Great Summer Adventure 2018 - Installment Four - Washington - After

After we left Seattle, we headed east on Highway 2, taking the more scenic route through the mountains. We were on our way to Wenatchee when all of a sudden we had buzzers going off and warning lights on the dash. Pulling over to the side of the road, we realized that the engine was overheating. We let it cool down and then started the engine again. It was barely 5 minutes before the same thing happened again. 😒

We were able to drive to the Stevens Pass Recreational Area - it had a big parking lot and because it was off season for them (ski area in the winter) they let us park there without any problem. This was on Monday afternoon and of course, with the time difference, the Tiffin Service Center was just closing when we called. We did call our roadside service, which assured us they would find someone to tow us. (Tiffin had suggested we be towed.) Andy spent most of Tuesday morning on the phone trying to figure out what was going on, when we would be able to get towed, what the probable problem was, etc. Finally, around 5:15 on Tuesday night, the tow truck showed up. We had originally been scheduled to go back to the Seattle area. However, after asking, they found us a dealer in the Spokane area since we were heading east. It took nearly 3 hours for the guy to hook up the motor home. It's a bit scary when you see your home being towed down the highway. (We drove in the car.)

It takes a big truck to tow a motor home!

Making sure things are attached

About ready to leave

Monday night we drove to Leavenworth, WA. This city is a replica of a Bavarian town in Switzerland with everything (even McDonald's and Wells Fargo) having Bavarian architecture and design. 

Leavenworth, WA

After a long day, both the tow truck and motor home and us made it to Spokane. We spent the night in the parking lot of the dealer. On Wednesday, our initial diagnosis was confirmed, a failed clutch fan on the engine. A part was ordered from Tiffin. We were able to keep our reservation at Alderwood Campground near Spokane. On Thursday,we took a day trip to Coeur d'Alene, ID. While there we enjoyed a boat trip on Lake Coeur d'Alene. 

Lake Coeur d'Alene 

The part arrived as promised on Friday and we were able to get installed without any problems. And, we were able to leave the area on schedule. All in all, it was not as bad as it could have been. We went from "OMG, what are we going to do now?" to "Well, that wasn't as bad as we thought". We have certainly heard of others who have had it worse than we have. It's still scary when something this big causes you to have to have your motor home towed. We survived, and that is what's key. 

Our west coast adventure done, we head on going east. As always, more adventure to come!