Sleep. I have almost forgotten what that is like. This morning we were treated to the train again at a little before 5 a.m. It didn’t really matter, though, because we were already awake and had been for a couple of hours. We had had some thunderstorms last night, but they were dry. Not so at 3 in the morning! The wind was whipping, the rain was falling, the lightening was flashing and the thunder was booming. We were checking for leaks. We didn’t have any leaks as in one area with rain coming in, producing puddles, but the rain did get through the tent fabric in places and we lay there with it falling on our faces every once in awhile. Then it stopped. Then it started again. Then we got into the truck. We went out into the rain after a bit to make ourselves some breakfast--yogurt with raisins and walnuts. Then when the kampground store opened, we went there and got coffee. The way I see it, since I am being awakened every night by a train just beyond the fence, the least they can do is provide me with free coffee so I can make an attempt to function! An IV drip would probably be more effective, but I will take what I can get!
After coffee we headed out. We had to go in search of a place to obtain a wifi connection and an electrical outlet. It has been a challenge over the past three days to get our computers in sync with both a charged battery and an internet connection. The batteries die down quickly, especially when Bill is processing photos. And the wifi connection at the kampground is erratic. We have used the power inverter when we are driving, but if we’re not going longish distances, they don’t charge fast enough. Someone needs to invent a fast-charging computer battery that takes a few minutes to charge and then lasts a long time. They’d make a fortune!
But before we could find a place to work on our computers, we had to get the truck mirrors fixed. They’d seemed fine before we left Klamath Falls. But on our way up to The Dalles, there was some wind and when a truck went by going the opposite way, Bill’s mirror blew down and stayed at such an angle that he could not see out of it without many interesting contortions. He drove much of the rest of the way with his arm out the window holding the mirror in place. This left only one hand free for driving. Several days later, after we’d left Vancouver, the same thing happened to the passenger side mirror and then it was my turn to get a sunburned arm from holding a mirror in place. He tried to figure out how he could fix it, but couldn’t. As he is fond of saying, “I am not a mechanic.” He drove like this for some days but on the way here he decided that he would have to try and get it fixed. It didn’t seem like a safe situation. So he stopped at a Schucks that we happened to see. We knew we couldn’t get it fixed over the weekend, but Norris (the guy at the counter)gave him a name and this morning we went in search of the place, which happened to be right around the corner. It’s called Alton’s Tire Rama (22117 E. Country Vista Dr, Liberty Lake, WA/ www.tirerama.com/509-922-7771).
The guy there--Neil, the new manager--said he should go to Schucks, get the new mirrors and bring them back for installation. We did this and it was done in less than 25 minutes! And they charged us for the actual time it took, not for the whole hour! We were very pleased with the service and with the fact that now Bill has two hands free for driving!
So now we are in the Liberty Lake Library in the quiet reading room, both plugged in and working on stuff and both of us sort of napping as we go. We’re leaving here tomorrow and I am a bit apprehensive about what tonight will be like. It has stopped raining and the sun came out (there’s a first for me--hoping the rain will stop and the sun will come out), but there are more clouds everywhere. So we don’t know how wet we’ll be tonight. Or what time the train will come screaming through. Or how much actual sleep will be possible. I hope the next campground is much more quiet!
