April 10 to 16, 2008
Victorville to Corning, California
Thursday ; Victorville to Porterville, California
Today was sunny and very warm. Typical Southern California weather, I guess.
This morning we left the Wal-Mart parking lot in Victorville quite early. I wanted to have another day of hard driving covering many miles. We drove north on Interstate 15 for a few miles, then turned west on Hwy. 18 for a few miles to Adelanto where we stopped at Stater Bros. to buy groceries. Nice grocery store. In general, California's grocery stores are nicer than average, with particularly good produce departments, meat departments, and in store bakeries, somewhat of a rarity in the United States, we find. While in the grocery store's parking lot I phoned Wal-Mart in Penticton, B.C. to order some prescription refills, to be ready for pick up in 3 weeks.
We headed north on Hwy. 395 through the desolate Mojave Desert to Four Corners, then turned west on Hwy. 58 and continued through the Mojave, passing the Edwards Air Force Base and a huge commercial airliner graveyard. We reached the western edge of the Mojave Desert at the Tehachapi Valley, a beautiful mountainous area we have driven through before. The Tehachapi Pass is a challenge to drive a big rig through, although it's more of a challenge going uphill / eastbound than it is going downhill / westbound, as we did today. At Bakersfield, we turned south on Hwy. 99 looking for the Flying J. Ooooops ... wrong direction. Too bad we drove about 10 miles until we realized that ! We headed north on Hwy. 99 and found the Flying J. Why is diesel about twice the price in California than it is in Mexico ? ! ? Today's refuelling cost $133 ! ! ! We had a late lunch in the Flying J parking lot.
We continued north on Hwy. 99 to Hwy. 190, then turned east heading for Porterville. There we found our way to Lakeside Trailer Park, the last reasonably priced, commercial RV park before Sequoia National Park. Since we had boondocked at a Wal-Mart last night, we wanted full services tonight, and we didn'twant to go into the National Park because it's been our experience that most National Park campgrounds in the United States are unserviced. Lakeside Trailer Park was a really dumpy mobile home park with a few vacant pads available for use by RV'ers. Oh, well, it was reasonably inexpensive ( for California ! ) and it was only for one night. The place was overrun with feral cats. The elderly "white trailer park trash" woman manager of the park claimed to be trying to capture them and have them neutered, but it looked like she was losing the battle. After getting set up in our site we took Bo for a walk around the park, checking out the 40 to 50 year old mobile homes. Yikes ... how can people live in those ? ! ? But ... the park does have a lovely California spring fragrance.
I bought some huge steaks at Stater Bros. today at an exceptionally good price. Joanne diced one and I barbecued steak and mushroom shish kabobs for supper. After supper we watched an episode of Survivorman on DVD.
Friday ; Porterville to Sequoia National Park, California
Today was sunny and very warm. We departed Porterville this morning heading north on Hwy. 65. At Exeter we stopped to refill a propane tank. At Hwy. 198 we turned northeast towards Sequoia National Park. We entered the park on Generals Highway, the main road through the park, and stopped at the Foothills Visitor Centre where we found out that it was not possible for vehicles longer than 22 feet to navigate the narrow, steep, winding roads through the park to the Giant Sequoia groves < sigh >. It had been our plan to enter the park from the southwest corner, then drive through in a big half loop to exit at the northwest corner, sightseeing as we drove.
We drove as far as rigs over 22 feet were able to go, to Potwisha Campground. With some difficulty we squeezed into a site, unhitched, and had lunch. Most U.S. National Parks that we have been to were designed and built long before today's big RV rigs became a reality. The roads and campgrounds are just not big rig friendly. After lunch we drove north through the park, stopping frequently to view and photograph the Giant Sequoias. The campground was at an elevation of 2080 feet. But the Giant Sequoia groves were between 6409 and 6720 feet. At those elevations there was still a lot of snow on the ground, despite the temperature being in the mid-50's. The snow had been melting during the days and freezing overnight for awhile, so the snow covered trails were icy and very slippery. We hiked a short distance on the Big Trees Trail, but it was too treacherous and we turned back. We toured the Giant Forest Museum. We parked and walked to the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree inthe world. We drove as far as the Lodgepole Visitor Centre about halfway through the park, then turned around and drove back.
To a certain extent, once you've seen a few Giant Sequoias ... you've seen 'em all !
Saturday ; Sequoia National Park to Coarsegold, California
Today was sunny and hot ! We departed Sequoia National Park this morning driving southwest on Generals Highway until we were out of the National Park, then west on Hwy. 198, and northwest on Hwy. 99. We stopped at Bravo Farms Cheese Factory at Traver, but I didn't want to buy cheese priced at $10 a pound ! We continued northwest on Hwy. 99 to Fresno. We turned north on Hwy. 41, up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains, towards Coarsegold, and SKP Park Of The Sierras. We think Park Of The Sierras is the nicest of the 19 Escapee parks.
We registered, got set up in our site, had lunch, I napped, then we drove through the park to see if our friends Lynn and Mischa and their dog Gypsy were here. They have a permanent site in this park. Unfortunately, they were not here. We spent the afternoon relaxing, enjoying the sunshine and warm weather. I prepared some e-mails to send. I downloaded and processed yesterday's photos from Sequoia National Park. We spent the evening watching television. We haven't watched any television in about 2 months.
Sunday ; Whew ... today was sunny and very hot ! Abnormal for this time of year ! Ironically, one year ago today, we were in Albuquerque, New Mexico, waiting out a spring blizzard. We spent a lazy morning, mostly resting. After lunch we began to work on repairing a section of stair nosing from the stairs leading up from the living area to the bathroom hallway in the trailer. I wanted to replace the section of stair nosing, but I've been unable to find any to match so far. So I repaired the existing section, to last temporarily, and hope that I can find replacement identical stair nosing once we're back home in Canada. The removal, repair, and reinstallation took most of the afternoon, and while the results were somewhat less than perfect, it'll have to be good enough, for now.
We went to the park's Sunday afternoon ice cream social. Some Escapee parks' Sunday afternoon ice cream socials are better than others. This one was good ! We chatted with a man whose first name was Kirby. He was a civil war veterans' grave historian. Okay ... must be an American thing ! ? ! While doing my Monday preventive maintenance, I discovered a rear tire that was almost flat. Darn ! Hopefully, it's just a valve extender problem. That's likely, since I removed and reinstalled the valve extenders about 10 days ago when I had the truck serviced in Yuma. I removed the rear hub cap and wheel liner, removed, adjusted the positioning of, and reinstalled the valve extender, reinstalled the wheel liner and hub cap, and went to put air in the tire at this very large RV park's well equipped maintenance garage. I'll have to monitor the air pressure in that tire closely for awhile. I did some minor paint touch up on the shower stall base. Again, results less than perfect, but it'll have to be good enough. We dusted the truck ... again ! Gee ... we've gone from the truck being covered in desert dust on a daily basis to it being coated in California Sierra Nevada mountain forest springtime pollen !
After supper I drove slowly through the park with the Wi-Fi phone, using it to search for a Wi-Fi signal. I found one at one of the higher spots in the park. It was a very strong and very fast Wi-Fi signal. I think it was coming from the Chuckchansi Gold Resort & Casino, visible a couple of miles away on the next mountain. I sent and retrieved e-mail, updated my blog, retrieved phone messages, and checked my investments.
Monday ; Today was sunny and hot again. It cooled off a bit, and a breeze came up in the afternoon. The California Sierra Nevada Mountains that we are in have a lovely, fresh spring scent. But ... the truck is coated in pollen daily, and Bo and I are sneezing a lot. We slept late this morning. I did today's preventive maintenance, then performed surgery on Señor Caballerro III. Señor Caballerro is the little rubber Saguaro cactus wearing the bolo tie and cowboy hat that sits on the truck antenna. The first Señor Caballero simply died of old age after being on the antenna for a year. Señor Caballero II was knocked off the antenna in the Baja, on one of the many back roads / burro trails that we drove. Señor Caballerro III is the recent replacement. A few days ago, while driving into a very strong headwind, we noticed that he was almost pulled off the top of the antenna. So, today I drilled all the way through him, and slid him down to the bottom of the antenna.
We went to the nearby Chuckchansi Gold Resort & Casino for lunch. It's our favourite casino buffet. They have a very economical senior's price for lunch in their buffet restaurant on weekdays. And they simply assume, since we're showing up for lunch on a weekday, that we are seniors. Hey ... who am I to argue ? It's not my fault my wife looks old. HA HA HA ! We have eaten at Chuckchansi before, and it has resulted in some "inside jokes". We eat until Joanne has to ... well, you know ... visit the ladies' room. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA ! That's usually after we've each made a trip to the soup and salad station, the Italian food station, the Mexican food station, the American food station, the Chinese food station, and the dessert station. It's too bad she doesn't have a larger capacity colon. I've never made it to the Mongolian barbecue station. HA HA HA < tears rolling > HA HA ! And ... < snickering > ... the wait staff's question to all departing guests is, with a smile, "Did you have enough to eat ?". HA HA HA ... casino buffet humour.
After lunch, before departing the casino, Joanne wanted to play penny slots until we lost a dollar. Okay ! We finally left when our dollar had become four dollars ! Hey ... some days you just got it ! We drove north on Hwy. 41 through the little village of Coarsegold and on to the slightly larger town of Oakhurst. We refilled with diesel, refilled water jugs, and bought some groceries.
Back at SKP Park Of The Sierras we rested and read for the rest of the afternoon. Joanne was slow and sluggish until after her second Chuckchansi s**t. HA HA HA HA HA < barely able to type > HA HA HA HA HA ! I drove her and our dirty laundry over to the laundromat at the clubhouse. While we waited for the washing machines to finish, we took Bo to this park's fenced dog run for a romp, then did an obedience session with him. He hasn't had more than a few obedience sessions in the last 5½ months, and it shows ! When we get back home to Keremeos, I'm going to have to resume daily obedience sessions with him. We browsed through thepark's bargain table and library. I picked up some books to read, and a pair of shorts from the bargain table. I had difficulty starting the truck. Uh-oh ... maybe Lanoire's first mechanical problem ? I'm hoping, since I just refilled with diesel today, that it's nothing more serious than some dirty diesel fuel, or diesel fuel with some water condensed in it. I guess I'll know as soon as I've used up this tank of fuel, which will be after one full day of driving once we're back on the road.
I pulled out the truck's owner's manual, and learned how to drain the fuel / water separator filter. I used to do that regularly on Dee-Dee, but I had never done that before on Lanoire because I didn't know how. It's supposed to be done "periodically". That probably means more often than once every 85,000 kilometres / 53,000 miles ! The truck started 10 times in a row with no problem. Hopefully that will have solved the hard starting problem that I experienced today.
Tuesday ; Today was sunny and warm. The unseasonably hot weather is over, for at least a few days. We decided that we wanted to stay here at SKP Park Of The Sierras for one more day, and will leave tomorrow. This morning I determined that the passenger side outside rear dually tire was still losing air slowly. I changed the valve extender, installing a spare that I had. If that doesn't solve the problem, then the tire itself must have a leak. Joanne was complaining about the length of her hair on top, dissatisfied that the hair stylist in Mulegé had not cut enough off the top. It's hard to get a good haircut when you don't speak the same language as the hair stylist. HA HA HA ! I gave Joanne a hair trim today, something I've never done before. Apparently my talents and skills are boundless. HA HA HA !
We spent most of the afternoon reading outside in the warm sunshine, resting up for the next few days of driving. Over the next few days I think we'll drive through the northern half of California, and halfway through Oregon to the SKP park at Sutherlin.
I prepared a letter and supporting documentation to ICBC ( Insurance Corporation of British Columbia ), requesting a refund of our truck and trailer insurance premiums for the period of time we were in Mexico. Our Canadian vehicle insurance is not valid in Mexico, and we are entitled to a refund of the insurance premiums for that period of time. After supper I drove over to the high spot in the park where there is a strong Wi-Fi signal from the Chuckchansi Gold Resort & Casino, and retrieved mid-month investment updates.
Wednesday ; Coarsegold to Corning, California
This morning we prepared for departure from SKP Park Of The Sierras, Joanne went to the office to pay,and I drove over to the maintenance garage to adjust the air pressure in all 12 truck and trailer tires for the long drive north. The passenger side outside rear dually tire still seems to be losing air slowly, despite me replacing the valve extender. We decided that since we were rested and fresh, we would travel scenic back roads through the Sierra Nevada Mountains for the morning before heading over to the Interstate in the afternoon.
We headed north on Hwy. 41 through Coarsegold to Oakhurst, then turned northwest onto Hwy. 49, following the steep, winding road as it passed along the western edge of Yosemite National Park. It was a tough drive with a big rig. It remained steep and winding until we began to move westward away from the Sierra Nevada Mountains when we turned west onto Hwy. 120. At Oakdale we saw a cheese factory and stopped. We bought fresh gouda curds, a tub of a cheese spread called Quark, and a loaf of sourdough bread. We ate some of that for lunch in Oakdale Cheese Factory's parking lot. We visited their animal pen which had a llama and baby goats.
At Manteca, a bit east of San Francisco, we reached Hwy. 99 which is a four lane divided freeway. We drove north on Hwy. 99 to Lodi, where we drove across the city to get to Interstate 5, and a Flying J. We refilled with diesel at Flying J because I didn't want to be < singing > "stuck in Lodi ... again". HA HA HA ! We drove north to and through California's capital city, Sacramento. We continued north on I-5 to a rest area at Dunnigan where we changed drivers. I was tired of driving after about 400 km. / 250 miles. Joanne drove for about another 100 km. / 60 miles to Corning. We refilled with diesel at Flying J ... again ... and parked there for a night of boondocking.
Gee ... our diesel expenditures for the day were $169 ! The price of fuel in California is truly outrageous. Here at the Flying J in Corning we paid $4.239 per gallon. And Flying J is ten to fifteen cents per gallon cheaper than the other stations. Hopefully this tank will last us until we cross into Oregon, where I'm hopeful the prices will be cheaper. The truck's hard starting problem has disappeared. The diesel I bought in Coarsegold must have had dirt or water in it.
DSK
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