Oregon Coast to Sacramento – Hot and Busy

We left Tillamook on Tuesday morning, stayed at Osprey Point RV Resort (Passport America $21), in Lakeside Oregon that night, drove over to I-5 and stayed at On the River Golf & RV Park in Myrtle Creek (Passport America $15) on Wednesday, stopped at Harry and David in Medford and drove on to McCloud RV Resort (Good Sam $35) Thursday, and made it to my sister's house at 1:30 Friday afternoon.  Mom and Dad were there waiting for us, and we parked, set-up, and kicked back for the rest of the day.

We always enjoy the drive along the Pacific Ocean, and could have stopped and stayed for many nights enjoying the cool weather and the lovely scenery.  But we also wanted to spend time with the family before we head back to Florida…so on to the hot Valley weather it was.

One last look at the ocean before we stopped Tuesday night.  The white building in the fog on that piece of land sticking out in the top left corner of the picture above is one of the many Oregon Lighthouses.

  

When we left Osprey Point RV Resort, we headed north for 8 miles and turned onto highway 38, a new route for us.  Umpqua River runs along this route, and there are a few good Elk Viewing areas along it too.

On Friday after we left McCloud, we past Shasta Lake, and it was good to see water in the lake.  The last few times we passed by the water was so very low.

On Saturday I had the car cleaned and detailed and they got 95% of the Alaska Highway grime off of it. If you open a door and look hard you can see some of the dust…and I opened the hood and found it loaded with dust…that will be a job I tackle in a few days.  After the car wash I fix our grey tank lever, so I can again close and open a valve to allow the grey to flow as needed.  Our end cap had a small hose attachment, and I put a open/close nozzle on it so I could empty it as needed through a used garden hose…it is nice to have it working right again.  I had ordered a new valve through Amazon, along with a new laptop, which were waiting for us when we arrived. 

NEW LAPTOP?  Yes, the laptop I had been using was starting to show signs of age…sticking keys, turning off when you close the lid even though all settings tell it not to turn off, and it always ran real hot.  Last year we got Marcia an ASUS, and I got nearly the same one for me.  It is light, runs cool, and is easy to run on 12v unlike the previous laptop I was using.  Also, this is a windows 10 computer.  I just started to use it this morning after spending a good day and a half setting it up, updating it, etc. etc.  

Finally, I am replacing our water fill hatch, which is also on order and will be here Wednesday.  It has a small leak when hooked up to a city water system, mostly due to the pressure valve in the nozzle.  It should be a simple replacement now that I have loosened up the sealing tape.

I am also helping out Arny with his mother as needed.  Today two different caregivers were unable to make it, and at least one won’t be here tomorrow either.  We also have laundry to do, and pick up some groceries.  Picked up some more insulin for Skruffy today, who is enjoying being back in Sandy and Arny’s backyard…but can’t understand why she can’t run over to Grandma and Papa’s house like before…but she enjoy our visit at their Assisted Living home yesterday.  And Bubba, well when Bubba is at Arny’s, he is the happiest little fellow…he loves his Uncle Arny and Aunt Sandy, that’s for sure.

RUN Dave and Marcia, RUN...back on the road again!

Yes, we are "back on the road again", running away from the safety and comfort of my sister's backyard, and that wonderful brother-in-law who can walk on water, I mean, fix just about anything mechanically, and from the shadow of mom and dad's house where warm, comfort and love abound. 

So we fought our way through Sacramento traffic to get to I-5...which was not bad since we left just before 3 in the afternoon...mailman came exactly at 2 pm.  We stopped at the first rest area to look over our tire sensors, for some reason two sensors, though put on right, were matched up with the wrong tires...a quick restart of the system fixed that.  Let me tell you, it is NICE to have a good idea what your pressures are on all ten tires at just a quick glance as it goes through each and every tire.  We got gas at a Love's station in Corning, stopping previous to that at a rest area just north of Willows to dump our tanks and walk the puppies.  And we got the camera out just after Redding.

Shasta Lake is one of my favorite lakes, definitely in the top ten.  Part of that reason is because I have been out on the lake in a "party boat" all by myself before for a few days, and enjoyed the peace and quiet, all the little coves one can hide in, and frankly to get away from the hustle of being a Restaurant Manager back in the 70's and 80's.

From the Interstate you get a few opportunities to get a quick picture, and Marcia did well...many to choose from.

Quickly our views of the Lake disappear...but Shasta Lake only comes before Mt. Shasta when one is headed northbound.

 

These pictures would be a heck of a lot better if the windshield was cleaner, but with no place to stop, it is what it is...but it shows why this area of I-5 is by far my favorite area of I-5.

Then we get to the west of Shasta, and Marcia and get a few pictures out her window...just a few areas where trees don't block your view.

The sun is setting to the west...about 15 minutes away.  We are 12 miles from the Weeds Rest Area which gives a great view of Mt. Shasta.  Speed limit is 55 in California if you are towing.  This is going to be close...

We continued to just past Yreka, next to trucks who are not, here in California, suppose to have their engines running while they break.  But we are on our way....a few more nights and we will be in Canada.  A few weeks after that, we will be in Alaska.