Let's see...The last night of our trip down we stayed at an interesting place along the Colorado River between Needles and Blythe, CA. It was a mix of permanently installed single wide mobiles, double wide mobiles, park models, and RVs. The section for temporary visitors is along one end of a large field they call "The Golf Course". No course, no holes, no sign of a golf course, but that's what they call it. The place looks like it was built in the forties or fifties and has passed its heyday. It being winter, many of the residents were not there. You can buy a house and a boat for $30,000, so if you're looking for a retirement spot, this might be it.
There is an old red barn in the middle of the place, and that's where the community gatherings are held. Next on the schedule was a broadcast of UFC. They have a llittle store and a 3 seat counter at the grill and that's also where the office is. No internet there. Pretty much no there there. It was very quiet and we had an unobstructed view of the mountains across the road. It was a spectacular sunset that night and it was so quiet there, it felt like the sunset was just for us.
Lots of the homes have boats and atvs or battered jeeps parked in the carports. One of the homes has a huge Budweiser sign in the front window. The people who were in residence were mostly retirees. Quite a few of the places were for sale. It was a bit shabby and a bit rundown, although it was as clean as things can be in the desert. Most places had a beat up truck trailering personal watercraft. Even tho we called it Bubbaville, we would stay again, I think. We certainly had an undisturbed night. There are so many stars when there are no other lights! It was beautiful. We got to watch a flock of quail for a while. They are such busy birds.
Then we arrived at Betty Jean's the next afternoon and the Christmas fun commenced. We had a most enjoyable time with the family, fairly laid back and relaxing. We enjoyed the sunshine and thought it was hot although the Arizona people went around wearing jackets! They thought it was cold. At 67 degrees and sunny, it was hot for us and cold for them. Funny, isn't it?
Yesterday, we left Betty and Ron's and traveled to our current campground, Verde Valley Thousand Trails. It's near the town of Cottonwood, which is a very old place. We are out in the country in a canyon. It's another place where there are lots of stars at night. The trip out here was nice, lots of good scenery, pictures of which are all on Ray's computer for now. We saw a coyote just outside of Florence, AZ. The primary employer there seems to be the State, as there are both a prison and a detention center. The coyote was well furred and well fed and seemed perfectly at home with the traffic and people.
For a time in late afternoon, we sat out in our lawn chairs on the little lawn between our rig and the next space, which was empty last night and is now full of a 5th wheel. We sat out there until it got chilly and we got hungry. It was so relaxing and so beautiful. We have a good view of the canyon walls from our site. Norman seemed to enjoy the grass and relaxation too. No cats within sight or smell, so he rested and kept watch while we enjoyed sun, sky and scenery.
After supper we watched a few episodes of "Firefly" and went to bed. It was so quiet and so dark, we went right to sleep. Sometime during the night the heat pump quit and it went down to 49 inside but it was 29 outside for a low, and our bed is nice and warm, so we weren't bothered. And when Ray got up, he switched the gas furnace on and by the time he woke me up, the mh was warmed up. Norman was curled into a tight ball in the corner of the couch. But he's furry and I am not worried about him freezing.
And now we're here in the lodge using the internet and finally updating the blog. I am going to miss the sun. It was hard to leave Tucson. We both wanted so badly to stay. Permanently. Ray said he'd call his boss and retire that minute. But, it's still a bit early for that, so back to the rain we go. We have checked the weather forcast for Seattle. It is not encouraging, but it is January and to be expected. In fact, rain is to be expected for another 6 months or so. I'll miss the sun.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Third Day's the Charm?
Today we made good time and arrived at our site in Bakersfield just after dark. In 20 minutes we were hooked up, unfurled the wings and were heating left over chili for dinner. We're getting better.
Our gas mileage today was 8.3 mpg. Terrible for a car but not bad for a house. Ray says he's happy with that. I wish it was more like 9 mpg, but at 60 mph I guess that's what you get. Traffic wasn't bad until Stockton. Road was bad by Sacramento. The road got worse the further south we went, and even tho the road surface is new, they not only left the old bumps and ruts in it, they added new bumps and ruts. Horrible! Highway 58 wasn't a whole bunch better, but we knew it would be over for the day soon.
We passed thru the Angry Farmer Zone today. Lots of Angry Farmer signs blaming lack of irrigation water on Boxer, Pelosi and some person whose last name starts with a C. I do know their water rations have been cut and sent to LA and other parched cities. The farmer who are doing well have put in vast miles of drip irrigation. Much more efficient use of water if properly regulated, I suppose. Although we did see many fields that were totally flooded, so water can't be too short. But my sympathies are with the Farmers, Angry or not.
One discovery we made today was that all Pilot Truck Stops are not created equal. The one we gassed up at was very difficult, being squeezed into as little room as possible. As it was located out in the midst of Nowhere, I can't imagine why it wasn't made a little more motor home friendly. But we got out of there without running over either flowers or other cars.
Norman spent much time near us today. He seems to prefer napping between us. And once in a while he'll come for a bit of a snuggle. And he watches whenever he thinks something might be worth watching. He loves Rest Areas! So many things to watch, and smell. He also was quite interested in the aroma of the feed lots we passed today. Ugh! We were grateful to him for snuffling up as much of the stench as he could. Ray said Norman would probably be glad too roll in it. I think he's right.
Our park tonight is right next to a freeway, but we are so tired that I don't think we'll hear it much. We didn't hear the road traffic last night. Besides, the furnace has an enthusiastic fan that will surely contribute some white noise.
At lunch time today the Rest Area parking area was full of big rigs. No place for us to park, and so we drove on.. At the next exit we spotted a large dirt area behind a gas station where big rigs could park. As it was mostly empty, we availed ourselves of a spot with a nice view of sagebrush and tumbleweed, fired up the generator and nuked some left over tuna casserole. It was a fine level spot and we enjoyed our little lunch break. It was quieter than the Rest Area too, and lots less fumey.
No trouble with the levelers today. I am glad. No trouble with anything today but sun glare making it hard to see the dashboard. So far, we are mostly happy with the motor home, altho Ray has his doubts about the Firm mattress.
Remember those flooded fields I mentioned? In many of those fields were large flocks of waterbirds. I recognized the Mallards and other ducks, but there were thousands upon thousands of medium sized white birds with black tipped wings. O, they were so elegant in flight, and so beautiful. Alas, my bird books are at home or I would tell you what kind of birds they were.
Motor homing is THE way to travel when it's too cold for motorcycles or for time's sake you have to take I-5. I would not much like riding on I-5 thru the Central Valley. And besides, it's still Too Cold.
So, that's it for tonight. Good night and sleep tight!
Our gas mileage today was 8.3 mpg. Terrible for a car but not bad for a house. Ray says he's happy with that. I wish it was more like 9 mpg, but at 60 mph I guess that's what you get. Traffic wasn't bad until Stockton. Road was bad by Sacramento. The road got worse the further south we went, and even tho the road surface is new, they not only left the old bumps and ruts in it, they added new bumps and ruts. Horrible! Highway 58 wasn't a whole bunch better, but we knew it would be over for the day soon.
We passed thru the Angry Farmer Zone today. Lots of Angry Farmer signs blaming lack of irrigation water on Boxer, Pelosi and some person whose last name starts with a C. I do know their water rations have been cut and sent to LA and other parched cities. The farmer who are doing well have put in vast miles of drip irrigation. Much more efficient use of water if properly regulated, I suppose. Although we did see many fields that were totally flooded, so water can't be too short. But my sympathies are with the Farmers, Angry or not.
One discovery we made today was that all Pilot Truck Stops are not created equal. The one we gassed up at was very difficult, being squeezed into as little room as possible. As it was located out in the midst of Nowhere, I can't imagine why it wasn't made a little more motor home friendly. But we got out of there without running over either flowers or other cars.
Norman spent much time near us today. He seems to prefer napping between us. And once in a while he'll come for a bit of a snuggle. And he watches whenever he thinks something might be worth watching. He loves Rest Areas! So many things to watch, and smell. He also was quite interested in the aroma of the feed lots we passed today. Ugh! We were grateful to him for snuffling up as much of the stench as he could. Ray said Norman would probably be glad too roll in it. I think he's right.
Our park tonight is right next to a freeway, but we are so tired that I don't think we'll hear it much. We didn't hear the road traffic last night. Besides, the furnace has an enthusiastic fan that will surely contribute some white noise.
At lunch time today the Rest Area parking area was full of big rigs. No place for us to park, and so we drove on.. At the next exit we spotted a large dirt area behind a gas station where big rigs could park. As it was mostly empty, we availed ourselves of a spot with a nice view of sagebrush and tumbleweed, fired up the generator and nuked some left over tuna casserole. It was a fine level spot and we enjoyed our little lunch break. It was quieter than the Rest Area too, and lots less fumey.
No trouble with the levelers today. I am glad. No trouble with anything today but sun glare making it hard to see the dashboard. So far, we are mostly happy with the motor home, altho Ray has his doubts about the Firm mattress.
Remember those flooded fields I mentioned? In many of those fields were large flocks of waterbirds. I recognized the Mallards and other ducks, but there were thousands upon thousands of medium sized white birds with black tipped wings. O, they were so elegant in flight, and so beautiful. Alas, my bird books are at home or I would tell you what kind of birds they were.
Motor homing is THE way to travel when it's too cold for motorcycles or for time's sake you have to take I-5. I would not much like riding on I-5 thru the Central Valley. And besides, it's still Too Cold.
So, that's it for tonight. Good night and sleep tight!
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Hello California!
Ray rousted me before sunrise this morning. I may not survive the trip! It was so cold at Canyonville, and colder still in the showers. The showers themselves are lovely, all grey tile, nice tiled bench to sit on, a potty, a sink and a heater which has a timer. At a temp below freezing, the tiles feel every bit as cold as the air, if not colder. But there was plenty of hot water and a nice shower head, so we survived showering. We used their showers because we were afraid our water hose would freeze solid and so we didn't hook up anything but electric. It was so cold the electric heat pumps could not find any heat to pump and so we used the propane furnace to heat us toasty warm all night.
At leaving time all went smoothly until it was time to retract the levelers. One of them apparently had no intention of retracting, but Ray knew how to get it retracted manually, so all was well after slight initial alarm. Off we went into a foggy morning.
It was fog off and on until we were clear of Mount Shasta. Her head was wreathed in clouds and her feet in a fog bank. It was an impressive sight. Just as we cleared Sexton Mountain Pass, where it was sunny, we had a wonderful view of the valley below. The valley was filled with thick fog, as if someone had laid a large piece of batting down there. It was a breathtaking view. As many times as we've been up and down this road, we'd never seen a thing like that before.
The motor home has a large windshield, as they all do. Great for seeing the magnificent scenery in the Siskiyous and the Southern Cascades and also great for letting the sun in. Wow, did we get hot when we finally got out from under the fog!
We stopped for lunch at the Kalama River Rest Area. It's river front for sure. The picnic areas are along the river and it's so pretty. We had a view of the river and lawns as we ate our lunch. We both agree that having spent the night with the "wings" of the motor home unfurled that it seems a whole lot more cramped in here during the day. Funny, until today we thought it was plenty of room with wings furled.
It was so quiet there at Seven Feathers, not so quiet here. We are just a block off Highway 99 here in Corning, California. Olive City, the signs say, but we will not have time to find out. We made good time here today and pulled in before sunset. Makes set up lots easier, I must admit. It's so much warmer here, and nicely dry. I used the convection/microwave for the first time. Managed not to overcook the tuna casserole. Plus we have leftovers for lunch. We are making a list of all the things we forgot to bring. And we thought we had all we'd need! No tv because we forgot to bring a coax cable. But we have plenty of dvds if we ever have enough energy to watch something.
We had about 8 miles per gallon today. Pretty good for mountains! Of course, we saved gas going down the mountains, we just coasted.
Tomorrow is all flat but it's a very long day. We'll be stopping in Bakersfield, California tomorrow, probably well after dark. I've got left over chili I can microwave quickly.
Norman is busy being the absolute best motor homing dog and I suspect he will do that again tomorrow He really seems to be enjoying the trip.
At leaving time all went smoothly until it was time to retract the levelers. One of them apparently had no intention of retracting, but Ray knew how to get it retracted manually, so all was well after slight initial alarm. Off we went into a foggy morning.
It was fog off and on until we were clear of Mount Shasta. Her head was wreathed in clouds and her feet in a fog bank. It was an impressive sight. Just as we cleared Sexton Mountain Pass, where it was sunny, we had a wonderful view of the valley below. The valley was filled with thick fog, as if someone had laid a large piece of batting down there. It was a breathtaking view. As many times as we've been up and down this road, we'd never seen a thing like that before.
The motor home has a large windshield, as they all do. Great for seeing the magnificent scenery in the Siskiyous and the Southern Cascades and also great for letting the sun in. Wow, did we get hot when we finally got out from under the fog!
We stopped for lunch at the Kalama River Rest Area. It's river front for sure. The picnic areas are along the river and it's so pretty. We had a view of the river and lawns as we ate our lunch. We both agree that having spent the night with the "wings" of the motor home unfurled that it seems a whole lot more cramped in here during the day. Funny, until today we thought it was plenty of room with wings furled.
It was so quiet there at Seven Feathers, not so quiet here. We are just a block off Highway 99 here in Corning, California. Olive City, the signs say, but we will not have time to find out. We made good time here today and pulled in before sunset. Makes set up lots easier, I must admit. It's so much warmer here, and nicely dry. I used the convection/microwave for the first time. Managed not to overcook the tuna casserole. Plus we have leftovers for lunch. We are making a list of all the things we forgot to bring. And we thought we had all we'd need! No tv because we forgot to bring a coax cable. But we have plenty of dvds if we ever have enough energy to watch something.
We had about 8 miles per gallon today. Pretty good for mountains! Of course, we saved gas going down the mountains, we just coasted.
Tomorrow is all flat but it's a very long day. We'll be stopping in Bakersfield, California tomorrow, probably well after dark. I've got left over chili I can microwave quickly.
Norman is busy being the absolute best motor homing dog and I suspect he will do that again tomorrow He really seems to be enjoying the trip.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Rattle and Roll
At 0Dark:30 our doorbell rang and we could not imagine who was out there at that hour of the day, since the paper had already come. Ray opened the door and there on the porch were carolers warbling away! Christmas carols early in the morning surely surprised us and gave us a great start to our day. Thanks to Geneva, Brion, Judy and Bob for some rousing renditions and for making me laugh that early, which is something I rarely do that time of day.
Today was mostly uneventful, we passed few people but got passed by lots of people. Ray got better at staying in the lane, except for one time when he drifted a bit much to the right and frightened a little sedan who had thought to pass us.
We had alot of heavy fog most of the day and it was chilly. Right before dark we go out from under it or above it and we saw one star brightly shining in the sky right ahead of us. It was beautiful! We think this RV park is also beautiful, but it's too dark to tell. We're off the highway quite a bit so it's quiet. Right across from the showers, so it will be a short but freezing dash over in the morning.
At a rest area just before Vancouver, we microwaved leftovers for lunch. MMM-mmm, good! It's such a treat to have a microwave in the motorhome as our last one had none. Norman always enjoys getting out for a stroll at the rest areas, he finds such fascinating smells. I was cold and wished he'd hurry up! Poor dog. The water dish we brought for the motorhome (the Watering Hole) works well. Norman has water all the time and the water does'nt slosh out of the dish.
After we got to Seven Feathers and slid out, hooked up and plugged in we decided on chili for supper. I'm glad I cooked the hamburger and froze it earlier in the week. It made dinner quicker. We are out of practice and this mh has more stuff to hook up, plug in, etc. It seemed to take a long time to be ready to cook, and past the time we were ready to eat!
We have discovered that none of the electrical plugs on the big slide out work! Grr on that! So much for crock-pot anything. Phooey. Ray is not sure the electrical heater in the back of the rig actually heats. I think the electrical heaters are too noisy. We found out we have mirror heaters. Not all discoveries are bad ones.
Tomorrow it will be beautiful mountain scenery for most of the day and then a bit in the flats to Corning, CA. Wish Ray luck in those mountains!
Today was mostly uneventful, we passed few people but got passed by lots of people. Ray got better at staying in the lane, except for one time when he drifted a bit much to the right and frightened a little sedan who had thought to pass us.
We had alot of heavy fog most of the day and it was chilly. Right before dark we go out from under it or above it and we saw one star brightly shining in the sky right ahead of us. It was beautiful! We think this RV park is also beautiful, but it's too dark to tell. We're off the highway quite a bit so it's quiet. Right across from the showers, so it will be a short but freezing dash over in the morning.
At a rest area just before Vancouver, we microwaved leftovers for lunch. MMM-mmm, good! It's such a treat to have a microwave in the motorhome as our last one had none. Norman always enjoys getting out for a stroll at the rest areas, he finds such fascinating smells. I was cold and wished he'd hurry up! Poor dog. The water dish we brought for the motorhome (the Watering Hole) works well. Norman has water all the time and the water does'nt slosh out of the dish.
After we got to Seven Feathers and slid out, hooked up and plugged in we decided on chili for supper. I'm glad I cooked the hamburger and froze it earlier in the week. It made dinner quicker. We are out of practice and this mh has more stuff to hook up, plug in, etc. It seemed to take a long time to be ready to cook, and past the time we were ready to eat!
We have discovered that none of the electrical plugs on the big slide out work! Grr on that! So much for crock-pot anything. Phooey. Ray is not sure the electrical heater in the back of the rig actually heats. I think the electrical heaters are too noisy. We found out we have mirror heaters. Not all discoveries are bad ones.
Tomorrow it will be beautiful mountain scenery for most of the day and then a bit in the flats to Corning, CA. Wish Ray luck in those mountains!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
At Last! A License Plate!
We finally got the final paperwork from McMahon's RV in Colton, CA. Do not go there unless you are prepared to nag, nag, nag for an end to the paperwork stoppage. 2 months from the day we signed the purchase papers (many of them) we finally got what we needed to license our motor home.
However, so far, we love Roy Robinson Chevy & RV up in Marysville, WA. The service department has been wonderful and treated us so well. Our motor home is fully checked out and ready to go!
We love our Winnebago! I bet we're going to love it more once we get out on our very first trip. Ray is taking tomorrow off so we can pack up all the things we think we'll need to take with us. Well, ok. We'll pack up all the junk Ray thinks we'll need. Poor motor home will probably be squatting by the time he's stuffed in an entire garagefull of tools that he'll never touch. (I hope we don't need any of them) Ray was a Scout and he loves to be prepared for anything. We still have a few things to pick up for the trip, don't quite know when we'll squeeze that in.
Ah! It occurs to me that we have not named the motor home yet! It's a Winnebago SightSeer, hmm. Winnie is obvious. Something less obvious? We could call her IOCC short for Icon of Conspicuous Consumption. There is something slightly embarrassing about roaming around in a semi-giant, lane-hogging, gas-guzzling motor home after all.
So tomorrow is packing day! Saturday morning way too early for me, we leave. Our destination Saturday night is Seven Feathers RV Resort in Canyonville, Oregon. It looks to be a very swank place. They even have 4 off leash dog parks! Norman is going to love it.
Keep tuned for the further road-worthy adventures of Susan, Ray and Norman. Hopefully, not in the rain.
However, so far, we love Roy Robinson Chevy & RV up in Marysville, WA. The service department has been wonderful and treated us so well. Our motor home is fully checked out and ready to go!
We love our Winnebago! I bet we're going to love it more once we get out on our very first trip. Ray is taking tomorrow off so we can pack up all the things we think we'll need to take with us. Well, ok. We'll pack up all the junk Ray thinks we'll need. Poor motor home will probably be squatting by the time he's stuffed in an entire garagefull of tools that he'll never touch. (I hope we don't need any of them) Ray was a Scout and he loves to be prepared for anything. We still have a few things to pick up for the trip, don't quite know when we'll squeeze that in.
Ah! It occurs to me that we have not named the motor home yet! It's a Winnebago SightSeer, hmm. Winnie is obvious. Something less obvious? We could call her IOCC short for Icon of Conspicuous Consumption. There is something slightly embarrassing about roaming around in a semi-giant, lane-hogging, gas-guzzling motor home after all.
So tomorrow is packing day! Saturday morning way too early for me, we leave. Our destination Saturday night is Seven Feathers RV Resort in Canyonville, Oregon. It looks to be a very swank place. They even have 4 off leash dog parks! Norman is going to love it.
Keep tuned for the further road-worthy adventures of Susan, Ray and Norman. Hopefully, not in the rain.
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