Port Orford the Long Way

Odometer 56281
Trip meter 536 miles

Okay, we peeked.  We looked ahead on the weather forecast to see that if we dallied any longer in the Sierras, that we were going to get precipitation- some of which could be snow in the higher passes.  We decided to get over the Sierras and head costal before the next storm system arrived on Wednesday with both high wind and precipitation.

We planned out the next three nights, first to Redding, then on to my sister's house in Blue Lake, and then the final leg of this trip, our summer home, Port Orford, Oregon.

US 395 between Carson City and Reno

The overnight temperature in Carson City was only 41- which surprised me, at an elevation of nearly 5000 feet, and as much snow as we've see beside the road on our way here- I assumed that the night time temps were below freezing, and rolled up our water hose before going to bed.  The next morning I sheepishly rolled out the hose again so we could take showers.  Maybe next time I'll consult the weather forecast (naw!  I'm not that smart).  As we were getting ready to go, I noticed a red fluid drip at the rear of the coach and decided I'd better check that out, because the two fluids I knew of that are reddish are transmission and antifreeze.  Turned out that it was the latter, and it looked to be coming off of the lower hose clamp on the radiator.  I took a nut driver and tightened the clamp about a full turn.   I'll keep checking and see if that did the trick.

One nice thing that has happened is that for some mysterious reason, the turnsignal lights on the car have started working again.  Each time we un-hook at a campground we cross our fingers the next morning when we hook back up- great plan, and it's working for us. 😊

As we skirted around Reno we thought about stopping for some Starbucks but after considering bumping around the surface streets maneuvering the 57 feet of our rolling train in and out of a parking lot- we just weren't that thirsty!

Before we knew it, we were back in California again, being asked by the polite border guard if we had any Arizona home grown fruits, or any firewood on board.  Having neither, we were allowed to pass back into the great nation of California ;->)

Lunch stop beside US 395 at Honey Lake

There is a long stretch of 395 between the Nevada border and Susanville that follows Long Valley Creek as it meanders along a wide open prairie, flanked on the south by the Diamond mountains. 86 square mile Honey Lake sits at the northwest end of this valley. Honey Lake is what's known as an endorheic sink meaning that there is only in-flow, nothing ever flows out of the lake.  The major contributor to the lake is the Susan River, and thanks to a very wet winter, the the lake is higher and larger than we have ever seen it.

CIO Joan

My wife and life companion is looking happy today.  She is the CIO of our team here, I am only the chauffeur, and mechanic.  Joan makes up the route iteneary, reservations when necessary, calls out the turns and lane changes, and provides narrative and color to our surroundings.  How do you think I know of such things as endorheic sinks- she's the brains of the outfit, and I'm lucky to have her.

View of the Sacremento River at Marina RV Park

Because our CIO has been busy, we have an RV space waiting for us when we arrive at the Marina RV Park in Redding.

This resort is river front, so much so that this past winter the water level in the Sacremento River was within 4" of flooding the office, and many of the RV spaces were under water!  That may explain why we found no 50 or 30 amp power at the pedestal in our assigned space.  The camp host tried everything he could think of to remedy this, but we decided we were fine with 20 amps- and let it go.

Relentless rain on CA 299 in the Shasta- Trinity NF

We didn't find out until the next morning from our neighbor that there was only 20 amp power to our whole row of spaces.  This morning was wet.  We broke camp and hooked up in a lull between downpours, but the rain continued un-abated all the way to the coast.

Welcome to Weaverville

Down town Weaverville

Weaverville looked waterlogged as we drove into town, a far cry from the hustle we saw here on our way through last fall.  Founded in 1850 during the gold rush, the town once had over 2000 chinese workers and its own Chinatown.  Today's census show about 3600 full time residents and the area is in economic decline.  After the gold rush, Weaverville was sustained by a robust logging industry,  Today the largest employer in town, Trinity River Lumber remains and has now recovered from a devastating fire that crippled the mill in 2009.
Tourism, and recreation has helped to fill the economic gap.  Close to several high alpine lakes and with the hiking and camping opportunities of the Trinity Alps- Weaverville isn't going bust anytime soon.

Signs of the season

We had been warned by signs since leaving Redding that there had been some major slides that had blocked the road and that  traffic while restored, was one-way at a time over many of the clean-up areas.  CIO, Joan had even called the Cal-Trans hotline to be assured that we could get through this morning- given the rain that had fallen overnight.

Major Slide blocked CA 299 near Burnt Ranch

the highway follows the Trinity River for much of the way and as we got close to Burnt Ranch we were awestruck by the enormity of this huge slide.

Temporary road through the slide area

The contractor has built a temporary road through the slide area and it is rough and muddy, but we are able to get through and that is priceless!  To be turned back here would mean 6 hour 262 mile detour.
Joan and I are impressed by the power of nature to wipe out the "improvments" of man.  It is very costly to keep these coastal routes open to travel during the winter

Fly a loop?

We smiled at his sign, is it even possible to do that?  Well, as it turns out the road comes real close to doing that!  We turned left for so long that we lost track of how many times we made a complete circle!  All the dishes in the cupboard are a mute testimony to the g-forces we pulled in that maneuver.

Mechanic at work

Slides, rain, and looping curves not withstanding, we did, in fact, make it to Blue Lake by about 2PM.  The rain has stopped and it is pleasant.
We set-up the bus in the street out in front of my sister's house because the driveway transition is too steep for us, an even if we could get up there, we'd block all other access.  It is a dead end street, and there are only two, or three houses on past this point.
Phebe is still at work, so I use the time to check out why the water heater and gas furnace won't light.  Access to the furnace is a little complicated as is indicated by the photo to the left.  In the end, I find nothing out of order as far as I can tell.  I'm going to assume it has something to do with the propane delivery, because the tank is 1/2 full and supply should not be a problem.  I re-assemble the coach and thank our stars that it is a warmish 63 degrees here.  This problem will wait 'til we get home.

Chart Room seafood restaurant in Crescent City, CA

We always enjoy our visits with Phebe and Rockey, and this is no exception.  Phebe whipped up a wonderful Thai noodle stir-fry and we talked and laughed well into the evening.  After extracting a promise that they will visit us in Port Orford this summer, we head off to bed.


The next morning we woke to another very pleasant day.  Not sunny but not windy or rainy either.  We say our goodbyes and with little fan-fare slip away on our last leg of this journey.
 Our friend Mark has maintained for years that the best fish and chips can be had at the Chart House on the docks of Crescent City, so today we decide to find out for ourselves.  Joan had fish and fries, and I had the fish tacos- both, while not "best ever" were superb.

We pause at an overlook to snap a photo of our bus with the Port of Port Orford in the background.

The rain starts up again and we trudge onward towards our homeport for the summer.  We arrived at Port Orford at around 4 PM and set up in our RV dock.

Garrison Lake

After Raining all afternoon we see the sun come out and get this beautiful glimpse of Garrison Lake 

Home is where we park it- we're home!

Your Traveling Friends

Joan and Jeff

Lake Isabella and Pearsonville

 Odometer  55460
Trip Miles 98 miles


In our desire to see more of each state we visit, we were actively looking for alternative to going up Interstate 5.  Longtime readers already know that I really dislike driving on the interstate highways.  Interstate is very intense driving and space management keeps you from seeing any of the scenery-. if there is such a thing on an interstate corridor.
For these reasons, we choose a route which will take us from Bakersfield up state highway 178 to Lake Isabella, and from there continuing east over to US 395.

California Route 178  Rocks hang over into your lane

The decision to take Cal 178 was a chancy one.  The highway follows the Kern river up a very tight canyon.  There are very tight curves and there is one 2 mile section where the canyon walls intrude into the travel lanes.  The road is plastered with signs warning truckers of the hazards, and advising alternative routes.  Gulp!  We forged on, but very carefully.  Auto drivers coming down the canyon towards us looked with astonishment as we came around each blind corner.  The overhanging rock was the most challenging and that went away after the first several miles.  From that point on it was just a very narrow road with no shoulder and tight turns.😊  The scenery was spectacular!  This section of road climbs very steeply up the canyon from 400 feet of elevation to over 2000 feet.

Ghost Town recreation at Bodfish, CA

Just before we got to Lake Isabella Joan spotted a sign advertising a ghost town and wanted to take a look.  Welcome to the Silver City Ghost Town...

Cabins original to this area at Bodfish

Turns out this is a construct.  A local family started saving and moving old buildings to this site, and it is quite the collection.  Each has a history...

Miners Cabin at Bodfish

This one is supposedly a miners cabin, and it looks very much like I'd expect one to look.  We toured the site for a few minutes and also the antique shop that adjoins the "Town".  

Lake Isabella, CA

As we left Bodfish for the highway we passed through the small town of Lake Isabella.  There was a fishing derby on that has attracted a huge crowd to the lake shore, and the bait and tackle stores were doing a very good business.
The highway from Lake Isabella over to 395 is wide and fairly flat gaining only about 500 feet in elevation

I has been windy since we left the lake, however it has been a tailwind in our favor.  Once we reached 395 and turned north, the wind became a side wind, and the gusts were very strong.

 CHP issues a high wind advisory and closed down US 395 at Pearsonville spilling us out into the desert

We hadn't gone very far, maybe 16 miles down US 395 when we came to a CHP roadblock and they were closing the road to all large vehicles, trucks and RVs in particular.  We didn't know it then, but we were actually at a place called Pearsonville.  There was a Shell gas station with convenience store and Subway sandwich shop.  The only other things we could see were a wrecking yard and an abandoned race track (cars we think).

At home in the desert- here for the night

We were obliged to find a place in the desert and hunker down until the wind advisory was lifted.  It was 4 PM so we found a place where we could head into the wind and set up for the night.  If the advisory was lifted soon- we didn't care, we were here for the night-  Stories circulated that it could be 8 PM or even 10 PM before traffic could resume, however when we went to bed at 10:30, everyone was still here.

Inverter working again!

Wonder of wonders, we looked over at the inverter panel and it was alive!  Don't know why or how, but it's functioning again.  One poster on the Internet forums suggested that our batteries are too old (he's right 6 yrs+) and are not charged up enough for the inverter to recognize them and turn on?  Don't know, but it is plausible that running down the road to day we put enough of a charge in them from the Cat's alternator to have the inverter turn on again.

High Wind Advisory on US 395

The next morning we were up at 7:30 AM and the "parking lot" was empty.  All the big rigs and 95% of the RVers had headed north.  Cheesh!  what's the hurry?  We are retired and this is what we do- so why get in a big rush.  After a leisurely breakfast and coffee we packed up and joined the world on US 395 north.

It wasn't long before we started seeing overturned trucks and trailers that most likely prompted the highway closure.  

Stay tuned for part two below

Carson City, NV

Odometer 55745

Trip 285 miles

Last night we had intended to stay overnight in Lone Pine, but seeing as how we never got there, we re-adjusted the pins on our map and set our sites on Carson City for tonight.  Setting out from Pearsonville this morning that meant almost 300 miles and we have worked up to, and were set for,  a more normal day of driving (6hrs).

Abandoned  PPG Plant on Owens Lake near Lone Pine, CA

We passed through little communities with names like Little Lake, Coso and Coso Junstion, Haiwee, Grant, Olancha and Cartago, always wondering what had brought this community to life, and why did it disappear.  When we got to Owens Lake my curiosity was roused by and old defunct factory and a lot of work happening in the dry lake bed.  According to one document issued by the US Geological Society the Owens dry lake bed is the single greatest source of particulate dust smaller than 10 microns, in the United States.  It was not always so, in the 1800's and into the 1900's the lake averaged 7-15 meters deep.  Steamboats once hauled ore across the lake from mines in the Inyo mountains.  Los Angles tapped the lake for water in 1913 and by 1926 the lake was dry.

The lake bed has high concentrations of Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Sulfate, and of course salt Sodium Chloride.  A combination of Sodium Carbonate and Bicarbonate and water make a substance called Trona.  Owens lake is the third largest trona deposit in the Americas.

The "factory" I'd seen, PPG built a plant in 1928 to harvest trona from the lake bed and extracted soda ash for glass making up until 1967.  There is still a lot of harvesting activity in the lake bed- but it is now processed somewhere else.

Lone Pine, CA

Lone Pine was our original destination last night before the high winds caused a closure of the highway.  Cute little town and a favorite of RVers.  Originally established in 1861, by 1870 it's main activity was to support the mining activity of the region.  Lone Pine had become famous for other reasons too.  It was the starting place for the USGS survey team which in 1864 determined that nearby Mount Whitney was at 14,505 feet of elevation the highest point in the contiguous 48 states.  It became a rail hub in 1883 when the Carson and Colorado Rail Road came to town, and it became a favorite location for Hollywood films starting in 1920 with a silent film called The Roundup.  The movie companies are mainly interested in a location outside of town called the Alabama Hills which most of us have seen in the more than 400 movies filmed there.  

A Panorama of the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mts.

It doesn't show well here but I took this panorama shot of the east side of the Sierra Nevada mountains between Lone Pine and Bishop-  It's awe inspiring in person!

Lee Vining, CA "Gateway to Yosemite"

The small town of Lee Vining, is well positioned at the eastern portal to Yosemite National Park, on the shores of nearby Mono Lake, and a few miles from the famous ghost town, Bodie.

The road to Yosemite is closed due to snow this time of year and Bodie is a State Park and is currently closed for a survey of possible earthquake damage from an earthquake centered around Hawthorne, NV. 

 Rats!  We really wanted to visit Bodie.

Schatz Bakery

By the time we arrived in Bishop we were plenty hungry, and we'd heard about Erick Schat's Bakery and wanted to eat there.  We were not allowed to film in the interior of the bakery, but suffice to say it is jammed with all kinds of baked goods on racks and in cases in every square foot.  We both had sandwiches and soup both of which were delicious.  We bought a loaf of raisin bread, and their famous sheepherder's white bread to take home with us.  Bishop is a pretty little town and I want to come back and spend some time here.

Just outside of Bishop, the highway starts to climb, I mean really climb.  We are geared down and pedal down to keep 35 mph.  The grade rises 1765 feet in less than 6 miles

Near Bishop, CA

We saw this good idea.  In one of the windy areas the highway department has set up wind socks to allow drivers to determine the ferocity of the wind in a visual warning system.

Conway Summit 8143 feet highest point on US 395

Finally we make the summit at 8143 feet the highest point on US 395 and the highest pass we will traverse this trip home.

Topaz Lake

A hour up the road from Bishop is Topaz Lake, and the little town of Topaz, Lake.  This place is interesting because the lake and the town are split by the border of Nevada and California.  At an elevation of 5,080 feet (nearly a mile high) we have descended 3,000 feet to get here.  In 1922 the Walker Irrigation district diverted the nearby walker river into a smaller natural lake to get this giant reservoir nearly 3-1/2 miles long and 100 feet deep.

US 395 through Inyo National Forest

The first tall timber we have seen on our trip north- big Ponderosa pines.

We arrive in Carson City for the night.  We checked into Silver City RV Park and enjoy the sunshine.  As soon as the sun sets it will get cold up here at 4,800 feet.

Your Traveling Friends

Jeff and Joan

Bakersfield & Model T Swap Meet

Odometer  55362

Trip Meter 67 miles

Today should be an easy day for us (even by our modest standards). We don't have to be in Bakersfield until mid afternoon, so we stay in our site at Sierra Trails up to checkout time before we saddle-up and hit the highway.  I took the time to chat up the neighbors and wash the windshield and the bug splattered front of the bus.  I even go so far as to re-wax the front!  

Opening the refrigerator from outside the bus

I guess I was putting off what I should really be doing- checking out the refrigerator.  We have been boondocking without 110v power and the refrigerator powered by propane was not staying as cool as we'd like (40°)

The absorption type refrigerators that are used in RVs actually use heat to cool the freezer and refrigerator (yeah- sounds dumb I know)  The heat causes a liquid refrigerant to expand and creates pressure driving the expanding gas through a pin hole.  The rapid expansion of the liquid on the other side of the small aperture (pin hole) causes it to cool and absorb heat from the contents of the fridge.

Gas burner tube in Refrigerator

While we are parked in an RV space with electricity the fridge uses and electric element to do the heating, but when we boondock (or wild camp/ dry camp) without electricity a propane burner does the heating.  The cheap materials used in the chimney above this gas flame peel off and rain debris down on the burner causing it to clog up and reduce efficiency.  The picture to the right shows flakes of rust that have accumulated in the burner box.  The tube with the slots cut in it is the burner assembly.  I used a soft brush and our vacuum cleaner to tidy this up and re-assemble the burner box.  The refer is back in business!

Google Map of our intended route today

By 11 AM we have stowed the gear and dumped the holding tanks, put some fresh water on board and hooked up the car for departure.   We still have the turn signal problem.  Since it is close to noon, we decide that instead of un-packing, preparing lunch, washing up, and re-packing- we'll get some take-out lunch somewhere.

Since neither of us has been into Tehachapi, we decided to go there today to pickup lunch at a Taco Bell.  We like to get the Cantina Power Bowl which is salad, rice, and beans.  The Main Street is very wide and parking is allowed on both sides making it possible for us to park alongside the curb in front of the restaurant.  

Back in the bus, we headed out to highway 58 and got ready to shed a few thousand feet of elevation.  

The descent into Bakersfield is 3,500 feet over a distance of 22 miles with many sections of 5 and 6% grade.  I really like this area.  it's very green and pastoral looking and it is a train spotters paradise.  The main line railroad comes over the pass within view of the highway for much of its climb. 

Sharp Curve sign even has flashing LEDs around it

There is even a place where the train does a complete loop and passes over (or under) itself.  Someday I'm going to stop and watch it rather than glimpse it as I do today.

I still remember the first trip over this pass in a motorhome.  We were driving a 1993 Safari Trek, built on an Isuzu truck chassis and incorporating a front engine turbo diesel that cranked out almost 135 hp.  

Warning on the Tehachapi- steep grades ahead

It was absolutely imperative to get a good run at the hill and not get caught in the right lane behind a slow truck.  Never got lucky- always going 35 mph uphill with the slowest truck.  Once slowed down it could never accelerate back up again.  I had plenty of time to look around back in those days - but it was extremely reliable and never overheated.

Today we enjoy 330 horses in our present Caterpillar engine, and 6 forward speeds in our Trans, allowing us to get into all kinds of trouble.  The Safari had a real exhaust brake for going slow downhill, and our Itasca Horizon has a transmission brake.  Both do an excellent job of slowing us to where we don't use much of the foot brakes.

 

Setting up for the Swap Meet- the night before

We had no trouble finding the fairgrounds, and no trouble finding our good friends Ralph and Ann, here to sell Model T parts at the Southern Cal Model T Club's annual swap meet.  We were allowed to drive into the parking lot but not into the sales area.  Participants are allowed to dry camp in the parking lot for free- so we elected to do just that.

The Bakersfield curse is upon us right away.  A drawer slide in the bedroom breaks and my pants drawer will not close again until I fix it.  I carry spares, so this is no big crisis.

Next the power inverter/ converter we need to make 110v power from our coach batteries has shut down for reasons unknown.  

Remote panel for information and control of the Xantrex Freedom 15 inverter and charger

 This is doubly bad because the inverter steps the 12 volt battery power up to 110 volts to run our small appliances without having to start the generator all the time.  The converter part of this same device, charges the batteries when the generator is running.  You can see on the control panel above that the left side of the display shows the status of your battery charging.  I read and re-read Xantrex's pathetic instruction book from our library of coach literature, searched on line for more and found more of what I already had.  Could not find a trouble shooting guide.  Searched the RV forums for answers.  Many years ago, and in a different motorhome, we experienced the same problem.  After days of inconvenience I found some guidance that said to turn it on and off 3 times in succession and it would reset itself.  It did, and we never had another problem with it.  I tried that on this model and it did not work, so I disconnected it from the batteries- waited, and re-connected it.  Nothing worked. 

We normally watch TV with inverter- clean and quiet- not tonight- Grrr..!  

Also the ignition switch is acting up.  When I went to start the engine this morning is stopped suddenly.  Did the same two more times before it continued to run.  This afternoon when I applied the air park brake next to the ignition switch- the engine died and dash lights went off.- Enough, I'm done.  The curse is real.

Bakersfield pre- WWII swap meet

Early model Oo-Gah klaxton horn

The Swap meet was really fun!  I have the loan of a Model T to drive and work on, and I'm anxious to learn as much as I can about them.  My guru is Ralph, and I couldn't have a better mentor.  Ralph has been involved with buying, building, restoring, selling parts for, and most importantly driving, the T for well over 30 years.  My list was fairly short.  I wanted an Ooo-Gah mechanical horn, a jack from the period, a new timer cover, a leather strap for the spare tire- and lots of knowledge.

I was able to find everything except for the horn.  They are very scarce and expensive these days, and there were none at this meet.  Much to my surprise, one of Ralph's best friends made me a gift of a working model horn for the car.  Yeah!

The swap meet was a Friday- Saturday affair and Friday was very busy, and the best deals went early.  Friday was cloudy but pleasantly warm, but Friday night it rained a little and Saturday morning it was cloudy and cool in the morning.  Saturday's attendance was way down from previous years, and most vendors, including our friends, were packing up by noon and leaving.  It was still a very successful meet, with most vendors selling quite a lot of inventory.

Joan and I had decided that we'd like to go north by a different route this year, and we chose to head back to US 395 and take it up to Carson City before heading West again.  We have checked the road and weather reports and are expecting to make it without getting any late season snow. 

Fingers crossed!

Your Traveling Friends,

Jeff and Joan

Mojave, CA

Odometer 55295
Trip Meter  285 miles

Mojave, CA

As unlikely as it seems, we have Bakersfield as our destination.  I say unlikely, because Bakersfield is synonymous with mechanical breakdowns for us.  It all started back in 2000 when we were driving a 1993 Safari Trek which shredded it's alternator belt on Christmas Eve, and continued into 2014 when we discovered a major crack in our 30 gallon propane tank.
We are set to tempt fate once more.  Our plan is to attend the Horseless Carriage Clubs Annual Swap Meet and hunt for Model T parts, and we're hoping to break the curse!

Our Route for Today

Our route is the longest so far of this spring season and we are getting a late start because I worked on the car wiring after dark last night, and wanted one more dip in the hot spas before packing up for our trek.  We had just about everything out- our patio rug, our exterior window coverings, our patio chairs and tables, full utility hookups, awnings deployed- you get the idea, it took a while to get these rolled up and packed away again.  We were ready to hook up the car and depart at 10 AM, and then we found out that the car signals were not going to work.  We did what we could, but in the end we were stumped and had to depart without signals at the car- only on the bus.

The trip up the shores of the Salton Sea was very pleasant and we wondered, as we have every time we have visited here, what it must have been like "back in the day"  when the lake was clean and the resorts were new.  Today we look out at the lake and there are no boats, no swimmers, not even a beachcomber.  The resorts are closed and boarded up.  Sad.

Young fruit trees beside Highway 111

As we reach the north end of the lake the area becomes very agricultural.  We saw grapes, corn, alfalfa, oranges, strawberries, and I'm sure we missed a lot that flew by the windows.  It is a stark contrast with the dry desert around the RV Resort.  Water makes everything possible

Date Palms near Indio, CA

We also saw a lot of date palms in plantations on both sides of the road.  Signs advertising mouth watering date shakes and other tasty snacks.






Quite soon the traffic started to build and we knew we had reached the resort communities of Indio, La Quinta, and Palm Springs.  Highway 111 skirts around the towns, which is fine because we've ventured in there in past trips.  I laugh when I remember driving through downtown Palm Springs on one of our first sorties down this way.  The downtown area is very tight and the traffic was dense- there was no place to park a motorhome- we high-tailed it out of there, glad to escape without a major traffic tie-up.

At the north end of the valley, we join up with Interstate 10 heading west.  The road surface is horrible and shakes our fillings.  We bump along like this for nearly 70 miles, before we can jump off onto I-215/ 15 heading north from San Bernadino to Victorville.  I was hoping that the traffic would start to thin out a little when we headed north off I-10 but no such luck.  This is a MAJOR truck route and we are dicing it up with the trucks and heading up Cajon Pass.  There are four lanes heading each direction and we need them all because each truck is going a different speed up the hill and they all want to pass each other so they don't loose their momentum at the bottom.  Three lanes of trucks passing each other and one lane for cars speeding around us all.  Three thousand feet of elevation gain at about 6% for 10 miles.
I got trapped several times in a slow truck sandwich and using engine power to escape was taking its toll on our cooling system.  We finally had to shut off the air conditioner and drop into 5th gear to keep the temperature from spiking.  I thought the bus performed admirably for this situation on an 85 degree day.
Mental note: let's take Cal 62 and 247 from Palm Springs to Victorville next time.

We stopped at a Chevron truck stop in Adelanto and got a sub sandwich to go and stopped once more for coffee at Starbucks before leaving Victorville/ Hesperia and heading north on 395 to Boron.  Finally the traffic has thinned out, still a good number of trucks, but we can establish a pace which gives us comfortable space to where I can start to look around again.

What I don't understand is why the highway (395) is all striped for no passing- Double Yellow Lines !  Two lane road with great visibility and NO passing.  Hilarious because the speed limit for cars is 65, the speed limit for trucks, (or RVs towing) is 55.  Once a poor car driver catches up to a truck or towing vehicle they are stuck at 55 because they can't pass!  NUTS!  When this happened to me, I found some way to pull over and let the poor car get by- sadly not everyone was a courteous.

At Kramer Junction, we turned off 395 onto California 58, the Barstow- Bakersfield Highway.  Our plan is to travel the 41 miles to Mojave and check in for the night at the Sierra Trails RV Park.  We have stayed there in the past and liked it well enough.  This gives us an easy 60 miles (one hour more-or-less) to Bakersfield tomorrow.

Sierra Trails RV Park  Mojave, CA

All tucked in for the night we had a cold drink and a snack on the patio, before deciding to take a long walk to stretch out the kinks of sitting for so long- I know- tough life!
Hey!  they have cable TV here- something we haven't had for a while.  A little stir-fry and a movie- we're all set.

Your Traveling Friends,

Jeff and Joan