As far as I'm concerned, it was a "win-win" no matter what!

No, I didn't win the audition. But. Of 18 that showed up to play, I was 1 of 5 to make it to the second round of auditions. Basically I looked at all this as a camping trip with an audition in the middle. This took pressure off, made the whole event quite enjoyable and in part, possibly helped my performance as a result.

1st camp: Klipchuck. Water was off so no fees charged! Nice clean typical FS pit toilets and quiet save for road traffic to nearby trail head though that was minimal. Deer roamed free and near, my good friend the Big Dipper was visible through the tree canopy, a great fire was had and I saw a fellow Westy en route!

2nd night: Pitch And Bowler, Nine Mile Rec area. Nice but popular so not a lot of privacy or room between sites. But it has showers, is 4 miles or so from Spokane so this fit my needs. Unfortunately some spots showed tags for the weekend but the campers didn't show up. My spot was "ok" but I could have had a slightly better one.

Up before 7 AM alarm, broke camp and went to work.

Last night: Spring Canyon camp ground near the Coulee dam. Another excellent night!

No regrets. Had a great time. Weather was awesome, beers and fires were had, mileage great (at 60 MPH or less) van ran great save for some fierce cross winds near Hope BC. But that isn't really the van's fault!



Token mountain shots.

So for anyone who needs to know,  here's the route I'm taking to Spokane

Will be home late Tuesday or early Wed. for work.

Well I'm happy to say that my '81 Westy made it Ft Flagler and back without any issues.

Likes:

• new 3 window canvas
• new truckfridge TF49
• just driving the darn thing!

The group 41 battery under the driver seat saw little use and the group 27 under the rear seat was not worked excessively but they both held up fine. Speaking of which......

IMO, the only real caveat to owning a Truckfridge is the eventuality of a solar panel(s) install. A deep cycle only has so many charge cycles, needs to be charged properly once in a while and IMO, maintenance charged when not in use. (vehicle sitting idle). But. The TF is super nice as would be any similar fridge so it's all worth it. In hindsight, I should have pulled and modified the cabinet for a TF65. There's enough room, more or less, but by the time I add all my beer, it gets kinda cramped.

When I start doing some serious hotter weather camping I'll have a solar setup. Til then, I'm pretty sure I'll get 3 days out of the battery before it needs a charge. Pony up a few more bucks for a utility camp site and I'm good to go.

Am leaving tomorrow for my Monday Spokane audition. Even if I don't win, it's been a worthwhile goal. My playing has improved, I get to do a 3 or 4 night camping trip, and I return to over 2 months work; it's all a win-win no matter what.

Ft. Flagler Wet Westie campout