings, I noticed a security car circling the lot and waved it down. Turns out the guard had seen me pull in and was heading straight for Miranda. I think he was surprised that I belonged to the rig. It turned out that I was in the wrong lot, so he guided me to the correct one and had me fill out some paperwork. He was very nice, telling me to be sure not to hesitate calling security if I have any concerns.

I haven’t slept in two nights and knowing that I don’t have to move the rig tomorrow is such a luxury. I’m so grateful that the Valley River Center offers TWO nights of parking. The security guard emphatically told me to not be shy about asking for a third night, but I really doubt I’ll need to be here that long.

As for the title of my post, it is amazing to be able to turn on the heat, get the rig to a comfortable temperature while watching the voltage drop to 11.8-12.0 while the furnace is running, go for a walk, come back into a warm home, and discover the ‘battery is fully charged’ light pulsing. It’s been overcast and rainy all day, but I’ve had a steady 1 to 2 amps coming in!

A 180 Degree About Face

Yesterday, I spent about three hours with a friend climbing in and out of a staggering number of fifth wheels and… I fell in love.

I especially liked the bunk-model one that had two entrances, including one into the bunk area that had a door. Rip out the bunk, add a desk, and suddenly you have a separate office with an exterior access door… and there’s also a full bedroom. All within a foot print that is not much longer than Miranda.

Even the worst fiver designs were better than the best motorhome. And those kitchens… I’m still not a fan of slides, but they seem to be more useful in a fifth wheel than in a motorhome.

Suddenly, learning to hook up and back up a trailer made sense, especially when factoring in that a good used truck could come in at five to six thousand dollars and a recent-model high end 5er could be had for under forty grand. Compare that to the minimum $125,000 I’d have to spend to get a recent-model high end class C or B motorhome when it comes time to replace Miranda. And I’d only have one engine to maintain.

Is this what the “dark side” looks like?

AM Solar At Last!

I pulled out of Eugene in light rain at about 8:10 this morning and made it to AM Solar at bang on 8:30 in time for my appointment. I was very pleased with the warm reception. We took a few minutes to go over the rig and discuss where the wiring was going to go in and the charge controller would be mounted. I also pointed out the location of the batteries and 12V disconnect switch.

The work will take all day because they are working on two rigs, but this is okay since I was offered a place to park for the night… including access to a shower. I’ve been dry camping for over a week, so a long shower is going to be appreciated tonight!

Getting ‘solarized’ has been a dream for two and a half years and I can’t believe this is happening at last!

Sushi Station, Eugene

Tonight, my hosts, Joan, and I went for dinner at Sushi Station on 5th. This is a revolving sushi place where you can sit at a bar in front of a conveyor belt and sushi comes by you on small plates. The plates are different colours, which represent the price. Half the fun is not knowing what you’re grabbing! We also ordered two à la carte items, in my case the Hawaiian roll which had tuna, salmon, mango, and masago. I also had some really good eel rolls (first time I’ve enjoyed eel), spicy tuna, shrimp tempura, salmon sashimi, and a host of other tasty unidentified morsels. Yu-um.

Long Term Weather Forecasts

I spent several hours today plotting my itinerary from the Oregon Coast to Lethbridge, Alberta. It feels like such a long one, across the breadth of Washington and Idaho and up through Montana. And, yet, I’m looking at just 1,500km, just a little over two tanks of gas. At US prices, that’s only about $400 in fuel to get me back to Canada, and I won’t need to budget for RV parks once the solar panel is installed.

Oregon Walmarts are RV unfriendly, so I’ve had a job and a half looking up other sources for overnight stops, including Our Odyssey (first time using this blog as a reference!), Casino Camper, Free Campsites, and All Stays which has good information about Walmarts.

I don’t know how my internet access is going to be in the next few weeks, so having this reference of good overnight spots along the way is reassuring. I tried to find some places no more than a couple hundred kilometres apart so that I can mix up short and long days.

The long term weather forecasts for Idaho, Montana, and southern Alberta point to days above freezing and nights below. I can definitely handle that! Since so many of the places I’ve found to stay at allow multiple day stay overs, camping rather than just overnight parking, I am going to try very hard to pace myself and stretch out the journey so that I don’t arrive at the border before the third or fourth of April.

I’m just about ready to pull out of Eugene tomorrow morning, but I might be back to spend the night, depending on how long the installation takes. If I get out of AM Solar at or before noon, I’ll shoot straight for the coast, otherwise I can go to the Valley River Center (a giant mall) here in Eugene.