Early Sunday
morning, 29NOV, we spent hectic two hours securing the house & property (the
new solar array is still not connected to grid). Then on to the freeway for a very long drive south
& then east to the kids & grandkids in Houma, LA. We start the trip experiencing bad traffic
thru Tacoma & Olympia; followed by fog; & discovering that the winter
sun is lower in the south sky, so the sun is in your eyes the whole day as you
drive south. By four in the afternoon the
low sun was blinding & we decided to call it a day. We ended up in the same RV park with a drive-in
movie screen we stayed in during our 2012 furniture move. Unfortunately movies are only shown every
other Saturday. After dinner we heard a
bang outside the RV? As Dan was checking
the outside of the RV, he discovered that the hot water tank drain plug had
“let go”; forcing Dan to find shutoff valve to the hot water tank. 383 miles driven.
Monday morning we
got on the road to immediately run into stopped traffic on I-5 South. Apparently no one listened to, or believed,
the weather reports of hazardous driving conditions in the morning (ie black
ice)! Of the dozens of “spun out”
vehicles we saw, about 80% of them were pickups & the remainder were SUVs
like Tahoes, Durangos, etc. After
surviving the icy patches, it was mountain driving
thru northern CA & southern OR; along with Siskiyou Summit, Grants Pass,
Sexton Mountain Pass, Stage Road Pass, & Canyon Creek Pass. Feeling slightly worn out from the
drive we decided to stop earlier than planned at Rolling Hills Casino, Corning,
CA, where we stayed 01APR14. Back then
they gave us $20 bucks each in coupons for the casino, now nothing & they
charge $4 for a shower – we won’t be back.
308 miles driven.
Tuesday eight hours
of boring driving to Boron, CA, mostly on I-5 South. 490 miles driven.
Wednesday shortly
after hitting the road out of Boron we entered LA traffic on I-15, I-215 &
I-10 east (not fun). 15 & 215 are
undergoing major widening & lane markings are almost impossible to see
during the day. After entering Arizona we
took the US 85/I-8 bypass around Phoenix (highly recommended) to the Escapees
SKP CoOp RV park in Casa Grande, AZ. 456
miles driven.
Thursday Corrie did the
first three hours of driving. As usual
we took the Trans Mountain road around El Paso.
The road is fantastic until it joins I-10 East, but still worth it to
avoid the mess thru El Paso. We stopped
for diesel at truck fuel facility where Dan witnessed a “blessing” ceremony
last spring on 27 FEB 2015. We decided
to continue to Van Horn, TX (arriving in the dark), to have dinner at El Capitan
Hotel (see below BLOG link); but the RV park recommended the Van Horn Cattle Co
restaurant. It was good, but still just a
steak house; next time El Capitan. 517
miles driven.
Friday, 04DEC, we
made it to Take It Easy RV in Kerrville, TX, where we usually stay when
visiting with Dan’s sister Sharon & husband Tim Tompkins. We then spent an enjoyable afternoon, dinner
& evening with Sharon & Tim.
After dinner they taught us a new dice game. After saying goodnight Dan headed to the men’s
shower where he noted two hangers with notes attached. One said - “this hanger belongs to Bob ????,
don’t use” (and the hanger was taped to the coat rack so it could not be
removed); the other said – “this hanger doesn’t belong to anybody, feel free to
use it except Bob!” Tomorrow we will try
to push thru to Houma, LA, & the kids & grandkids (a drive we usually
split into two days). Also we received
pics from our neighbor showing that our solar array is now connected to gridJ! 375 miles driven.
