02-25-2025 February Travels

 

As I sit here attempting to recreate the previous two weeks, I am cooled by the noisy air conditioning fan blowing directly on my head.  Even though the weather app says that the outside temperature is a balmy 90F, the MoHo outside thermometer is reading 109.  I suppose it is somewhere in between those two numbers, but the only really cool place in the MoHo at this moment is right beneath this air conditioning in the chair that Mo brought in for me a bit ago. Thank goodness for hookups and air conditioning. 

We aren't spending much time on the hot patio at our site at Catalina Spa these days.

I thought it might be fun to add a photo of conditions at home just a couple of days before we departed. I am making an important note to self regarding our departure dates next year when we head south to the deserts.  This is the latest we have ventured to Desert Hot Springs and it is the hottest weather we have experienced in this part of California.  I have learned my lesson.  I don't enjoy being cold, but heat like this is worse.  The pavement and even the sandy trails are too hot for Mattie's paws, and the sun beating down on the side of the MoHo is heating up the interior walls so much that they are untouchable.  We cannot put the awning out to protect the sidewall from the heat because the wind is blowing just enough to make extending the awning unsafe.  Let's head South we said!  Let's leave the rain and snow behind we said.  

This season our friends Phil and Joanne decided to travel south with us and arrived at Sunset House on Friday evening before our expected departure. Daughter Deborah has known them as long as I have, since 1977, and came over the evening they arrived to visit and enjoy time together.

Last summer, Phil and Jo purchased the materials and pattern for a quilt they loved and I managed to finish it in time for our southern trip.  Joanne wanted something bright to cheer up their motorhome and I think this quilt did the trick.

The next morning there was a perfect break in the winter weather and we departed from home without incident right at 8am.  Traveling south on I-5, we had no snow or ice on the road and only deep snowbanks on the edges of the curbs in Mt Shasta where we fueled both rigs in order to give us plenty of fuel to reach our destination for the night at Flag City RV Park in Lodi, California.

The entire drive was completely without incident and the sunlight was brilliant.  The skies were so clear that we could see the coast range to the west and the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the east.  Traffic was light all the way to Lodi and winds were almost non-existent.  It may have been the easiest trip south we have experienced in years.

As we continued south on I-5 the next day conditions were just as perfect.  I must have said a dozen times how amazing it was that there was no traffic and no wind on I-5 all the way to Highway 58 west of Bakersfield.  

Of course, even though we no longer camp at Orange Grove RV Park, I still needed my winter fix of sweet navel oranges.  We urged Phil and Joanne to continue east over the pass toward Tehachapi while we stopped to buy some oranges from the Californa Fruit Depot just a couple of blocks south of the freeway where we used to exit on Edison Road at Orange Grove RV Park.  We fondly remember the days when an overnight stay there yielded as many oranges as we could pick from their trees, early morning free coffee and fresh donuts, and a great free rig washing station.  Things change over the years, and sadly Orange Grove became much more expensive, donuts only offered once a week, and most of the oranges gone on trees no longer well cared for.

I bought two bags of perfect oranges at the Fruit Depot in less than five minutes and we were back on the road.  There are several exits in Tehachapi that will lead to the Mountain Valley RV Park near the airport and we decided to take the middle exit.  We slowly crossed a bumpy railroad crossing when I heard a loud crunch and within seconds we felt a strong bump into the RV.  I knew immediately that the car had come loose, but it wasn't until we got out to see how bad it was that we realized the stinger that goes into the hitch receiver had snapped and the car had rolled forward into the RV.  The tow hitch on the car had rolled into the pavement under the RV and nothing would move.  Within seconds three young men jumped out of their cars and started helping us.  Within no time they had the car released and told me to move the rig to the side of the road and Mo drove the car off the tracks. Later we realized how lucky we were that there wasn't a train coming and that those kind young men were nearby and willing to help.

Mo and I remained amazingly calm as I drove the rig to the park with Mo following in the slightly damaged Tracker.  When we settled in and had the chance to check out the damage we saw that spare tire rack on the MoHo was bent, the cord for the power supply for the Tracker from the MoHo was damaged and even with slight damage to the left front fender of the Tracker the headlight still worked.

One of the helper guys suggested that Home Depot was open and we might be able to get a new stinger before they closed. Mo and I reconnected with Phil and Jo at the campground and filled them in on our situation and then drove the Tracker to Home Depot where we found a stinger.  Once back at the campground, I heated up our pre-cooked meat loaf dinner while Mo worked on the damaged power cable that connected the car to the MoHo.  Worst case scenario we could drive separately to Desert Hot Springs if needed.

Needless to say, our sleep that night was a bit restless.  The next morning Mo realized that the cable worked for the running lights but not the turn lights or brake lights.  It was daylight and the Tracker is small enough that the lights are visible on the MoHo when we are hooked up so we hooked up everything for our last travel day and headed east on Highway 58 with Phil and Jo following.

Kramer's Corner where Mo and I spent a rather noisy night on one of our return journeys back to the  northwest.

It was another uneventful day with beautiful weather and light traffic.  Highway 58 from Tehachapi to Bakersfield was once a difficult road, with just two lanes and a lot of truck traffic.  It has been improved in the last few years and Kramer's Corner at the junction of Highway 58 and Highway 395 is no longer quite as important as it once was.  We did stop at the Pilot there for fuel and Mo and I fondly remember a couple of noisy overnights that we spent there in our travels in the past.  

Once we reached Barstow, I was was thrilled as always to once again be driving Higway 247 between Barstow and Yucca Valley. Mo did a great job taking photos through the windshield and only a few bug splatters may remain  in the photos.

Down the last steep hill between Yucca Valley and The Coachella Valley where Desert Hot Springs is located.  That is Mount San Jacinto in the bacground at over 10,000 fet tall.  This part of the trip always feels like we are going home

We arrived at Catalina Spa and RV Resort in early afternoon as planned, and were delighted to discover that we were assigned our previous site number 23 with a short walking distance to the pool.  Phil and Joanne were just a couple of sites away from us and directly across from our friends Jimmy ad Nickie Wilkinson, who had been at Catalina for three weeks with plans to leave within a few days of our arrival. We were happy that our schedules managed to overlap for this visit.

More to come as I continue to write about the week we shared with Phil and Joanne and Nickie and Jimmy.  In the mean time, the sun has set, the night has cooled and we are settling in for the evening with nothing to worry about except how soon we will rise for our morning swimg.