Monthly Archives: September 2019

Family Matters

I closed my last post saying we had eight nights to fill before we could check in at Mission Bay RV Park in San Diego and needed a plan. What we came up with may not have been the most exciting plan, but it was practical. We left Bishop and headed south on US395 for about 140 miles to Ridgecrest, California.

The Elks Lodge in Ridgecrest has about a dozen sites with full hook-ups – five are 50amp service. Ridgecrest isn’t the most glamorous destination, but at $20/night it would work for the first four nights we needed to fill.

Ridgecrest has been in the news recently due to earthquakes centered near the town. In July, quakes with magnitudes of 6.4, 5.4 and 7.1 happened. In the last week, several smaller quakes occurred including a a magnitude 3.2 on Saturday morning, which was recorded by geologists, but we didn’t even notice it.

Ridgecrest’s other claim to fame is the China Lake Naval Station nearby. China Lake is mainly a research and evaluation facility for the US Navy – and it’s also the largest landholding in the navy’s inventory.

When we arrived, there were a few other RVs there, but after two days, we had the place to ourselves. We didn’t do anything exciting while we were there. Donna caught up on a couple of assignments while we took advantage of the 50-amp service to keep the air conditioners running during the day. The high temperature hovered around 90 each day, but quickly cooled off after sundown to overnight lows in the upper 50s. We also had excellent satellite reception and I recorded Formula One and Moto-GP races.

A park all to ourselves in Ridgecrest
We dropped the trailer across from our site by the lodge

The Ridgecrest Elks Lodge has an RV club and they’ve done a great job with the RV sites, but the lodge doesn’t seem to be very active. They do have Bingo on Thursday nights and Donna went over to play. On Friday evening I went in for a cold one around 5pm and found only two people there. The bartender told me Fridays are usually quiet as so many people get out of town for the weekend. The lodge is closed Saturday and Sunday!

By the time I had the Midget secured in the trailer and hooked up, it was 10:30am when we pulled out of Ridgecrest on Monday morning. We followed US395 south to I-15 and went over Cajon Summit. Cajon Summit is followed by six miles of steep downgrade dropping into San Bernadino. The traffic was harrowing on this stretch as expected. Cars dart from lane to lane trying to take advantage of any opening without much regard for tractor-trailer and big-rig RVs.

We took I-215 down through Riverside and continued our trek southward. We made a stop at Ethanac Road in Menifee where I knew there was a travel center. Finding truck stops in southern California isn’t as easy as some places. I filled our tank with diesel #2 at $3.75/gallon. Not bad considering California fuel prices – we’ve seen much higher prices.

My step-dad, Ken, lives nearby but we didn’t see him. There isn’t anyplace nearby to legally park an RV. We would have to go several miles, then unload the Midget for a visit and load back up to get on the road. I really wanted to get past the afternoon rush through Temecula and get off the road. Our destination was another four-night stay at an Elks Lodge – in Oceanside this time. We’ve wanted to stay there for a while but weren’t able to get a reservation in the past. This time we got lucky and snagged a site for four nights – only a 30-amp service this time. The 30-amp service isn’t a big deal since we have cooler breezes here coming off the Pacific Ocean and don’t need to run air conditioners.

Tuesday morning Donna and I took a ride down the Coast Highway to Saint Michaels By-The-Sea just after crossing into Carlsbad. We met Debbie Bednarski – a friend from my high school days – there and played pickleball. They have two outdoor courts and 12-15 people showed up to play. It was great to see Debbie again and also get back on the pickleball courts.

While we were there, I received a phone call from the my step-dad, Ken’s neighbor, Helen. She told me Ken had just been taken away in an ambulance for transport to Loma Linda Hospital in Murrieta. I knew he was complaining about shortness of breath and it seems like it’s gotten bad enough that he needed attention.

This created a little tension for me – I had to figure out how to handle the situation. Donna’s dad had taken a fall a few weeks ago and broke his hip. He had successful surgery but now needs rehabilitation. He spent two weeks in a facility before Donna’s sisters decided to take over. Linda is a nurse and Sheila is a physical therapist. Sheila flew from San Diego to Vermont to get him going on rehab.

Meanwhile, Sheila’s 15 year-old son, Connor, was invited to play with a band made up of local middle and high schoolers opening up the Padres MLB game with the national anthem at Petco Park on Tuesday night. I needed to drop Donna off at Sheila’s place in La Jolla so she could use Sheila’s car to drive Connor to the ballgame and back.

I called the hospital and talked to an ER nurse. She told me they were taking Ken to X-ray, he was coherent, his vitals were good and I should wait and check back later. So I carried on and drove Donna to La Jolla. I called the hospital again and the nurse told me nothing had really changed and she advised me to sit tight and wait until the doctor came up with something. She didn’t seem overly concerned at this point. I notified my sister and brother and also my daughters of the situation. They admitted Ken to the hospital for more tests and observation.

Yesterday I drove the Midget up to Murrieta. It’s a blast up the interstate most of the way – not a fun drive in a small British sports car. At the hospital, I found Ken’s room and he seemed much better. They had discovered a large amount of fluid in one lung and drained 1.5 liters from it! With the liquid removed, he could breathe much better.

I’m concerned though. The thing is, his heart rate, blood pressure and temperature were all fine. He just couldn’t breathe. To me, I’m thinking this isn’t pneumonia or some kind of infection – he would’ve been ill. So why was there fluid in his lung? The only thing I can come up with is congestive heart failure or cancer. He’s 88 years old, so I’m hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

Meanwhile, Donna has plans to fly to Varmont next week. She’ll spend a day with Sheila learning what needs to be done to assist with her dad’s physical therapy. Sheila will return home while Donna stays there for a week or more. Family matters matter. I’ll be at Mission Bay RV Resort – we check in tomorrow.

A rain shower passed through here this morning. We skipped pickleball, but drove down to the Oceanside Farmers’ Market near the pier. There were some unique vendors and we bought more than usual.

Oceanside Farmers Market – and the back of Donna’s head

It’s cloudy and cool – the high might reach 70 degrees. We expect pleasant weather at Mission Bay – daytime highs in the low 70s and overnight lows in the 60s. Hard to beat that.

Eastern Sierra Tour – Final Stop

Our third and final stop of the 13-day Alpine Coach Association (ACA) Eastern Sierra Tour was at Highlands RV Park in Bishop, California. Saturday morning we gathered together at the group area for breakfast goodies and discussed the day’s activity. We were going to drive up to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest – about 40 miles away.

Donna and I drove there in Midget-San. We headed south to Big Pine then turned east on CA168. This road climbs from about 4,000 feet above sea level to about 10,000 feet above sea level in a little over 20 miles. Our destination was the Shulman Grove Visitor Center. As we started climbing on CA168, we were following a group of Porsches. These guys were having fun, cruising at the speed limit or below on the straights, allowing gaps to open up between the cars, then gassing it through the tight twisty sections. We were able to keep up with them most of the time in the Midget – of course they could have run away from us at any time, but since they didn’t run at high speed on the straights we stayed with them.

After climbing steep grades, we were around 6,500 above sea level when Donna said she smelled coolant. I also could smell it and saw the coolant temperature gauge suddenly shoot into the hot zone. I quickly pulled off the road and shut the engine down. I opened the hood and found the coolant hose had come off the water pump again – this happened once before in Winchester Bay, Oregon.

I had checked the oil and coolant levels before we left that morning. Looking at the coolant reservoir now, I could see the level in the overflow reservoir hadn’t changed. Here’s the thing – the engine coolant is held in a closed system. When the coolant absorbs heat, it expands. Since it’s a closed system, the expansion of the coolant creates pressure. This is a good thing – up to a point. At 15 pounds per square inch of pressure, the boiling point of water is raised to about 250 degrees.

The cooling system in cars has a radiator cap that relieves pressure – anywhere from 11 pounds to 25 pounds per square inch, depending on the design. This pressure relief valve in the radiator cap directs excess coolant into the overflow reservoir. When the engine cools, the coolant contracts and another valve in the cap opens and coolant is drawn from the reservoir back into the engine.

Our engine was hot. Expanding coolant should have flowed through the pressure relief valve in the radiator cap and into the overflow reservoir. This didn’t happen. When it cooled down a bit, I removed the radiator cap and found it difficult to overcome the spring pressure on the relief valve. My theory is a defective cap didn’t relieve the pressure in the cooling system. Something had to give and it was the hose connection at the water pump.

A few of the ACA members on their way up to the Bristlecone Forest stopped and offered assistance. I reconnected the hose at the water pump and waited for about 25-30 minutes to allow the engine block to cool. Then I started adding water. By then we had told everyone that had stopped to carry on – we’d be fine. It turned out I didn’t have enough water. Luckily, a car with tourists – we think they may have been Germans with rudimentary English – stopped and gave us enough water to fill the radiator and a bottle of drinking water. It was about 90 degrees outside and we were in the direct sun. We made the rest of the climb without any issues – I didn’t push the car hard and kept an eye on the coolant temperature.

At the Shulman Grove Visitor Center, a park ranger gave us a presentation telling us about the bristlecone pines and the methodology for determining their age. We learned that the information scientists have gained from the ancient trees has been instrumental in confirming or debunking many scientific theories regarding ancient history, climate and world events. There are trees here over 4,800 years old – the oldest known and confirmed organism.

The soil in the area is not at all fertile – it mainly consists of dolomite. The thing about bristlecone pines is that the hardiest trees with the longest life span are the ones that grow in the poorest conditions. The ranger pointed out a tree that was growing in a small ravine where it received more water than the trees on the hillsides. It was also more protected from the wind. The tree looked very healthy. He told us it was only a couple hundred years old and its life expectancy was only about 400 years. Another tree was growing on the hillside. It was exposed to the wind and received little water as any rainfall would drain down the hill. About three and half feet of its root system was exposed from erosion. This tree was between 300 and 400 years old. It had two dead branches but he thought that tree would likely live for a few thousand years. There’s something about overcoming adversity!

Relatively young, healthy tree growing in favorable conditions
Older tree in the center with two dead branches sticking up struggling for survival but likely to live a long time

There was a dead tree he pointed out to us. By taking a core sample they determined that the tree had been standing there dead for more than 250 years! In this high, dry climate, there aren’t many organisms to attack the living or dead trees.

Old dead bristlecone pine
Bristlecone pines growing on a dolomite hillside

The drive back down to Big Pine revealed just how steep the climb was. Many sections were 8% gradients or more. We stopped at a scenic overlook and could see all the way across the Owens Valley. We were in the White Mountains on the east side of the valley and the Eastern Sierra Nevada range is on the west side. We could also see the town of Bishop about a dozen miles away as the crow flies.

View across the Owens Valley

Back in town, I stopped at O’Reilly Auto Parts and bought a new radiator cap and a gallon of coolant – I had about half a gallon of coolant stored in the trailer. Sunday morning I drained the water from Midget-San’s cooling system, refilled it with a 50/50 mix of coolant and replaced the radiator cap. The rest of the day I stayed indoors and watched football and the Moto GP race from Misano, Italy. The temperature outside was in the upper 80s. We shared another potluck dinner with the ACA group.

Monday morning we had an early start. Our destination was about 70 miles south to the Museum of Western Film History and Alabama Hills in Lone Pine. Lone Pine has a 100-year history of film making starting with Fatty Arbuckle in 1919. The Alabama Hills on the west side of town have a unique rocky landscape with the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada range for a backdrop. This landscape has been featured in countless films – mostly, but not limited to, westerns. Elaborate sets were built here to make the film Gunga Din and the mountains in the background were supposed to be the Himalayas. A sci-fi movie called Tremors was filmed here. The opening scenes with Robert Downey Jr. in the first Iron Man movie was filmed here. Many commercials – mostly car ads – are filmed here. The location has the great landscape and it’s only about six hours away from Hollywood.

After taking a self-guided tour of the museum, we got in our cars – well, we didn’t get in Midget-San – we rode with Michael and Teresa Weitz in their Jeep – and went out to the rough roads of Alabama Hills. We had a tour guide that led us to stopping points where various movie scenes were shot. He had a stack of enlarged photographs – stills taken as the movies were being made. He pointed out the rock formations that were used in different scenes and told us how the sets were made. Look at the photos below and see if you recognize any of the landscapes.

Our tour guide with a photo of the “Duke”

On the way out of Alabama Hills on Tuttle Creek Road, we passed a house nestled in the rocky terrain that Hopalong Cassidy lived in for nearly 40 years.

Hopalong Cassidy’s place

We had lunch in a park in Lone Pine, then headed back north on US395. We made a stop about 10 miles out of town at Manzanar – a National Historic Site. Manzanar was an abandoned town that was converted into a “War Relocation Center.” This was essentially a concentration camp for Americans of Japanese descent during World War II.

Donna and I did a self-guided tour of the museum there. I looked at the roll listing the names of Japanese-Americans imprisoned there. I found two with the surname Ohata – my mother’s maiden name. I don’t know of any of her relatives that were in the USA before she came here from Japan in the 1950s – so they probably weren’t my ancestors.

We took the driving tour of the grounds. This gave us a sense of the scope the camp which contained over 11,000 Japanese-Americans in a number of barracks arranged in “blocks.” It was an emotional place for me and I had conflicted thoughts about what happened and comparing it to the terrorist threats we face today.

On the drive back to Bishop, the wind really picked up velocity. There’s a wildfire burning in the west valley and the wind wasn’t going to help contain it. We saw a warning saying that the power company had cut electricity in Mono County to prevent any wind damaged power lines from starting more fires. Mono County is just north of Bishop which is in Inyo County.

Midget-San made the 140-mile round trip without missing a beat and the cooling system worked perfectly. I’m confident that my diagnosis of a faulty pressure relief in the radiator cap was correct.

Back at Highlands RV Park, I was sitting outside and reading in the shade while Donna took a walk to shop at an antique store. The wind was gusting well over 30mph. I saw an awning ripped from a coach down the lane from us by the wind. I thought of the canopies Tom Polk had at the ACA group site and ran over there. I was just in time as the large canopies were being lifted and tossed about by the wind. Two other ACA members, Bud and Norm, came over and we managed to dismantle the canopies before they were damaged. I also retracted a neighbor’s awning that was left out while they were away.

The scheduled activity for Tuesday was a tour of the Laws Museum outside of Bishop. Donna and I toured this museum when we here in May and I wrote about it in this post. We skipped the 10:30am tour and rode our bicycles to the museum grounds about five and half miles away arriving at 11:30am. The organizers picked up sandwiches from Schat’s Bakery and brought them out for a picnic lunch on the grounds. We also had a short train ride on a Brill car built in the 1920s.

Diesel powered Brill car
Our bikes parked in front of Southern Pacific locomotive number 9

We had a catered dinner back at Highlands RV Park. We had the same local caterer for three dinners on the tour – one in Mammoth Lakes and two here – she did a superb job on the meals!

This morning marks the end of the ACA Eastern Sierra Tour. Most of the ACA members have pulled out of the park as I type this. We’ve extended our stay another night and we need to come up with a plan. We’ll have eight nights to fill before we’re scheduled to arrive back at Mission Bay RV Resort in San Diego.

With the warm temperatures, we’ll have to choose any boondocking locations carefully.

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Eastern Sierra Tour – Second Stop

When we left Carson City, Nevada, we were at an elevation of about 4,800 feet above sea level. Our route was simple – US395 south for about 130 miles, then turn west on CA203 (exit 263). Along the way, we crossed Conway Summit at 8,143 feet above sea level. Our destination was Mammoth Mountain RV Park at Mammoth Lakes, California – a total distance of about 140 miles.

The RV park has mostly large, loosely defined, back-in sites among pine trees. It’s at an elevation of about 7,800 feet above sea level. When I checked in, I asked where the best place to unload the Midget from the trailer would be. The guy told me not to worry – the lane in front of our site was very wide and it would be no problem to unload there and back the trailer in to drop it in the site.

He’s obviously never driven a big rig. The “wide” lane was lined with trees and wasn’t wide enough for two coaches to pass each other. The easy back-in to drop the trailer was also complicated by trees. But, we got it done.

It looks wide open from here, but believe me the trees behind where I’m standing made it tough

On Tuesday morning, Donna rode with Steve, Gayle, Chuck and Barbara up to Devil’s Postpile National Monument. They were just in time for a ranger-led tour. From there, they hiked to Rainbow Falls and then to Red’s Meadow. I stayed behind as I needed some down time.

We had a happy hour with the group later that day, then had dinner on our own back at the coach. The weather in Mammoth Lakes was mostly pleasant during the day if you were in direct sun. But in the shade, the temperature was noticeably cooler and the wind could create a chill. The temperature over the four nights we were there ranged from the mid-to-upper 60s during the day and low 30s overnight.

On Wednesday morning, there was an optional Mammoth Mountain Ski Area gondola ride. We passed – we didn’t think we had the right clothing for a ride up to 11,000+ feet above sea level. I heard it was just above freezing temperature at the top. Donna and I took a ride in Midget-San through town and out to the ski area. There was a potluck dinner on the schedule and I had prepped two racks of babyback ribs the day before. Around 2pm, I got the Traeger wood-pellet fired smoker-grill out of the trailer and put the ribs on.

With the limited grill space on our small Traeger, I couldn’t provide enough ribs for everyone. I cut the ribs into single bone servings so as many people as possible could sample them.

Potluck dinner at Mammoth Mountain RV Park

Thursday’s scheduled activity was a trip to Bodie State Park. Bodie is a California gold-mining ghost town. It was over an hour away by car. Donna and I didn’t want to make the long drive to spend the day at a ghost town. We opted to drive out Lake Mary Road and get a look at some of the lakes. We drove by Lake Mamie and stopped at the Twin Falls overlook.

Twin Lake viewed from Twin Falls overlook
Another view of Twin Lake

We drove up to Horseshoe Lake – probably the most interesting of the many lakes in the area. What makes Horseshoe Lake so interesting is the high concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2). It is thought that a large reservoir of CO2 exists deep under the mountain. The gas was identified in 1994 and it is believed that an earthquake in 1989 opened channels in the earth releasing the gas in this area. About 120 acres of trees died when the CO2 deprived their roots of oxygen.

Dead forest at Horseshoe Lake
Horseshoe Lake

Horseshoe Lake is about 9,000 feet above sea level. I was happy with how well the Nissan A15 engine in Midget-San performed. The Weber DGV carburetor continued to run cleanly at this altitude although I could feel the power loss from the thin air.

We drove the loop around Lake Mary. We came across several people from the Alpine Coach group – I guess we weren’t the only ones taking a self-guided tour of the area.

On Thursday evening, I was hoping the watch the NFL Thursday Night Game. But, with all of the trees I couldn’t get a satellite signal and the park cable TV didn’t have the NFL Network. I was out of luck. Then I figured out that I could stream the game on my smart phone. It didn’t take long to get used to the small screen and I watched the second half as Tampa Bay beat Carolina.

Friday morning we packed up, hitched the trailer and hit the road. We had a short run of about 40 miles to Bishop California and the Highlands RV Park. The ride down US395 included a six-mile descent of 6% taking us down to about 4,200 feet above sea level. I made the entire six-mile descent without touching the brake pedal as the Jacobs Engineering (Jake) engine compression brake came through again. I had the Jake brake set on low and targeted 55mph. When my speed crept up to about 58-59mph, I switched the Jake to high and it brought us back down to 55. I toggled the low-high setting all the way down with no worries.

At check-in, the guy at the counter was surprised by the overall length of our rig. He said we would take the pull-through site from end-to-end, but it would be okay. It took a bit of doing to get into the narrow pull-through, but we got in, although we’re extended a little beyond the site boundary at both ends. The weather forecast for the weekend here calls for highs in the low 90s and overnight lows in the upper 50s. Much warmer than Mammoth Lakes – we’ll be running the air conditioners!

Eastern Sierra Tour – First Stop

It’s been a whirlwind since my last post, five days ago. That’s the thing about organized group tours – you’re no longer setting your own agenda and scheduling at your own pace. I ended my last post by saying we were going to Virginia City for a train ride – that wasn’t accurate. What we did was drive a few miles out of Carson City east on US50 to Eastgate Depot. That’s where we boarded the Virginia and Truckee (V&T) train for a ride up the railway to Virginia City.

Before we boarded, a couple in period costumes put on a two-person show giving the history of the area and the V&T line. It was quite good and somewhat hilarious although the truth of the matter is they exposed how corrupt the banks and politicians of the era were. There may be a lot of truth to it today as well.

The 1914 Pullman rail car we rode in was pulled by a steam powered 1916 Baldwin locomotive. Originally the V&T used wood-fired steam engines. They converted them to coal and quickly realized it was a mistake. The coal-burning locomotives required much more maintenance and the coal had to be shipped to the rail yards. They then converted them to burn fuel oil. The locomotive that pulled us along was fired with recycled motor oil.

1916 Baldwin steam locomotive
1914 Pullman Rail car

They bill the trip as a 24-mile round-trip, making it 12 miles each way, but our tour guide told us it was longer than that. The train moves slowly as it climbs a 2.4% grade most of the way. We went through the 566-foot long tunnel #2 and another shorter tunnel. The tour guide narrated throughout the hour and 15-minute ride – when he wasn’t interrupted by the train whistle. There are whistle requirements for trains as they cross any thoroughfare, whether it’s open to the public or private.

Send-off from Eastgate Depot

We saw several wild horses on the ride up to Virginia City and many more on the way back down. The train took us to the Virginia City Depot on F Street. This is a few blocks down from C Street which is the main street through town. It’s a relatively steep uphill walk from the depot. Virginia City is built on the side of a mountain. We had a three and half hour layover to tour the town and grab lunch. I visited Virginia City back in 2016 and posted photos in this post.

Donna and I strolled along the wooden boardwalk through town on both sides of the main drag.

Howdy partner – on the boardwalk

We poked around in a few shops and bought some locally made beef jerky. Then we looked at lunch menus and finally settled on Joe’s Cafe – which was recommended by our tour guide. The food there was excellent and we enjoyed lunch along with fellow Alpine Coach Association (ACA) members, Ed and Pat Meadows. We had lunch on the rear deck with a 100-mile view!

You see all types of folks in Virginia City. We even came across a modern day prospector doing it the old-fashioned way. He had a burro loaded with his equipment and supplies. He was dozing on a hitching rail when we first saw him, then later he loaded up and headed out.

See the prospector dozing on the hitching rail
Time to load up and head out

The elevation of Virginia City is 6,150 feet above sea level, so we made a considerable climb to get here. The town was the result of the discovery of the Comstock Lode – the first major silver deposit discovered in America. At its heyday, the population may have been as high as 20,000 people. Today, there are about 1,000 residents with about 4,000 people total in Storey County.

In 1875, the main business district was destroyed by fire – what they called The Great Fire. As the fire spread toward the residential districts down the mountain, a decision was made to blow up the St. Mary’s in the Mountains Catholic Church to create a fire break. The church agreed to the plan as long as the town promised to rebuild the church. Their plan worked and saved the housing. There was much wealth in Virginia City at the time and they kept their promise to rebuild the church.

St. Mary’s in the Mountains church and 100-mile view

The Virginia City train depot doesn’t have a turntable. So, to get back down to Carson City, the locomotive was disconnected from the two Pullman cars, switched to another rail then reconnected on the downhill side of the cars. This meant the locomotive ran in reverse all the way back to Carson City. I should also mention that just before we reached Virginia City, there is a sharp curve in the railroad and the grade steepens for a short distance to 3.9%. This is the steepest railroad grade I’ve ever heard of. Modern rail lines don’t exceed 3%.

The train engineers were careful to keep the speed down as we slowly descended – a runaway train wouldn’t be good. We saw several small herds of a dozen or more wild horses on the way down.

Wild horses
More horses
Looking across a canyon to the railroad grade and tunnel #2 entrance

The good thing about going on a pre-planned group tour is the fact that I wouldn’t have been inclined to spend $55/person to ride in an old train up to Virginia City. But now I’m glad we did the tour.

Saturday morning started with breakfast at the group area before we departed for two scheduled tours. Donna and I drove in Midget-San a few miles to the Nevada State Capitol Building. There we divided into two groups for a guided tour.

State Capitol Building with silver dome

The guided tour was interesting as our guide was very knowledgeable and filled us in on many details of the state’s history.

Chandelier with pink alabaster stone globes
Teddy Roosevelt once sat in this chair made from elk antlers

The tour lasted about an hour and a half, then we walked a few blocks down the road to the Nevada State Museum. This museum is located in the old Carson City Mint Building. The building has additions to it and included a simulated mine in the basement. Again, the guided tour was filled with historical facts and worth the time. It was another hour and a half. We ended the tour with a demonstration of the Carson City Mint coin press number one.

Coin press number one

This is the last remaining working coin press of this type in the world. Carson City Mint struck coins from 1870 to 1893. Coins with the CC stamp are highly sought after by collectors. One of the tour guides operating the press showed us a 100-ounce bar of silver – 99.99% pure.

100 – ounce bar of silver on the left

Sunday morning we headed out for yet another tour. This time, Donna and I drove Midget-San about 30 miles east on US50 then south to Fort Churchill State Park. Fort Churchill was operated for only about nine years – 1860 to 1869. The soldiers stationed there were tasked with keeping the peace and protecting the settlers coming across the wagon trails. It also served as a Pony Express stop and supply depot for the army.

Today the fort is in ruins. It was abandoned in 1869 and pieces of value, such as doors, windows and hardware were sold off. Roofing material was stolen and the buildings vandalized. Today the grounds are preserved in a state of arrested decay. Only partial adobe walls remain of the buildings. It was interesting to tour the grounds and visualize what life must have been like there 150 years ago.

Officer quarters ruins
Buildings south of the parade grounds

They have two of three cannons sent to the fort in the 1860s. The heavy cannons were considered useless by the commanding officer – they were too heavy and unwieldy for the terrain surrounding the fort. He gave them away to local militia. Now they are on display at the state park and are still in working order. We were given a firing demonstration – with a powder charge only, no projectile.

Artillery circa 1860
Fire in the hole!

We regrouped for lunch at a nearby roadside picnic area. Most of the group went on to tour Buckland Station – another area of historical interest. Donna and I were toured out and headed back to Carson City.

I kicked back and watched the Formula One race from Monza that I had recorded. It was a great race! I watched a little football, then we departed for a group dinner at Red’s Old 395 Grill. We had a choice of smoked pork spare ribs or beef brisket with cole slaw, beans, cornbread and fried onions. Donna went for the ribs and I had brisket. We were about done in though and I missed all of the opening weekend of NFL action.

I should mention one more thing that happened at Gold Dust West Casino RV Park. On Sunday afternoon, Scott Hicks came by our site and told me there was a sign on our trailer saying it wasn’t authorized to be there and was subject to tow! What?! I went and pulled the sign and took it to the registration desk at the casino. I explained to them that I was in the RV park and I put the trailer right where they told me to put it. I also mentioned the green tag they gave me that was on the trailer identifying me as a RV park guest. Eventually, a manager told me it was a mistake by someone in security and not to worry, it was fine.

On Monday morning, we prepared to pull out and head south to Mammoth Lakes. When I went to hook up the trailer, there was another sign on it saying it was unauthorized and subject to tow! I’m not too impressed the with the security people at Gold Dust West.

This post is much too long, I’ll have to catch up on Mammoth Lakes in another post.

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Casino to Casino to Casino

On Monday morning, Donna and I took a ride through the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Midget-San. Donna told me she heard a pack of coyotes yapping in the NWR the night before. I heard geese and cranes in the evening, but was sound asleep before the coyotes got excitable.

We were hoping to see some wildlife in the NWR, but all we saw were birds, mostly waterfowl – geese, cranes and ducks. Also a few hawks which I couldn’t get a good enough look at to identify.

Dorris Reservoir in the Modoc NWR

We ended up driving into Alturas to grab a few groceries and had lunch at El Agave Azul – we were told it was the best Mexican food in town. We both thought it was average at best, but we enjoyed the lunch.

Later that afternoon, a tractor-trailer rig pulled into the lot at Desert Rose Casino and parked parallel to us on the driver’s side about 40 feet away. He had an empty flat-bed trailer. I noticed he left his engine idling – I assumed he left it on to run air conditioning. It was about 90 degrees outside in the sun. Later I saw him come out of the casino with a woman and a bag of what appeared to be take-out food. They got in the truck, but it remained parked and idling.

We had an uneventful evening as I watched more of the US Open tennis on TV and went to bed before Donna. In the morning, Donna told me she had a horrible night. The noise of the idling truck in the lot kept her up most of the night. The truck sat there idling for about 14 hours. Since he was hauling an empty flat-bed trailer, he couldn’t have been needing to run a refrigeration unit or anything. I think he idled the big diesel to keep his cab air conditioner running!

We packed up and pulled out Tuesday morning. Our route took us south on US395 through mostly open range land and some tiny towns like Madeline and Termo with populations under 100 people. At Standish, we turned on Standish Buntingville Road which is also known as the Reno cut-off. It’s a shortcut bypassing Susanville.

This took us around Honey Lake and we climbed to the Nevada border near Cold Springs. We took the first Nevada exit and found Bordertown Casino RV Park where we had a reservation for a 70-foot paved pull-through site. We were checked in quickly and found the park to be clean and well-maintained. The 70-foot site length is a bit of an exaggeration though – our 65-foot overall length only left a foot or so to spare and stay within the marked site. The power pedestal, water and sewer were ideally located and we were in business in no time.

Donna was excited by the park wifi – that was big news as far as she was concerned. They had an excellent signal with high speed and allowed streaming video. Donna took advantage and watched three or four episodes of The Americans on Amazon Prime. We had a cocktail in the casino and ate in their restaurant. They had a taco Tuesday special – $1 tacos. I ordered three and they were quite good. Donna went for an oriental chicken salad.

Wednesday was mostly a bust. We had warnings of thunderstorms in the area and had showers off and on throughout the day. I watched hours of US Open tennis. Without anything exciting to talk about, I’ll just insert the obligatory sunset behind our coach shot.

Sunset behind our coach at Bordertown Casino RV Park

We pulled out this morning around 10:30am. I made a stop at their fuel pump and topped up with fuel. They had straight diesel #2 – no biodiesel content. We had a short drive to Carson City. We made a stop at Walmart to get water and Donna stocked up the refrigerator and pantry. I walked over to Round Table Pizza and ordered a take-out pepperoni, mushroom, onion and green pepper pizza. I haven’t had a Round Table pizza in a long time and they are one of my favorites. Donna put the groceries away and we had lunch in the coach before moving on.

We pulled into the Gold Dust West Casino RV Park around 1pm – our third casino in a row. I had called ahead to inquire about dropping the trailer. I had a hard time making sense of what the gal was telling me on the phone. We found a large, empty lot that was part of the casino parking near the RV park. I unloaded the Midget and dropped the trailer there. We drove through the RV park in MIdget-San to reconnoiter, then I went to the registration desk at the casino hotel to check us in. They told me I couldn’t leave the trailer where I dropped it. I had to take it to another smaller lot on the other side of the casino. They couldn’t tell me why I couldn’t park it where I did, they just said “it wasn’t allowed.”

There was no sense in arguing so we drove the Midget to our site then walked back to the coach to hook up the trailer again. I dropped it in the designated area – about a 1/4 mile away from the RV park and out of our view. They assured me the lot was under video surveillance 24/7.

Alpine Coaches are filling this small RV park. We have 24 registered members of the Alpine Coach Association here to tour the eastern Sierras. Over the next 13 nights we will caravan to three different parks and take tours of the many sights this area has to offer. I’m not usually one to go on organized sight-seeing excursions, but when we came up this way last spring, we missed most of the attractions due to weather. With an organized group with pre-made plans and reservations, we’ll be sure to check it all out now.

After setting up this afternoon, a thundershower is passing through. The forecast calls for the rain to thin out after 5pm but gusty winds could continue through the night. Tomorrow should be sunny with temperatures in the upper 80s. We’ll be going to Virginia City for a train ride!

*Just so you know, if you use this  link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and  I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!

A Safe Bet and Crater Lake

Happy Labor Day first of all. I hope you’re enjoying the fruits of your labor whether you’re retired or still working toward retirement. It’s hard to believe I retired more than six years ago, but I’ve enjoyed every bit of retired life!

In my last post, I left off when we pulled out of Crescent Junction RV Park. We drove south on US97 to Kla-Mo-Ya Casino near Chiloquin, Oregon – a trip of about 70 miles. We stayed overnight there three years ago, but I hardly recognized it when we pulled in. There have been changes made to the parking area and a new motel is on the north side of the lot.

We had a loose plan of spending one to three nights there to get through the holiday weekend. Holiday weekends can be a bit of a pain when you’re on the road. The weekend warriors book most of the available campgrounds well in advance while we tend to be a little more spontaneous over the summer months. Casinos are usually a safe bet – no pun intended – as families don’t tend to congregate there for a long weekend.

When we stayed here before, there were only a couple of RVs in the lot until evening. Not so this time. There were a few RVs already there when we arrived and several more pulled in during the afternoon. We parked next to a National Tradewinds motorhome and met our neighbors. They were Don and Karen from Rochester Hills, Michigan. Small world, we lived in Rochester Hills in 2009-2010 before we bought a house in Shelby Township. We enjoyed conversation and cocktails after dinner with them. Several horsetrailer-camper rigs pulled in before dark. We guessed they were headed to a rodeo. They all pulled out early Saturday morning.

Donna and I took a drive up OR62 in Midget-San to the south entrance of Crater Lake National Park. I had visited Crater Lake before in the year 2001 on a motorcycle trip from Arlington, Washington to Monterey, California for the World Superbike races at Laguna Seca – but we entered from the north side then. The trip to the park was about 40 miles and the road was smooth with mostly sweeping curves and gorgeous views. We thoroughly enjoyed the drive under clear skies and 80 degree temperatures.

The lake was formed about 7,700 years ago when a 12,000-foot tall volcano erupted, then collapsed. The caldera filled with water from rain and snow – no rivers or streams empty into Crater Lake. The intense blue lake is considered to be the cleanest large body of water in the world. Crater Lake also has the distinction of being the deepest lake in the USA with a measured depth of 1,943 feet – followed by Lake Tahoe at 1,645. A later eruption formed Wizard Island in the lake – a cinder cone near the southwest shore.

The photos of the lake below are not enhanced or saturated for color – that’s the color of the water straight from the camera. The shoreline doesn’t have beaches. The sharp waterline along cliff faces looks un-natural and is surreal.

Crater Lake view from the lodge
Wizard Island

The holiday weekend meant crowds in the park. When I visited here before, we came mid-week and found it to be mostly empty. Not so on this weekend – we had to search a bit before we found a place to park.

We walked down to the Crater Lake Lodge intending to get lunch and fully expecting to have to wait for a table. Luck was with us though – we were led directly to a table for two with a window view of the lake. The food was excellent and service was great. I had the grilled chicken and provolone melt with sweet onion marmalade and spicy slaw while Donna went for the Crater Lake Cobb salad. After lunch we walked along the paved path on the rim of the lake behind the lodge. The lodge also has a deck overlooking the lake where you can enjoy cocktails from 1pm to 9pm.

Another lake view from the rim walking path
Don’t stray from the path – it’s a steep drop

We came home and watched more of the US Open tennis tournament and came up with a plan. We figured we should head further south on Sunday to position us closer to Carson City, where we are meeting up with the Alpine Coach Association rally on Thursday. If we waited until Monday, we thought the holiday traffic might be a bother while Sunday traffic on a long weekend would likely be light.

On Sunday morning, I watched the Formula One race from Belgium and became so engrossed that I forgot about our plan until Donna had the interior of the coach nearly ready for travel. I didn’t have much to do in way of preparation. I secured Midget-San and put away our camp chairs. After checking tire pressures, we were ready to roll – it was nearly noon. I topped up the fuel tank at the travel center next to the casino – our next stop will be in California with higher fuel prices. The travel center had B5 diesel which is my preference. I try to avoid B20 biodiesel.

We drove south on US97 along the eastern shore of Upper Klamath Lake. In Klamath Falls, we hit OR39 to the California border where it became CA139. The elevation back at the casino was about 4,200 feet above sea level. Our route had us climbing and then dropping back down. It seemed like we climbed more than we dropped and I thought we would net a fair amount of elevation gain as we drove through the Modoc National Forest.

Most of the traffic on the road was in the northbound lane. There were very few cars on our side heading south. We noticed a number of cars and RVs were filthy – covered in a light tan powdery dust. Some were so heavily coated, it looked like off-white mud. We wondered where they might be coming from.

At the town of Canby, we hit CA299 which took us to the small town of Alturas. We found the Desert Rose Casino there on the border of the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). The Desert Rose Casino is on a small plot of Indian land – no more than a couple of acres. They offer free RV parking on a level gravel lot behind the casino. We were the only RV in sight when we arrived. I parked on the east side of the lot at the fenceline of the NWR. We didn’t net as much elevation as I thought – we’re just under 4,400 feet above sea level here.

Our spot at the Desert Rose Casino

Donna and I went into the casino for happy hour. The bartender solved the mystery of the dirty cars and RVs. She told us they were coming from Burning Man. Apparently, the popular boondocking event in Nevada results in clouds of dust.

View of the NWR from our doorstep

Today we’ll take a drive through the NWR and look around town. The forecast calls for a high temperature of 90 degrees this afternoon and tomorrow. We’ll stay for at least one more night – we’ll come up with a plan later today. The biking looks like it would be great here – except for the numerous goathead stickers. We know from experience in Albuquerque that unless you have Slime tubes or Stan’s sealant, a flat tire is guaranteed. I should have installed Slime tubes on Donna’s new bike.

*Just so you know, if you use this  link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and  I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!