Redding to Wilsonville

Thursday morning as soon as Art was up he went to check the computer--it was still doing the file check!!! Luck was on his side however and the process was completed a few minutes later. Art tried it out, it worked, but very slowly, and fortunately all the important files, pictures etc were still available. Whew! Fortunately we were planning on buying a new one when we got home anyway.

He packed it up and after breakfast we were off and running with no more than the usual delays. Crossing the Nevada Desert days ago Art had said to Gillian "when do you think we will hit the first rain"? Eventually we decided it would likely be in southern to mid Oregon. Well . . .

Soon we had the windshield wiper on "intermittent" and not very much later they were working steady.

As we approached the town of Weed, made famous by the "Snoopy" cartoons, we saw the sign showing that the Rest Area was closed. This used to be a great rest area located alongside the Weed Airport where you could watch the small planes coming and going but it was closed last year as well. Hope it's not a permanent thing. We were ready for a break so we took the exit anyway and parked on the side of the road behind a row of semis who's drivers had the same idea.

As we approached the Siskiyou Pass between California and Oregon Art noticed the large highway sign that read: "Winter Conditions Traction Tires or Carry Chains Mandatory". Since the rain was still rain we continued, hoping that we would not be stopped. Backtracking to purchase chains that we would never use would be wasteful of both time and money.

As the elevation increased the "rain" got thicker and soon the wipers were piling up a bit of slush at the sides of the windshield but you couldn't really call it snow. Soon however we reached the summit and began the long descent into Oregon, the exhaust brake and cruise control holding our speed down nicely, our brakes hardly needed.

The further we got into Oregon the better the weather became and soon the rain was a thing of the past. We rolled into CampingWorld in Wilsonville well before dark and before long we were parked and level, slides out and ready for a drink and dinner.


Also overnighting in the lot waiting for their morning appointment was a family from Nova Scotia (The Other Wet Coast); Dad, Mom and 2 daughters on a RV circumnavigation of Canada and the USA. Mom and Dad later joined us for a drink and a chat, comparing notes and stories while the girls stayed home watching videos and or doing their homework.


In the morning Art went to check in with the service department only to find that somehow our appointment had been booked for the following Friday!!! They were very busy but thought they could squeeze us in sometime during the day if we just left the coach with them. Meanwhile the service rep went to ensure that the part for the awning had arrived. It had and close examination showed that it was very easy to install--press, snap, it would be done.



We paid for the part, (WAY too much for what it was--a bit of extruded plastic--$40.00 plus $20.00 shipping!!!!!) took it with us and made our way to Les Schwab Tire. Here we left the coach for the replacement batteries under warranty and to have a tire rotation done while we were there. Off in the car to Denny's to meet our Nova Scotia friends, as arranged earlier, for breakfast.

Then to the Pet shop to find a few goodies for the dogs--this shop is where, on our way south every year, we buy Trekker's grain free food to last him through the winter in Mexico. We had run out so we bought a small bag to get him home. (Trekker has a grain allergy--after a while his hair begins to fall out.)

By this time it was a little too late to head north so we eventually found a very nice campground that was dog friendly and settled in for the remainder of the afternoon and spent the night alongside the river. "Eventually" because she who was driving the Tracker and leading the way first got in the wrong lane and led the coach through a very small parking lot to turn around, then turned into a shopping centre parking lot instead of onto Highway 99 South. Again the motorhome followed, though at least here there was a bit more room to manouver so as to get back on track. As mentioned a moment ago eventually we all safely arrived in our space in the park, Art's tongue not too much worse for the biting of it. At least Gillian knew where to find the grocery store to do a bit of shopping!