Well...after not such a great night's sleep...not really because of the noise, but because I seem to have acquired a nasty cough that keeps both of us awake, we were up and on the road by 6:52 a.m.! There was a ticket on our windshield so the security guards must have been happy to at least get that out of their system:) There were also two cars parked beside us with sleeping occupants. We didn't even wait until McDonald's opened at 7:00...opting instead to make our own coffee and have a light snack for breakfast.
We continued along highway 58 west, taking a shortcut over to the I-5. There is mile after mile of crops being grown...California truly feeds us!
As we have mentioned before, taking the I-5 is not our favourite route. It's good for "making time" but the road conditions leave a lot to be desired in some sections. Actually, when we started on it, I thought...gee, this is pretty nice. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before the surface became rougher and rougher, particularly under over-passes and the slow lane. Steve found it very tiring bouncing up and down, dodging big potholes in the road...often switching over to the left lane (fast lane) where the surface was much smoother forcing the faster drivers around us in the slow lane.
California Aqueduct Pumping Station...
I found the scenery quite beautiful...lush green rolling hills...
Colourful yellow flowers...
Oh, oh...that looks rather ominous!
Sure enough...a big downpour! It's been a very long time since we've driven in rain, however it's about to become the norm for us on the coast :(
The sun returned briefly as we stopped for a lunch break...
Two accidents near Stockton had traffic backed up big time north and south bound. Just above our accident you can see the yellow tow truck in the south bound lane...
South-bound accident....
With traffic backed up even worse than us for miles...
Lots and lots of water in northern California...
Flooded forest...
We think these are Snow Geese...
Next, was Sacramento...
And downtown...
A cool area crossing the Sacramento River...
Steve had to slow down on this section of raised highway as it put us in a bouncing rhythm, reminding us of one we were on in Louisiana that went for over 20 miles!
After a gruelling (almost) 9 hour drive, we arrived at today's destination...
Rolling Hills Casino in Corning, CA...
It's a great stop over...not only is there a casino (with half price buffet for seniors on Tuesdays and Thursdays) but a lodge, doggy daycare, a golf course and a Clubhouse with showers and laundry...very popular with the truckers. We pulled into the huge truck stop area, also very popular for overnighting RVer's. It's free but as with all truck stops, you do have to put up with big semi's coming and going. They also have a full hook-up RV Park for $35/night...also very popular.
We had our "pick of spots" and, as usual, had a tough time finding a level spot, but we managed to get relatively level...and did our minimal set up. While putting the slides out I discovered a cupboard door and drawer open. In our almost 8 years on the road this has never happened before, not even on our Alaska trip...gotta love the I-5!!
We relaxed for a bit and then headed over to the casino for drinks (as usual LOL) and dinner...this is the entrance to the lodge with the casino in the background...
Waiting for a table...so we sat in the bar and had a drink there...poor Steve was pooped after such a long stressful drive...but very thirsty!
Dinner time! I had the Black Bean Burger with fries and Steve had Chicken Strips...both were delicious!
On our way back to the trailer after dinner, we found we had lots of new neighbours! We don't look so big next to this guy. When we woke in the morning there was an identical semi parked on the other side of us...
Sunday morning we woke up after a much more peaceful night feeling a little more refreshed...although my coughing was still somewhat disruptive, but not as bad as the night before.
After much humming and hawing, while looking at the possible snowy weather conditions through the Siskiyou Mountain range and Grants Pass, we decided to just stay put for the day....conditions looked much better tomorrow. Besides a "down" day was in order after 2 very long travel days. We had a couple of extra days worked into our travel time, so a stop here would be fine.
I downloaded all of the pictures taken over the last couple of days and Steve spent part of the day relaxing in his recliner with the laptop editing pictures.
We did get out for a morning walk around the RV park adjacent to truckers parking lot. There's 72 sites here with full hookups for $35 a night. Reservations are required as they are always full.
Long pull-though sites but they didn't look particularly level...they all seemed to have a slight downhill slope...
And there's our spot over in the parking lot. Everyone round us have left.
I decided to take advantage of the laundry room available and did 2 loads of laundry...and when Steve had finished the pictures, I went to work on blog updates.
At about 5:30 we decided to "pay" for our free spot here by going over to the casino and having a couple of drinks. Steve took this picture of the pool on our way over....
Tomorrow, we hit the road again...our destination Eugene, Oregon. Our trek north continues....
At least you are through the worst of California. I sure hope you don't have the cough that Barb and I had in Q!
ReplyDeleteI don't feel bad, it's just a nasty cough from my chest.
DeleteSafe trip. I think you're driving into more rain. Forecast is rain here for a couple days then nice for the weekend! Yayy :)
ReplyDeleteLooks like it. See you guys soon!
DeleteThat's a l o n g drive. At least it is a pretty drive when it's green. Glad there was no fine on the ticket. Rolling Hills looks pretty nice.
ReplyDeleteWhen you've seen nothing but brown for months the green is a very beautiful change.
ReplyDeleteI guess all that green has to come form the sky. Hope it doesn't rain too hard when you're travelling. A good overnight rain doesn't hurt though.
ReplyDeleteDrive safe!
Made it home safe and sound. Lots of rain on the way...but some sun when we arrived!
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