Author Archives: Mike Kuper

In Search of Potato Vodka

I woke up with a stiff back yesterday. I’ve had lower back pain for a couple of days. I think it’s due to inactivity rather than something I did to strain it. I sat in front of the TV all day Sunday and that’s when it started bothering me.

Yesterday was one of those days that flew by without anything really interesting going on. We received our mail which was forwarded from our service in South Dakota. That’s always a highlight. Donna was happy to find a royalty check and I was happy to receive the business cards I ordered from Vistaprint.

Card looks grainy in this photo - actual cards are glossy and smooth

Card looks grainy in this photo – actual cards are semi-glossy and smooth

Donna and I rode the scooter to do some banking at the Chase Bank in town. The route we took had us riding on Edison Highway which had been freshly oiled in preparation for repaving. Not a good surface to scooter over.

We found the bank on Mount Vernon Avenue. Once we were finished there, we rode north about a mile to a Mexican restaurant Donna scoped out online. The Loma Linda restaurant had good reviews, so we decided to have lunch there. I had the chili verde burrito which was huge and served with rice and beans on the side. Donna ordered the camarones (shrimp) soup. She wasn’t too pleased with her choice. She said the shrimp had been way overcooked and the zucchini and carrots in the soup were large chunks that needed to be cut into smaller pieces before they could be spooned up. My lunch was very good, though I’m not used to eating such a large portion. Of course, no one forced me to eat the whole burrito, but I did. I was uncomfortable for most of the afternoon.

From the restaurant, we rode back down to the Albertson’s grocery store near the bank. Donna shopped while I sat on a bench outside in the shade. My back was so stiff that walking was a chore. We managed to pack several bags of groceries on the scooter. We filled the underseat compartment, a tote bag between my knees and a large backpack.

After we returned home, I thought a martini would be in order – for medicinal purposes. Before I could make a martini, I needed to replenish my vodka supply. I remembered passing a liquor store near here. I went back out on the scooter to the store. It was a poor example of a liquor store. They only had a few brands of vodka, mostly pints and half-pints and no potato vodka.

I went to two grocery stores and found poor selections again. I rode west on Niles Street and stopped at stores displaying liquor signs. In California, it’s usually easy to find liquor retailers. I found plenty of retailers – they just didn’t have what I was looking for. I phoned Donna and told her I may be out for longer than I thought. Then I used my smartphone to map liquor stores in the area.

The 10th(!) store I stopped at had an ancient guy behind the counter. I told him I was looking for potato vodka, preferably in a 1.75 liter bottle. He said I should go to Rite Aid. I asked him if there was a Rite Aid in the area. He said “Yes, they’re everywhere.” Then he just stood there looking at me. Apparently that was all the direction I was going to get. I thanked him and walked back to the scooter.

I started to loop back towards the RV park. I saw a CVS store, right next to the bank where we were this morning. I went in and found Blue Ice American Potato Vodka (made from Idaho russet potatoes). This became my new favorite when I found it in Grand Junction, Colorado. It’s hard to find. I’ve only found it in one or two stores since then. I bought two bottles.

I came home and watched the Formula 1 race from Monza, Italy on the DVR. The martini hit the spot. My back didn’t bother me so much. Donna made a quinoa salad with feta and mint for dinner. After the huge lunch, a light dinner was perfect. Afterwards, we walked a lap of the park.

I still have a sore back this morning. We started the day with a delicious, nutritious breakfast featuring crustless zucchini quiche with bacon and tomato wedges on the side.

Crustless zucchini quiche

Backache notwithstanding, I need to start to prepare for travel today. We’ll head down to Tehachapi tomorrow.

Visitors from Abroad

Cloudy skies were a welcome sight yesterday. We’ve had clear skies with intense sunshine since we arrived in Bakersfield. The heat has been relentless with daytime highs around 100 degrees and overnight lows of 70. The overnight low doesn’t occur until 6 or 7am. For most of the night, the outside temperature is in the 80s.

Donna took advantage of the cloud cover by going out on her bike in the morning. She followed the same route across town that she took on Saturday. This time, she rode the Kern River Parkway Trail in the opposite direction from Saturday’s ride. This was a shorter route. She had a good ride and covered 26 miles.

I’m still having issues with over-the-air TV reception. I don’t understand the problem. In our current location, I can pull in 20 strong stations, but they’re all analog broadcasts. I cannot receive any digital HD signals. I broke out the ladder and climbed on the roof to check the antenna. I cleaned the coax connections with electrical contact cleaner. They had some corrosion. I couldn’t think of anything else to do. The analog reception is good, but a digital HD image would be better. Maybe I need a new antenna or booster.

I took a walk through the RV park. It isn’t as large as some of the parks we’ve been in, but I was able to get some exercise. While I was out, I could smell rain. It was virga (I wrote about that here). The rain was evaporating before it hit the ground.

The park we’re in, Bakersfield Palms RV Resort, is split into two sections. The larger section is for long-term (one month or more) residents. The section we’re in is called the overnight area. There are only a handful of RVs in the overnight section, which is comprised of 20 large pull-through sites. Only three of us have been here for more than a day. Most of the RVers are using the park for an overnight stay as they travel through central California.

Yesterday, a class C rental RV pulled into the site next to us. There are two couples in the RV. They appear to be European. They’ve kept to themselves, so we haven’t had an opportunity to talk to them. We’ve met many Europeans on extended vacations in RV parks. Some of them have exhausting itineraries as they try to see all of the sights in the USA in four or five weeks. Others keep returning to complete their travels and do their sightseeing at a more reasonable pace.

A few of the European travelers we’ve met have their own RV that they store in the USA when they return home. Then they come back to continue their RV adventure. We met a Swiss couple that did this when we were in Mesa, Arizona. Their rig is pictured in this post. We met a couple from Austria in Salt Lake City that were traveling the country in their RV. They planned to end their adventure, which began in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in Alaska and maybe sell the RV there.

Class C rental RV

I would have liked to meet the people in the rig next to us, but they packed up and left as I’m typing this. Traveling to a foreign country and renting an RV has to be a real challenge. The thought of heading out in a rental RV is scary enough. There are so many things to learn in an RV, and most of us learn a few things the hard way.

I’ve driven cars in Europe many times. I know that driving where you may not fully understand the customs and laws can be stressful. I’m fine in Germany and Austria, but places like France, Slovakia and Italy give me heartburn.

And then there’s the whole issue of being in unfamiliar territory. Getting onto Fairview Avenue from the RV park is a bit confusing. I noticed that the rental RV that just left exited to the left, which would send them in the wrong direction if they were trying to reach the highway.

Clouds last evening

Yesterday’s cloud cover is long gone. Today, we have clear skies and the thermometer will reach north of 90 degrees. I don’t have a plan, other than to go grocery shopping with Donna later.

To the Rescue

Donna started her weekend with a Saturday morning bike ride. She planned to follow the route we scouted through town on Friday. Her goal was to reach the Kern River Parkway Trail and put in a total distance of about 40 miles. I assumed she would be out for two and a half or three hours.

She sent me a text at 9:40am saying she had reached the turnaround point and would be back at 11:15am. At 10:30am, she sent another message to let me know that she had to slow down. It was getting hot out and she wasn’t feeling great. At 11:05am, her message said she had stopped again and ate the last of her snap peas. She was still more than 11 miles away and her new ETA was noon. The day was becoming very hot. At noon, I received a message telling me she was stopped about two and a half miles from here. She had bonked. She asked me to bring her some food.

Donna started a 21-day sugar detox program on Monday. This program restricts sugar as well as carbohydrates. The combination of the change in her diet along with the oppressive heat shut her down. I rode the scooter and found her sitting on the ground in the shade in front of a nursery. I brought the milk and cooked sweet potato slices she had asked for. After drinking the milk, she felt better. Milk has a good combination of protein and carbohydrate, making it a good recovery drink.

She got back on her bike and rode home. I rode slowly on the scooter to make sure she would be fine. She said she felt pretty good. She even picked up the pace at one point when some little dogs ran out and started chasing her! Her mileage for the day was over 42 miles. Back at the RV park, she jumped in the pool to cool off. After that, we mostly stayed indoors as the temperature outside rose to 100 degrees.

Yesterday’s forecast called for another hot day. Donna did some strength training outdoors in the early morning. I was a couch potato all day. I watched the Jets win over the Raiders. Then I made a beer run before I watched the Cowboys get manhandled by the 49ers. Last night I watched the third NFL game and saw Denver flex its muscles against Indianapolis.

Today will be a little cooler, and the skies are cloudy for a change. But the high for the day will be over 90. I need to get out and exercise. Sitting indoors all day and drinking too much beer has me feeling lethargic this morning. Tonight, the first weekend of the NFL season concludes with a double-header. Detroit will take on the Giants and then the San Diego Chargers play the Arizona Cardinals. Time to break out my 1984 number 14 Dan Fouts Chargers throwback jersey.

Photo from the Chargers game I attended last year with my brothers-in-law, Tommy and Mark.

Hot Week Ahead

Why are we in Bakersfield? We can be almost anywhere, so why are we here?

Donna set a goal to compete in the bicycle road race at the Senior Olympics in Minneapolis next summer. To compete, she has to qualify. Our first shot at qualifying came at the Montana State Championship race in Great Falls. Due to a mechanical issue, she didn’t finish the race – details are in this post. She needed to find another race that would qualify her entry in Minneapolis.

She found a race in Tehachapi, California that takes place on September 13th. She contacted the race director, who is also a city official, and was told we could dry camp at the high school on the race weekend.

I searched for a campground in the area, hoping we could go there and Donna could do training rides in the area before the race. I couldn’t find anything suitable for us.

We kicked around a few ideas and decided we should start heading south from Oregon and get close to Tehachapi. We thought about taking US395 along the Sierra Nevada range, but that would require us to be on the move most days to arrive in time for the race. A more direct route seemed like a better option.

Staying in northern California for a few days of training, then making a dash south was an option. But, northern California has wildfires and smoke until you get south of Mount Shasta. The climate south of Mount Shasta isn’t much different than in the central valley. So I thought we should keep moving south.

Coming to Bakersfield and having eight days to prepare for the race seemed to make sense. We’re only 30 miles from Tehachapi. We’ll move over there at the end of the week and Donna can compete in the race.

Yesterday, we studied maps, then we rode the scooter to reconnoiter a bicycling route. We found a reasonably safe route to the Kern River Parkway Trail. It requires about eight miles of riding through town to get to the paved trail. We came back home by backtracking the same route. Donna called out the turns as we rode the scooter back. This helped her memorize the route.

We spent the afternoon indoors as the thermometer hit 99 degrees. Our air conditioners are running non-stop. Later in the evening, I fired up the grill. I grilled lemon garlic chicken thighs.

Chicken thighs and lemon slices on a smoky grill

Donna served the chicken over brown rice pilaf with sauteed zucchini, peppers, onions and tomatoes on the side.

Delicious dinner plate

The temperature overnight was in the 60s, but it didn’t cool down until well after midnight. We went to bed with the air conditioners running. It’s too warm to sleep with the windows open.

This morning, I prepped Donna’s bike and she went out a little after 8am. She’s planning to ride about 40 miles today. The temperature is rising, but it’s only in the mid 70s now. The forecast calls for a high of 91 degrees in the late afternoon with abundant sunshine. I think we’ll hit the swimming pool later.

Big Rigs and Bad Roads

After enjoying an extended Labor Day weekend on the Row River, courtesy of Scott and Marcia Hicks, we prepared to leave Tuesday morning. We had everything packed, secured the property and rolled out at 10:45am with empty holding tanks and the fresh water tank full.

Our route took us south from Cottage Grove on I-5. We stopped in Medford for fuel and ate a salad Donna made for lunch, then continued south. The terrain became mountainous as we climbed through the Klamath Range in southern Oregon. I spotted elk in a meadow, including a couple of nice bulls. I always like to spot wildlife.

We crossed the California border and continued another 20 miles or so to the town of Yreka (wy-REE-kuh). After we crossed the border, we started seeing smoke from wildfires in the distance. As we came closer to Yreka, the smoke became heavier. Our destination for the day was the WalMart in Yreka. Donna needed to buy groceries – she’d made a list of things she needed for the 21-day sugar detox program she just started. She phoned ahead to be sure we had permission to stay overnight in the parking lot.

As we exited the interstate and stopped at the traffic light, I could hardly believe my eyes. A vintage Newell pulling a long, enclosed trailer came past. I recognized it immediately and said to Donna, “That’s Clarke and Elaine.” I’ve followed Clarke’s blog for two years! We followed them into the WalMart lot. Clarke scooped me on the parking spot I wanted, but we were able to maneuver around and park 100 feet behind them in a level spot.

About 20 minutes later, I reluctantly knocked on Clarke’s door. I say reluctantly, because I knew they were probably road-weary and needed to unwind. I wanted to say “hi” and introduce myself, but I didn’t want to come off as a blog stalker. The usual RV etiquette allows for visitors when your door is open. Knocking on a closed door is generally not the thing to do. Of course, with all the smoke in the air, no one would have their door open.

So I gave a knock and Elaine opened the door. I apologized for disturbing them and introduced myself. They invited me in and we chatted for 15 or 20 minutes.

Clarke and Elaine Hockwald's 1984 Newell

Clarke and Elaine Hockwald’s 1982 Newell at the Yreka WalMart

When I returned to our coach, I started the generator and the air conditioners. It was hot and too smoky to open the windows. Donna returned with a pile of groceries. Once they were put away, she said she was going to walk down the block to Raley’s to get a few things she couldn’t find at WalMart. Raley’s is a supermarket chain found only in northern California and Nevada. Back in the day, they were a supermarket that carried just about everything – kind of like a small WalMart. Today, they are more of an upscale market with a good selection of organic and healthy gourmet food at good prices, according to Donna.

When I was in third or fourth grade, I lived in Sacramento. There was a Raley’s Supermarket about a mile away from our house. I’d heard about a pie-eating contest for kids at Raley’s on a Saturday morning. I entered the contest, thinking at the very least I would get a free cream pie! On that Saturday, I rode my Huffy bicycle to Raley’s for the contest. They had a couple of different age groups for the contest. My age group had 10 or 12 contestants. We were seated around a long, rectangular table. We were given a choice of cream pies – I remember coconut and chocolate cream pie among the choices. I went for the coconut cream pie. We had to keep our hands behind our backs and devour the pie, face down. On the start signal, I pushed my face into the pie and started swallowing it. I thought I was done and pulled my head up. The judge shook his head and pointed to some remaining filling. I lost a couple of seconds in the exchange before I finished the pie, but it didn’t matter. I won! The prize was a Raley’s gift certificate that I used to buy a pair of cowboy boots I’d had my eye on.

On Wednesday morning, we were up by 7am. The Hockwalds had already left. They were pushing to make it to Cape Blanco where they will be lighthouse hosts for the next two months. We visited Cape Blanco last fall – I posted about it here.

Our plan for the day was a longer drive than we usually do. We wanted to reach Ripon, California in the central valley about 330 miles away. My overall plan was to dry camp again, then continue south and check into an RV park in Bakersfield. This would position us close to Tehachapi, where Donna has a bicycle race on September 13th. There aren’t any RV parks in Tehachapi close enough to the race and with sites big enough for our rig. We’ve been told that we can dry camp for the weekend in the school parking lot when we get there.

We did make a stop in Corning, California – the olive capital. In northern California, walnuts, pecans, olives and almonds are big cash crops. Corning has a few olive shops. We stopped at The Olive Pit, which has RV parking in the back. They have every olive and olive combination you can think of. I bought blue cheese – stuffed olives and Tomolives (which are really pickled olive size green tomatoes) for martinis. Donna bought Mediterranean-style olives, Cuban-style olives and anchovy-stuffed olives. She also bought walnut oil and balsamic vinegar, both locally produced.

Spoils from The Olive Pit

South of Sacramento, we hit CA99. This road is in a sad state through many sections. I don’t understand how our elected politicians have allowed our infrastructure to deteriorate to this degree. Transportation, first with railroads, then with an interstate highway system, is what opened this country up and led to prosperity. Some of the roads we’ve traveled have been allowed to fall into such a state of disrepair, they need to be completely torn out and rebuilt. Much of CA99 needs to be replaced.

South of Stockton, we saw an overturned tractor-trailer rig blocking the northbound lanes. The northbound traffic was at a standstill for miles. I hope no one was seriously injured.

After a long day on the road, we pulled into the Pilot/Flying J travel center in Ripon. I found this place on the Internet. They advertised overnight truck and RV parking. We found a long, level parking place and backed the coach and trailer in. I asked the woman in the travel center if RVs were okay to park overnight. She said, “Absolutely, as long as you’re in a marked parking stall.”

By evening, the lot was full. I saw only one other RV, a fifth-wheel trailer. The rest were big tractor-trailer rigs. I had our coach inside the marked stall, but I had us slightly angled so I could put a bedroom slide out. If both bedroom slides are in, it’s too cramped with the full-length queen size bed. Donna would have to climb over me if she needed to get up in the night.

Running with the big dogs

Parked at slight angle to allow the driver’s side bedroom slide to open

I think we stuck out like a sore thumb

On Thursday morning, we were up early again. I didn’t sleep well. Truck stops are noisy places. Everyone, including us, had generators or engines running. Donna injured her eye somehow. It seems that she scratched her cornea – a painful and irritating injury. There’s not much to be done about it other than to let it heal. So she didn’t sleep well either.

We continued south on CA99, taking a real pounding at times on the rough road. We stopped at the only rest area we found on our route and had lunch outdoors at a picnic table. We finally pulled into our destination at the Bakersfield Palms RV Park where we’ll reside for the coming week. Bakersfield is a hot and dusty place. I’m wondering if I made the right choice by coming here.

Today, Donna and I will explore on the scooter and look for possible bike routes. The temperature is forecast to reach 90-plus degrees every day for the next week.

Endless Summer

Happy Labor Day first of all. I saw a post on Facebook commenting on the fact that many people don’t know what Labor Day is all about. Apparently people confuse it with Memorial Day. Here’s the explanation from the U.S. Department of Labor:

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

So, it’s a tribute to all American workers. We celebrate it by taking the day off! Traditionally, Memorial Day and Labor Day are the bookends of summer. One marks the beginning and the other the end. One of the great things about the nomadic way of life is, summer doesn’t have to end. We’ll chase the summer-like weather as we move south.

Yesterday’s weather here was much nicer. The high temperature reached 78 degrees, but it felt cooler than that to me. Today we should be in the 80s again. I worked on the coach yesterday. I drained and sanitized our fresh water tank. Then I refilled it with naturally soft, fresh water from Scott and Marcia’s well.

Donna went out to run on the bike trail while I was puttering around.

I also poked around in the engine compartment. The Engine Maint light on the dash (equivalent to a Check Engine Light in an OBD-II equipped car) lights up intermittently. I checked for fault codes and found a fault for low input from a sensor. I can’t find the part identifier in the code. I’ve searched online and this part identifier code (73) doesn’t appear in any of the documents I could find. I’m thinking that I have a loose or corroded wiring connector somewhere that’s causing the intermittent fault, but I don’t know which sensor it’s associated with.

Later, I rode the scooter to town. I took Row River Road around the east and north shore of Dorena Lake instead of the usual route down Shoreview Road. It was a nice ride and it was about the same travel time and distance either way. From this side of the lake, I found a couple of stopping points to take photos.

Dorena Lake view from the east on Row River Road

Dorena Lake is actually a reservoir created when the Army Corps of Engineers built a dam on the Row River in 1949. Prior to the dam, the valley was often flooded when spring snow melt was accompanied by heavy rains.

Dam at the west end of the reservoir

The campgrounds and parks around the lake were full of people and tent campers.

While I was out, I stopped at a roadside stand and bought half a dozen ears of fresh sweet corn. Cooking on the grill is a Labor Day weekend tradition. There’s nothing better than cooking on the grill by the riverside!

Grilling next to the river

Today I’ll begin to prepare for travel. We’ll head out of here tomorrow. I think our next stop will be in Yreka, California.

Who’ll Stop the Rain?

Saturday began with a tasty breakfast. Donna made an omelette with leftover asparagus, mushrooms and onions that she served with prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe. It was a great start to the day.

Omelette with prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe

After breakfast, we were undecided on the day’s activities. We talked about hiking. I wanted to get my mountain bike out. We looked online at mines, ghost towns and other attractions in the area, but they were all a little too far away.

Donna hadn’t been to downtown Cottage Grove, so we decided to ride the scooter to town and have lunch there. We could hike and bike in the afternoon. The forecast called for cooler weather. Clouds moved in. There was a possibility of rain late in the day, but the forecast showed 0% chance of rain until 5pm or so.

We headed out on the scooter. I had on my usual uniform of the day – shorts and a T-shirt. Donna was more sensible and wore a jacket. After seeing my photo yesterday, Donna wanted to check out the Dorena covered bridge, so that was our first stop.

Scootering through the Dorena covered bridge

About 10 miles down the road, a few rain drops hit my windshield. It was very brief. It was overcast, but remained dry until we were a couple of miles from town. Then a light, steady rain began to fall.

I parked the scooter on Main Street. We stood under an awning over a storefront and looked up and down the street. As we walked toward a restaurant, the rain started coming down harder. So much for the 0% chance of precipitation.

We had lunch at Jack Sprats Cafe. We both had a cup of shiitake miso soup. Donna had a grilled cheese sandwich while I went for a meatball marinara on garlic pita. We lingered over lunch, but the rain didn’t let up. We finally resigned ourselves to a wet ride home.

As we walked back to the scooter, the rain stopped! Perfect, we thought. We donned our helmets and took off. Within two blocks of travel, the rain started coming down. By the time we hit Row River Road, it was raining hard. I knew the next 30 minutes would not be a fun ride.

I was completely soaked after a couple of miles. The rain was pelting my hands and running down my nose behind my faceshield, which I had to have cracked open to keep it from fogging. Visibility was poor. I avoided riding over any painted markings on the street. You don’t notice it so much in a car, but on a two-wheeled conveyance, you realize how slippery the paint is when it’s wet.

The wind chill over my wet body had me shivering. I clenched my teeth to keep them from chattering. I told myself I can endure almost anything for 30 minutes. It was one of the most miserable rides I’ve been on. The only other ride that compares was a trip Donna and I made on our Moto Guzzis to a rally in Datil, New Mexico. We hit a rain squall on that ride. It poured down and the temperature quickly dropped. On that ride we had gloves, warm jackets and boots though.

Once we were back home, I quickly changed into warm, dry clothing. It rained off and on all afternoon. I downloaded and watched the Moto GP qualifying from Silverstone. Then I took a 30-minute nap. The cold ride had me whipped. I was a couch potato for the rest of the day.

Today, we have nice weather. No rain, just a few clouds in the sky and the temperature should reach the upper 70s. I need to work on a couple of projects. I also want to watch the Moto GP race. I need to clean up the scooter. Maybe I’ll still have enough time and energy to get out on my bike.

Riverside Relaxation

We got off to a slow start yesterday. Donna and I sat at our laptops in the morning. I worked on my post, which took longer than usual due to the number of photos. Before we knew it, it was noon.

Donna was planning to go out for a bike ride, but we were hungry, so she made a salad for lunch. I unloaded her bike from the trailer and found the rear tire was flat. I pulled the tube from the tire and inspected the tire to see what had poked through. I couldn’t find anything in the tire, but I saw a small cut in the casing. The tube held air. I pumped it up and dunked it in pail of water to see if I could find a tell-tale stream of air bubbles. I didn’t find a leak. Maybe the Presta vale leaked?

I replaced the tube anyway. When I pumped the tire up, I looked it over closely again. The small cut opened up. The tube was showing through. I took the tire off. The cut had enlarged, the tire was shot. Donna blames it on all the broken glass she encountered on the bike routes in Portland. Every day she rode, she ended up riding through glass.

I pulled my Orbea road bike down – I had it suspended from the trailer roof beam – and removed the rear wheel. I took the tire from my bike and mounted it on Donna’s wheel. I could have just exchanged the wheels, but I run different gear ratios than Donna. With that done, she was ready to roll.

While Donna headed out on the bike path, I rode the scooter to Cottage Grove. I found a bike shop online in the downtown area. Main Street constitutes downtown and includes five or six blocks of businesses. Some of the scenes in the movie Animal House were filmed in downtown Cottage Grove. With a population of about 10,000 people, the town supports only one bicycle shop. I wanted to replace Donna’s tire with another Continental. The bike shop didn’t have any higher end tires. I’ll leave my tire on Donna’s bike until we can get to a bigger bike shop. I intended to replace my tires when we get to San Diego.

On the way back, I stopped and took a photo of a covered bridge at Dorena. It’s a good thing we didn’t have to cross that bridge in our motorhome. I don’t think it has enough vertical clearance and the weight limit is only three tons. The 18-mile ride to town on Row River Road is scenic, with a view of Dorena Lake. There wasn’t a good place for me to stop and take a photo of the lake. Donna’s bike route took her along the shoreline, but she had left her camera at home.

Dorena covered bridge built in 1949

When I returned, Donna was still out riding. I walked some of the trails on the property and had a look around. Downstream, I found a swimming hole. The water is quite cool. I wouldn’t swim in it unless the day was very hot.

Swimming hole on the west side of the property

I walked past our coach and followed another trail upstream. I found a bench with a nice view of the river.

Sitting area upstream

By the time Donna returned, the temperature was around 80 degrees. I put off riding my mountain bike. We deployed the awning and sat outside reading in the shade. I was feeling lazy and sitting and reading suited me fine. I’m still reading Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Some of the philosophical arguments are a bit of a struggle to follow. It felt like Saturday to me, but then everyday is Saturday for me.

I fired up the Weber Q and grilled bacon-wrapped filet mignons for dinner.

Bacon wrapped filets on the grill

Donna served the filets smothered in sauteed mushrooms and onions with a baked potato and steamed asparagus.

Filet smothered in mushrooms and onions

We sat out on the deck behind the trailer and dined by the river side.

Red wine with dinner by the river

Donna has a project or two in mind for today. Later she’ll go out for a hike. I think I’ll explore upriver on my mountain bike.

Unexpected Ferry Crossing

Donna returned from New York on schedule Tuesday night. She told me all about her trip over a glass of wine. We turned in fairly early.

On Wednesday morning, we finished packing up and left the Portland Fairview RV Park at 10:45am. Our first stop was two miles away at the WalMart. We needed to restock the refrigerator and I bought a few other supplies. While we were stopped there, we walked over to Taco Del Mar for lunch.

Our destination for the day was near McMinnville, Oregon. I’d heard about dry camping in the large parking lot at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. The Google Earth image looked like it had easy access and a huge parking area.

I punched the address into Nally (our GPS). Two routes came up. One route was only 50 miles, but it would take one hour and 17 minutes. The other route was 73 miles and it would take one hour and 26 minutes. Hmmm…23 miles longer but only 9 additional minutes. I figured that the shorter route must have some slow roads, probably routed through Portland. One shortcoming of the GPS is the inability to preview the route step by step. I can zoom out and see the whole route, but then I lose detail.

I usually take the fastest route, but 76 minutes to cover 50 miles sounded like a lot of stop-and-go driving. I chose the longer route with a higher average speed. Nearly an hour later, I realized it was a bad choice. My preference settings allow tolls. Apparently the GPS sees a ferry as a toll. Since I allowed tolls, the route would take us to Wheatland Road where there’s a ferry across the Willamette River. Once I realized this, I diverted over to River Road. I didn’t know anything about the Wheatland Ferry. If it couldn’t accommodate our size, I might not be able to turn around. I also didn’t know the cost. Later, I found information online. Vehicles over 42 feet long pay six dollars to cross the river.

My new route added a loop to get over the Willamette River on a highway bridge. The trip turned into 100 miles and over two hours of driving. I probably burned $10 worth of fuel to avoid a $6 ferry ride.

We arrived at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. The front parking lots were full of cars, but the large rear lot was nearly empty. There were a couple of RVs parked back there. We found a level area and parked. Donna and I walked to the museum. There are several large, very modern buildings on the property. One is the main museum with aircraft on display, including the Spruce Goose. There’s another building housing more aircraft, a separate movie theater, and a large water park building.

Main museum building

Museum extension on east side of the lot

Movie theater

Water park with Boeing 747 on the roof

It was very hot, over 90 degrees. The asphalt parking lot seemed to amplify the heat. Donna took her laptop to the museum building and sat in the restaurant area. She enjoyed some ice cream while she worked on her monthly organizing tips newsletter.

I’ve been in the Spruce Goose before, when it was displayed in Long Beach, California. I didn’t want to pay $25 to see it again. I went for a walk outside and looked at aircraft on display. The 747 on the roof of the water park is interesting. It has slides built into the exit doors. You enter the 747 and slide down into the enclosed pool below!

A relic of the Cold War - MIG 29 Fulcrum

A relic of the Cold War – Soviet MiG 29 Fulcrum

Delta Dart from the 1950s next to the MiG

As I was walking back to the coach, I talked to a worker from the museum. I asked about the overnight parking policy. He told me they welcome overnight visitors to the museum as long as we’re fully self-contained and pack out whatever we brought in. He said to limit the stay to two nights maximum. With permission secured, I moved the coach to a shaded corner of the lot.

Our place in the shade – generator slide is open to release heat

The museum closed at 5pm and the parking lots emptied. We were the only RV left and had the place to ourselves. A private party was being held at the east building, but it was far enough away that we didn’t hear them.

Thursday we hit the road by 9am. We were going to Junction City, where we had an appointment at Amazing Creations. Scott Adams and Bobby Vodden were going to remove the rear TV and make the space into a cabinet for us.

Old bedroom TV

I tried to remove the TV, but the wood surrounding the opening had been added after the TV was installed. The TV was larger than the opening. I didn’t want to break the trim, so I left it to the pros. Scott removed the wood on the right side and pulled the TV out. Then they built new trim, added a shelf and put doors over the opening.

New cabinet doors

The cabinet houses our printer, which was taking space in the closet before. We can use the shelf to store printing and office supplies.

Printer cabinet with shelf

They did a great job. The work was first class. It took a few hours to get the job done. This was mainly due to the time it took to stain the wood. They waited until we got there to match the wood stain. They stained the wood before their lunch break, so it was drying while they were out for lunch. Donna and I had lunch in the coach. We were out of there by 3pm.

We got back on the road and headed south to Cottage Grove, Oregon. Our destination was our present location on the Row (rhymes with wow) River. Our new friends, Scott and Marcia, who we met at the Alpine Coach Association rally, invited us to stay on their vacation property on the river outside of Cottage Grove.

The river runs along the north side of their property. They have a trailer and a few outbuildings on the property. One of the buildings is a workshop with a fresh water spigot, plus 20-, 30- and 50-amp electrical outlets and a sewer hook-up. We’re parked between the workshop and the river. The river is about 30 feet from our doorstep.

Row River view from our doorstep

We’re far enough from town to have very little traffic on Row River Road. It’s very quiet and peaceful here, a welcome change from the time spent in RV parks over the last few weeks. We don’t have cell phone coverage. But Scott and Marcia’s generosity included the password to their wifi network in their trailer.

Last evening, Donna and I enjoyed cocktail hour outdoors, soaking in the sounds of the river. Scott told us we could stay as long we want. We want to stay forever, but we’ll have to start moving south next Tuesday.

Happy hour in the shade, looking at the river

There’s a paved bike trail running along Row River Road. The path is on the south border of Scott and Marcia’s property. Today, Donna wants to go biking. I’ll do the same and explore the area.

Day Four Without Donna

I kept myself busy on Monday, day four without Donna. After I posted to the blog, I found a Costco store about five or six miles from here. I wanted to get coffee K-cups and more bottled water. On an impulse, I bought a big bag of mixed rice crackers with nuts for snacking.

Scooter loaded up and ready to roll

After I dropped the stuff off at the coach, I rode to Taco Del Mar for lunch. Then I went to WalMart to stock up on paper towels. I’m stocking up on these supplies in preparation for the month ahead. We have a few planned stops, but expect to be off the beaten path for much of the time. This will mean dry camping or boondocking at times without any idea of services available in the area. We’ll be in Tehachapi, California in a couple of weeks for Donna’s next bike race.

I spent most of the afternoon defrosting the refrigerator. After packing perishables in a cooler, I sat and read for awhile. Once the ice on the refrigerator cooling fins started to melt, I was able to pull loose chunks away. It took a little over two hours to defrost. Then I reloaded the refrigerator. The timing was good as supplies are currently low. We’ll re-supply on Wednesday.

Today, I plan to make another Costco run for more coffee and water. The Kirkland Signature Pacific Bold is a good dark roast coffee that Donna and I like. Costco sells it in 100-cup boxes that bring the cost down to about 35 cents per cup. We’ll have enough on board to get us to San Diego on September 24th.

Then I need to add air to the trailer tires and check the lug nuts for tightness. I’ll organize the trailer and load the scooter. Donna will return tonight. We will hit the road again tomorrow morning by 11am at the latest.

We have an appointment on Thursday with the guys at Amazing Creations in Junction City. They will remove our bedroom TV (which we don’t use) and add a shelf and cabinet doors in the space it occupies. We’ll use the cabinet to house a printer and provide additional storage. When we leave here tomorrow, we’ll dry camp somewhere near Junction City.

After we have the work done, we’re going off the grid for the long holiday weekend. We’ve been invited to stay at a friend’s vacation property near Cottage Grove, Oregon on the Row (rhymes with wow) River.

This isn’t the usual “courtesy park in my driveway” offer. His property is right on the river and has – wait for it – full RV hook ups! That’s right! Water, sewer and 50-amp electrical service. There’s good biking in the area and, of course, recreation on the river. We know we won’t have cell phone service. We may have limited internet access. I won’t divulge a detailed description of his property location in consideration of our host’s privacy. The offer is most generous and we’ll be away from crowded campgrounds over the Labor Day weekend.

The forecast today calls for a high of 93 degrees, a few degrees warmer than yesterday. I have much to do, so I’d better get started.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Author Archives: Mike Kuper

In Search of Potato Vodka

Visitors from Abroad

To the Rescue

Hot Week Ahead

Big Rigs and Bad Roads

Endless Summer

Who’ll Stop the Rain?

Riverside Relaxation

Unexpected Ferry Crossing

Day Four Without Donna

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