April 2, 2005

April 2, 2005

Ukiah to Garberville, California

DAY 288

 

Today started out sunny and warm, but became cloudy and cool in the afternoon. As we get further north, the evenings are getting cooler.

We decided we need to slow down a bit. The last week or so we've been driving long, hard days, on difficult roads. I'm tired. We're both edgy. So most of today was spent running errands, and we drove less. We started by heading back on Hwy. 101 south 3 exits to find a Wal-Mart. We did some grocery and supply replenishment. Then forward on Hwy. 101 north 1 exit to Safeway for more groceries. On and off the highway exits, in and out of the city, in and out of shopping malls with the rig is hard work. We had lunch in the Safeway parking lot before heading back out on Hwy. 101, heading north.

We have passed the middle of California, so we are out of Southern California and are now in Northern California. The change is obvious and dramatic. We have left the heavily urbanized south, and have entered the rugged, forested north. We are driving up and down and around mountains covered in evergreens and redwoods. We have begun to see quite large redwood trees. Joanne noted today that being back in forest seems rejuvenating. She's right. I guess we're more "at home" in this kind of terrain.

We stopped in Willits to buy diesel, and a few more supply items at Dollar Tree. We haven't seen a "dollar store" since we left Arizona. I guess a buck doesn't buy much in Southern California ! We stopped for the night at Richardson Grove RV Park in Garberville. It's a very nice, fully serviced campground, in evergreen and redwood forest, at a very reasonable price. Finally, prices are coming down a bit. And the people are becoming noticeably nicer. I'm don't think I'm ever going to be a big fan of Southern California.

After getting set up in the campground, I put a roast on the barbecue, and we took Bo for a long walk around the campground. I went back to tend to the roast while Joanne chatted with a neighbouring camper. They're from Alberta, and have been travelling full time in a fifth wheel since last June, like us. I haven't barbecued a roast in a long time. Now that the days are getting longer, I plan to be using the barbecue a lot more again. Daylight Savings Time starts tonight. We drank half a bottle of California wine with our over cooked, dried out roast. After supper, I went to the campground office / store to use the modem access phone jack set up on their front porch. While attempting to get online to update my blog, the resident cat Dusty came over and jumped into my lap to get some attention. I gave up trying to connect to AOL after 5 attempts each resulted in a very slow connection. I needed to update my blog with about 8 days worth of journal and photos, and I needed a faster connection than I was getting. I returned to the trailer, and used Wi-Fi, which is available in this park, but at a bit of a hefty daily fee. Oh, well ... the daily camping rate was quite low, so it balances out okay.

DSK