Mostly sunny, mild.
This morning we said farewell to Laszlo and Gail ( and DeeOJee the Pit Bull ), leaving them in Death Valley National Park. Two weeks ago we were eager to leave Yuma, Arizona and resume travelling. Today we were eager to resume travelling by ourselves. Playing tour guide / RV caravan leader for the last two weeks has worn me out.
We dumped our waste holding tanks, refilled our freshwater tank, and departed Sunset Campground in Death Valley National Park about 10:30 AM. We drove north on Hwy. 190, then northeast on Hwy. 374, leaving Death Valley National Park, and California. Just a few miles later, at Beatty, Nevada, we turned north on Hwy. 95 ... yet again !
We stopped to refill with diesel at Tonopah. We had lunch there in the camper while parked in a municipal parking lot. I napped very briefly. We continued north on Hwy. 95. We stopped to buy some groceries at Safeway in Hawthorne.
Beatty ... Tonopah ... Hawthorne ... and all the rest of the little towns throughout Nevada are ... < sigh > ... what can I say ? They're ... scruffy, little, desert "loser" towns. What do people do to earn livings in those kinds of towns ? Where do they get medical care ? Nevada has Las Vegas in the south, and Reno / Sparks in the northwest, just a few miles down the road from where we are tonight, but ... nothing much else in between. We drove most of Nevada today, south to north, and ... it's no wonder why the U.S. government chose Nevada as the place to test atomic bombs sixty or seventy years ago.
At Schurz we turned west on Hwy., ALT. 95 to Yerington, then north on Hwy. ALT. 95 to Fernley, and Interstate 80. Whew ! We drove more today than other day this winter season ... starting last September 18. We were trying ... and succeeded ... to reach this rest area tonight because it had Wi-Fi the last time we were here, and I desperately want to get some online work done. My blog posting is a week overdue. I now have two weeks worth of daily journal to post to my blog. Well ! < sigh > This rest area had Wi-Fi. It doesn't any more !
We are boondocking tonight at a rest area on Interstate 80, just a few miles west of where Hwy. ALT. 95 reached Fernley and Interstate 80, just a few miles east of
Reno / Sparks.
Monday ; Fernley to Winnemucca, Nevada
Mostly sunny, mild. Too far north for any more hot weather.
Well ! We had a very productive half day in Fernley, Nevada. This morning before leaving the Interstate 80 Mile Marker 42 rest area we dumped our waste holding tanks, but were unable to refill our freshwater tank at the rest area. We drove a few miles east on the Interstate to the Fernley exit where we refilled with freshwater at a Love's Travel Center. We drove into Fernley and refilled both our propane tanks at Big R Ranch, Home, & Farm Supply. Next we refilled with diesel at Chevron. We found a laundromat ... with free Wi-Fi. WOO-HOO. While Joanne took a couple of hours to do laundry, I worked online. I retrieved almost a hundred e-mails. You could count on the fingers of one hand the number of e-mails that actually mattered to me ! I finally uploaded my weekly journal from two weeks ago to my blog, over a week overdue. Last week's journal still needs to be uploaded to my blog, but I still have a lot of photo processing to be done before I'm ready to post to my blog again. And ... BONUS ...
I returned an unexpected phone call from my gastroenterologist's office, and made an appointment to see her sooner than I had expected.
We had a late lunch in the camper in the parking lot of the laundromat, then departed Fernley just before 3 PM. We drove east on Interstate 80, stopping about halfway to Winnemucca so that I could nap briefly. We arrived in Winnemucca shortly after 6 PM and again were productive. We checked out the Flying J and determined where to refill with freshwater there tomorrow morning. We drove all the way through town and found the cheapest diesel. We refilled with diesel at Chevron then returned to the Flying J to boondock overnight in their parking lot.
I spent the evening working on Las Vegas and Death Valley photos.
Tuesday ; Winnemucca to Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada
The day started out sunny and mild in Winnemucca, but as the day wore on it became cloudy and colder. For the last half hour or so that we drove we encountered intermittent heavy rain. It was cold and rained intermittently for the rest of the afternoon and rained steadily during the evening.
We left the Flying J this morning about 10:30 AM and before leaving Winnemucca we stopped at the grocery store to buy a few items. We headed out of Winnemucca north on Hwy. 95 for an hour or so, then northwest on Hwy. 140 for another hour or so. We stopped for lunch at Denio Junction. Shortly after Denio Junction we entered Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge.
Our destination for today was Virgin Valley Camp, an unserviced campground with a warm mineral springs pool, and a shower house with warm mineral spring water. We were planning / hoping for some time in the warm mineral springs pool, and supper cooked over an open campfire, but the cold and rain prevented both of those. We did have a shower in the warm mineral spring water shower house, but even that felt chilly.
BRRRRR ... had to light the heater tonight !
Wednesday ; Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada to Bend, Oregon
Mostly cloudy, chilly, a few drops of rain during the day as we drove. Late in the evening it was windy and raining in Bend.
This morning we refilled our freshwater tank ... with warm mineral spring water ... and departed Virgin Valley Campground about 10:30 AM, continuing to head northwest on Hwy. 140 through the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge ... which houses wild horses, wild burros, Bighorn Sheep and Pronghorn Antelope ... until the refuge ended at the Nevada / Oregon border. The road descended from the 6500 ft. ASL elevation scruffy high desert of Nevada down to the forested mountains and river valleys of Oregon. It looked a lot like home around Keremeos, BC.
When we got to Hwy. 395 we turned south for five miles to the town of Lakeview to refill with diesel and have lunch parked in the Safeway parking lot, then headed north on Hwy. 395 and Hwy. 31 ... we stopped in Paisley for me to nap briefly ... and Hwy. 97 ... AHHHHH, our "home road" ... all the way to Bend. Long day of driving on winding, climbing, descending, curving mountain roads. A lot more work then just cruising on the Interstates.
We arrived in Bend about 7 PM. We got parked in a Wal-Mart parking lot, along with all the other RV's, despite the "no overnight parking" signage. Go figure ! I rested in the camper with Bo while Joanne went into the Wal-Mart to do most of our tax free Oregon shopping. When she returned we had a late supper.
Thursday ; Bend to The Dalles, Oregon
Well ! Shit ! ! ! We woke up this morning to heavy snowfall ! ! ! Did somebody forget to tell Oregon that it is spring ? ? ? ! ! ! By the time we were leaving Bend a few hours later the snow was melting, BUT ... we travelled all day in cold temperatures, intermittent heavy rain, and occasional sleet !
We started the day with another trip into the Wal-Mart store to continue our spring time tax free shopping in Oregon. After shopping we left the Wal-Mart parking lot and began driving through Bend, continuing our Oregon shopping. We refilled with diesel at Fred Meyer Fuel Stop. We bought toiletries at Walgreens. On impulse we stopped at Trader Joe's and bought another sixty bucks worth of unneeded but highly desirable food stuff. HA HA HA ! Our last Trader Joe's opportunity. And it wasn't squandered. HA HA HA !
We drove north from Bend on Hwy. 97. We stopped to have lunch in the parking lot of Safeway in Madras. We stopped for me to have a brief nap at a rest area near the junction of Hwy. 97 and Hwy. 197. We continued north on Hwy. 197, a much more difficult road to drive than Hwy. 97, but it led directly to the city of The Dalles, our destination. We stopped at the village of Maupin to dump our waste tanks and refill our freshwater tank at the municipal campground.
We arrived in the city of The Dalles about 5:30 PM, a half hour later than planned. We found our way to the seniors' residence where our almost 95 year old friend Eilene now lives in a comfortable apartment. She gave us a brief tour of her new apartment, and the residence's dining room and communal areas, then we took her out for dinner. We had a mediocre dinner at Cousin's Restaurant, but enjoyed the time chatting with Eilene.
After dinner we took her back to her residence, then refilled with diesel again at another Fred Meyers Fuel Stop before leaving The Dalles. We drove west about eleven miles on Interstate 84 to Melamoose State Park, and boondocked overnight in the rest area that is part of the state park. It was still daylight when we arrived at the state park at
8 PM !
HMPH ! Very noisy rest area with a lot of truck traffic coming and going !
Friday ; The Dalles, Oregon to Omak, Washington
Sunny and mild.
This morning as we left the Memaloose State Park Rest Area we drove over to the adjacent state park campground where we dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank at the sani-dump station. We drove east through the lovely Columbia River Gorge on Interstate 84 until we reached Hwy. 97, then turned north on Hwy. 97 and crossed the Columbia River from Oregon into Washington.
We stopped to have lunch at Selah Rest Area. While Joanne prepared lunch I took the dog for a walk, then picked a bouquet of wildflowers for Joanne. The wildflowers have been gorgeous ever since Death Valley. Joanne put the wildflowers into a plastic cup of water and placed it on the dinette table. We sat down to eat lunch and ... HEY ! Why are there little bugs all over the dinette table ? HEY ! ! ! WHY ARE THERE LITTLE BUGS CRAWLING INTO OUR EGG SALAD SANDWICHES ? ? ? ! ! !
OOOPS ! I guess wildflowers are best left admired outside where they grow ! < shrug >
We continued north on Hwy. 97. We stopped in Cashmere to buy some Aplets & Cotlets products from Liberty Orchards. Having made it to Liberty Orchards before closing time I could now indulge myself in a nap. We stopped a few miles down the road from Cashmere in Wenatchee and I had a brief nap while parked in a municipal park.
We continued north on Hwy. 97 all the way to our planned destination, the Okanogan Bingo Casino in Okanogan, Washington. When we arrived there ... the place was abandoned. We continued northbound on Hwy. 97 for about five more miles to its replacement, the new 12 Tribes Casino at Omak. After getting parked in their RV parking lot, and taking Bo for a walk, we went inside the ugly new casino to look around. HMPH ... it ain't Vegas ! It ain't even Laughlin ! HA HA HA ! Oh, well ... as long as they permit free overnight parking of RV's, we're satisfied. HA HA HA !
We had a late supper in the camper, using up the last of our food that is not permitted across the border. After supper I updated my "purchases to declare" list in preparation for crossing the border back into Canada tomorrow.
Saturday ; Omak, Washington to Keremeos, British Columbia
Sunny and warm. How nice !
This morning we left the 12 Tribes Casino and headed into the town of Omak to run some errands. First stop was Texaco to refill with diesel, then Dollar Tree for some last minute U.S. shopping. While Joanne shopped at Dollar Tree I phoned a Similkameen Trailer Towing client in Osoyoos and arranged a meeting.
We left Omak continuing north on Hwy. 97. At Oroville we stopped at Akins Harvest Foods ( used to be Prince's Foods ) to buy some milk and have lunch in the camper before crossing the border back into Canada. Crossing the border was uneventful, although the Canada Customs agent did trip me up with an unexpected, odd question. Well done, amigo !
Once we crossed the border into Osoyoos, Bo began to sniff the air vents and act frantic. HA HA HA ... he can recognize Lake Osoyoos by smell, and recognized we were close to his favourite "pee pee park" on the lakefront in downtown Osoyoos. HA HA HA ... okay, Bo ... we'll stop for just a few minutes at "your" park. Joanne walked Bo for a few minutes in the park then we continued on to our meeting with the trailer towing client. The job will be more complicated than I initially thought ... < sigh >. After the meeting we returned to Bo's park for another visit, this one a bit longer.
We drove west on Hwy. 3 out of Osoyoos, heading into the Similkameen Valley ... and home ! Every spring when we return the beauty of this stretch of road from Osoyoos to Keremeos following the Similkameen River always reminds us of why we chose to live here. We stopped in Keremeos and while I dumped the camper's waste holding tanks at the municipal sani-dump station Joanne took Bo across the street for a few minutes in the municipal dog park. I drove to the South Similkameen Health Centre a.k.a. Keremeos Clinic and selected an appointment time at the lab to have blood drawn next Thursday. Our local health lab works by self-selected appointment times.
We arrived home at Riverside RV Park RV Resort about 4 PM. Whew ! Good to be home ! Lots of "return home" chores though, starting with "summerization" of our park model manufactured home, which took a couple of hours before it was liveable again.
DSK
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