The Almost Intrepid Adventures of LibraryAnn: Did I say "whupped"? But not whipped!

Canadian Border crossing, Sumas, WA

We are safely back near Spokane again. It's been a tiring two days, although happily victorious. Monday morning dragged, waiting for the time to pack up and leave for the Canadian Border. The broker said all the paperwork was in order and had been sent to the trucker. The trucker assured me they had all they needed. We took off for the US Customs office in Sumas, WA intending to arrive and meet the truck at 11:30am and be on our way. Just as soon as we hit the road and I could not easily answer phone calls and texts, my phone exploded with them. Stuff from work, paperwork needed by the seller to give the truck driver, word that the truck driver

US Customs, Sumas, WA

did NOT have the papers that HAD to be stamped at the border and I'd have to find a place to have them printed off my phone, the broker with instructions, the trucker with questions...oh, and the guy who bought my old house wanting to know where the septic tank was. I must have pulled off the road a dozen times to answer and respond. Suffice it to say, I was a noodle when I arrived.

The broker had said that the Customs agents would be tough to deal with and would not help me, especially with the papers I needed to get printed

Love at first sight

out and stamped. Nothing could have been further from the truth. I walked in, explained my problem and they were great. It was clear everything would have to be done correctly, but they also made it clear they would do whatever they could to help. It took at least two hours, made longer by a typo in the VIN number supplied by the broker. But they got it fixed and about 2:30pm, LibraryAnn II rolled across the border and into sight.

The trucker graciously stayed to help us hook up the new fifth wheel hitch and we were on our own. We had a reservation about an hour away at the KOA near

Getting acquainted

Burlington, WA. There is a brake controller in my truck that coordinates braking between truck and trailer. It was not properly adjusted for this new trailer so we had an appointment the next day near Burlington to get that fixed. Driving her was a little dicey as she is about 1000# heavier, slightly wider and two feet longer than her predecessor and with brakes that worked but not optimally. I crept. But Washingtonians are as courteous as their Canadian neighbors and we safely arrived. It took watching a couple of videos on YouTube to get the hot

Burlington KOA

water heater working and the set-up complete. We ordered dinner via GrubHub and groceries via Instacart. Then we unpacked and stowed everything we brought to camp with her coming home and then Hit. The. Hay. But before we did, we took Odie on one last walk. We'd been so focused on the problems at hand, we'd missed the natural beauty that surrounded us. This lovely mountain view brought us back.

I have to say, this camper is elegant. I've told Ruthie we will have to say that we are "rv-ing" as it is hardly camping. Temps dropped into the 50s last night and I woke cold and with a very

Stuart Mountains (and LibraryAnn II)

upset stomach from dinner. I set the digital thermostat to 68, used one of the many overhead lights to find some Rolaids in a cupboard and crawled back into a comfy bed. In the morning I got a hot shower. My initial purpose was to find a trailer with a bigger dinette and better bathroom, but this feels like a mobile hotel room.

After breakfast, we headed to Mt Vernon, WA to Poulsbo RV to have the brake controller adjusted. A friendly young women from Tennessee saw to our repairs and had us on the road in an hour. They did an

Wind on the plains

excellent job on the brakes--stopping is seamless between the two vehicles. We headed via Interstate back to Spokane. I did all the driving, working on getting a feel for things like cornering and braking distance. There is a learning curve and I will keep my speed down as this trailer approaches the limits of my truck. But we've had another safe day and took some time to enjoy the beauty around us.

Burlington was in the Cascade Mountains. The mountains disappear into the distance to be replaced with buttes and plains. For a while, there are enormous farms, thanks to river water for irrigation. But where the irrigation ends, the land is arid and sparse. We drove through one stretch of road experiencing enormous crosswinds. The trailer handled well but you can see from the picture of the trees in the rest stop just how strong the winds were and how barren the landscape behind them.

So we are safely in Spokane Valley at their KOA deciding on our next leg. Enjoy some fun pictures and I'll be in touch as the trip home develops.