Molalla Mud and Oral Surgery

Redding RV Park Propane Tank

After driving over 6000 miles through four states, we returned to Molalla, Oregon and darn near got the Fiver stuck at the Finney's in Molalla!  To be fair, Oregon has had a lot of rain and one of the coldest Springs on record.  So the part of the field that we planned to back the Fiver into, was pretty soft, and Neil missed backing it on to the pad on the first try and wound up nearly getting the truck and Fiver stuck.  

Thanks to work by Seth Finney and his son Samuel, we were able to "build enough road" with gravel to get it out of the ruts.  We decided to park on the gravel driveway until the ground dries out (or until we leave next week).  The Finney's have given us the run of their house, so we have laundry and bathroom privileges.  Since we plan to have the Fiver looked at for a warranty issue next week, this should work just fine.

The big event for today was oral surgery for Neil in Oregon City.  He had to have a molar removed, which was next to an impacted wisdom tooth.  Needless to say, they put him under, pulled the tooth and hacked off the top of the wisdom tooth and then filled the hole with bone.  He is recovering well, with some pain and swelling, but we think all will be good in a few days.  If anyone wants a recommendation for an outstanding oral surgeon in Oregon City, give us a call.

Mount Shasta from Interstate Five

We will spend about ten days here in Molalla before we head north to Washington State for a brief visit with Neil's folks in Silverdale.  We will do some minor work on the truck and Fiver, do some shopping, and visit family.  We might even take in a movie or two.  It is good to be back in Oregon, but wish that Spring would arrive with some warmer temperatures.  Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

Safe in Molalla

Wow!  A 400 mile day for us today, from Redding, California to Pamela's brother's place in Molalla, Oregon.  I was an uneventful but long day of driving.  The worst part of it was having to pay $4.15 a gallon for regular gas.  We will have a day to rest and do some errands on Tuesday, before Neil has oral surgery on Wednesday.

We will be here until April 8th to Washington to visit Neil's folks before we head to Vancouver Island.

Refugees Still

Another winter storm in the mountains will keep us here in Redding until Monday.  We will then try to get as far as we can on Monday.  We are in a good park close to Redding and took a trip to Safeway today and will return on Sunday to fill the truck with gas and have dinner at a Red Lobster.  There is a Chevron station here that had regular gas at $3.99 on Friday, and we noticed that it was $4.09 today (Saturday).

Anyone Else Wishing for a 30 mpg Truck?

Since we found a Safeway gas station in Redding with gas at $3.83, and since we have lots of Safeway points, we will fill up there on Sunday night.  We have not yet paid $4.00 a gallon for gas, and want to postpone it as long as possible.

Wish us clear roads and safe travels for Monday,

Neil and Pamela

Redding Refuge

Another day, another couple of hundred miles.  We had a good trip up I-5 with some rain and some wind, but nothing torrential--that waited until we arrived in Redding.  We are parked at Mountain Gate RV Park, just north of Redding.  We arrived in early afternoon and set up just before the next wave of rain and wind arrived.

See That Green Band Over Redding?  That's Where We Are

We were planning on staying here just one night, but there is a winter storm watch on the Siskiyou Pass that will probably keep us here an extra day.  There are chain requirements for both the truck and trailer in place right now, so we will probably wait until Sunday to make the trip over the pass.  There have been waves of Pacific storms that have been rolling in from the Pacific, and in the interest of safety, we need to wait until the pass is clear for large RV trailers.

There are a large number of RV's here in the park who are also waiting for the pass to clear before they head north, so we are among the RV refugees.

This is What We are Trying to Avoid on the Siskiyou Pass

Once we clear the pass, we will make the best time we can to Molalla, Oregon but will take as much time as we need to make a safe crossing of the pass

Neil and Pamela

Waterlogged in Lodi

Wow!  We thought that it could rain a lot in Juneau.  We just rode out a big Pacific storm that came ashore in Central California and rained a couple of inches and blew at nearly 50 mph.  We were fine here in the RV park in Lodi and only had a few things blow around outside of the RV, but there was not any damage.

We did go into Lodi for breakfast and to get some RainX and cleaner for our windshield wipers--it looks like we will be dealing with some more rain on the way north.

In this Radar Picture, the Rain Is Over Us in Lodi--South of Sacramento

Things look much better now than they did last night and earlier today, so we plan to pack up and head about 200 miles to Redding, California tomorrow.  From there, we will check to make sure that the Siskiyou Pass is open and head to Canyonville, Oregon on Saturday.  We have chains and four wheel drive on the GMC, but hope that we won't need either one.

While this weather makes us wonder why we are heading back to the rain and wind, we are looking forward to getting back to Oregon and heading home to Alaska.

Neil and Pamela

Stuck in Lodi - Waiting for Better Weather

We had a good night at Lost Hills and got on the road towards Sacramento through some rain and winds.  There were wind warnings on I-5 and we did notice some wind on the trip, but it was not anything worrisome to us.  As big as the Fiver is, it is a lower profile than the big trucks.  We stopped at a rest area and saw some metal sculptures that were pretty interesting.  The pig made us think of our friend Jim Hauck who has some pig sculpture in his garden.  Sorry Jim, too big to bring home!

These Metal Pigs Were Over Six Feet Long

I'm Not Sure We Want One of These In Our Garden

Anyone remember Credence Clearwater Revival?  They had a song called "Lodi" that went like this:

Just about a year ago

I set out on the road

Seekin´ my fame and fortune

Lookin´ for a pot of gold

Thing got bad things got worse

I guess you will know the tune

Oh ! Lord Stuck in Lodi again

Rode in on the Greyhound

I´ll be walkin´ out if I go

I was just passin´ through

Must be seven seven months or more

Ran out of time and money

Looks like they took my friends

Oh ! Lord I´m stuck in Lodi again

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River Album

We made it to our planned destination today; Lodi, California.  We wanted to make sure that we missed the Sacramento rush hour traffic, and our next planned destination is Redding, California.  Some of our family has been calling our travels the "HagaFinn Apocalyptic Tour" since we have had monumental rain, winds, an earthquake, tsunami, and now it looks like a major snow storm will slow us down.

The Siskiyou Pass on I-5 is forecast for heavy snow and high winds over the next couple of days.  As a result, we are spending an extra night in Lodi (hence the song lyrics) to give the storm a chance to blow through.  We now plan to leave Lodi on Friday to get up to Redding for an over night.  We still hope to get to Molalla by Sunday, but we will stay longer in Redding if the pass is still icy.

Rainbow Over Lodi, California

We hope that the weather where you are is good.  Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

Headed North - Lost Hills California

We have begun our trip north from Norco, California to Molalla, Oregon.  Our one-day delay was a good idea as it allowed the snow to melt on the passes.  We took I-15 up to highway 138 over to I-5.  The weather was great with sunshine and temperatures up to the low sixties (but lower in the mountains).

"Disney Like" Hills on the Way Up Interstate 15

There were a couple of high passes along the way, but the GMC pulled like a champ and there were no problems at all.  We did get passed by some of the big diesel RV's but that didn't bother us any.

Our GPS Registered about 4250 Feet at the Pass

We did see some of the snow that had come down the previous couple of days, and saw several vehicles with several feet of snow still on their tops.  We crossed into the San Bernadino National Forest along the way, and it was good to see evidence another national forest on our travels.

Leaving San Bernadino NF Sign on I-15

Once up on top, it was smooth running all the way to Little Rock, which was our lunch destination.  Pamela's cousin Gordon told us about a Hungarian Meat Market and Deli, and we stopped there for lunch and to pick up some specialty meats for our travels north.

Lunch in Little Rock--California That Is

We had one more pass to make it over today--Tejon Pass near the Grapevine.  Since we climbed up highway 138, we entered I-5 at about 3500 feet, and only had to climb a bit before the down slope run north towards Bakersfield.  The only part of the trip that was at all tense was getting lined up with all of the big rigs for the down hill run in the slow truck lane.  No problems, but it was a bit crowded!

Filling Up with Gas in Lost Hills, CA

We found a little RV park in Lost Hills (it really wasn't in any of the RV park guides) that was pretty handy for us, since we did not want to go any further north.  It is in walking distance to Denny's and isn't very busy at this time of year.  They did have an interesting speed limit sign!

We leave here on Wednesday for Lodi, California and an overnight in an RV park.  Then on to Redding to await the Siskiyou Pass to clear.  There is a winter storm going through it right now, so we will keep an eye on the traffic cameras and DOT reports before we leave Redding.  All is well, and thanks for visiting.

Neil and Pamela

Last Day in Anaheim - Getting Ready for a Run to Oregon

We have had several good days with Neil's family here in Southern California, and have delayed our trip north to Oregon by one day due to a big rain and wind storm coming into Southern California this past weekend.  It had heavy rain and winds, and snow in the mountain passes.

So we spent time in Anaheim and Norco, California with family.  The Fiver is parked in Norco at Shannon and Dave White's place, where we will pick it up on Tuesday morning for the trip up highway 15 and 138 over to I-5.  We don't plan to linger on our way north as we want to get to Oregon for some appointments before we head to Vancouver Island.  Our plan is to get to Molalla, Oregon by this coming weekend, but will go faster or slower as we need to.

We are looking forward to the trip North and seeing Spring arrive in Oregon and up Vancouver Island.  Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

Cars, Cabrillo and the Del

Another several nice days here in the San Diego area.  The weather has been in the low 70's, which for us Southeast Alaskans is pretty darn nice.  Also nice to be here next to the marina and the boats.  On Sunday, we (and a whole bunch of San Diegans) went to Balboa Park to look around and check out a couple of the museums. Since it was a bit late in the afternoon, we decided not to go into the air and space museum because we did not have enough time to see it all, and elected to go to the automobile museum next door.

Blackbird Spy Plane in Front of Air and Space Museum

The auto museum was small but worth the price of admission as it had several unique cars such as a Tucker, some early Pierce Arrows, and the like.  We also saw the Cadillac that a guy built for non stop travel across the US.  They could actually change the oil and change tires without stopping!

Want to Parallel Park this One?

A Nice Little Rolls, Perhaps?

After the auto museum, we made a stop at Whole Foods and came back to the Chula Vista RV Park in time for a nice dinner, a movie and some TV watching.  Here in the RV Park we met a couple from Huntington Beach, California who have a fifth wheel as well.  Ian and Susan are a transplanted English couple who now live and work in the US.  There are certainly some nice people in RV parks!

Ian, Julie and Pamela at Chula Vista

On Monday, we decided to go the the Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma instead of spending $70 each to go to Sea World.  After all, we get pretty darn close to humpback whales, sea lions, seals and porpoise from our boat in Alaska.  

We drove to the monument and used our Federal Lands Annual Pass for the first time to get in to the park.  We had both been to Cabrillo National Monument about site twenty years ago as part of a National Interpreters workshop.  That was mostly a reception, and this time we were able to watch the movie, see the exhibits and see the views from the high point overlooking San Diego Bay.

Entrance to San Diego Harbor from Point Loma

Cabrillo National Monument Statute

While we were at Cabrillo, we also visited the Point Loma Lighthouse and were able to get into the tower and see the exhibits on the light house keepers and the technology of the lights.  It gives us great appreciation for the large Fresnel cut-glass lens that Neil's father rescued from a watery grave in Maine and restored into a coffee table.  

Point Loma Light Was Replaced with a Light  Lower on the Point Due to Fog

On the way back to Chula Vista, south of San Diego, we diverted to Coronado Island to visit the Hotel del Coronado, or "The Del" as it is also known.  It is the site where Hollywood Director Billy Wilder filmed "Some Like it Hot", one of our favorite films with Jack Lemon and Tony Curtis in drag and a great performance by Marilyn Monroe.  If you haven't seen the film, you should rent it.

The Hotel del Coronado Opened in 1888 and Still Stands

We had a couple of drinks in the bar and some appetizers before taking the coast road south along the Pacific to National City and then on up to Chula Vista.  It turned out to be another wonderful day of retirement.

The "Del" Is a Place Worth Coming Back To

On Wednesday afternoon, we leave Chula Vista and begin the start of our trip North to Alaska.  It will be about 1700 miles of driving to Port Hardy, British Columbia where we put our Fiver on a BC ferry to Prince Rupert.  We will park the rig in Norco, California with Neil's niece Shannon's home for several days while we visit family.  Our current plan is to begin the trip north to Oregon on Monday, March 21st.

Thanks for visiting,  

Neil and Pamela

Sunshine, Basketball and Thoughts for Japan

We are liking our stay here in Chula Vista and the green landscapes and ocean scenes.  It is not as warm as the Arizona and California deserts, but it suits us a bit better.

Today was a stay at home day here in the RV park.  Neil got interested in several NCAA basketball games and spent the morning watching some ACC and Big East games.  In the afternoon, we took a walk along the marina, and decided to have drinks and dinner at the nearby restaurant overlooking the marina.

Another Wonderful West Coast Sunset in Chula Vista

We also have been watching the tremendous damage in Japan caused by the Great Quake there.  Our prayers are with all of the survivors and their families.  

Tomorrow (after the ACC basketball championship game), we will probably go to Balboa Park for the rest of the day.  Monday we think that we will go to Sea World, and we haven't decided on Tuesday yet--one of the advantages of being retired.  Life is good.  Thanks for visiting, 

Neil and Pamela

Back on the West Coast and Loving It!

Our Last Sunset at Desert Hot Springs on Wednesday Night

After several very warm days in Desert Hot Springs, we decided to move west and south a bit to Chula Vista, California just south of San Diego.  We had an easy drive through Temecua and some traffic, but had an easy exit to the Chula Vista Marina and RV Park.  We got here in early afternoon and were able to back in to a nice level spot and get everything set up.  After a sandwich and relaxing outside under the awning, we took a walk to the marina.  It was good to be back near the water and see boats and the waterfront.

Chula Vista Marina near the RV Park

We heard that there was a happy hour over at the restaurant overlooking the marina, so went over there and had an appetizer of steamed clams and a couple of margaritas to celebrate our return to the coast.  Then it was back to the Fiver to work more on taxes and a spaghetti dinner.  Not terribly exciting, but it was a good day for us.

We will be here until Wednesday, when we drive up to Norco to park the Fiver at Neil's niece's place while we visit his brother Bruce and Sandi.  We are planning to start our drive north to Oregon around March 21st and plan to be in Molalla at Pamela's brother around the 31st.

View from Our Table at the Restaurant

We really like the feel of this park and plan on visits to Sea World, Old Town San Diego, and Balboa Park while we are here.  Thanks for visiting,

Neil and Pamela

A Calm, Warm Day in Desert Hot Springs

Yea!  The winds died down today and it was a nice warm day in the park.  A perfect day to be retired.  We worked on getting some tax paperwork ready, and Neil made a trip to get some propane tanks filled.  It was a fine day and it was nice to be able to have some windows open and not have to worry about sand getting into the RV.

It will be warming up the rest of this week, into the 80's, and we will be leaving on Thursday to south of San Diego.  All is well with us--hope you are all doing well,

Neil and Pamela

Rock and Roll Monday in Desert Hot Springs

We had a very windy night with gusts to 60 mph here in the RV park, and it continued today with blowing sand and winds.  We decided to brave the winds and take a trip down to Cathredral City and Jessup GMC to have the air conditioner serviced and to balance the tires on the truck.  As often happens with these things, they found something else--a leaking water pump.  I guess that explains the slow coolant loss we have noticed over the last couple of months.  At any rate, wound up spending several hours in the waiting room and spending more money than intended, but we didn't want to have a water pump failure on a steep grade on our way north.  Everything should be now ready for our next travels.

After we got the truck back, we had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, made a stop at Trader Joe's (those bacon-wrapped scallops are wonderful!) and came back up the hill to the RV park and into the wind.  The wind should be dying out tonight and it should be warm and sunny for the rest of the week.

We Found these Home Made Plywood Tire Covers Interesting

Pamela with Tank at George S. Patton Museum

We will be here in Desert Hot Springs until Thursday of this week when we leave for the coast at Chula Vista.  Here's hoping that you are staying out of the wind and or cold where ever you are.

Neil and Pamela

Catching Up with Neil and Pamela

Well, it has been over a week since our last post, so we will try to catch you up on where we have been and where we are going.  Before we left Benson, Arizona we took a side trip to Bisbee, Arizona where we visited with Fred and Suzi Dow, saw some of the sights of Bisbee and had a nice dinner.

Shortly afterwards, we traveled back to Brenda, Arizona where we celebrated Pamela's birthday with her cousin Gordon and Sandy at the Desert Gold RV Park.

Desert Gold RV Park

We had a great dinner of elk and halibut, followed by a wonderful chocolate cake and ice cream.   It was a great meal, followed by three games of Pinochle (the men won, two to one).   The next day, we drove down to Yuma and visited the Yuma Territorial Prison.  It was a long drive but worth the time and a very scenic drive.

Yuma Territorial Prison Cell Block

On Saturday, we "pulled up stakes" and drove back into California to Desert Hot Springs, with a stop at the General Patton Museum at the Chiricahua Summit near where Camp Young and the desert where General George S. Patton opened a tank warfare training center in 1942.  It was a great museum with a good movie and lots of exhibits.  It also has a "tank yard" with lots of tanks and other equipment.  Put it on your list for your travels on I-10 east of Palm Springs.

General George S. Patton Museum

One of the exhibits at the museum was on "trench art" which showed artillery shells that soldiers turned into vases and lamp stands.  It looked identical to the shells that Neil's Dad made out of artillery shells used by the US Coast Guard.  Neil still has a couple of these that his Dad and Grandfather made.

"Trench Art" Displayed at the Museum

We had a good trip across the border and into California with calm winds and sunny skies.  It was good that we traveled on Saturday, because Sunday was a VERY windy day, with winds in the 40 mph range and higher gusts forecast for tonight.  All we did today is go into Desert Hot Springs for brunch, shopping at a Stater Brothers grocery, and getting the oil changed on the GMC truck.

We will be here in Desert Hot Springs for several days, when we will be traveling south and west to Chula Vista (south of San Diego) to a nice RV park on the water.

Well, that gets us caught up for a while.  Thanks for visiting,


NEIL and PAMELA