Category Archives: Trailer

Starting the 20s in Mesa, Arizona

We pulled into Viewpoint Golf and RV Resort as planned on New Year’s Eve. Our timing wasn’t so good though. We arrived at the office at 12:05 pm only to find they close for lunch from 12:00 to 1:00 pm. A few raindrops were falling – even though the weather guessers said there was zero percent chance of rain – so we settled down in the coach, had some lunch and waited. At 1:00 pm, I checked us in and we headed over to our familiar site 5245.

Most of the sites around us were empty, so I had ample room to maneuver. I should add that the orange trees at the corner of each site always make it a little harder than it has to be to drop our trailer. We were set up fairly quickly and the rain didn’t continue. The sites at Viewpoint are roomy – it’s one of the things we like about this park.

We were surprised to find neighbors moving in as well. Our friends Chuck and Sue came in across from us and a neighbor came in next door. We didn’t expect much activity on New Year’s Eve.

Plenty of room

I had called the Two Wheel Jones Bicycle Shop the day before to confirm Donna’s bike was ready to go. They were supposed to phone when they had it ready, but didn’t. They told me “No worries, it’s all set and on the showroom floor.” Once we were set up, we drove over to the shopping center at the corner of Power Road and McDowell Road to the bike shop. I wasn’t too happy to find the bike was on the showroom floor as they said, but they hadn’t installed the rack and bag I’d ordered or the upgraded pedals! In fact, they said the pedals hadn’t arrived!

They quickly resolved the issue and even robbed a set of the pedals from someone else’s order – they hadn’t come in to pick them up, so Donna left with the bike fully assembled as ordered after 30 minutes or so. The new bike is similar to the one we bought last summer in Arlington, Washington. The main differences are this is a women’s specific design – the frame and seat are different – and the color is Miami Green instead of black.

Donn’a new Trek Dual Sport 2 bicycle

Once the bike was ready, Donna rode it a mile down Power Road to meet me at Lucky Lou’s. We met some of the usual suspects there for a cold one before Donna rode the four miles back to Viewpoint. We locked the bike in our trailer. Donna wanted to get a new bike lock before she took the bike anywhere. She ended up ordering a German-made folding lock that should be a formidable theft deterrent. The lock wasn’t cheap – it cost about $100, but that’s not unreasonable when you think about the cost of replacing her bike. We traded in our two road bikes for her Trek Dual Sport 2 last July and having it stolen less than six months later resulted in a cost of over $1,000 to replace the bike and accessories.

While we were at Lou’s, a number of people checked out Midget-San which was parked right at the entrance. There are almost always interesting cars in the lot at Lou’s and this day was no exception. I saw a beautifully restored Mercury Monterrey in the parking lot. I didn’t meet the owner, so I don’t know the model year for sure, but this body style was built from 1952 to 1954.

Mercury Monterrey at Lucky Lou’s

The cool weather persisted until the weekend with highs around 60 degrees and overnight lows in the upper 30s. At this time of year, the Phoenix area is a little colder than what we’d find in San Diego, but it’s much drier. San Diego’s rainy season runs from Christmas to March.

I finally shook the cold I’ve been fighting and now Donna’s over hers too. We’ve been taking it fairly easy. Donna started the Bright Line Eating plan on New Year’s Day. This plan cuts out flour and sugar. It still allows plentiful portions of food though. This plan is healthy and Donna has had great results with it. One of the menu items is pizza chicken – I wrote about it before. It’s an interesting dish that substitutes slices of chicken breast for pizza crust. Donna serves it with spaghetti squash and it’s very tasty.

Pepperoni pizza chicken

On Saturday, my middle daughter, Jamie, and her significant other, Francisco, came by to visit. They moved from Texas to the west side of Phoenix recently and are only about an hour away from here. We sat outside in the sun and had lunch and talked while I was distracted by the wild card weekend NFL games on the outdoor TV.

Before they left, a neighbor unloaded a car from his trailer. It was a hot-rodded 1961 Chevy Impala. I wish I’d taken a photo. It’s a beautiful car with an incredible black finish. The panels are so smooth and the paint is flawless.

Monday, Donna and I hit the pickleball courts. It was windy and the gusts made outdoor pickleball very challenging. This morning, I played in the 3.0 round robin. I usually play in the 3.5 group, but I needed to work out some of the rust from only playing indoors for the past several months. Tomorrow, I’ll resume the refined skills coaching sessions I did last year. These are sessions for players moving up to intermediate level play. I enjoy coaching them and it helps my game as well.

The temperature reached highs of about 70 degrees over the weekend and today we should see the mid-70s. We’re sure to have another cold spell before things start warming up here in Mesa, Arizona.

  • *Just so you know, if you use this  link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and  I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!

Wet Christmas

I hope all who read this had a great Christmas and are continuing to enjoy the holiday season. I wrote in my last post about Donna’s start to the festivities with the Santa 5k Run. On Wednesday, December 18th we were invited to a Christmas party at my friend, Tye’s, house in Bay Park. He lives up the bluff on Galveston Street and has an outstanding view of Mission Bay all the way to Belmont Park.

We enjoyed good food and drink among friends there. Donna made deviled eggs with bacon bits that were outstanding. I wrote in my last post about my friend, Bob Babich, a former NFL player. He was in attendance at the party as was Ralph Perretta. Ralph was an offensive lineman – guard and center – drafted by the San Diego Chargers in 1975. He played here until 1980 then played two seasons with the New York Giants. Tye had old NFL FiIms productions playing on his DVR and it was fun to hear stories of the good old days of professional football from guys that were there on the field.

One of the things I’ve figured out recently is this. I’m getting older and don’t recover or heal like I once did. On the 11th, I cut my finger and had to have it stitched. I’ve had stitches several times in my life and it isn’t a big deal. Usually after a week or so I’d just clean the area and remove the sutures myself. The doctor told me this time to give it seven to 10 days. So I split the difference and on the 18th I removed the sutures. Well, I don’t heal so fast anymore or maybe the cut was deeper than I imagined – anyway I may have been a couple of days early.

This is what it looked like after I pulled the sutures

A couple of days later, it looked better, but it still wasn’t fully closed. The thing is, I’ve left stitches in too long before and it makes removing them difficult. I guess I should have waited the full 10 days in this case.

Two days later it looked like this

It’s in pretty good shape now and I’m able to play the guitar without any issues other than the lack of callous on my finger tip. Santa put a guitar-clarinet duet music book in my stocking, so Donna and I will see if we can play a few of the arrangements together.

Rain moved into the area on Christmas Eve. We kept it low-key and did the typical taco Tuesday night at Offshore Tavern and Grill and saw a few friends there. It rained off and on Christmas day. I had a restless night and woke up Christmas morning with a sore throat, congestion and lacked energy. I spent most of the day in bed reading and napping. Last night it stormed with heavy rain and gusty wind. Right now, the sun is shining, but I can see on the Radar Express app on my phone that another bout of rain is likely to hit us today.

I’m not complaining – things could always be worse. I was reminded of that when we came into the park the other day and saw the entrance gate and fence was damaged.

Gate and fence badly damaged

Apparently, someone hit it while entering the park. Later, I found out it was a new neighbor. He cut the corner at the entrance in his tag-axle Newmar Dutch Star. This coach is north of 40-feet long and he turned in too early. You have to really drive deep into a turn before you start to turn in or this is what happens. As you can imagine, the coach suffered damage as well.

Damaged Dutch Star

It’s hard to see in the photo, but the damage starts behind the right front wheel with dents and scrapes across the first two basement compartment doors. The third door was completely torn away. Ouch!

The forecast calls for the rain to clear up and we should have sunny days starting tomorrow and through the weekend. This is fortunate timing as we have to prepare to move. We’ll pull out Sunday and head to the desert. I need to organize and pack the trailer. I’ll check and adjust all tire pressures – coach and trailer.

We still have Ken’s car. I notified the lender in writing about his passing and told them where they could pick it up. I haven’t heard anything from them. My friend and attorney, Dan Cullen, will take care of it if they don’t pick it up by Sunday. I also ordered a new bike for Donna from Two Wheel Jones bike shop in Mesa, Arizona. They said they could have the bike in the shop and set up for her by New Year’s Eve. I was supposed to be kept in the loop on the progress via e-mail, but I haven’t heard from them. I’ll follow up today with a phone call.

So, the plan is to head out on Sunday and spend a quiet night in the desert. Then we’ll move on to Casa Grande and get the Cummins ISL diesel engine in the coach serviced and move on to Maricopa for the night. Then we’ll be back at Viewpoint Golf and RV Resort in Mesa, Arizona on New Year’s Eve.

Early Christmas Surprise

The last week was a bit of a whirlwind. We were able to close escrow on the sale of Ken’s house without having to drive up I-15 to Riverside County – thanks to the concept of electronic signatures and a service called DocuSign.

Once the funds were transferred into the trust account, I made a distribution to beneficiaries. This involved running around to three different banks to distribute the funds with the least cost. I only had to wire money to one account. Wire transfers cost $35 per transaction. By using free cashier check service, I was able to directly deposit into two other bank accounts that have branches here in San Diego.

I’ve held back funds in the trust account to cover any bills that may still be outstanding – things like ambulance transfer costs, medical, and personal income taxes for 2019 on behalf of Ken. Overall, my duties as Successor Trustee progressed quickly and relatively smoothly. I’ll be glad when we can wrap things up and close the trust in four or five months.

Wednesday morning, Donna had her alarm set for 5am. I could hear rain drops on the roof of our coach once I was awake. She was planning to call Lyft for a ride to the airport, but I drove her there and dropped her off around 5:45 am for a flight to Albany, New York. She was heading to Bennington, Vermont for a surprise visit with her parents. The occasion was her mom’s 80th birthday. I would be on my own for the next five days.

On the way back from the airport, I hit the drive-through at Jack-in-the-Box. I don’t think I’ve been to a Jack-in-the-Box in thirty years or more. I went for a breakfast burrito and was surprised by the size of the thing. It had egg, sausage, potato and cheese and was over 1,000 calories! Yikes, I can’t make a habit of eating like that!

I played pickleball at Ocean Beach Recreation Center (OBRC) and hopefully worked some of those calories off. It continued to rain throughout the day and all day Thursday as well. That left me shut in for a couple of days. I had an idea for a Christmas present for Donna, but I had to do some research. The rainy days gave me plenty of time to search the Internet.

Donna has been really diligent at practicing the clarinet. She played the instrument in her junior high school days and picked it back up in July. I’m amazed at how well she can play it. Clarinet is not an easy instrument to play. There are tone holes, keys and levers that require an number of different finger positions to create notes in different registers. I think I read there are 24 tone holes altogether on the instrument.

Donna’s clarinet is a used student model she picked up when we were visiting my daughter, Alana, in Arlington, Washington. Donna has an ambitious goal of playing in the Viewpoint Golf & RV Resort band when we get to Mesa, Arizona next month. I have no doubt about her reaching this goal.

I didn’t know anything about clarinets. I know from my experience with guitars that the step from a beginner instrument to a more advanced, higher quality piece can be a vast improvement. For example, going from a $400 electric guitar made in Asia to a $2,000 Gibson is a huge leap in playability, tone and overall quality. I decided to research clarinets and see if there is a similar step in quality of the instrument.

Over a few days I learned more about clarinets than I ever thought I would. Indeed, the step from a student model to an intermediate level clarinet is a big difference. Once you reach this level though, the next level of instruments follow the law of diminishing returns. For example, going from a $400-$500 student model to an intermediate model of around $2,000 makes a very noticeable difference in the quality and playability of the instrument. But, unless you’re a professional musician, going from a $2,000 clarinet to a $4,000 clarinet doesn’t make that same jump in quality. It’s more subtle and probably only a pro would be able to pick out the nuances that make a clarinet cost $4,000 or more.

The thing is, buying a musical instrument can be a very personal decision. What speaks to one person may not be the same for someone else. So picking out a clarinet to buy for Donna was a bit of a conundrum. I finally decided on a few models and concentrated my research on those. I read opinions on musician forums and reviews. I watched countless YouTube videos. Then I bit the bullet and placed an order. The deal is this though, that meant I had to reveal her Christmas present early as returning a musical instrument is a time-sensitive issue. You can only test drive it for a week or so or most shops won’t accept a return unless there is some kind of defect.

The rain moved east by Friday and we had a sunny day. I took advantage of the weather and got Midget-San out of the trailer for some exercise. I drove to OBRC for more pickleball. I loaded it back in the trailer when I came home. It was a good thing I did as rain started again in the evening and rained off and on all weekend.

I picked Donna up at the airport Sunday around 5:30pm. After we settled in back at Mission Bay RV Resort, I told her about the clarinet. I told her it would most likely arrive on Monday and she should try it out. If she didn’t like for any reason, we could exchange it and my feelings wouldn’t be hurt. It seems like I always have reason for an early Christmas present reveal over the past few years.

The clarinet, which is a Leblanc Serenade model made of African blackwood (Granadilla) with silver plated keys came on Monday afternoon. It’s a real beauty.

Leblanc Serenade in carrying case

One of the cool things about a clarinet is the compact storage – just right for someone living in 300 square feet. The instrument breaks down into five component parts and is easily stored or transported. There’s a break-in process recommended for wood clarinets and Donna’s already on it. It should be fully broken in and ready for long session use by the time we get to Viewpoint in Mesa, Arizona.

Another item I received was an air filter element for our coach. I prefer the Fleetguard brand of filters for the Cummin ISL diesel engine and that’s what I got. Air filters are a tricky item to set a preventive maintenance schedule for. Much depends on the conditions it is operated in. High exposure to dusty conditions mean more frequent replacement while more “normal” driving conditions can extend the life of an air filter. Changing it too often is not recommended as the air filter element gains efficiency once it traps a certain level of particulates. Most diesel-powered coaches have an air restriction gauge for the intake that would reveal an air filter that’s becoming clogged.

Some people think these gauges are worthless while most air filter manufacturers will tell you they’re the best way to know the air filter condition – they say it’s impossible to tell the actual condition of an air filter just by visual inspection. Judging by the restriction indicated on our gauge we didn’t need an air filter element yet. But, there’s also a time factor to consider. Over time, the element (paper in our case) can weaken and eventually break down. It only takes about a tablespoon of dust to completely ruin an expensive diesel engine. I’ve also heard of a case where a paper element disintegrated and pieces entered the combustion chamber with catastrophic results.

So, I’ve arbitrarily set a two-year air filter change interval as long as the restriction gauge shows the air filter is still good. In other words, if the restriction gauge showed excessive restriction before two years, I would change it sooner. But if the restriction gauge remains in the acceptable range, two years is the maximum time. Our filter was last changed in October 2017. We haven’t run the engine since we arrived here in late September, so I’m at the two-year interval although this is December.

Air filter restriction gauge – still in the green

It’s importatnt to keep things clean when you change the air filter element – it’s doesn’t take much dirt to ruin an engine.

Old filter on the left, new on the right – it’s hard to judge condition by visual examination

The Fleetguard filter comes with a new rubber sealing washer for the wing nut securing the filter. I always renew this washer to avoid having a leaky seal that could allow dirt to enter. It’s also important to tighten the wing nut sufficiently to compress the seal on the backside of the air filter element sealing it to the housing.

New seal on wing nut

The last step was to note the date of the filter replacement – I use a strip of duct tape and a marker.

Date of change recorded

Today it’s partly cloudy but there’s no rain in the forecast. The rest of the week should be dry, but it’s cooler with the temperature only reaching the low to mid 60s. It’s December, so I can’t complain about cooler temperatures!


*Just so you know, if you use this  link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and  I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!

Wheels, Tires and Surf

I’m staying busy here in San Diego. In my last post I mentioned dropping the Midget off for repairs at British Auto Repair near the Sports Arena. I also had ordered new wheels and tires on Monday. The current tires had good tread but they were five years old and seemed like the rubber had hardened.

I was also getting a vibration that was worse at 55-58 MPH. Usually when you feel a vibration at a speed in 50 – 60 MPH range, it indicates a wheel balance problem. But this vibration would be more pronounced intermittently. It seemed like an imbalance or out-of-round condition of two or more wheels would align in phase at times and the steering wheel and shift lever would shake. The wheels on Midget-San are the original Rostyle stamped steel wheels – nearly 40 years old. Cosmetically they looked brand new, but I had no idea if they had suffered previous damage and had been straightened.

Original Rostyle steel wheel

Back in the 1960s and early 70s, the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) had a number of classes to race British cars in. Back then it seemed like every British race car was shod with eight-spoke cast alloy wheels called minilites. When I was a teenager driving an Austin-Healey Sprite I lusted after a set of minilites, but they were out of my budget. Those wheels not only looked sharp, they were also lightweight. Wheel weight is an important factor in a vehicles handling characteristics. Wheels are what auto engineers call “unsprung” weight. Unsprung weight is any weight that’s not supported by the vehicles suspension, such as wheels, brake discs and axles. These components are more or less hung from the suspension springs and shocks.

Nowadays minilite style wheels are available from a few manufacturers. I ordered a set of Minator minilite style alloy wheels from Moss Motors with free shipping on Monday. I also ordered a set of Toyo tires from Amazon Prime to mount on the new wheels. I was pleasantly surprised when the wheels and tires were delivered together from UPS Wednesday afternoon!

Wednesday evening Donna took a flight to Albany, New York enroute to her parents house in Bennington, Vermont. She’ll be there for a week helping her dad rehab from a broken hip. So, I’m a bachelor for the week.

Thursday morning I called Discount Tire to see how much they would charge to mount and balance the new tires and find out when they could it. When I told the guy I had the new wheels and tires already, he put me on hold and didn’t pick up in the next five minutes. Obviously they weren’t interested in doing the job. I hung up. Next I called Victor’s Tire and Auto Detail shop up the hill from here on Clairemont Drive. They said they would do it for a total of $60 out-the-door and to come in anytime. I drove up there – two guys on two tire machines mounted the tires then balanced them and I was on my way within 15 minutes!

New tire and Minator minilite style eight spoke alloy wheel

I put the wheels away in the trailer, then my phone rang. It was British Auto Repair. They had finished the axle/hub seal repair. I wasn’t expecting it for another day or two. They also told me that the gasket and O-ring was all that was needed – I had caught the leak early enough to avoid damage to the brake shoes and there was no hub damage. So a repair that could have cost as much as $600 only came to $200. Good news indeed.

I took an Uber to the shop and drove Midget-San back to Mission Bay RV Resort and parked next to the trailer in the overflow lot. I was able to change the wheels and had the car ready to go in no time.

New wheels
An osprey supervised my work

I took a test drive up to Torrey Pines and back. Smooth. No sign of the vibration I could feel before. The car drives better and I think it looks better too!

Friday I drove Ken’s car up to Hemet to visit him and check on his progress at Ramona Rehab Center. It’s a little over a 90-minute drive without any traffic tie-ups. He seemed to be doing better and was in fine spirits. But, they had taken another chest x-ray that morning and were waiting for the results. The doctor thinks he’s getting fluid in his lungs again. I still haven’t heard anything but I intend to follow-up this afternoon.

At happy hour at the Offshore Tavern and Grill last night I heard about a surfing contest at La Jolla Shores this morning. I headed up there at 10am to check it out. The Windansea Surf Club had their Menehune Juniors contest. I hung out on the beach and watched for a while – some of the kids are pretty good!

Nice ride

An ensemble with two guitars and a bass played surf music. They had a van with their amps and a generator in the parking behind an EZ-up canopy. They sounded good and played a lot of surf classics from the 60s.

The surf sound – Fender Jaguar guitars and Reverb amps

The weather has been fantastic and we can expect more of the same in the coming week. Today will be the last day I can say I’m 62 years old. My 63rd birthday is tomorrow.

*Just so you know, if you use this  link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and  I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!

No More 24-Hour Shuffle

The short drive from Oceanside to Mission Bay was uneventful Friday morning. The day before, I had called Mission Bay RV Resort to inquire if they were still using the e-mail Fast Track check-in process – I hadn’t received the e-mail. The guy I talked to didn’t seem to know – I could hear him asking someone else in the office – then he said I would get an e-mail. I didn’t. Mission Bay RV Resort is under new management. I won’t go into the details in this post – it’s been a political football – but now the RV park is being run by the same people that operate Campland – an RV resort on the bay across Rose Inlet from Mission Bay RV Resort.

Not much has changed so far, but there was one positive at check-in. When we first started coming to Mission Bay, we were required to leave the park for at least 24 hours after one month – what we called the 24-hour shuffle. One month was defined as 31 consecutive days. Then they changed the policy to allow two consecutive months – 62 days. Now three months are allowed before you have to leave the park, so we’re checked in for 93 consecutive days. This is great – packing up and getting out of the park for 24 hours when you want to have an extended stay here was always a pain. We unloaded Midget-San and dropped the trailer in the overflow lot, then set up in site 111.

As usual we found many activities going on in Mission Bay Park. The RV park also filled up for the weekend. This is the normal pattern here at this time of year – lots of weekend warriors but generally quiet with many empty sites during the weekdays.

Something going on at De Anza Cove

We’ve been having king tides with the high tide over six-feet above the normal sea level. The tides should be back to a more normal level after today – the high tide will be about four feet above mean sea level.

I have my outdoor TV set up again – I hook it up to the park’s cable TV. It allows me to sit outside in the evenings and puff a cigar while I watch football. Sunday night, that’s what I did.

Sunday Night Football on the outdoor TV

I’ve been trying to stay on top of my step-dad’s healthcare at Loma Linda Hospital in Murrieta. When I visited him last week, I went to the nurses’ station on his floor and gave them my contact information and told them I was next-of-kin and had power of attorney for his healthcare decisions. I thought we were clear that I was the contact person. They didn’t contact me. They kept calling Ken’s neighbor, Helen with updates. Ken’s good friend, Ray, and his wife, Helen, live across the street from Ken in Sun City (Menifee). Ray is 90 years old. I think Helen is well into her 70s and she’s had her hands full taking care of Ray and looking after Ken. Helen is sharp as a tack and really on top of things. We finally got it straightened out with the hospital so I would be contacted if needed.

Ken is doing better, but he’s not able to fend for himself just yet. Monday we had him transferred to a skilled nursing facility for rehabilitation. Hopefully he’ll regain enough strength to be able to go home soon. Donna and I borrowed her sister, Sheila’s car on Tuesday and drove it up to Menifee to get some things from Ken’s house. I took Ken’s car – a 2015 Kia Soul – and we drove to Hemet to admit Ken to the rehab facility. I figured it was best if I kept his car in case I needed to take him anywhere else. I couldn’t get him into or out of the Midget. I also picked up his mail and took care of some financial matters for him.

I made a Costco run on Monday morning in Midget-San. I’ve written about the Costco on Morena Boulevard here before. It’s the original Price Club location. I’ve also written about the high end liquor they offer there. When I saw a bottle of Russian Beluga Vodka, I was dumbfounded.

Beluga Vodka – only $6,999 for 750ml

I don’t understand how any vodka could command a price of $6,999 – but it does come in a Lalique Crystal bottle. The 50-year old Scotch Whisky from The Glenlivet tops all though.

The Glenliviet – $18,999

This morning, we dropped off Midget-San at British Auto Repair near the Sports Arena. The right rear axle/hub seal is leaking. I don’t have the work space or all of the tools needed for the job so I found what are probably the best British car mechanics in the area for the job. Since I have Ken’s car right now, it was a good time to get the repair done.

Tonight, Donna will fly out of Lindbergh Field to Albany, New York. She’s going to Bennington, Vermont to visit her parents for the next week. She’ll be helping her dad with his rehab – he broke his hip a few weeks ago.

The weather here has been great – daily highs in the 70s and overnight lows around 60 degrees. I can expect more blue skies and fine weather in the week ahead with a slight warming trend after the weekend. I’ll probably make a trip or two to Hemet – about 90 miles from here – to visit Ken and check on his progress.

*Just so you know, if you use this  link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and  I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!

Family Matters

I closed my last post saying we had eight nights to fill before we could check in at Mission Bay RV Park in San Diego and needed a plan. What we came up with may not have been the most exciting plan, but it was practical. We left Bishop and headed south on US395 for about 140 miles to Ridgecrest, California.

The Elks Lodge in Ridgecrest has about a dozen sites with full hook-ups – five are 50amp service. Ridgecrest isn’t the most glamorous destination, but at $20/night it would work for the first four nights we needed to fill.

Ridgecrest has been in the news recently due to earthquakes centered near the town. In July, quakes with magnitudes of 6.4, 5.4 and 7.1 happened. In the last week, several smaller quakes occurred including a a magnitude 3.2 on Saturday morning, which was recorded by geologists, but we didn’t even notice it.

Ridgecrest’s other claim to fame is the China Lake Naval Station nearby. China Lake is mainly a research and evaluation facility for the US Navy – and it’s also the largest landholding in the navy’s inventory.

When we arrived, there were a few other RVs there, but after two days, we had the place to ourselves. We didn’t do anything exciting while we were there. Donna caught up on a couple of assignments while we took advantage of the 50-amp service to keep the air conditioners running during the day. The high temperature hovered around 90 each day, but quickly cooled off after sundown to overnight lows in the upper 50s. We also had excellent satellite reception and I recorded Formula One and Moto-GP races.

A park all to ourselves in Ridgecrest
We dropped the trailer across from our site by the lodge

The Ridgecrest Elks Lodge has an RV club and they’ve done a great job with the RV sites, but the lodge doesn’t seem to be very active. They do have Bingo on Thursday nights and Donna went over to play. On Friday evening I went in for a cold one around 5pm and found only two people there. The bartender told me Fridays are usually quiet as so many people get out of town for the weekend. The lodge is closed Saturday and Sunday!

By the time I had the Midget secured in the trailer and hooked up, it was 10:30am when we pulled out of Ridgecrest on Monday morning. We followed US395 south to I-15 and went over Cajon Summit. Cajon Summit is followed by six miles of steep downgrade dropping into San Bernadino. The traffic was harrowing on this stretch as expected. Cars dart from lane to lane trying to take advantage of any opening without much regard for tractor-trailer and big-rig RVs.

We took I-215 down through Riverside and continued our trek southward. We made a stop at Ethanac Road in Menifee where I knew there was a travel center. Finding truck stops in southern California isn’t as easy as some places. I filled our tank with diesel #2 at $3.75/gallon. Not bad considering California fuel prices – we’ve seen much higher prices.

My step-dad, Ken, lives nearby but we didn’t see him. There isn’t anyplace nearby to legally park an RV. We would have to go several miles, then unload the Midget for a visit and load back up to get on the road. I really wanted to get past the afternoon rush through Temecula and get off the road. Our destination was another four-night stay at an Elks Lodge – in Oceanside this time. We’ve wanted to stay there for a while but weren’t able to get a reservation in the past. This time we got lucky and snagged a site for four nights – only a 30-amp service this time. The 30-amp service isn’t a big deal since we have cooler breezes here coming off the Pacific Ocean and don’t need to run air conditioners.

Tuesday morning Donna and I took a ride down the Coast Highway to Saint Michaels By-The-Sea just after crossing into Carlsbad. We met Debbie Bednarski – a friend from my high school days – there and played pickleball. They have two outdoor courts and 12-15 people showed up to play. It was great to see Debbie again and also get back on the pickleball courts.

While we were there, I received a phone call from the my step-dad, Ken’s neighbor, Helen. She told me Ken had just been taken away in an ambulance for transport to Loma Linda Hospital in Murrieta. I knew he was complaining about shortness of breath and it seems like it’s gotten bad enough that he needed attention.

This created a little tension for me – I had to figure out how to handle the situation. Donna’s dad had taken a fall a few weeks ago and broke his hip. He had successful surgery but now needs rehabilitation. He spent two weeks in a facility before Donna’s sisters decided to take over. Linda is a nurse and Sheila is a physical therapist. Sheila flew from San Diego to Vermont to get him going on rehab.

Meanwhile, Sheila’s 15 year-old son, Connor, was invited to play with a band made up of local middle and high schoolers opening up the Padres MLB game with the national anthem at Petco Park on Tuesday night. I needed to drop Donna off at Sheila’s place in La Jolla so she could use Sheila’s car to drive Connor to the ballgame and back.

I called the hospital and talked to an ER nurse. She told me they were taking Ken to X-ray, he was coherent, his vitals were good and I should wait and check back later. So I carried on and drove Donna to La Jolla. I called the hospital again and the nurse told me nothing had really changed and she advised me to sit tight and wait until the doctor came up with something. She didn’t seem overly concerned at this point. I notified my sister and brother and also my daughters of the situation. They admitted Ken to the hospital for more tests and observation.

Yesterday I drove the Midget up to Murrieta. It’s a blast up the interstate most of the way – not a fun drive in a small British sports car. At the hospital, I found Ken’s room and he seemed much better. They had discovered a large amount of fluid in one lung and drained 1.5 liters from it! With the liquid removed, he could breathe much better.

I’m concerned though. The thing is, his heart rate, blood pressure and temperature were all fine. He just couldn’t breathe. To me, I’m thinking this isn’t pneumonia or some kind of infection – he would’ve been ill. So why was there fluid in his lung? The only thing I can come up with is congestive heart failure or cancer. He’s 88 years old, so I’m hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

Meanwhile, Donna has plans to fly to Varmont next week. She’ll spend a day with Sheila learning what needs to be done to assist with her dad’s physical therapy. Sheila will return home while Donna stays there for a week or more. Family matters matter. I’ll be at Mission Bay RV Resort – we check in tomorrow.

A rain shower passed through here this morning. We skipped pickleball, but drove down to the Oceanside Farmers’ Market near the pier. There were some unique vendors and we bought more than usual.

Oceanside Farmers Market – and the back of Donna’s head

It’s cloudy and cool – the high might reach 70 degrees. We expect pleasant weather at Mission Bay – daytime highs in the low 70s and overnight lows in the 60s. Hard to beat that.

Eastern Sierra Tour – Second Stop

When we left Carson City, Nevada, we were at an elevation of about 4,800 feet above sea level. Our route was simple – US395 south for about 130 miles, then turn west on CA203 (exit 263). Along the way, we crossed Conway Summit at 8,143 feet above sea level. Our destination was Mammoth Mountain RV Park at Mammoth Lakes, California – a total distance of about 140 miles.

The RV park has mostly large, loosely defined, back-in sites among pine trees. It’s at an elevation of about 7,800 feet above sea level. When I checked in, I asked where the best place to unload the Midget from the trailer would be. The guy told me not to worry – the lane in front of our site was very wide and it would be no problem to unload there and back the trailer in to drop it in the site.

He’s obviously never driven a big rig. The “wide” lane was lined with trees and wasn’t wide enough for two coaches to pass each other. The easy back-in to drop the trailer was also complicated by trees. But, we got it done.

It looks wide open from here, but believe me the trees behind where I’m standing made it tough

On Tuesday morning, Donna rode with Steve, Gayle, Chuck and Barbara up to Devil’s Postpile National Monument. They were just in time for a ranger-led tour. From there, they hiked to Rainbow Falls and then to Red’s Meadow. I stayed behind as I needed some down time.

We had a happy hour with the group later that day, then had dinner on our own back at the coach. The weather in Mammoth Lakes was mostly pleasant during the day if you were in direct sun. But in the shade, the temperature was noticeably cooler and the wind could create a chill. The temperature over the four nights we were there ranged from the mid-to-upper 60s during the day and low 30s overnight.

On Wednesday morning, there was an optional Mammoth Mountain Ski Area gondola ride. We passed – we didn’t think we had the right clothing for a ride up to 11,000+ feet above sea level. I heard it was just above freezing temperature at the top. Donna and I took a ride in Midget-San through town and out to the ski area. There was a potluck dinner on the schedule and I had prepped two racks of babyback ribs the day before. Around 2pm, I got the Traeger wood-pellet fired smoker-grill out of the trailer and put the ribs on.

With the limited grill space on our small Traeger, I couldn’t provide enough ribs for everyone. I cut the ribs into single bone servings so as many people as possible could sample them.

Potluck dinner at Mammoth Mountain RV Park

Thursday’s scheduled activity was a trip to Bodie State Park. Bodie is a California gold-mining ghost town. It was over an hour away by car. Donna and I didn’t want to make the long drive to spend the day at a ghost town. We opted to drive out Lake Mary Road and get a look at some of the lakes. We drove by Lake Mamie and stopped at the Twin Falls overlook.

Twin Lake viewed from Twin Falls overlook
Another view of Twin Lake

We drove up to Horseshoe Lake – probably the most interesting of the many lakes in the area. What makes Horseshoe Lake so interesting is the high concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2). It is thought that a large reservoir of CO2 exists deep under the mountain. The gas was identified in 1994 and it is believed that an earthquake in 1989 opened channels in the earth releasing the gas in this area. About 120 acres of trees died when the CO2 deprived their roots of oxygen.

Dead forest at Horseshoe Lake
Horseshoe Lake

Horseshoe Lake is about 9,000 feet above sea level. I was happy with how well the Nissan A15 engine in Midget-San performed. The Weber DGV carburetor continued to run cleanly at this altitude although I could feel the power loss from the thin air.

We drove the loop around Lake Mary. We came across several people from the Alpine Coach group – I guess we weren’t the only ones taking a self-guided tour of the area.

On Thursday evening, I was hoping the watch the NFL Thursday Night Game. But, with all of the trees I couldn’t get a satellite signal and the park cable TV didn’t have the NFL Network. I was out of luck. Then I figured out that I could stream the game on my smart phone. It didn’t take long to get used to the small screen and I watched the second half as Tampa Bay beat Carolina.

Friday morning we packed up, hitched the trailer and hit the road. We had a short run of about 40 miles to Bishop California and the Highlands RV Park. The ride down US395 included a six-mile descent of 6% taking us down to about 4,200 feet above sea level. I made the entire six-mile descent without touching the brake pedal as the Jacobs Engineering (Jake) engine compression brake came through again. I had the Jake brake set on low and targeted 55mph. When my speed crept up to about 58-59mph, I switched the Jake to high and it brought us back down to 55. I toggled the low-high setting all the way down with no worries.

At check-in, the guy at the counter was surprised by the overall length of our rig. He said we would take the pull-through site from end-to-end, but it would be okay. It took a bit of doing to get into the narrow pull-through, but we got in, although we’re extended a little beyond the site boundary at both ends. The weather forecast for the weekend here calls for highs in the low 90s and overnight lows in the upper 50s. Much warmer than Mammoth Lakes – we’ll be running the air conditioners!

Eastern Sierra Tour – First Stop

It’s been a whirlwind since my last post, five days ago. That’s the thing about organized group tours – you’re no longer setting your own agenda and scheduling at your own pace. I ended my last post by saying we were going to Virginia City for a train ride – that wasn’t accurate. What we did was drive a few miles out of Carson City east on US50 to Eastgate Depot. That’s where we boarded the Virginia and Truckee (V&T) train for a ride up the railway to Virginia City.

Before we boarded, a couple in period costumes put on a two-person show giving the history of the area and the V&T line. It was quite good and somewhat hilarious although the truth of the matter is they exposed how corrupt the banks and politicians of the era were. There may be a lot of truth to it today as well.

The 1914 Pullman rail car we rode in was pulled by a steam powered 1916 Baldwin locomotive. Originally the V&T used wood-fired steam engines. They converted them to coal and quickly realized it was a mistake. The coal-burning locomotives required much more maintenance and the coal had to be shipped to the rail yards. They then converted them to burn fuel oil. The locomotive that pulled us along was fired with recycled motor oil.

1916 Baldwin steam locomotive
1914 Pullman Rail car

They bill the trip as a 24-mile round-trip, making it 12 miles each way, but our tour guide told us it was longer than that. The train moves slowly as it climbs a 2.4% grade most of the way. We went through the 566-foot long tunnel #2 and another shorter tunnel. The tour guide narrated throughout the hour and 15-minute ride – when he wasn’t interrupted by the train whistle. There are whistle requirements for trains as they cross any thoroughfare, whether it’s open to the public or private.

Send-off from Eastgate Depot

We saw several wild horses on the ride up to Virginia City and many more on the way back down. The train took us to the Virginia City Depot on F Street. This is a few blocks down from C Street which is the main street through town. It’s a relatively steep uphill walk from the depot. Virginia City is built on the side of a mountain. We had a three and half hour layover to tour the town and grab lunch. I visited Virginia City back in 2016 and posted photos in this post.

Donna and I strolled along the wooden boardwalk through town on both sides of the main drag.

Howdy partner – on the boardwalk

We poked around in a few shops and bought some locally made beef jerky. Then we looked at lunch menus and finally settled on Joe’s Cafe – which was recommended by our tour guide. The food there was excellent and we enjoyed lunch along with fellow Alpine Coach Association (ACA) members, Ed and Pat Meadows. We had lunch on the rear deck with a 100-mile view!

You see all types of folks in Virginia City. We even came across a modern day prospector doing it the old-fashioned way. He had a burro loaded with his equipment and supplies. He was dozing on a hitching rail when we first saw him, then later he loaded up and headed out.

See the prospector dozing on the hitching rail
Time to load up and head out

The elevation of Virginia City is 6,150 feet above sea level, so we made a considerable climb to get here. The town was the result of the discovery of the Comstock Lode – the first major silver deposit discovered in America. At its heyday, the population may have been as high as 20,000 people. Today, there are about 1,000 residents with about 4,000 people total in Storey County.

In 1875, the main business district was destroyed by fire – what they called The Great Fire. As the fire spread toward the residential districts down the mountain, a decision was made to blow up the St. Mary’s in the Mountains Catholic Church to create a fire break. The church agreed to the plan as long as the town promised to rebuild the church. Their plan worked and saved the housing. There was much wealth in Virginia City at the time and they kept their promise to rebuild the church.

St. Mary’s in the Mountains church and 100-mile view

The Virginia City train depot doesn’t have a turntable. So, to get back down to Carson City, the locomotive was disconnected from the two Pullman cars, switched to another rail then reconnected on the downhill side of the cars. This meant the locomotive ran in reverse all the way back to Carson City. I should also mention that just before we reached Virginia City, there is a sharp curve in the railroad and the grade steepens for a short distance to 3.9%. This is the steepest railroad grade I’ve ever heard of. Modern rail lines don’t exceed 3%.

The train engineers were careful to keep the speed down as we slowly descended – a runaway train wouldn’t be good. We saw several small herds of a dozen or more wild horses on the way down.

Wild horses
More horses
Looking across a canyon to the railroad grade and tunnel #2 entrance

The good thing about going on a pre-planned group tour is the fact that I wouldn’t have been inclined to spend $55/person to ride in an old train up to Virginia City. But now I’m glad we did the tour.

Saturday morning started with breakfast at the group area before we departed for two scheduled tours. Donna and I drove in Midget-San a few miles to the Nevada State Capitol Building. There we divided into two groups for a guided tour.

State Capitol Building with silver dome

The guided tour was interesting as our guide was very knowledgeable and filled us in on many details of the state’s history.

Chandelier with pink alabaster stone globes
Teddy Roosevelt once sat in this chair made from elk antlers

The tour lasted about an hour and a half, then we walked a few blocks down the road to the Nevada State Museum. This museum is located in the old Carson City Mint Building. The building has additions to it and included a simulated mine in the basement. Again, the guided tour was filled with historical facts and worth the time. It was another hour and a half. We ended the tour with a demonstration of the Carson City Mint coin press number one.

Coin press number one

This is the last remaining working coin press of this type in the world. Carson City Mint struck coins from 1870 to 1893. Coins with the CC stamp are highly sought after by collectors. One of the tour guides operating the press showed us a 100-ounce bar of silver – 99.99% pure.

100 – ounce bar of silver on the left

Sunday morning we headed out for yet another tour. This time, Donna and I drove Midget-San about 30 miles east on US50 then south to Fort Churchill State Park. Fort Churchill was operated for only about nine years – 1860 to 1869. The soldiers stationed there were tasked with keeping the peace and protecting the settlers coming across the wagon trails. It also served as a Pony Express stop and supply depot for the army.

Today the fort is in ruins. It was abandoned in 1869 and pieces of value, such as doors, windows and hardware were sold off. Roofing material was stolen and the buildings vandalized. Today the grounds are preserved in a state of arrested decay. Only partial adobe walls remain of the buildings. It was interesting to tour the grounds and visualize what life must have been like there 150 years ago.

Officer quarters ruins
Buildings south of the parade grounds

They have two of three cannons sent to the fort in the 1860s. The heavy cannons were considered useless by the commanding officer – they were too heavy and unwieldy for the terrain surrounding the fort. He gave them away to local militia. Now they are on display at the state park and are still in working order. We were given a firing demonstration – with a powder charge only, no projectile.

Artillery circa 1860
Fire in the hole!

We regrouped for lunch at a nearby roadside picnic area. Most of the group went on to tour Buckland Station – another area of historical interest. Donna and I were toured out and headed back to Carson City.

I kicked back and watched the Formula One race from Monza that I had recorded. It was a great race! I watched a little football, then we departed for a group dinner at Red’s Old 395 Grill. We had a choice of smoked pork spare ribs or beef brisket with cole slaw, beans, cornbread and fried onions. Donna went for the ribs and I had brisket. We were about done in though and I missed all of the opening weekend of NFL action.

I should mention one more thing that happened at Gold Dust West Casino RV Park. On Sunday afternoon, Scott Hicks came by our site and told me there was a sign on our trailer saying it wasn’t authorized to be there and was subject to tow! What?! I went and pulled the sign and took it to the registration desk at the casino. I explained to them that I was in the RV park and I put the trailer right where they told me to put it. I also mentioned the green tag they gave me that was on the trailer identifying me as a RV park guest. Eventually, a manager told me it was a mistake by someone in security and not to worry, it was fine.

On Monday morning, we prepared to pull out and head south to Mammoth Lakes. When I went to hook up the trailer, there was another sign on it saying it was unauthorized and subject to tow! I’m not too impressed the with the security people at Gold Dust West.

This post is much too long, I’ll have to catch up on Mammoth Lakes in another post.

*Just so you know, if you use this  link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and  I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!

Casino to Casino to Casino

On Monday morning, Donna and I took a ride through the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Midget-San. Donna told me she heard a pack of coyotes yapping in the NWR the night before. I heard geese and cranes in the evening, but was sound asleep before the coyotes got excitable.

We were hoping to see some wildlife in the NWR, but all we saw were birds, mostly waterfowl – geese, cranes and ducks. Also a few hawks which I couldn’t get a good enough look at to identify.

Dorris Reservoir in the Modoc NWR

We ended up driving into Alturas to grab a few groceries and had lunch at El Agave Azul – we were told it was the best Mexican food in town. We both thought it was average at best, but we enjoyed the lunch.

Later that afternoon, a tractor-trailer rig pulled into the lot at Desert Rose Casino and parked parallel to us on the driver’s side about 40 feet away. He had an empty flat-bed trailer. I noticed he left his engine idling – I assumed he left it on to run air conditioning. It was about 90 degrees outside in the sun. Later I saw him come out of the casino with a woman and a bag of what appeared to be take-out food. They got in the truck, but it remained parked and idling.

We had an uneventful evening as I watched more of the US Open tennis on TV and went to bed before Donna. In the morning, Donna told me she had a horrible night. The noise of the idling truck in the lot kept her up most of the night. The truck sat there idling for about 14 hours. Since he was hauling an empty flat-bed trailer, he couldn’t have been needing to run a refrigeration unit or anything. I think he idled the big diesel to keep his cab air conditioner running!

We packed up and pulled out Tuesday morning. Our route took us south on US395 through mostly open range land and some tiny towns like Madeline and Termo with populations under 100 people. At Standish, we turned on Standish Buntingville Road which is also known as the Reno cut-off. It’s a shortcut bypassing Susanville.

This took us around Honey Lake and we climbed to the Nevada border near Cold Springs. We took the first Nevada exit and found Bordertown Casino RV Park where we had a reservation for a 70-foot paved pull-through site. We were checked in quickly and found the park to be clean and well-maintained. The 70-foot site length is a bit of an exaggeration though – our 65-foot overall length only left a foot or so to spare and stay within the marked site. The power pedestal, water and sewer were ideally located and we were in business in no time.

Donna was excited by the park wifi – that was big news as far as she was concerned. They had an excellent signal with high speed and allowed streaming video. Donna took advantage and watched three or four episodes of The Americans on Amazon Prime. We had a cocktail in the casino and ate in their restaurant. They had a taco Tuesday special – $1 tacos. I ordered three and they were quite good. Donna went for an oriental chicken salad.

Wednesday was mostly a bust. We had warnings of thunderstorms in the area and had showers off and on throughout the day. I watched hours of US Open tennis. Without anything exciting to talk about, I’ll just insert the obligatory sunset behind our coach shot.

Sunset behind our coach at Bordertown Casino RV Park

We pulled out this morning around 10:30am. I made a stop at their fuel pump and topped up with fuel. They had straight diesel #2 – no biodiesel content. We had a short drive to Carson City. We made a stop at Walmart to get water and Donna stocked up the refrigerator and pantry. I walked over to Round Table Pizza and ordered a take-out pepperoni, mushroom, onion and green pepper pizza. I haven’t had a Round Table pizza in a long time and they are one of my favorites. Donna put the groceries away and we had lunch in the coach before moving on.

We pulled into the Gold Dust West Casino RV Park around 1pm – our third casino in a row. I had called ahead to inquire about dropping the trailer. I had a hard time making sense of what the gal was telling me on the phone. We found a large, empty lot that was part of the casino parking near the RV park. I unloaded the Midget and dropped the trailer there. We drove through the RV park in MIdget-San to reconnoiter, then I went to the registration desk at the casino hotel to check us in. They told me I couldn’t leave the trailer where I dropped it. I had to take it to another smaller lot on the other side of the casino. They couldn’t tell me why I couldn’t park it where I did, they just said “it wasn’t allowed.”

There was no sense in arguing so we drove the Midget to our site then walked back to the coach to hook up the trailer again. I dropped it in the designated area – about a 1/4 mile away from the RV park and out of our view. They assured me the lot was under video surveillance 24/7.

Alpine Coaches are filling this small RV park. We have 24 registered members of the Alpine Coach Association here to tour the eastern Sierras. Over the next 13 nights we will caravan to three different parks and take tours of the many sights this area has to offer. I’m not usually one to go on organized sight-seeing excursions, but when we came up this way last spring, we missed most of the attractions due to weather. With an organized group with pre-made plans and reservations, we’ll be sure to check it all out now.

After setting up this afternoon, a thundershower is passing through. The forecast calls for the rain to thin out after 5pm but gusty winds could continue through the night. Tomorrow should be sunny with temperatures in the upper 80s. We’ll be going to Virginia City for a train ride!

*Just so you know, if you use this  link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and  I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!

Double Trouble

Florence has a farmers’ market at the Veterans Memorial Park on Bay Street Tuesday afternoons. Donna and I drove to town around 3pm. Our first stop was at the post office where we had our mail forwarded to General Delivery. Donna retrieved our packet of mail sent there from Your Best Address in South Dakota. Then we proceeded to the farmers’ market.

A real farmers’ market

We always enjoy local farmers’ markets and this one was small, but it was the real deal. Not a craft show or anything like that, but fresh produce, cheese and meats from local farms. On the way back we did a drive-through at the Fred Meyer fuel pumps. Getting diesel fuel in a big rig can be a challenge on the Oregon Coast. You don’t find any truck stops and most of the gas stations are small and too tight to maneuver our rig through. The location of the diesel pump at Fred Meyer wasn’t ideal, but it was probably our best option. We planned to get fuel on our way out of Florence on Thursday.

I loaded the Midget into the trailer when we returned. Rain was forecast and I didn’t want to leave it out and have to load it later when the meadow was likely to be muddy. The rain came on Wednesday morning as predicted. It rained off and on all day, so we had an uneventful day. Donna put the finishing touches on a post for her Unclutter blog.

On Thursday morning, Donna phoned Salmon Harbor Marina in Winchester Bay to see if they had any open sites. She was told five sites were available. We finished packing up and made the winding drive to the dump station. We pulled out of the Elk’s RV park around 10:15am.

The diesel pump at Fred Meyer had a couple of motorcycles in front of it, behind a gas powered motorhome. They cleared out just as we were pulling in. The diesel pump is located at the end of an island closest to the entry lane. This meant our trailer partially blocked the entry lane. We needed the fuel though. Our Onan 7.5kW Quiet Diesel generator is fueled by the same fuel tank that supplies our engine. The fuel pick-up for the generator is located about a quarter of the way up from the bottom of the tank. This is done by design – the thinking is, if we were boondocked in a remote location, the generator would stop running when we still had a quarter of a tank of fuel, allowing us to get on the road. Running the fuel tank dry with the generator in a remote area wouldn’t be good.

We took 73 gallons of fuel, so we were near the quarter tank level. The Fred Meyer pumps are standard nozzles – I’ve become jaded by the high-volume trucker nozzles at Pilot/Flying J where I can pump 50 gallons in five minutes or less. Getting 73 gallons at Fred Meyer took about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, a motorhome pulled into the Fred Meyer entrance and stopped at the fuel station entry, waiting for us to move. This led to another motorhome stopping behind him. A third motorhome showed up and stopped in the highway lane. By the time I was finished filling up, cars and RVs were backed up down the highway. Sorry about that.

The time it took at the dump station and Fred Meyer had us running a bit later than we hoped. We headed south on US101 where it’s only a 30-mile run to Winchester Bay. However, it’s a relatively slow run with hills and turns marked with 35-40 mph advisories. On the way, Donna called the marina again and asked about site availability. Now there were only three of the first-come, first-served sites open. The gal on the phone – who shall remain nameless – did us a huge favor by putting a cone in site E14, blocking anyone from taking the site. She told us to proceed to that site and set up, then come by the office to pay.

When we pulled into the marina, the camp host stopped us in his golf cart. He said the campground was full. I told him we were going to site E14 – it had a cone in it. I mentioned the name of the gal that blocked it for us, then realized I may have gotten her in trouble. He asked if it was done in the last 20 minutes or so and I said yes. He directed us in.

The Salmon Harbor Marina RV Park is really just a paved parking lot with marked sites, surrounded on the three sides by the marina on Winchester Bay. All of the sites are dry camping only, no hook-ups. Across the street, an RV park called Windy Cove is run by the county and it has full hook-ups. There’s also a privately run RV park called Winchester Bay RV Resort with full hook-ups on the west side of the marina. Lots of RV spaces, but if you don’t reserve well in advance, the first-come, first served dry camping is the only option. We’re still trying to figure out why the campground has “full” and “no vacancy” signs out when we can see a few open sites that are blocked by cones. Maybe we aren’t the only ones that had a site held for us.

Salmon Harbor Marina – Winchester Bay RV Resort on the far bank

The sites are very wide. We unloaded the Midget and dropped the trailer on the left side of the site, then I looped around and parked the coach on the right side. The site is surprisingly level although there’s a dip running across the center of it. Our wheels are equidistant from the dip and left us level!

View southeast across the marina

We headed out in Midget-San to get provisions back in Reedsport at McKay’s Market. We’ll stock up now and also when we leave on Sunday as we expect to be away from easy shopping for at least a week. Reedsport is about five miles from the marina.

As we headed to Reedsport on US101, I noticed the water temperature gauge read unusually high. I thought the slow drive out of the marina plus a long wait at an intersection had raised the coolant temperature. But now we were cruising at 60mph and it should have dropped back to the normal range of around 7 o’clock on the gauge. Instead, it kept moving toward the hot danger zone. I pulled off on the shoulder and with the engine idling listened for the electric cooling fan. I didn’t hear it. I shut off the motor.

I got out and popped the hood – or bonnet as the British car maker calls it on the MG. Yikes! A coolant hose had loosened up and disconnected from the water pump. We were pumping coolant through the radiator and out onto the ground!

I was able to reconnect the hose and tighten the clamp with a bottle opener on my keychain. I told Donna we had to wait for the motor to cool. I retrieved two bottles of water from the trunk – er, boot – of Midget-San and waited. After a while, I removed the radiator cap and slowly added a bottle of water. I opened the second bottle and it only took half of that bottle to fill it. I squeezed the upper coolant hose a few times to work any air pockets out and topped it up. We were good to go.

I told Donna this is why I always scan my gauges periodically. In the motorhome, situational awareness is important when you’re piloting a rig 65 feet long weighing 18 tons. In Midget-San, this awareness is also paramount – we drive it like it’s a motorcycle, always defensively and assuming we’re not seen by other distracted drivers.

Before getting groceries, we stopped for lunch at Ocean Garden, a Cantonese Chinese restaurant. Wow, was it ever good. We both ordered spicy dishes off the luncheon special menu which included soup, fried rice, and crab rangoons. Service was great, too, and portions were very generous.

Back at the coach, I topped up Midget-San’s coolant reservoir with coolant and checked all of the hose clamps. After going for an exploratory walk, Donna was ready to make beef ragu for dinner, so she fired up the generator. It ran normally for about a minute, then suddenly shut off. I tried to restart it, but it cranked without starting. Oh no! We can’t dry camp for three nights without recharging the batteries with the generator. The diagnostic blink code on the switch flashed three times. This is the worst diagnostic code. One flash means “High Temp,” two flashes means “Low Oil Pressure” and three flashes means “Service Required.” So, basically three flashes only tells you it’s not high temperature or low oil pressure – it’s something else.

I opened the generator slide and checked it for leaks. Then I checked all of the electrical connections at the generator and battery bank. I turned off the circuit breaker at the generator to remove any electrical load and tried restarting it. It started and ran for a few seconds before it sputtered and died. I could hear the fuel pump run before it started, so I didn’t think that was the problem, although it acted like it was starved for fuel. I wondered if we had a plugged fuel filter.

I pushed the start switch a couple of times to run the fuel pump, then started it again. It started and ran. It faltered a couple of times, but regained a smooth idle speed. After a minute, I flipped the breaker to the on position and the rpms increased and it ran fine. I ran it for an hour without any problems. This morning, I’ve had it running for two hours without an issue.

After thinking it over, I have a theory. Remember how the fuel pick-up is at a quarter tank level. When we filled up we were at about a quarter tank. I think air got into the generator fuel line before I filled the tank. When the air bubbles reached the injection pump, it “ran out of fuel” and shut off. Once the air bubbles bled off, it’s fine.

The forecast here is for sunny days and high temperatures around 70 degrees. Yesterday was windy and it’s supposed to get gusty again this afternoon. The weekend should have calmer breezes though. Sunday we’ll head out east to the Cascade Mountains. We have reservations at Crescent Junction RV Park which is either in the Umpqua National Forest or the Deschutes National Forest – I’m not sure where the boundaries lie.