Caravan Day 2 - Liberty Lake, Washington

Since Saturday was arrival day, that counted as day 1 of our 61 day caravan. Sunday was day 2, and we were staying at Liberty Lake RV Campground for the day. We had an Amazon package to pick up, and shopping to do at Walmart and Costco, as well as wanting to fill two of our DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) containers (for a total of 6 to carry with us). We got all those tasks done, and then joined the caravan group ...

... at Liberty Lake Wine Cellars where we could participate in a wine tasting if we wanted as well as enjoy a charcuterie board.

The owner and his wife welcomed us to their business...

... and we could go on a tour in the back where it was a pleasant 58F.

The weather has been really warm since we've been in Washington, and is predicted to stay warm on our trip north to Calgary before we might get a break in the weather. We all thought hanging out in the "cellar" (barrel storage) sounded really good!!!

We had contacted friends Wayne and Amanda who have been parked at their son's near Couer d'Alene, and had arranged to meet up with them Sunday afternoon...

They recommended a restaurant called The White House Grill. It has Mediterranean cuisine.

The waitress kindly took our pictures. (The crooked pictures on the walls evidently go with "The White House" theme.)

When we walked into the restaurant, the garlic aroma was pretty pungent... and it was also heavily present in some of the dishes...

... which made these teeshirts that we saw on the way out pretty amusing.

We enjoyed our visit with Wayne and Amanda, though it was much too short!

We got back to the campground just in time for the "Travel Meeting". Monday was to be a travel day, so, on the caravan each evening before a travel day, there is a group meeting to share information about where we're going and what we might see along the way. The "ambassadors" (wagon masters and tail gunners) share what time they will each be leaving the campground. Generally, they want the "guests" (us) to leave between those two times. For Monday, the wagon masters were leaving at 8am, and the tail gunners at 10am. You particularly want to be in front of the tail gunners, as part of their job is to ensure, if anyone has problems along the way and has to pull off, that their problem is getting resolved, or help is on the way, or to help resolve the problem, or, if needed, to drive to a place where there is cell service to call for help.

The caravan company provides a trip log for each travel day with turn-by-turn directions from our campground to the next campground, and information about fuel stops, pull outs, rest areas, landmarks, and cautions along the way.

We have been cautioned to drive "on the top half" of our fuel tank - in other words, not to let our fuel get below half, because as we go further north, it is possible that some of the fuel stops will not have fuel available. We don't want to be "running on fumes" counting on that station only to find it has none. The tail gunner has a large Super C rig, and he knows that not all fuel stops are accessible to big rigs, so he will be looking on a satellite view on Google Maps and recommending which stations he thinks are the best for fueling our big rigs.

We all have signed the commemorative sign that will be placed at Signpost Forest.

This was made by the folks who were initially assigned as wagon masters for the tour. They had to drop out about 2 weeks before the start of the caravan due to a health issue, so Fantasy asked a couple who were to be wagon masters on another tour this summer to take on this one (I don't know who is going to wagon master the other tour). The previous wagon masters had done a lot to prepare for our tour (including the custom made sign, and gifts that they had made for us) -- which they had sent to be given to us even in their absence. We are sorry to have missed getting to meet them and are praying that the health problem will soon be resolved.

We start traveling north on Monday...

... this is our route as I have it stored in RV Trip Wizard. 60 nights, 30 different campgrounds -- some just 1 night, some up to 4 nights.

We're looking forward to getting started!