17-19JUL09 - Yakima & Kittitas, WA

As soon as we got on I-5 North, Dan realized that the engine was not running right. Basically the engine had no “oomph” and was only making sixty per cent of rated power. As long as we were on the flat part of the interstate we could maintain speed, but any little hill would cause us to slow down almost to a crawl. We were heading to visit Dan’s cousin Steve Kiesel and wife Bonnie in Kittitas, WA, and this meant going over White Pass on US 12. And even though we had no engine alarms, and the engine wasn’t overheating, we almost didn’t make it over the pass. And because of our constantly watching the gauges and computer monitor, we couldn't enjoy the great views of Mt Rainer & Mt St Helens. We decided to stay in Yakima, rather than pushing on to the Kiesel’s; and Dan made an appointment with the local Cummins Diesel dealer for first thing Monday morning.

The next day, Saturday, we headed to Bonnie and Steve’s in our Toad. (For more on Bonnie & Steve, see below BLOG internet link.) Halfway there Steve called Dan on the cell phone to tell him to check the air hoses to the Charge Air Cooler. Since we were halfway to their house, we couldn’t do this without turning around. We continued on and upon our arrival Steve jumped in the Toad, and Dan and he drove back to the RV in Yakima. Turns out the air hoses to the Charge Air Cooler were okay, but another 1-1/4 inch air hose had a very visible tear in it. A quick trip to NAPA to buy the closest equivalent hose (in this case a Honda Accord radiator hose), and the problem was solved!

http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2008/06/20-25jun08-kittitas-wa.html

After moving the RV to Bonnie & Steve’s, we accompanied Steve & Bonnie to a big party for the “Gold Buckle” donators who had contributed to the Ellensburg Rodeo. It was a great “rodeo” evening featuring a country & western fashion show, great BBQ, open bar, and excellent music by the band “Countryfied”. Dan was trying to discretely take a picture of the band, when they suddenly stopped playing and ran to the front of the stage to pose for Dan. Needless to say, Dan was embarrassed to suddenly be the center of attention.

The next day, Sunday, we all seemed to have many different, little, errands to take care of. But that evening Steve BBQ’d deer steaks, and even some oysters (real Puget Sound oysters, not Rocky Mountain oysters) and even grilled some fresh corn over a wood fire. Luckily Dan brought his shucking knife from Louisiana, so he was able to open and clean the remaining oysters for future use. Early Monday morning Steve took Dan into the surrounding mountains to scout out elk herds. Turns out Steve is a Master Hunter for Washington State, and he is THE point of contact for all hunters and any rancher having problems with elk destroying their crops. The upside of this is Steve has fresh elk meat every year; the downside is many, many, early morning reconnaissance missions. So after three hours bouncing around in a 67 Jeep Commander it was time to call it an end to a great weekend and head back to Monroe, WA.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/masterhunter/