ON THE ROAD, BACK TO CANADA

An old truck at an old gas station in Boron, California

Dropping down from Tehachapi to Bakersfield on Hwy 58 in California

Ah yes, sunny southern California!

Monday March 1, 2010

We hit the road north at 9:30 after finishing up last minute things. Quite a few neighbours turned out to bid us farewell which was nice. I had to add a little air to one trailer tire and met Uncle Ron taking his garbage so we were on the road earlier than them. They were going via Salt Lake to stop and see a grandson in Logan, Utah. We went to Coolidge and into the hydro office to apply for a refund of our one year deposit. The lady looked and looked on her computer and couldn’t find the form so I had to make my application in writing. I noticed my Uncle Jim’s application still sitting in the in box dated Feb 26 so I guess things don’t happen very quickly in that office. We had lunch behind the Shell gas station in Gila Bend. They have free Wi-Fi and a free dump station there for future reference. We overnighted there for free in January on our return from Quartzsite. We are spending the night just out of Bouse 3 or 4 miles on Plomosa Road which leads over to Quartzsite. There were lots of RVs along there but none closer to us than ¼ mile. The silence was deafening which was just great for us. We sat out in the late afternoon sun which was just about perfect temperature and no wind. Aileen was in bed by 7 PM and I followed about 8:30 and we both slept very well. We made 372 kms today (that’s 232.5 miles).

Tuesday March 2, 2010

We were up early from our good sleeps and on the road just before 8 AM. We found that Needles, California is still gouging gas buyers. Regular gas was $1.09 more expensive than Florence, AZ. When we filled up in Boron, CA this afternoon it was about 40 cents more than Florence. We stopped for the night in Boron at the Arabian RV Oasis. There’s no internet but only $20 for full hook ups. There is a nasty wind that just won’t quit. I went for a walk about the town, such as it is, and was dismayed at the obvious poverty of many of the residents. The lack of pride in the houses and property was also very obvious. Perhaps many of the properties are rentals. Aileen and Mitzy joined me after supper for a tour of the west section of town which wasn’t quite as ugly. We did 449 kms (280.6 miles) today which is pretty good for us. We try to never exceed 500 kms (300 miles). I know lots of people will scoff at that but that‘s just how it is. At this pace we’ll be at least five more days getting to Salmon Arm. It will be somewhat over 3000 kms (1880 miles) in total via the route we are planning on following. If we have to take I5 all the way to Portland because of snow on 97 through Oregon, then it will be longer yet. We are amazed at how many RVs are on the road. There seems to be a steady stream going in both directions. I’ve decided to write this blog each night and post it whenever we find Wi-Fi.

March 3, 2010 Wednesday

We were up really early after our early to bed last night so we decided to hit the road early, in fact at 5:48 AM. This was partly because we gained an hour yesterday coming back into the Pacific Time zone. We stopped in Tehachapi, CA at a Denny’s for breakfast which was very tasty. On the road dropping down toward Bakersfield, the scenery changes dramatically in a short time. The hills are very green and picturesque and I just had to stop for a few photos. The temperature changed rapidly as well going from 3C to 11C in just a few miles. The elevation drops nearly 4,000 feet. We stayed on Hwy 58 through Bakersfield then over to I5. We had it all planned to go to the Stockton-Lodi RV campsite and decided we’d put in a longer day to accomplish it. When we arrived, the gate was locked and the site was abandoned! Now what? We headed up Hwy 99 expecting to find something. Our Trailer Life and Camp California books didn’t really have much to offer. I called one in Yuba City and they had just rented their last site. Another one I tried in person, seemed to be full and no one around. We finally got a place at Lovey’s Landing right on the Sacramento River near Meridian, CA. It’s away from all roads and we haven’t heard a train yet. To totally make a liar of me (see March 2 above), we traveled 760 kms (475 miles) today which was way too far. Aileen had driven a couple of hours this morning. Tomorrow is to be a much shorter day, planning to go only to Weed, CA. We will then decide whether to go up Hwy 97 through central Oregon or over Siskiyou Pass on I5 then on up to Portland which would be quite a bit further to drive.