LEAVING OKC BEHIND

DAY 43 (May 27^th )

Work done, leaving OKC with winds predicted all along the I-40 westbound. Planned to stay in Amarillo, TX, at Oasis RV Park again. We highly recommend this RV Park to anyone traveling I-40. Plan on wind, but if there is none, just be grateful. This part of Texas gets a lot of wind most of the time. They are still in need of RAIN. Have begun to notice that it is drier here now than a month ago.


DAY 44 - 45

Winds were brutal on I-40 today. Gusts pummeled the motor home and we estimated them to be 30+ mph, with sustained SSW winds at 25+. Our fuel mileage was 6.5 mpg, proving winds do a number on the mpg. Sure wish we'd had a tail wind today. Winds picked up by the afternoon, with sustained at 30+ and gusts 45+.

Arrived Gallup, NM around 2:30 pm and selected USA RV PARK on the west side of town. An old KOA, but improved and quite nice. This park offers a BBQ dinner with some Country Western Music. If you don't want dinner, they offer dessert. Today they had cobbler w/ice cream to enjoy while listening to the music.

The winds didn't die down until very early Sunday morning and as soon as the sun peeked up over the horizon, the winds picked up again. The predicted winds for the late morning and afternoon all across NM and AZ were for sustained 40-50 with gusts to 60. We decided to stay put for another day and pull in the slides. Another RV family opted to sit this out as well and the winds lived up to their predictions. The stress of sitting in the motor home while being hit with such winds isn't much fun. At least the heat wasn't an issue. As stated before, this trip hasn't been very relaxing.


DAY 46 (May 30th)

Off we go, heading west. Really didn't want to make this a long drive day. Had planned to stop in Needles, CA for the night. But the driver wanted to keep on going. As there isn't much between Needles and Bakersfield but desert, we decided to make Orange Grove RV Park our destination. Normally, we prefer to pull into an RV park in mid to late afternoon. We really don't like arriving after the office has closed. However, since we are familiar with this park, made the exception. Arrived around 6:15pm, selected our site from those posted, and set up. It was good to be off the road after a very long drive.


DAY 47- 49

We stopped once again at Flag City (Lodi, CA) for a travel break. Did a little shopping and enjoyed dinner at Pietro's, one of our favorite Italian Restaurants. We first ate at Pietro's in 1986 while purchasing our first motor home from across the street. Amazing that the restaurant is still there and the food is still very good.

Hot Chocolate at breakfast - yum-yum

Harv and Jan invited us to 'indulge' in Rogue River Springer Salmon with them. The only answer to that invite is, "Yes!" Their 'retirement' home in Spring Valley has an expansive terraced back yard with lots of room for blue berries, vegetable garden, flowers, bird houses, large patio, room for Harv's 'toys' and mature trees. Enjoyed our visit and the afternoon thunder storm that came through. Heard about a tornado near Yuba City and are pretty sure we didn't bring it with us.

Tom and Debbie invited us for lunch at their "Cabin in the Woods." Laurie, a Pastry Chef and their daughter, made a wonderful lunch for all of us.

"Gorgeous", describes their 'retirement' home. Debbie's personal touches and Tom's carpentry skills, make it 'perfect.' It really isn't a cabin, considering the expansive living areas, several bedrooms and private living quarters w/full bath and small galley on the lower level. The full deck can be accessed from the entire back of the home; kitchen, dining, living, and master bedroom. A fire pit with seating area for 'star-filled nights' and 'S moors' can be accessed via stairs from the deck. There is a large 'log-garage' and work shop that is separate from the home. It wouldn't surprise me to see this 'log home' featured in a magazine.

Their house is located about 10 miles from Plymouth, CA via Fiddletown Rd. Thanks to Tom's excellent directions, we only missed the driveway by a car length. It could have been a lot worse had we followed the GPS.

Thanks to each of you for your hospitality. We enjoyed our visits with you and extend an invitation to dine with us at our 'humble retirement abode' on the Oregon Coast, located just about 4 miles north of the CA border, anytime!


DAY 50 (June 3rd)

Homeward bound! Left Lodi around 8:30am. We usually take I-5 to Hwy 20, west through Clear Lake to Hwy 101, then head north to home. We prefer to travel 250 miles or less, but Elwyn always wants to 'get home' when we turn around. It use to be, I would not tell him how far or how long it was to get there, or even what direction we were headed. But then came GPS! Personally, I would rather stay overnight about two or three hours from home. I usually loose this battle, after all, he is the driver. He always bribes me with 'dinner out' and 'breakfast out' the next morning. Well, "duh" -- all the food is in the motor home and we aren't going to unpack it when arriving that late anyway. LOL.


Questions:

Why were we in OKC so long?

Answer:

We purchased a new motor home.

Yep, we traded the Discovery for a 2011 Phaeton (made by Tiffin, in Red Bay, AL). This is one of the reasons that this trip wasn't relaxing.

We had been talking about a new motor home for over a year and kept thinking we would get one more trip to Alaska in the Discovery. The '02 Discovery had just under 65K miles on it and was 9 years old, so we decided it was time. Besides, the TV in the Discovery was on its way out! We often had to hit it to make it work. We went to Camping World, in OKC, to check out a new TV. Well, we bought one alright! Actually we bought 4! The new motor home has 4 TV's. I must say, this is the most expensive TV we have ever purchased!

We moved into the new motor home before we left OKC for Tennessee. Hence one of the reasons we were in OKC for almost 2 weeks. Love the way it rides, and except for a few occasional and annoying rattles, is very quiet. Has 4 slides, so there is plenty of room when parked. However, while on the road, I found it to be quite narrow when I need to access the bath or galley area. But then I'm not suppose to be up walking around anyway, but I do.

We are happy to be back in Oregon and will take the rain and storms here anytime. This was the first time in all of our RV travels, that weather was a real concern for us. We were really happy to have our emergency NOAA radio with us and cranked it up often to get local weather information.

As far as an Alaska trip - - not next year, or the next, but maybe 2014 and will be our 5th trip, via mtrhm.

Alaska motor home trips taken: 27ft. Tioga in 1986 and the 39ft. Discovery in 2004, 2006 & 2010.


Following are some photos of our new motor home and one of the Discovery at McClain's RV in OKC, waiting for someone to buy it.

Pictures Here...

Checking it out!

 

TV #4 is behind door on left of front slide out.

Looking to the front - EB on phone! TV #1 above center.

Residental refrigerator, computer desk cabinet and dining area.

Galley w/TV #2 at right.

JB's sink in comode area

EB's sink in shower area

Shower w/kitty box

King size bed w/washer and dryer behind double doors

Bedroom w/TV #3

Thanks for the Memories...

My seat has a foot rest and reclines - talk about travel in comfort!

 

Cleo's Comments:

I actually have adjusted to the newer 'home' on wheels. At first, I hissed, growled, puffed myself up and thought, "Why are they putting me in here?" "What is this place?" Things seemed somewhat familiar, but yet, not the same. I discovered that I could get behind the couch, but the space under it was a bit smaller. I found I could get behind the sink or under the bed and they couldn't block it, but only when, what they call 'slides', are in. She always tells me "NO" when I try to explore, and when she does, I understand that, that area is off limits. One day, when she isn't looking, I'll get under there. Guess that is why they always check to see where I am before making the inside bigger or smaller.

They put my litter box in the shower now, and I like that. When traveling, it is just in the bath area and that is much better for me. The front window is huge, and I really like it and I've already put my 'paws' all over it.

Bird Watching - My favorite thing to do!

Oh, I forgot to tell you -- I found a way to get in-between the pillows on their sleeping area. Also, they can't keep me from the sleeping area anymore. The door to that room doesn't go all the way to the floor, so I can just slide under it anytime I want to. But I only do it when it is time to eat in the morning and I need to wake them up.

They keep telling me how very good I am. And you know, -- I am a Good Girl!