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An Oregon Tour
I pulled onto SR99 around 0930 and headed north. I took I-5 at Stockton and drove all the way to Weed, CA. At Weed, I turned onto SR97 toward Klamath Falls, Oregon. The drive was beautiful and the traffic thinned nicely once I had Sacramento behind me.
I recently saw a TV ad for a Portobello burger, but wasn’t sure which burger outfit advertised it. I stopped at the small town of Williams along I-5 and was disappointed that the Carl’s Jr. I stopped at wasn’t the one. So I ordered a double cheeseburger instead, with fries and a Coke which was on special. I enjoyed it in the coach, and after asking my smartphone what chain offered the Portobello burger, I promised myself one at Jack In The Box soon.
I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful drive through the mountains, Lake Shasta and the gorgeous views of Mt. Shasta. Once I turned onto US97 I was on a two lane country highway with little traffic and great scenery. I loved every mile of US97!
When I arrived at the Klamath Falls Walmart I saw a sign I hadn’t seen there during past stays. It read No Overnight RV Parking, so I took my walk and while in the store I asked a customer service manager if they meant it as many Walmarts are required by a city ordinance to post such a sign. But I was told they meant it and after a few hours I’d be asked to leave. I asked a fella who was retrieving grocery carts if he’d seen RVs parked overnight. He said RVs parked overnight all the time. Good enough! I decided to stay and take my chances. The worst that could happen would be to move off the property.
I watched online documentaries on the ‘puter before retiring for the night. It’s really very easy to do so but the streaming does consume more data time from my AT&T allotment than watching my DVDs. I enjoyed a couple cool ones, then called it a day around 2300. It had been a lovely day and I hoped for a quiet night with no knock on the door!
As I approached the lake I pulled into a Pilot station and added 25 gallons of diesel to be sure I’d be able to run the generator that evening if necessary. Below a quarter tank the generator doesn’t run so as to keep one from running out of fuel while parked.
I continued on north toward Bend but turned off before I got into town and headed towards Prineville where my buddy Al used to live. This whole drive was just to see beautiful Oregon and I wanted to include that lovely drive to Prineville. Al asked me to take some photos of his old place, and what a shock! The new owners had planted flowers over the entire front area so tall that the house was not visible. It looked terrible. I almost hated to show the photos to Al.
I spent the evening as usual, aboard the coach. I called Al to let them know I’d arrive the next day, as planned. I tried to convince them that we could bring food in and not to go to any trouble, but he insisted that Betty wanted to cook a meal for us. That would be a treat for me having lived for a few days on my usual travel fare. Again I watched documentaries for free on the computer. They were pretty interesting and, at least for me, not reruns. I enjoyed a couple cool ones as I sat at the computer, then headed to bed at 2300.
I headed out of town toward SR121 which would take me to US20 and westward across Oregon to the valley and I-5. I was looking forward to the long, twisty, scenic drive across US20, one that I’ve never driven before. But first things first; I stopped along the roadway just beyond the small town of Sisters, under the Sisters’ peaks, and whipped up a good, diet breakfast.
At one point along US20 a large sign read “First Notice: 11 miles 6% downgrade ahead.” The next sign, about a mile later, “Final Notice: 11 miles 6% downgrade ahead.” And they weren’t kidding; it was a long, steep downhill drop and I was happy to have that Cummins exhaust brake to keep me slowed down.
When I arrived in Keizer I pulled into their driveway, dropped the jacks and made myself at home. It was good to see Al and Betty at their lovely home in Keizer.
Al and I visited in the living room as Betty slaved away in the kitchen whipping up a huge dinner. She allowed no help from anyone, and when she called us to the table, she had laid out a huge spread.
I enjoyed a couple cool ones in the coach as I worked on this blog and edited photos. Afterwards, I watched some more documentaries online. It had been a big day; I headed for bed about 2300 and slept well.
Back at Al’s place I began setting up the coach for the day’s drive to Yreka. When I tried to back out of the driveway with its fairly steep rise, we discovered that I’d have to raise the big mudflat at the back to avoid breaking its mounting links as I did the last visit. After getting out of the driveway, we said our goodbyes and I headed back to I-5 and continued south towards home.
I stopped at a rest area along the Interstate and zapped some of Betty’s wonderful taters and gravy, dressing, green beans and bacon, and pork roast that was to die for. I didn’t have much, but still more than my usual lunch.
I arrived at Yreka’s Walmart at 1640 on a very warm day; it was in the 90s when I arrived. I headed to the store at once and walked for about 25 minutes to get my exercise done. I also scoped out another section of the lot to park in, under the shade of a nearby building, and moved to it before settling in for the night. I ran the generator/air conditioner ’til nearly dark to stay comfortable, and it sure did a good job. It was after sunset that I was able to turn it off for the night. The outdoor temps dropped into the 70s not long after sunset.
I spent the evening relaxing aboard the coach, writing this blog and editing photos. It was very warm outside but inside the coach I was very comfortable. I also showered, watched some TV and enjoyed a couple cool ones. I went to bed about 2300 and slept well.
I was up that final day of my Oregon loop a bit before 0500, hankering to get on the road early and head for home. I wanted to get through Sacramento and on south before the Friday afternoon rush hour. I hurried through the morning chores, scanned through my favorite online sites rather quickly and pulled out of Yreka at 0615.
The drive was uneventful, as I like, and I stopped only once, in Williams, CA where I thought I’d buy a Mickey D breakfast. When I entered the place I found a long line waiting to order. I turned and went back to the coach where I zapped a breakfast sandwich and peeled a banana for breakfast. I also ate more of Betty’s wonderful cooking. I was back on the road for home pretty quickly.
The trip was 1325 miles over five days and Cecil the Diesel delivered over 10 miles per gallon even through all those mountains! I enjoyed the long drive through the beauty of Oregon and Northern Kalifornistan. I had scratched my itch to get back on the road pretty well, and would be looking forward to our trip to Denver again in August and September. Life is good with the comfy and efficient Cecil the Diesel!
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