May 7th on to Tualitin, OR

Well this wasn't our destination for today, we actually were going to stop in Eugene or Salem. But you know when you get closer to your final destination, it makes you push on a little harder. By this time we were getting road weary and ready to get to Samish and stay put for a spell.

We started out at 43 degrees and ended up the day at 70 degrees. It was beautiful.

The white line on the road can get pretty monotonous. However the scenery was becoming more beautiful. The wildflowers consisted of purple lupine, california poppy, japanese iris in yellow and purple and queen anne's lace. The trees were getting taller. Huge Douglas Fir, cedar, alder, dogwoodand some azaleas and rhododendrons.
The rivers were becoming clearer and as we wound around the mountains there were rushing streams. Lots of ups and downs at the beginning of this day. We climbed to different summits only to come down (6% ) grades and then climb again. This happened all the way to Roseburg. We arrived about 3:30 pm at the Portland RV Park. What a lovely spot. All paved roads and sites. Free cable and wifi.

Lots of rhododendrons in bloom or ready to bloom. The nature trail takes you right down by the river.

This was our site. Mostly pull throughs and long enough you can stay hooked up. We managed to stay hooked up for the whole trip.



I love these exit signs with the gentle reminders. People have forgotten these, even their spouses.
The diesel god wasn't smiling today. $3.26/gal.

May 6th on to Weed, CA

We started this day with the winds returning. It was sunny however. 55 degrees. California is combination of many different environments. From the desert to the cities to the mountains and the valleys. There are many orchards of different varieties of fruit and different nuts . One area was mile after mile of rice fields. Some were flooded and others were in the process of being planted. Then there are vineyards and more dairies. Don't believe those ads about the contented cows grazing on fields of grass. Most of the dairies are like feed lots with huge herds. These cows are probably milked 3 times a day. It also produces a smell that is indescribable.
Part of the RV experience is picking a gas station in which you can manouver 53 ft of truck and fifth wheel. Also the canopy needs to be 14 ft high. So many times we stop at truck stops and fill up in the truck lanes. If you happen to stop at a Flying J, you can use the RV lanes. Sometimes you have to wait your turn. We have learned lots of tricks on how to use the truck lanes.

Just for fun, here are the prices. If you have a Flying J card, you get the cash price plus 1cent a gallon discount. Needless to say, we have had the card for several years.

Back on the road and we are treated to masses of yellow daisy looking flowers.

Here is the sighting of a logging truck. We must be getting closer to the mountains.

Lake Shasta is so beautiful. When we went south last October the lake was down many feet and lots of red dirt was showing. Now it is full and that wonderful turquoise color. This picture is just one of the many cove areas.

Up into the Siskyou mountains and we passed Castle Crag Rocks. Castle Crags is a dramatic well known feature in Northern California. It is made up of granite bodies that were carved out by the many glaciers during the Pleistocene period. The Castle Dome is a popular trail destination. There is also a state park here.

We arrived at Friendly RV Park in Weed, CA. Brett always teases us about getting high in Weed. Well we were high. About 3100 ft!! This is the view we had out our back window. Mt Shasta in all her glory. We never tire of that scene. We also saw our first dogwood in bloom and some red bud trees. The wind had died down by now and it was a cool 59 degrees.

May 5th on to Patterson, CA

We left Indio on another very sunny day. The wind farms along the interstate look like they have expanded. Sorry no pictures. There are large ones, small ones, 3 blades and 2 blades. Sure hope it is making a dent in the electricity consumption. Then we started seeing more flowers. These are some of the ice plants that are along the 210 corridor. I love spring and early summer for the color that you see.
Also seen was the not so lovely LA smog. This sort of shows it. It seems like it is getting worse instead of better.

But on the brighter side are the fields of california poppies. They make this beautiful splash of orange on the hillside.

To me it looks like God did a velvet painting on the hillside. These are blue and purple lupine. To the texans they are blue bonnets. The other part of our drive today was on very rough roads. So I won't complain about all the road work going on. To me it means there are more people being employed. This was our longest day but we arrived at the Kit Fox RV Park around 4 pm. Diesel today was 3.40 and 3.26. The diesel gods were frowning.

May 4, 2010 to Indio, CA

Palm trees. We are definitely in a different part of the country. It was 51 degrees when we started out. A little brisk, but we would end the day at 99.7 degrees. Thank heaven for air conditioners. It was another beautiful day and minimal wind. Even the diesel gods were looking on us kindly. $3.04. Off we go back out into the desert. We travelled down I8 to the Butterfield cutoff to hwy 85, which brings us out on the west side of Phoenix. If you have ever travelled through Phoenix on I10, you will do anything to not travel it again.

Here is the riddle for today... what is it? (answer later).

After travelling through Quartzite, we knew we were approaching California. OK quick inventory of what fruit we had aboard. All they were interested in were, oranges and firewood. They were also giving us the once over but we didn't have to pull over to be inspected. Yeah!!

There you have it, we are in California. Still some desert but more and more palm trees and other wonderful vegetation. We drove to Jefferson St in Indio to the Indian Wells RV Park. Another Passport America park. We have stayed here several times as it is well maintained and clean. They even pick up your garbage and recycle if you put it by the end of your driveway in the morning. Wish we could have stayed longer as we love this area. Besides it isn't too far to Mark's place. We also had some drop in visitors, Ron and Rose Helmick from the Montana Owner's Club. We met them at the Spring Rally. It was neat that they took the time to look us up. We will try to spend a little longer next time and hope they are in the same area too.

This is a century plant blooming near the entrance to the park. The blossoms weren't open yet, but that stem had to be 25 to 30 ft tall. When the stalk first starts out of the plant, it looks like a huge asparagus stalk. Century plants bloom only once and then they die. It is quite a display.

Answer to the riddle: We followed a truck that was filled with green chop. Bits of it were flying off and one piece of grass wrapped around the antenna. It stayed there for quite awhile.

May 3rd on to Casa Grande

We woke to sunshine and no wind. It was glorious. We headed out down I10. One thing we noticed as we drove were the contrasts in the scenery. Here you can see the desert in between the mountains in the distance and the green shrubs and cactus in the foreground.
We saw this sign several times in the next few days. Glad there was no wind and we sailed right through. One thing we noticed were all the closed rest stops. Another change with the economy.

It wasn't long and we entered Arizona. The scenery stayed about the same as we rolled along. There were even more rest stops closed in AZ. Some of them appeared to have been that way for a long time.

However, the rest stop at Texas Canyon was not closed.

These were at a Flying J. You see more and more of these flowers all the way into Calif. The temps today ranged from 40 deg to 88 degrees. The diesel prices ranged from 3.04 to 3.17. Also Arizona does not recognize daylight savings, so we are on Pacific time even though we are in the mountain time zone. We tried out a new park in Casa Grande, which is a Passport America park. It is called Sunscape RV Resort. It is about 7 miles east of I10, but a very nice park and it only cost 13.50. You do have to call ahead for availability (9am to 12).

May 2nd, day two

The blooming Yucca greeted us as we headed out that second day. There were beautiful white clouds in the sky.

We stopped at the welcome center as we entered New Mexico. In all the trips we have made west on I 10, this is the first time we have stopped. It is beautiful.

Just outside the welcome center is this fountain and that restful sound of the water. Nothing like water therapy on a road trip.

Of course there is the everpresent warning signs. Haven't seen any rattlesnakes and hope to never see any.

Some interesting history of this area.

I always love seeing these markers about the Butterfield Overland Mail Co. My mother was a Butterfield and way back we can find a connection to these Butterfields.

Of course the ever present cactus, which is in full bloom right now. The desert is looking her best.

As the day progressed, the wind got worse. Our mpgs kept going down.. 7.9 mpg was the bottom and the truck was gulping the diesel. Our planned stop for fuel was quickly changed. We barely made it to a little isolated fuel station. Our 36 gal tank took 37 gal. We made it to Deming and set up the Monty for the night. The wind got worse and we were rockin and rolling. We had some rain and then more wind. It finally calmed down for the night and we slept well.

Heading West

Day 1, Garmin on and working..
This looks like the right highway through Austin, TX. Love the lack of traffic.

The wildflowers are still putting on a show. The bluebonnets however have finished their show.

RV park for the night. Ft. Stockton RV Park which used to be a KOA. Still a little pricey, but good distance for our first day. This flowering bush had yellow flowers with long red stamens. The birds loved it. I had fun watching as they fed on either the nectar or the bugs caught down inside. It was a long day, but good to be back on the road again.