What we left behind
Roadtrips are long journeys made by car, bus, anything wheeled. It's not so much a vacation as a way to get somewhere.
We've been on the road this week, pulling our 26' travel trailer, and staying in RV parks, which has made it difficult to write much. This trip has convinced us we do want a larger trailer or a fifth wheel, with more storage and maybe a desk of some sort. At home, I use a ergo keyboard, which makes the laptop dicey for typing. A few years ago we bought an inexpensive lightweight desk for the Wildcat. I set a monitor on it, a split keyboard on the pull out shelf, and the laptop goes below. When not in use, it is stuffed alongside the bed (which we get into by crawling up). Unless we are spending more than a night somewhere, it's too much work to pull out.
Driving 1400 miles is no vacation. We used to drive all day, but now go for less miles in a day but the traffic can be horrendous especially with how much trucking moves our goods. I do not deal well with heavy traffic or rough roads. Luckily, Ranch Boss handles it better, but it wasn't a lot of fun for either us or the cats.
So, my plan for what I'd write here is postponed and this about heading north through California. We came across highway work both in Arizona and California. Such fun... i should have taken pictures of that. I was too busy moaning lol.
From the border between Arizona and California to the northern border with Oregon, it's mostly about traffic and the road-- not pretty scenery. There is no other way to transfer four cats safely from one home to the other. Finding motels that take them is not easy but harder is transferring them from the truck to the room-- with hidden smells and sounds that only they recognize. Then, in the morning, digging them out from under the bed as they beg to stay-- anything is better than cat carriers and the truck.
An observation on RV parks, none of them resort types, many of the rigs are for those living in them full-time-- sometimes to travel between jobs. It's a very different life, of which, I think many people don't have much experience. Except in the country, people tend to live near to those in their own economic level. RV parks give a view of how some live to keep making a living. Ours were in Bouse, Daggett, Bakersfield, Turlock, Anderson, and Yreka (3 nights, some rig trouble with a propane leak and some exploring).
This time we drove Highway 99 from Bakersfield to Turlock, which is a different view of California. Where the golden state is known for the rich, movies, beaches, big universities, cities run by liberal governments and now known for poop on the streets with thousands living in tents, there is another California, one of hardworking people, who harvest much of the food this country consumes. They don't live in fancy homes but keep their homes generally tidy. They drive pickups and will be the ones paying the high fuel taxes that California has levied to fix roads or maybe about climate change. The well-off avoid those taxes with electric or hybrid cars-- those who cannot afford to buy new vehicles.
Perhaps because I came from their stock, I really respect the working people of this nation. They hold it all together and often for very little reward or respect. They don't live a luxurious life. They live a solid one. Not to say an elite cannot do that also but a lot of them just don't realize how many benefits they have in their lives as they talk concern for the poor but have no real clue about a world beyond their bubbles. This isn't about partisanship, but about a division that is very much the have and have-nots.
So, here's what we saw as we drove north. That first one is an area I consider belonging to the Earps, as in their old age, Wyatt and Josie camped out there to prospect.
One last point on road trips. You can either make it all about how many miles you can travel each day-- or slow down and do less miles. I used to be in the hurry hurry crowd-- up to 14 hours. Now, it's less miles and more relaxation. Some days five hours on the road-- other days just a couple of hours or laying over. The goal is to get where we are going and not have high bp and painful backs. The cats prefer the last plan.
Central California RV Park
Moving north to south of Redding
Yreka
10 comments:
I have been hankering for a road trip. Most of our car trip are to get somewhere and usually man hours of driving. This summer---mid-July-- we will be doing Wyoming and Colorado. Husband fishing and me doing nothing. Sort of looking forward to that, although I will be with my Sis-in-law who like to move about. I remember walking around Santa Barbara with it fancy homes and the seeing tiny homes downtown where several families all lived together. I think the zoning was ignored because they needed those people too complete all the low salaried jobs. Now I think those tiny homes have also fallen to the rich.
Sorry about all the typos. My laptop is being ornery today.
Colorado and Wyoming are beautiful-- lots of miles for road trips. One of my favorite things to do is sit on a river bank while Ranch Boss fishes and soak in the sun
A friend of mine built a "cat house" for transporting their cats in an extended cab truck. The cathouse is just the right dimensions to fit behind the front seats of the truck and has (if memory serves) three levels. At the highest level the cats can view their owners and some passing scenery. They have successfully moved their cats several times between New Jersey and Nova Scotia this way.
Nice pics!
Interesting selection of pictures on your road trip. The rivers look on the high side. Happy to see that you picked a good time to travel weatherwise.
Last two week we were on a road trip through Southeastern Oregon, Northern Nevada heading to the Utah Salt Beds. As it was getting dark aproaching Diamond in the Malheure National Wildlife Refuge, it was raining hard, the lightening strikes thundered like bombs. In Nevada we heard the area had unseasonal rain for 15 days in a row with no let up in the near future. Once the sky dumped a torrential, blinding monsoon on us. Us wives in the back seat could not see any indication where the road was and we were hysterical. Coming back from Utah via the Columbia Gorge the weather was better and we enjoyed the green hills.
Hope by now you are home safe.
One other thought question, do you really want to vacuum and clean a large fifth wheel? Your cute wildcat RV is perfect for going many more places and the windows allow you to see out without being clostrophobic.
When I told husband Don you were considering a 5th wheel. He said he doubts the steps are great for people our age. Motor coaches come with lowering devises eliminating a flight of steps.
The draw back with themotor coaches that can be lowered is little storage because all the basement cabinets are eliminated. Sorry I am the bearer of bad news for your dreams.
But a portable cat house sounds like a good idea.
I don't have a dream where it comes to the choice of rigs. It's really about pulling on the highway and Paul does the driving. My bigger personal concern with a fifth wheel is we'd lose our canopy, which is very useful.
I've been in high desert storms with lightning strikes alongside the road. Scary. We had no event dictating our travel; so chose a window that looked good
How your rig drives is a primary concern as you say. When we purchased our Winnebago Sightseer we did not know much other than pulling a small Ahjo trailer that gave Don clostrophobia. We don't go on road trips and we blame the terrible condition of the California roads, the wind and the dirt roads where we boondoggled. But maybe a different smaller airstream would have suited our purposes better. But with Don's clostrophobia maybe your Wildcat trailer would have been better.
The Wildcat is delightful on a lot of levels but the large bed means crawling up on it. A double would've fit the space better. I think we could do a better job of utilizing cupboard space. I love the big windows on the wildcat. With four cats though, it's got some drawbacks. If we take shorter trips around Oregon, we could leave them home.
We started May 31st but made short days of it generally speaking to arrive back at the farm before 9 on the 9th. We extended the feel of a vacation by spending three nights in Yreka for some repairs, relaxing and exploring that historic area. We didn't eat at any restaurants and generally our lunch/dinner was a simple sandwich. When you aren't exercising, you don't need a lot to eat.
We are eager to get back to Eastern Oregon and especially the Steens. Haying comes first though.
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