Well, after a 2 week delay, we are finally on the road! It has been a nail-biting last few weeks dealing with a pesky check engine light in the RV. Between waiting on the technician to have time to look at it and a difficult to diagnose service code, we postponed the trip a few days and then realized it needed to be pushed out even further. This required us (me) to reschedule the entirety of our trip to Seattle and back again. Yuck, not the kind of administrative work I like to do!  Fortunately, all but two locations were able to accommodate our change of plans and we are still able to make it to Teddy Roosevelt NP in North Dakota and our beloved spot in Paradise Valley, Montana!

We are still driving with a check engine light which isn’t our ideal scenario, but the technician that worked on the RV feels it will go off somewhere down the road. Art also believes that all the “major” fixes that go with the diagnosis have been replaced or ruled out and thus was comfortable to leave the driveway! Throughout this whole process, the RV (knock-on-wood) has run like a top – no problems whatsoever except the stupid light. We were told to run additives to our fuel to clean out the injectors and to use premium gas for a few fill ups (ouch!) and hopefully, with fingers-crossed all will go smoothly. It seems the mechanic’s equivalent to “take 2 aspirin and call me in the morning”. Prayerfully, the headache will go away!

We will spend 13 nights on the road before arriving into Seattle for our month-long stay. Our route takes us further north than we have previously gone allowing us the opportunity to drive through North Dakota. Driving 4 straight days to get to Minneapolis, we will cut over on I-94 and traverse the remainder of Minnesota and North Dakota before again hitting up with I-90 in Montana that will take us all the way to Seattle. We will have 2 night stays in Minneapolis, Medora ND, and Pray MT, while the rest will just be overnighters.

Like 2016 (our inaugural trip), my sister, Caryn, is caravanning behind us. We are back to using the walkie-talkies to communicate while hurriedly reacquainting ourselves with the jargon of a CB’er! Our dogs (her two and our Sadie) are traveling with us this year as well. Sadie is an old girl at 13 but she is still spry enough to enjoy all the new smells that will come her way on this trip. While camped, you will find her in her favorite spot – laying in the shade under the RV.

Tonight we are settled into our campground in Milton, WV. We have stayed here twice before because it is a convenient distance for a day’s drive from home. For kicks, you might enjoy reading about our first experience here in 2016. Happy to report no mishaps this go round!

As always, I hope you follow us on our journey this year – it promises returns to some favorite territories and adventures in new ones. I’m excited for them all!

A few pictures from today’s journey: