Bear River Casino for a ‘One-Night’ Stop

At Bear River Casino near Fortuna, California

Last year we stayed at the Bear River Casino for two or three nights.  All it takes it a FREE Bear River Casino Club Card, and then registering at the valet office, which seems to double as an outside security patrol’s office too.  Since I had the card, it only took a few minutes, and they give you a paper to put up on your window.  We are parked in the same location we parked last year…only this year the entire parking lot is being repaved…and they did the upper area, where RVs and large Trucks are suppose to park, first.

We were the third RV to arrive, now there are five…far fewer than the eleven we had last year, but it is only 8 pm, so there is still time.

It has been very sunny up until 7 pm…I took this shot just after putting the solar away, back under the bed where we store it when it won’t be used for a long time.  I figure it will be there for a month or more.  Tomorrow we will be in the Ukiah Fairgrounds, $37 with electric, water, and if we are lucky, sewer…if not, then use of the dump station.  Friday we arrive in the Occidental area where my son Michael and wife to be Anna will be married on Saturday…we will be there through Monday night, and arrive back in Sacramento on Tuesday.

  

The 100 mile ride from Crescent City changed from sun to ocean mist over and over again.  Every view of the Ocean looked like….

…this…misty, clouds, fog combination.  The drive is full of 30 mph to 55 mph (65 if you are not towing), and there were three construction spots which required us to stop, although one started up just as we arrived.  Traffic was light to moderate, and surprising, only a handful of bicyclist today.  With all the ups, downs, turns…one had to stay alert, so it is not an easy drive, glad it was only 100 miles today. 

Tomorrow will be closer to 150 miles…right through some very tall Redwoods.  Won’t see very much of the ocean anymore, sure like the looks of these trees along the coast, sculptured by the Ocean winds.

Bear River Casino, Loleta, CA

Had a good night sleep in Red Bluff, despite the heat. Turned off the A/C at 11:30 and climbed into bed…did not even hear Marcia when she came to bed just a little later.  Left at 9:00 am, but ran into a minor problem…for some reason the TV antenna did not go down in the proper position, and rattled something fierce as we started to depart the park.  Took me a bit to realize what it was, then when I tried to raise it so that I could position it right, the handle pops off and the handle, positioner and spring land on top of the slide out, which was, of course, “in” for travel.  Then, as I tried to crank the antenna up, I break the handle.  (This is like the fifth or sixth time I have broken a cheap plastic handle since 1986 when I first started living in a 5th wheel!)  Anyway, by 10 am we were rolling out of Red Bluff.

I had decided to give California highway 36 a shot…not pulling the HHR, it seemed like it would be a nice scenic route.  Scenic it was…nice for 90% of it, but it was very hard near the Humboldt/Trinity County line…at times it was barely better than a one lane road.  But that only lasted about five or six miles…and there were three or four sections which had road work being done, with about 5 minute wait at one area until the escort truck arrived and took us along the road for about three miles.

We were going to stay at the Swimmers Campground at the Van Duzen County Park, along the Van Duzen river…but there was no Internet, so we drove on.  My back up plan was where we are, the Bear River Casino just outside of Fortuna in Loleta.  I had to get a player’s card in order to register…but there is no cost to stay up to three nights..and they put $10 on the player's card to entice you to gamble.  We were the first RV to arrive, at 3:30 pm, but now there are about ten RVs in the parking lot.  We can come and go as we wish, and tomorrow we will probably drive over to the ocean, about ten miles away, and find a place to stop and enjoy…after the morning fog burns off.  By the way…when we arrived at the Safeway in Fortuna it was a blistering 72 degrees.