Emerald Desert, Palm Desert, CA 12 Jan 2014

Here we are set up at our site at Emerald Desert RV Resort, Palm Desert, CA.  We have been in this same site for 3 years.  It is at the end of a cul de sac with only 4 other RVs.  It is large site with no one on the driver's side.  

 

Behind us and outside the park are some attractive Spanish-style condos with the mountains behind them.

Along with the Jeep, we have a motorcycle and two bicycles.  The motorcycle allows us both to have independent transportation.  The bicycles are great for getting around the large park and for exercise.

This is the view outside our door.  That is a golf green with a pond behind it.  

 The combination of strong winds on the the Los Angeles side of the mountains and the sun setting, created this glorious end to daylight.

On the Road Again 28 Dec 2013 through 3 Jan 2014

 We delayed leaving Portland, OR until after our dental appointments.  We drove south on I-5 and saw frozen fog above us.

 The further we went, the more the fog came down to meet us.

 The frost on the grass came right to the road.  We stopped early at John's Landing RV Park in Grants Pass, OR.

 The next morning the fog left us as we got past Medford, OR, but we could see that it would be a temporary reprieve.

 As we climbed to the Siskiyou Summit, there was snow beside the road, but the pavement was dry.

 This was the view as we came down from the summit.

 We weren't the only RVers heading south.  There were many on the road.

 California was close and the sun felt like it, but we weren't out of the snow yet.

 There is California!

We have not seen Mt. Shasta this bare in the winter.  California is having a serious drought.  With this little snow on the mountain, there is little hope that there will be relief soon.

 The west side of Mt. Shasta was even barer.

 Lake Shasta has looked like this since 2008, when we began making this, almost, annual trip.  I just looked at the photos we took that year to be sure.

 We could drive further, but we love to stop at Durango RV Resort, Red Bluff, CA.  It is a wonderful park and the days are warm.  There is a grocery across the street and a favorite Mexican restaurant, Los Mariachis is only blocks away.  Our reservation in Palm Desert, CA doesn't start until Jan. 3, so we decided to stay here for a couple of days.  Our next stop was at Kit Fox RV Park, Patterson, CA.  It was good for an overnight.

 We leave I-5 at CA 49 and drive to Hwy 99.  This truck made us smile.  The arrow on the left says, "Passing Side".  The one on the right says "Suicide".  We had just had a car pass us on the right on I-5.  It is so scary when people do that.

We hate Hwy 99.  It is rough, lanes on the right disappear onto exits, lanes are narrow, there are lots of big rigs, signage is lousy, and it goes through "lovely" Bakersfield.  Our reward is this RV park on the other side of Bakersfield. If you have followed our blog, you have seen or heard about it before.  It is Orange Grove RV Park.  It was built in an orchard.  Guests may pick all the oranges they want.  The park even provides long poles with pickers on the end.  The next day we drove over the Tehachapi Pass and down CA 395 to I-10 and Palm Desert.  There are pictures of that route in previous years.

Winchester Bay to Portland, OR 5 Oct 2013

 Just outside Reedsport, OR is an Elk Reserve.  It is rutting season.

 There are few roads that cross the coastal mountains of Oregon.  This is Highway 38.  It is good road, with only one narrow bridge and one tunnel.  It is a good one to take in an RV.  The marine layer was touching the trees today.

 We have few deciduous trees and our weather usually doesn't promote the extreme color of the forests east of here, but the color change still signals fall is coming.

 Mt. Hood just got a good snow last weekend, so it looks beautiful.  The bridge in the foreground will expand Portland's great commuter train system.

 Mt. St. Helens is wearing a new coat, too.  

 If you watch the TV show "Grimm", you will see the Markham Bridge in weekly scenes.

Traveling north on I-5 through Portland, we see the two spires of the Convention Center and the half-oval roof of the Blazer's arena, now called the Moda Center.  

Reedsport, Winchester Bay, & Coos Bay OR 3 Oct 2013

 Mike and Karen introduced us to this cute restaurant in Reedsport, OR, about five miles from our park.  Delicious breakfast !  Several dishes are based on local seafood fare.

This phone booth sits in the parking lot of MacDonald's in Reedsport.  We haven't seen one in a long time, especially one with a working phone.  

 Here we are in site 111 at Winchester Bay RV Resort.  We are facing the marina.  Behind us is the mouth of the Umpqua River with back-in sites, meant for 5th wheels.

The park is on a peninsula.  This is a view from our coach looking at the road in and out of the park.

We drove 25 miles south to Coos Bay to have dinner at a favorite place, called Benetti's.  They have been in business 30 years.  Our waiter has worked there for 22.  It is only open for dinner and has amazing Italian food.  It is such a surprise for this small town.  The portions are huge.  We both went home with doggy bags.  This fountain divides the entrance from the bar.

 There are donation jars all over town to collect money to restore this theater.

 Not all of downtown Coos Bay is this cute, but it looks like they are working at improving its tourist appeal.

 Looking through the railroad cars that probably brought these logs to the harbor, you can see logs being loaded onto an ocean going vessel for export.  They may be destined for a sawyer ship at sea that converts the logs into lumber for Asian markets.  Too few sawmills in the U.S. saw timber to metric dimensions.

North Bend is the twin city of Coos Bay.  We had never really noticed this sign because we had never come through here after dark.  

Brookings, OR to Winchester Bay, OR 2 Oct 2013

 These homes are north of the Beachfront RV Park, Brookings, OR near the mouth of the Chetco River.

 Another construction site along Hwy 101.  This was for bridge repair.  We felt sorry for the workers because the tarps over the new concrete had sitting water after the series of storms that came through over the weekend.

 There are are advantages of returning the way you came.  You get photos of the rocks from the other side.  Smile.

 And, we get photos of these houses that were hard to see coming south.

 Gold Beach, OR is a popular tourist destination.  

 These railroad cars are a big triumph for Coos Bay, OR.  When we were here in 2008, the tracks to the mainline in Eugene had been washed out.  There was little activity, and the town looked depressed.  The tracks were restored through a public-private partnership.  The town was much more vigorous this time.

 Coos Bay has been through some tough economic times, but seems to be returning to prosperity  These ships in port point to a dramatic increase in activity in the harbor.  There were also ships in port loading logs and wood chips.  Fresh tuna was being sold by one of the boats you see here.  

When Mike and Karen were here with us a week ago, we tried to eat in this cafe.  They are supposed to have the best fish tacos.  However, the wait for a table was too long, so we went elsewhere.  Next door is an excellent Italian Restaurant.

Red Crest, CA to Brookings, OR 1 Oct 2013

 This was the perfect time to be at the Ancient Redwoods RV Park near Red Crest, CA.  We had it almost to ourselves.  The 31 mile Avenue of the Giants is right through those trees.  The only frustration was the lack of cell phone service, even with a booster in the office.  Our personal mifi is dependent on cell phone service, so we had to use the park's wifi and we often got kicked off of that frequently.  The beauty of the area and peace and quiet made up for all of that.  We did discover that we could drive two miles into tiny Red Crest and get cell service.

 We had planned to stay on the Avenue of the Giants for three days, but record rains and wind in Oregon made us decide to stay two more days.  Here we are entering Hwy 101 as we leave.  It felt good to have cell service again.  We have become very spoiled by instant communication.  Love the marine layer in the trees.

 This car is towing a covered wheel chair on a cute, small trailer just big enough for the chair.  We have never seen anything like it before.  Highway 101 is quite schizophrenic.  It varies from wide four lane like this to the narrow two lane seen below. 

This scene shows the angry surf after a weekend of storms.  It reminds me of a jigsaw puzzle photo.

 There were four areas of construction along Hwy 101.  A couple of them were repairing areas where the road had slid off on the ocean side.

 Highway 101 goes through the Redwood National Park.  The trees along the highway are beautiful, but not as spectacular as those along the Avenue of the Giants and in the Rockefeller Forest. 

 Crescent City, CA appears to be fueled by tourism.

 Wish we could have seen this hauled into place.   

We arrived back at Beachfront RV Park in the marina at Brookings, OR to this view out our windshield.  Ahhh....