From Ocean To Mountains -> Cape D, WA to Kechum, ID
A mere week ago we left the Pacific Ocean at Cape D and headed East. In 4 days we made the ~690 mile drive that Paul did with Polly in a single day in June. Even that pace was pretty “hard core” for us and by the time we arrived in Ketchum, ID we were both exhausted. We squeezed into our new RV site (by far the tightest RV park we’ve ever stayed at) and set out to explore our new home.
But before I whisk you away to Idaho I figured it would be fun to show you what a ~690 mile drive looks like in pics and words. Being on the road is as much a part of the RV experience as the destination. Much like life it’s the journey, not necessarily the finish line that makes the “whole”.

We prefer driving smaller 2-lane roads when we can, but when we need to make some miles we’ll hit the interstate and just breeze on though. Some of these are far worse than others (I-5 comes to mind, especially through LA), but I-84 is actually one of the nicer drives around. It runs along the Columbia River for several hundred miles before it breaks off into the valley. Then it’s several hundred miles more of flatland, mountains, pine, and flatland again. Much of it is on 2-lane roads and when traffic is clear, it’s a pretty drive with plenty of scenic views. Here’s what that journey looked like for us…
A Final Evening By The Ocean – Cape D, WA
Our final evening at Cape D was pretty darn spectacular. The PNW always seems to send us off with flair and this was no exception. Last year the coast gave us a crazy storm with 60 MPH winds. This year it was a fine sunset on one of the calmest evenings we’ve seen all month. We were even gifted with a sundog rainbow, the first time I’ve ever seen one on the coast.

I went a little photo crazy, so I’ll just have to compile a few shots and let them tell the story on their own (for those of you on e-mail click on through to see the “gallery” shots). Cape D always makes sure she’s unforgettable, and she most definitely left her mark this time around. I guess that’s what keeps us coming back, eh?
A Fine Drive Along The Columbia River Gorge, OR

The next AM we started the long drive East, traveling along the Columbia, through Portland and into the Gorge. We’ve spent lots of time around the Gorge in previous years, even boondocking right by the river (it’s a pretty awesome spot, I must admit), but this time of year it’s far too hot to stop. It was a perfectly sunny day when we drove through and temps rose progressively as we passed from the moist end of the Gorge to the dry, hitting 95 degrees by the time we entered the flatlands just past Boardman, OR (bye, bye sweet summer coastal temps {{weep}}).
The scenery, however can’t be beat. Mount Hood was out in her finest colors, and the curves and hills of the Columbia Gorge serenaded us as we drove through. Seriously, if you’ve never seen the Gorge it’s gorgeous and it’s a drive everyone should do at least once in their lives.

A Night (or Two) Amongst The Green in La Grande, OR

Once past the Gorge we pushed on through the flatlands and into the hills, stopping at a familiar overnight spot Hilgard Junction State Park just shy of La Grande, OR. This is a dry-camping location costing only $10/night that’s a super easy on/off from I-84. It’s somewhat noisy (right next to I-84) and a total cell dead zone, but fabulously green. Snuggled amongst grass, pine and shade trees it provides welcome relief on hot days. Plus the paws love it. We snagged one of the large end water-view sites and we decided to stay two nights to take us through the start of July 4th weekend.
Since we had an extra day to spare, we took advantage of the time to explore the surrounding area, driving around the forest to scope out future RV sites and then heading in with doggie to La Grande to snag some cell service and taste some brews at Tap That Growlers. For the latter the brew selection was awesome and we enjoyed a cool tasting inside the building (it’s paw-friendly!) as well as a growler fill when we were done. It was a very quick visit, but we left with some good finds.
Overnight and Hot In Mountain Home, ID


The drive East of La Grande becomes progressively less interesting, especially as you enter the final flatlands near Boise. The time of summer it’s hot (sizzling hot) and the scenery is mostly barren, brown hills that only really glow at sunset. We arrived in Boise around 2PM and with temps forecasted to stay above 95 until after sunset, we decided to stop at Mountain Home RV Park for full hookups for the night.
It’s a lovely, new RV park with spacious and quiet sites, but barely an hour after arriving we started to have electricity problems. A little trouble-shooting revealed we were seeing low voltage under load (under 90V) on one of the two legs of 50Amps coming from our pedestal. This was kicking us off and not allowing us to run our front air. Over the next hour we went back and forth with the RV park on the problem, but in the end they insisted it was coming from our side and not theirs (it wasn’t). So, we simply disconnected, fired up the generator and ran the next 4 hours on that. Ah well….
This is a classic example of an RV park under very heavy load (think over 80 RV’s all running 2 air conditioners) with an electrical system that has a few weak spots. It’s yet another reason a surge protector that detects both overload and under voltage (good brands are Surge Guard and Progressive Industries) is a MUST for any RVer!
Into The Mountains of Ketchum, ID
The next day we left bright and early to escape the heat and get into the mountains. Once we left I-84 it was a very pleasant 2-lane road all the way into the Sawtooth Mountains. By the time we arrived temps had dropped a blissful 15 degrees and the brown landscape had been replaced by rolling green hills, pine and aspen. Not too shabby.

The RV park here is way (way) tighter than I had imagined and not the type of spot we would typically recommend, but it’s the only RV park in the valley and the only place we can stay for a month without moving (there’s lots of boondocking and forest camping around here, but stay limits are 16 days or less, which doesn’t cut it for our doggie purposes). We squeezed into our site, parking the wrong way (at this park RV’s park in opposite directions which means you share your utilities and “sitting area”), so that we could get a teeny slice of grass for ourselves and a view . It’s not perfect, but it’s going to have to do. On the positive side the folks that run the place are friendly and the surrounding area shows lots of promise (breweries, food, farmers market, fabulous hiking etc.) so I think we’re going to be OK.
So that’s how it’s done, at least the Wheelingit way. We’re settled in for a month here in Idaho and we’re excited to explore a completely new (to us) area. Plus we’re looking forward to the results of our doggie rehab. I’ll let you know how it all goes…

It’s hard to travel long distances, we know. Having a rig sure helps. We pulled a boat with our Tahoe from Northern California at 11am on a Tuesday, arriving at Allen Tx Saturday at 3:30. My husband did all the driving. We had a boat trailer tire come apart on Highway 40 which cost us half a day to buy two new tires, in Gallup, New Mexico. It was so hot and the tires were a mere 16 years old. It was a long, hot, trip. We stayed 2 nights in hotels. I will never, ever, do that again!! I look forward to next years traveling with our air conditioning in our travel trailer. I am planning on visiting Idaho! Beautiful pictures!!
What a trip you did! I can certainly understand why you wouldn’t want to repeat that. We usually share the driving, and we (often) run the generator and air conditioner while we’re underway on the road, but it’s still never pleasant when it’s that hot.
Nina
Crazy Hot. When we were in Boise we had to leave because we could only find 30 amps. It was loaded as well and blowing the switch. Moved the next am. Not very fun.
It was SO hot while we were there too. We considered stopping at another spot, but they only had 30 amps and we wanted 50 amps so we could run both air conditioners (mostly for the paws, but also for us). In the end the park overloaded and we had to run our generator anyway, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Thank goodness for generators.
Nina
Hi Nina,
I know you’ve heard that you need to visit Stanley and I fully second that! While up in that area, you might want to also check out these other sights too:
a) find your way to Boundary Creek where rafting trips down the Middle Fork of the Salmon launch. Pick a nice morning, pick a nice rock to sit on (with a beer), and watch folks lower their rafts down the long ramp into the river. Everyone is as giddy as kids at the gates of Disneyland! Hint: Take hwy 21 northwest from Stanley; the turnoff is to the right, (north) up near the point where Hwy 21 turns sharply south. Gorgeous country.
b) Sunbeam Dam Ruin – take hwy 75 east from Stanley. You’ll drive down the pretty canyon of the Salmon River, and there are some hot springs.
c) There is (was?) an old dredge up the Yankee Fork from Sunbeam. Drive north towards Bonanza.
d) And of course Stanley Lake (as well as Redfish Lake). BTW, ‘Redfish’ refers to Sockeye Salmon, and if you’re lucky you’ll get to see one (near death after making it all the way up from Cape D the hard way!)
We’re heading to Cape D on the 22nd on your recommendation! (Been reading your blog for years and finally bought a ‘beast’ of our own.)
Enjoy,
-Will
Cheers for all the tips! Thanks!
Nina
I second all of these tips in my childhood stomping grounds. Unfortunately, the entire area has been overdeveloped, so I am saddened each time we go through. But, there is still lots of beauty and lots to see and do. Enjoy!
I love the drive from LaGrande to Boise. Most of our travels start that way with us leaving Benton City by the TriCities in Washington to hook up to I84 and head to Utah or Nevada. We came up from Benson AZ in April on 95-now that was boring! but I do like to “see” verses trees blocking my view! LOL. It is miserable without ac-glad your generator could take up the slack. Have fun in Idaho. McCall has a nice state park with camping and it’s a cute town to explore too if you have time and it’s in the mountains. Craters of the Moon is awesome but hot! Whatever you get to do have fun and best wishes for doggies rehab
Thankfully we have a MEGA generator (8000 watts) that can easily handle both AC’s and just about anything else we throw at it. We don’t use it to its “full potential” that often, but the few days we were near 90 degrees we were happy to have the excess power available to us.
We’ll see how far we make it out of Ketchum this next month. We passed thro’ Craters Of The Moon last year so we’ll prob skip that, but I do want to explore more of the mountain towns. Plus keeping cool will be a priority 🙂
Nina
Alturas Lake should not be missed… Cool refreshing and so Beautiful
Sweet. Cheers for the tip!
Nina
Another great post. About ready to take off myself, emptied out the condo, purchased a 40′ Beast-ett. LOL Trying to get the Equinox ready to tow. Did a few changes to the coach (made her more me). Hope to be done by Aug. 1st an head west are the plans. Been staying in a park close to the condo, made the transition easier. Give more away than I sold, but NO storage….talk about feeling free, nothing like it. Hope you enjoy your month there and Polly does well with rehab. Thanks for your great ideas an help through your post……Hope to meet you two an the paws someday…….Happy Trails.
Benjamin
Awesome! Sounds like you’ve got everything planned and primed to go. Great that you got didn’t get any storage space either (you’ll love that freedom). Good luck and good travels to you!
Nina
Thanks for sharing your adventures . . .I am a new reader who is loving your trip thru life . . .your style of writing is such an easy read . . .we hope to get our fifth wheel on the road at some point . . . right now we seem to be living vicariously thru your travels!!
Welcome to the blog! Very happy to have you along for the ride.
Nina
I really dislike those “opposing sites” where they want you to park opposite the neighbor and share a common space. Good reason to carry an extra long cord to park the “wrong” way. 😉 I don’t mind sharing a pedestal, but really don’t like opening my door to someone elses open door.
I trust Polly will do great in PT!
I am totally with you! I can handle pretty cramped campsites, but I need *some* space to call my own, even if it’s just a teeny slice of green. If you have to share your outside space with another rig it always becomes a kind of power struggle between you and the other guy (who gets the one picnic table? How far does your awning stretch into the shared area? where do you each put your chairs? Etc.). Waaay too stressful for me. I much prefer parking the wrong way and just having a slice of something to call my own.
Nina
Good thoughts flowing from all of us to what I call the Physical Terrorist (PT:)!) (Ever notice that the PT gang are usually young 20 something or other, and what they’re asking you to do in recovery, is of course possible to them in their 20’s. Heck, I could even do such things in my 20’s, but even in great shape, I’d have a hard time ‘Now, take your right leg, bend it smoothly in a backward connection, and scratch your shoulder blade.’ And always said in a very calm serious voice….) At least Polly can just wag the tail, turn the head sideways, and give them that ‘No way will I do anything more – without a treat first!!!!’.
You are so right that different parts of the year, bring a totally different experience in the Northwest travels.
On the power front, we’ve had good luck with a Hughes Autoformer. Taking the lower power, and making it something that we could use. A few times, I’ve had other RV’ers ask how we could run our AC’s, when they were even having trouble with say a microwave. Sure, will not solve too low of power, but for us it’s been worth the extra weight. Our first one was always inline and ready. We lost it to a bad generator powered RV camp in the Yukon, and lucky it took the hit for the coach, only losing a Norcold 1200 circuit board… Our second one, also used from a fellow Escapee, is now only pulled out when needed.
Good thoughts to you all, enjoy the area as you two usually do – and total and complete fast recovery for Polly.
Smitty
Sounds like a snazzy solution. We can do load support using our lithium batteries (which will pump additional power when we’re on 30 amps or less, for example), but low voltage is still a problem for us. It’s tougher when you need to run both AC’s versus just one.
Cheers for the good thoughts for Polly. She was pretty sore after her first rehab day (which I figured she would be), but hopefully she’ll make fast progress. I’ll update everyone as we go along.
Nina
I’d forgotten you had gone to the Lithium side:)! And yes that is another tool in the tool box, being able to augment power with from such robust and relatively quickly replenishable battery bank. I had forgotten that you had this set up to be able to do so. (Just the luck of my timing when I chose the MS2812 for our system. The hybrid came out about 4-5 months later:)!
These times, this being one with the hot weather rolling in thru the North West, that you need two AC’s to keep up with cooling demands, is why we lug this heavy Autoformer with us:)!
Be cool, and best,
Smitty
Needing 2 ACs is what puts us over the edge too. We can run one AC for ~4 hours on the lithium alone, but 2 ACs is a bit much. When you need 2 ACs for the entire day, having a huge generator is a great backup. We do use the lithium load-sharing function quite a lot.
Nina
Nina, love the photos! Best wishes in your new location and may the rehabilitation be successful for Polly. Look forward to future posts.
We are heading that way soon and look forward to your suggestions. There seems to be plenty of hiking and other things to do there. We only skied while there.
So far I’ve only done one hike (Adams Gultch), but it was SPECTACULAR! The wild flowers are going crazy right now and there are awesome views all around. As for parking the rig, as long as you don’t need to stay more than 7-16 days (which is the stay limit, depending on where exactly you go) I’d recommend looking into the Forest Service Campgrounds. Lots around, including several that can take larger rigs. I think you’re going to love it here.
Nina
At some point we’ll hit the NW and come back home across the more northerly states. Have enjoyed all your writeups and I want some of that craft beer! Being Canadians limits our time in the US. Last March we booked it home from west of St Louis in an 18hr/1000mi run pulling our fiver to beat a snowstorm. As my wife doesn’t drive with the trailer on it was all my seat time. Never had a problem doing long drives when I need to but if there’s things to see and time to do it I prefer the back roads.
Wow! 18 hours drive! Honestly not sure I could do that. We’re pretty slow-mo drivers in general and just don’t like to do really long hauls, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. I hope we never have to do 18 hours in one drive though.
Nina
Great post. Just did theft ice through the Sawtooth Mountains. It was beautiful! What is the name of the trail in the last picture? My husband, pup, and I just pulled in to Ketchum today, and we are looking for some trails like that to take our dog. Thanks!
Auto correct! Ugh. We did “the drive” through Sawtooth… I really need to proofread before posting.
That’s Adams Gulch just north of town. We did a ~5 mile loop through there by connecting several smaller trails. Lots of wildflowers at the moment. You and your paws will love it! Here’s a reference link to the area:
http://www.mtbproject.com/trail/5286046
Nina
When making tracks, the Interstates can’t be beat – unless they’re in horrible condition of course 🙂 Beautiful send-off from the Cape! Glad the surrounding area is so beautiful – you won’t mind the little site nearly as much.
The surroundings are definitely helping to relieve the cramped feel of the RV park. It really is gorgeous around here.
Nina
Been waiting for a time to tell the story of being how to make a Straight and Gay pigtail for our 30 amp camper. A 220V plug is two 110V legs off a common transformer. A lot of 30A loads on a leg can lower the voltage and cause overheating in equipment.
I would use the straight ( A Leg ) and check voltage, then switch to the gay ( B Leg ). Private campgrounds can be sketchy.
These are easy to make. 50A normal to normal 30A or gay 30A which just uses other 50A leg.
Can’t wait to see WA and OR, love your photos. It’s in our possible plans for next year. Good to get a 1st look at the RV park in Ketchum. I knew it would be tight but we will only be there for 3 nights , our final destination is the Cascade lake are north of Boise. We have only been to Sun Valley in the winter for skiing and are looking forward to seeing the area in the summer. I will be taking notes, so keep posting some of your favorite hikes and any dog friendly breweries in the area.
It’s certainly tight here (too tight for my liking), but I have to admit the surrounding area is amazing. Hiking, biking, and natural beauty out the wazoo. We’re making it a point to get out everyday and do something in the mountains. That keeps our sanity, and also encourages us to see more.
Nina
Awwww… poor doggo. I hope this will not be terrible for Polly. Maybe she’ll need an extra treat to make it less terrible. I am going to quit complaining about the weather in Seattle (cool,wet) since most of the country is so hot!
She’s definitely getting LOTS of treats. She was very nervous at her first rehab, but she did well. Hopefully the 2nd visit will be more relaxed.
Nina
Is Paul presenting this year at the Sun Valley Allen & Co. Conference?
http://www.businessinsider.com/power-couples-at-sun-valley-allen-and-co-conference-2015-7
HA, no we don’t quite make the grade level. Plus the whole thing is so darn hush-hush you can’t get any real info on it unless you’ve been exclusively invited. But we’re hoping to spot some famous faces around town.
Nina
John “Jack” Hemmingway son of Ernest Hemmingway raised his daughters, in their teen years, in Ketchum, Idaho. I believe Mariel still has a house she built after the success of her first movie in the area. And, I do recall that Margo her sister is buried there in Ketchum. Sorry just a bit of trivia.
Bob
So very interesting. I’ve read more about Hemingway’s last years since we got here. I really didn’t know the history beforehand.
Nina
We plan to stop at Hilgard Junction next week on our way to Joseph. Looks like a good place to overnight. And even better knowing about the growler place in La Grande. Thanks!
I think you’ll like the stop. If it’s too noisy for you just drive on down the road (244) a few more miles and you’ll hit a Forest Service Campground which is very quiet. Or, just escape to the growler fill all afternoon like we did 🙂
Nina
I am looking forward to hearing more about your time in Idaho, a state where we have just scratched the surface.
Idaho is our last state this fall. Looking forward to what you are up to there, while taking care of Polly. I hope Polly is on the mend with the therapist taking care of her.
Welcome to Idaho!!
We have been here since Aug 2016 doing the “working couple” thing. Our first gig is a Storage unit complex here in Caldwell. This, being our first full summer here , we go exploring like mad EVERY weekend. We are stunned at the beauty , the amount of water (lakes,streams,rivers,ponds) and the care and money the state invests in it’s sportsmans activities . We are (flatwater) kayak anglers so we set out on our “Hobies ” and peddle this lovely state. Hope to run into you someday on the road!!
Christy & Ed ♥
SWEET! I totally agree that Idaho has many hidden gems. Once you get out of the “valley” and into the mountains there is SO much to see and do. Glad you’ve been having a good time here!
Nina
Nina–how wonderful you are enjoying & exploring the Wood River Valley! We’ve lived here 45 years. And have followed your blog about 4 years. It’s been a wealth of information as we transitioned from a VW van to a 5th wheel when we retired. We were on the Oregon coast when your post about Polly having surgery here. Randy & Sue are friends–great people. I’m so glad surgery went well. Randy is in a league of his own. And now to hear you are right up the road from us is wonderful. We would love to have you down for dinner this week end if possible to show our appreciation for the fun, information and your stories you have shared. We could share a few tips too! Please call 208 720-7238. Charlene Malone
edit (been here since Aug 2015)
Hey guys!
I’m new to your blog, about to start Fulltiming with my new husband and I love your advice.
I’ve got some advice for You, though. NORTH IDAHO.
Seriously, you haven’t been there and you’re Missing Out. You like Oregon, then you’ll love Sandpoint, ID. Go in June, when it’s warm but not on fire. My husband grew up there and he’d murder me for telling you about it because they try to keep it a secret so the Californians (sorry) don’t move in and ruin it.
Biggest lake in idaho, 3rd deepest in the country, clear and beautiful. Mountains everywhere. Lovely people, tons of outdoor activities. Tons of National Forests. You can’t go wrong.