February 17 to April 2

I have created many mental calendars since we left Washington in February, headed south in Abe, anticipating many great adventures to report.  We arrived at Chuck’s ranch in the foothills of the Sierra, east of Visalia, CA, on Shrove Tuesday and are still here!  We had many repairs to make on Abe and were referred to Paul Everett’s RV Country (PERVC) in Fresno, a certified Tiffin repair site.  It took them until March 4 to get Abe scheduled into their shop and approved for the work.  Jerry delivered it with a list of 21 items that needed to be repaired.  Sadly, some of these items had been identified by the previous owner, but had never been addressed.  (We’ve learned quite a lot about the inadequacies, inefficiencies, poor organization, and untruthfulness of the RV industry!)

Jerry has spoken with all of the entities involved, from the owner of the Tiffin RV Company, on down the list to the service manager in Fresno, almost on a daily basis.  Part of the frustration has been that he could not get a straight answer from anyone about the status of the parts ordered, what work had been completed, and when we could expect the bus to be ready to roll.  Finally on Friday March 27, all of the problems on our list had been verified, parts had been ordered, and they had arrived at the service center.  Does it seem amazing to you, as it does to us, that it took 23 days for this to happen? 

We drove to Fresno Monday, March 30, to see Abe, review the progress of the repairs, and to offer “encouragement.”  We did a walk-around with list in hand with Rod, the actual service person that was working on the bus.  He seemed capable and forth coming but it quickly became apparent that not much had been done.  We reviewed a list of 21 items and learned that 6 easy ones were done, 6 more were in progress, and the remaining 8 hard ones were not yet worked on.  He had also found 2 more problems…or created them?...and so we added them to the list.  It took Monday and Tuesday for Rod to complete the driver’s side slide repair…much longer than few hours predicted.

Theoretically Monday, April 6, we will confirm that the list has been completed and do a serious test drive.  Once that’s done, we go to a different service center in Fresno to resolve our transmission problem.  Yep, the final big one!  Once that’s done, I hope we are good to go.  When we arrived here in February if anyone had told me we’d still be here until after Easter, I would not have believed it!  Looks like an optimistic departure date is April 8 or 9.

We still would like to explore some of the spots we’ve heard about in Arizona and make our way to Pearland, TX, (just south of Houston) to visit with Lewis and Bonnie Smith and see the 40 acres they’ve purchased.  This land is their retirement plan for 2017 and they’re currently getting water and power to the site.  After that visit, we’ll make our wandering way to Illinois for a visit with the family.  We think we’ll spend the summer exploring all the spots in the Midwest we have not seen:  Door County, WI, the UP of Michigan, Minnesota’s boundary waters, etc.  We’re looking forward to trying dry camping in the bus and cruising the “blue roads”.

Life here at the ranch has not been too difficult and we readily admit that this was the best place for us to stay as we resolved the problems with Abe. 

We’ve been able to help Chuck with some big projects:  cleaning and then painting the horse barn and the paddock fences, tearing out the front lawn and re-sodding it, and helping with trimming, mowing, and spring cleanup.  It’s looking pretty good around here!

Since we’ve been here so long we’ve had the opportunity to catch up with lots of Visalia friends we haven’t seen in awhile.  In the first few weeks we were here, we sometimes had 2 or 3 “dates” in Visalia.  What fun!  Beth was in town for a quilting class so we had lunch with her, then had our income taxes done, then went to dinner with friends!  We’re certainly caught up on all the new restaurants.

We spent one weekend with Jill, Bob, and Lauren and it seems like it’s almost time to go again.  They have converted their guest room to a playroom for Lauren, so we stayed in a hotel…not quite as comfortable or convenient.  It’s better for them, though, since it gives Lauren a place for her little tent, her train set, her kitchen, her shelves, her stuffed animals, etc. etc.  She doesn’t lack for toys.  Spring had arrived in San Jose so we were outside a lot.  I had found a recipe for bubbles and a creative way to blow big bubble snakes.  Grandpa and Lauren loved it!

We went to Ventura for 2 nights last week and caught up with friends there, too.  In the last few years we were in Visalia, we would often go to Ventura for the weekend, finding this little beachside community fascinating.  Boating friends have a home there and we spent a day with them.  It seemed a little strange as we were used to seeing them on their Nordic Tug or ours!  In fact they were the couple we cruised to Princess Louisa Inlet two summers ago (2013) and traveled together for quite awhile.  They sold their boat before we sold ours and they are also interested in a motor home.  I’m afraid some of our stories made them reconsider that idea, though!

Chuck and Bobbie have hosted two barbecues while we’ve been here and we’ve enjoyed experimenting with his “grill”.  Visalia and Lemon Cove friends joined us for beautiful evenings under the stars.  Chuck has lots of oak to burn and the pyromaniacs (aren’t we all, just a little?) had a great time.

We’ve even visited with Washington friends that we thought we’d see in Arizona.  Instead, they stopped in Visalia as they were headed north on the homeward bound part of their trips.  Jon and Norma Owens were one of these couples.  We have known them since high school back in central Illinois!  They drove out to Chuck’s in their RV and spent 2 nights.  We took them up into Sequoia Park to see the big trees and had a great day with them.  I’d hoped to show them the beautiful hillsides of poppies we’d seen just the week before, but they were gone.  As you’ve probably heard, it’s very dry here and the wild flowers didn’t last long.  The south-facing hillsides are brown and the rest of the hills will soon lose their green lushness.  Yep, time to go!

It is lovely here at the ranch in the spring and I’ve taken advantage of the sunny weather to hike up the hills and find wildflowers.  Some of my photos:

Fiddleneck on the hillside.  These pretty flowers are everywhere…come early and stay late!  I can remember calling them “weeds” in our lawn in Visalia.  Not out here at the ranch, though.

Fiddleneck and “white flowers” (yep, I ought to know the name of them but I don’t!) on the hillside above Lake Kaweah.

Usually Chuck’s dog Mia comes with me to explore the ground squirrel holes and dart around the hillsides.  One afternoon we scared up a small pack of coyotes!

Under one of the shady trees up high on the hill, we even found these bees…swarming??

After church one Sunday Jerry and I drove up Dry Creek Road to Mountain House and back to Woodlake on Rte. 245 to see the poppies.  The hills were green and the flowers were in abundance.  What a great time to be here!

This drive has always been a favorite and many of our out-of-state company were given this tour when they came to see us.  The route winds along a small creek up to about 3,000 feet where Dry Creek Road ends.

Mountain House, a rustic tavern, sits at the intersection of Dry Creek and Rte. 245.  I don’t know the history of Mountain House, but would not be surprised if it were an old state coach stop.  Today it’s a lovely place to get a beer, a burger, and rest your posterior if you’ve taken this trip on your motorcycle.

There are a few ranches along this drive that have entrance signs indicating their establishment over 100 years ago.  This is very much ranching and cattle country.  We get a sense of the “old west” along these back roads.

The lupine had just emerged to give us another splash of color!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.  Not a bad place to wait on Abe to be repaired.  A little gin and tonic overlooking the lake at sunset helps relieve the frustrations.

Stay tuned…the Adventures of Smokey and the Bus Bandits will resume any day now!

February 6 – February 22, 2015: Family and Friends

On February 6, we were in Peach Beach RV Park on the north shore of the Columbia River on US-97.  We are staying at this RV Park 2 nights so we can do some sightseeing in the area.  Even though it’s too early for the tourists, there are lots of things to see here.

Our first stop was a replica of Stonehenge, sitting high above the Columbia.  This memorial was the first in the US dedicated to WWI soldier deaths and was part of a large estate.  As you can see from the photo, the weather was cold and drizzly, so there weren’t many tourists wandering around.  We did talk to one gentleman who told us that his uncle had helped with the construction of the memorial and used to ride his bicycle around the top!  Yikes!!  Stonehenge and the adjoining Maryhill Museum were part of Samuel Hill’s ranch in the 1900’s.  Yep, there actually was a "Sam Hill"!

According to Wikipedia:

The Maryhill Museum building was designed as a private residence for Sam Hill. It was designed in a Beaux-Arts style and built of steel-reinforced concrete beginning in 1914. Hill imagined the structure as a ranch building amidst a 5,300-acre agricultural community that he was developing at the eastern end of the Columbia River Gorge. During a 1917 visit by his friend Loïe Fuller, he decided to turn his unfinished home into “a museum for the public good, and for the betterment of French art in the far Northwest of America.”

Unfortunately, the museum was closed until the first of March, so we were unable to view the collection.  Surprisingly enough, this little out-of-the-way museum has quite a collection of pieces by Rodin, including “The Thinker”!  We will have to come back.

Our next stop was Maryhill Winery, located on the bluff above the Columbia River, a few miles west of the museum.  The tasting room was built in 2000 and included an open-air amphitheater for concerts.  What a gorgeous venue!  Their wines were delicious and we managed to only purchase a couple of bottles of delicious red.  I thought we were very restrained, considering this winery has won numerous awards over the years.  Coordinating a concert date with a visit to the museum is on our to-do list.

We drove to Goldendale; about 10 miles north on US-97 in search of some lunch and decided to explore the Goldendale Observatory and its 24.5-inch telescope.  The park ranger was quite knowledgeable and perhaps a little lonely…he went on and on about the telescope and the park in general.  The park recently received funding for upgrades, in anticipation of the next total solar eclipse in August of 2017, which apparently is quite a big deal in the world of astronomy.

We made one last stop at John Day (he was an early Oregon explorer) dam, just a few miles east of the RV park.  The dam is near Rufus, OR, and has fish ladders and locks on both sides of the river.  It’s the newest dam on the lower Columbia River and produces significant hydroelectric power.  We viewed the dam from the Washington side, so didn’t take the tour or explore the grounds at the dam.

We departed Peach Beach RV Park Saturday morning, 2/7/15, continuing south on US-97 through Oregon.  Smokey gradually adjusted to another big change in her feline life.  While we are on the road, she sometimes hides underneath our bed.  At other times she sleeps on the couch in the salon, and when she’s feeling really needy, she sleeps on this chair I placed between Jerry’s seat and mine.  Poor kitty!  She’s had quite a life.

Saturday evening we stopped at Tingley Lake RV Park just south of Klamath Falls, OR.  The park, until recently belonged to Frank and Nell Kuonen, parents of good friends from Visalia, Phil and Rita Olson.  We knew we wouldn’t see Phil and Rita, since they were away, celebrating granddaughter #2’s second birthday. However, we were delighted to spend the evening with Frank and Nell and cooked salmon for them.  Sunday morning, they treated us to breakfast at the Klamath Falls airport restaurant.  Although the airport no longer has regular air service, this is a training facility for F-15’s, so we watched the jets depart as we ate.

After breakfast, we made final preparations for departure and discovered our driver’s side front slide would not retract.  Stuck!!!  Another problem had surfaced, and Jerry’s phone calls for assistance produced few results on a Sunday.  The NW rep for Tiffin did respond and had a couple of ideas to correct the problem but no success.  Our only recourse was to find a local service center on Monday morning and try to get it repaired enough to get to a Tiffin service center. 

On Monday morning we discovered that Klamath Falls and its dwindling population no longer supports RV repair service of this nature and we were referred to the “RV Doctor” in Medford, OR…a short 70 miles away.  Michael, the RV Doc, only came to Klamath Falls once a week and his next visit was to be on Wednesday, two days away.  Once again we revised our plans and settled in to wait.  The silver lining in this annoying cloud was that we would get to see Phil and Rita after all.  They arrived home on Monday night.

Tingley Lake is a lovely place to be and our prolonged stay here was certainly no hardship.  It wasn’t raining, it wasn’t terribly cold, and we had power and water.  I even did some laundry on Abe while we waited.  Tuesday morning dawned with bright sunshine and crispy clear air so the lake was particularly pretty about 0730!  This is a popular birding area and, even in the winter, there are lots of Canada geese to watch.

Michael, the RV Doctor, arrived with his helper about 0740 on Wednesday and quickly started the problem solving.  He thought the stern end of the slide was stuck and at one point thought raising it up with a jack might just do the trick.  Nope, no joy!  Eventually he talked to the right tech at the manufacturer of the slide (HWH in Iowa), who, fortunately for us, had recently had worked through this problem on another RV.  He suggested that Michael look for a check valve lodged in the valve body in the hydraulic system.  Apparently there have been a rash of check valves left in place as the hydraulic system was assembled.  Yep, that was exactly what had happened.  That little piece of plastic had caused all our woes!  Once it was removed, the slide worked as easily as it always had.  Why the check valve chose to lodge in the valve body at this particular time no one could say. 

Of course Michael had found other problems with the slide and suggested that we get it repaired, but these problems would not interfere with the slide performance. 

We said our good-byes and were on the road again!  We had a glorious drive through northern California and past Mount Shasta.  We saw lots of snow on the mountains but Shasta Lake is frighteningly low.  The stories of the severity of the California drought are real.

We spent Wednesday night, 2/11/15 at Parkway RV Resort in Orland, CA, and had finally found warm weather and sunshine.  Jerry and I sat outside at the picnic table next to our little spot and watched Smokey explore the grass.  The RV park was almost empty so she felt brave enough to step off Abe. 

Thursday, 2/12/15, Jill’s 36^th birthday, we pulled up in front of Jill and Bob’s house about 2:30.  It was a little hectic driving south on I-5, I-505, and I-680, as the traffic zoomed around us, but Jerry did great!  The exit off of I-280 to get to Jill’s house is not a simple, straight forward ramp, but requires a couple of lane changes around the other cars that are exiting and merging onto the freeway.  Well, no problem for us!  We unhooked the pickup and got it washed (what a mess it was!) before we took off for the grocery store. 

We were in charge of the birthday dinner and had planned to serve one of Jill’s favorite childhood menus:  Chicken teriyaki, rice-a-roni, broccoli with cheese sauce and tiramisu for dessert.  Since Lauren had just celebrated her second birthday the week before, I think she understood the birthday cake and candles were for Mommy’s birthday.  However, it was more than she could do to resist the pudding-topped tiramisu! 

As you might imagine, we spent every possible moment with Lauren, letting Jill and Bob go to dinner by themselves several evenings and get other weekend chores done without Lauren’s assistance.  We went to Santa Cruz on Sunday morning and found beautiful, sunny, warm weather.  Lots of folks were out walking along the cliff above the beach and we saw lots of surfers in the water.  Bob had been surfing on Saturday and said the waves were pretty good.  We even watched some Pacific white-sided dolphins fishing near shore.

On Sunday afternoon, while Lauren was napping, Jerry and I put together a little play kitchen that was our birthday present to her.  Good thing she took a long nap – this little item was not simple to put together!  It was well worth the trouble, though.  She loved it and quickly began “cooking” and “serving” anyone who would join her!  Grandpa was a very willing guest.

Lauren was fascinated with the bus and thought it was great fun to “drive to the park”!  Since Jill and Bob had converted their guest room to a playroom, it was lovely for us to have Abe parked in front as well! 

Monday morning, 2/16/15, we left Jill and Bob’s and headed for Beth’s house in Turlock.  We had originally planned to park in front of her house, as we had done at Jill and Bob’s, but we were wayyyyyy too wide for the street and the overhanging branches were a big problem.  Turlock is full of lots of lovely old sycamores, but the trees overhang almost every street.  The sound of those low branches scraping the top of the bus was not a happy noise!  We finally found a spot on a side street, about a block from Beth’s and settled in. 

One of the fun things at Beth’s house is that she always has some sort of interesting project going on that we…particularly Jerry…can help with.  This time Jerry took down her Christmas lights while Smokey enjoyed sitting under Beth’s blooming camellias.  Ahhhh, spring in the San Joaquin Valley!

Tuesday morning, our departure from Turlock was delayed a couple of hours as we problem-solved why the step would not retract (we had blown a fuse!).  Finally we were off to Visalia and, more specifically, our friend Chuck’s ranch in the Sierra foothills east of town.  We unhooked the pickup outside Chuck’s gate and pulled in with relative ease.  We didn’t attempt to take the bus up Chuck’s long, curvy drive, but parked just inside the gate.  We shut Abe down and moved up to the little apartment in the shop.

We will be here until sometime the first week of March and then we’re off to Arizona and wandering from there.  In spite of all our problems, travelling on the bus is comfortable and we are ready for the next adventure!