Last Night On The Road, Eugene, OR and on to Port Orchard

April 1st, we left Mt Shasta under blue sky,  planning to camp two nights near Eugene, OR. Along the way, I read about "The Blast" in Roseburg in 1959. (Smart phones are useful in finding out about places we passed or visited.)

In the early morning hours of August 7, 1959 a fire at Gerretsen Building Supply Company ignited a truck parked on the adjacent street.  The truck was carrying a two ton load of dynamite and four and one-half tons of ammonium nitrate.  The subsequent blast leveled eight city blocks.  The explosion created a crater fifty-two feet in diameter and twelve feet deep.

Three hundred businesses within a thirty block radius were damaged by the blast.  Of those, seventy-two were declared structurally unsafe resulting in major repairs and renovation.  Twelve buildings beyond the eight block perimeter were condemned.  The face of Roseburg changed forever in an instant.  The explosion eventually became commonly know as "The Blast."

We stopped at the park near the 7 Feathers Casino for our lunch. There is an RV resort here that had been recommended to us by other travelers. We continued on to Deerwood RV camp outside Eugene and will try 7 Feathers another time.  Deerwood is a small, well kept park though close to freeway noise.  We had stopped overnight in Eugene many years ago on a Lawman 1000 motorcycle trip but had no time to explore so we booked 2 nights. Saturday was the opening day of the Saturday Market downtown.  After breakfast at Brail's, we found parking and wandered around the outdoor market.  The day was pleasantly sunny and warm.  Market vendors were selling fruit, veggies, crafts, clothing and art. There was a hippy presence of beads, pipes, tye dye and wiffs of marijuana.  Great people watching outside on the sidewalk of Starbucks! I managed to get Sonny to one more park for a walk at a place called "Dorris Ranch"  Dorris Ranch is a national historic site, a working farm and a public park complete with walking trails and natural areas. We followed a 2 mile trail through hazel nut groves to the river and back.

Sunday morning, we got underway at 8:30 AM for the last 273 miles of the trip back to Port Orchard. We had had wonderful experiences over the last two months but it would be good to get home. Our neighbor looked after the house plants and checked the grounds regularly.  There had been a couple of serious wind storms and the power had been out for long periods but there wasn't any damage in our yard. We were happy to have a sauna as it had been 2 months since the last one!  The hot spring spa in Desert Hot Springs under the stars was nice but our own sauna is refreshing, too.  On Monday, we went directly to "Kelley's" for their famous bacon before going to the post office.  It took us 4 hours to sort and read the two full shopping bags of mail. The yard is beginning to blossom, even the fruit trees that we harshly pruned in January.  The warm days and nights in the desert were enjoyable making us look forward to summer here in the northwest.

The details:

Sonny drove 5844 miles.  Diesel gas prices ranged from $1.57 to $2.59.  Gas: $826; Grocery expenses: $1085; Eating out: $772; Misc expense: $660; Camping fees: $1612; Other Fees: $270; Cash: $740

Tacoma I-5 traffic was the only city in gridlock.

Some kind of home made mud unit.

Crossing the Columbia River at  Portland ....

........and into our driveway in Port Orchard.

Lodi,CA to Mt Shasta, CA

Continuing North on I-5 towards Mt Shasta, CA, about 250 miles. First day we had seen cloudy skies in several weeks plus morning temp down to 59*. We were surprised to stop at a Rest Area and not be able to park.  All the spots were filled with tractor trailer trucks.  We can't use our rig's bathroom on the road without putting a slide out which isn't recommended unless the rig is level, which means putting down jacks and levelers.  It wasn't an immediate emergency so  we pushed on 40 miles to the next rest stop that had room for 20 big rigs! Phew.

Old bus grave yard

Lake Shasta.  Water levels have improved greatly.

Climbing up the pass out of Redding.

We were camped at Mt Shasta KOA just
outside of town. It was time for afternoon coffee so we found a little bookstore with espresso.  We sat on the bench outside and observed the town on a
 Thursday afternoon.  Traffic was pretty slow.

Creative use of skiis.

Two Days in Lodi, CA

We planned to travel 200-250 miles a jaunt and stay over every other day to make the sunshine last as long as possible. Flag City RV Park in Lodi had be recommended to us by other campers so we made a reservation and stayed 2 nights to explore Lodi. The route took us through fruit and nut orchards to the bumpy truck lane section of I-5. I saw a sign that said "Rain for Rent"! When we stopped for lunch, Sonny noticed the antenna was only hanging on by the wires. The screws had been stripped so only the caulking was holding the antenna and with the wind storms and travel, it finally disconnected.  Sonny did a repair job at the park.

Huge cattle lot along I-5 spreading a mile
 or more.  Pretty horrific smell.

There are those who say the wines from
 Lodi are better than those in Napa.

After Sonny got the antenna fixed, we rode
our bikes and then drove in town to the San Joaquin County Historical Museum. It was an amazing
place. 10 out buildings with antiques, learning stations and living history exhibits. One building had several videos explaining how tomatoes, cherries and walnuts were harvested and processed.  We had intended
to stop at the museum for a couple hours and then check out the Wine Visitors Center, but we spent 3 hours here so had to buy local wine at Bevmo since the Visitors Center was closed.

At this station, Sonny is driving a walnut
 harvester which grips the tree and shakes the
walnuts into a retaining bin.

A building just for tractors.

We couldn't figure this one out.  It has rods
from the front end extending to the
windshield frame.  Why?

Antique harvester.

A variety of single cylinder engines.

Open air truck. Wouldn't fare well in
wet weather.  

This seemed to be a back yard creation.

This wall mural noting historical figures,
was made up of digital  historical
photos.

Closeup of the mural. Explanation below:

We had never seen a piece like
this one. It is a multiphone jukebox,
standing about 6'.

March 28-Turning North for Home

We left the warm weather and Catalina Spa at 9:30 AM on the first leg of our route to Bakersfield, CA.  It was windy, uphill into the pass and the rain began. Gas mileage that day was barely 10 mpg. The rain didn't last and we saw the sun again though the temp was only in the 60s.  Had to put on my coat.  We passed the airplane boneyard in California City. Our reservation was at Orange Grove RV Park.  It was actually in an orange grove. We could pick oranges and the blossoms were fragrant.  The oranges were so sweet and juicy. Bakersfield is home to Buck Owens and Merle Haggard  so there are streets and buildings named for them.

Oranges we picked on our morning walk.

Orange Grove RV tree pruning.

Several miles from the RV Park, we began to
see signs for the Cal Fruit Depot, much like South Dakota and the Wall Drug signs. We walked from our campsite to check it out. It was nice but less than we expected after all the signage hype.

We hadn't seen any rain for weeks.

The clouds were blowing in from the Pacific as
we headed west, but they couldn't make it over the mountains.  Excellent spot for the 3200 wind mills.

Cloud formations sitting on the mountains.

Car Show and Coachella Valley Preserve

Saturday, we drove East on I-10 to the Patton Memorial Museum at Chiriaco Pass.  We looked over the cars and then had coffee on the shaded patio at the little cafe and people watched. On our way back down the pass, we went to Coachella Valley Preserve for a 2 mile walk.

"The Coachella Valley Preserve is located 10 miles east of Palm Springs near 1000 Palms. It is a 17,000 acre site that is home to the Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard, which is found nowhere else in the world. It is also home of the spectacular Thousand Palm Oasis which is fed by water seeping out of the San Andreas Fault. There are also several other Palm Oases, including the Willis, Hidden Horseshoe, and Indian Palms. Located in the center is the Paul Wilhelm Grove that is also the location of the Preserve’s visitor’s center. The preserve has several hiking trails including the McCallum, Hidden Palms, Moon Country, Pushawalla Palms, and Willis Palms trails"

We took the McCallum Pond trail.
Some parts in the shade but more in 
the sun.

Palm reflections at McCallum  Pond.

Old fronds made great hiding places for animals.

Clear waters of McCallum Pond. There were a 
few fish swimming around.

Palm grove and Visitor's Center where we 
had our picnic lunch.

Headed west on I-10 from the car show looking 
into the Coachella Valley.

Sonny is checking out the cars at
General Patton Museum.

We had coffee in the garden at Chiriaco Summit.
This old saguaro looked dead but was being held up 
with cables so maybe it still had some life or was
providing homes for birds.

Below these rooftops, there was a shrine 
in the garden with fresh roses that smelled sweet.

There were several feral kitties in the patio garden. 
 This friendly one had one blue eye and one green one. 

This kitty blends in with the gourd it's resting in.

The "Geriatric Chariot" was parked in the lot. People watching is always fun.   (Not meaning to be biased, but) this couple looked to be in their late 70s.  One had a cane and one had crutches. They had lunch and then she lit up a cigarette.  They visited with some other customers  and then packed up the cane and crutches, strapped a dog into a milk crate, put on their helmets and rode off on a dirt road.  They may have been "geriatric" but they had spunk and obviously spent quite a bit of time in the desert on a quad.  There are 2 extra gas cans flags and a cooler strapped on.

Several of these palms have lot their heads!  
At the preserve, I heard a docent say that some years ago, movie produces who were night filming in the oasis, actually hung lanterns from the palms till they caught the fronds on fire and burned the tops. Does make a perch for the birds.

Saturday night, the Resort hosted a concert by a former member of  "The New Christy Minstrels", William Florian.  His long time friend, Woody, joined him on the bass. They performed old favorites of the 60s including tunes from Peter, Paul and Mary, John Denver, Pete Seeger and others.  He had funny stories to tell about how he became a musician and a member of TNCM. It was a sing along format so the audience was involved, too. Afterwards, we jumped into the hot tub as our time at the spa was winding down.

Easter Sunday, we went  to Desert Springs Church for the 9:30 AM service which was packed.  It was the second of 3 services.  They even had parking attendants to manage the traffic.  The praise team provided new age music and the choir sang a version of Amazing Grace. We had attended a service there on Good Friday where communion was served.  They used oyster crackers for bread which was a new experience.  The rest of the day was spent getting ready to head north on Monday.

Joshua Tree National Park

We have been to Joshua Tree National Park a few years ago but had only seen the north side.  This time, we entered from the South and traveled North to Yucca Valley.  The rock formations are fascinating to me.  We checked out one of the campgrounds. It was probably too small for our rig.  Tents were best but then there the snakes.  Still, I would love to spend at least one night in the desert to be without lights to watch the night sky. We drove along Pinto Basin Road to Hidden Valley where we walked the one mile loop trail. There were climbers on the rock faces and children exploring the formations.

Another sunset from the Spa pool.

This house of stone blended with the hillside
outside of the park.

Looking up at someone's knees in Hidden Valley,
which was believed to be a cattle rustlers'
hideout.

It's hard to see the phone camera screen in the sunlight.
 I was  trying to capture the desert iguana on the rock
but only a part of him made the frame.

Sonny at the picture tree.

These were pretty lavender flowers.

Joshua Trees in blossom.

Picnic lunch outside Hidden Valley.