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30,000 kilometers!

Seaquest State Park - last night on the road

Seaquest State Park, Washington March 19, 2013 (242 miles)

I left at 7:30am this morning to try and beat the rain and wind storm that is forecast for later today. The road was nice and clear at first but it got pretty busy in a hurry. It sure is great that trucks can only go 55mph, what a difference that makes. In the other states where they are allowed to go 75mph, they pass me with such a wind blast that my trailer is picked up and pushed sideways. Gas is way cheaper in Oregon and state law makes it illegal to pump your own gas. That makes it very nice for customers. I went around Portland and Vancouver on the bypass highway #205. It was really busy and I was glad to get to its end, about 35 miles.

I chose to stay for my last night of the trip at Seaquest National State Park in Washington which is about half way between Portland and Tacoma. There is no internet that I can pick up with my hotspot but they have power and water for $28.00. That includes the $10 day fee. It was raining and there was no one there but the host, but I loved seeing and smelling the lovely big trees and could hardly wait to get out and walk on the trails.  We were out for a couple of hours on trails and also across the road at the Mt. St. Helen’s Visitor Center. There is a very nice wetlands area with a trail that goes for about 1 ½ miles. Due to the fog, I couldn’t see Mt. St. Helens.

As well as RV and tenting areas, they have yurts in a separate area with a volleyball net, horse shoe pits, and also large picnic areas and swing sets for kids. I really like this park even in the rain. It’s only about five miles off I-5 which cuts the noise but doesn’t take you too far off course.

I had almost forgotten about muddy shoes, and what a wet dog smells like in a small trailer. But it’s all good, he has been a loyal buddy and a dedicated guard for the whole trip, and he never complains, not when it’s hot, or cold, or when dinner is late.

When I looked at the lily pads in Silver Lake this afternoon, I remembered the first photographs of my trip were taken at Fairy Lake, when the lilies were in bloom last spring on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It’s been 29,310 kilometers since then, and my final leg of the journey starts tomorrow. What a fabulous trip. I can hardly wait to set off again - to see what’s around…the next bend.

Castle Crags - A cold night - and on to Oregon

Castle Crags and on to Oregon March 18^th

I shouldn't have mentioned the furnace in my last post. I got up at 3:00am because it was so cold. The thermometer showed 49 degrees F inside the trailer, and 32 outside. I flicked the heater lever, nothing. I noticed the fridge was off. I tried to light the stove in hopes that my guess was wrong, but no, I was out of propane. And the park ranger had told me when I arrived that there could be bears around due to the recent warm weather. And bears like to be out at night, right?

My thoughts raced on; perhaps the elusive cougar was also outside my door right now, sniffing out the only camper in the park.  I thought about doing nothing until it got light out, but I knew it would get very very cold inside if there was no heat for that long. My pipes could freeze, I could freeze. But it was so very dark out, and so isolated.

Ok, I would do it. I had to do it. But what about Baloo, would he help or hinder? What if he started barking and lurching at something in the dark, like he had done just before bed turning our late night sojourn into a quickie. I would have my hands full climbing into the truck and digging out the propane tank. Would he scare a wild animal off, or annoy it to the point of charging? Was this a moment I would second guess myself after?

Enough, it was bloody cold. I elected to leave him inside. My headlamp wouldn’t turn on. Curses, why at this time? I grabbed the hand held flash and headed out fast and swung the light in a 360 circle. Nothing moved, it was completely silent. I charged to the truck in my slippers and wrenched up the levers for the cover. I jumped up into the truck bed and did another 360 with the flashlight. I yanked out the tank like it weighed nothing, placed it on the tailgate and forced myself to get down carefully; a sprained ankle on a rock right now would really make me lose my temper. Then I had to do up the cover, because if it was left open, something big could get curious about all that stuff and jump in to check it out.

I unscrewed the other tank, pulled it out. Inserted the other one, and tightened the knob, turned it on. I could hear the propane spitting out, and I could smell it, the rotten egg product they put in it for safety. Quickly I unscrewed it, tightened it again. The same result. I pulled it apart again, looked in both pieces, all clear. One more try, I tightened it up, no sound and only the residual bad egg smell. I shone the light again and then raced in the trailer, my heart banging, as I slammed and locked the door. Safe. I started up the stove, then the water heater to get the gas flowing, and then finally begging it to start, I turned on the heater, and after a moment, heat began to come out. I laughed out loud; I couldn’t believe the ornery thing would start just like that because it had failed so many other times.

After all that, it was hard to get back to sleep. I wondered if the propane was leaking outside. I wondered if the window was open enough for fresh air. I had read stories about people in boats and out camping dying from lack of oxygen because of their heaters.  

Baloo heard things in the dark - twice in fact so he did his usual barking - loud, loud barking - in this tiny little space.

In the morning, I nearly filed away my face cream in the garbage can so I realized I had better be extra careful driving today – it’s a windy road ahead through all those mountains. Lots and lots of caffeine needed for today.

By the way, I found out the hard way that loud trucks go by all night on I-5.

It was a gorgeous drive through the passes seeing the snow topped mountains, especially Mt. Shasta. There were lots of farms with cows and horses in the valleys and the foothills, and the ground was beautiful in varying shades of spring green. I cranked up the radio and felt great singing along to old favourites. I thought about the interesting and fun people I have met, and the kindnesses and gift of friendship. All together it has restored my faith and trust in the goodness of people. It has been such a great trip, and I have seen so much beauty.

By 2:00pm and 200 miles later I was in a small Oregon town called Sutherlin and because I was so tired, knew I could go no further. I checked out RV places on my GPS and found one called Hi-Way Haven RV Park. It’s a very nice RV park with little wall sections between camp sites and it’s all very nicely laid out and super clean. It's $34 per night but with my Passport America discount, I get 50% off from Monday-Thursday so that’s a good deal. It's got showers, laundry, a small dog area and movies too. They have a big screen so that you can sit in your trailer, tune into their radio station and watch it. A very cool idea. And they have daffodils!

I was already to head to the coast tomorrow and continue up on highway 101, but I just saw the weather report – rain, and winds up to 60mph on the coast, and snow expected in the interior. March looks like it’s going to go out like a lion, and I have one final storm to weather.

Castle Crags State Park March 17th

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! 

I decided to take it easy today and had a nice Sunday drive for about 46 miles from Redding to this state park. Shasta Lake looked very pretty as I drove by, green water and orange shorelines but I couldn’t find an easy place to pull off and admire it.

Castle Crags State Park is unfortunately very close to I-5, I can see the trucks going by, and hear them.There is a train too, but I like the sound of it. No one else is camping in the park, I am wondering where the other hearty souls are, or do they know something I do not? The roads are very narrow in this park and the sites small and challenging to get into. I wouldn’t want to be here in anything bigger than my 14 foot trailer. ($25.00 - no power or water)

Oops...tough making the turns!

I set up in the usual hurry and then hiked up the Vista Road which was a good workout and walked along the very smooth Vista Trail where we reached a viewpoint with benches and two viewing glasses. It was really spectacular with the Gray Rocks on the left, the Castle Crags dead ahead, and the stunningly beautiful Mt. Shasta, which is over 14,000 feet. It had snow being blown off its peak. We continued hiking and came to the Pacific Crest Trail which was neat so we hiked on that for a bit too and thought of "Cheryl" making her lonely way along it with that dreadful pack and the black toes.

 Castle Crags

 The Gray Rocks

 Snow being blown off the peak of Mt. Shasta

It was light out until nearly 8pm and I had a nice campfire, but it finally got too chilly.  I guess it’s time to pack away my shorts. Now where the heck did I stash my warm clothes? I sure hope my heater will work!

 Pacific Crest Trail extends for 8 miles through the park (trail runs from Mexico to Canada)

 Narrow one lane road up to Vista Trail - no RVs - passing would be a challenge

 Castle Crag St Park Campsite #36 - where did everyone go?

Redding, California March 16-17, 2013

I started off before the sun rose so that I could avoid early morning traffic going through Sacramento and heading for Redding (201 miles). Actually I don’t think the traffic ever stops. It was worth getting up to see the sun rise above fog in the fields. I got wet feet this morning walking Baloo, it’s been a long time since I have experienced dew in the morning.

After Sacramento the traffic thinned out and I began to enjoy the drive through farms and orchards. We stopped at a rest stop and the blossoms smelled and looked beautiful. Baloo had a lovely time rolling around in the grass. The most interesting sign I saw today was “Guided Goose Hunts”. And I saw my first Canadian Geese today, what a pity they were given that name. 

I stopped in at a California Welcome Centre – the first one I have seen so far and after checking out the RV parks decided to stay at the Marina RV Park because it is right downtown on the Sacramento River where there is a park with hiking and biking trails. ($29.70 with the Good Sam discount.) And the famous, (or infamous – depends if you are a tax payer I was told the original price was half that) 22 million dollar Sundial Bridge.

There is also a suspension bridge over the river built just for walkers and cyclists, and I rode along the river to it – about 5 miles each way. It was great fun on a sunny day, and I talked to several young families and kids on bikes. I was surprised to see the Peace Labyrinth and enjoyed walking it.  As I rode back to the park I also found another sundial and tried it out, very simple, cheap I will bet, and it worked perfectly.

All in all, another totally amazing day!

 Suspension bridge - it bounces quite nicely

 Trail along the Sacramento River

 Peace labyrinth

It’s hard to leave this place when there are so many interesting trails and the sun is so beautiful, but my time is nearly up – so I shall head north, but only for a few miles, about 45 to be exact, to the Shasta Trinity National Forest and the Castle Crags State Park. Procrastination? 

I have updated the map showing my route.

Walnut Grove, South of Sacramento, Friday March 15

Walnut Grove, South of Sacramento, Friday March 15

Another warm and perfect morning – which makes it doubly hard to be heading north. I set out at 9am heading west on Highway 198 West to catch I-5 North. Turns out it took me a lot longer than the RV Park guy said, about an hour. At any rate, I had made the decision and kept on even though my GPS kept telling me to pull a U-turn. At least I avoided Fresno and further bumps on Highway 99N.

The western mountains finally became visible through the dust or smog, or combination of particulate matter and I was pleasantly surprised to see how beautiful they looked. They were streaked with brown and cream, and green on the north side. And I-5N was pretty quiet. I settled in driving at 55mph, the maximum for vehicles pulling a trailer and let all the speedy guys whoosh by me at their maximum of 75mph which I highly doubt they paid attention. What it meant for me is that they appeared quickly in little convoys and then disappeared just as quickly. Sometimes it seemed like I had the freeway to myself. The road surface was much better than 99 but about half way along, it started to get rough on the overpasses, and remained that way. I pretty well had to slow down for most of them, or have a real rocking ride if I didn’t. And there were a lot of them.

 One area where the lanes are close together

In the dusty sections there were posted signs in the fields saying “Congress created dust bowl” which I am not quite sure about what that means. In other areas there were canals and viaducts and beautiful green fields and orchards climbing the lower rolling hills.  I saw trees full of white and pink blossoms, and in some places the blossoms were so thick on the ground that it looked like snow. I was wishing I knew which fruit or nut the trees were. It was as though someone knew what I was thinking. Along came a sign for an orchard that said “Oranges”. The next sign down the road said “Mandarins” and I smiled at the third sign, it said “Lemons too”. The final sign said “Enjoy more citrus”.

I stopped for gas, and for a quick snack at McDonalds’, and at a “Vista” to take pictures which is a viewpoint in California where you can pull off. This one was up a hill, and it provided a nice view of the surrounding countryside.

Back on the road, I was nice and relaxed until all of a sudden I was in the midst of six lanes of traffic on the outskirts of Stockton, and it being Friday afternoon, it was pretty busy. Of course there was construction, shoulder construction, and that means no space on the right side because they put concrete barriers along there. It went on for miles. And there were lots and lots of big trucks. At one point, three of them were nose to nose coming up the ramp on the right to merge into my lane. A semi was in front of me so I couldn't speed up, one was right on my tail, and I looked to my left, and there was a big semi sitting right there and not moving. I felt like I was going to get squished big time but at the very last moment, the truck on my left seemed to wake up and pulled over one lane, and I swerved over, my heart beating like mad.

After Stockton I realized how tired I felt, it was almost 2 which meant I had been on the road or dilly dallying around for five hours and that was enough for one day. I checked my GPS for campgrounds avoiding the expensive KOA ones and found one twelve miles west on a river. I imagined fishing boats,  a nice dock to walk on, a lovely peaceful walk along the river and perhaps a bike ride along a quiet country road. It would be worth the drive I was sure. 

Unfortunately, it turned out to be a dumpy mobile home park with a busy road between it and the river, and no shoulders to walk on. And they wanted $30.00 for the site – but it had no picnic table, no fire ring, there were no washrooms, and no laundry. So once again, it was haggle time. I managed to get the fee dropped to $20.00 and that included power, but no water and no sewage. Fine. And tomorrow morning, I will get up early and sneak through Sacramento before anyone is awake. Another 231 miles to the good today.

 Once a dock, but no more, all overgrown down to the river

Hey Big Boy - a spring cleaning this year could sure make a difference!

Calico to Visalia

Calico and then Visalia, California – March 14

I started off the day with a ghost town sized breakfast at the Calico House Restaurant. There are hundreds of peanut shells on the floors, and a pretty grey cat makes it stand out from an ordinary code following restaurant, but the grub was good. I thought I had a pretty good appetite but I watched a couple beside me order the bacon and eggs and top it off with two lumberjack sized pancakes so I felt kind of diminutive in size and had no guilt in cleaning my plate.

The $2.00 a ride train went by on its eight minute route around the mine site. The buildings are pretty interesting, both on the site and down below at the end of the first parking lot. There are several gift stores as well. One of the shopkeepers came out with a leather saddle for Baloo. I asked him if he didn’t think I was a little too big to ride on his back. He laughed and said No Ma’am, it’s all for show, and it will only set you back $60.00. As I walked away I heard him say to his buddy sitting in the rocking chair on the deck, “Well I tried.”

Before coming into Bakersfield there were some steep hills with cattle grazing on them. And then the valley spread out and it would have been beautiful except for the heavy brown haze that obscured the view. I stopped in at a park after an hour to stretch my legs and when I got out the grass was being cut. I haven't smelled fresh grass for at least 6 months. I felt like rolling in it!
A family was having a picnic in the park and a little boy who was too shy to pat Baloo came over and gave me a can of coke. His sister came over also and although Baloo did his best in sitting, laying, rolling over, and shaking a paw, she managed to give him just one lightning pat.

Tonight I pulled into a KOA because it came up on my GPS and is a couple miles off the highway, perfect I thought until I saw the price - $37.00. That's sucks big time, but I was too tired to continue so I am sitting at the picnic table enjoying the warmth - 85' and the electricity, and plan for a nice hot shower. I also washed my truck and trailer (possibly illegal), but that must have saved me a few bucks. I went for a ride on my bike but the first two vehicles really cruised by close to me, and that kind of shook me up - I watched them to see if they were together, but one turned off, and the other continued down the road. I guess they don't like bikers, either that or their brains match their driving skills. 

Tomorrow I think I will have to go on I-5 because the road surface is better - horrors! I think I have about 15 more hours to reach the border. And looking at the map I don't see many options for finding nice state parks to stay at in California.

Calico Ghost Town – California

Calico Ghost Town – California

Well I made it to the golden state – California, and it’s hot, dry, and desert like, just like a lot of what I saw in Arizona. But now it’s called the Mojave National Preserve. And stopping alongside it at the rest stop on I-40 takes a driver out of an air conditioned stupor in a hurry. So does the price of gas, it’s up a buck a gallon once we crossed over the river from Arizona

While getting gas the mechanic came out and looked at my tires and said that one tire was nearly bald on the outside rim, and he would change it using the spare tire. Uh oh, I thought. Sure enough he cheerfully said the other rear tire was also in tough shape and before going further into the desert I should have new tires. Ok, whatever, it’s only money. I wasn’t sure if new tires were absolutely necessary at that moment or not, but all along I have been afraid of having a tire blow out on the freeway and I knew I would feel better if they were new tires.

So that took some time as I had him check the trailer tire and lug nuts too. All was in order and I reached Barstow, stopping in at McDonald’s at the Barstow Station and planning on using the internet to located a campsite, but no luck, they don’t have w-fi there. So I set it up in the steaming hot parking lot and read the reviews for local RV parks. None looked good and so I decided to head 11 miles north to the County park – the Calico Ghost Town. It was worth the drive and I was so glad to have found it.

Within ten seconds of arriving I was invited for cocktails but I could hardly wait to get out hiking so I found a site at the top of the hill where there was no power or water and thought that it would be a lot cheaper. I had heard that full service sites were $35.00 per night and I didn’t want to pay that much. The hills above were perfect for easy climbing, and we went up for a good half hour. Near the top, I thought I heard a drum. Then I realized how fast the sun was setting, and that I really didn’t know this area at all. So I headed back down as fast as I could go and still not run the chance of tripping or sliding.

Once down, the ranger found me for the camping fee - $30.00! I was shocked and told him that was too much to park on gravel. He told me not to shoot the messenger so I restrained myself and paid.

I lit a campfire, and it turned out to be a magical night – a deep profound silence in the hills where I was camped. A sliver of a moon, and the bowl’s walls framed the stars. 

 Lake Havasu State Park looking across to Lake Havasu City

Lake Havasu State Park March 12

It was an interesting drive – miles of desert, a few cattle ranches, more desert, interesting rock formations, red rock canyons and orange hills. Lake Havasu and the Colorado River from which it has been created is located on the edge of the Sonoran Desert, and summer temperatures rise to triple digits. Today it was scorching hot – in the 40’s! I got in at 3:00pm and the second thing that assailed my senses after the heat was the sound of high powered boats flying across the lake.

Then as I was backing my trailer into my campsite a guy came walking by and told me I was in his site. I stopped immediately, but it turned out that he was joking with me. haha…Then he asked if I would be swimming and when I said yes, he told me that all I needed was some pasties to put on, that’s all that the women were wearing at the beach, and he continued being helpful, telling me that they were available at the store. As I continued to set up my trailer, I had the distinct feeling that I may not like this place. Because of my truck trouble I also had lost one night at the campsite – no refunds for any reason – it’s the policy don't you know.

I set out on foot along the lake front to see the London Bridge that had been imported from England and found the Bridgewater Canal walk that went under the bridge and along the water. It was a great walk but it got quite crowded with hundreds of young people many of whom were celebrating to the max - it was spring break for Arizona, and nearly all of the lucky students seemed to have showed up at Lake Havasu.

 London Bridge at Lake Havasu

Lights included

Back at the campsite Baloo and I enjoyed a swim – it was very refreshing and the water was crystal clear. 

During the night there was lots of noise as the parties carried on, and in the morning I saw a large RV with people sleeping high on the roof. I was glad to see that no bodies had rolled off. I biked over the London Bridge and rode along a 3 ½ mile paved exercise loop on the island. There were lots of Snowbirds out walking along the trail. It had some beautiful view points to look out on the lake and the river.

Cool, clear water

As there were no campsites left, I would have to move to the overflow parking lot which looked fine, but seem as I had to pack up anyway, and it was extremely hot, I decided to head out – destination to be determined. Sometimes it just takes too long to figure out a destination, it works better to just put some miles in and see what's...around the next bend.

Truck trouble and Casa Grande

Casa Grande RV Park – Arizona March 11, 2013

Some days start off beautifully with blue sky, desert plants filling out after the rain, and a plan in place for the next destination – White Tank Regional Park - west of Phoenix, south of Wickenburg. But I had only just turned on I-8 to bypass the business of Phoenix when the truck suddenly started to shake and emergency lights came on. Stabilization system out of alignment. Engine power reduced. This did not look good and luckily for me there in front of me was Exit 169 with space to get off the highway. It seemed suddenly to be a pretty desolate stretch of highway.

I called BCAA and after 10 minutes of getting passed around like a football, I finally reached someone who promised to help me.  There were lots of details to talk about but the sticking point was which city was I near to. That I didn’t know, so I had to get out my map and located the #10/#8 junction and pick the closest city. After that it was plain sailing with the promise of a tow truck within an hour. I received 3 more phone calls – luckily I have a portable inverter so that I could plug in my cell phone, why do they always start to die when you need them most? They wanted to assure me that under the program I still had 3 more tows available, that I had towing up to 100 miles, and that the tow truck was on its way. Next the tow truck driver phoned to verify where I was. Then another phone call came in from BCAA asking if I needed highway patrol. How do people drive without cell phones?

The tow truck was very neat the way it picked up my truck making it look like a light toy, and then the driver attached my trailer to a hitch behind it. And off we went. The driver was very nice and told me that he knew where I could stay at an RV park that was just a mile away from the GMC dealership. I thought small town, small dusty RV park, but I was way off base. This Casa Grande RV park is immaculate and has two pools – yes, two! And a lovely hot tub, modern washrooms with showers, laundry, library, games rooms, and a dog area. All for $15.00 per night because I have PA - what a deal! The only negative is that it is along the highway but longer term people get put in the back area where it is quieter. And you have to get used to being pretty cozy with your neighbours. My wee trailer looks pretty funny next to all the big diesel pushers and coaches in this park. But everyone is very friendly.

By 3:00pm I was in the hot tub chatting away with guests, most of whom were Canadians. And after that I was invited for margaritas and smoked Alaskan salmon to Alan and Tracy Macgillivray’s trailer, they spend winters here, summers in Sooke, BC.  A tough start to the day, but hey, what an ending! J

This morning the truck is in at the dealership and I am waiting to hear what’s up. In the meantime I have cleaned the many layers of dust on all the windows and screens on my trailer.  Pool time next I think. And then who knows what is around the next bend?