Redding, California

I'm happy to report that we had a non-eventful trip from Stockton to Redding.  We had intended to be on the road by 9am, but a tanker fuel truck came to fill the fuel tanks at the marina, and we were blocked in.  We took it in stride - what else can you do.  We kicked back and watched the action on the delta - scullers, fisherman, a small Coast Guard boat, birds and a river otter.  We hit I-5 northbound about 10:20am.

A few comments about the evening at Riverpoint Landing Marina and RV Resort.  I can imagine that it gets pretty loud there during the summer when school is out and the weather is very warm.  As it was on this spring evening, our neighbor was having a good old time with his buddy, but things quieted down about 9:30ish.  In the middle of the night, I was awakened by what I thought was someone yelling "Help, Help, Help".  The only thing was that it repeated in the same tone, sometimes sounding closer, sometimes sounding further away.  The tone never changed, and there were no other words like you might expect "Somebody - help me."  Just "Help, Help, Help".  At some point, I figured it had to be a bird.  There was no action from any of the other rigs in the park, so I went back to sleep.  Geez, I hope it was a bird......

We never did get our satellite dish to connect, and for that reason, we will probably not return to this park.  If you are not a TV addict like me, you may like it there.

My other comment is that the lovely tree lined road that you take to get to the marina has 3 lanes in each direction.  You will want to stay in the middle lane.  Some of the branches on those trees were low hanging.  Also, the roots of the trees have grown under the road so the road is very lumpy.  I think the speed limit was 40, but we drove about 20mph.

There is really not a whole lot to be said about the drive along I-5 from Stockton to Redding, except for the following:

1.  Some time in the last four years, they resurfaced a lot of this road, and let me say - Thank God!  There are parts they are still working on, but oh how much better it is not to be bounced around until your kidneys and bladder are begging for mercy.

2.  It should be a law that crops grown along side the freeway must have signage.  I still don't know if I was looking at olive trees or some sort of nut tree.

3.  Why don't all sections of freeway have Rest Areas every 25 - 30 miles like this part of I-5 does?

We pulled into JGW RV Park about 3:00pm.  Set up was relatively easy - isn't that always the case, just as you are headed home, things start coming together.  All sites in this park are pull through in either direction.  The premium sites all face the Sacramento River if you are in a motor home, or have the back window facing the river if you are a 5th wheel or trailer.  The regular sites are also pull through without the view, but they do have nice cement pads along with a patch of grass.  There is a long patch of grass along the river, and we pulled our chairs out there to enjoy an afternoon beer.

This is how I spent the next few hours.

A picture of our site, #22.

And a few other shots I took on our afternoon stroll.

This is the view out our back window - very relaxing.

If it weren't that I am very anxious to get home and get some lovin' from my grandsons, I would consider staying here a few more days.

As we are getting ready to hit the sack, I can hear the muffled sounds of traffic from I-5 (you can see the park from the freeway), and I do believe I hear rain.  It has been so long since I heard that sound that I cannot be sure.......

Tomorrow we hope to get an early start, and drive at least as far as Eugene, OR.  This will be a first for me - heading out without reservations.  Life is an adventure, eh?

Day One - We Survived!

The survived part is mostly about saying good bye to family for six weeks, sans tears,  as we head out on our first big journey to Arizona.  For those of you that have been asking, here are a few pictures taken just before we left Snohomish, WA yesterday morning at 8:51am.  Kim's getting quite good at backing out of the driveway, and I'm glad to say we hit no curbs, no paper or mail boxes, and no plants along the driveway were injured in the backing out process.

Kim and Betsy with Truck and 5th Wheel getting ready to depart for Phoenix.

Betsy with grandpuppy, Sonny, before backing out of the driveway

Betsy goofing off with Sonny while Kim waits somewhat patiently off camera

We made a quick stop at Camping World in Fife, WA to pick up some water/sediment filters, tire covers, a book on cooking in foil on the barbeque, and a game of Farkle.  (My facebook friends all play Farkle, and I guess I should learn how too - Although it looks alot like Yatzee to me).  By the way, Camping World is Fife is not easy to find.  You can see if from the freeway, but getting to it is another thing.  The cross street is Willow.  After that, just turn in the driveway with all the RVs.  A sign would be a good thing.

Next stop was the Toutle River Safety Rest Area at mile post 55.  As far as rest stops go, this one was very nice.  Restrooms clean and plenty of stalls on the women's side.  Kim used the head in the rig, so I cannot report on the Men's Room.  Nice place to picnic - lots of well maintained grassy areas.  If you are travelling with them, there is lots of room for the kids to run.

The leaves are all changing color, and it was a sunny day, so our ride was beautiful.  It was surprised to see how built up the area was around Kelso, WA.  This is where my grandparents lived when I was young.  There was nothing there, but a small town, in my recollection.  Now there is a mall!  My how things change in 40 years - go figure!

Going through Portland on I-5 is always interesting.  There is the big bridge across the Columbia River when you enter Oregon from the Washington side, and then there are bridges all around over the various tributaries.  For me, it's nerve wracking in a regular car, but towing a 33' fiver (I'm learning the lingo here) made me nervous.  Good thing I wasn't driving.  Kim did fine, however.

We crossed the 45th Parallel - halfway between the Equator and the North Pole.  It just makes me stop and think at how big Canada really is.

We pulled into the Phoenix RV Park about 3:30pm.  It was about a mile from the freeway off ramp.  The store and office were closed on Sunday, but there is a check in box, and our paperwork and map to our site was right there.  We had space 97, a large pull through lot.  Nice level, cement pad.  We didn't even extend the stablizers for our one night stay.  This park is lovely, when you consider it is not out in the country.  Each site has a grassy area with picnic table and barbeque stand.  We did a walk around the place, and were very impressed.  There appears to be a lot of full timers here, and I can see why.  The place is immaculate.  The restrooms and showers were clean with good water pressure.  In the lounge, there was a fairly new pool table, which got a 2 thumbs up from Kim.  Also, exercise equipment (treadmill, stair stepper and universal gym) along with a large TV, and a few tables with jig saw puzzles.  I didn't notice any traffic noise until I woke up this morning early, and even then it wasn't really loud.  There is a big Safeway store next door and strip mall with a fabric/crafts store, a clothing and shoe store, a post office, a European foods store with deli (mostly Russian/Slavic from what I could tell) which had a nice selection of very large porcelain dolls, and a teriyaki/sushi bar.  If I had reason to be in Salem for any length of time, I would definitely considering staying here.

Site 97 at Phoenix RV Park in Salem, Oregon

Today, we have a short drive day, only 160 miles to Canyonville, OR and the 7 Feathers RV Resort and Casino.