The Distance: 695 miles, one of our shortest months, which was to be expected since we spent two weeks in one place at Cape Disappointment and another six days in Portland.  Most of this mileage came in the last two days of the month when we began our run towards Yellowstone National Park. Total distance for the year: 8,482 miles.

The Places:  We only went to four places after departing Jantzen Beach in Portland.  We had a perfect three day stay at Nehalem Bay State Park, one of the top reviewed coastal campgrounds in Oregon.  After that it was on to our two week volunteer stint at Cape Disappointment State Park just over the border in Washington.  From their it was back to Portland and On Time Painting while Rosemarie and I stayed in a couple of hotels, mostly on points.  Once we picked up The Big Kahuna we did the first leg of our eastward sprint, stopping for one night in Nampa, Idaho.  We had power and water hookups for 24 days and stayed in hotels for six.  No dry camping at all this month.

The Budget:  Finally!  We were well under budget, nearly 14% under!  If we can put a few more months like that together we will have a chance of coming in on budget for the year, though with our planned route and another non-RV trip coming up I am not particularly optimistic about repeating June’s success.  The primary reason for our budget success this month was our 14 day Cape Disappointment volunteer time, during which we stayed for free, were rather isolated and thus could not go out and spend much money, not even via online shopping since we had almost no connectivity.  Add to that the lack of diesel purchases since we didn’t drive the bus much, and finally our hotel stays in Portland were mainly on points rather than cash.

The Drama:  I don’t think we will ever have a month without some kind of RV related drama, and June did not disappointment since we had to contend with the previously reported problems with our contractors in Portland doing the bathroom remodel and the first attempt at new exterior paint.  We were at least able to get most of the bathroom done and the paint followed later that month with a return to Portland.  Lastly, our macerator is acting up again, but this time I can’t figure out the problem even after taking it apart twice, meaning we have to dump the old fashioned way with our short drain hose.  Ah well.

The Improvements:  As mentioned above, we got most of our bathroom remodel done, and at the end of the month our brand new paint job.

• January Report
• February Report
• March Report
• April Report
• May Report