September 1 - 2
Saturday, September 1. Well, we did it today. The Wonder Dog Rescue group was having several of their dogs at a pet store in the Lower Haight this afternoon. We had spotted a few dogs on their website that we thought might work for us. We both had our eyes on a little terrier mix and as soon as we met him and took him for a nice, long walk, we decided that he would be the one for us.
Scruffy is his name (check out his photo) and he fits it well, so it might just stick. He was listed as a Cairn Terrier mix but we think he must have some Jack Russell in him too. We don't know a lot about his background other than he was at the SPCA and scheduled for euthanasia when he was rescued by Wonder Dog. He will need to be inoculated and neutered shortly after we get him.
The sad thing is, we couldn't take him today because he is suffering from kennel cough, a virus that is highly contageous - and we will be having Ruby for the next week, as Ben and Jill are off to Mexico to finalize their wedding plans. The rescue gal, Linda, agreed to keep him for another week for us, so we won't expose Ruby to the crud. We're hoping that we can pick him up and take him to a vet next week, so he will be recovered before we pick him up on the 10th.
We've never had a little dog, so this will be a new experience for us and we're looking forward to having a dog in the house once again.
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September 3 - 9
Monday, September 3. Boy, its been a lazy couple of days for us. Other than doing a few chores around the house yesterday - washing the car, oiling the steps, cleaning up some rust, and installing new gas hinges on the storage compartments, we took it easy most of the day.
It was a beautiful day yesterday, but today turned out to be cloudy and cool most of the day. As the afternoon went on, it got windier and the fog rolled in. We did get a couple of nice walks in with Ruby and spent time playing ball with her several times.
The last time I used the oven, I had a problem with burning on the bottom of the pan. After much research on the internet, we learned that putting a 12" square terra cotta tile in the bottom of the oven helps to distribute the heat more evenly. We also bought an oven thermometer to determine if the temperature setting was correct. Tonight, we put the new additions to the test and found that the control knob is correct and the tile seemed to do what it was supposed to. The chicken turned out wonderful, was done by the correct time, and was browned to perfection. Once again, the internet research pays off.
Wednesday, September 5. Back to work day. I arrived to find that our computers were all down and Dorothy was working with the corporate office to get them straightened out. Whatever they were doing didn't work, so we handled all of the transactions manually throughout the day. Around 9:00, we heard that the wireless internet was down throughout the park, so people were upset about that too.
It was also a dog walking day for me, as I was asked to let Tootsie and Lily out during the day, as their owners spent the day in the city today. It all worked out, as it was a beautiful sunny day and I got several walks.
There is a forest fire burning near here that has caused the air to be gray - kind of like the fog. The sunset was beautiful but the reason for it is unfortunate.
Thursday, September 6. I worked the late shift today, so I got busy this morning to wash the motorhome. It really needed a good scrubbing since it had been almost 4 weeks since it was last cleaned. Needless to say, it was covered with a coating of salt and sand and soot (from the fires). We have an appointment on the 21st to have it washed and waxed - it will cost a bit, but should be well worth it.
The sun looked really strange today - I kind of wish I had taken a photo of it. Because of the fires, they sky was pretty gray and the sun had a reddish-pink halo around it. It did clear off a bit as the day went on.
The computers at work have been down for 2 days now. They finally came up at about 3:00 this afternoon, so we scrambled to input all of the transactions that we had done manually for the last 2 days. It all worked out well and we were able to close at the regular time and were in balance. In addition to that problem, the wi-fi internet service to the park has also been down. That is causing a lot of people to be grumpy.
Saturday, September 8. The last day of this 4-day shift at work and only 2 more weeks to go. As Mike was taking his shower this morning, he had only cold water - the water heater was not working. After making several calls and talking with folks in the park, he made an appointment to have someone come fix it next Thursday. Guess we will be taking showers at the park or taking cold showers for a few days. It looks like the repair will be covered under our extended warranty - so that is a good thing.
Today was Mary and Roland's last day as workcampers here, they will be heading back to their home in Yucaipa (near San Diego) for the winter. They are great folks and we're glad we were able to get to know them. Another couple, Dan and Peggy, have been hired. We've met a lot of great people here this summer.
Sunday, September 9. I'm just sitting here this morning, reading the news and contemplating the day ahead of me. We are expecting Mary and Lance to arrive some time today. They will be staying in the area for the next 3 days - we've been looking forward to their visit once again.
In the meantime, we will be cleaning up the house, doing laundry and preparing for this evening's dinner. Ben and Jill will be returning later this evening and we will pick them up at the airport when they arrive. Once again, we will miss having Ruby with us. She's been such a joy all week and has gotten us up and moving around more than usual. This morning as we walked around the park, we stopped along the fence to watch the ocean. There were several dolphins playing within close eyesight.
Tomorrow, we will pick up our little dog, Scruffy, so no more having the house to ourselves. We're hoping he turns out to be a friendly and enjoyable character.
Mary and Lance arrived at 6:30 this evening and we had a nice visit while eating a bowl of chili. They were both very tired from a long day of visiting with friends and traveling here, so left by 9:00. Shortly after that, we went to the airport to pickup Ben and Jill from their Mexico vacation. It sounds as if it was an enjoyable and productive (wedding plans) trip for them. We will miss having Ruby's company once again.
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September 10 - 16
Monday, September 10. The day started out with the 4 of us meeting Scruffy's foster caretaker, Linda at the Bernal Beast pet store. He was real calm about the whole thing and all went well.
We decided to go to City Lights, the very unique, independent book store in North Beach that was founded by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter Martin in 1953, known for the Beatnik and poets that hung out there. Check it out at Click Here. The dog was allowed in the store and was well behaved (maybe he's done this before?). While there, Ben called from work and was just heading out for lunch, so he walked over to meet us. We sat outside at the San Francisco Brew Pub and had a beer and chatted for a while.
Back at the motorhome, Scruffy was quite calm but not interested in eating yet. He walks well on the leash but still has a bit of a cough, especially if he pulls too much on the leash. He got to meet all of our coworkers at the park. He's doing a bit of scratching, so will get a nice bath once our water heater is repaired (Thursday).
This evening, we went back to North Beach to the Stinking Rose restaurant Click Here for a garlic martini, and everything else garlic on the menu. The food was very tasty and we were reminded of the garlic throughout the night. After dinner, we walked the streets of North Beach window shopping and chocolate shopping.
Scruffy did real well - no problem in his crate and he was happy to see us get back home.
Tuesday, September 11. After breakfast this morning, we picked up Mary and Lance and headed to Burlingame to the PEZ museum, located in a small storefront on California Street. The man that runs it has the world's most complete collection of PEZ dispensers and the original PEZ sign that once hung on the factory in Austria where they originated and are still made. There was also a collection of toys made before 1950 that are still in production; Lincoln Logs, Tinkertoys, Mr Potato Head, etc.
From there, it was off to Duartes Tavern in Pescadero for lunch. We also browsed the Rock shop and were hoping to see the Made in Pescadero showroom, a store of high quality hand-made beautiful furniture, but it was closed. Then it was off to Half Moon Bay where we shopped around and walked the Main Street.
When we got back to the RV park, we watched whales off the coast for quite a while, seeing what we thought was a mother and young. They were going back and forth and you could see them coming head first out of the water, the blow, and the tails surfacing. This went on for at least a couple of hours
Wednesday, September 12. I was called in to work this morning as Elaine had taken a fall while walking her dog. She came down hard on the pavement and really got her knees, hands, upper lip, and chin. She went home for a few hours and then came back at noon.
Mary and Lance came over and I fixed us some brunch. We then went to Berkeley and drove around the University area, then walked the streets and of one of the shopping areas - a very colorful section of the town. This evening, we went with Ben to Sushi Bistro and had a wonderful dinner, great conversation, and lots of laughs.
We then said our goodbyes to Mary and Lance, as they are heading back to Oxnard tomorrow. Don't know when we will see them again, but sure hope its not too long as we really do have a great time together.
Saturday, September 15. Back to work and its been some SLOW days except for yesterday.
We're now thinking about calling the dog Jango (after Jango Reinhart, the jazz gypsy from the 1920s and 1930s). That seems appropriate for the lifestyle he will be leaving and may fit for his past too. He seems to be adapting fairly well - have had no messes in the house, he doesn't object to being crated when we are away, does real well on the leash, is eating and excreting normally, and he didn't object to a bath. We keep encouraging him to play, but he's more interested in just being petted or sleeping. He still has a cough, although I don't think he is contageous any more.
This afternoon at work, I am writing in my journal and Mike is sitting here reading on his blackberry. There's nothing going on and it will be real hard getting through the rest of the day and tomorrow. I just looked at the calendar and we have exactly 10 more days here - the time is slipping by.
Sunday, September 16. The last day of our shift this week and only one more to go. The dog's name has changed once again and I think it will stick this time - Frisco. We both thought it was very appropriate since we rescued him from San Francisco and its kind of a happy name. Once again, we will have to see.
This evening, we met up with Ben and Jill and went to Tommy's Mexican, a little hole in the wall restaurant that features more than 100 types of tequila (see photo) for dinner. Its been a long time since we've been there, but its always good and we just happened to get a table right away. Ben and Mike were hoping to have Sangrita to have with their tequila, but they brought the shots to the table and said they were out of Sangrita - so they just washed the tequila with beer. Ben was disappointed. Now we have to find a recipe to make it at home - it will compliment the gift that they brought Mike back from Mexico.
I showed Jill the 2 dresses that I had found for the wedding and she liked them both - now I have to make a decision. After dinner, we talked about the possibilities for the rehearsal dinner, maybe to be held on a catamaran. That would certainly be nice, but many ???? need to be answered first.
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September 17 - 23
Monday, September 17. We were up early and on the road by 8:30, heading to San Leandro to have the base plate installed on the Honda so we can tow it behind the motorhome. We definitely underestimated the time it would take to get there - mostly because of traffic - but it took an hour and we had only expected it to be 1/2 hour, thus we arrived late. On our arrival, we found that the guy hadn't ordered the correct parts so we ended up turning around and coming back.
The good thing about the morning was a stop at a local restaurant, the Salada Cafe that we had been hearing good things about from guests at the RV Park. We had excellent breakfast burritos, good coffee, and fresh squeezed orange juice.
Just as we were finishing our breakfast, my phone rang but I didn't answer it. I later found that it was Dorothy from the RV Park and the guy who was repairing our water heater was there (he told me he was coming on Tuesday). He had already left when we got back but the water heater was fixed. It only cost $150 ($100 deductible + 1/2 of his charge to come here) - our extended warranty covered the rest.
The rest of the day was spent napping, cleaning house, and doing laundry. Frisco seemed quite happy that we were home. He gave us a scare when he scooted out the door so fast that Mike couldn't grab him and he took off running really fast. He ran to where he met up with another dog so Mike was able to get him right away. Guess we gotta be real careful when we open the door.
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September 10 - 16
Monday, September 10. The day started out with the 4 of us meeting Scruffy's foster caretaker, Linda at the Bernal Beast pet store. He was real calm about the whole thing and all went well.
We decided to go to City Lights, the very unique, independent book store in North Beach that was founded by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter Martin in 1953, known for the Beatnik and poets that hung out there. Check it out at Click Here. The dog was allowed in the store and was well behaved (maybe he's done this before?). While there, Ben called from work and was just heading out for lunch, so he walked over to meet us. We sat outside at the San Francisco Brew Pub and had a beer and chatted for a while.
Back at the motorhome, Scruffy was quite calm but not interested in eating yet. He walks well on the leash but still has a bit of a cough, especially if he pulls too much on the leash. He got to meet all of our coworkers at the park. He's doing a bit of scratching, so will get a nice bath once our water heater is repaired (Thursday).
This evening, we went back to North Beach to the Stinking Rose restaurant Click Here for a garlic martini, and everything else garlic on the menu. The food was very tasty and we were reminded of the garlic throughout the night. After dinner, we walked the streets of North Beach window shopping and chocolate shopping.
Scruffy did real well - no problem in his crate and he was happy to see us get back home.
Tuesday, September 11. After breakfast this morning, we picked up Mary and Lance and headed to Burlingame to the PEZ museum, located in a small storefront on California Street. The man that runs it has the world's most complete collection of PEZ dispensers and the original PEZ sign that once hung on the factory in Austria where they originated and are still made. There was also a collection of toys made before 1950 that are still in production; Lincoln Logs, Tinkertoys, Mr Potato Head, etc.
From there, it was off to Duartes Tavern in Pescadero for lunch. We also browsed the Rock shop and were hoping to see the Made in Pescadero showroom, a store of high quality hand-made beautiful furniture, but it was closed. Then it was off to Half Moon Bay where we shopped around and walked the Main Street.
When we got back to the RV park, we watched whales off the coast for quite a while, seeing what we thought was a mother and young. They were going back and forth and you could see them coming head first out of the water, the blow, and the tails surfacing. This went on for at least a couple of hours
Wednesday, September 12. I was called in to work this morning as Elaine had taken a fall while walking her dog. She came down hard on the pavement and really got her knees, hands, upper lip, and chin. She went home for a few hours and then came back at noon.
Mary and Lance came over and I fixed us some brunch. We then went to Berkeley and drove around the University area, then walked the streets and of one of the shopping areas - a very colorful section of the town. This evening, we went with Ben to Sushi Bistro and had a wonderful dinner, great conversation, and lots of laughs.
We then said our goodbyes to Mary and Lance, as they are heading back to Oxnard tomorrow. Don't know when we will see them again, but sure hope its not too long as we really do have a great time together.
Saturday, September 15. Back to work and its been some SLOW days except for yesterday.
We're now thinking about calling the dog Jango (after Jango Reinhart, the jazz gypsy from the 1920s and 1930s). That seems appropriate for the lifestyle he will be leaving and may fit for his past too. He seems to be adapting fairly well - have had no messes in the house, he doesn't object to being crated when we are away, does real well on the leash, is eating and excreting normally, and he didn't object to a bath. We keep encouraging him to play, but he's more interested in just being petted or sleeping. He still has a cough, although I don't think he is contageous any more.
This afternoon at work, I am writing in my journal and Mike is sitting here reading on his blackberry. There's nothing going on and it will be real hard getting through the rest of the day and tomorrow. I just looked at the calendar and we have exactly 10 more days here - the time is slipping by.
Sunday, September 16. The last day of our shift this week and only one more to go. The dog's name has changed once again and I think it will stick this time - Frisco. We both thought it was very appropriate since we rescued him from San Francisco and its kind of a happy name. Once again, we will have to see.
This evening, we met up with Ben and Jill and went to Tommy's Mexican, a little hole in the wall restaurant that features more than 100 types of tequila (see photo) for dinner. Its been a long time since we've been there, but its always good and we just happened to get a table right away. Ben and Mike were hoping to have Sangrita to have with their tequila, but they brought the shots to the table and said they were out of Sangrita - so they just washed the tequila with beer. Ben was disappointed. Now we have to find a recipe to make it at home - it will compliment the gift that they brought Mike back from Mexico.
I showed Jill the 2 dresses that I had found for the wedding and she liked them both - now I have to make a decision. After dinner, we talked about the possibilities for the rehearsal dinner, maybe to be held on a catamaran. That would certainly be nice, but many ???? need to be answered first.
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September 10 - 16
Monday, September 10. The day started out with the 4 of us meeting Scruffy's foster caretaker, Linda at the Bernal Beast pet store. He was real calm about the whole thing and all went well.
We decided to go to City Lights, the very unique, independent book store in North Beach that was founded by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Peter Martin in 1953, known for the Beatnik and poets that hung out there. Check it out at Click Here. The dog was allowed in the store and was well behaved (maybe he's done this before?). While there, Ben called from work and was just heading out for lunch, so he walked over to meet us. We sat outside at the San Francisco Brew Pub and had a beer and chatted for a while.
Back at the motorhome, Scruffy was quite calm but not interested in eating yet. He walks well on the leash but still has a bit of a cough, especially if he pulls too much on the leash. He got to meet all of our coworkers at the park. He's doing a bit of scratching, so will get a nice bath once our water heater is repaired (Thursday).
This evening, we went back to North Beach to the Stinking Rose restaurant Click Here for a garlic martini, and everything else garlic on the menu. The food was very tasty and we were reminded of the garlic throughout the night. After dinner, we walked the streets of North Beach window shopping and chocolate shopping.
Scruffy did real well - no problem in his crate and he was happy to see us get back home.
Tuesday, September 11. After breakfast this morning, we picked up Mary and Lance and headed to Burlingame to the PEZ museum, located in a small storefront on California Street. The man that runs it has the world's most complete collection of PEZ dispensers and the original PEZ sign that once hung on the factory in Austria where they originated and are still made. There was also a collection of toys made before 1950 that are still in production; Lincoln Logs, Tinkertoys, Mr Potato Head, etc.
From there, it was off to Duartes Tavern in Pescadero for lunch. We also browsed the Rock shop and were hoping to see the Made in Pescadero showroom, a store of high quality hand-made beautiful furniture, but it was closed. Then it was off to Half Moon Bay where we shopped around and walked the Main Street.
When we got back to the RV park, we watched whales off the coast for quite a while, seeing what we thought was a mother and young. They were going back and forth and you could see them coming head first out of the water, the blow, and the tails surfacing. This went on for at least a couple of hours
Wednesday, September 12. I was called in to work this morning as Elaine had taken a fall while walking her dog. She came down hard on the pavement and really got her knees, hands, upper lip, and chin. She went home for a few hours and then came back at noon.
Mary and Lance came over and I fixed us some brunch. We then went to Berkeley and drove around the University area, then walked the streets and of one of the shopping areas - a very colorful section of the town. This evening, we went with Ben to Sushi Bistro and had a wonderful dinner, great conversation, and lots of laughs.
We then said our goodbyes to Mary and Lance, as they are heading back to Oxnard tomorrow. Don't know when we will see them again, but sure hope its not too long as we really do have a great time together.
Saturday, September 15. Back to work and its been some SLOW days except for yesterday.
We're now thinking about calling the dog Jango (after Jango Reinhart, the jazz gypsy from the 1920s and 1930s). That seems appropriate for the lifestyle he will be leaving and may fit for his past too. He seems to be adapting fairly well - have had no messes in the house, he doesn't object to being crated when we are away, does real well on the leash, is eating and excreting normally, and he didn't object to a bath. We keep encouraging him to play, but he's more interested in just being petted or sleeping. He still has a cough, although I don't think he is contageous any more.
This afternoon at work, I am writing in my journal and Mike is sitting here reading on his blackberry. There's nothing going on and it will be real hard getting through the rest of the day and tomorrow. I just looked at the calendar and we have exactly 10 more days here - the time is slipping by.
Sunday, September 16. The last day of our shift this week and only one more to go. The dog's name has changed once again and I think it will stick this time - Frisco. We both thought it was very appropriate since we rescued him from San Francisco and its kind of a happy name. Once again, we will have to see.
This evening, we met up with Ben and Jill and went to Tommy's Mexican, a little hole in the wall restaurant that features more than 100 types of tequila (see photo) for dinner. Its been a long time since we've been there, but its always good and we just happened to get a table right away. Ben and Mike were hoping to have Sangrita to have with their tequila, but they brought the shots to the table and said they were out of Sangrita - so they just washed the tequila with beer. Ben was disappointed. Now we have to find a recipe to make it at home - it will compliment the gift that they brought Mike back from Mexico.
I showed Jill the 2 dresses that I had found for the wedding and she liked them both - now I have to make a decision. After dinner, we talked about the possibilities for the rehearsal dinner, maybe to be held on a catamaran. That would certainly be nice, but many ???? need to be answered first.
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September 17 - 23
Monday, September 17. Today started early with a trip to San Leandro to Allied Trailer Supply where we were having a base plate installed on the Honda so we can tow it behind the motorhome. Unfortunately, the employee there didn't have it together and we found that he didn't have the correct parts. So it was back to Pacifica where we stopped at the Salada Cafe for a wonderful breakfast. Life was much better after that.
We both took naps in the afternoon, took the dog for walks, and just relaxed for the rest of the day.
Tuesday, September 18. It was a nice productive day - I got the grocery shopping out of the way. Mike replaced the damaged wheel cover (a collision with the Golden Gate bridge) on the motorhome. We both washed the car, and got the house cleaned.
Mike sold his Libretto computer on Craig's List and the check for that arrived today. We also received some new rugs that I ordered for the motorhome. So we headed off to deposit the check and take care of some other errands. Frisco did real well in the car, although he was a bit upset by being left for about 5 minutes. He likes to hang his head out the window and catch the breeze. Today was a breakthrough in the sense that Frisco actually played with us for a little while - he played tug and got excited about his new toy.
Wednesday, September 19. We were both wide awake at 6:00 this morning, listening to the high winds shake and rattle the motorhome. This went on all night long, so neither of us slept well. It continued all through the day and the prediction is for even higher winds tomorrow.
It was a lazy morning, but I had to get moving to get to Sublime on time for my haircut appointment. I can't believe this is the last time that I can have Jill cut my hair - at least until I get back out here. Hope I can find someone to do as good a job as she does. When I got back home, Frisco was all excited - running back and forth and wanting attention. That made me feel good to see that he is starting to show some spunk.
Tonight, we will be going to say goodbye to Gary, the manager who is leaving on Friday. I sure hope they get someone in here that wants to clean up the place. It could be so nice here, especially considering that it is a perfect location.
Friday, September 21. Its another bright, sunny morning here in Pacifica - just a gorgeous morning. The partly cloudy skies, sunrise and sunsets have been beautiful since the high winds of a couple of days ago. I couldn't believe the messy coating of white (salt) and brown (sand) dust left on the motorhome after 2 nights of heavy winds. Fortunately, Julio's Detailing will be giving it a good washing and waxing today - a little pricey but it really needs it. The last time we waxed it ourselves, it took 4 days to complete the job.
Yesterday worked out well - the base plate was installed on the Honda and it looks really nice - not a large piece of steel on the front of the car. It took about 4 hours and during that time we walked over to the local mall and walked around and shopped - something we don't do a lot of.
Ben was planning to come over for dinner, but it turned out that he was given a ticket to a concert and didn't want to miss that. Hopefully, we can spend some time together over the next few evenings.
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September 24 - 26
Wednesday, September 26. We've just been so busy that I haven't had a chance to write lately. We made it through our last 4 days of work - no problem. Dorothy wrote us a very nice letter of recommendation.
Sunday night, we went to a surprise engagement *bleep*tail party for Ben and Jill. It was held at Sublime Salon and put together by all of her co-workers. Jill's mom, Lois, came into town on Friday and told them she made reservations at a very classy restaurant for the evening. Unfortunately, Jill got a call from her business partner, Mickey, just as they were ready to leave, telling her there had been a break-in at the salon and she needed to stop by there.
About 30 people were gathered at the salon, waiting in the darkness until Mickey turned on the lights and we all shouted "Surprise". They were totally surprised and happy that their friends put it together. We were so glad that we could be here to share the celebration.
Monday was our last workday and it was slow, slow, slow - only 4 reservations and a few stragglers driving up. In the evening we went to Ben and Jill's and had pizza and played Farkel. It was a lot of fun, but then we had to say goodbye to Jill and Lois as we wouldn't be seeing them again until the wedding.
Yesterday was the day to try to get all the loose ends tied up; groceries, laundry, hooking up the car, filling up with propane, sanitizing our fresh water tank, cleaning the holding tanks, securing all of the loose items. We didn't get all of them done - just ran out of time.
At about 6:00, Elaine and Gail, Don, and Dorothy and Jack stopped by for a glass of wine and some conversation. It was another of those beautiful 68 degree days here, so we sat in the yard enjoying the sunshine and nice weather. Ben arrived at about 7:00 and we had a great dinner together and hung out until about 11:00. Then we had to say goodbye to him. We're all kind of sad that Ruby and Frisco didn't get a chance to meet each other (because of Frisco's kennel cough). We sure would like to squeeze in another visit before the wedding in March.
We both agree that we have come to really like the California state of mind and the beautiful area. It truly is a nice place to live and would definitely consider it again.
I've got to stop writing now, so we can get ready to move on down the road. We're both very excited and looking forward to being on the move again.
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Wednesday, September 26.
Since we're back in traveling mode, the structure of the web pages will be a little bit different, allowing me to post maps of our route. It feels so good to be writing about the adventure once again, living the lifestyle that we chose a couple of years ago.
We were hooked up, filled up, and on the road by 10:20 this morning and headed straight east across the Bay Bridge, through Sacramento and Reno, on to the Fernley RV Park in Fernley, NV for the night. We made a stop at Roseville for fuel ($2.87/gal). We didn't fill up, thinking that gas might be a bit less in Nevada. We also stopped at the Donner Party Monument and Museum at Donner's Pass, CA - check out the photos in the photo gallery. Dorothy at SF RV Resort suggested a stop here and it was well worth it - thanks Dorothy! Just the thought that they were trapped in 22 feet of snow sounds agonizing.
We decided to stop at Fernley, a small town 30 miles east of Reno, since we had been on the road for close to 6 hours. We thought that fuel prices were going to be less in Nevada, but they weren't. A stop at the local Pilot station proved to be quite the challenge. First, it looked like we would be blocking cars from the pumps, so we didn't fill up at the Auto part of the station where we also saw a big sign that said "Autos Only". We headed to the truck station where we got in line and waited for several trucks to get through, only to find that there was only diesel in these lanes.
When we left there, Mike wanted to go one direction to the exit but went in the direction that I thought we should go and we ended up in the line for the truck wash. Ooh!! Big Mistake - there were 4 trucks ahead of us. After waiting at least a half hour, we decided to unhook the car (you can't go in reverse with a car hooked up) and get out of there.
This time, it was Mike's turn to make a Big Mistake - he unhooked the tow bar but forgot to put the car in gear. I went into the motorhome to grab my keys and when I got back, I saw the car rolling backwards, headed for one of the giant boulders that were lining the drive. The car had rolled at least 50 feet back, so I started running to catch up to it. When I approached, I realized the door was locked, so I scrambled for the unlock button. When I caught up to it, I opened the door, ran faster, turned around and jumped in, applying the brakes to come to a stop. My heart was thumping so fast and I was just so glad that it didn't keep on rolling into the big boulder that edged the drive. It took a while to get my heart beating normally. I'm sure that provided good entertainment to the truckers. We then went back to the auto part of the station to fill up.
Frisco seems a bit baffled by the whole thing. He was very nervous when we were packing up this morning, but he really liked all of the smells in the woods at Donner's Pass. He's catching on to the sit, stay, stop, and come commands.
What a day! All in all, the motorhome worked fine. The new tires felt real good, making it handle well. The towbar worked as it should and we had no problems. We travelled 264 miles and spent $225 today (gas, tolls, rv park fee).
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Thursday, September 27.
Once again, it was near 10:00 by the time we got started. Guess we've just become accustomed to spending the first couple of hours of the morning relaxing. No problem.
The route was pretty straight along I-80 today. In fact, at one point as we came down a hill, you could see the highway stretch straight for over 30 miles. The scenery was attractive for most of the route, mostly desert, but the colors were yellows, sage green, white, and shades of red, bordered by mountains of various browns. The sky was a clear blue. Points of interest were few.
Early in the day we passed a caravan of about 20 antique cars, ranging from Model T's to a 50's vintage Ford. "Dust Hazard" road signs were some that we had never encountered before. Again, there is snow on the high mountain peaks.
We drove about 306 miles today, stopping at the Mountain Shadows RV Park in Wells, NV. After looking back at my very positive comments of the place from our stay last year (about the same time), we decided to stop here again. Our total spending today was $15 for the campsite. All systems on the motorhome and car are fine.
We're both sneezing and suffering from allergy-like symptoms today - not sure if we have picked up something or if it is allergies, but neither of us are feeling real good today.
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Friday, September 28.
We decided to start a bit earlier this morning, but still didn�??t get on the road until nearly 10:00. Since we had never seen the Bonneville Salt Flats, we stopped there to see what it was like. There is a small cul de sac at the end of the road where the racetrack begins. You can�??t really distinguish the track (80 feet wide and 10 miles long) from the rest of the surroundings, other than some tracks in the salt. It was pretty in many ways, surrounded by a beautiful mountain range. The scenery between Wells and Salt Lake City was barren, salt flats and desert. We did spot a scraggly looking coyote alongside the road.
The Flying J at Grantsville, Utah was our midday stop today. We really like the Flying J�??s as they have RV lanes where you can fill up with gas, dump your tanks, and get fresh water if you want. Gas was $2.73/gal. We found that we are getting 8.6 miles per gallon. Across the street was a McDonalds with a drive-thru for trucks �?? we had never seen one of them before. We tried it, but nobody answered, so went in ourselves.
East of Salt Lake City was beautiful country, grassy valleys, colorful mountainsides, farms, rivers, and spots of fall color. We decided to stop near Fort Bridger for the night but there were no campsites available at the Fort Bridger RV Park, so we drove a few miles east to the Lyman KOA in Lyman, WY. It�??s a nice little park with a scattering of campers, and it is open for the last weekend of the season.
During the night, we could hear some kind of strange bird and horses. There were no traffic noises other than a few vehicles going down the road to Lyman, about a mile south of where we are. Its been cold the last few nights, so we have had to take some precautions to keep Fred (our red beta fish) warm. We�??ve been setting him under a light and then wrapping a towel or something for insulation around his bowl. While driving, we have the bowl only half full and we put it in the sink with a few items around it to keep it from tipping over. It all seems to work, as he is active and eating well.
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Saturday, September 29.
Not much to write about today, as we are just heading east. It was real chilly this morning and it seemed that a storm was following us most of the way. The terrain was pretty, but wide open and very few populated places. We stopped at a rest area east of Rawlins, WY and the wind was just rocking the motorhome. Fortunately, it was coming straight out of the west, so provided a good tail wind. The storm hit during the night, bringing wind and rain to this area.
The stop for the night was at the ABCamping RV Park just south of Cheyenne. After getting setup, we drove into town for a few things that we had run out of. When we returned to the RV park, we had BBQ from their little restaurant in the park. It was excellent!
When in got dark at about 7:30, we realized that we hadn�??t changed any of our clocks, and it really was 8:30 here in the Mountain time zone. Guess that means that we didn�??t really get an early start this morning. Oh well!
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Sunday, September 30.
It was cold and windy when we got up this morning. We hooked up right away and were on the road by 9:30. As we headed east, many of the trucks that passed us had clumps of snow falling off their trucks. We weren't sure where they were coming from, but glad we didn't have to go through that.
Today's drive was pretty uneventful and we pushed on to get as many miles in as we could, 440 compared to our usual 300 or so. We did see a beautiful rainbow, a coyote, and some pretty scenery. The great plains are massive and the farther east we went, the more the landscape started to appear like the midwest; farms, fields of corn, small ponds dotting the roadside.
We stopped for the night at the State Fair Park in Lincoln, NE. The sites are nice with full hook-ups and only $20. We arrived just before it got dark, so it really didn't matter that its just a big parking lot. Very convenient, though.
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Created on 09/03/2007 09:43 PM by bridge
Updated on 09/30/2007 09:43 PM by bridge
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