winter – Page 5 – The MoHo and Other Traveling Tales

Heck of an early winter here

Nice to have a new follower, I am always amazed when that happens. Thank you. Barry and Linda are talking about boondocking sites, always an interesting subject.

The guest cabin is getting buried!

Although for the last few days I haven’t been spending much time reading. Every morning I have shoveled 2 to 4 inches of snow from the driveway, enjoying it actually, until today when we had more than a foot dumped on us overnight. It seemed like a little bit too much, I had nowhere to throw it and it’s only November. Mo tried to start up the snow blower to finish the job, but it wouldn’t go, so I shoveled and she plowed and after about 3 hours we had the driveway and road passable. This big storm has rampaged across the northwest, leaving snow in Victoria, ice in Bellingham, and wreaking general havoc on roads and highways all over the place. We knew it was coming, but the predicted temperatures tomorrow are below zero, and that’s Fahrenheit, not Celsius! The wind blew hard all night and covered the wide front and back porches with hard, icy snow that I couldn’t scrape off no matter how hard I tried. I think I am ready for a break already. Yeah, I know it’s only November.

I’ll be off to visit a friend in Florida for a week in early December while Mo keeps the home fires burning and the road plowed. The day I return, we are jumping in the Tracker and going to pick up the MoHo in Redding and find some sunshine in Desert Hot Springs for Christmas week. Whew! I am having Thanksgiving this year, so there will be some good family time there, and told my Klamath daughter and grandkids that I would celebrate a late Christmas with them when we return.

The road to Medford on the way to Costco

The road home from Medford. Class A with no chains??

Yesterday Mo and I decided to make a Costco run. For us, that is a 45 mile drive to Medford, over the pass on Highway 140, past Lake of the Woods and down the Crater Lake Highway. It’s usually a beautiful drive and we can be at the Costco parking lot in less than an hour. Not so yesterday. After our morning snow exercises, we left around ten and the storm was already coming on fairly strong. By the time we left Medford and headed back east, it was in full force, with many sliders and slow vehicles trying to get over the pass. I was especially surprised by the big Class A motorhome stranded on the pass trying to get out the the Basin. I have no clue why someone would attempt to drive a big rig like that over a stormy, snowy pass, with chains required signs everywhere, but with no chains.

Today we had to go the opposite direction, again after morning snow exercises and on another snowy, icy road. I ordered a free range organic fresh turkey from Howard’s Meats in Klamath Falls and of course needed to do the rest of the Thanksgiving shopping there as well. On the way home, we saw that Klamath Lake is beginning to freeze already, and there are still hundreds of ducks in the bay, and even some Canada geese. Tonight that little bit of open water is going to close in even more. I worry about the birds. Our lake and basin is on the major Pacific flyway and these little ones are on a clock that didn’t include subzero temperatures in November. Heck, we rarely get sub zero temperatures in the deepest of winter!

The MoHo is in Redding, where tomorrow morning the temperatures are predicted in the low 20’s. Pooh. We drained the tanks, but didn’t put antifreeze in the drains. The whole reason for that expensive storage place is that Redding rarely drops below 30 degrees and we wouldn’t have to winterize. Sigh again. Mo thought about driving down there today while I did the Klamath shopping, but 3 hours each way in a winter storm isn’t particularly fun. After talking to some folks we decided that the rig would probably be fine. The temperatures will go low, but it is inside, and the sun will be out and the temps in the 40’s by 10 am. Tomorrow is the coldest day, so we are watching the weather map on weatherunderground and hoping it won’t be as bad as predicted.

Tomorrow is the big cooking day, so as long as the power grid holds up I should be busy. Mo also got the snow blower running this evening so my shoveling time might be a bit less. Who knows. I love winter, and I love being able to leave it as well! It’s the best of all worlds.

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.

Wintertime in Rocky Point (the cold one)

Laurie Brown commented that every time I mention Rocky Point, she pictures the warm wintertime Mexican RV destination. The Rocky Point where I now live isn’t warm in winter. Not even close. However it is quite lovely. In winters to come, we plan to keep the MoHo someplace where she can actually move forward without chains. In the mean time, she is safe and warm here in her special berth, an electric heater running full time. Mo is the one responsible for plowing the snow and I will snow blow and shovel when needed. The fire keeps us warm and cozy, and needs constant tending. It’s a nice place to spend winter when work doesn’t require daily trips to town over icy roads. Still, in spite of the lovely snow and the warm house, we sometimes decide to take a quick trip over the mountain to find a warmer, wetter greener winter, typical of Oregon on the west side of the Cascades.

Destination Roseburg and The Umpqua Festival of Lights. At one time, Klamath Falls actually managed a similar festival here in Moore Park, a walk-through event, with hot cider and chocolate, and beautiful light displays. Sadly, it wasn’t profitable enough and after 2 short years it died. Now, in order to see some of the animated displays, you have to drive all over town trying to find them. Not particularly fun, so instead we decided to drive 3 hours, over a snowy pass, stay in a hotel, and go see a great drive-through light show.

Driving west from Rocky Point on OR140 in winter can be challenging. We decided to take the baby car, our “toad”. With 4 wheel drive and studs, it can go just about anywhere safely. She handled the icy road easily and within an hour we were out of the snow and enjoying beautiful misty vistas of green Oregon mountains and moderate weekday traffic on I-5. I now have an iPhone, and get a big kick out of watching our progress along the highways, checking for traffic, looking at the satellite imagery of the landscape we are crossing. It’s the mapmaker in me again, I guess.

A bit beyond Sexton Pass, (clear, no ice) Mo mentioned that she might be thinking about someplace to stop and eat something. I opened my “around me” application and up popped the Historic Wolf Creek Inn, just about the time we saw the exit on the freeway. Perfect. Mo had been to this small Oregon state Park in the past, but had never eaten there. They have a nice little restaurant that is charming and authentic.Our lunch was delightful, probably the best BLAT I ever ate, with homemade mushroom soup perfect for a misty Oregon day.

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We continued north to Roseburg and our hotel, the Quality Inn, right off the freeway. We had a dog friendly room, and everything was comfortable and perfect for the rest of the afternoon relaxing with a Beavers football game while we waited to go see the light show. The game was so bad that we left after half time for the show, just six miles west at the park. There were lots of big vans full of little kids hanging out the open windows wide eyed and excited. The last light show we saw like this was in South Carolina on St James Island. Roseburg put on an excellent show, and checking, I see that Roseburg and Klamath Falls are approximately the same in population. I really wish our town could manage this kind of special Christmas event again.

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Next morning we woke to a warm breakfast, decided that shopping for Christmas dinner early in Roseburg would be much easier than shopping during the busy mid day in Medford. We had fun exploring Freddy’s and Bi Mart, two of my favorites, no sales taxes thank you, and then headed south on I-5. At Canyonville we checked out the Seven Feathers RV Resort and were very impressed. What a great place to spend a few days when it’s snowy at home! We definitely will come back to stay at this place. There’s a huge heated pool and spa, a fitness room, 24 hour laundry, and included in the discounted 29 per day weekday price, are electric, wi-fi and cable. There are trails for walking and roads for biking, and oh, yes…the casino. Not so sure if that is a good thing or not, but everything else is just lovely, the freeway sounds are completely muffled, the sites are big and comfy, and there is no snow to plow! We just have to get that MoHo baby out of her snowy berth and over that mountain! Ahh, maybe next year.

We ambled on home, appreciated the beautiful green hills swathed in mist, dark green forests, and warm green hills. Topping the highway above Medford, we could see snowy McLoughlin towering over the valley. The towering mountain is a remnant of a Cascade volcano, visible from Medford, and from Rocky Point Road on the other side. We once climbed to the peak of the mountain, and are both glad that we did it then and don’t have to do it again! Home before dark to our freshly plowed road in time to build a big warm fire and settle in for Christmas.