2019 trip south Day 2

DAY 2

Up, up and away - from Kelso Elks RV Park, but not very quickly.  Out at 10:30 at 51383 miles and heading for Portland.  Les Bullis had suggested the 205 bypass route so we tried it.  Entered it at 11 AM, got to the Oregon border, (middle of Columbia River), by 11:10 @ 51427 miles.  It’s a lot better than going through downtown Portland, slightly longer route but worth it.  Our poor GPS got completely bambozzeled and kept trying to get me to take side roads back into Portland.  About 15 or so miles from the end of the 42 mile bypass route it gave up and told me I 5 was straight ahead.  Back on I 5 we headed for our gas stop, in @ 51462 miles @ 11:50, full tank by 12:05 and went to have lunch at the Flying J’s Subway restaurant from 12:05 to, back on road by, 12:35. It’s a nice clear day slight cloud, lots of sun. We’re heading for Seven Feathers Casino dry camp parking lot so we can spend our camping money on their Buffet - $9.99 Mon to Thurs.  We got here at 3:35 at 51640 miles.  Parked near the casino.  I started the generator to investigate if we could pick up WiFi and they have a guest log-in good for 8 hours.  By the way I need the generator because the computer battery is dead, (it said it was good for 5 minutes when I turned it on to check it, and that’s after being plugged in yesterday for hours).  Well, off to the Casino and their $9.99 buffet.  After a mountain of excellent food, I’m stuffed;  lots of variety incl blackberry pie & ice cream with blackberry sauce for topping.  After supper Sheila stayed to play. She came back a bit later to see if I wanted to return to the casino with her because she’d discovered it was Karoke Night in the bar and the people singing--all regulars, with the exception of one, were very good!  She thought they could have been singing professionally!  And, of course, there’s no cover charge on Karoke Night.  I thanked her for coming back for me, but decided I was really tired and just didn’t feel like going out.  I just wanted to relax and eventually go to bed.  Sheila returned to the casino to listen to some more good singers, (she said the highlight for her was an older woman who sounded just like Etta James when she sang “At Last”).  She returned about 10:15 pm.   I  came back to RV to do the blog & post it. 


Day 3 Jan16

We were nice and warm all night and in the morning it was warm in the rig—not like last night when Sheila’s feet were cold all night!  We slept in and eventually got up and got ready to roll, out Seven Feathers by 10:15 at 51641 miles and off to a gas stop. Off hwy to the Pilot stn at 51708 miles @ 11:35, filled up and away at 11:40 and off to Fred Myers to get my annual phone card with 100 minutes for $99, (& no tax in Oregon).  Off hwy at 51715, did our shopping, had a quick lunch at the Deli in the grocery section of Fred Meyers, and back on hwy @ 12:40. Over Siskiyou Pass, elevation 4340 ft, according to our GPS.  Up to now the weather has been overcast, no wind, with the odd sprinkle of rain.  We entered Calif @ 1:15 and the weather just got worse & worse.  High winds swirling in every direction, pouring rain that came down the highway in sheets blown by the wind.  Not a fun drive!  When you are a wide as us, you don’t have a lot of room to manoeuvre but I managed not to side swipe anyone.  Sheila was buried in a book which was good; it kept her from getting white knuckled when the RV shifted sideways in the wind.  We did stop at a rest area for 5 minutes so I could change our GPS to take us to the Red Bluff Elks which is about 50 miles closer than Nancy’s Café & the Walmart for free parking overnight.  I just wanted to get off the road and out of the storm without making tomorrow’s plan unfeasible.  We pulled off the I 5 at 4:05 & were in the RV Park by 4:12.  One plus is that now we have power and might see if we can pick up some TV tonight.  Also so much for planning things before they happen, I just had to mention Nancy’s Airport Café in Willows & jinx myself.  Anyway we went up to the Elks lodge building which is behind the parking lot a cpl hundred feet away.  It was windy and I had to hold the umbrella sideways to stop the rain. We paid for our spot ($15) and got WiFi so we could check stuff out.  I stayed for their supper but Sheila came back to rig. She had leftover food from lunch and she wasn’t thrilled with the menu at the Elks so she returned to the RV. After almost 3 hours battling the wind, rain, poor visibility & lots of trucks on the hwy, I just wanted to sit & have a nice quiet meal. I arrived back at the RV about 6:30.  It is still rainy & windy.  The RV is shaking and quaking as the roof is being bombarded  by pine cones from an over-hanging tree in addition to the thunder of raindrops

Covered 249 miles, on the road 5 hrs