Catching Up On Posts

I'm currently recovering from battling the wind on 101 so I'm taking this time to catch up on the posts I haven't yet written for this trip.

I've had pretty good luck finding RV parks on a new app...RV Parky.  OK, three RV parks but I've liked them.  Especially the one I'm at right now.  But, more on this one later.

The one in Bakersfield, CA, Orange Grove RV Park, was my favorite until where I'm at now.  The next couple pictures are from Orange Grove RV Park...

  You'll know you're there when you see the weirdly shaped trees...

Between then (June 5, 6) and now (June 11), I've stayed at two KOAs because I was tired and they were close.  It certainly wasn't because they're inexpensive.  However, I will recommend the last one to families.  It's in Willits, CA and it's very kid oriented.  It was 101 degrees when I was there so it was rather quiet on all the play things.  There was a family of rabbits with many babies running around the miniature golf course.  I can see where families with children would love it.  I stayed there June 8th and it was before the wind, so a nice drive.  

I needed to move around after sitting inside my motorhome all day so when it cooled off a bit I went and talked to an older couple sitting outside their motorhome.  Turns out the reason they were outside in the hot weather was because their roof air conditioner was broken and it was cooler outside than inside.  Yikes!!!  Unfortunately, the only RV repairer in the area was closed on Monday.  

June 9th we stayed at the Mad River Rapids RV Park in Arcata, OR and it was ok.  There was a Mexican restaurant we could walk to and I liked that.  Since I'm not towing a vehicle it's a pain to have to undo everything after I've hooked up, so a restaurant within walking distance is a plus for me.  Also, it was cool enough to finally turn the generator off.  

I found the Mad River Rapids RV Park on RV Parky and it didn't look like the pictures on the internet.  It was ok and while I would stay there again, I probably won't.

Yesterday started out well.  I found a gas station first thing so I filled up and got back on 101.  We stopped for lunch at Sunset Family Pizza in Gold Beach, OR and the wind was already blowing by the time we got there.  The pizza was fantastic, by the way, and I highly recommend them.  

We were told that it would be windy the rest of the way up 101 and that was not good news.  I was thinking about driving 101 all the way up to Sequin, WA but not if I have the battle to stay on the road the whole way.  Maybe I exaggerate, but I don't think so.  Right now, as I type this, my motorhome is rocking due to the wind.  

We're at the Osprey Point RV Resort in Lakeside, OR and what a find!!!  I have a lake view from where I'm parked and it's lovely...except for the wind.  

There is a pub and pizza joint here so that's a positive.  We're surrounded by green trees and I'm loving it.  I had reached the saturation point for desert beige in Tucson and was needing a green fix and this place is doing that for me.

I have friends to visit in Vancouver and Battle Ground, WA, so I think that tomorrow I'll drive 101 to Reedsport, hook up with 39 until I-5.  My friend in Battle Ground says the winds are mild so that sounds pretty positive to me.

Having fun on the road!!!

June 7th

My last two trips, in my Alfa, started out being very expensive due to repairs.  I was luckier this time and didn’t have any issues until Sunday, June 7th.  We left Bakersfield and made it to Fresno where I stopped at McDonald’s so Kathy could get coffee.  I stayed in Olivia while she went inside and the generator quit.  Yikes, please, no generator problems.  We need it for the air conditioning…it’s hot outside. 

I couldn’t get it started and just took off not sure what to do, especially since it was Sunday.  I noticed a Camping World on the other side of the freeway and turned around and went to see if I could get some help. 

Service was closed but they were willing to let me park on the street leading to their facility and plug in so that I could have power.  While we were in the processing of getting that taken care of I tried starting it again and it worked!!!  Since I had just had my propane tank filled the previous day in Bakersfield I couldn’t figure out what was going on.  So we took off and the generator has been fine since…phew.

Originally, I was going to hop over to I-5 but decided that 99 was just fine so I stayed on it.  It was a very relaxing drive and I’m all about relaxed.  I hate feeling pushed on the freeway and, to me,  I-5 is not relaxing.

On the way to 101 we spent the night at a KOA in Lodi, CA, west of I-5 on 12.  The signage for entering the KOA wasn’t visible until after I passed it so we had to go a fair distance, in a construction zone, past it in order to turn around.  The KOA was located on the Little Potato Slough and had lots of extras…a marina, a restaurant, and an ice cream parlor.    There was a fairly decent restaurant and the view was great...the water in the slough. 

Being from the desert, I really loved that the sun was blocked by the trees!!!

All in all, it was a good day. 

A friend from Sequim, WA arrived last week to ride back up to Washington with me in Olivia, my Winnebago View.  We were supposed to leave last Tuesday but I needed another day to get ready so we took off on Wednesday.

Kathy, my friend traveling with me, has never been to Lake Havasu so I decided to take her there.  We stayed at the Islander Resort because I’d been there before with friends and recalled that it was pretty nice.  What I didn’t remember is that they don’t offer cable.  I must have had so much fun with my friends that I didn’t need cable because I’d forgotten that fact.  Not only that, but for off-season it was pretty expensive…$69.49 for overnight!!!  Yikes.  That’s the last time I’ll stay there.

The first night was interesting when it came to sleeping arrangements.  I slept over the cab.  Because I needed the ladder to get up and down it wasn’t possible to convert the couch to a queen size bed.  Which left poor Kathy barely fitting, length wise on the couch.  I wish I had a jackknife couch.  That would solve the issues we experienced. 

After we left Lake Havasu we headed towards California on I-40.  I think this was my second time on I-40 and I’ve decided to X it off the atlas I use so that I’ll never travel on it again.  The wind is unrelenting and exhausting.  And it never quits blowing.  Course, it was windy on I-10, too, at least from 85, which I take to avoid Phoenix.  Now that I think about it it was windy on I-8, too.  What’s with the wind???

We’re currently at the Orange Grove RV Park in Bakersfield, CA.  I really like it.  Two nights here is just about what I paid for one night at the Islander Resort in Lake Havasu.  This RV park is much nicer.  All the spaces are pull throughs and there are at least two orange trees per space.  While it doesn’t have the Colorado River to check out, it works.  I highly recommend it.

I decided to stay an extra day here and I’m glad I did.  I needed a Chipotle fix and found a great natural food store in town.  We stocked up on food so now we won’t have to go out for each meal.

We’re leaving tomorrow, Sunday, and heading north.  The goal being cooler weather which is eluding us.  That’s what started this whole trip to get away from the heat in Tucson. 

There’s a 40’ Phaeton parked next to us and I’m experiencing length envy.  Since I had a 40’ Alfa not too long ago I know how much more comfortable a 40’ diesel pusher is than a 24’6” Winnebago View.  In my convoluted way of thinking, now that I have a house in Tucson, it seems to make more sense to have a smaller motorhome and a bigger house.  Until a Phaeton parks next to me and I feel the envy.