A few days before leaving the Columbia Riverfront RV Park we took a trip to Fort Vancouver, in Vancouver WA. The fort was built in the 1824 to protect British trapping and trading interests along the Columbia River by the Hudson Bay Company. The fort or the trading post had never been attacked, so the military personnel that had the good fortune to have been stationed there had some pretty good duty.
In 1824 the land north of the Columbia River was territory of Great Brittan. But after a treaty signed with the British in 1846, the boundary was moved to its current location along the 49th Parallel.
The grounds and houses are free to walk around, as is the visitor?s center. One preserved row of houses called ?Officers Row? are still there and are in use today. Some are residences, others are businesses, and one, belonging to the base commander is available to tour. It?s most famous resident; General George C. Marshall lived in it for about two years. If you want to tour a replica of the original fort, it will cost you $3 a person. It was about a 26 mile drive from the RV park.
After 5 days at Columbia Riverfront RV Park we were ready to move on. We took about a 225 mile drive east and south to Horn Rapids RV resort in Richland, WA.
Horn Rapids is an upscale RV Resort with 225 full hook up spaces. Most sites have a large concrete patio, green grass area between sites, and nice landscaping. It also has a pool and hot tub (my favorite) and a small general store. We paid a ?7 day rate? which basically charges you for 6 days and the 7th is free. Staying 7 days made the nightly fee just over $33 a night. The place is packed this time of year, so if you plan on staying for more than a day, call for reservations.
Enroute to Richland, we stopped at a Pilot truck stop in Wasco OR for fuel. While the fueling part was easy enough, the savings part has dissipated quite a bit. The price on the big sign out front quoted $4.05 a gallon for cash price, PUC diesel. I knew that there was no way I was getting that price. Since all they had big enough for us was the truck islands, I pulled up to an empty stall and tried my RV Advantage card at the reader. No joy.
Going inside to the fuel desk I handed my Advantage card and credit card to the clerk. I had to quote a dollar amount to preauthorize, which I did. He swiped both, and handed me the cards and the receipt. Yep, I paid $4.42 a gallon. So much for the ?RV discount? that Pilot likes talking about in the Good Sam publications. When I pulled out I passed a Shell station on the other corner that was about $4.29 a gallon for diesel. Some Advantage, huh?
Well at least Diane had time to grab us a road snack while I screwed around trying to get fuel. I may be joining the ranks of those now shopping for fuel at alternate locations.
Also one major thing happened while we were at Columbia Riverfront RV. On the road enroute to the park was a Les Schawb Tire store. I have been threatening to get new tires on the Jeep, and it was about time. I have burned through my second set of BF Goodrich MT's in four years. Although the Jeep only has about 41K on the clock, it has been pulled another 60K or so behind the MH.
The OE Mud Terrains are great off road tires, but towing the Jeep as much as I do really eats up the aggressive tread blocks on them. For quite a while now, where ever you drove the Jeep, it sounded and felt like you were driving on a cobble stone street. The faster you went the louder it got, and the steering wheel had a constant "shimmy". It just wasn't fun to drive at all. I even rotated them every 3K like clockwork, but to no avail. It slowed the rate of wear and these did last longer than the last set, but in the end, they still came down to the same fate. And they still had some pretty good tread on them.
So I went researching for a better tire, one not so aggressive. There are literally dozens of choices out there, and I must have looked at them all. Finally while researching on Consumer Reports.com I found a tire that looked like it fit the bill. It's a Cooper Discoverer, ATR (all terrain radial) in a LT275/70/17. The Goodrich's were a LT255/75/17. Consumer Reports recommended as the best AT tire in it's class.
So I bit the bullet and ordered a set. Two days later I was at Les Schawb's getting them put on. All I can say is OMG! It feels like I have a new Jeep. The tires feel like I am driving on glass, and I hear nothing but the wind noise now. The steering shimmy is gone, and the DW has a big smile on her face! The price was decent, and Cooper has a great warranty. I will still keep up the rotations, and keep the pressure in check, but I am a happy camper.