12-10 through 12-12-2018 Tiny Vacation to Seven Feathers Resort

This past summer, Mo and I traveled north to Junction City, Oregon, to visit Guaranty RV.  The MoHo needed a few things checked out, and we knew that Guaranty was probably one of the best places that we could trust to do what we needed and to do it well.

In late January we plan to embark on a nice long cross-country journey.  It would be nice to be sure that things are all working properly.  We needed an awning repair, and that turned out to be an awning replacement.  Our slide seemed to be sliding a bit off kilter, and it was determined that the pad on which it slides was worn and thin.  That needed replacing.  Leveler troubles seem to be a repeating problem, so we needed to have them checked out again.  We paid for repairs at a local shop only to have the left rear jack still refuse to extend, so hoped that Guaranty could address that problem as well.

A few minor scratches were repaired beautifully, and the awning cover was painted black instead of the original white. The rig was there for several weeks, putting a serious dent in our late summer camping plans.  Once we brought her home, it was time for a tire check, and Mo replaced 4 out of 6 tires and had new extenders installed on the real dual tires.  Seems those extenders cause repeated problems, and this time after a ton of research, she installed straight ones, with some rubber gaskets to keep them in place. 

Anyone who has visited know about all the curves on the road leading from our house to town.

After all this work, it was important to get the rig out and tested before we make any kind of long distance trip.  A trip to the Seven Feathers RV Resort and Casino in Canyonville seemed like a perfect little outing for that purpose.  Oh, and it just happens that there is a great pool and hot tub at the resort, and a very nice casino across the street.  Another benefit to this little trip is that this lovely place is just an hour north on the Interstate from our home.

More curves on our local access road.  Mattie has them memorized and knows to hold on

We packed up on Monday morning, with just a couple of days of clothing, a bit of food and a couple of swimming suits.  Easy stuff.  It was nice that I had cooked a meat loaf the day before and a hot meal of leftovers would be simple and delicious.  Bean soup from the freezer added to the stash.

Interstate 5 was fairly calm as we headed north from Grants Pass

The weather was iffy, with rain in the forecast, but once we were on the road, the skies cleared and it was a lovely drive.  Checking into the park was easy and quick, and our site was perfectly level, with top notch hookups.  We noticed that there were not only 1 but 2 sewer hookups at the site, one at each end, to accommodate either a motorhome or a fifth wheel.  Nice touch.

Quiet park on this Monday afternoon.  MoHo almost all alone at our pull through site

Settling in and hooking up includes extending the jacks.  Such a pain!  Once again the back rear jack refused to extend. We have had these things looked at and repaired so many times and still are having trouble with this one jack.  I am really hoping that the next appointment with the next repair place will solve the problem.

Yes, we need another appointment.  The rains were heavy, and we forgot the simple detail of lowering one side of the awning to let the water pour off instead of accumulating.  We heard a snap and a crash and discovered that we would have to exit the rig through the passenger door since the awning had collapsed in front of the main door, and the arm was completely bent.  Seems as though the water weight broke the little plastic thingy that holds the awning to the rig, and the arm collapsed.  When Mo attempted to straighten it, it broke completely.  Uh Oh.  New awning broken.  Hopefully we can get a new arm ordered before we have to leave for our big trip.

We spent the rest of the time at the RV park relaxing in the rig.  Watched their cable tv, used the available WiFi, and went for hot tub soaks and swims in the heated pool. 

Lots of windows in the warm clubhouse where the fitness center and the pool are located

We chose to skip the casino shuttle, simply driving the short distance from the park to the casino in the baby car.  It was much too damp, wet, and chilly to walk there.  We did walk the dog along Cow Creek a bit, enjoying the very nearly empty park and the beautiful bare birch trees and nice landscaping.

We stayed home and ate our own food except for our last meal before returning home when we enjoyed lunch at the casino with our complimentary $15 first time credit.  The fish and chips were excellent, quite a surprise for an inland establishment.

We topped off our visit with an evening drive to Roseburg to visit the Umpqua Valley Festival of Lights.  The last time we did this was in 2004, when we stayed in a local motel, before MoHo days.  The light show was charming, and the $10 entry fee was worth it to support local causes.  The hard rain was a bit of a drawback, however, since every time I rolled down the window to take photos, I got soaking wet.

The trip home was uneventful as well, with decent weather and not much traffic on the interstate.  On the spur of the moment, we stopped in at Oregon RV Outlet, just ten miles north of Grants Pass.  Joe met with us, looked at the awning, scratched his chin and asked us to find out the model, the make, and where he could order the arm.  We tried getting the information from Guaranty, but they were very little help.  The manager finally said, open up the awning and look for the serial number.  That did the trick and we called Joe back with the information.

We now have another appointment for Joe to fix the awning and repair the jacks.  The earliest we can get in is January 9th.  Crazy.  At least it is in time for the big trip.  Hopefully all will be running smoothly by the time we leave.

It was a nice little shakedown trip, with mixed but eventually good results. It is funny how such a small little getaway can feel like a real vacation.  As much as we love our home, somehow getting away like this feels great.  Just hanging out and relaxing in a way that somehow doesn’t happen at home in quite the same way.