Back in California's 100+ Degree Weather

At Sister's House, Citrus Heights, CA

There is only ONE thing that would bring us back to the HOT Sacramento Valley...and that is someone who is sick.  Yep, dad ended up in the hospital again last Tuesday.  On Wednesday we made the decision to return, but it was raining in Southwest Oregon, so Thursday would be the day we would take off...but there was one slight problem...

 

Two weeks earlier as we returned from our weekly tank emptying, I surprisingly see this GASH in my front passenger tire.  WHAT!!!!  It was not there when we left my sister's place four weeks earlier.  The gash also included a balding spot about 3 inches each way...other than that the tread looked good.  

Down in Gold Beach there is a Chevron Gas Station which still does car service...for $20 they put the spare on the front right and that tire on the spare.  Although I was worried about driving those short 8 miles, we made it without problem...doing it as part of the next Tuesday tank dumping routine.  Besides dumping our tanks we also filled up with propane at the Union 76 gas station further south in Gold Beach, put in $40 of gas to get us to Fred Meyer in Brookings when we did leave...but the first priority was getting that tire changed.

 

For two weeks since discovering the bad tire, I had researched what tires I wanted to put onto the motorhome.  I knew I wanted to continue with Discount Tire...they have treated us well, and they are nationwide (not all states, but a bunch of them).   When the guy at the gas station took the tire off, he said that it appeared that the belt had busted, causing a weak area and eventually the hole.  We got these tires in the El Paso area back in 2015, and we have put over 55,000 miles on them, which included a trip to Alaska in 2016.  These tires were free, part of a recall of Michelin Tires which had history of the belts breaking...and one broke on us causing a blowout back in 2015.  I did buy a 7th tire back then as a spare...which was rotated onto the motorhome a few years later.  Bottom line, I was not comfortable with Michelin anymore. 

 

Found a website published a few months ago by the US Auto Authority titled "Best RV Tires for Motorhome,Travel Trailer or Camper 2019".  This is their top 10:

 

I then did more research on the Michelin XPS RIB and the Bridgestone Duravis M700.  There was NO WAY I was going to put on Goodyear, something that dates back to 1976 when I bought a set of Goodyears for my Malibu...long story which is not worth talking about now.  I decided upon the Bridgestone and planned to order them 10 days before we would originally have gone through Medford...buying tires in Oregon would be $250 cheaper than in California, and even a little less than in Florida...but there was no way we were going to Florida on these tires.  With our two week earlier departure date, I called Discount Tire in Medford on Wednesday and placed the order,  I was assured they would be in on Thursday around noon.  So at 6:30 Thursday morning we pulled out, bought coffee at one of those little coffee stands, pulled into a turnout to feed the dogs, filled up with gas in Brookings at Fred Meyer ($3.25 per gallon) and by 8:30 we were on the Redwood Highway in California headed for Medford.  Around 9:30 we got a call that the tires were in...but two hours later we got another call to say that only 4 tires were in, the other 2 were coming out of Washington State and would not be in until Friday...

 

I knew that the Valley of the Rogue State Park, 15 miles north of where Discount Tire was located in Medford, had nightly openings...so we drove there.  One thing about Medford is that we HAVE to drop by Harry and David to get sister Sandy Moose Munch, along with other goodies for Arny, Patti and Mom and Dad...so we took care of that on Thursday after setting up camp.  Thank goodness there is a Cracker Barrel near Harry and David now, so we took care of that too.

With 4 tires at the store, and 2 more coming in around noon, we arrived at Discount Tire at 10 am. after filling with gas again at Fred Meyer, $2.75 per gallon. When FedEx arrived with the delivery, he did not have the tires because there was no room in the van when he left.  Telling him our predicament, he graciously returned to the terminal and got the dozen or so tires he had for delivery to Discount Tire, including our two.  I was so thankful, I gave him $10 for lunch, which he was very thankful for.  By 2:30 we were on our way.  Now, THIS is why I like Discount Tire.  Due to the bad tire experience with the Michelins, and with the one day delay in getting the tires, we were charged $1,075, which included a Certificates for Refund or Replacement for all 6 tires, mounting, balancing, tire disposal, and tax...oh ya, there is NO TAX in Oregon!  This is a savings of $275 over the normal Oregon price, and $500 less than the price we would have paid in California for all of this.  If there is a problem...if they screw up...if tires you bought previous did not meet your expectations, they take care of you.  As we pulled away, sister Patti texted me...dad was being released from the hospital.  Thought about turning around...but that thought did not last long.  I knew we would not make it to Citrus Heights on Friday, but we did get the motorhome washed at Blue Beacon Truck Wash in Corning, and stayed at the Willows Rest Area, 100 miles from Citrus Heights.  A bit hot, a bit noisy, by 6:30 Saturday morning we were on our way again, dumping our tanks again, stopping for coffee and feeding the dogs, we pulled into Arny and Sandy's at 9:30.  Nice to be back, but not nice weather.  Oh ya, I almost forgot...mom and dad moved to a different Assisted Living place on Friday, same day dad got out of the hospital.  Oh, what a weekend this has been!

  

A Different Look at Eclipse

From Huntley Park Oregon to McCloud California

  

   

Yes, this is taken on Eclipse Day…no, it is not the MOON blocking out the sun, it is the SMOKE.  We did watch the Eclipse from Huntley Park Oregon, then proceeded over to Myrtle Creek…then to Medford…then to Talent where we stayed the night in a Rest Area.  ALL of these pictures taken above were taken between Myrtle Creek and the California border yesterday and today.  The bottom right picture was taken as we were leaving Harry and David in Medford…about 6:45 pm.  NEVER seen the smoke so thick, and this smoke is being attributed to the fire near Brookings, called the Chetco Bar Fire.

When you stay in an area for a month, and then a MAJOR fire takes place in that area, the connection you made sucks your emotions into what is going on.  You have met nice people in the past month…the hosts at Alfred Loeb State Park, the checkers at Fred Meyer in Brookings, or at McKay’s Market in Gold Beach, the workers at Indian Creek RV Park, the hosts at Huntley Park, and of course, D & D of Double D’s Cafe in Gold Beach and their entire family, most of whom we had the pleasure of meeting.  All of these people are being affected because they know people who have evacuated…and they probably know or know of the five families who have lost their homes so far…with many more threatened.  In the above map I have added, in RED, the various places we stayed at…along with the Fire Perimeter.  They listed the two levels of evacuations areas…level 2 is be prepared to leave, level 3 is get the heck out of there.

It did not take us long on Oregon Highway 42 before we started to see the thick smoke.  We went north because they asked people not to drive down highway 101 toward Brookings…too much stuff going on down there.  By the time we got close to I-5, we could smell it.  We drove by On the River Golf & RV Park, a place we have stopped by many times before…they looked full to the brim, and the smoke was just too thick.  Didn’t even try our back-up plan in Myrtle Creek, Millsite RV Park, a city park, because the smoke was just too thick.  We went on to Medford to visit Harry and David…Sis LOVES Moose Munch, and since her and Arny both have birthdays next week, one day apart, we had to pick up “stuff”.  (I can see her licking her chops already…)  After the shopping spree, we headed to Talent where there was suppose to be a RV Resort through Passport America, which looked promising on paper…but it ended up being a HUGE DUMP…one of the worse we have seen…and it was also full…and we did not want to stay there even if they had sites open…yes, it was that bad.  And how do they even come to think they are a resort????  So we stayed at a Oregon Rest Area….along with many other people, most of whom were Californians headed back home after the full eclipse.

There was a wreck about 5 miles before Medford.  Marcia and I were counting the California plates as they went by us…4 out of 5 vehicles were California plates, with occasional Arizona and other states in the mix, and about 1 out of 5 were Oregon plates.  So it is safe to say…some Californian did something stupid and caused a wreck.  By the time we got up to it, an hour later, it was gone, so it is just a “educated guess”… 

So this morning we had our coffee, a quick breakfast and off to McCloud California to one of our favorite RV parks in NorCal…McCloud RV Resort which we have been to 3 or 4 times now.  We DON’T like the prices necessarily, and they have some strict rules about their grass…which keeps the grass in such good condition I guess.  But it is not as hot as other Northern California areas, has lots of shade (although we lose our shade around 1 and it isn’t back until 5), and it is very peaceful.

Of course, there are jerks who like to park their trucks on another person’s site…but I won’t go into that…nor the nine attempts to back into his site…yes NINE.   Now on the other side of his trailer he has three chairs, lots of other camping stuff, along with his park provided table…and there is room to back his truck up more, but heck…he would probably hit the fence or his awning, so it is much easier just using a chunk of our site.  And then there is the bigger jerk who let both his dogs off leash, and when I spotted them, I did not take Bubba or Skruffy their way...but they both made it over our way.  His Shepherd got a bit noisy, which then gets Skruffy going, and frankly, I was ready to give it a hit in the noise had it become aggressive.  The guy says, "Sorry, did not know it got out...", and just then the Shepherd comes running over.  I had seen them, and I knew he knew they were out, so I just said, "You know, that is why they make leashes."  He did not look at me, he just got his dogs and walked away.  GRRRR!!!

   

But the park is just a lovely place, and we are here for two nights.  Yesterday’s drive was twice as long as it needed to be…it is only 120 miles from Huntley to the Rest Area…but that route is on a paved, National Forest road which is not recommended for RVs.  Had we gone through Crescent City, it would have been a 160 mile trip…but as it was, due to the fire, we drove over 240 miles.  And once we hit I-5, the traffic was a a crawl numerous times due to traffic and wrecks.  So two days to regain our sanity is in order…then we will head the 4+ hours back to my sister’s house…with a stop at a Truck/RV wash on the way back to Sacramento, one which we have used in the past…and after all the dust and dirt we accumulated these past seven weeks, it needs it.  As for us…the long showers we had this afternoon felt real nice…the 94 degree weather, well, that did not last very long.

And YES, we did watch the eclipse, or at least I tried to get some pictures of it.  This is the best one I got, about 9:55 am, 20 minutes before our 95% coverage.  No matter what, the sun was too bright for the eyes, and our camera did not do so well capturing it.

Back in the Sac (home away from home)

We fought through the smoke and landed back at Sandy and Arny’s house at 2:30.  They don’t live that far from the Interstate, so when we got off the freeway, I rolled down the windows and watched the sleeping dogs go from sleep, to sniff, to sniffing a lot, to coming up onto Marcia’s lap all within a minute’s time.  As soon as we drive into the cul de sac, they go wild…more Bubba than Skruffy.  By 3 pm everything is hooked up, I am sitting down catching my breath, and mom comes through the back door.  From there until after 8 it is all family time.

   

After Arny’s BBQ of Tri-Tip sandwiches, it is time to break out all the goodies we brought back.  Sandy got her pick of three of the four Moose Munch we brought.  Arny got three different Grilling Sauces, including the Raspberry Chipotle that he seemed the most pleased with.  Mom and Dad got matching coffee/soup mugs which say, “Mom” and the other says “Dad”.  Also got mom a selection of dipping sauces and the Pretzel Sticks to dip with.  Told her that she was bound to get some visitors over the next few weeks and she needed something to offer them.  Patti, who showed up after dinner, got two bags of Cashews.

Arny’s mom loves Ice Cream, and we bought some Tillamook Hazel Nut & Salted Carmel Ice Cream for her…remember, this is the same place we got the box of “Lemonilla Tillabars” that Marcia liked so much…and we KNEW sister Sandy would die for them too.  So as I was going out to the RV to get Arny’s mom Euleda’s gift all I said was, “Your gift is from Tillamook and it is real cold.”, which perked Sandy’s ears up for sure.  I come in with the Ice Cream behind my back and say, “Here you go…”, and it was Ice Cream…and I think my sister’s heart dropped just a little.  Sand asked Euleda if she was going to share her Ice Cream, and Euleda quickly and promptly said, “NOPE!”  Not bad for 90 years old.   “Oh yeah”, I say, “We need to get you that empty box of “Lemonilla Tillabars” so you can ask the local grocery store to stock them.”  And I go back out…and get a box of “Lemonilla Tillabars” in a bag and hand the bag to my sister….her eyes pop out, a big smile comes over her face…”There are BARS in this BOX!”   Yep, we sure pulled one over on her in a good way.  I KNOW she won’t be sharing her bars, that is for certain.

Our four week, 1,800 motorhome mile, 1,000 HHR mile, three State and one Canadian Province road trip has come to an end.  Did we like it?  WE HAD A BALL!!!!  Although we did not make it to Alaska this year, everything we did on this trip was also part of the Alaska trip…so that felt good.  The Motorhome did very well, with only two minor problems which will be addressed over the next few weeks.  Since one of these problems, a portion of an outside mirror coming off TODAY, within 100 miles of the end of the trip, we certainly feel good about our motorhome’s performance.  Thank goodness I saw that the mirror was loose, and pulled it off before it flew off and broke…so it will be an easy fix.   For now, it will continue to be family time leading up to, and after mom’s breast cancer surgery.  Also, if all goes as planned, my three kids will be in the area for Labor Day week…and I am hoping to get to take them all to dinner while they are together. 

If this happens, it will be the first time we all got together since May 2013 when Ryan graduated from the University of Arkansas.  I have seen each of them a few times each since then…but not all together…I hope everything works out so this happens.  With Ryan flying into Salt Lake City, and Stephanie and he driving to California, they will be able to stop and say hi to Mom and Dad too, which will be real special for them….especially since it should happen just two days after the surgery.

Back in California (Cough Cough)

As we got closer to Grants Pass, there was smoke to the west from the Collier Butte fire to the west.  There is also the Stouts Creek fire just east of where we stayed last night, and the National Creek/Complex/Crescent Fires up just north of Crater Lake, including some land within the National Park.

As we got closer to Medford, it was as if smoke from all three fires had descended upon the region with winds from Ocean blowing west, and winds up in the mountains blowing south.  It was THICK.

We stopped just north of Medford for gas and propane, and stopped at Harry and David so that my sister Sandy will get some Moose Munch (which will pacifier her since the three Tillamook “Lemonilla Tillabars” are now gone --THEY REALLY ARE THAT GOOD), and we were back on the road within the hour.

If you look real close, just to the right of the large hill to the left of the road you can barely see Mt. Shasta through the smoke.  Yes, it cleared up somewhat after we got over the mountain past Medford, but it is still smoky.

Here is a better shot of Mt. Shasta…but you can still see how much smoke there is.  Yes, the smoke is where the “Cough Cough” comes in…it is thick, it smells, and it does make you cough a bit.

Even in the smoke, the ole mountain can still look good…like it was on a postcard…

We pulled into the McCloud RV Resort around 2:30.  This time of year, even on a Friday, there is space available…well worth the ten mile drive from I-5…and way better than the KOA over in Mt. Shasta along the Interstate.

 

We decided to drive over to Mt. Shasta and eat at the original Black Bear Restaurant.  I really like their Big Bear Burger, and tonight's burger was as good as ever...the fries, however, were a bit old (should have had Onion Rings instead).  Even though it was Friday, we were immediately seated in a nearly full restaurant, and the food and service (other than the fries) were up to par.  There is ALWAYS things that my "Restaurant Manager Eyes" catch, but I try to ignore them the best I can.

Mom got confirmation today that her surgery has been moved up and will be on August 31st.  Although the actual surgery portion is short, less than an hour, there are some pre-surgery procedures that they do…so it will be a good 5-6 hours at the hospital on that day.  We are all just glad that they were able to fit her in earlier…she will be feeling much better about it, especially after it is over.

Moose Munch Galore

Someone in the family is a Moose Munch fanatic.  So as we got closer and closer to Medford today, I just couldn't help but to stop at Harry and David.  Back in 2013 we did the Harry and David tour...but I accidentally erased all those pictures, so there is no blog about that other than a mention that we went. 

Little did we know when we visited two years ago that Sandy (my sister) was such a lover of Moose Munch.  She asked us how much we bought when we got back to her house two years ago, but alas, we only had a few bars...which we gladly shared.  This time we just had to go there to get some for ourselves...to see just how good this stuff is.

LOOK at this wall!  All Moose Munch!!!!  There are all kinds of Moose Munch.

Here are just FOUR of the many flavors of Moose Munch.  These, and more, are always available.  But they also have SPECIAL Moose Munch that they offer from time to time.  That's what we got....

Of course they had samples of these special flavors, and we picked the Apricot Mango and Neapolitan Moose Munch.  Hmmm Good...we are going to save them for special moments along our trip.

Of course, Harry and David are known for many things...their fresh pears and other fruits are at the top of everyone's list...except for the LEMON LOVER.  We found these three special treats, Lemon Curd, Meyer Lemon Marmalade and Lemon Spice Chutney that Marcia just couldn't say no to.  And when I showed her the Marmalade...MEYER LEMON Marmalade, I thought she was going to open it and try it right there on the spot!

As you can see here, Harry and David has lots and lots and lots of stuff.  They opened at 9:00 am, right when we pulled into the parking lot.  At 9:30 they announced their first tour, which did not seem to have that many people there...but you really should call and get a reservation for the tour, and there is a small fee which is very worth while.  Of course, we will HAVE to stop on our way back to Sacramento from our Alaska adventure, the question is, how much Moose Munch can the motorhome carry?

The first part of the day the sky was pretty blue, but the further north we got, the more the skies were painted with clouds.

Oregon is a wonder state...lots to see as you drive through, and lots to see and do if want to stick around for awhile.  We are on a mission, a mission northward...and we spent a good bit of time twice now in Oregon.  Still lots to see, which means there will need to be another visit..but that is for another day.

As we were going along, stopping from time to time, I did readings on our coach batteries, and the motorhome's alternator is not charging the house batteries.  When the batteries were loose, I am sure there must have been some sparking going on, and we either blew a inline fuse, which I can not locate, or we blew a solenoid or a relay.  So we are at McKay Truck and RV Services in Albany.  They were along our route, could get to use first thing Friday, have free night hookups for us, and had good reviews on RV Service Reviews.  We hope to be on the road by noon...but only time will tell.  If not, we will adjust our schedule again...but this should be a fairly easy fix, one that someone with more knowledge than I could easily fix.