20' +++, floor to ceiling in the entry.  

4800 Square feet on five acres. Expected date of completion ... sometime in August.

7:38 PM Wednesday June 7, 2006

We have arrived in Washington, safe and sound. We are parked and set up below Gloria and Lester's house. The phenomenon most evident in this part of the country is how green everything is! Duh! It is the “Evergreen State” after all! For us, it is especially conspicuous after months in the southwest where most of the color is happening from paint and the tops of palm trees. In the desert, Mother Nature plumps up the cactus if the rains come, splashes some color around in the spring when they bloom and breaks the monotony with the huge fields of crops growing and greening up around every corner but in general, sandy brown prevails. We found tranquility in the wide-open spaces and learned to appreciate the efforts by the city and residents to brighten up this booming municipality.

I had forgotten how mountainous southern Oregon is and was relieved when the terrain flattened out on I-5 north of Canyonville. The highway is pretty good for the most part and none of the passes are especially high (nothing above 2100 ft.) after we came over the Siskiyous so from Medford north I was able to handle my anxiety without my nerve medication (that wonderful OTC “Calms Forte”).

Another innovative “trick” I decided to utilized was diversion. All around the country, Phil and I have found much to talk about as we traveled so we chose not to turn on the radio or play music, which enables us to hear each other. But, going over the mountains in California, I found that playing my favorite CDs helped to cover up the engine noise and surprisingly, I managed to keep my mind on the music … sure wish I’d thought of that sooner! It helped a lot. BTW, since I’ve admitted my fear of mountain driving in the motorhome it is interesting how many other people I’ve heard from who feel the same way. It may sound like overconfidence but I will say publicly and unequivocally that this fear of mine will never stop me from traveling … and when mountain driving is unavoidable, I will just continue to deal with it one way or the other.

Phil and Les are going fishing tomorrow! Phil is a happy boy!

Haven't seen one of these (logging truck) since South Carolina.  

Heading north ... oh oh! Where has all the blue sky gone? 

Called Table Rocks, these interesting flat top mountains are located 10 miles northeast of Medford. Made of giant sandstone-basaltic formations, the mesas include lava caps. The two mesas are part of land purchased by the Nature Conservancy and designated as a preserve. Later turned over to the government, the preserve is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
 

9:06 AM Tuesday June 6, 2006

Today is the final day or our colossal trek around the USA! We have been traveling for one year and 21 days. Barring any unforeseen troubles, this afternoon we will arrive full circle at Shelton Washington—for how long? The answer to that question is “written in the wind”. Again, I will reiterate, “That’s the beauty of this fulltime Rving lifestyle”. Schedules for the most part are so loose as to be nonexistent and if it weren’t for our yearly medical appointments they would not be a part of our routine at all. Penny the Pace continues to purr like a kitten ... yahoo!

My sister Robin and her husband Walt stopped to see us in Phoenix Oregon night before last. They were driving south to their primary home in Pleasanton CA from their secondary home in Shelton. I tried to post yesterday morning but the satellite reception was more off than on and then blogger, my web log host was behaving badly (that doesn’t happen often but it DOES happen) so I lost what I did write. It went off into cyberspace in a heartbeat leaving no footprints in the sand. Usually I write in WORD then copy and paste into blogger but of course, I didn’t do that yesterday and I didn’t have time to rewrite what I’d written.

Anyway … I’ll put some figures together and give you the stats of the trip sometime in the near future. You know, mileage, dollars, etc. That should be interesting, for us as well as our readers. I suppose it could also fall into the category of “don’t want to know” but time will tell … stay tuned!

Main street of former mining town, Jacksonville OR about six miles from Medford. The entire town in on the National HIstoric Register. 

Four-legged visitors; nonchalant and indifferent to our attention as they browse alongside the road in Jacksonville OR. 

Luxury condo living with a million-dollar view in the hills above Medford Oregon 

View of the beautiful Rogue Valley from a hilltop above Medford Oregon 

8:53 AM Sunday June 4, 2006

Update!

We continue to have problems staying connected to Hughes! I don't know if it's "us" or "them" but I'll try and get this note posted during one of the on times as it blinks on and off! Hopefully, our next stop ( a couple hundred miles up the road ... just where we don't know yet) we will have a better connection.

10:42 AM Saturday June 3, 2006

Just a quick note to let you all know we have arrived safe and sound in Phoenix, OR, a little south of Medford. There was thick cloud cover last night so couldn't connect (get online) with the Hughes satellite until the sky cleared off. The sun is shining this morning--of course, there's no way of knowing how long that will last in this neck of the woods. We'll be here until Monday. Our Penny the Pace ran perfectly every inch of the way including over the mountains so I do believe Phil (aka "my hero") found the problem by removing the old fuel filter. We will have a new one installed soon.

Note: I managed to ride in Penny both up and down the mountains this trip. In my humble opinion I think the Siskiyous are the least scary of all the mountains we've traveled over. The freeway is wide with great broad shoulders and there are no down grades higher than 6 % going north.

If we can stay connected to the satellite I'll write more later today ...

9:11 PM Wednesday May 31, 2006

At the risk of sounding like a broken record (see note below) I must tell you again, that we have had mechanical trouble with our dear Penny the Pace. There is no doubt she is related to me because it’s obvious she absolutely does not like working in the heat or climbing mountains. Sound familiar?

After leaving Yuma yesterday, Penny’s first problem came about 1 PM after being on the road for about four hours when we stopped for lunch. It was getting hot and she had been running perfectly all that time but when we slowed down to park in the rest stop, she died. Within a second or two Phil got her started again and drove all the way into a spot where she quit once more and refused to turn over again. We decided there wasn’t much of anything we could do right then so while fixing and eating our lunch we tried to stay calm and rational and discussed our options should she stop running altogether.

When we were ready to try and move down the road again, without so much as a hiccup, Penny started and ran flawlessly … even purred along at 2 MPH in a two-hour traffic backup because of a fuel spill up the road where CA 60 and I-215 merge together in Riverside. We caught CA 15 and headed north then turned west on CA 138. So far—so good. It was a long gradual climb toward CA 14 and Mojave, our destination. About half way to Palmdale she quit again. No coughing, no sputtering to bucking or complaining … she just quit! Keep in mind there is no brake and no steering when the engine isn't running. A scary thought when looking at a 6-7% downhill grade. Phil managed to cajole her into running long enough to ease our 50 feet of rig and toad off to the side of the road where we waited for about 20 minutes.

Again, she started and continued to run without a problem all the way to Sierra Trails RV Park six miles north of Mojave on CA 14. This is a Passport America park and they have eight wide, level and sunny (no obstruction for our datastorm satellite dish) pull-thrus with cable TV (although limited) for $15.25 per night. There are plenty of shady sites as well.

We decided to stay an extra day so Phil could try a fuel filter bypass and see if that helps on our next leg of the trip. He went to town; bought the parts he needed and completed the task in about an hour. We will cross the mountains on CA 58 and keep our fingers crossed that Phil’s fix works. I’m going to drive behind Penny in the Lone Ranger because of the 4000 ft. drop on the other side into Bakersfield. As you know, this is my solution to the high anxiety I suffer while riding over mountains in the motorhome.

If all goes well tomorrow, we will continue north to Sacramento before stopping for the night.

Note: For all you youngsters out there, a “record” is a round disk made of vinyl with music recorded on it that we old-timers played on a machine called a phonograph. If the record was damaged or “broken” the needle (it picked up the music in the grooves) would get caught on the crack and play the same line of the song over and over again.

We passed thousands of wind machines on our way to Mojave, CA.  

Some wind machines have a blade span of nearly 300 ft. 

12:45 PM Monday May 29, 2006

Phil and I spent most of yesterday with my cousin, Nada. She has been renovating her house for some time now, doing most of the work herself. We decided it would be “good thing” to go over and see what we could do to help her out. Of course, I didn’t do much except stay out of the way but Phil contributed significantly to the process by grouting the tiles that Nada had already put down. It is hard work down on your knees but Phil is a trooper and made short work of the job.

Nada was very appreciative and took us out to lunch! Thanks cuz!

Phil went back over this morning and worked a few more hours … I stayed home and caught up on some computer work.

Tomorrow is moving day … it’s kind of exciting ‘cause we’ve been sitting still for so long.

Note: As of this past May 17th, we’ve been away from Washington for one year. It’s been quite a ride! Lots of lessons learned … lots of fascinating places and people and some really wild weather. Hope you have enjoyed riding along with us.

Cousin Nada hard at work laying the gorgeous new tiles on her living room floor. She has been doing the work herself and has already finished the pantry and kitchen (it is all one big great room). The overall effect is fabulous! Very clean and cool (important in Yuma).  

Phil applying grout to the beautiful new floor tiles in cousin, Nada's living room. 

Just before my Aunt Elaine left for Washington, Phil helped remove all of this grass from the wells around her citrus trees (she has three of them). We went over to check on them yesterday and were amazed that in just one month, the pesky "weed" has come back with a vengeance! She will not be happy about this ...