Wednesday morning we got off to a late start and did not have to worry about waiting for the park to open. It was cold in the morning and I waited for the furnace to take the chill off before getting up. We had breakfast, cleaned up and put more things in the correct places. Chris will be glad to know that everything did have a place, all the boxes that left the house are empty and the trailer is tidy. We registered for the previous night, paid our bill and left - heading toward Portland and points south.
We decided, while in Oregon where there is no tax, we would do our shopping so we stopped at Fred Meyers in Salem and loaded up on groceries. (Frances, I found the Reisling we had in La Conner with Marjorie. Two bottles are on the way!) We had a picnic lunch in the trailer parked in their parking lot. Next stop - Costco. By the time we were done we had used up three hours of driving time. Oh well, it was a job well done and we were on the road again.
Driving south of Salem we saw field after field of sheep many with young lambs. In some fields the green grass was so tall the tiny lambs were almost hidden. A very spring scene. Then we climbed to Canyon Pass and it was snowing. The road sign at Mile 82 said “Snow zone. Carry chains or traction tires.”
We made it to Phoenix, Oregon before stopping for the night at the Holiday RV Park just off I-5. It was a cold night and even our comfy down nest did not keep me warm enough. I am sure only a small part of my face stuck out of the blankets and my skin was cold to the touch. Turn on the furnace!
The morning road report for the Siskiyou Pass said bare with icy spots, up to 6 inches of snow on the sides of the road. Carry chains or traction tires. We took our time loading up again. I walked around the park and enjoyed the little river beside us. It made a pleasant sound as it moved along. It was lovely to see the ducks going about their business. Dan had the empty propane tank filled and we were on our way again about 9:15 AM.
It was less than half an hour to the pass and it did have fresh snow along the roadside but the road itself was clear. Many trucks were working their way up the steep slope. Our new truck did not have a difficult time of it. What a difference from last time! We came to the top of the hill and the view out over the valley and the mountains beyond was spectacular.
We were driving into sunshine and by noon had our jackets off. We remembered the area around the Klamath River from our trip home in the fall of 2005. It was all brown and much like our Okanagan. Now it is all green. We stopped in Shasta Lake looking for an RV Center we never found but I did get my Bank of America card straightened out. A new card will be waiting for us in Florida. That took two hours, a phone call to Florida, picture ID, much signing of my official signature and finger prints! Note to me - check all banking before leaving on the trip!
We finally stopped at the Willows rest stop for lunch. It was surrounded by farmland all ready for planting. The young trees in the center area were all in bloom. Now I even had my vest off - T-shirt weather! We had been driving past olive groves, orange groves and grapes. Not much further on we saw our first palm tree. From snow to palm trees in a single day!
We planned to stop early and enjoy the evening but suddenly RV parks were hard to find. They are not well marked in California and we sailed right past the first one we aimed for. We found the next one with help from a pleasant gas station attendant but again we arrived after closing and wanted to get away before opening time so we pressed on.
We found a lovely little Regional Park in San Joaquin County - Dos Reis. It is also surrounded by farmland and along a river with a lovely river walk. Too bad we arrived so late! I will see more in the morning but we are leaving early to get past Los Angeles tomorrow.
I did go for a quick look at the irrigation canal and surrounding area before we left in the morning. The sun was just rising over the park. Now it was possible to see what we had missed - a wonderful horseshoe pit in the center of the grounds brought back memories!
Next stop - Indio and a good Mexican dinner if we can find the restaurant again!
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