Week 457-458 - Heading to the Northwest - 05-24-2015

Heading to the Pacific Northwest

With eye surgeries and becoming Texans behind us, we are finally taking a road trip. Our intended path is shown below. From Atascadero we'll head to daughter Emily and Chad's home near Paradise. Then we'll be off to Pete's sister Donnalee in Redding, California. Donnalee is undergoing a surgical procedure, so we will hang around until we know she has recovered. Next we'll head to the Monaco Service Center in Coburg, Oregon. The above part of our trip is for certain.

The rest is up for grabs but this is what we charted on our map.

Pickleball tournament in Washougal, Washington.
Another tournament in Bend, Oregon.
A SOWER's Christian ministry stay in Marsing, Idaho.
We will visit one of our website clients at 5 Peaks RV Park in Joseph, Oregon.
From there will be attending the wedding of Emily's head basketball coach Greg Hardie in Lewiston, Idaho.
West to Corvallis, Oregon for a PB tournament with Gordon and Karen.
North to Anacortes, Washington to visit Clint and Jackie.
East to Chelan, Washington to see Colly and Wally.
Continue East to Coeur d'Alene for PB tournament.
Onto Belgrade, Montana to see Pete's brother Mike.
South through Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.
Down to see Star Valley Ranch in Wyoming where some PB friends have RV lots.
Continue through Utah ending up in St. George.

We are excited to visits friends and relatives.
Perhaps those we might visit are also excited!
However, the above is just an idea, reality may not participate.

In a previous travelogue we showed a trip plan and then where we really went.
That time, we did exactly as planned, but it was only one week in length.
This planned route lasts about four months.
As something always comes up, it will be fun to see where we really go!
Stay tuned.

On the way to Emily and Chad's we stayed at Maple Leaf RV Park in Morgan Hill. The grass in our site was very nice, unlike this trailer site.

Our grass was nicer as it is synthetic! This park has just under 300 sites and all of them are being converted to synthetic grass. The grass is unrolled and cut to size. The existing real grass is removed and a sand base is laid down. The new grass is nailed down around the edges. This process is not as simple as we described. A review online shows a lot more steps if you want the best quality result.

Wow, is that nice compared with the first trailer site we displayed?

After a one day stay at Morgan Hill, we settled in at Sugar Barge RV Resort and Marina on the Sacramento Delta. The barge is a two story restaurant frequented by the RV travelers as well as dozens of boaters from the Delta.

We were early in the season and on weekdays, so the Barge was not open for business. It did provide a nice platform for photos.

We learned about Sugar Barge from our RV friends Gordon and Karen who we parked next to. We had a lovely visit, played some Pickleball and enjoyed dinner at La Villa Mexican restaurant. The authentic Mexican food was great and cheaper than Taco Bell. We all recommend La Villa.

Leaving the Delta is not easy, there is water everywhere. This bridge on Hwy 160 crossed over the San Joaquin River and then the 160 lead us along the Sacramento River for dozens of miles.

You encounter lots of bridges and views of the Sacramento River.

The road is very narrow and passing any vehicle on a bridge would be frightening. Luckily we did not have that experience. The road also is very lumpy and threw us around like a cork in a hurricane. This brings us to why we are visiting the Monaco Service Center. With 104,474 miles on the MotherShip we have some suspension issues. It is no longer the most enjoyable vehicle we have ever driven. In fact, it is downright unpleasant. We look forward to repairing whatever is ailing it.

Somewhere during our travels through the Delta we passed what we believe is a lawn bowling club.

We ended this weeks journey at Emily and Chad's home. Since Pete is never up between 6 and 7 am, Ellen took this picture of Zeb and Micah as they come over ever morning, even when their folks are still in bed.

Thanks for coming with us. It will be fun to see our actual map materialize over the next several months.

Love to you all, Pete, Ellen and Mandy

Photos from May 2015