Sheltering in place........

 7:20 am - Saturday - September 12th - Forks, WA - 55° F, 93% humidity, wind - CALM.....heavy overcast, and smoke from forest fires.  The forecast high today is 68° F.  On this day in 2017 we were in Jackson Hole, WY.........↴

......the view this morning..........↴

There are three of us now

As can be the case in the nomadic life plans must be changed due to circumstances beyond your control, and that is what has happened here in Forks, WA.  Our Jello plan had been to head south to Raymond, WA Friday morning and spend a couple of days there on the Willapa River, but when I called the RV park for which we were destined to secure a spot I was advised the smoke from the Oregon fires was quite bad, which would mean sitting in the coach for two, or three days paying $35/day for only 30 amp, water and a dump site.  Here in Forks we are paying just $20/night for 50 amp, and water with a dump station on site.  If we are to be confined to our motorhome due to bad air quality then why not stay put?

This is how it looked most of the day

As Friday went on the air quality began to worsen due to the smoke moving up from the south, and we ultimately had to close our windows.   Staying inside was fine, at least for the morning, as we were watching the 13th Stage of Le Tour, but by the time it was finished I was getting stir crazy, and went outside to putter around in the trailer for an hour, or so.

Later on in the afternoon I spent some time cleaning the Newell exterior once again.  It has been a while, and a few thousand miles since I last wiped the dirt and grime from her riveted aircraft aluminum sides.  Over the next three days (we'll be here until Monday when winds are forecast to shift and blow the smoke inland once again) I'll work my way around and get her all pretty once again.....not that she isn't pretty as she sits right now.  From 20' away she still looks great, but I spend most of my time within 5' of her and notice the road grime beginning to build once again.

That was pretty much our day....I wish there was more about which to write, but when you stay inside most of the day there is not much to share.

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Serendipity........

 8:00 am - Thursday - September 10th - Forks, WA - 51° F, 83% humidity, wind - CALM......clear, blue skies today with a forecast high of 87° F.  On this day in 2012 we were in Rock Springs, WY Wallydocking at the local Walmart.....we were at the Starbucks across the street when it began to rain.....↴

Wednesday was moving day, but we only had 86 miles to travel so we did not depart 7 Cedars Casino around 10:15 am.  Traffic was heavy as we slogged through Port Angeles, and there was one construction zone after another, but at last we came to the city limits on the west side.  Just as we were passing the last gas station in town both TLE and I noticed a vintage class 'A' just pulling out onto US-101 going the same direction as we were.  It became apparent to both of us that this was a late 60's Newell.  I have seen pictures of these Newells, but have never come across one on the open highway until Wednesday.  At some point the owner recognized that we were also a Newell and pulled over.......

......we followed suit and pulled into the turnout.  In the mid 60's a trailer company called Streamline (begun by former employees of Airstream) built their first class 'A' motorhome.  A man named L.K. Newell bought one of them.  After two weeks he returned to the factory in El Monte, CA with suggestions for improving the design.  The owner of Streamline remarked that if Mr. Newell thought he could build a better product he should buy the motorhome division, so he did.  He moved operations to Miami, OK and in 1967 L.K. Newell (for a history of Newell click here) produced his first Newell using the same design.  It was a front control unit (motor up front) utilizing a Ford Industrial V-8 engine.  This particular Newell is a 1969, and in pretty rough shape.  Nate and Tammy (the current owners) just purchased it a short time ago, and this was their maiden voyage to test the integrity of the engine repairs Nate had made......

.....we exchanged tours of our Newells, and our contact information before taking the requisite 'usie' in front of their unit.......Nate and Tammy have plans to renovate the interior, and bring her completely back to life as a functional RV......

....it is always serendipitous to run into other Newell owners as we travel as there are not a lot of us.  Over it's history from 1967 until the present Newell has averaged building around 25-30 new units a year.
We only had about 43 miles to go when we resumed our westward drive on US-101 to Forks, and arrived there around 50 minutes later.  There is a nice Elks Lodge in Forks, WA which provides 12 RV sites with 30/50 amp electric, water and a dump station for a mere $20/night.  it is about 6 blocks off US-101 which means there is little noise at night.  This is a very nice facility, and we are totally surprised to be here all by ourselves, but who is complaining, right?  
We are also in the midst of a 2 day heatwave here in northwestern Washington, and the forecast high for Forks Wednesday was 88° F.....

......for the first time in weeks we had to run our rear A/C for several hours.  We spent the afternoon reading, and then after dinner watching 3 more episodes of 'Travelers'....what a great series!

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!