winter – The MoHo and Other Traveling Tales

03-02-2018 The Rest of February

I am laughing as I read back over this blog. A commenter on the last post asked if I would please keep writing when we got home, and I said I would, but that home time was definitely not all that exciting! Who knows if you will find anything of interest here, it is all simple daily stuff.

The sun is making a rare appearance this afternoon, after a few days of in and out rain and snow. It is cold, and Mo and I haven’t had much oomph to get out to do much of anything around the place here. We did manage to finish hanging the outdoor art that we found on our travels to the southwest, and planted a small group of shrubs. Spring Bouquet Laurustinus is a lovely evergreen shrub with pale pink flowers and purple berries in the fall. Listed as deer resistant, I learned the hard way that resistant does NOT mean deer proof.

The first morning after planting them our neighborhood deer herd had nipped off the upper branches and leaves of the little shrubs. I have roses and other plants that have been sprayed with Liquid Fence, but I didn’t really think the deer were even around, much less that I had to spray the darn things the minute I planted them. I immediately got out the sprayer the next day and covered everything in the yard with the smelly stuff. I have real proof now that it really works, since nothing else was touched except the newly planted shrubs.

One afternoon that felt almost like spring, I decided to plant some pansies in the big pots by the garage. They are holding their own, in spite of the snow. The primroses that I transplanted from Rocky Point are looking happy as well. Makes me happy. I had some of these purple primroses back in Northern Idaho before I moved in 2002 to Klamath Falls and like old friends, I take them along wherever I go.

We thought winter had passed by this way gently, but it showed up with a vengeance in the last two weeks. Snow on the ground isn’t common for Grants Pass, and we have had snow several times. It usually melts within a few hours, and so far has required no shoveling or plowing, and no ice to contend with, so that makes me very happy.

It is a great time to be indoors, and I have been working on curtains for the house in the living room and dining room. We didn’t want big window treatments since we love our view, but did need a bit of protection from the afternoon sun on the southwestern window in the living room. We also thought it might be nice to hide the view of the ancient work shed from the east facing dining room window.

I found the fabrics when we were in Palm Springs, shopping at my favorite quilt stores.

I have also had a bit of time to slip into my easy hobby of card making. Love that I have most of the stuff needed for these little projects, and I can accomplish something in a few hours, unlike quilting which requires a big input of time, money, and space. The cold weather sparks the desire to cook as well and I made a seriously amazing roasted chicken and veggies, and finally did up last summer’s blackberries in an iron skillet cobbler recipe.

I find other ways to keep busy. What in the world is this thing called entropy? If I don’t stay right on top of stuff, it can immediately deteriorate into a mess. With a new house, new floors, new appliances, I am a bit obsessive about keeping all those pretty things looking nice and new. Seems as though I spend more time than usual polishing and wiping and swiping and sweeping and such, just to keep that new house look going strong. Wonder how long that will last. How long can that refrigerator look like it was just delivered. So far so good, after 4 months, it still looks all shiny new.

Weekends are fun when my daughter Deborah makes the hour long drive from Shady Cove to visit and she and my grandson Matthew drop in for conversation, sitting around in the comfy living room by the fire talking about everything and nothing.

We are settling in. We have an excellent doctor in a rather amazing medical facility, with everything we need in the Asante medical complex less than 10 minutes from home. Mo found a dentist that accepted both of us, and she is next in line for an eye doctor. It is scary how much time can be spent going to appointments for all this stuff. Hopefully that will slow down a bit, as we are both reasonably healthy.

We also have an excellent car repair shop that we have used over the last few years here in town. After more than 3,000 miles on our wheels for the last trip it was time for an oil change, brake check, and wheel bearing checks for the MoHo. We dropped the rig off and headed downtown for breakfast at a well reviewed Grants Pass spot popular with the locals. The Powderhorn Cafe was right out of the west, with down home breakfasts, cowboy decor, and groups of old guys drinking coffee and chewing the fat in front of the big windows.

After breakfast we took advantage of the early hour to walk along G Street in the Historic District of downtown. We discovered some bars, bistros, and cafes that we hadn’t seen before, and looked at the Garden Mural up close. Sadly, no camera, but you can bet when Erin and Mui visit I will have to take Erin to see the murals. We have several in town, but there are three that are extra special.

As the month drew to a close, the snows kept falling all around us on the hills, but not always here. We are at 1200 feet, and town is at 900 feet. The snow often seems to start around 1500 feet. I looked at the snow and decided on another house project that kept me indoors. I had promised myself I wouldn’t put up any St Paddy’s stuff until it was actually March, but gave in on the 27th and brought out the green bin.

I had started the blocks for this table runner three years ago in Rocky Point, and last year worked on the rest of the runner. This time I actually backed and quilted it and all that is waiting now is the binding. I cut out some fabric for place mats, but with our upcoming trip to Mexico, it might be next year before I get back to them.

We do interesting things for entertainment sometimes, in between our travels. A business run to Medford, about 45 minutes south of us, was augmented with a Costco Run, since we don’t have a Costco here in Grants Pass. There are no better hot dogs in the world than those crazy $1.50 dogs at Costco, so we decided that could be our dinner for the late afternoon. Of course, wine is always nice with dinner, so we found the only bottle of red wine in Costco with a screw top, and bought it to accompany our impromptu supper. With a $17.00 bottle of wine, decanted into those free pepsi cups that come with the $3.00 worth of hot dogs, we had a delightful time laughing ourselves silly in the front seat of the car as the rained poured down all around us and we shared our $20.00 dinner. Don’t worry, we didn’t drink the whole bottle, just a little bit.

When we first got back from the southland, we thought leaving for Mexico wouldn’t be all that exciting since it felt like spring here. Not any more! Snowy rainy wet weather making our upcoming trip to Cancun look very inviting! It will be an easy week visiting ruins, hanging out in the pools, snorkeling and eating good food. Many thanks to Daughter Deanna who offered to share her Riviera Maya timeshare with us, and to air miles for flights. Looking forward to it.

Mo’s birthday was yesterday, and it dawned with big wet snowflakes. The skies were very dark on this first day of March, with “thundersnow” predicted for the Cascades. In like a Lion out like a Lamb?

We decided to celebrate Mo’s day with a dinner at one of those little bistros that we found last week walking around town. The Bohemian Bistro and Bar bills itself as a “New American Restaurant”. We had a delightful early dinner, with snazzy cocktails, including a Lavender Lemon Drop for me, a very fine salad made with locally sourced baby romaine and balsamic reduction, some Goyza dumplings with a spicy dipping sauce, coconut shrimp with habanera pineapple sauce for me and halibut for Mo. Mo wasn’t that excited about her halibut, but I liked it. My shrimp was to die for, but the winner was the dessert, a perfect little ramekin of caramel latte creme brulee. We were happy that we found parking directly on the street in front of the restaurant since it was pouring when we went in and still pouring when we left. Nice place and a good find.

We are traveling over the mountain back to Klamath Falls tomorrow, hoping that this big storm that is enveloping most of Northern California and Southern Oregon will pass, at least enough to get through with our studded snow tires and 4 wheel drive truck. The Apartments are fully rented, and we need to check on a few things. We are so grateful that we were able to rent them all through Zillow, bypassing the property management people. So far, so good, and I think we have very good renters. The years when Mo used a property manager for the apartments when she lived out at Rocky Point were somewhat of an expensive convenience, and not always that convenient. We will see how it goes with the two of us managing things, and our good renter Jacob taking care of snow plowing in the winter and lawn mowing in the summer. Lucky to have Jacob. He keeps an eye out for things as well, letting us know if something doesn’t look right. Mo had a new fiberglass roof installed over the upper deck and we are anxious to see it as well as the new sign that was part of the EPA re-do. The old sign was too hard to keep so they trashed it and had a new sign done for her.

There has been a LOT more snow there than here, so the little day trip tomorrow will definitely help us remember why we love living in Grants Pass even if it does snow a little bit now and then.

02-03-2014 Home again, Gone again, and Shifting Weather

Current Location: The Cottage in Grants Pass, Oregon at 51 F and raining

For those who pay attention to this kind of thing, Mo and I have been off the road for two weeks after traveling in the SoCal area for a month. Our winter trips are usually longer than this last trip, but life is calling, things are shifting, decisions need to be made and once again, boxes packed. I wonder when we will ever be fully finished with moving.

Frost along Lakeshore Drive near Moore Park in Klamath Falls

Our 961 mile journey back to the apartments in Klamath Falls was accomplished without any major drama, in just 3 days, with an overnight at Orange Grove in Bakersfield, Flag City in Lodi, and a night at our very own Cottage in Grants Pass. In spite of the major storms crashing into the Pacific Northwest during that time, we somehow slipped into perfect weather windows between storms, and sailed over all the passes between our desert respite and home.

Trying to shoot into the light to capture those icy diamonds. Almost got it, but not quite

Most of the time, we chose to travel I-5 between Bakersfield and Lodi, but after that last extremely bumpy and very crowded trip south, we decided to take Route 99 from Bakersfield back north. When we left Bakersfield, on a quiet Monday morning, we had not a lick of traffic all the way north to Lodi. Most of the highway was resurfaced and smooth, albeit a bit narrow in places. Turned out to be a great choice. Checking google maps shows a difference of less than 10 miles between the two routes.

Once back in Klamath Falls, We had a day to unload, an evening to enjoy my grandson’s opening night of “Superman, the Musical”, a weekend to catch up on laundry and get things put away, and it was time for me to head to the office for a week of soil survey work. I have no idea where the days go. As soon as I signed off on Friday afternoon and turned in my timesheet, we started loading up for another drive to Grants Pass.

Mountain Lakes Wilderness and Harriman Peak on the far side of Klamath Lake

We knew we might be in for another storm over the mountains, but last Saturday morning when we left Klamath Falls we were treated to one of the delights of living in snow country. The skies were crystal clear, the snow covered hills were sparkling with diamond dust, and the hoarfrost coated every tree and shrub along our route beside Klamath Lake.

Of course, I had to stop and take photos. I knew from the weather forecasts that we were leaving behind the snow and ice and traveling west over the mountain into warmer but cloudy and foggy weather. I need light, I need sunshine, but I also need to be able to walk, and ice isn’t my favorite thing. I talked myself into being ready for the cold, wet fog that blankets the Rogue Valley during this time of year. I soaked up that sunshine, running around shooting photos and trying to somehow capture that diamond dust sparkle. I still have no idea how a photographer might do that.

From all that blue and crystal to this, but at least there isn’t snow on the ground in Grants Pass

During the week, we had a few more conversations with our builder and his foreman. Little details were ironed out, and at last a price was agreed upon. There was some touch and go for a bit, with Mo and I spending a few sleepless nights wondering if the project was going to actually happen, if we would have to start all over again from scratch, and how in the world that might look. Thankfully, that isn’t going to happen, and the build is now officially on the schedule.

Still chilly at 37 F, but that didn’t keep these two from working long hours every day

March 20th is the big day, when the bulldozer and loader will arrive to knock down the sweet little cottage. We still have quite a bit to do before that day, including Mo’s big project of getting the oldest part of her workshop down. The people who lived on this place since the early 60’s believed in salvage building, and just added and added more and more stuff to the existing buildings. Mo wanted the main part of the building, but not all those extra roofs and sheds and walls that were a crazy mess.

I wasn’t quick enough to catch the crash after they pulled the framing down with a rope

Mo did a lot of that demolition herself, with a bit a help from me, but I was incredibly grateful that her brother, Dan, once again offered to come and help with the hardest part, getting that roof off. Dan showed up on Sunday, and spent 3 days here helping, and the two of them managed to get it all undone. There was a bit of a scary moment, when Mo fell through the ladder, scraping up her legs and banging her chin, but thank goodness she was OK. We all know ladders are scary things. She knows better than to do ladder work with no one around, at least.

These two (Mo and Dan) are quite the team when they work together FYI, we have no idea how we are going to get the debris off the top of the MoHo shed behind the little shop. No ladder big enough around here

After Dan left, Mo and I spent a few more days hauling all the wood debris to the dump, and metal to the salvage yard. Thank goodness once again for trailers and a truck to haul them. In between rain storms, I even managed to get some of the fall leaves from the lower part of the acre raked into piles, ready to load into the trailers, once the debris was dumped.

I won’t say how old she is, but my oldest daughter Deborah was born in 1963

The weekend was also a time for me to catch up with my daughter Deborah, who had a birthday last week while I was working in Klamath. Deb came over to the cottage and we spent the afternoon shopping for crafts, visiting, drinking coffee and talking some more before we picked up her son Matthew to join us for a birthday dinner at the Horny Goat. Daughter Deb and Grandson Matthew

The food was fun, rather crazy pub food, with lots of creativity. I couldn’t make up the sandwich the kids had, with some kind of mile high French toast smothered with cheese and ham, and drowned in maple syrup that was filled with bacon and serrano chilies. My Dragon Breath chicken was a bit more traditional, but incredibly tasty and also nice and spicy.

During our first few days here at the cottage, the skies were cold, foggy, and gray. The forecast called for 50 degree temperatures, but with the foggy inversion, the temps never got above 37. I was very happy to be working inside the cottage, packing up the few things we have used here during the last four years.

Then one afternoon, the skies opened up, and the sun burst forth in all her glory. January was miserable, and on February 1st, it was like a huge shift. The colors brightened, the grass seemed greener, and the 50 degree temperatures felt like tee shirt weather, at least for a couple of hours.

That night it poured all night, and the morning dawned rainy and drizzly again, but the foggy inversion was gone. I think those inversions are my least favorite kind of weather, but I keep reminding myself that it may be foggy, but I can walk without crashing on some icy walkway. At home at the apartments I can’t even manage to get across the road to the mailbox!

The skies can change in minutes from sunshine to rain this time of year

In between packing, raking and hauling, I have enjoyed some quiet moments reading my favorite blogs. Erin is on a Round the World Tour, and it is a kick reading about her adventures without having to endure the wild seas of the Pacific Ocean. It also has been great reading all about Nicki’s trip to Australia and New Zealand without having to get on 13 different flights. Armchair travel leaves a lot to be desired, but on cold foggy days, it is pretty darn nice.

A mystery: why haven’t the roses that I moved to Grants Pass from Klamath Falls not lost their leaves?

The primroses I moved from Rocky Point think it must be spring already

Our life is very focused right now. I am working alternate weeks, and will be at the apartments while working. We will spend the alternate weeks at the cottage, finalizing the clearing out of the cottage, taking what we can salvage before the demolition, and making sure all is ready to go. So it will be a week at home, working soil survey, and a week at the cottage, working at whatever. At least for the next few weeks. After that….and on forward, it will be a week at home working and a week at the property, minus the Cottage, and staying in the MoHo, making sure the house build is progressing as planned!

If the daffodils are emerging, it must be spring, right?!

The MoHo will have to come out of her home in the big RV shed for a time, while we store all our “stuff” inside during the building process. I am going to miss our cozy little cottage getaway, but it is all for a good purpose, and eventually our new home on a similar but larger footprint should still have some of that cozy cottage energy that we have enjoyed so much for the last 4 years.

12-29-2015 At Least It’s Never Boring

Current Location: Old Fort Road Klamath Falls OR at 22 Degrees F and Overcast

Horses from down the road escaped and decided our yard might be nice.

We woke up to a day with no new snow, nice for a change. Mo plowed the drive six times in the last 7 days. Melody and Axel have cars that aren’t exactly good on the steep and often slippery hill just outside the driveway on the short three mile drive to town. Once up and down the hill, all is good, but for simplicity I have Melody use our pickup to drive Axel to work. This morning, however, the road was blocked by 7 furry beings, all wandering around the driveway looking for something good to eat.

Mattie thought the big critters in the yard looked really exciting. See that little ridge on her back. It is important to protect us from any possible evil, and she barked to be sure those horses knew they shouldn’t come in the house.

The neighbor showed up fairly quickly as we were trying to decide what to do and blocked the road so they couldn’t escape. After some apples and some conversation, they put a rope on the lead horse while other trucks blocked the road so they could lead the small herd back home. All’s well that ends well.

The snow has been here since Thanksgiving, and in the last week or so it just keeps getting deeper. Icicles provide entertainment as well, like corn on a hot summer day, you can almost hear them growing.

Many days begin with Mo plowing and me shoveling before we come back inside and settle in for coffee and breakfast.

For the first time in a very long time, our calendar is almost empty, with nothing really big showing up until we leave for Southern California mid-month.

I am cleaning up the card making clutter upstairs, and today will get back to my quilting project. New Year’s Eve will be spent right here at home. Mo and I have even returned to cards and dominoes in the late afternoons before supper. After living life at an incredible pace for the past several months, even being a little bit bored is wonderful, and not the least bit boring!

What Happened to February?

Current Location: Rocky Point Oregon at 35 degrees F and spitting snow mixed in the rain.

February used to be a really tough month for me. Back in the days of working and living in Northern Idaho, the sun was still low in the sky, the days were still short, the snows deep and tiresome. I had a tremendous dislike for the month, and when I would call Maryruth, my friend in California, all pissy about whatever, she would say, “Oh, Sue, it’s February. You will be fine soon”.

Somehow the old paradigm no longer holds. February can still be long and cold and tiresome, but not this year. I have no idea what happened to February. I have daffodils up in the yard, some even with buds on them. We haven’t shoveled snow even one time this winter. The tiny skiff that showed up on Christmas lasted for a long breath and was gone.

Last year we spent February exploring Florida, so that winter doldrums thing never had a chance of finding me. Last winter we had Abby and Jeremy with us as well. Still trying to adjust to not having them with us.

At the beginning of the month, Mo and I were thinking we only had a short time at home after our January travels to do some house projects before she would be leaving again for Beaverton for a couple of weeks caring for her brother’s dogs while he and his wife vacationed in Hawaii. We decided to paint Mo’s bedroom. It is a project that has been on the agenda for a couple of years now, and with all the goings on and traveling that we do, it just never seemed to get top billing.

Took us just two short days to get the job done, but going to town for paint was another day, with some color adjustments here and there before we settled on the pale spring green for the walls. Mo already had the Cranberry color chosen to match her original watercolor painting gifted by a friend a few years ago. We enjoyed the project. Felt good to be doing something around the house again that wasn’t just the everyday kinds of maintenance that a house in the forest always needs.

Immediately after we finished painting, a huge windstorm hit the Klamath Basin and knocked our power out for 19 hours. We pulled out the oil lamps, heated coffee and food on the wood stove and settled in for the duration. It was actually kind of nice, although I am glad it didn’t last any longer than it did. We were within minutes of packing up all our food in the freezer and heading over the mountain to Grants Pass and daughter Deborah’s freezer when everything blinked back on into brilliance.

The rain was needed, but again, it didn’t bring any real snow to our sadly deficient snow pack. The high winds and saturated soils did create a real mess. Many trees tipped right out of the wet ground and crashed on the power lines. The funny thing for us was that we were somehow protected in our little concave draw and the winds went right over us without causing any real trouble on our property. The worst damage was about 4 miles away where it looked as though a tornado had ripped through.

Another week was spent dealing with complex and tiresome business issues for Mo, with me acting as administrative assistant. Mo does the hard stuff, but I manage to keep the computers on track. I even figured out how to create some complex forms that were needed. That week flew by! It was almost like working again!!

Another tiresome time thing is an ongoing health issue for me. Not a big deal, but the surgeon I will be seeing is nearly 200 miles away over the mountain, and as things often go for these kinds of things, we have to make several trips before it will all be resolved. Tiresome, but I am glad it isn’t anything particularly serious, just irritating. And did I say Tiresome? Surgery in April, and recuperation will require no lifting of anything over 5 pounds for something like 90 days. I haven’t quite figured out how to put a stick of wood on the fire that weighs less than five pounds!

We enjoyed a day in Medford shopping for Valentine chocolate and having a late afternoon lunch at Olive Garden. And shopping at the quilt stores, of course. As I write, I realize that a big part of the past month for me has been finishing a quilt that I saw in Palm Springs when we were there and immediately coveted. I bought all the fabric and the pattern, and for once actually started on the quilt immediately, while the inspiration was still fresh and the fabric all new and shiny. Ocean Dreams in the Desert (2 of 4)

I call it “Sea Dreams in the Desert”. I started with an idea to make it a simple throw, but loved it so much that I decided to continue and make it a full queen sized quilt for my summer bed. First time doing something called a “pieced border”. I guess that explains what happened to February.

Mo left for Beaverton mid month, and on the same day my friend Maryruth drove up from California to spend 8 days of girl time with me. Her husband held down the fort at home, and Maryruth came loaded with her new sewing machine and lots of fabric for a quilt that she wanted to make. It was her first and she was excited. maryruth visits (3 of 13)

Sometimes in the past we have managed girl time, with a trip to a B and B somewhere, or a meet in the middle kind of visit, but this was different. We had a whole week at home just the two of us and our sewing machines. It was like a quilt retreat for two that didn’t cost anything. We went to Medford to the quilt shops, and had a fabulous dinner at McGrath’s Fish House. Maryruth ordered the mile high mud pie, but missed the “mile high” part, and we burst into incredulous laughter when her dessert arrived. What fun!

One night at home we cooked up a fabulous Thai Green Curry Chicken with Pad Thai and it was wonderful. I had never made a green curry from scratch, so that was a first. All the traditional Thai flavors of lime, tons of cilantro, lemon grass, ginger, garlic, hot pepper, and about a dozen other herbs and spices went into the curry that was so fragrant and perfectly sweet and spicy. Mo isn’t all that excited about Thai food and Maryruth’s husband isn’t all that excited about spicy, so it was a food cooking adventure for the two of us that probably won’t be repeated till we get together again.

We took another break from sewing and went to breakfast at our local Harriman’s Resort on Sunday morning. It was cold and windy, but the sun streaming in was gorgeous and the food was fabulous. Maryruth has a nice little Nissan Hybrid and will NOT drive in snow, so this was an extra special treat. In a normal winter, she would have been unable to visit during February.

Maryruth managed to finish her quilt for her mother, and I managed to finish putting the last big border on my quilt on the day that she left. It will take 9 yards of fabric to back my quilt. At 12.99 per yard, that was a bit daunting, in addition to the cost of having it quilted. I certainly wouldn’t attempt something this big on my own. Found a perfect batik online for 5.99 a yard so problem solved. maryruths first quilt (1 of 5)

With Maryruth gone, I now have five days to myself here at home, hoping to do some of the detailed chores that I don’t do when Mo is around. Who knows why. It is nice having alone time to catch up on details, but I will definitely be happy when Mo returns next week. Managing the fire alone is a full time job. It seems I am either starting, stoking, taking away ashes, or bringing up another load of wood all day long. Mo does most of the fire management when she is here and I help out a bit, but I can see now that what I do isn’t nearly enough.

Today I am dealing with “stuff”. We have a five year plan, and sometime during the next five years, I will have to move my stuff. I really need to get it more organized. I can’t believe how it gets away from me. I am fairly well organized, but there are places where that breaks down, such as the office drawers. I also have a couple of drawers for crafting, and of course I have bins of yarn for knitting and many containers of fabric for quilting. I am not quite sure how this stuff keeps multiplying, maybe it is those trips to the quilt shops.

So today, I decided that I would try to go through the office “stuff”. Most of it has been in a small set of drawers beneath my desk, but it seems that I never actually get into those drawers for anything. Scotch tape, scissors, a bazillion pens and pencils, who knows if they work, and a whole lot of other little thingies that I have no clue what to do with except I can’t quite bring myself to throw it all away. Ocean Dreams in the Desert (4 of 4)

I started the project, and then in frustration gave up. Here is the result! It is packed and ready for the next stop, and someday maybe I’ll get the nerve to try to figure it out one more time, or just throw it all away. I can hear you laughing from here. Ocean Dreams in the Desert (3 of 4)

As the evening progresses, the rain/snow/sleet spitting continues. Predictions of an inch of snow at our elevation for tonight, but I’ll believe it when I see it. Can you imagine, no snow all winter and it shows up at the end of February?

01-18-2015 Nevada City and Oroville and time with friends

Current Location: Rocky Point Oregon

no snow winter 2 (6 of 6) Talking about the weather is silly. There is no snow, there is no rain, there is no winter to speak of anywhere to be found in our part of the world. Crazy. The skies are cold but clear tonight. The thermometer might drop a bit below freezing before morning, but c’mon…is this really what January is supposed to look like in Rocky Point? no snow winter 2 (1 of 6)

It usually looks more like this around here in January.

Happy New Year's Eve But with snow like that I would be shoveling and blowing the pathways and complaining about the ice on the driveway. We were gone for three months in winter of 2014, and heard rumors that there wasn’t much snow then either, but it is surprising that the lack of snow is still persisting. Water? Snow pack? Drought? Those thoughts lie in the background as we enjoy the moderately warm, snowless winter. Maybe it will snow in April as it usually does. Just in time for Easter.

Leaving the gorgeous sunny skies of the Mojave Desert and Joshua Tree NP was tough. I needed to be home, but that didn’t make the journey any more enticing. As we approached the western slope of the Sierras crossing the Tehachapi Pass on Highway 58, we could see the thick blanket of gray brown smog/fog hanging low over the Great Central Valley. Didn’t look a bit different than it did when we passed this same way two weeks ago.

The distance to Orange Grove RV park from Joshua Tree is a short 200 miles. Of course we could have traveled farther, but why? Why go beyond the waiting oranges! I have to confess, I did take more than the loudly proclaimed one bag limit. Signs everywhere said that limit would be “strictly enforced”. I am sure they are talking to someone other than me, right? Maybe the signs are for those greedy people who might try to pick bags and bags of the sweet things and sell them on the side of the road. The sign wasn’t for me, the innocent little old lady from Oregon who just wanted an extra bag to share with friends along my route home, right? heading south_008DSC_0008

I remember blogland a long time ago when someone, can’t even remember who, “stole” oranges from a tree along side of the road. Lots of moral lectures resulted from that little confession. I am a good, mostly honest person. Just don’t let me near your orange trees.

The park was about 1/3 full when we arrived, but by dark every single space was filled. I would highly recommend getting a reservation if you are a big rig and intend to stay in the park en route or returning from the desert. Seems as though the snow birds have found it and keep it very busy.

Once again we drove north along I-5 on a Saturday, leaving at 6:30 AM so that we could get all the way to the Grass Valley County fairgrounds before nightfall. Just 370 miles or so, but that is still a long day for us. The fog was thick when we gassed up at the Bakersfield Costco for a measly 2.06 per gallon for regular gas. Who knows how long those prices will last, but we sure enjoyed them on this trip.

After a somewhat long and boring day traveling north, the fog lifted and we whizzed through Sacramento traffic onto the 80 and then north on Highway 49 to Grass Valley/Nevada City. The two gold towns in the Mother Lode country of California are not far apart. Our friends Jimmie and Nickie, are living in Nevada City, and in spite of their generous offer of driveway hospitality, we thought it would be smart to park the rig down the hill at the Nevada County Fairgrounds.

Visiting Jimmie and Nickie (47 of 49) It is a fairly nice park, as fairground camping goes, and in no time we were set up and on our way up the hill to Jimmie and Nickie’s lovely home on a lava cap ridge of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Just high enough in elevation to be out of the poison oak but not into deep long lasting snow. Perfect.

Nickie told me that when they walked into the house, within minutes, they knew it was the one. I had an experience like that once myself, when I stepped into my little bungalow in Klamath Falls back in 2002. Within 24 hours I had an accepted offer and that little home now shelters my daughter and her family after some delightful years sheltering me.

Nickie and I have kept up our correspondence after meeting in person a couple of years ago…neither of us could believe it had been two years since we met, but it has. Thank goodness for the blog where I could check out the original date of our delightful get together the first time. Walking into their home is so comfortable and their hospitality is wonderful.

I have seen photos of their canal walk, and was delighted to have Nickie suggest that we get a bit of movement in before dinner walking the canal. What a great place close to home to get in daily walks. The water was a bit low, but I could see what a shady retreat this pathway would be on a hot summer day.

Another walker took some photos of all of us together (thanks for this photo, Nickie), and the happy smiles on our faces just gives a hint at how much fun we were having.

Visiting Jimmie and Nickie (12 of 49) Later Nickie treated us to a wondrous supper of hand made spinach rolls smothered in her very own home canned marinara sauce, and a Caesar salad drenched in the fabulous dressing from the restaurant we had visited two years ago. Fresh steamed broccoli and artisan bread rounded out the perfect meal. Jimmie is so funny and friendly and kind, and he and Nickie are so much fun to be around. I just love how they treat each other with such love and respect. It is a joy.

My favorite part of the evening was listening to the stories of how Nickie and Jimmie met and their travels and how they found their homes. Flow! These two definitely know how to live in the Flow of life at its finest. The best indication of the great time we had showed on the clock when Mo and I finally drove back down the hill to the MoHo. It was almost 11 PM when we got to bed. Geez! We are early birds most of the time.

The next morning, with a brilliant sun bursting forth, we met again for a morning walk around the fairgrounds. Nickie has a great sense of humor, although the wet bleacher seats weren’t exactly to her liking, but she wanted a photo in the bleachers, so I obliged.

I also got a kick out of taking pictures of Nickie herding geese. She kept saying, “They love me!”. I am sure that they did.

Visiting Jimmie and Nickie (45 of 49) We drove the short distance to Nevada City and a wonderful breakfast at the South Pine Cafe. The food was incredible, and my choice was a lobster scramble with lots of mushrooms and avocados and Jalapeño Hollandaise! It was even good when I ate the other half for breakfast the next day! Once again, the fact that we were having a great time was evident as we lingered over our breakfast table long after the meal was finished. Hard to say goodbye to such great people.

Of course, we had other great people waiting for us in Oroville, so we buttoned up the rig and took the back road from Grass Valley to Oroville via a road that I would NOT recommend, but it was fun.

The sun was brilliant in Nevada City, but by the time we dropped down the hill just enough to reach Oroville, the fog was again shrouding the landscape. Spare me from California Valley fogs!! ick! That gray line you see on the horizon is the thick fog down in Oroville and the valley!

We camped once again at the Feather Falls Casino, not a cheap night by any means at $47 per night with no discounts. Still, it was an easy hookup, a nice park that we like, and just minutes from Maryruth and Gerald’s home up the hill. Readers know that Maryruth is my very best friend of more than 50 years. It is always wonderful to see her and her husband Gerald, and to visit their home.

Maryruth has a new sewing machine and has completed more decorating projects in her home that I wanted to see. After the look arounds, we drove down the hill again to her mother’s house, who has lived in Oroville for more than 50 years. It was great seeing the family, people I have known and loved as my own family for all these years.

Later, Maryruth and Gerald took us to their friends winery, The Purple Line Urban Winery, right in downtown Oroville, and we sampled some great wines, including something called “Red Panties”. We then ambled on to Papacito’s Mexican Grill and Cantina where I finally got my urge for some really GOOD Mexican food fully satisfied. What a great little place with excellent food! Their tortilla soup was the best I have ever had anywhere.

Once again we made it back home to the rig at a very late hour, proof of our wonderful time spent with good friends. In case you are wondering where the photos are for this part of the visit, Maryruth did that thing when I pulled out the camera…”Oh Sue…Really?!?!” So I put the thing away and didn’t take a single photo of our visit. Only once, and only for you, Maryruth. Next time I am taking photos!!

Because I honored Maryruth’s request, Instead of photos of Maryruth and Gerald and their wonderful home, the winery and the wonderful food, you get to see a photo of my daughter with her three little grandbabies, my youngest great-grandchildren.