Stops and Starts

Our travels on the next leg took us from Eugene, south to a county regional park just outside of Crescent City, California. The drive was harder than the last two days due to some stretches of very curvy roads. I got tired by the time we stopped at 1:30 PM. 

It rained hard all night and we woke up early enough to enjoy a cup of coffee/tea as we packed up to explore the fourth leg of the trip. After many years of camper life, we have gotten as good as a NASCAR pit crew at hitting the road. 

Our first stop was just down the road at a local Safeway grocery store. The early departure called for a warm breakfast sandwich, and we like to try the local deli. Linda and I walked up to the counter and chose the breakfast burrito from their list of delicacies. The lady asked for our order, and we gave it to her and she said, “We can't make the burritos today, we have no tortillas!” We paused and looked at each other, and then we both looked around the store and replied, “No tortillas?” The attendant shook her head. It seemed to both of us that one of the four counter clerks could go to the Spanish food aisle and grab a package of tortillas to sell some burritos. They must have had their reasons. We purchased our sandwich and went on our way. We ordered the breakfast sandwich instead. As she prepared the sandwich, four customers ordered the breakfast burrito and were told the same thing, “No tortillas.” Each time Linda and I looked at each other and then around the store. I leaned into Linda and asked, “Isn't this a food store? Don't they sell tortillas?” Linda replied, “I know” and shrugged. We didn't say anything. Maybe it was store policy.

Just south of Crescent City on Hwy 101.

The road we were following, Highway 101, took us along the ocean and then dipped inland, aiming southeast to our next campground at Clear Lake State Park. It was a curvy, very hilly two-lane road most of the way, and we had to go very slowly in many places. By the time we arrived at camp at 2:45 PM, I was road-beaten, and Linda was ready for a walk. Linda went for a long walk, and I fell asleep.

Clear Lake is California's largest natural lake. The campground was well-maintained and had a nice feel. We were one of four vehicles camping in the park so it felt like we owned it! Linda and I planned to have a layover day and allow our bodies to rest. This site had no hookups, but the campground showers were close by and clean. 

At our spot at Clear Lake.

Getting used to the table clutter.

Second Stop

It rained all night, but we slept like logs and woke up ready to get on the road. Our next leg took us to Eugene via I-205 passing around Portland to I-5. We arrived at the Sollingers at about 1:00 PM and got all set up in their driveway. After everyone had gathered and chatted for a while, Diane, Al Dee, Linda and I loaded into their car and we drove to the Eugene Fairgrounds where we met Alayna at the main entrance to an event called Glow. 

Glow is a traveling Christmas light show. It is popular because of its many beautiful lights and the fact that it is held entirely under cover. That was the key that evening because it was pouring buckets outside. We walked through various countries of the world-themed displays and enjoyed the tens of thousands of lights each area contained. After the Glow walk, we picked up some dinner at their local WingStop and returned to the house to eat and play SkipBo. That was our first experience with WingStop. We thought it was delicious. I continued my reign of terror through SkipBo. I won again!

South

By the end of October, the weather in our area gets freezing and gray. It is hard to keep your spirits up as the rain and wind knock all the beautiful bright-colored leaves to the ground. We have always tried to add a little adventure south into warmer climates to help us through the winter months. It lifts up our spirits and gives us something to concentrate on.

We've been busy getting ready for our next adventure. We've packed clothes and removed stuff we don't use from the camper. We've evaluated each item and decided whether it's going or staying. This includes finding a storage location for our items and packing them away. Our lists grew and then got shorter as we made decisions. We're almost ready to hit the road!

Our truck should be in tip-top shape for this trip. It cost us some savings to get it ready, but they were items we deemed necessary for our peace of mind. We also have confirmed our house visitor's schedule, and the place will be in great hands once we leave. Thanks to all of the folks who will be helping in this endeavor. It's so nice to have someone taking care of the home front.

Weather-watching has become an obsession. Ideally, we would like a window with a slight warm-up and no precipitation called for, but that will probably not happen. We will leave when we feel safe from ice on the roads. A little snow is manageable until we get past the Tri-Cities and closer to Eugene.

Finally, the day of departure arrived. Leaving Post Falls at about 8:00 AM, we drove to Ritzville, turned south, and followed Highway 396 southwest, turning west on Highway 84 to Boardman, where we fueled up.

Remember the weather window we were watching? Well, we hit it! As we left Post Falls, snowflakes slid gently down the truck window. When we hit Spokane, the snow had stopped. When we stopped at the rest area by Sprague Lake, the sun came out, and we had beautiful weather the rest of the day.

We continued downriver on Highway 84 past one of our usual spots, Arlington, assuming we could boondock at a flat gravel bed called Rufus Landing. When we arrived, we found that the site was closed until April 1st. Linda did some quick map reading and Googled up some options. Continuing on down the Columbia, we chose to spend our first night at Deschutes River State Park on the Deschutes River.

We chose site 21, a very nice spot just yards from the river. It was an easy day and our adventure has officially begun.

Below is a map of our travel route down to Yuma. I will update our progress the best I can so bookmark this post and enjoy the ride!