July 2005 Archives

Awake: 6:00am Temp 71 Clear Overnight @ Lodi, CA

We leave the campground @ 7:10am driving the Suzuki up hwy 99 to Florin
Ave & the Suzuki dealer (50 min). We talk with Don (service rep) about
what preventive maintenance we should do after doing nothing but an oil
change after some 20,000 miles. He recommends the 30,000 mile service
schedule & when he gives us that special price with a coupon, judging by
his reaction to my reaction, my jaw had to drop more than just a little!
After some discussion & looking at the list of items that this service
schedule will cover & check, I accept that coupon.

Don estimates our Suzuki should be finished around noon time. “Oh, but
look dear husband, just across the street there is a huge shopping mall!”
“Hmm, but 1st, we need some breakfast.” Denny’s restaurant was a good ½
mile west of our location and we need the exercise.

After Denny’s, we walk the ½ mile back to the Florin Mall & get a chance
to peruse the stores as we walk a couple turns inside waiting for the
stores to open. I find a pair of Dockers’ pants & Kathy finds a dressier
off-white purse than what she bought yesterday @ Wal-Mart. Then I return
to the customer lounge to do some reading & Kathy opts to check out the
Burlington Coat Factory, a mere 300 yards from the mall.

Kathy returns @ 11:30am with a nice white sweater from B C F. I am
impressed! How does she do it! When she finds out our Suzuki needs a front
brake job & that will take another 2 hrs, I highly encourage to get back
out there & do some more shopping. Well, it wasn’t easy for her but….she
did! Now that’s real love.

Next time she returns, her package is smaller; she found a bottle of her
favorite perfume. Absolutely amazing! My heroine!

Now it’s 1:00pm & our car will be finished soon, maybe. We discuss some
Japanese customs & cultural aspects gleaned from the book Kathy brought
along to read, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Conversational Japanese.”

Back on the road about 3:05 pm heading south, our Suzuki starts easier,
handles better, a/c is cooler; brakes are more responsive, etc. I am happy
that we made this decision today.

En route back to our campground, we make a quick stop @ Raley’s for some
milk, cereal & fruit. Back to the bus @ 4:30pm.

7:35 dinner: Stuffed peppers with broccoli & mixed salad.

Late evening: start organizing our clothes for travel.

High temp=104 Lights out: 11:08pm

Awake: 6:37am Temp 71 Clear Overnight @ Lodi, CA

I run the generator so Kathy can do 2 laundry loads this morning & the
dryer needs 240 volts. She washes most of the new clothes we purchased
yesterday.

Call the Golden State Suzuki dealer in Sacramento to make an appointment
for service & 2 recall repair items for tomorrow @ 8:00am.

We are still using 30 amps of shore power so we have to juggle our
appliance usage, so when Kathy was ready to iron clothes in the bedroom &
watch her favorite TV programs @ the same time, I had to turn the bedroom
air conditioner off because the wattage used by the iron would have
exceeded the 20 amp limit for that voltage line. Total time Kathy ironed
today= 2 hrs +45 min.

My sister Mary Jo calls mid afternoon & invites us over to their home for
dinner. We leave @ 3:30pm & stop @ Wal-Mart en route. Kathy has been
looking for a white purse to match her white shoes for one of her outfits.
She finds a purse….it’s not exactly what she’s looking for but it will do
unless she finds a better one.

Arrive @ my sister & brother-in-law’s home @ 5:05pm. Their youngest son,
Matt, meets us @ the door. We haven’t seen Matt for over 5 yrs… & what a
powerful guy he is today. This guy is a heavy weight lifter & daily
presses over 300 lbs + holds down a full time job. Matt is a busy guy &
eats a lot.

We sit & talk with Mary Jo for 45 min, and then her husband, Ed, arrives
home from his office. Next we have our wine time & Ed entertains us with
the pros & cons of starting a new business which he is doing with a
partner.

7:30 dinner: Costco chicken bar-b-qued, noodles & mixed vegetables…later,
homemade shortcake with fresh strawberries & whipped cream.

After dinner, Ed & I sort of find our way upstairs & we look @ some hot
rod pictures Ed has taken over the yrs while attending CA rallies. Ed
himself has entered his 1931 Hot Rod in the competition & has won many 1st
& 2nd place trophies. It was a relaxing & fun evening. We will see them
again later this week. Back to the bus @ 10:05pm.

High temp today=103 Lights out: 11:06pm

Awake: 5:05am Temp 73 Clear Elevation 51 ft Overnight @ Lodi, CA

We leave our campground @ 10:40am, driving the Suzuki north on Hwy 99,
then I-80 eastbound to the town of Roseville (61 miles one way).

Kathy saw a gift idea for Eriko’s parents @ the Harry & David store in
Medford on the 29th of June when we toured the building (an assortment of
fruit & butter preserves). Well, I talked her out of buying this
package…but later, when talking with our son Nick about gift ideas, he
agreed that it would have been great….as he witnessed many mornings with
the Eriko family having jelly or preserves on bread for part of their
breakfast. So…after that “sting” I had to agree to find a “Harry & David”
store in CA so Kathy could follow through with that gift idea for Eriko’s
parents. 132 miles & 5 hrs later, it’s a done deal!!

En route back to our campground, we stop for fuel & snacks @ Costco where
I take the opportunity to call my ole contractor, James, in Strongstown,
PA. He was unavailable so I leave a message.

Then we make another stop @ the Ross store in Lodi where you “dress for
less.” We both browse in our respective areas & guess what? I find 8
shirts & a vest; Kathy finds 3 tops, 2 pairs of Capris pants, a pair of
slacks & a dress. Their advertisement is right on: “Dress for less!”

During our shopping @ Ross, James from PA calls. I ask him if he could
take a close look @ our circular drive in Nicktown & haul in some good
gravel & level the entire drive all around. He agrees to take a close look
@ that, see how much is needed & will get back to me. We return to our bus
@ 6:30pm.

7:30 dinner: Leftover eggplant lasagna & chicken, broccoli, mixed salad &
garlic toast.

Late evening: Watch “Brat Camp” using a local antenna signal. It’s a
different kind of program…lots of kids with lots of problems, but Kathy’s
not sure if this televised “tough” camping is where these kids will find
the needed help or if it’s just where the promoters will line their
pockets?!

Today’s high temp=103 Lights out: 10:57pm

Awake: 5:05am Temp 73 Clear Elevation 51 ft Overnight @ Lodi, CA

We leave our campground @ 10:40am, driving the Suzuki north on Hwy 99,
then I-80 eastbound to the town of Roseville (61 miles). Kathy saw a gift
idea for Eriko’s parents @ the Harry & David store in Medford on the 29th
of June when we toured the building (an assortment of fruit & butter
preserves). Well, I talked her out of buying this package…but later, when
talking with our son Nick about gift ideas, he agreed that it would have
been great….as he witnessed many mornings with the Eriko family having
jelly or preserves on bread for part of their breakfast. So…after that
“sting” I had to agree to find a “Harry & David” store in CA so Kathy
could follow through with that gift idea for Eriko’s parents. 132 miles &
5 hrs later, it’s a done deal!!

En route back to our campground, we stop for fuel & snacks @ Costco where
I take the opportunity to call my ole contractor, James, in Strongstown,
PA. He was unavailable so I leave a message.

Then we make another stop @ the Ross store in Lodi where you “dress for
less.” We both browse in our respective areas & guess what? I find 8
shirts & a vest; Kathy finds 3 tops, 2 pairs of Capris pants, a pair of
slacks & a dress. Their advertisement is right on: “Dress for less!”

During our shopping @ Ross, James from PA calls. I ask him if he could
take a close look @ our circular drive in Nicktown & haul in some good
gravel & level the entire drive all around. He agrees to take a close look
@ that, see how much is needed & will get back to me. We return to our bus
@ 6:30pm.

7:30 dinner: Leftover eggplant lasagna & chicken, broccoli, mixed salad &
garlic toast.

Late evening: Watch “Brat Camp” using a local antenna signal. It’s a
different kind of program…lots of kids with lots of problems, but Kathy’s
not sure if this televised “tough” camping is where these kids will find
the needed help or if it’s just where the promoters will line their
pockets?!

Today’s high temp=103 Lights out: 10:57pm

Awake: 5:59am Temp 72 Clear Overnight @ Redding, CA

Nick calls early morning to get Melissa’s cell phone # that she’s using in
Indiana.

After breakfast, we each do our respective duties to get the coach ready
for travel. Then we say our goodbyes to Bob, our near neighbor to the
west.

Leave the Mountain Gate RV Park @ 9:18am. Smooth roads (I-90 & Hwy 99)
with little wind & light to moderate traffic. We make good time passing
through downtown Sacramento just before noon. Arrive in Lodi @ 1:03pm.

Today’s travel: 3+47 time 209.1 miles 21.1 gal 9.9 mpg 55.4 avg speed

It’s really HOT in this Sacramento valley area…low 90’s already. Christy
checks us in & assigns us a nice site with “lots of shade” she says. After
parking, we realize: it’s not so shady after all. Not to be fussy or pushy
but we see an empty parking spot just 2 sites away with a lot of shade;
Maybe she just got her numbers mixed up a little.

Back to the office we go with a request… & about 15 min later & a lot of
juggling of reservations over to other sites, she announces: “take it
now…..before it’s assigned to someone else!” So we do, & now, we are
happy. During our office visit, we inquire about the Amtrak California &
the Lodi train depot in town. After getting directions, we are on our way
(20 min)drive.

The train station was moved 2 blocks & renovated….now both the Greyhound
station & Lodi station are next to each other. However, there are NO
Amtrak employees at this Lodi station. We get some verbal information and
pick up some brochures then find a shopping area where I buy more milk
while Kathy looks over the clothes @ Marshall’s. During my idle time, I
call my sister, Mary Jo. She was expecting my call; we thought she was
working today but not so. She works tomorrow so we agree to get together
on Thursday. Back to the bus @ 6:30pm.

8:00pm dinner: Baked tuna steak, broccoli with Boursin cheese, brown &
wild rise pilaf & spinach salad.

Late evening: Our coach is plenty warm inside….we haven’t had both
compressors running long enough. So during Kathy’s computer time, the high
speed fan did not kick on & the computer crashed! So, that glitch is not
solved yet. Kathy succumbs to the heat in the coach and is asleep by
9:30.

High temp today=102 Lights out: 10:17pm

Awake: 6:14am Temp 70 Clear Overnight @ Redding, CA

I make several calls & send a fax for a few more changes of address.

Michael from Dell Support calls: He will visit us this afternoon to check
on our computer.

Call Campland on the Bay, San Diego. Talk with Lisa about changing our
reservation times. She pens us in to hold our site & we have time to
change it around if need be.

Call Mailboxes, Etc to have our mail delivered to our next destination.

Mid afternoon, Michael rings our doorbell. He brings with him a new
replacement fan & wastes no time taking our computer apart to install that
new fan. After the reassembly, he runs a test on the heat sensor & the
fan….they both check OK. He couldn’t do a test on the high speed fan
circuit so we hope that will be ok also. While he is still here, I talk
with him about our computer not communicating with our printer. He opens a
properties page I had not seen before, makes a few changes & our printer
blinks. We thank Michael for his good work & he’s on his way to the next
Dell customer.

It takes me another 40 min to get the printer printing….resetting the “out
of paper” when there was paper & the “out of ink” when there was a new
cartridge, etc. Now it works well again.

7:45pm dinner: Eggplant Lasagna, chicken, spinach salad & garlic toast.

Kevin calls @ 8:30pm local. They arrived in Indiana, PA @ 3:00pm EST.
Everything went well after the 5 hr delay in Mitchell, South Dakota. They
are very happy to have arrived @ their destination. My 1st cousin Andrea,
who lives just across the street, invited them for a nice lasagna dinner
as a “welcome to the neighborhood” good will gesture.

Today’s high temp=98 Lights out: 11:07pm

Awake: 6:05am Temp 72 Mostly sunny Overnight @ Redding, CA

During Kathy’s dips in the campground pool last week, she listened to Gene
& Jo talk about their tour of the nearby Shasta Dam & Power plant….& now
my curiosity is up.

Although we are very busy, we’ll make an exception. Kathy calls the Shasta
Dam visitor’s center & we choose a 10:15am tour time. A 20 min drive from
our campground & we are soon looking at this marvel of engineering before
us, the Shasta lake, dam & power plant.

This project started in 1938….was operational in 1950. At the visitor’s
center, we had time to watch a movie on the “Bureau of Reclamation” in
their theater before walking half way across the dam’s breast to meet our
tour guide. This guy is good; he knows his facts, has a sense of humor &
is very personable. We take the elevator down inside the dam…174 ft or 43
stories. Temp @ the bottom floor was 65 degrees; 85 degrees outside on the
breast of the dam. For being over 55 yrs of age, this place looks well
cared for.

Now all 11 of us are in a long 100 ft + hallway & our tour guide asks us
to form teams: each team will take turns in clapping their hands in
unison, listen to the echo & determine if all hands were in sync. It was
right out of the science books: sound travels @ some 650 ft per sec
depending on temperature. We could easily detect some early & late
clappers.

We tour a little inside the power plant, and then out along the spillway.
This Shasta Dam not only produces enough electricity to power all of San
Francisco but also controls floodwaters & stores surplus winter runoff for
irrigation use in California’s central valley.

We thank our tour guide profusely & walk back to the visitor’s center
where we watch 2 more movies on the dam construction process. It was well
worth our time to experience this diamond hidden in the valley of the
hills.

8:15 dinner: Italian roast beef with potatoes & peppers, Caesar salad &
garlic toast.
Today’s high temp=90 Lights out: 11:16pm

Awake: 6:25am Temp 71 High thin clouds Overnight @ Redding, CA

Walk around the campground 30 min for exercise.

Kathy does 3 laundry loads…including the bed sheets this morning.

We haven’t had any calls from the Foote’s…so I call & leave a msg. Then I
literally spend hrs on our computer trying to encourage the machine to
communicate with our printer….I am baffled so I call Nick & leave a msg.

We attend 5:30 mass @ St Joseph church in Redding. Afterward, we do a
little grocery shopping @ the Food Maxx near the Redding Mall
Complex….good prices.

We ate a fairly good sized lunch this afternoon so for dinner tonight:
Healthy snacks of parmesan chips topped with sun dried tomatoes, raw
broccoli and carrots, fresh peach slices, green grapes & many bowls of
popcorn while watching a movie on cable: “Splendor in the Grass” with
Warren Beatty & Natalie Wood; an emotional flick to experience.

Nick returns our call & gives me a few ideas to try to get our printer
working.
High temp today=89 Lights out: 12:28am

Awake: 6:42am Temp 71 Clear Overnight @ Redding, CA

We say our goodbyes to Gene & Jo in the next camp site. Nice
people…originally from Illinois. Kathy spent a lot of time with them @ the
pool while I was slaving away on our computer in our bus, so she got to
know them better than I.

After G & J drive away, we walk the campground for 30 min of exercise.

Shortly after our walk, while I am still outside, Melissa calls from 14
miles west of Mitchell, South Dakota to report their latest adventure.
They were driving happily along on I-90 Eastbound when several passing
cars pointed to the rear of their trailer. Kevin slowly pulled the 40 ft
combination van & trailer off onto the wide berm of the road, got out &
slowly began to put on his gloves….glancing back @ the trailer…he saw:
Fire! Yikes! The wheel hub was on fire. He acted quickly & extinguished
the fire with one of two fire extinguishers on board, then called USA
Roadside Assistance. Fortunately, the guy just finished another call & was
in the area. It appears that a light duty tire on the tandem axle lost air
shifting that side’s weight totally on the same side axle hub & tire which
then became highly over stressed. The day’s temp was extreme, hub bearings
were heating up, the wheel hub had plenty of grease & then….poof, a fire.
Melissa reported later that it took 5 hrs for them to get back on the road
again. There was a public pool nearby so Melissa and Matthew did a little
“swimming” in the wading pool much to Matthew’s delight. We don’t know
where they spent the night. Wow! More prayers tonight.

6:45 dinner: Pecan crusted salmon filet, baked potato, broccoli, mixed
salad & garlic toast.

Mid evening: we watch a double feature movie on cable: “Magnificent
Obsession” with Jane Wyman &Rock Hudson…… & “Scarface,” 1932 version. Both
movies were very good & with little effort, Kathy stayed awake.

Today’s high temp=89 Lights out: 11:08pm

Awake: 5:24am Temp 73 Clear Overnight @ Redding, CA

Early morning, we walk the campground 30 min for exercise while the temp
is still comfortable.

Call Mary Berry in Seattle & make the final payment on our October cruise.

Mid morning, Kathy spends time on our computer checking her e-mail.

Meanwhile, I fill out the necessary paperwork to attend my High School
reunion in PA later this summer.

When Kathy finishes her e-mail check, she then models another swim suit &
with my high approval rating, she’s off to the campground pool for a cool
dip.

I am sorry to report that our Dell Computer, in the last 2 weeks, has been
crashing now & then. At first, it was a rare event but now it’s becoming a
little annoying. So today, I call tech support & talk with a young lady in
the Philippines. She takes my express code & gives me a case number & a
dispatch number. She indicates a technician will be getting in touch next
week as my computer is under warranty until April 2006.

7:35 dinner: Slivered pork with veggies & pasta, mixed veggies stir fry &
garlic toast.

Late evening: Watch movie on cable: “Brannigan.” I am not a John Wayne fan
but in this movie, he seemed so “out of his element” being a detective in
London, England, riding in a car with a lady driver.

Today’s high temp=97 Lights out: 11:31pm

Awake:6:16am Temp 73 Clear Elevation: 780 ft Overnight @ Redding, CA

Mid morning, Kathy gets us both hooked on a TCM (Turner Classic Movie)
titled: “Angels in the Outfield.” It’s another down to earth, make you
feel good story about baseball that takes place @ Forbes Field in
Pittsburgh, PA. Why, I used to ride my motorcycle down there from the farm
with a cousin to watch the Pirates play. We’d take our baseball mitts &
sit in the left field bleachers waiting for those fly balls to come our
way. None ever did but we sure enjoyed the games & the freedom to ride our
Harley + a day away from the farm chores was always a special treat.

After that movie, I hinted to Kathy that: “now is the time I should
restyle your hair for Nick & Eriko’s wedding!” Almost immediately, a look
of fear begins to show on her lovely face & she says....“nothing”…for a
long time….or at least 10 seconds. Finally she asks me if I have a plan.
“Yes, of course” I tell her. “Let’s go thru the yr 2003 photo album & find
a picture of us with a hairstyle you liked a lot”…then I’ll duplicate it.

Outside to the picnic table we go with a photo, magnifying glass,
scissors, electric clippers, thinning scissors, comb, glass of water,
mirror & a sheet. 1.2 hrs later, Kathy looks into the mirror, front & back
& says those 3 lovely words any hair stylist loves to hear: “It’s not
bad!” Whew! That makes 4 medals for bravery...for her.

In the next 20 min, she trims my hair & does her usual great job.

Then Kathy takes a breather & goes for a dip in the nearby campground pool.

@ 5:00pm we drive to downtown Redding (5 miles). We both need milk.

7:35pm dinner: Parmesan/pecan crusted tuna steak, brown & wild rice pilaf,
cauliflower au gratin, mixed salad & toasted garlic bread.

Mid evening: we watch a movie on cable: “Sabrina.” 1942 version. It was
good but the 1995 version is also quite good.

Late evening: the Junior Foote’s call from a campground in Buffalo, WY.
They traveled 300 miles today. They say it’s plenty hot, they’re happy to
have the air conditioned van, and happy that the trailer is still holding
up.

Later, Nick calls from Seattle. We talk wedding plans, proper dress
attire, greeting the Japanese, etc. Also a little MG auto talk & condo
fix-up talk. Then Kathy gets her turn to talk with Nick.

Today’s high temp=100 Lights out: 12:28am

Awake: 5:54am Temp 61 Clear Overnight @ Mt Shasta City, CA

The temperature in Shasta City has been climbing higher every day since
our arrival…so we figure we might as well go down in the valley & get a
free sauna.

Leave the Mt Shasta City KOA campground @ 10:45am. Our descent takes us
from 3660 ft to around 750 ft in the valley.
We arrive @ the Mountain Gate RV Park @ 11:51am. Nice campground: very
clean with shade trees & concrete parking pads, full hookups with 50 amps,
cable TV, pool & it’s easy off –easy on the interstate. We sign up for a 2
day stay.

Today’s travel: 1+06 time 52.9 miles 4.75 gal 11.14 mpg
48.2 avg speed

No question, it’s warm down in this valley. Already this afternoon, the
temp is 95 degrees & climbing….but now, we have 50 amp shore power & we
can run all 4 a/c compressors if we wish.

We take our computer to the office/clubhouse & check our e-mail. As we sit
in this very nice building, we are thinking…why not hang out here for a
week? It’s so nice. We’re not that far from our rendezvous destination &
we need a nice hangout to while away the hours anyway. So we talk with
Sharon to make the change for a week & end up getting a free day with that
plan.

7:05 pm dinner: Roast Pork tenderloin with sherry cream & almonds; roasted
red potatoes; broccoli with Boursin cheese, spinach salad & garlic
bread-toasted.

Late evening: watch the PBS channel on “The building of the Mackinac
Bridge in Michigan.” We had seen parts of this documentary before but not
in its entirety until tonight. Another amazing accomplishment!

Today’s high temp=106 Lights out: 11:28pm

Awake: 5:53am Temp 56 Clear Overnight @ Mt Shasta City, CA

Kathy does a load of laundry this morning….because of our 30 amp shore
power, I run the diesel generator for the 40 min of drying time. With the
generator running, she also browns some meat on the cook top stove & I
heat up the aqua hot reservoir.

@ 12:45pm we drive into town (5 min) & find an outside stairway with a
good view of the parade route along Mt Shasta Blvd …also, our stairway
hangout is half in the sun & half shaded…I take the shade. Every time I
attend one of these old fashion, small town parades I get a little
nostalgic & start reminiscing about my own home town parades during the
50’s & how excited we would get. Today, my excitement level is under
control but my curiosity level is high. People are lined up on both sides
of the street for at least a mile. The town’s policemen are keeping the
crowd close to the curbs & the young kids are testing their limits.

The parade was good…but not as good as those jolly days during the 50’s.
Afterward, we drive to the north end of town to the city park again. This
time, my wallet is opened for the Rotary Club & we feast on a BBQ chicken
breast, baked beans, spaghetti with meatless sauce & a salad….this is our
dinner.

Early evening: we watch a double feature on cable while munching on
popcorn: “Saboteur,” a 1942 Alfred Hitchcock action packed thriller…. &
“Andy Hardy Meets A Debutante,” a good, wholesome, family style, small
town USA story.

Today’s high temp=84 Lights out: 11:38pm

Awake: 6:20am Temp 55 Clear Overnight @ Mt Shasta City, CA

Spend over 2 hrs @ the KOA game room trying to receive data from their
broadband cable. Both Jeff & Carr offered their assistance with no
results. Carr used his Mac computer & the broadband tested great. So
obviously some setting is blocking data & I don’t know enough about the
various settings to make the right thing happen.

@ 11:45am we drive over to 629 Alder St (5 min) for an all you can eat
breakfast, cooked by the Masons...it was amazingly good. After the Mason’s
breakfast, we decide that the day is right, we’re in good enough shape
(considering all the campgrounds we have walked & the stair climbing we’ve
done @ Port Angeles & that Mt Ashland hike we did just last Tuesday)…. to
go mountain climbing today.

We drive 12 miles up toward the peak of Mt Shasta to the Bunny Flat area
(elevation 6950 ft). The road on up to Panther Meadow (elevation 7800 ft)
is closed due to late season snow blocking the road for car travel. The
parking area for Bunny Flat is full of cars….hikers everywhere. We find a
close spot to park our small Suzuki & start walking the road to Panther
Meadow. The road is dry (so far) & easy for us to walk up this 5% grade.
30 min later & around a corner, we clearly see why this road is
barricaded: A lot of snow…too much for us wimpy tennis shoe hikers to wade
thru. Back @ the Bunny flat area, we log in 1 hr & 2 miles of easy hiking.

Still full of energy & wanting to go higher & further, we talk with the
volunteer park coordinator about the hike to Horse Camp, a seemingly
favorite destination for a lot of people today. He describes a moderate
hike with some snow still covering the trail to H C @ 7980 ft. This kind
of hiking was more to our liking & could easily be in Alaska. ¾ of the way
up to H C we encounter patches of snow covering the trail….to conserve our
tennis shoes, we side step, go around & sometimes, go thrice the distance
in avoiding mud & snow. Finally, there is no alternative, we have to walk
thru a lot of snow for maybe 40 min. Kathy, in the meantime, has been
doing great….but now, she’s getting unsteady on her feet. It was a clever
& romantic way to get me to hold hands & whisper sweet “watch it’s” & “be
careful now’s” & “keep sliding, I’ve got you” in her ear….but it helped a
lot. We were ready for that Horse Camp to show itself a lot sooner that it
did.

Horse Camp is like a holding spot for serious hikers who are going to hike
the summit of Mt Shasta (elevation 14,162 ft). It had provisions: a wood
burning stove, fireplace, sleeping cots etc. We filled our water bottles
with fresh, ice cold, Mt Shasta spring water, had our picture taken, dried
our shoes a little, then started back down the trail. Of course it was a
lot easier going downhill but we still held hands a lot through the snow
drifts.
Back @ the Bunny Flat area, we log our miles: total 6 Total time: about
3.5hrs.

7:45 dinner: Italian style beef burger; tomato, pepper, olive salad with
Stilton/Gloucester cheese; toasted garlic bread & dried veggie chips.

Evening time: Watch 2 movies on cable: The Wizard of Oz.” I had never
seen it… & “The Passion of Joan of Arc.” A tough movie to watch…..a
silent film from 1928.

High temp today=82 Lights out: 11:28pm

Awake: 6:15am Temp 59 Elevation 3660 ft Overnight @ Mt Shasta City, CA

Air conditioning on @ 10:30am. This campground is fuller than
full….completely sold out with tent campers in-between the motor homes,
5th wheelers & trailers. It’s mostly families gathering for the holiday.

@ 10:35am we drive downtown(5 min), park & walk the main street
(barricaded Mt Shasta Blvd) plus a side street(Castle) & look over the 3
blocks of street vendors & their wares. Interesting & creative stuff but
nothing we can’t do without.

The small Farmer’s Market was not good: Late season! “Stick around for
another 2 weeks” says farmer Jeff.

Early afternoon we split a hamburger while listening to live music on
Castle St. Then I take a tour of the nearby Ace Hardware while Kathy works
on getting a casual tan on a nearby park bench.

Mid afternoon, Kathy talks me into driving to the city park 1 mile north
of town….to listen to Christian music. I am reluctant to do this, thinking
it’s too far away & maybe just a couple of kids. When we arrive & hear the
music, I realize it’s more than just a couple of kids….there are families
having lunch @ picnic tables, kids playing games & now, the best part:
Free lunch! We each have a cheeseburger, a veggie paddy & 2 ice cream
cups. I should listen to her more often.

We attend 5:00pm mass @ Saint Anthony church downtown, then back to our
cool bus.

The temperature has dropped a few degrees now so we take a 30 min walk
outside the campground perimeter for exercise.

7:23pm dinner: Leftover Tuna-noodle casserole with fresh spinach salad.

Tonight we watch a double feature on cable: “Dark Victory” with Betty
Davis & Ronald Regan....... & “We are not alone.” Both good flicks.

High temp today=80 Lights out: 11:22pm

Awake: 5:15am Temp 63 Clear Elevation 2696 ft Overnight @ Yreka, CA

This morning we are in no hurry…well, most of the time we are in no hurry
but today we travel only 35 miles…so I go to the office & check our e-mail
& Kathy reads her novel.

Leave the Waiiake Trailer Haven in Yreka @ 11:37am. We continue heading
south, gaining a little more altitude along the way.

Today’s travel: 56 min 35.1 miles 5.38 gal 6.51 mpg 43.5 avg speed

We arrive @ the MT Shasta KOA Campground @ 12:33pm. Nice area….some shade
trees & big rig friendly. Our parking site however, is directly under the
mid-afternoon sun & this site has only 30 amps.

Basically we can do alright with 30 amps if the temperature outside is
neither too hot, nor too cold & Kathy does no drying of laundry or uses
the Gaggenau Cook Top. There are a few other systems that are affected
with less amps but it gets a little more technical to talk about. Our
backup systems: i.e. our 20 KW diesel generator can handle any current
draw that we give it. To sum up this outburst of tech talk, I will say…we
are using only one of four air conditioning compressors that we have…..to
stay within our 30 amp limit….& this unit will run continuously throughout
the afternoon to keep the temp inside our motor home in the 70 degree
range.

After a mid afternoon lunch, we visit the visitors’ center in town to find
out where & when things are happening….then take a quick check across the
street @ the Trading Place Consignment Store.....we find nothing for us.

Next we drive to the Mount Shasta Resort Golf Course (a good viewing point
for the 4th of July fireworks) & Lake Siskiyou (where the 4th of July
fireworks will be shot off)….then back to town & do a little more driving
around to get a feel of what’s what!

@ 5:00pm we sit outside on our picnic table under our awning & have our
glass of wine before our happy meal & watch as more motor homes, 5th wheel
trailers, trailers & campers with tents arrive for the weekend
festivities.

8:00pm dinner: Tuna noodle casserole, 4 bean salad, Caesar salad & toasted
garlic bread.

After dinner, we watch cable movie: “Magnificent Ambersons;” a classic but
rather disturbing story of a selfish & spoiled lad.

High temp today=86 Lights out: 11:22pm

Awake: 6:45am Temp 61 Clear Overnight @ Ashland, OR

This morning we both do our “get the coach ready for travel” routine.
We will miss this campground…it’s been absolutely great & close to the
activities that we wanted to engage in + more. The Rogue Valley is
beginning to heat up & I want to escape to the mountains & be cool for the
upcoming holiday.

Leave Emigrant Lake & the Point RV Park @ 11:07am….a short trip today but
we do stretch it out a little by visiting a rest stop/info center when
entering California. Kathy then loads up with the pamphlets & magazines
of what to see & do in Northern California.

Arrive @ the Waiiake Trailer Haven in Yreka, CA @ 12:20pm. Nice place with
shady parking sites & its big rig friendly. We are somewhat disappointed
that our cell phone coverage here is nil. That alone perhaps might feed
our decision to stay just for tonight.

Today’s travel: 1+16 time 43.5 miles 8.13 gal 5.35 mpg 37.4 avg speed

After parking & opening our slides, we drive to the downtown area of Yreka
(5 min). We did a rather extensive driving tour of this town on March 27,
2004 but did not visit their museum, so today’s the day for that. Yreka
downtown is much like the town of Jacksonville, OR as gold was also
discovered during the 1850’s & this town grew rapidly as well. Today Yreka
has over 75 homes on the National Historical list & many downtown
buildings in addition to that.

We do a little walking around town, pausing at each building to read the
plaques about their past history…but soon find ourselves ducking into some
of the air conditioned buildings just to keep our cool. The temp today has
leveled out above the 90 degree mark.

That does it: over to the Siskiyou County Historical Museum we go. It’s a
small museum but the items, pictures, dioramas & stories are well
portrayed. 1.5 hrs later, we’ve looked & read enough. For the size, this
museum presents a lot of history & they’ve done it without any federal
funds. Each yr, the curators tell us, there will be more to see….so come
back….over time, we might just do that!

During our street walking, I use a pay phone to call an 800 number & start
planning our next destination. We heard a few local rumors during our
short visit downtown that the place to be over the 4th of July is Mount
Shasta City…35 miles south. Now the campground I am talking with in Mt
Shasta City tells me they are all filled up & the people there signed up a
year in advance to solidify their parking site. As I am about to hang up,
the lady tells me to “wait a minute!” On another line, there’s just been a
cancellation…if you want it; you’d better grab it fast. I do &
tomorrow…that’s where we will go.

7:25 dinner: Hamburger with Stilton blue cheese, fried golden potatoes,
cauliflower & broccoli, spinach salad + toasted garlic bread.

Late evening: watch movie on cable: It’s a Date” with Deanna Durbin. I
liked this movie a lot…..Kathy however, did not like the way it started
out & soon lost interest.
High today: mid 90’s Lights out: 11:22pm

Awake: 5:54am Temp 56 Clear Overnight @ Ashland, OR

We have a scheduled 10:30am tour time @ the Harry & David facility in
Medford. The rendezvous point is, of course, their Country Village.

En route to this gathering spot, our cell phone rings & it’s a “Happy
Birthday” call from Shirley of Vancouver, WA. A nice surprise!

The H & D Country Store has some nice stuff…lucky for us our home on
wheels is a little too small to be collecting “stuff!” After about 15 min
of store looking, we are on our way to the H & D production center (2
buses-16 passengers each bus).

This company was started by the grandfather in 1914…specializing in
growing & selling Royal Riviera Pears. In 1934, 2 sons, Harry & David,
took over the business, both college educated. One brother’s talent
contributed to the smooth day to day running of the business & keeping it
on schedule; the other brother was the innovator, the idea man. The
business really took off (no pun intended) when the brothers started
flying their fresh pears into larger cities like Chicago, New York,
Minneapolis, etc.

Both brothers died in their 50s in the 1950s but we didn’t find out “why
so young?” Are these pears really that good for human longevity? After
their deaths, the business ceased being family owned & has been bought &
sold many times since then.

Our tour, though interesting, was ill timed: The plant had just been shut
down 2 days for inventory check & most of the production lines were not
yet running. We did see many produce, candy & packing machines but they
were idle. The ideal time for a tour of this huge company would be when
they are stocking up for the Christmas Holidays. Our tour ends where it
began…@ the Country Store. How thoughtful! Now Kathy can resume her
careful scrutiny of the beautiful things.

Next we make a stop @ FedEx Kinko’s where I ship an overnight letter to
Stacy in Anchorage & Kathy makes copies of a favorite recipe to send some
lucky recipients.

Then to Costco to fuel up the Suzuki & get some frozen blueberries + a few
healthy snacks. Next to Fred Meyers for my Dannon yogurt….& the cell phone
call is for Kathy… it’s another “Happy Birthday” from Corinne of Lilly,
PA. They have a lot to talk about so I waste no time & find a comfortable
swing & be a swinging senior.

From F M we visit the Ashland Food co-op for my Organic milk & for
tonight’s meal. Kathy does not want to cook on her birthday.

8:15pm dinner: Bought roasted chicken breast, mixed salad + garlic toast.

During our meal, Kathy had calls from Nick in Seattle; Katrina in Denver;
&, later this evening, Melissa & Kevin who were camping in Valley View,
Canada. All those callers seem to be doing just fine. The Foote’s had a
good travel day covering over 400 miles. Kathy was delighted to talk with
her children and receive their birthday wishes.

High temp today= 85 Lights out: 11:28pm

Awake: 6:01am Temp 57 Partly sunny Overnight @ Ashland, OR

Kathy watches her favorite morning TV programs while I spend some time on
our computer.

After lunch, we decide the day is right & we are in good enough shape to
go mountain climbing. Considering all the campground walking we’ve done +
stair climbing in Port Angeles…we are ready for higher heights. So @
3:00pm, we start driving up toward Mount Ashland, elevation 7,533 ft.,
park our Suzuki @ about the 5,000 ft level & begin our hike to the top.
About an hr & 1.5 miles later, we are @ the peak. Only 3 other persons are
@ the peak this afternoon: An 87 yr old fellow who drove nearly all the
way up is standing on a ladder taking 360 degree photos; he has been
patiently waiting for a clear day like today + David & Michelle, who
slowly jogged up a few miles further than the distance that we walked. We
ask D & M to take our picture with Mount Shasta in the background, and
then we take their picture. Next the very senior fellow amongst us asks to
have his picture taken while standing on his ladder with Mount Shasta in
the background. It felt good for us to do some vertical hiking for a
change + it was an absolutely beautiful & clear afternoon. After walking
back to our Suzuki, we return to our bus @ 6:45pm.

8:25 dinner: Baked salmon with sweet peppers & oregano, whole wheat pasta
with fresh tomatoes, olive oil, lemon & parmesan cheese + warm pecan
cabbage slaw & garlic toast.

Late evening: Kathy spends time on our computer.

Also tonight, we received a voice mail from Kevin: They were in Fort
Nelson on Monday evening & their travels are going much better.

High temp today: 76 Lights out: 11:05pm