Racing Old Man Winter

As per our previous post, we put Washington into our rear view mirror on Saturday ahead of an atmospheric river and windstorm. Our first night landed us in Grand View at the Encore Park. We feasted on Sweet and Sour Chicken with Rice and since we had excellent WiFi were able to be indulgent and did a bit of binge watching as the rain pelted the rig. We are amazed at the tattoos on Ink Masters and would definitely use several of the artists for our next ink.

The perverse ritual of falling back meant that we got an extra hour of sleep but definitely messed up our chi as we didn’t get on the road until almost 10:00. I missed an exit off of I-84 to I-5 so we had a Siri tour of residential Portland enroute back to I-5. A bit stressful trying to maneuver a 38 foot RV towing a Ford Escape down the residential streets and trying to make left and right turns with parked cars. Out of Portland we hit the rain and it didn’t stop for the rest of the trip. Not the usual Washington, dismal rain. No, this was the industrial strength, thank God I Rainexed the wind shield rain. Also just past Roseburg, there was white patches on the ground. We are under a winter storm warning tomorrow, so hopefully we can get south before it sticks to the ground.

Monday Evening:

Yesterday we finished the day in Myrtle Creek Oregon at a very nice Passport America park called On the River RV. $30 for full hook ups and upon arrival saw that someone in the park had set up a bbq shack. Talk about a no brainer for supper, a huge smoked chicken breast, bbq sauce, and real mashed potatoes. $10 a plate and we were stuffed!!! Awoke early this morning and onto I-5 we went to Grants Pass where we detoured around Siskiyou Pass which was receiving heavy snow. Cal 199 was a beautiful drive through the redwoods. The only problem was that we had every weather condition known to man to include, wind, sun glare, rain, fog and of course, snow! Made it to the coast and had a bit of sticker shock when we filled the rig in California for the first time. $350 later, we still hadn’t completely filled the rig. Also during the day we had issues with the coach batteries which meant we couldn’t start the generator. Frustrating!! We think that God is telling us that it’s time to move on from this rig. Just found a leak in one of the front cabinets. Another thing to add to our long list of minor repairs to our rig.

Tuesday Evening:

Down 101 we drove enroute to Nicolas CA and 1000 Trails Minden Lake. The atmospheric river of miserable weather continues. The whole trip we experienced rain. Coming down 101 is such a scenic drive and with the leaves still basically in full color, was absolutely spectacular. The redwoods were so majestic and taking pictures just would not do it justice. So, we simply put in a classical music CD, drove a bit slower, used turn outs with every car that overtook us and simply enjoyed the view. Highly recommend this as a bucket list item. Left the Stafford RV Park in Scotia CA. A bit creepy as it was an old park with some ancient permanent campers. The owner was a bit salty but for the price it was nice for a one-night stay. We did take advantage of our new surge protector as we ended up moving as our original power pedestal was not grounded properly. Not a good thing considering it was standing in 2″ of water. So, we moved over on spot, and all was good. Had a good workout with the curvy sections of 101 to Ukiah. After that was smooth sailing into the upper valley of California. Did hit the power, sadly not the 2.04 billion. (sigh) Minden Lake we had a less then spectacular welcome. They just put our paperwork outside the office and said find a spot. Just seems an odd way to run a business. No security, no help, but right there when they want your money. Watched a bit of the election coverage, but it so slated to one side or the other. Also with no real information and only conjecture, the amount of drivel they espouse makes it a waste of time and effort. Did enjoy some fall food at dinner. Roasted acorn squash! Yum. Will post more tomorrow.

Thurs Eve:

Best laid plans of mice and men, I didn’t post anything yesterday, but basically nothing to report. We left Lake Minden 1000 Trails at around 8:30 enroute to Rancho Not So Grande just a few miles out of Fresno, in Hanford CA. Did have an issue with the dump station at Lake Minden. 1000 Trails is not winning any awards for having outstanding facilities. This is the 3rd park we have stayed at with issues concerning septic. C’mon man!! If you are going to have a resort, fix the septic systems!!! Arrived around 2:30 and are literally parked in the Harvest Host’s front driveway. Right off of Cal 43 which will take us to Cal 41, US 101 and finally Lompoc. Filled up in Nicolas CA at $5.90 a gallon, OUCH! As I was putting my 60 gallons in, I discovered an issue with the generator. The hot wire lead had snapped in two. So I needed to tighten down the remain half so contact was made and the generator supplied electricity to the rig and beyond. It popped the main breaker as well as all the gfi’s in the rig. But with a little ingenuity and a few foul words, I McGyvered the generator back to functioning and when I get to Palm Springs will work on replacing the connector. That said, the trip to Rancho Not So Grande was uneventful. Did enjoy a nice wine tasting and got a nice bottle of Chardonay for the Luddens. Will be chatting with friends in Brownsville and catch up with the Soap Opera that is Riverbend. Until tomorrow.

Sat Morning:

Had a joyous, sunny drive from Hanford CA where we stayed at Rancho NotSoGrande, a Harvest Host site. It was a very nice place, just a bit of road noise as it was at an intersection of two big highways. Stopped outside of Paso Robles for 1st meal/breakfast and put gas in the rig in Santa Maria. Stopped at probably the most expensive station at $6.099 a gallon. Gas is painful in CA. Arrived at Doug and Diana’s place around 12:00 and had a wonderful conversation and an even better Chicken dinner!! Gotta score the Ludden Arms hospitality as a 5 star resort. Am going to meet an old high school pal at 10 for coffee. Haven’t seen Buddy Andrews in over 40 years. It should be a joyous time. Also going to see Dick Tootle, a mentor, a friend, and pseudo father since I was 5 years old. I owe him so much and it will be good seeing him. Looks like Sunday we’ll be seeing a play at Alan Hancock College, reminiscent of my youth, should be a good time. As I mentioned earlier, the Ludden Arms is an awesome place to stay!!! Will be heading to Palm Springs on Monday and we may adjust our schedule to beat the weather in New Mexico to get to Texas a bit sooner. Still loving retirement.