Uh Oh Driving Day … Bordertown (Reno) to Gold Hill

Monday, 7 May 2018
Valley of the Rogue State Park — Gold Hill, Oregon
Temps: 82F (28C) / 48F (9C)

It was a crisp 43F (6C) when I woke up at 5:30a … brrr.  But we were cozy in the Phaeton as we went about preparing for another driving day.  We left the casino campground at shortly after 8:00a, made the turn onto US-395N, and within two minutes were in California.

A few miles into today’s 310-mile (496 km) drive, we came to an agricultural inspection station.  For what?  The agent only asked if we had homegrown produce in the rig before waving us on.

Much as I enjoyed the desert scenery of the past days, I truly loved the green vistas of northern California and Southern Oregon today.  At first we had green clad mountains with farmlands irrigated by water from the lakes dotting the landscape.  There were plenty of pine trees, but nothing like what we saw later on the drive through Lassen National Forest and Shasta-Trinity National Forest … with redbuds adding a shot of color on some stretches of the road.  The trees were tall and often obscured the mountains, but it was a delightful drive anyway.

We made two stops at official California rest areas … Honey Lake and Bogard.  Both in lovely settings … especially the latter, which is tucked in amongst some pretty big trees.

Bogard Rest Area … a lovely setting … a nice rest stop.

We went up and down the mountainous terrain for a while, enjoying some great mountain views, including snow-covered Lassen Peak — the southernmost active volcano in the Cascades Range — and brief glimpses of Mount Shasta.  We would get better views of the latter once we turned onto CA-89 … also known as the Volcanic Legacy Highway.  Saw some hawks flying.  And had to scare off a deer that was nibbling on something in the middle of the road, seemingly unaware of us bearing down on it.

Mount Lassen … the southernmost active volcano in the Cascades.

Mount Shasta … a potentially active volcano, it is the second-highest peak in the Cascades.

We found the perfect lunch spot just as we were leaving the Shasta-Trinity Forest.  It was just a wide spot on the side of the road, but it had a view of Mount Shasta through the trees.  We did not resist the urge to set up our chairs in the shade of a tree and eat al fresco. I must say that it was hard to pull ourselves away from this spot and get back on the road.

Lunch spot with a view!

At just before 2:00p, we connected to I-5N, thinking we were on track for a 4:00p arrival at our destination.  But no, that wasn’t going to happen.

We were passing through Weed, California — just under 100 miles (160 km) away — when we had a bit of a mishap with the tow bar.  We were alerted to it by a passing RVer waving her arms and signaling that something was wrong behind us.  We pulled onto the shoulder, right in front of a fantastic view of Mount Shasta.  But my mind was not on taking a photo at that very moment … though I did later.  No, I was wondering what all the signaling was about.

Our emergency spot has one of the best views of Mount Shasta.

Imagine my horror when we walked back to find the toad hanging on by a single tow bar arm!!!!  A closer look confirmed that the receiver pin was gone.  We can only guess that the clip that locked it in place broke off, and the pin eventually worked itself out and fell.  We felt no fishtailing.  Nor did we notice anything in the rearview camera built into the dash — which we both check regularly.  After discussing the matter, we concluded that the damage must have barely happened when the people in the passing rig alerted us.

The right tow bar arm is a-dangle.
we think the clip that locks the receiver pin (circled on the left tow bar arm in the photo
to the right) broke off at some point and the pin eventually worked itself out and fell.

Mui unhooked the toad and I followed him to the Pilot Station at the next exit — which was to have been our fuel stop in Weed anyway.  After topping off, we parked the Phaeton, hopped in the CR-V, and went to the NAPA Auto Parts store where we found a replacement receiver pin.  But they did not have the steel wire Mui needed to repair the brake line.  The cashier referred us to Solano’s, and a local who was heading to the hardware store told us to follow him there.  Such nice people … all very helpful.  We found everything else we needed at the store.

At 3:30p — an hour after we made our emergency stop — we were on the road again …  the CR-V once again securely tied up behind the Phaeton.  While we would have preferred not having this mishap, we’re glad it happened where it did … in an urban setting with stores that had the bits and pieces we needed to quickly resolve the problem.

The remainder of our drive was just as scenic as the first part of the day.  Rolling green hills and pastures … mountainous terrain … the Klamath River and other bodies of water snaking through the landscape.  I had planned a rest stop on this stretch, but it was closed so we pressed on.  We climbed up to the Siskiyou Mountain Summit at 4,310 feet (1,314 m) and then began the 7-mile (11 km) downhill stretch with 6% grades.  Slow and easy.

Drive-by-shot of the Klamath River in California.

Drive-by-shot of Emigrant Lake … Welcome to Oregon!

We pulled into the Valley of the Rogue State Park in Gold Hill, Oregon at 5:45p.  It was 86F (30C), but felt quite comfortable.  The interesting thing about this park is that it is adjacent to a rest area.  Once we got off the I-5 ramp, we drove through the rest area to the entrance to the park.  The gatehouse was locked up tight, so we just continued on to our reserved site after unhooking the toad in the spacious dump area.  The loop road is a bit tight, but we managed OK and backed into #B18 without trouble.  50A-FHU site, with plenty of shade trees … rather spacious on the patio side.  No satellite signal though.  Nightly rate of $31 … plus a reservation fee.

Site B18 will be home for the next four nights.

We get a tiny glimpse of the Rogue River through the trees behind our site.

We had a date with Sue and Mo (of the MoHo and Other Traveling Tales fame).  Once we had the Phaeton in place, the jacks down, and the slides out, we cleaned ourselves up and headed over to Sunset House … to the lovingly built home they moved into last November.

I’ve known Sue since sometime around 2009 … when I first started reading RV blogs.  We clicked online from the very first.  We met Sue and Mo in person for the first time in January 2014 when they came through Corpus Christi and Port Aransas on a road trip east.  Our friendship with both was cemented then, and we’ve stayed in touch through our blogs, FB, and email since.

Despite our delayed arrival, we were greeted warmly, had a glass of wine and some munchies, got a tour of their beautiful home and property, and then settled down on the deck for a great meal — grilled Copper River salmon as the main course … and a choice of vanilla or latte crème brûlée for dessert.  Mui and I had good intentions and were going to share one dessert.  Suffice to say that we didn’t go through with that plan.  A grand evening was enjoyed by all … wrapped up with a colorful sunset

A delicious meal with friends, and …

… a colorful sunset at the aptly named Sunset House.

Sue and Mo will be taking us around and showing us the best of what the area has to offer in the few short days we have here before we get back on the road.  Now for a good night’s rest.

T-Mobile Update: Good until we started driving through Lassen National Forest on CA-44 … then no service.  The signal made an on- and off-again appearance once we turned onto CA-89.  Strong signal and full bars once we were on I-5.  Two bars at the campground.

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