cats – Page 4 – The MoHo and Other Traveling Tales

The “Big Move” Thursday February 10

I think today qualified as the very shortest move we have ever made from one campground to another. Our little spot at the fairgrounds in Ferndale was quite comfortable, except for the fact that we don’t have a satellite and there was very little TV reception, with the majority of broadcast stations in Spanish. After our hard driving day on the Lost Coast, we thought a little bit of TV would be good, especially since the news from Egypt seemed to be shifting by the hour. The skies were clear, but it was still way too cold to think of dropping the kayaks in the water. Our hope was that if we moved a bit farther north toward Eureka we might find a place along the Mad River or even farther north on Big Lagoon to slip into some water and christen my new raspberry colored boat.

After a bit of time, Swift Kayak stood by their promise to replace my green topped boat with the damaged paint without charge to me, and in early February my new boat was delivered to Klamath Falls late one dark evening. The shipper was traveling all over the US from Rochester New York, and his load was an amazing mixture of high end kayaks and $60,000 racing rowers. My little boat was tucked in safely and this time wrapped in some amazing felt and plastic that took considerable work to get undone, and the paint job was perfect.

We took our time with a lazy breakfast and then loaded up the rig for the short 13 mile drive north from Ferndale to Eureka. Our searches had revealed another possibility for camping at the Redwood Acres Fairground RV Park, so we drove by to check it out. It looked merely OK for 20 bucks, another parking lot with rigs lined up along the one road, and while there were full hook-ups, there was no cable and wireless could be sketchy. Instead we opted to go back the Shoreline RV, where we stayed last fall, and with our CampClub USA card we spent a reasonable 20 bucks a night, including 70 plus channels and screaming hot Wi-Fi. We knew the routine, the manager shows up around 5 in the evening to take money and check you in, and in the mean time you simply park, fill out a form, and give her a call. We again took a spot on the “unavailable” back row, where she gets a bit antsy about people running over her sprinkler heads, but after assuring her we remembered that part, and that we are only 26 feet long she calmed down.

Our spot was perfectly level on pavement, with a view on two sides of the slough. I checked the tides even though the wind had come up a bit, we thought maybe with the sun we could get out on the water. Again, it was not to be, with high tides listed before dark in the morning and after dark in the evening. In Humboldt Bay and all its surrounding rivers and sloughs, the tide is the most important factor, second only to wind. We had neither in our favor.

Instead we traveled up the coast north beyond Trinidad to check out Big Lagoon, one of three large lagoons that keep showing up in internet searches for kayaking around this area. The Lagoon was beautiful, but no more protected from wind than Humboldt Bay. Near the launch area was the Big Lagoon County Campground, completely empty except for the camp host, with somewhat rough sites right on the water. The signs warned against motorhomes or trailers, but we were sure we could fit the MoHo in there just fine. Of course, here there were no hookups at all, and with kayaking out of the question, we didn’t consider leaving our fancy smooth asphalt parking lot back in Shoreline RV. Still, it was a pretty park, and gave us something to think about when we come back sometime to try kayaking in the lagoons. Even with good weather forecasts, we also need to double check where the tides are maxing out since this area needs at least a 3 foot high tide to keep from finding yourself stranded in the thick bay mud.

We wandered back to Eureka and Costco to buy the cheapest gas around at a whopping $3.46 per gallon for regular unleaded. Ouch. Afterward, a short trip to the local Chamber of Commerce yielded some maps and photos of the locally famous murals. I plotted the addresses out on the map, since the chamber no longer had the walking tour brochures as advertized, and Mo and I parked near downtown and walked the streets viewing the murals. We actually managed to find all of them except one which we discovered later had listed the wrong street location.

It was fun, and we saw a completely different part of town than the “Old Town” where we walked the other day, and enjoyed finding the murals in what is called “Old Downtown”. The largest mural, at 70×70 feet, on the back wall of the Performing Arts Center, was truly magnificent, but my favorite is still the panels on the wall of the North Coast Co-Op.

The day ended with us back in our cozy MoHo enjoying the late afternoon sun and catching up on the world news. We then had an excellent supper with our local cheeses and watched Julia Roberts in “Eat, Pray, Love”. I loved this book, and had no idea how it would be possible to make a movie out of it. They did a surprisingly good job and we both especially enjoyed the beautiful locations and Julia’s performance. It’s a quiet little movie, but lovely, although I am not sure Mo got as much from it as I did by not having read the book, so not knowing the background of her spiritual search that was the motivating factor behind her travels.

We decided that it may have been a good thing that we couldn’t kayak because we saw parts of the area that we hadn’t seen the last time we were here, and entertained ourselves in completely different ways.

Tomorrow we plan to drive the wild highway 36 back across the mountains toward Red Bluff and perhaps spend the night somewhere along the way, depending on what we find. This time it really is a spontaneous drive, with no idea what is waiting for us. I love that, even if I get a little nervous about it at the same time.

Off to the coast

Jeremy loves a road trip in the MoHo and settles in immediately to his spot on the dash

I barely had time to get my land legs back before Mo looked at me and said, “How about a trip to the coast?” Of course, Mo has been home patiently feeding the fire while I was off gallivanting around the Caribbean and she was ready to get out of the house and do something different. A trip to the California coast actually sounded wonderful, with warm temperatures and plenty of water for kayaking. We decided to go to the area we visited last fall, a bit unusual for us to return to a previously visited site when so many await, but it’s actually the closest place to Redding that looked good to us.

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The Shasta Trinity Mountains in northern California are wild and rugged.

While I finished out my work week, Mo researched our route and checked out the available campgrounds. This trip we hoped to be a bit more thrifty and make use of some of the great local county campgrounds. The Humboldt County Fairgrounds at Ferndale looked like a great choice so that is our major destination. Our planned route this time takes us across the Shasta Trinity mountains via Highway 299, turning south at Highway 3 near Hayfork, and connecting up to Highway 36 heading west toward Grizzly Creek State Park along the way to Ferndale. It’s about 160 miles from home to Redding where we pick up the MoHo, and then another 180 miles or so to the coast.

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The view from the summit of South Mountain along Highway 36 is gorgeous.

This morning we woke up at 5:30 with great plans to be on the road by 7. We already loaded up the kayaks and the baby car with MoHo supplies and were ready to go right on time. With the MoHo in storage in Redding, we have to bring everything home with us, wash and repack it all up, and then tuck everything into the baby car for the 3 hour trip back. It’s a bit of a squeeze, with clothes, bedding, all the throw rugs that I brought home to wash, the comforter cover, the kayak paddles, walking sticks, the kayak bag of life vests and equipment, extra water for the MoHo till we get to a campground, the charger just in case she doesn’t start, the dog and the cat and the cat cage, and oh yes, me and Mo. We don’t even bother with a cat box, since Jeremy usually settles down pretty well when he knows we are heading for a big trip and waits until we get to the MoHo where his box is waiting. Good kitty.

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It’s really funny to watch the animals the night before a big trip when we are packing up. Abby sticks to Mo’s leg like glue, no matter where she is going. Jeremy walks around and meows loudly, and keeps looking expectantly at all the stacks of stuff. I actually think he knows where we are going. I can only surmise that Jeremy loves going on these trips so much because his humans and his dog are going to be 100 percent completely accessible and no farther than 12 feet away at any given time. In his dotage, he has become a very needy cat and hates to be alone. So, proudly, right at 7 am we jumped into the car, cat and dog and humans, and traveled east toward the rising sun. About 25 minutes into the trip, almost to Klamath Falls, I turned to Mo and said, “You have the MoHo keys, right?”. She looked at me and with a gasp, pulled the car over and whipped it around to head back west to get the forgotten keys. You have to know Mo to know just how rarely this kind of thing happens. I have no idea what made me think of it at that moment, but we were both really glad it wasn’t three hours later in Redding when it came to mind.

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With an extra hour behind us, the rest of the trip to Redding was uneventful, with open roads and good weather all the way. The mountains are especially open and bare for this time of year, and the lack of snow pack is surprising considering the huge snowfall we had in December. Once in Redding, the sun was warm and the thermometer read a balmy 71 degrees. We slid the MoHo out of her berth as she rumbled to life without a whimper and in a short time we were loaded, hooked up, and on the road west.

I drove from Klamath and Mo drew driving duty this time over the mountains. Mo is a great driver, but after many miles of narrow roads with long steep canyons dropping off on the passenger side, and 10 percent grades, I was getting a bit testy. I am a great companion most of the time, but not so much after several hours of being tossed about by rough, winding, bumpy, nasty roads. The scenery was gorgeous, but the road, not so much! Every time we end up on a road like this we are grateful for our short 26 feet.

The original plan included a stop at Hayfork in the County Fairgrounds Campground for the night, but we arrived at Hayfork at 2:30 and our next stop was only 80 miles away, so on we rambled. It was a bit of a rough 80 miles, however, and Highway 36 might not really deserve the handle of highway at all. The day had been sunny and gorgeous, but as we dropped down toward the river, the coastal fog enveloped us. We reached Grizzly Creek State Park around 5 pm, and the deep forest of redwoods was fairly dark and gloomy. The entire campground was empty except for a single tent camper, with no one around. Instead, there were instructions to self register and pay in cash or check. California State Parks are an endangered species, with the budget of the state threatening to shut them down at any moment. The rate is $35 a night with a $2 discount for seniors. For that price you get no hookups, one lone working bathroom, and no camp hosts around. We wouldn’t spend any real time here, although it looks like it might be a pretty park with the river flowing past and the lovely forest. Since we thought we were going to spend two nights on the road, we figured we could mentally divide it by two and figure it wasn’t too bad.

It’s incredibly dark out there, but not terribly cold in spite of the overcast skies. The highway is fairly close, but not terribly busy. It will be a very early night snugged in to read a bit and then get a good nights sleep before our arrival in Ferndale tomorrow.

Loading up

Finally! It is Sunday and we are loading up the MoHo. Tomorrow we will be on the road again, certainly not another long jaunt, but almost two weeks of ambling down the California coast with our new kayaks. The snow melted, and even though it’s raining today, the snow level is above 6500 feet or so, higher even than our pass crossing to Medford tomorrow. Once over the pass (I can’t believe this pass doesn’t have a real name) we will be out of snow country. Of course, rain and fog are distinct possibilities, but with a cozy home, lots of fleece, and raincoats, that isn’t a problem either. The ocean is wonderful even in the rain, and fog just makes the redwoods more mysterious.

I guess you can tell who takes the most pictures around here. It looks like Mo does all the work, but not really. I am just the one with the camera. Mo has been raking and burning to hopefully get a head start on the pine needles that will accumulate in drifts by next spring when the snow melts. I worked all last week, but managed a few work days at home, which gives me a chance to run laundry loads in between uploading data. I also got the house all spiffy for our return in mid-November.

Mo is checking the tires and the air shocks while I load up the food and clothes. She also did a bit of retrofit on the cubbyhole that holds the DVR so it would stay in place. The little wooden fence will keep the remotes from hitting the driver on the head when the road gets too curvy! I stood in the MoHo for a minute and couldn’t for the life of me remember just what I needed to pack. It’s only been a month since we landed, and I cleaned everything out back then to hopefully starve the mice. Hmmm, what has to go back in? ?? I laugh when I read about everyone packing their computer cords, batteries, computers, cameras, all that techie paraphernalia. Someday maybe batteries will be implanted in our bodies and run everything wirelessly? I put in the dry foods, the kayak clothes, too many shoes, and started to get back into the routine of living in the MoHo. Only took half an hour or so to get back in the groove.

Our new kayaks are coming from Canada. It’s been a bit worrisome because of the bad weather this week, and the trucker was trapped in Montana for a couple of days. I have to say that the company has worked extra hard to get them to us in time for our trip. We are meeting the driver in Medford tomorrow (on our route) mid day to finally pick them up. It is pretty exciting. Of course, we could have taken our old trusty boats, but since we paid for these back in September, it sure will be nice to have them with us.

I have been reading the RV blogs more and more lately, and thanks to some prolific writers who mention mine now and then, I am actually enjoying some readers following Mo and I as well. Welcome to these new followers. You inspire me to take better photos and write more often. Gail Durham looks like she is enjoying Halloween very much and Kathy talked about how unique each person’s story is, and I so agree with her. The only problem I am having now is trying to read everything. The list just keeps getting bigger and bigger! whew! Life and work and travel might get in the way now and then, but it certainly doesn’t mean I don’t really appreciate this great group of people. Hi and welcome as well to Randy and Pam who are working on a Habitat for Humanity home, and to Loree, tucked away on beach making gorgeous afghans. Donna found me, both here and on Facebook, and I had to tell her I had been reading her blog a long time before she and Stu got together. Pidge and Don, The Frugal Travelers, go to some really great out of the way places I might never find without her blog.

Jeremy is watching me closely through the front window!

Happy Halloween everyone! I am going into Klamath Falls tonight to celebrate with my daughter and her family. They live in my home in a neighborhood known “the terrace”. Pacific Terrace is a double boulevard with a grassy median lined on both sides of the street with old unique homes from the 40’s. There are big beautiful trees, sidewalks for walking, and every year the entire street lights up for Halloween. Almost every house is decorated, and there are lights and kettle corn, and one person has outdoor scary movies projected on his garage door. People bring their kids from all over town to trick-or-treat here. It is like we all stepped back into the 50’s when kids could be out late and there were no scary people doing scary things to the treats. On Pacific Terrace, Halloween is still fun and fabulous.

First Snow!

I thought I had nothing to really talk about, and promised myself I wouldn’t get caught up in trying to blog every day. But then it snowed last night, and this morning it was just too gorgeous to miss. Especially since my last conversation involved the very same trees. This morning the snow is frozen solid and weighing down the young ones. Our back yard maple is just 8 years old and with the extensive shade, it doesn’t grow as quickly as it might in a warmer, sunnier climate. It really lights up the forest at this time of year, and again in the spring. Hopefully the weight of the snow won’t break any branches. The little fern leaf maple is under the fir canopy and with it’s small leaves, a bit more resilient to the snows.

Jeremy knows better, but doesn’t he make a great still-life?

Hopefully this late fall storm will pass. Monday is our day to get the MoHo out of snow country, driving west to Medford over Highway 140 and a fairly high pass. Either way out of Klamath Basin involves crossing a pass, so we are really hoping that the snow melts over the weekend and we can get her safely south without having to drive on icy roads. Can’t leave till the kayaks get here, anyway. Seems we are cutting things a bit close for this year if the snow really is coming to stay this early in the season. Often it doesn’t really hang around on the ground until after Thanksgiving.

Jeremy is quite content to sit inside when it’s cold. Of course, on the table is a serious no-no, but does he look troubled at all? The “still life with cat” was too much fun to miss before I scolded him and he ambled off to a more appropriate cat resting place.

October 2 Cleanup Day

It’s a gorgeous morning in Rocky Point, with 37 degrees and brilliant sunshine. The sprinklers are still all hooked up and going, a good thing since daytime temperatures still are in the 80’s. Sleeping in a big bed in a big house felt strange last night, but with the window open to the dark night, and an evening soak in the hot tub under the stars, I slept really well anyway. That first coming-home-night always feels a little bit strange after traveling, and even more so after so many weeks in our baby house. I get so comfortable in the small space, stepping two steps to the bathroom and three to the kitchen sink.

After hauling in all the food, the clothing, the computers, cords, books, peanuts, and other flotsam of six weeks of travel, I decided to wait a bit before tackling the dirty rugs and bedding. Today Mo will clean up the outside of the MoHo and I will clean up the inside. I think I have the better job, judging from the dried bugs on the front of the rig.

The laundry is going, and probably will do so all day. I couldn’t see paying for a laundromat in the last 10 days of traveling, so it’s a big job. The accumulated mail was delivered yesterday afternoon, and I was glad that I drove the truck to the mailbox instead of walking. We spent a good deal of time going through it all and throwing out about 90 percent of it. Lots of fun things for me since I turned 65 while we were away. The best one was an offer of free cremation among all the offers of social security medical supplements.

This morning Mo built a fire and it felt wonderful, helped things to feel a bit less cavernous in the house, and Jeremy thought it was a great idea as well. This home is heated with wood through the winter, although there are some small electric wall heaters that will kick in when we are traveling when it gets below 50 degrees. Going through the bills was fun too, the electric bill was about a third of what it usually runs. “Gee, Mo, we should just stay gone all the time!”. Surprising that the money to run the well pump to keep the sprinklers going and the refrigerators is still more than 50 bucks a month.

I looked around the house this morning, and what struck me first was all the photos and art on the walls. I am not sure what the difference is, because I look at photos online all the time, but the large format senior picture of my only granddaughter hangs in my bedroom, beside a restored photograph of my grandmother in 1927. As much as I would love a full time life style, I am not yet ready to give up the “stuff” of living in a stick house with walls.

Also, it is October, and time to put up the Halloween stuff. I have a few bins stored high on shelves in the garage, all orange and black, that hold my fall decorations. Such a silly thing, I know, but I love it. In the next few days, since it is officially October, I can put up the lights and the pumpkins and the witches that herald one of my favorite months. Among the goodies is a fabulous witch painted gourd that I found in a tiny town in Illinois last month on the road.

In spite of all the good things about settling in to being here, I still am coveting the freedom of life on the road. When Laurie (Semi-True Tales) and I met last month, I asked if she and Odel might eventually settle somewhere, and she laughed, “well, sure, maybe, but where??” There are so many amazing places in the country that are incredible for a short time, for a few months of the year, but certainly not all the year long. However, Rocky Point is a place that is wonderful in October, and I am glad to be here, and in another few days I am sure the nostalgia for the road will fade a bit.