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.

Back in Sacramento Area

If we had our choice, we would be in Canada right now, headed to Dawson Creek, BC, Canada.  Instead, we are back in Sacramento, and I have a list of items I want/need to address before we take off again.  But we feel it is just not in the cards to go all the way to Alaska in a 2 or even 1 month window…so the full Alaska trip will be put off again.  When our motorhome burned up last year in the storage lot fire, the title of my post was, "Man Plans, God Laughs".  I figure God is having a very good time over all this...and we are fine with that...there is so much we can see closer to "family" for now.

Remember the Moose Munch wall I posted last week?  Well, before we left Harry and David, we had a large Moose Munch, and some lemon short breads, to my sister Sandy.  They did not want to ship them until Monday so that they had a better chance of getting there without melting.  Well, they came today around 4 pm, and they were wonderfully packed, and my sister is one happy camper!

Well, the dogs were overcome with emotion when we got back to Sandy and Arny’s house.  Bubba, knowing where he was but confused by his own excitement, ran to the neighbors house, and into their backyard looking for his good friend Arny.  When he finally came out, and Arny, standing on the other side of the brick wall, calls him, I thought Bubba was going to hurt himself trying to jump over it…but finally he ran around the wall and into Arny’s awaiting hands…and treats.   

Since we are here again, and it looks like we will be here for a few weeks before we can leave again, I am going to try and show Marcia a little more of my home town, which does not look anything like the home town I grew up with outside of a few buildings, the Capitol, Tower Bridge (which was not gold back in my day), and, of course, the Sacramento and American rivers.

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.