Red Bluff, California: I figured since we weren't doing a thing today - except drive - maybe a few readers may be interested in what a day on the road in a motorhome entails. If you are already a RVer... you will be mostly bored with this post.
On a day planned to include 8 hours of driving, we tend to wake a little early and get in our exercise and showers before most people in the campground are stirring. Our RV is a little messy inside most mornings.
DT has his laptop on the dining table. My business consumes the desk behind the dining table. Every morning, I process Camping Journal orders, print invoices, shipping labels and package orders for my customers. Customer Service is #1 with The Camping Journal. Always has been. Always will be.But soon, everything is put away and we begin our departure procedure. Though complicated, we can exit any campsite in the world in ten minutes, because we use teamwork and have a system that works for us.
Neat and tidy - and everything stowed for travel - DT pushes the buttons that bring our three (two in the bedroom and one in the living area) slide-rooms in.
Above - our bus, ready for travel. (Compare the two above photos to see the difference a massive slide-room makes.)At this point, I go outside and visually check that our two roof-top satellite dishes - internet and HDTV - have been stowed. I then go through the tow car procedure... which is basically ensuring the car is warmed-up, put through all the gears and has been shifted from DRIVE to NEUTRAL. To say I am obsessive/compulsive about this procedure is a huge understatement. Eleven years of motorhoming with a tow car, and three different Honda CRV's, I have yet to make a fatal error. If my little ritual isn't carried out exactly, we risk ruining the Honda transmission or brakes. I also double-check the tires, tow-bar connection and give the entire exterior of the Magna Peregrinus a once-over.
Inside, DT has started the Cummins 650hp engine and is examining the dashboard situation. While the engine warms, Dave double-checks my interior obligations. Our duties are divided - I prepare the interior and the tow car for departure, DT prepares the exterior and slide rooms - and we then re-check each other. It works for us. Before we drive away, we test that the turn signals, brakes and headlights are operating.
Safety first!
We headed north on I-5. We had terrible fog all morning. Really. This photo does not do justice to the view. Or lack thereof.
We saw way too much of this today. I have said it one hundred times - Arnie: Fix Your Roads!
We saw 3,452,972 WalMart trucks today.
Remember my billboard column from yesterday? Some billboards are actually a little entertaining! Rolling Hills Casino has a nice RV park and they also have doggie day care! Who knew? Love it.
But we saw too much of this little knucklehead.
I never get tired of looking at this knucklehead handsome guy. Look at him - he drives a 45-foot bus (towing a car) like he is driving a VW bug! What a mensch!
We saw a Red Tail Hawk about every mile on I-5 today. We also saw two bald eagles. Amazingly enough, the eagles were standing on the edge of a pond at a goat dairy!
We saw many beautiful white cranes.
And, north of Sacramento, thousands of Snow Geese.
We only stopped three times all day. Once for a coffee-making break. Once for a longer lunch break (I made sandwiches and we put the internet dish up to check email, etc.) and then again for fuel.
We fuel the Magna Peregrinus at truck stops. Truck stops have high-speed fuel pumps capable of pumping gallons and gallons of diesel into our 150-gallon tank very quickly. (Think about how long it takes to fill your 20-ish gallon car tank at a gas station and multiple that by 6... that would be quite a while... so we like the professional pumps.)
I saw this today too. Ouch. This is the third time we have fueled on this trip, and our RV had traveled 800 miles since our last fill-up. You do the math.We pulled into the same RV Resort we stayed in on our way south - Durango RV Resort in Red Bluff, California - so late we barely had time to light Shabbat candles. All the procedures we went through this morning were set into reverse and within moments we were relaxing and enjoying a gourmet meal - chicken parmesan on on a bed of arugula with grape tomatoes. A cork was pulled. How is it possible to be so tired after sitting all day? I will never understand this mystery of travel.
Another early night, because tomorrow we get to do it all again. Wasn't this information absolutely thrilling?I knew you would enjoy my dull day.
Until my next update, I remain, your I-5 correspondent.
RV Park: Durango RV Resort. Again, we were given a massive pull-through full-service site with 50-amp service. Paved site. Free wifi, cable, pool, hot tub, (I was wrong, they DO have a fitness center), great gathering room with a massive fireplace. Durango is a great RV Resort and we highly recommend you stop here. On-site garbage and recycling pick-up. Prices went up a few dollars since we were last here (less than 3-weeks ago!). We paid $36.90 with a senior citizen discount.