We are Home

 

 

After we made it over the mountain in Northern California, we spent the night at the Black Bear Casino in Fortuna Ca. We have stayed here before, and this time we got to try there beautiful new dining room, we had lunch, checked out the casino, but it was so Smokey I couldn’t breathe, so we went back to the RV.

Our plan the next morning was to drive to Florence Oregon, the weather was great, it was so nice to drive highway 101 through forests and along the the ocean side.

It was early when we got to Florence, so we decided to drive on back to I-5 and Eugene Or. For three years we have stopped and the Valley River Center in Eugene, It has the best spot for parking. As soon as you arrive the security car comes and registers the RV

There are miles of lighted trails to walk all along the Willamette River.

 

The next day Friday  was an easy drive to Marysville and a stay at the Casino.

Saturday we drove to Anacortes and stayed at the RV park at the Casino. It was a long time since we had full hook ups. Skip’s sister lives in Anacortes, so we went over for a pizza and to pick up our kayak.

We crossed the border early Sunday morning, no problems at all, just the usual three or four questions. It’s always tense for me crossing the border, Skip doesn’t mind so much.

We were home about 1pm Sunday the 9th, two or three days earlier than planned.We think that if we had to we could be home is 4 1/2 days from the southwest.

I have the RV cleaned out, and everything washed and put back.

Now to tackle the yard.

Jean

A Gift For You

 

Col Chris Hadfield

Will be the first Canadian Astronaut to command the  the International Space Station. He is a  husband, a father. a scientist, a pilot, an athlete, a musician. He has over 400 twitter followers and a really interesting Facebook page.

When I was sick recently my sister sent me this lovely video, that was recorded in early Feb this year. I hope you will  watch it and enjoy it,

http://music.cbc.ca/#/concerts/Chris-Hadfield-and-Barenaked-Ladies-ISS-Is-Somebody-Singing-2013-02-05

 

Jean

Stupidity

 

Driving up I –5 in March means you have to be aware of a couple of mountain passes that can ruin your day really quick. We knew there was a chance that there would be snow on the Sisikew  Pass on the California/ Oregon border, ( which is the reason we usually take 101 over on the coast.)  We were hoping for the best as we motored along enjoying a beautiful sunny day.

We noticed  a sign saying truckers would be checked for chains just outside of Redding CA, so when we stopped at  Red Bluff, Skip quizzed the man at the Pilot Travel Center about whether we would be allowed on the pass. The man said they would probably weigh us  and more than likely they would require us to chain up. So Skip said would I just be better to head for the coast, and the fellow said I would.

A check of the map showed to routes one from Redding and what appeared to be a shorter route highway 36 from Red Bluff.

It started out as a pretty windy road through  ranch land.

We didn’t pass many vehicles, and the road was dry so we were pretty happy with our choice.

After maybe thirty miles we could see snow on the mountains ahead of us, but the road was still dry and everything was fine, we saw a sign near Platina that  said chain area, four wheel drive or winter tires were ok. Still no snow on the road, so we continued on, until we saw a small patch on the side of the road, then we turned a corner and saw this.

We had no where to turn around, we kept thinking we would come to an area without a drop off and be able to turn around

We saw a snow plow go by us and the driver gave us a big wave, like it was perfectly normal for us to be driving up a mountain in a motor home towing a car.

We could have stopped, but we knew it was the warmest time of the day, and we didn’t want to go down on frozen pavement.

We finally made it down the other side, I’m not sure but I think there was four summits and we were at almost 6000 ft. at  one point.

We won’t be doing that again, I had a little argument in our defense, but there is way we should have taken that route.

Our poor little tracker that Skip keeps so clean and shiny.

 

Jean

Heading Home

 

We are just north of Sacramento, it’s been a pretty rough week, we left Yuma last Wednesday, heading for Desert Center. We couldn’t find the spot we were looking for, so we continued to the Cottonwood entrance to Joshua Tree Park. By the time we got there I was feeling like I was getting another cold, and a day later I was as sick as I have ever been. Poor Skip has had to do everything including walking three dogs. We are still hoping to be home next Monday or Tuesday.

Jean