As usual we were up bright and early...and it wasn't long before Chris brought Issac down. Nice to have a little more time with him before we leave. Here's our little boy...
And a little snuggle time with Grampa over morning coffee...
With big hugs, we said goodbye to Angela and Issac (we had done the same with Chris when he left for work) and headed out to Surrey to pick up the trailer. It had been a very cold night but luckily Van Axle had stored it inside one of their bays! They were just bringing it out when Steve called to confirm we were all set to go. Another expensive bill we weren't counting on!
It was about 10:00 a.m. when we crossed the Pacific Border Crossing into the USA...a couple of questions and we were heading south on I-5 in Washington State. As usual, our first stop was in Ferndale at the Pilot Truck Center. We filled with diesel, picked up some lunch at Subway...and were on our way.
We took I-405 just south of Everett which is a bypass around Seattle but OMG...the traffic was stop and go for miles and friggin miles! Our destination for tonight is Centralia which by our GPS when we started out should have had us there by 3:00...perfect! Well, it wasn't to be...the bumper to bumper, stop/go continued right back onto I-5 and all of the way to around Olympia. It was 5:00 and pretty dark by the time we pulled into
Midway RV Park. We travelled 349 km/218 miles with about 90 miles of bumper to bumper, stop/go traffic...hate going this route! No pictures of the traffic or of the RV park.
It was good we had power because it was very chilly 26F/-3C when we got up Tuesday (Nov. 28) morning. As usual, we were up early (me in particular!). The heaters had kept the living room from getting too cold and we sat enjoying our morning coffee with the furnace going to get the temp up. Buster even has a block heater in it so Steve had plugged the truck in for the night too.
Today we had Portland traffic to get through but being Thanksgiving Day, traffic in Portland itself wasn't bad. We experienced more before crossing the bridge...and even more back ups south, around Woodland. It surprised us how many folks were out on the road...heading to visit family, I guess.
We had an uneventful trip to Canyonville and Seven Feathers Casino...only stopping to eat sandwiches I had made for lunch, along with a couple of other rest breaks. We pulled into Seven Feathers at a much more reasonable hour than yesterday's trip. We have never stayed overnight at Seven Feathers because it was always too early to stop or too far to stop..we had fuelled up there a couple of times, though. We would normally have just dry camped in the parking lot but because of the low overnight temps forecast again for tonight, we went into the beautiful RV Resort.
The entrance to the RV Park...
Look at the snow in those mountains!
We were escorted to our site...46, I believe...and got "plugged in" including the truck. It's a beautiful resort. The building in the distance has 6 individual large shower rooms with a toilet and a laundry room on the end where the house phone is located to call the shuttle to the casino. Today's travel was 478 km/299 miles...
It was around 5:00 when we grabbed the free shuttle that takes you over to the casino on the other side of I-5. We both picked up a Casino Rewards Card and then found Stix Sports Bar to sit and enjoy a beer. We wandered around the casino and decided on just going back to Stix for dinner before going to spend our free credit on our reward cards. I had $10 on my card and Steve $25 (you put your card into a machine and "spin" to see how much free credit you get...Steve was obviously luckier than me!). I was through mine pretty darned fast (as usual) but Steve played for quite awhile and cashed in when he was up about $14!
Waiting beside a heater for the shuttle outside the entrance to the casino...
Friday (Nov. 29) morning was a repeat of yesterday morning, warming up with coffee before getting on the road again. It's 22F/-6C outside. Unfortunately when Steve fired up the truck he had 3 dash lights stay on, ABS, brakes, and service engine. After fuelling up at the Seven Feathers Station Steve inquired about the nearest service centre. A helpful customer called a local company but they were still closed for the holiday. He called another one in Myrtle Creek and they were open which meant we had to back track about 10 miles. When Steve fired up the truck the ABS and brake lights went out, (this has happened in the past and the dealer said dirt may cause this) but the check engine light remained on...great! We headed to Myrtle Creek and the truck ran fine eventually arriving at Point S which appeared to be more of a tire shop. Well wouldn't you know it he said he didn't have the equipment to read fault codes on something our size. Now what! We have the mountains of Grants Pass to do and the next nearest place for service is in the town of Grants Pass. When Steve fired up the truck the check engine light went out...Yah!!! No choice but to wait and see what happens now...fingers crossed.
Today we had the major mountain passes to get through. About 9 miles south, was Canyon Creek Pass and the mountains of Grants Pass...
As you can see from the above picture, the day started off cloudy but by the time we reached Ashland and the climb up into the Siskiyou mountains, we had mainly blue sky...
Nearing the Siskiyou Mountain Summit...highest on the I-5 at 4310 Ft...
Lots of snow but the roads were clear...
The views were beautiful...
Into California!
Mount Shasta coming into view...
We stopped at the rest stop in Weed ,CA...
We call this mini Mt. Shasta but it's actually Black Butte...
Lake Shasta, still very low...
Our destination tonight...Rolling Hills Casino in Corning, CA...
Although they do have an RV park, with temps now above freezing we stayed in the parking lot...a nice back-in spot close to the end. We found the truck stop not nearly as busy as it usually is...very few RV's or semi-trucks. Today's travel was 468 km/293 miles.
After doing our a minimal-setup, we walked over to the casino...time to sit at our favourite bar and enjoy a couple of drinks and dinner. No gambling here for us!
Saturday (Nov. 30) we were back to clouds...warmer temps but rain...lots of rain! It was a long, boring drive straight down the I-5 today. We crossed the Sacramento River...
Sacramento...
What amazed us was the bumper to bumper traffic in both directions that went on for hours...but I guess everyone is heading home after the Thanksgiving long weekend. We also saw many blackened areas from roadside fires. We noticed ranchers have plowed strips along their fence lines as a fire break...
Our stop tonight is at the TA Truck Stop on I-5 at Buttonwillow. We stayed overnight here on our way home last spring because the Walmart in Bakersfield no longer allows overnight stays. Truck stops are not our favourite stops but the location worked well for us. Unlike last spring, it was pretty quiet with few trucks and/or RV's parked. We got situated in the same spot as last time, only opening our bedroom slide on the edge of the lot where it would not interfere with any semi-trucks. Today's travel was 613 km/383 miles.
After we got the bedroom set up, we relaxed on the bed with a beer...but holy cats, it was cold! No freezing temps but just very damp from all the rain. We walked across the street to Willow Ranch BBQ Restaurant for dinner and then returned to the trailer and hunkered down under the comforter to trying to stay warm and watch a little over the air TV!
Sunday (Dec. 1) morning we were up early, walking over to the station for coffee. They didn't have anywhere to sit, so we walked back and sat in the truck trying to warm up with our coffee.Then it was time to bring in the bedroom slide and hit the road...it was 6:30 and just getting light out with the beginnings of a beautiful sunrise...
We continued a short distance south on the I-5 before taking the exit for the Stockton Highway and going east towards Bakersfield...eventually making our way to highway 58 east. The start of the climb up the Tehachipi Pass...of course wind warnings were up. We were bucking a very strong cross/headwind that kept pushing Steve's side mirror out of position!
There are several train tunnels in the pass and a .73 mile long spiral track built in 1876 allowing the trains to make the grade...
We stopped at the Flying J in Tehachipi to fuel up...boy, that wind was cold!
Lots of snow up here!
With so many wind turbines you just know it's got to be a windy area...
Down into the Mojave Desert now...ground fog in the distance...
It appears this mountain has or is being mined...
Finally Cactus!
At Barstow, we took I-40... Needles in the valley below and the Colorado River...
...and then hwy 95 south to Vidal Junction, east on hwy 62...cross the Colorado River into Parker, AZ...
Finally...a few Saguaros! And look at all that blue sky...put away the winter jackets!!
Arriving in Quartzsite...some of the vendors are already set up for the season and in about a month or so, it will be packed!
And finally...our destination! La Posa South Long Term Visitors Area (LTVA)...YAY!! It was about 3:45....that was a long day!
We stopped at the gatehouse and picked up our permit...it's still $180 but they were saying that it is likely to increase to $220 next year....
The LTVA long term permit ($180) allows use of Bureau of Land Management designated LTVAs continuously from September 15th to April 15th (a total of 7 months), or for any length of time between those two dates. The LTVA short-visit permit ($40) allows use of Bureau of Land Management designated LTVAs for any 14 consecutive day period from September 15th to April 15th, which begins on the day the permit receipt is exchanged for the official permit and decal. The short-visit permit may be renewed an unlimited number of times for the cost of the permit. LTVA permits are valid at all of the Bureau of Land Management LTVAs.
After stopping to fill up with water, we headed in to a spot that we have stayed in a few times, just across the road from Earl/Allison, Art/Jan and Fred/Terri. Earl and Allison were a day ahead of us, arriving yesterday afternoon.
We got situated east/west...best for optimum solar panel charge...and started our set up routine. We did not take the time to stop along the way down for groceries or to activate our Verizon phone and jetpack...so we'll be heading up to Parker tomorrow to take care of that.
Ahhhh....we are so happy to be here! Today's travel was 656 km/410 miles. Distance travelled from Vancouver to Q 2,564 km/1603 miles in 5 days...
