We're Road Warriors Again!

Thursday morning we FINALLY got the Gold Canyon "house" closed and our motor home packed and we left the park about 10 am. It was hot and was going to remain that way for several months so it was time to go. We were delayed by over a week due to Don breaking a tooth and we weren't going to Mexico for any dental work with the Swine Flu scare. Fortunately we found a Mesa dentist that could get a crown made in a weeks time. But we are on the road now and gasoline is definitely cheaper than last summer!

We spent our first night at La Paz County Park, about 8 miles from Parker, AZ on the Colorado River. It was a very nice park at an inexpensive rate and we will consider going back. The river is narrow and you could throw a rock across to California if you had a really good arm. Boats, large and small, raced back and forth. It seemed insane watching a high powered "Cigarette" boat race up and down a stretch of water only 100 yards or so wide! One bozo decided to rev up his engine for about 10 minutes at around 10 PM but finally he (we assume a woman wouldn't have been that stupid) raced away not to return, at least until we were sound asleep. It was 103 F when we arrived but it seemed more pleasant than that near the water.

We purchased new sunscreens for our motor home windshield. These are used when we are parked. They work great. About 90-95% of the sun's rays are blocked and the front of the coach is much cooler now and we can see out! They act like a one way mirror, we can see out and you can't see in! We also put a solar mylar film on the front side windows and it is much more comfortable now, driving when the sun isn't burning in from the side. We have had a hot trip so far. The coach temperatures have gotten up to 90 F at times and we have had to run the coach air conditioner as well as the engine air. That has made the trip much more comfortable but at the expense of the amount of gasoline we have burned! We finally turned towards the coast at Lodi, CA and are taking US-101 north. Today is our fifth day on the road. We have spent the past three nights in CA. Last night we stayed at an RV park in the redwoods. The park was covered with stumps from old growth redwood trees, harvested who knows when. Every stump had become a nurse tree to one or more, even several, new trees, some of them quite large themselves. We saw lots of big trees!

Winnebago-B-gone!

Yesterday while winding our way through one of the mountainous stretches of US-101, we met a motorcyclist who motioned for us to slow down. We did so expecting to find a radar trap but as we rounded the next curve all we could see was black smoke billowing up from the roadside and all traffic had come to a complete stop. We had barely stopped our coach when the first first fire truck appeared and others came a few minutes later. An older Winnebago motor home had caught on fire and had stopped in the outside lane, no shoulder available. The fire had quite a foothold on the road side vegetation but the firemen had it under control in short order. It was impressive to see the fire fighters going right into the smoke and flames to do their work. The motor home was totally destroyed but we believe the occupants got out, we saw no ambulances. That sure ruined someones day!

This afternoon we crossed into Oregon and we started getting some lifting of the fog. The Oregon Coast is beautiful and we are looking forward to the remainder of the trip to Washington, hoping for sunshine but cooler temperatures than we have had. We are in an older RV park tonight. They had one spot available which has all the amenities we need, water, sewer, electric and cable and it is cheap. We won't be taking any pictures of the place, however, as it is memorable in the way that you would like to forget. We are in Port Orford, Oregon. Among other things, this area is renowned for Port Orford Cedar, really a cypress. It is an unusually straight grained wood and has long been used for the manufacture of wooden arrows, among other things. It was originally only found in a rather narrow area along the coast in Oregon and California although it is now grown some other places.

We had to ensure we had TV cable tonight as it is the season finale for 24 and we have to see how Jack manages to survive again, especially after being exposed to the bio-toxin for which there is no cure. Are the good guys really good and whose side are the bad guys really on?

The motor home has performed well so far. We hope it continues. It is good to be on the road again.