Batten down the hatches!

Summer is over, and autumn is arriving with a big WHOOSH!  At least, that's what the weather people are telling us.

Rain and wind on the horizon for us (a little bit of rain has already made landfall).  After the rain of a few days ago, we decided we'd better get the trailer ready for the impending weather.

The water tends to pool up around that taller vent thing, and we don't want it sitting on the roof for any length of time.  The trailer shows signs of minor water leakage from the past, but fortunately previous owners didn't let it get out of hand and made efforts to STOP the leakage.  That said, Michael and our friend Glenn got the cover pulled over the trailer yesterday, and Michael finished tying it down today.  The fellow we bought the trailer from was kind enough to give us the cover tarp as part of the deal - YAY!  I'm just glad it isn't a blue tarp...

While exploring what came with the trailer, we discovered an awning that was actually in really good condition - probably because nobody ever used it!  From what I can tell it doesn't fit into the awning rail, and well - it looks tacky.  Not exactly vintage looking!

Oh well.  We'll get something eventually.  No rush for an awning, now that summer is over.

Getting the hang of this!

Today we had to pick up the trailer after having the bearings packed, and we figured while we were out we should fill up the propane tanks (just across the street).

I'm sure you're just dying to find out how it went.

I didn't crash into anything, and even got my first taste of backing up the trailer!  Oh boy.  When we pulled in to Skagit Farmer's Supply for the propane, there was a large motorhome ahead of us.  I pulled in directly behind them, figuring they would just drive away and we could pull in straight away.

But no.  Motorhome guy insisted he needed to back up to pull his motorhome out the other direction - which meant pulling up alongside of him, then waiting for him to get out of there before maneuvering our way closer to the propane fill-up area.

Which required backing up.

Oh boy!

I actually did much better than expected the first time out, and the propane filling guy was very patient.  Heck, he was getting paid to stand there and wait!  Michael is very good at directing, though after he said "other way" about five times in a row I lost track of which "other way" he meant.  Good thing we get along so well!

While we were waiting, I noticed somebody stopped at the light taking a picture of our trailer with their phone.  Then, while I was inside paying for the propane Michael gave a little tour of the trailer to the guy that came up after us to fill a propane tank.  I think this attention is something we're going to have to get used to...

Here's the very exciting moment of propane filling ~

Wow.  Look at that, will you?!!

And here's the first of our trailer admirers - El Sticko.  He was quite impressed with the trailer, and very happy that I didn't run him down.

Now we're ready to really get ready for our first trip.  Leaving in six days!

Cleaning and another tow...

The one week countdown until our first trip has begun!

We still have a few things to do to get the trailer ready.  Michael has been doing little bits every day to clean things up - shelving, the fridge, etc.  Yesterday's task was cleaning all of the running lights.  Look what came out of one of the taillights!

That's just one big chunk of the moss he cleaned out of the lights.  Crazy!  I'm a big fan of moss, probably more than most people, but we just don't need this dimming our lights.  I'll have to find a spot for it in the garden.

It is perfectly good moss after all!

Another thing we wanted to get done before taking the trailer on a long trip is to have the bearings packed.  So off we went to Les Schwab today!  It was the second towing of the trailer, and I must say much less stressful than our first adventure.  Sure, it was barely a mile, and it wasn't raining AND it was light - but overall it went great!  It's going to take some getting used to, but I think I'll be towing like a pro in no time!

Quiet before the storm...

Or something like that.

It's been pretty quiet in trailerville for the last few days.  I've been busy working, and we've got some other things going on that have been keeping us busy.

For instance, today we went on a "wild chicken chase" in search of organic chickens.  We drove out to the Skagit River Ranch, but they have sold out of broiler hens for the year.  Huh.  When we were getting into the car a man came up to the window and said, "Pssst - I know where you can get chickens.  Go to Well Fed Farms, on the other side of the highway around Cook Road and Avon Allen Road.  The chickens are sooooo meaty!"

Okay.  Maybe he didn't say "pssst."  And maybe he had his directions a bit wrong, and the farm is really on the east side of the highway.  So maybe we drove around in circles a little bit (but gave up quickly in favor of research for details).  But damn, I bet those chickens are meaty!

What does this have to do with trailers, you ask?  Not much, but we did see this abandoned beauty along the way.

It was quite a ways from the road, but I was still able to get a decent shot.

We also stopped for lunch at the Longhorn Saloon in Bow.  Home to the most fantastic piece of art of I've ever seen.  Ever.  In the whole entire world.

Don't lie - you love it!

In other news, we're getting the bearings packed next week.