A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 163 miles from Welches, Oregon to Eatonville, Washington.
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Posts featuring the coach.
Travel from Buxton, Oregon to Eatonville, Washington
We drove our coach 163 miles, about 4 hours of driving, from Buxton, Oregon to Eatonville, Washington.
The map route, heading north:
We pulled into a maintenance area to hook up our tow bar:
Our new Sinclair Trails logo sticker is visible inside with the slide-out in:
Jenn driving; yes, she drives our coach:
Enjoying some coffee at a traffic light stop:
Sandy:
Interesting MAX light rail station:
MAX light rail:
Heading towards Seattle:
Paladin on the back of my chair:
Leaving Portland:
Leaving Oregon:
Stopping at a rest area:
Lunch:
The rest area had an RV dump station; nice:
Paladin:
Bridge:
A small plane taking off:
Driving:
Another Tiffin joining the freeway:
Paladin passing over my lap:
Gee Cee’s Truck Stop; quite nice and not busy:
Another bridge:
We have Sinclair Trails logo Yeti coffee mugs:
Sleeping Paladin:
Mayfield Lake:
Jenn driving:
Paladin asleep:
Highway 12:
Hey look, another bridge:
Hobo Inn, staying in train cars:
Day use area at Alder Lake:
Our destination, Rocky Point campground:
A rather narrow road within the campground:
Sinclair Trails stickers
One of the use-cases for getting a logo designed for Sinclair Trails was to put it on our coach.
Here’s me adding the logo sticker to our slide-out, above the states map:
The Sinclair Trails logo sticker; looks really good, I think:
Above the map:
We also got another sticker with the SinclairTrails.com website and social name (e.g. Twitter and Facebook):
The stickers:
Reflectix insulation in cupboards
The cupboards in our coach can get fairly warm when sitting in the sun. A common solution for that is to add extra protection via silvered bubble insulation like Reflectix. I recently added some to the back of most of the cupboards:
Mt Hood Village RV & Camping Resort
We stayed at Mt Hood RV & Camping Resort in Welches, Oregon. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A nice Thousand Trails Encore park.
Dates:
- Check in: 2022-07-25
- Check out: 2022-08-07
- 13 nights
Weather:
- Mostly sunny
- High temps ranging between 77-98°F, lows around 54-67°F
- No significant wind
Noise:
- No road noise or train noise
- Not much neighbor noise (kids and dogs)
Site:
- Vine Maple Hollow #78, back in, gravel
- Needed to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach (on gravel)
- Fairly level, sloped up a little at the back
- Medium site: about 60 feet long by about 30 feet wide
- Full hookups:
- 50 amp power conveniently located
- 50 PSI water pressure (we boosted from our tank); fairly conveniently located
- Reasonable sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10 foot hoses used)
- Picnic table, fire pit on gravel
- Several trees for privacy
Internet (in usage priority order):
- Starlink: 53 Mbps down, 10 Mbps up, 72 ms ping
- AT&T: 6 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 27 ms ping
- Verizon: 8 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
- T-Mobile: no service
- Campground Wi-Fi: none
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpsters
- Indoor pool
- Onsite restaurant
Here’s our review on Campground Reviews:
Nice campground close to Mt Hood
This park has a nice mix of sites close to all sorts of outdoor activities in the area. We were grateful to be under the tall trees during the worst of the heat even if it meant the Starlink was pretty useless. There are newer sites that have no trees, but they were baking in the sun. You really need to weigh your priorities when making your site reservation. The roads are a bit narrow in spots, and they have a few trees that need to be trimmed, but overall we had no trouble getting our 40′ motorhome around to our site. We really enjoyed the on-site restaurant. Their breakfasts are awesome. We camped at Mt Hood Village RV Resort in a Motorhome.
The RV park map; it a large park, with multiple campgrounds within it, separated into short-term and long-term RVs, plus cabins:
An embedded map (that you can zoom and pan around):
Weather:
Our site:
Our bikes:
The screen tent:
We moved the picnic table out of the way, since we have our own in the tent:
A big rock on the neighboring site:
Utilities:
I got out my ladder to access the roof; I attached knee pads to it to protect the edge of the roof:
The main reason for the ladder was to remove a branch that I’d noticed was wedged up there:
I also took some pics of the roof, since this was the first time I’ve used the ladder to access it (and I’ve still never been on the roof):
We took Paladin out into the screen tent:
Some aerial photos from my drone:
The village has a restaurant and store:
Village store:
Dragonfly Cafe and Bakery:
Breakfast:
Dinner:
Plus a game room:
And indoor pool:
We were in the Vine Maple Hollow campground (a bit harsh to call the children slow):
Our neighbor had a catio:
Another catio:
Some campgrounds were a bit more exposed:
Monthly sites available:
More campsites:
Tiny homes and cabins:
A nice park. We’ll likely be back here again in the future.
Video: Buxton, Oregon to Welches, Oregon motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 79 miles from Buxton, Oregon to Welches, Oregon, with a detour to Todd’s Auto & RV in Portland.
Travel from Buxton to Welches, Oregon
We drove our coach 79 miles, about 2 hours of driving, from Buxton, Oregon to Welches, Oregon, with a detour to Todd’s Auto & RV Service in Portland.
The map route for the first leg, heading east:
And the route for the second leg, also heading east:
Leaving Buxton:
Paladin on the steps:
Sunset highway:
The freeway tunnel:
Downtown Portland:
Todd installed our tow system last year, but recently the light on the dash that confirmed the brake was being applied in our toad stopped working. Fortunately, we had to pass near Todd’s shop when heading through Portland, so we arranged to stop by there so he could investigate (supervised by Paladin):
The issue turned out (as we suspected) to be a bad indictator light; he was able to swap it out for a good one; this light comes on when the truck’s braking system is activated, due to the coach brake being applied. It’s a useful confirmation that the truck is actively braking with the coach:
We then continued on, passing through Gresham:
MAX light rail stop:
Paladin asleep in his safe space:
Through Sandy; here’s their “trolly” bus:
Downtown Sandy:
Sandy used to be our local town (well, Estacada was closer, but smaller; we preferred to shop in Sandy). Mt Hood Pet Resort is where we took our dog for daycare and boarding:
Speaking of Mount Hood, a view from the highway:
And our destination, Mt Hood Village RV Resort:
IKEA storage cabinets
One of several criteria when choosing an RV was that we needed to keep working as we travel, so we wanted a desk (or two). So soon after we bought our coach, we removed the couches, and replaced one with a desk:
From the start, I used a lap tray with my laptop, sitting in my living room chair, while Jenn used the desk. Over time, she decided that she didn’t need the second screen, and ultimately didn’t need the desk either.
So we removed the desk, while temporarily leaving its drawers:
We might get some custom furniture to go there in due course, but in the meantime we decided to replace the desk with IKEA KALLAX drawers and cupboards; a very flexible system that we’ve enjoyed in the past.
Here are the drawers being assembled:
To prevent the drawers from sliding open when the coach is in motion, I added roller catches:
The new drawers next to the old ones, while transferring the contents:
Next I assembled IKEA KALLAX cupboards; the bottom-right cubby is a cat bed for Paladin:
I got brackets to connect the two units, for extra stability:
The two brackets on the back are covered in self-adhesive felt, to avoid scratching the wall:
I also added a bracket to mount the units to the wall:
The drawers and cupboards:
Related, I added velcro to Jenn’s laptops and laptop stand, so they stay put while driving:
She uses the laptop stand on the dining table when she has meetings, or uses a lap tray in her living room chair like me.
CLAM screen tent
Another useful addition to our campsites: we purchased a 9×9 CLAM pop-up screen tent, to provide shade and/or protection from bugs.
It’s pretty compact folded up in its bag:
It pops up quickly by pulling tabs in the center of each wall:
Popped up, with wind and sun panels attached, and tie-down ropes attached, sitting on a new outdoor mat:
With our chairs and small table inside:
We also got a combo light and fan that can hang from the ceiling, or sit on the table:
On our site:
We brought Paladin outside in his harness and leash; only the second time he’s been outside, so he was a bit unsure about it:
Eating dinner in the tent:
LL Stub Stewart State Park, Dairy Creek West
We stayed in the Dairy Creek West campground of LL Stub Stewart State Park in Buxton, Oregon. (Campground Reviews listing.)
A pleasant state park.
Dates:
- Check in: 2022-07-11
- Check out: 2022-07-25
- 14 nights
Weather:
- Mostly sunny
- High temps ranging between 73-90°F, lows around 49-62°F
- No significant wind
Noise:
- No road noise or train noise
- Some neighbor noise (kids and dogs), mostly quiet
- Crows making a racket on the roof
Site:
- #46, back in, gravel
- Needed to disconnect toad; parked in front of coach (on asphalt)
- Fairly level, once we moved the coach away from the edge
- Large site: about 64 feet long by about 45 feet wide
- Full hookups:
- 50 amp power conveniently located
- 30 PSI water pressure (we boosted from our tank); conveniently located
- Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10 foot hoses used)
- Picnic table, fire pit on gravel
- Several trees for privacy
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 4 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 38 ms ping
- AT&T: 8 Mbps down, 6 Mbps up, 25 ms ping
- Verizon: 30 Mbps down, 12 Mbps up, 23 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: none
Amenities:
- Garbage compactor and recycling outside campground entrance
- No pool
Here’s our review on Campground Reviews:
Huge sites in a beautiful park
We loved our stay at this campground. Our site was beautifully tucked into the trees, and it just felt like what a campground should be. The place has an awesome vibe. It feels like a rustic campground but has full hookups. It feels like you’re a long way from anywhere, but it’s pretty convenient to Hwy 26, so you can head to Portland or the Coast for an easy day trip. The camp hosts are really on top of things; they rake and tidy things up almost as soon as the previous occupant has left. And the sites are just massive. We had room for our 40′ motorhome, tow vehicle, screen tent with table and chairs, plus the campground-provided picnic table and firepit, with room left over. I can see why this park is popular with groups. We saw several campers with multiple sites booked, who all hung out at one site in the evenings.
We stayed in the West campground, which has a lot more trees around the loop than the East one and has a few that need to be trimmed along the road because they twanged the antenna on top of our rig, but it’s a minor thing because we will stay here again when we’re in the area. We camped at L.L. Stub Stewart Memorial State Park in a Motorhome.
The RV park map:
An embedded map, that you can zoom and scroll around:
Our site before parking:
Our coach in our site:
From the hill behind the site (and yes, the tent is new; I’ll do a separate post about that):
A peek of the roof:
Woods behind our site:
A murder of crows; they had an annoying habit of walking on our roof, making a racket:
The crows did enjoy the drip tray of our griddle:
Another recent addition was a milk crate to help carry and stabilize the propane cylinder:
Griddle breakfast for dinner:
More pics of our site:
Another dinner:
Oh deer:
Levitating squirrel:
Butterfly:
Another deer:
Aerial views of our site:
Let’s explore. The welcome center:
The campground didn’t have any garbage bins or dumpsters, but did have a trash compactor just outside:
And it being Oregon, of course there were lots of recycling bins, too:
Self registration station for late arrivals:
Bathrooms:
More bathrooms:
Tent sites:
Other RV sites:
We will probably come back here in the future, but might like to stay on the opposite side of the road, for better shade. Site 41 could be a good choice:
Or site 43:
Or site 45:
Behind site 45:
A seating area by a path to the adjacent campground:
We were in Dairy Creek Campground West; the East campground is nearby:
Both campgrounds have a couple of Park Hosts:
Dairy Creek Campground East is a bit more open:
This campground might be better for our coach; it brushed some of the foliage in the west campground. Sites 82, 84, 86, 88, 89, 90, and 92 would all be excellent choices for afternoon shade and a decent amount of privacy:
A very nice couple of campgrounds. We’ll likely stay here again when visiting Portland.