Day 4 Feb 19 Sunday

No overnight flooding so all is well. We left Willows at 10:20 @ 44765. Rest stop 11:35 to 12:00, Flying J @ 12:50, 44883, put in 53 .05 USG @ $2.41/gallon. Finished at 1:00, then lunch on Subs again. We are “Subbing” our way south.  We finished lunch & were away by 1:50 and into Modesto Elks @ 2:45 @ 44927.  We were originally going for Orange Grove RV but it would have meant driving after dark again so we stopped early today.  It is windy with rain showers.  As a matter of fact we have had the windshield wipers on almost constantly since we left home.  Also we have yet to turn on the A/C in the RV, we have the heater running all the time while driving, it’s on low but it’s on. The temperature has not been great either, we’ve seen it get as high as 51F, (10.5 C), and it is a lot lower at night, in the low to mid 40’s, (45 F = 7 C).  At Modesto Elks we went into the lodge where they have WiFi to catch up (or try) with internet stuff.  Sheila hasn’t yet heard from her Dentist, so we will head to the Fountain of Youth RV park where Les & Dorothy Bullis, (Roamers friends), are staying.  Around the beginning of March we will head for Golden Village Palms to be there for Sheila’s Birthday and a Concert/Dance by “The Art of Sax” group.  We will probably book a month at least to start as our travel insurance is good to 25 April.  We’ll work the dentist thing in whenever.  One thing that seems to be working out OK, (so far), is that whatever caused the drips on the dashboard seems to have fixed itself, it was raining all day today but no water appeared on the dashboard. In the bar, about 5 pm, a large pot of chilli, homemade cornbread & some yummy-looking chocolate squares appeared & we were told to help ourselves.  Supper!  And the price was right!  We returned to the RV and watched a movie—“Runaway Jury” that Sheila had brought.  It was quite suspenseful. 

Only 162 miles today, on road 3 hours

Day 3 Feb 18 Saturday

Happy Birthday Mikaela.

Sheila has gone down to the pool for one last swim.  After raining all night it is now slightly overcast with the sun coming out. We seem to have a small amount of water on the dashboard, I wiped it up.  I think that with all the freeze & thaw that a seal on the front windshield may have loosened or separated, time will tell.   Finally out 7 Feathers at 11:30 @ 44469 mi. South on I5 to a Pilot station to get gas before hitting Calif. In at 12:55 @ 44536, finished gassing up by 1:10 and then went to a parking spot at the station to have lunch—(Sheila had gotten a Subway sandwich).  We finished lunch & were on I-5 south by 1:40 with .Sheila driving.  She went up & over the Siskiyou summit @ 2:15 & into Calif. at 2:25, and on down hill in Calif & she pulled into a rest area to change drivers at 3:15. We had been headed for the Walmart in Willows & Nancy’s Airport Café.  Sheila thought that as it is a Saturday that the Elks in Red Bluff might be having a dance or something so we headed there, but their RV lot was full & overflowing with people parking rigs in the car parking lot and more cars arriving. There was nowhere I could get our 50 plus feet of RV & car out of the way and so we left as even more cars poured into the lot. Then we saw a sign for the Rolling Hills Casino 9 miles down the road and it said they have an RV Park so let’s check it out.  Well, we got to the registration building where it said $28.00 for a night, and it also said ‘Lot full’.  There were RV’s parked in amongst the big rigs but I thought Wal-Mart would be nicer and we could have a great dinner at Nancy’s Airport Café.  So down the Hwy for another 27 miles and we tried to pull into Wal-Mart at 6:30 at 44765 miles but the entrances were blocked off and the parking lot looked strangely empty even though lights were on. There was no water now but they looked like they had been flooded!  Enroute down we saw Rest Areas closed with a lot of water over roadways and some side roads closed and areas with very large pools of water surrounding trees.  I think it must be from the Sacramento River or very heavy rain but I am not sure.  Anytime we went past a river that we could see from the road it was full & fast and had overflowed its banks.

Then we went across the street to Nancy’s Café where we saw lots of large puddles in the parking lot and the entrance door had a ring of sandbags in front of it.  I went in and you could see on the floor by the outside wall a 2 to 3 foot strip of brown dirt.  They had a crew sandbagging to keep any more water out.  As it was now dark we decided we weren’t going anywhere else—3 tries was enough!  Besides, there was nothing for many miles where we could overnight. So-o, even if more water comes up during the night we are high & could drive through a foot or more easily. A girl from Nancy’s Café  was out in the dark clearing debris from the wire fence that was near us, she said it was the Sacramento River that had flooded and they had had 15 inches in the parking lot!  We had a delicious dinner in the RV, (thank goodness Sheila had shopped yesterday) and we’re going to watch a movie on DVD but we couldn’t figure out how to play it!  Sheila said she wasn’t surprised, since nothing else went right today!

229 miles, on the road 6 hrs 15 min

Day 2 Feb 17 Friday

It’s Daylight and the problem with the water tank plug continues.  I can’t get it to screw in far enough to seal. I’ll have to take it to a shop.  I will try to find a Camping World or I will go to McKay RV Services in Albany where I have been before, they do good reliable work.  We have water in the water tank so we just turn on the pump to get it, no hot water of course.  So, out of the Kelso Elks at 44217 miles @ 10:40.  We almost immediately hit a closure of 2 of the 3 driving lanes and a long backup; it took us 1 hour to go 20 miles, not a great start.   Into Flying J in Oregon at 1:00 @ 44287 miles & filled up at $2.24 a gallon less 5 cents I get off using my Flying J charge card.  We also got a foot long sub sandwich on sale at their Subway for lunch.  There was nowhere to park our rig there so we left at 1:40.  It took longer this gas stop because we had to wait for someone to come & fill the tank, Oregon doesn’t allow self serve and it takes a while to put in 62 gallons plus the lunch shopping. We found a rest area at 2:15 at 44329 mi, for lunch and back on road at 2:45.  Then off again to McKay RV Services arriving at 2:50 @ 44329 mi. They found that the internal threads were damaged probably by someone trying to get a stuck plug out with a screwdriver.  On route there thanks to potholes and rough road we also lost the catch that holds the water heater access door closed.  They were able to use a tap to ream out the threads so they could get the plug back in. All they charged me was $5.00 for the door catch I purchased. Finally something went well ! Out at 3:20 and down the road to the Albany Fred Meyer at 44335 mi where we got groceries & a new one year phone card as our year time expires in March. We thought of staying overnight at Fred Meyer, (I asked & it was OK), but we both wanted to get to Seven Feathers Casino RV Park with their hot tub & swimming pool.  So off we went, leaving Albany at 4:50 and finally arriving in the dark at 7:05 at 44469 mi.  We hooked up & headed for a relaxing hot tub, Sheila even swam a while in the pool. Then a late supper in the RV and to try to catch up on emails, blog entries and logging my expenses. I have decided that no more driving in the dark on winding roads going up & down hills.  I was wishing we had Ken with his great night vision with us. Also, so far the water heater plug seems to be holding fine, no leaks.

252 miles - close to 6 hrs with lots of stops, starts,

The actual trip starts - Day 1

Thurs, Feb 16
After much rigmarole we are finally off with our new car, new tow gear, but same old RV & occupants.  We left home at 10:10, stopped for breakfast at A & W 10:25 – 10:45 & got to storage by 10:50.  Parked stuff into RV from car, hooked car up and set it up to tow according to instructions & away   by 11:30, at 43957 miles on RV. We arrived at the border 12:15, finally clear 1:00, no problems, just lots of cars.  There seemed to be a build up of traffic going into Seattle so we opted to go the hwy 405 route. Half way down it slowed to a crawl and stayed that way all the way through Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, and past the Fort Lewis area.  Traffic finally speed up about 80 or so miles from Kelso but the slow traffic made us later & later until we were running in the dark the last hour or so. We finally pulled into the Kelso Elks at 6:15 at 44217 on RV, 260 miles total 5 hrs & 15 minutes non stop from the border. I hooked us up to power & water and then went into the Elks Lodge & had supper there, a nice dinner. Came out to find water dribbling from the hot water tank plug, I hadn’t got it in tight enough so I just filled the big fresh water tank & turned off the hose and I’ll deal with it in the morning when it is daylight. Not a great start so far.

260 miles, 5 hrs 15 mins

snow & other delays as of Feb 10

The car insurance got settled finally, picked up cheque today.  Picked up our 2016 Ford Focus yesterday, got the tow brackets removed from old Focus and dropped all parts & car off at West Coast RV.  They then gave us the news that the 2010 Focus base plate doesn't fit the 2016 Focus so the have to order one.  Problem is that today is Friday and this is a long weekend with a holiday Monday so Tuesday is the earliest now to get the car back.  Delay, Delay, Delay, will we ever get away!!!!!

snow, snow, & more snow

Sat Feb 4
It's Saturday eve & after clearing the driveway Fri morn it is now under another 4 or so inches of snow.   Since Friday we have had about 6 1/2 inches of snow & more in the forecast.  This will cause problems with me getting out to the car in Maple Ridge to get the registration for our old car that CDI insurance needs and possibly us getting downtown to pick up cheques.

slow progress but at least progress

Friday Feb 3
They have processed the claim, have come up with an overall figure and i just need to sign some papers to get the cheque.  They will phone on Monday once all the paper work is done & I can go down, hopefully, on Tuesday & get a check.  Then we can see about another car and heading south. WE HOPE!!!!!!!