Indio and sunshine

Front row view of the new gas station.

We had a surprise when we showed up at Tachi Palace Casino. In the area we like to park, they are building a new gas station and convenience store. When we woke up the next morning, we were surrounded by the workers' cars and trucks! But we had a great front row seat to the action. It was fun to watch to big equipment move stuff around and men framing up the walls.
   We got to talking to our neighbors who turned out to be Fulltimers from Qualicum Beach,Vancouver Island, Canada. They are on their way home, but wondering if they should delay a bit due to the weather; and no wonder with reports of snow in the Seattle area again. It got down to freezing in the night here, and without hookups, it was pretty chilly until we could get the generator going. But under the covers, it was all cozy and warm. Who needs to get up? We're retired, right?!
    We did manage to get out and about, getting groceries in nearby Hanford. Then I went over to the Kings Outreach Ministry. The peace of this place permeates and refreshes. There is an area set up for people to pray, to meet with God. It's a shoes-off area with a really soft smaller carpet where you can kneel if you want to. His presence there is palpable, peaceful, loving, majestic, compelling. The sense of rest I came away with was profound. It's a special place run by such loving and kind people. Very memorable, and I'm so glad I got up!
    I needed all that rest for the next leg of the trip all the way to Indio. Going over the Tehachapi Pass was easy, but of course I was a passenger. But we switched drivers near Boron, and heading south on 395 was a pretty rugged ride! Not only is the pavement rough in lots of spots, the wind kicked up to make it even more interesting. There were a few white knuckle areas and I was glad to switch drivers someplace past Redlands. We finally reached our destination of Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio. They have a large RV parking lot and there are about 30 or more rigs here. We stayed here last year and found it a great place to stay for a few nights, plus it's close to stores where we cans stock up before we head out into the desert.
  What a treat to wake up to warmth and sunshine! Although there are a few clouds today, we've had the windows open on the RV to enjoy the fresh air and warm breezes.

Back on the road

Good mobile RV Repair guy

Thursday the part came in and John did a great job not only replacing the controller for the slide, but I asked if he would swap out the bathroom faucet while he was there. I was not able to get it to budge and hoped he had better tools and experience, which he did. It was worth every penny to have him do that, especially after seeing how it had gotten rusty and fought him every step of the way. He's pretty reasonable, much less than calling in a plumber. If you're ever in the Redding area and need mobile RV repair, call John! He's a good guy. We were in Corning, but he came down there anyway. He was helping out his friend Chris who runs Campfire RV Repair in Corning who we had called. Chris has been having some health issues and John stepped up to help him keep his business afloat.

By noon, we were on our way, headed for Tachi Palace Casino in Lemoore, CA. Even though we got a late start, we decided to push on and not try to find a closer stopping point. Of course we hit Sacramento and Modesto when traffic was getting pretty thick, then with an accident earlier, it was stop and go for several miles. We finally pulled in at 8pm.

Almond trees in bloom

Along the way we saw an amazing amount of water. Places where where previously had been dry washes, sometimes with bridges baffling high, now rushed with muddy water. Reservoirs who were so sadly lacking in water now filled to the brim and then some. Evidence everywhere of the abundance of water, even an excess of water, caused us to be thankful for our enforced delay. Of course all that water helped to make things lovely and green, and blooming as are these almond trees.

And even more repairs....and some fun

When John from Cronic Mobile Service came Sunday, he found that the controller box for the slide needed replacing, and of course it needed to be ordered. Monday being President's Day, we knew we'd have a few days to wait. At least he was able to get the slide back in by powering the motor from his truck.

On Monday, we visited a delightful store, S&S Produce in Chico, where we got organic veggies, some tinctures and supplements, and some chicken wings and feet to make broth! I love restocking from the delightful variety of health food stores I find on our travels. Each one is unique and it's fun to find what's familiar as well as new things. Hey, it's my thing! Some women visit quilt shops, or yarn shops. I visit health food stores!

Now that the slide was in and we could move the rig, we took the motorhome in to Corning Ford on Tuesday to see what was going on. As we suspected, an engine coil needed replacing. We have already had 2 replaced, and it looks like the other seven will need to be replaced at some point, but not today.

While they had our rig, we took off in the truck to see what there was to see in Corning. They are very big on olives around here. "Olive City" is incorporated into the names of many of their businesses. There are miles of olive groves and several olive companies in town.

After visiting the library, we happened upon the Chamber of Commerce where we got some info about where to find the olive oil. They have a small museum in the same building which was fun to look at. Then we did a little walk around town, which isn't very big, and then went to Lucero's to check out their olive oil. It was a fun experience for me, but Jerry wasn't going to taste any, thank you very much. :I bought a couple of bottles of great olive oil which I'm sure won't last me very long!

I had to get a picture of the water tower because it reminds me of the song "Water Tower Towns" sung by Scotty McCreary, my favorite Country Western song and singer. And, no, I'm not really a CW fan, but there are some that I like. We also saw Bartel's Giant Burgers and had to take a picture for my sister whose last name is Bartel.

After picking up our fixed up rig, which drove beautifully, we settled back in at Rolling Hills Casino parking lot for another night to wait for the next fix on the list. Hopefully it will come tomorrow. I appreciate being able to park overnight at a Casino, but more than 2 nights gets a bit tedious, especially busy ones like this. Lots of trucks coming and going, lots of generators. But, still, a safe place and no flooding!

More repairs....

After stopping in Roseburg to get new tires for the truck, we stopped at Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville, OR, where they have free dry camp RV Parking. We filled up on gas and propane and settled in for the night. The next morning as my careful husband was doing a check on everything, he noticed one of the motorhome tires low--again! So he pumped it up, but was concerned since he had just pumped it up in Turner. Off to Les Schwab tires 5 minutes away. Turns out it had a faulty valve where it would hold air sometimes and not others. It was nice to get it replaced with a longer valve stem and have all tires checked. We were thankful we could get it fixed without a repeat of the truck tire adventure. We had hoped to be on the road earlier since we'd be going over the Siskiyous and knew it would be a fairly long day of driving before we arrived at the Rolling Hills Casino dry camp area.

Southern Oregon looking green and beautiful, although soggy!

In previous years, when getting south of Redding, the weather warmed up, tank tops came out, and we saw sunshine! Not this year. Rain, more rain, flooding and about the same temperature as at home. The great irony is that Olympia was warmer and with sunshine, while we were getting inundated with rain. And another storm is expected, even worse than previously. You just never know!

When passing Corning, we saw a "FORD, RV Repairs" sign. Since we have a Ford Chassis, we tucked this useful bit of info away for future reference. When getting near to the Casino and parking, the occasion missing that engine had been doing (especially uphill) had increased. Well, clearly we needed to visit the Ford RV Repair place the next day! We called and got an appointment for in the morning, made preparations, and went to bed early. The next morning, we went to pull in the slide....it wouldn't budge. Really?! So we called them and told them we wouldn't be there when expected, and they said that was fine because there are so many road closures due to flooding that some people (both workers and clients weren't going to make it there today). Oh, and by the way, there is a manual override systems on the slides.

Huh. Well clearly today's lesson is on how the slide mechanism works and how to do the manual override. Out came the Owner's Manual. Uh huh. Who wrote this? Lacking in crucial details, at the very least. After hours of research and trying various things, it was time to call a mobile RV repair guy. He comes tomorrow.

Free day! Time do a pedicure, take a nap, and generally rest. I welcome the down time.

Southward, Ho!

After a mere two weeks, we took off for parts south on Valentine's Day. First overnight stop, Turner, OR where my Dad lives. We had reserved a spot at the Oregon Christian Convention grounds where they have about 100 RV sites. We had planned to get there around 3 or 4pm, but plans have a way of getting changed.

Just north of Kelso, we were happily going along when a trucker tooted his horn at us, catching up to us he frantically was pointing. I looked over at Jerry who was driving and a lady in a van on the other side was also pointing! Clearly, something was amiss, so we found a wide enough spot to pull over. Since we had felt nothing, could see nothing, we had no idea until we got out and saw the poor tire on the truck. What a shock! Having never had to change a flat tire on the truck, it involved getting the Owner's Manual out, but turned out to be pretty straight forward. About an hour later, we were off again with our spare.

The tearing apart tire didn't do good things to the fender or mud flap!

Who knew they would come apart like this?

The spare is on and pictures must be taken of this unbelievable sight.

Even though this spare hasn't seen the light of day for years, it was road-worthy enough to get us to Roseburg (a couple of days later) where we got it replaced at Big O Tires.

After difficulties getting gas, we finally arrived in Turner about 7:45. My brother had been waiting for our arrival but went over to visit with Dad until we got there. He joined us and helped us get parked and I had just finished cooking dinner (finally!) when I got a call from Dad saying "Where are you? I've been waiting for you." Well, Dave and I grabbed our grub and dashes the 3 blocks over there to see him and we had a lovely visit. I expected him to have gone to bed already, but apparently a visit from me rates a late night. 

The next morning after his Medical Review with the staff at Turner Retirement Homes, my sisters and I had a sing-a-long with Dad. Great fun, good memories. It's always fun to sing with my family. We ate lunch with him and then helped him get settled for a nap. He is so much weaker than before, and it saddens me to know that he won't be with us for much longer.

Uplifting music, great harmonies. Sue at the piano, Judy standing behind Dad looking on at the words.

Super Bowl and snow

From the RV front window as the snow began to accumulate.

It has snowed several times this winter, but this was the first at our new place. The snow began on Superbowl Sunday in the afternoon. We went to the club house anyway to watch the game and enjoy the Chili Cookoff. It was amazing how much it snowed! But it was over 32 degrees, so melted some. If it hadn't melted, we would have have many inches of snow instead of just about 3. I was glad we didn't have far to go home, but driving from the club house to our lot in the snow was so beautiful! I wish I had gotten a picture of it.

From the club house as we watched it come down for hours.

Of course the next day it warmed up and started to rain and melt. That brought its own kind of fun!

 We had had the awning out a little ways to cover the steps in the rain. Didn't think about it as it was snowing, but when the rain added weight, it was clear that needed to be dealt with! Jerry got out the ladder and swept and pushed and finally got all of it off the awning and the awning put away, He figures there was a couple hundred pounds on that!

Then, of course, with all that snow melting and the rain and all, water was everywhere! I grabbed my hoe and went to work, creating channels for it to flow off the lot and into the ditch. I picked up some skills following my big bro around as a kid. He was forever changing the flow of any water he could.

South side of lot, down to the ditch.

Getting the flow just right to pull water from under the motorhome and past the steps.

Heading for the ditch, whose flow I also improved.

We had to move the wooden steps and build the area up to get them out of a big puddle. It's amazing how much water there was! First grounds improvement: little ditches. Next project I'm going for a better look.

Bittersweet

  In spite of being so ready to be done with the house, working hard to refurbish and reduce, driving away for the last time was still bittersweet. Yes, adventures lie ahead (and hopefully rest!), but 28-1/2 years of memories live there, and we don't. There were some tears, sadness and some fleeting moments of "What in the world have we done!?" But it was a great comfort to know that the family who bought our house loves it, loves what we did with it and appreciate what a great house it is. They will be making their own memories, and there is comfort in that. I was glad that the sun chose to shine when we pulled out. Somehow that made it easier, not only with the driving, but the feeling of rightness, also. That chapter of our lives is closed. On to the next!

Waking up the next morning on our lot, surrounded by trees, birds chirping and the sun shining was delightful! The next part of our Grand Adventure has begun.

Although theoretically we were 'done' with projects, it now became time to focus on the motorhome and things we had put off because of The House Project. Like fixing the toilet, whose gasket needed replacing. We had the necessary parts, and I thought it would be a fairly quick and easy job. Nope. After exhausting my abilities to get the bolts off  (rusty bolts are not my friend), I threw up my hands and Jerry took over. I did find a guy who works on RVs locally and will come to you, but tenacious guy that he is, Jerry managed to get the other two off and soon we were back in business. I was so thankful to have "Comfort Stations" aka bathrooms located within a very short distance of our lot, so the inconvenience was minimal. Then on to other projects in preparation for leaving. Like fixing the valve to the water tank so that I came actually use it without water spewing out into the compartment. Since we have water at the lot, I was filling a couple of gallon jugs and putting them into my 2 gallon Brita which has a spigot. Voila! Almost running water..... Nothing like roughing it in a motorhome. I informed my dear hubby that I would not be taking off until that water tank was functional! He did a great job of problem solving and fixing.