Four Months In

 So, this post doesn't have a great deal to do with rv'ing, but is mainly an update on our somewhat chaotic life in the last four months. 

On July 4th, as we returned from our Spring trip, California greeted us with drought, smokey skies, and hot weather.

Our reason for returning to these conditions was that the manufactured home that we ordered in January was scheduled for delivery the first part of August, and we needed to prep for it.

The first order of business was to move the motorhome off of the pad it has been using for years, remove some of the concrete pavers from the patio we spent days building a few years ago, and finalize the relocation of the electrical service to a "farm panel". That meant excavating the underground utilities and routing the electrical to the proper locations.

In comes the excavator! Our friend and neighbor, Justin, is a vital part of a large excavation company that builds roads, installs underground utilities in subdivisions and commercial developments, and so has access to equipment on weekends. We're paying retail rates, but Justin is kind enough to devote part of his weekend to our project from time to time. 

And the digging commences! We have decided to have the house placed as close to the ground as possible to minimize entry issues, so the foundation area must be excavated to a depth of 21 inches. It's surprising how much dirt is generated by a small excavation!

In anticipation of the foundation crew arriving, we chalked out the perimeter and piers.

It's still a hot summer here in Cali, and the air conditioners have been running 24/7. One decided to quit. A check of the system revealed a bad starting capacitor, which happened to be buried under a bunch of wires in one of the motorhome roof-top ac units.

Online we go, only to find that most suppliers were out of stock. The available parts were priced anywhere from 40 to 80 dollars, but we found a plumbing and heating supply house that had a generic version for $8! Bought two.....Problem solved.

Needing a bit of a break, the local family got together for a Saturday playing in Silver Lake. Our son's dog, Atticus, loved the water, but couldn't get up the nerve to go swimming. As Son, Grandson, and Daughter paddled around the lake, Atty kept up along the shore!

Along about the middle of August, we're still waiting for something to happen with the foundation for the house, and we're starting to get bored. That's unfortunate, 'cause when I get bored, I spend money. We have a plan to go with friends to Moab in early October with our side-by-side UTV's and since there wasn't anything else happening.....

"Buddy" lost some of his clothes while some new lights were installed and maintenance done. He's back together, so we're ready for Moab!

In late August, the Caldor fire erupted nearby, eventually burning 200,000 acres on the West Slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains, heading toward Lake Tahoe. It displaced 100's of people and destroyed thousands of houses and outbuildings. We helped out where we could with people staying in their RV's in any available parking lot or on private property. Many local churches made space available and provided support for families and pets. A neighbor who is involved with horses opened up a pasture for short term stays, providing transportation and support. We felt extremely fortunate to only have to deal with smokey skies.

During this busy time, Bob showed up with his mini excavator to dig footings and piers for the house foundation. Glad to see some progress!

A week or so later, Jim, Collin, and Juli arrived to begin the formwork.

Halfway there! Steel rebar is almost done.

Ready to pour concrete!

Cummins provided the engine for the motorhome, and a recall developed, something to do with the fuel supply. We thought we should have it fixed.....so a trip to a Cummins dealer in Sparks, Nevada was in order. A very nice shop with friendly staff and competent techs got us done in a few hours, and they allowed us to stay overnight before heading home.

The back lot was absolutely filled with huge diesel engines for the mining industry in northern Nevada.

When we returned from out short "vacation", the concrete crew was setting up to pour.

With concrete trucks waiting in the street. The first truck driver was new at his job and got lost trying to find the job site. That put everything behind schedule except for the concrete that had been swirling around in the drum for a 1/2 hour too long. It was ready to set up as it came down the chute!

We were surprised a day later by the early arrival of our vinyl plank flooring. An online supplier provided the flooring at a substantial savings over local outlets, and delivered right to our door!

Foundation poured and ready to set a house on it!

The house arrives!

The second half is waiting in the street.

It's amazing what can be done with a few pieces of wood!

Now for our first look at our new home!

So, by the end of September, we had a home....almost.

On September 30, we left our new home behind and headed east with the Can Am in tow headed for Moab and a late summer run on slickrock. The second day we were surprised by a check engine light on the motorhome. It turned out to be a DEF system failure (which is all too common on post 2016 diesel engines....don't get me started). The Cummins engine dealer in Elko diagnosed the problem late on a Friday afternoon, and provided pertinent info to Spartan Motors (the motorhome chassis manufacturer and the responsible party for emissions systems). Monday morning, Spartan sent out a new part via overnight delivery. We didn't let the down time go to waste, however, and set out exploring the backcountry around the city.

The Cummins shop offered to let us park in their parking lot, with an electrical hookup, but we elected to move to an adjacent rv park. The weather was nice, if a little cloudy.

After repairs were completed, we elected not to continue our trip east, and backtracked to Winnemucca, Nevada. The rv park we chose had nearby access to offload trails, so we signed up for four nights so we could enjoy some of the reason we were out on the road! During the first night, a storm blew in with beautiful skies.

We started our exploration on the Bloody Shins Trail into the mountains. This area is dedicated to off highway vehicles, although we saw several pickups and hunters on the trails.

Rising above Winnemucca, we stopped for a view of the valley.

Getting a bit farther up the mountain, we came across a valley with natural water flowing from springs. The Aspens and Cottonwood trees were loving it!

Late fall colors were everywhere.

We stopped for lunch in a grove of huge trees. It was a shady, quiet place to chill for awhile.

The leaves were just beginning to fall, leaving a colorful pattern on the ground.

The next days were spent continuing our travels in southeastern Winnemucca. 

Now and again we would stop for a break, maybe a snack, and to enjoy the view and the quiet of the high desert.

Donna was well protected by a helmet, goggles, and a gaiter to cut the dust.

Near the rv park, in a small residential area, this tree was celebrating it's survival of the hot summer!

One last look at the expanse of the valley that Winnemucca sits in.

Ok, what do you see in this rock formation? Monkey? The hood ornament from a 1954 Pontiac?

When we woke up on departure day, we discovered that snow had visited us overnight. Not much around us, but the hills nearby were dusted.

We stopped in Verdi, Nevada for the night, and the snow continued to fall.

Back home, we found that the crew had completed joining the two halves of the manufactured home and filled in the exterior siding.

Turns out we have a bit of excess dirt to remove!

Two days and 8 dump truck loads, the dirt was gone and the prep for patio repair was begun.

A dear friend brought us an astounding welcome home gift! Made from a pumpkin and succulents, it's a great addition to our lives!

A week after the dirt was removed, and plans were made to start outside work, the weather gods decided to try to end the west coast drought all at one time. As I write this, nothing much has been done the last week except watch the weather. We're in the middle of an "Atmospheric River" that promises to drop 3-5 inches of rain in 36 hours! We've spent most of the day monitoring drainage ditches on the property and hoping for the best. We'll see how we survived tomorrow!

Thanks for enduring this post. We'll try to update more frequently as time progresses.

Debriefing

 We left Salem with the temps in the cool 80's and drove the short 160 miles south on Interstate 5 to Canyonville, Oregon on Thursday, July 1st. Canyonville is the home of Seven Feathers RV Resort, which is part of Seven Feathers Casino, and is a very popular spot for rv'ers to visit while traveling the west coast. The beginning of the Fourth of July holiday influenced the attendance at the park, as we found when we approached the check-in portico.

Gazley Bridge over the South Umpqua River just outside of town is a great place to cool off. The temperature was in the 80's and we were lovin' it!

This part of southern Oregon is the heart of the timber industry. This section of an old growth Douglas Fir tree now has a "hat" to protect it from the weather, but when it was new it contained enough lumber to build a three bedroom home, thereby protecting others. When cut by M&B Logging it was 142 years old.

Several huge lumber mills surround Canyonville, and we couldn't resist stopping for a couple of photos.

And with tens of thousands of logs waiting to be milled, you gotta wonder why the price of lumber is so high.

Our site at Seven Feathers, number 123, was wonderfully cool as the sun set. We took advantage of the shade by sitting out until all hours.

Leaving Canyonville, we were soon out of Oregon and into California.

The smoke from the several fires burning in the Siskiyou National Forest was evident, both by sight and smell.

Two hundred twenty six miles further south, we pulled into Win-River Casino RV Park in Redding, CA. Not intending to stay more than one night, we didn't even go into the casino. The satellite signal was blocked by trees, the local TV stations were running reruns of Judge Judy, and there wasn't a cable connection, so we enjoyed a comfortable evening outside.

We noticed on the way into Redding that the water level of Lake Shasta was extremely low. This lake has been in existence since 1944 and the water level has never been this low since it was first filled.

Providing water for irrigation and domestic use throughout the Sacramento Central Valley, as well as electricity, it is a key element of control of the Sacramento, Pit, and McCloud Rivers.

We left Win-River this morning telling each other that another rv park will be our stop the next time we're in the area. Interstate 5 south toward Sacramento is a long, mostly straight road, in need of repair as are most roads in California, so we had a chance to look at the countryside as we passed through. Evidence of the record-breaking drought is everywhere along the route.

Getting closer to Sacramento, the famous rice fields of the area came into view. This is going to be a tough crop to grow if water gives out.

Two hundred miles under our belt today got us home. We're going to stay put for awhile and try to get our tiny house done so we'll have a "home" to return to as we travel. One of the things we had to do as we got into town was fill up with fuel.

Welcome to California, where your gas tax dollars are not spent on road maintenance.

The motorhome is settled in and we're looking forward to a good nights sleep.

And, of course, today, July Fourth, is Sasha’s birthday! She’s seven today, and had her annual bowl of vanilla ice cream! Hand fed, no less!

So, here's the wrap:

6,588 miles

66 nights

101 hours of driving

$2,800 in fuel costs for the motorhome

And roughly $2,900 for lodging

An additional 4,618 miles on the tow car, not counting towing mileage

An unfathomable number of dollars spent on fuel for the car....

We saw some sights, By Golly, and enjoyed the trip. A few bumps and bruises later, we're home and planning out next trip in October. We'll be busy with the Tiny Home for awhile, so I'll post a few pics as we progress, but it's back on the road ASAP!

Thanks for traveling along with us!

Food Trucks, Coffee Kiosks, and Homeless Camps

Salem is not the same city that we remember from our last visit here, when we would ride our bicycles downtown, and rarely worry about locking them up. 

We stopped for gas at the station near a major grocery chain this morning. Lots of people and cars, and, in Oregon, lots of attendants that are required to pump your fuel for you. The regulations regarding that were temporarily suspended due to the heat a few days ago and the evening news had a story about locals not being able to figure out how to pump gas, resulting in huge lines at gas stations. As we fueled the car, a recorded message played over and over on the PA system, warning us not to leave valuables unattended, leave the car, and to watch for suspicious activity. Mobile solar surveillance stations were placed around the parking lot. What...??!!!

We decided to go out for breakfast at Patty's Off Center in downtown. We soon noticed that there literally is a food truck on every bare lot! Take your choice: mexican, vegan, or "Oregon Burrito". We also noticed a huge number of coffee kiosks, trailers, or, call them what your will, small semi-portable buildings serving coffee drinks. 

Our goal was a great little breakfast shop off of Center Street (get it?). Tucked into a small strip mall, Patty's is a local go-to we hear, so we decided to try it out. It's an eclectic shop, with a huge rooster on the roof to identify it, and dozens of poultry related signs hanging inside.

Breakfast was very good. Donna ordered extra crispy hash, and it came just as she had hoped!

My order of Uncle Mike's Redneck Benedict was a taste treat! An herb biscuit (sage and marjoram), two sausage patties, two eggs, smothered in sausage gravy and garnished with scallions....my cardiologists' number is......

As we drove around town, we couldn't help but notice that under every highway overpass, in every public park, and on the narrow grass strip in the parking lot at Pet Smart, a tent city has sprung up. Now, I know I'm old fashioned, but there's something inherently wrong with a situation where the "unhoused" squat on public or semi-public land, pay no fees, pickup no trash, and have enough money to smoke marijuana and eat McDonalds sandwiches. Trust me....eyes on. I can't help but wonder where this problem originated, and why is it such a huge issue in metropolitan areas? 

Ok, enough with that. I can't fix the problem, so I'll ignore it like so many others do.

On a lighter note, the weather has turned cloudy, with cool temps in the 70's and 80's! Wonderful!

Frying Pan, Part Trois

 It was a short travel day today, only 90 miles to Salem, Oregon, but it required more than 4 hours to travel. Just five miles west of Cascade Locks, we saw scattered debris of a small rv along the road. We had heard that Interstate 84 was closed for several hours Sunday afternoon, so this must have been the site of the accident. Unfortunately, we weren’t quick enough with the camera to get a pic. 

As we approached Interstate 205, east of Portland, we got caught in a huge traffic jam.

The photo doesn’t look like much because we, along with half the rest of Oregon, were concentrating on the center lane.  The highway split into north and south branches, and no one knew which lane to take. As it turned out, we could have saved a bunch of time hopping into the open left lane. Oh, well.

Turning south on I 205 gave us a glimpse of stopped northbound traffic.

A quick stop for fuel, and we slid into Hee Hee Ilahee RV Resort, site 46. We’ve stayed here several times in the past when the park was new. Now the trees are near mature, the concrete sites are beginning to deteriorate, and the price has doubled. It’s still nice, but is showing a need for some maintenance.

When we arrived, the temperature was 117 degrees, F. Another new record. Thats three record setting days in a row! Fortunately for everyone in the northwest, a cold front blew in in the early evening and as I write this at 9:00 pm, the temp is 79 degrees! Wow!

 Lets hope for a cool one tomorrow!