Van Tramp adventures 2018

[Van-Tramp]

Mushrooms National Park
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/mushrooms-national-park/

[size=medium]Yep, I’ve decided to just rename the North Cascades National Park. While the Cascades are beautiful and all, it is the mushrooms that makes this place special. Even for a guy like me who doesn’t care in the slightest to put that fungus in my mouth, the shrooms turn a standard forest hike into something special. I recognized this when I passed through the North Cascades exactly five years ago too, but for Kerri this place is even more magical.[/size]
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Our original plan was to stay a night at the campground and get in a hike somewhere in the park the following day as we passed over the mountains towards Winthrop. But, as usual, plans change. With the campground closed where we were hoping to stay at, we decided to just do the hike and complete the drive over all in the same afternoon. We didn’t hike far, only a few miles out and back on the Thunder Creek Trail, but we spent hours out there. It wasn’t the hike as much as it was finding the next little patch of mushrooms for Kerri to decide if they were worth of shoving into a bag and filling the van’s fridge. We both took our time, eyes aimed down at the forest floor, and just taking in all variety of mushrooms out here. T’was a pleasant afternoon.[/size]
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[RoamerRV428]

unbelievable fab pics! wonderful read. So happy you guys are enjoying yourselves!!!

 

[Van-Tramp]

Thanks RoamerRV428

 

[Van-Tramp]

The sky is falling
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/the-sky-is-falling/

[size=medium]It’s official – Fall has arrived. The cooler temps have been nice, and the less crowded everything has been a true blessing for us full-time nomads. After spending an night (and morning) exploring the small town of Winthrop, we found ourselves parked down a dirt road. Well off the main highway, we have just enough cell signal to work. Only a few steps out our door is a nicely flowing river keeping it from being too silent out here. The dogs have been enjoying some freedom again with small hikes each morning and room to run through out the day.

 
Speaking of the dogs; one night – well after dark – Byron needed out to do his business and accidentally fell down the embankment and into the chilly waters. Once he stood back up, in the darkness, he got lost and chose the wrong direction to look for us. By the time Kerri got dressed and outside he was on the other side of the river, soaking wet. It took a bit of work but we got him back on our side of the river and up the embankment to the van. Crazy dude.[/size]
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Kerri and I are still just trying to keep our minds occupied during the couple weeks before the boat inspections. Putting a few miles between us and it hasn’t helped at all. We are still excited and very anxious to get this thing done. Kerri has work to keep her [somewhat] occupied for most of the day. On the other hand, I have temporarily paused the project I have been working on, knowing I will not have time to work on it once we are boat owners. In the meantime I have been tinkering in the stock market, finding my luck there to be roughly the same as my poker-luck… not too bad at all.
 
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[Element Gypsy]

I am enjoying your blog. I am planning on Baja. Just have no one to caravan with yet.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Thanks

Don't let a lack of caravan stop you from going. Only 2 hours south of the border via a nice paved highway is San Felipe. Great beach front camping and an easy walk into town for food. It is an ideal starter trip and is easy to do on your own

 

[Element Gypsy]

Thanks! My destination is Puerto Vallarta. Always wanted to take the ferry from baja to the main land.
Would you recommend the ferry or just take the main land route to PV?

 

[Van-Tramp]

I have not been to the mainland. I haven't taken the ferry either to be honest. I do know numerous others that have and stand by that the mainland (down there) is amazing. But, getting on the ferry can be somewhat difficult. Weather can delay a ferry ride for weeks.

Baja should not be missed. I wrote a bit about it on the blog - https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/baja-is-coming-again/
Campendium has some great listing for both paid and free camping in Baja to get you started - https://www.campendium.com/baja-california

For me, the real sweet spot was the top half of Baja Sur. From Guerro ***** (definitely go see the baby whales from GN) to La Paz. It includes the Bay of Conception which is the pinnacle of Baja camping on the beaches. We were down there this past Jan-Feb and it was a lot more crowded then when we were down there in 2016. Still lots of great places to camp though.

 

[Van-Tramp]

A chance meeting in Winthrop
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/a-chance-meeting-in-winthrop/

[size=medium]The water tank in Big Blue ran dry on Thursday night. Left with no choice, we packed up and retreated out of the forest and back towards Winthrop for a single night’s stay to refill our stores, shower, and recharge the battery. Being only 15 minutes out of town, it seemed like an easy plan to pull off before Kerri’s work day starts. Only one thing could put a wrinkle in it, and that is Kerri herself. With the colder weather coming in – and cold it got this week – she really has a hard time getting out of the bed at a reasonable hour. I’ve tried everything I tell you, from getting her coffee earlier in the mornings to denying her coffee until she gets up. Nothing really seems to work… except moving day. Somehow she is able to pop right out of bed on days we plan to move before work. Go figure.
As I said before, it wasn’t a long drive. Literally only 15 minutes down the road was town, and along the way into town was a place I wanted to visit; a public rifle range. A non-shooter would never know just how many free shooting ranges exist around our country, but they are quite regular to come by and it has been a long time since I had the opportunity to visit one. So we arrived at the range early in the morning so Kerri could work while I did my thing. Finally I would have a controlled environment to sight in the new rifle and get in my monthly quota of pistol practice as well.

A few hours later we rolled into Winthrop proper and straight back into the same RV park we stayed a night the previous weekend. Plugged in and refilled with water I set out to shower up so I could strip out of the dirty clothing I have worn all week and get them ready for a date with the washing machine. Try it some time; go a week without showering, then take a blistering hot 6 minute shower (stinking coin operated showers!). It truly is an amazing thing, really. Hot water is taken for granted by the world, but not Kerri or me.
As I stepped out of the shower-room – clean and clothed – a man entered the building that I thought I recognized. No! This can’t be right. What state am I in? What state does he come from? How did he get here? It was only a split second, but my brain was trying so hard to figure out how this could be happening. It just wasn’t possible, yet here stands this very man right in front of me with his hand extended for a shake. Kerri’s Father! Then came the excited sequel of Kerri’s Mother who ran up and wrapped her arms around me. How the heck did they get here, and why? Are they stalking us? Do they still trust me with their daughter?

Gary and Michelle are experienced RVers. They travel regularly. In fact, they stopped in to spend an evening with us last October in Utah. Unbeknownst to me they have been on the road for over a week and were in the area. By sheer chance they chose the very same RV park as we did to stay a night on one of their travels. That evening we all went out to dinner in town and caught up on our travels and impending sailboat plans and called it a night late (well, late for us anyway). We parted ways in the morning, each couple starting their respective weekend travels, both of us with no idea where we would be going that night.[/size]

 

[Van-Tramp]

A few days in Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/a-few-days-in-mt-baker-snoqualmie-national-forest/

[size=medium]With just a single week to go before our big date with a sailboat – the longest week ever – we set out to get in some more boondocking. Originally we tried a few possible locations along side what we thought was a lake. It turned out that they were actually reservoirs, drained to the stumps and the camping possibilities were trashed. We moved on, finally settling on a gravel road that parallels the Interstate in the Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Here, dozens of spots sprinkle the road each just as amazing as the other thanks to the thick, mossy, forest.

The weather-gods didn’t get the message we would be camping this week. Much of the time in the first two days was in the rain. Not really a problem for us to be in the van for days at a time, but just outside was this beautiful forest full of mushrooms. Kerri got to exploring no matter the weather. I did my exploring with Moose – just the two of us in the mornings.
       
In the end, after three days camped under the trees with no sun, we had to pack up and leave for some electricity, but it was nice to get in a few more days of solitude. We expect that the boondocking will be put on hold for a while as of next week.

Thank you[/size]

 

[bigskybob]

Pretty country.Good Luck with the boat.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Larrabee State Park
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/larrabee-state-park/

[size=medium]With an early Monday morning meetup with inspectors on our [hopefully] new sailboat, we chose to camp as close to Bellingham as possible. Twenty minutes to the south is Larrabee State Park and was our only real option other than a RV resort (ew). So Larrabee it was. The campground was nearly full when we arrived on Saturday (what happened to nomad liberation day?) but by noon on Sunday only a few campers remained. Even with the quite active train tracks nearby, it was the road right outside the campground that was the worst part of it. Take a twisty road and place it with a view of some water, and it attracts all the loud motorcyclists and fart-pipe import cars you can imagine. None of those morons can resist incessantly mashing the throttle every ten seconds, making for a loud campground.

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[size=medium]With a single day left to wait before the big day of sailboat inspections and sea-trials, we set out to keep our minds and bodies distracted to pass the time. A trail started right outside the campground and winded two miles up the hillside to Fragrance Lake. Kerri and i haven’t been hiking a whole lot recently, so the thought of a four mile trek seemed like torture, but we decided to go for it anyway. The key piece of info we left out of the decision making process was the elevation gain that would take place during those miles – 900+ feet. It was tiring, and we did are fair share of sweating and complaining, but in short order we arrived at the lake, where we snapped a quick photo and turned around to return to Big Blue for a scheduled appointment.

That appointment was a gentleman coming out to buy the inflatable kayak we have been carrying around since Baja – barely used. We had decided to get rid of it a month or so back, especially as we set our sights on a sailboat. With it gone we clear up a huge space in the van as well as drop another 60 pounds of weight off the greatly overloaded and old Big Blue.[/size]

 

[Van-Tramp]

Survey day
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/survey-day/

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[size=medium]Finally, the big day has come and gone. Survey day, where the boat gets a full inspection inside and out (and the diesel motor too) so we know of any and all issues with it before we move forward with a purchase. We were told to be in attendance for this, not only because we want to be onboard if/when they find anything, but part of the inspection is to take the boat out on the water and raise the sails. It started bright and early at 8:30 with the engine surveyor having already pulled the cover and started his inspection. During this time we could not access the cabin of the boat, so Kerri and I hung out on the deck up top talking with the brokers and just trying to soak things in a bit more. But, for the most part of these early hours it was a whole lot of sitting around while the inspectors did their jobs.

By 10:00 we were taking the boat out on the water – just to run the motor under load for the inspector. It was here, at a full 7.5 knots speed (screaming fast, I swear), that the engine guy found that the alternator was not securely bolted in place. A previous repair job done poorly nearly caused some serious damage. Signs of another half-assed repair became apparent as well; the exhaust system was leaking and allowing a small amount of fumes into the cabin while under way.
We had to return to the marina in pretty quick order to be on time for our scheduled haul-out. A haul out is exactly what it sounds like; pulling the entire boat out of the water. A huge crane (actually the smaller of the two at the marina) cradled the 21,000 pound sailboat in just two straps, lifting it up on to “the hard” so we could thoroughly inspect the hull. While there were no significant issues with the 40 year old hull (it looked great actually) we found other things highlighting previous repairs not done so properly. All minor in the hull-scheme of things (see what I did there?) but we would never have known if it were not for these inspections.

Back in the water by noon – and with the alternator secured properly – we were getting set for the sea-trial (test drive). This is what Kerri and I really wanted to do; to get it out on the water under the wind and lean it over on it’s side a bit. The wind did make an appearance. The sails filled and we accelerated too and maintained the calm speed of 5 knots (6 mph) for most of our time out.  Lots of photographs and smiles among the crew, with no signs of mutiny or pirates on our first ever voyage. The hour or so passed quickly, with both of us taking our turn at the helm (see me using my sailboat terms?).

Now, well after lunch and the hunger bug was strong in me, Kerri and I got the dogs out of the van for a quick walk and sat down at the nearest restaurant for a meal. In retrospect, I made the wrong choice with a big greasy bacon-cheese-burger but it sounded good at the time. It was here that a serious case of the yawns arrived. It had been nearly eight hours since our day started. Sure, I wasn’t doing anything difficult or hard, but I will admit that I was excited the entire time. My body doesn’t do 8 hours of excitement anymore. Two… two hours… then I need a nap.
After lunch we returned back to the boat to get the full run-down from Matt, our inspector. He went over every part on the boat that stood out to his as needing some level of attention. There were dozens, of course, but only three stood out as big enough items for us to possibly consider those costs into our next offer. Everything else was fairly minor. In fact, I am quite happy with the size of the list. I’m sure if this guy inspected my 30 year old van he would get a longer list than what he found on this 40 year old boat. Kerri put it perfectly on her Instagram post (because she can IG no matter how tired), “no reason we won’t be finalizing the sale on this boat!”
We still had more than an hour to drive to get to our camp that night. The yawning continued the entire time. By 7:00 in the evening we had already made our bed and slipped ourselves under the blankets.

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[bullfrog]

Glad things went well was any oil analysis or compression test run?

 

[Van-Tramp]

Glad things went well was any oil analysis or compression test run?

Yes, we have the engine survey coming back to us soon. Oil sample came back with some elevated copper in the oil. We are OK with that as a complete repower is in our 5 year plan anyway.

I just sent in the post-survey offer which has some conditions for the seller. Hopefully they will agree, fix those three items, and we can take possession of the boat in a few weeks time.... then we leave (in the van) for the South West where the weather is much warmer. That's my plan anyway

 

[bigskybob]

Good Luck to you both.We seriously thought of going the sailboat route a few years back.We finally decided we are too long in the tooth.And I don't think we could stay on a boat and keep things we want to keep.We are at the point where we need peace and quiet to be happy,so we are staying at home more and traveling less.Although we are still on the road 5-6 months a year.Really wishing you all the best and hope everything works out great.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Good Luck to you both.We seriously thought of going the sailboat route a few years back.We finally decided we are too long in the tooth.And I don't think we could stay on a boat and keep things we want to keep.We are at the point where we need peace and quiet to be happy,so we are staying at home more and traveling less.Although we are still on the road 5-6 months a year.Really wishing you all the best and hope everything works out great.

Thanks!

I totally understand. After being at the van thing for eight years, I have fund myself wanting to sit still a little longer and with some luxuries more often.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Camano Island State Park
https://www.van-tramp.com/wp/camano-island-state-park/

[size=medium]After the long day on the boat Kerri opted for us to make the hour drive to where her Mother and Father were recently camped – Camano Island State Park – to see if they were still there. They were, so we had yet another impromptu get together with family on the road. We were not great company that first night, but the second we all met up for dinner and to catch up on the happenings since we last talked. Steak and potatoes filled the tummy, along with a small glass of red wine. I’m not sure what wine has in it, but a single half-glass gets me talking gibberish and walking funny. The parents let it slide only making fun of me a little… which was nice.

The rest of the week was our standard sitting around for the four day work week. Well, really Kerri is the only one working right now. My project has been put on hold until we finish up with all this boat-stuff, which continued through the week. There has been no use trying to focus on a work project once we started talking about buying a boat, although I admit that I am looking forward to getting back into the project once things settle down. On one day, with Kerri plugging away on her laptop inside, Moose and I set out for an afternoon hike to soak in the warm sun and to give the young dog some exercise. The hike was nothing of importance to me, but to Moose it meant a lot. Sniffing and peeing on things for a couple miles really does it for the little guy.  Another day we packed up the van to make a run into the nearest town – 30 minutes away – to get dog food, groceries, and some Starbucks wifi action. Exciting life huh?

As for the boat stuff, we were awaiting the written survey reports which would give us the ammunition to make a change to our original offer on the boat. It arrived on Thursday, and after a night mulling it over a bit we decided to just let our original offer stay in place and get this all done as quickly as possible. It was conversations with our broker the following morning that convinced to make a small adjustment – halving the estimated costs for some of the more critical repairs and reducing our offer. It wasn’t 30 minutes later that we got the call with the simple words, “congratulations, you are in closing!” We are (or will be, once all the paperwork is completed) boat owners! Can you see our smiles?
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[bullfrog]

Fair winds!

 

[highdesertranger]

congrats. you better keep up the posting of you adventures here. again I am happy for both of you. highdesertranger