The World's Perfect Potato - Sunday, July 30, 2023

We left Sparks Marina RV Park in Nevada Sunday morning and headed north on U.S. 395. All was going well. The weather was beautiful. However, I did not do my usual research on the route. I like to look up the roads we'll take to ensure they are truck routes in the Rand-McNally Motor Carrier's Road Atlas.

I was driving this morning and I set Garmin to take us to Tulelake-Butte Valley Fairgrounds RV Park in Tulelake, California. I assumed we would take U.S. 395 all the way north. 

When we got to Susanville, I knew there would be a bypass around town. Garmin did take us on a bypass, but instead of continuing on U.S. 395, that lovely directional aid took us on CA 36 and Skyline Road to CA 139. It was evident from the start of CA 139 that this was a mistake!

Because I did not check the route ahead of time, and I listened to Garmin, we completely missed the U.S. 395 north turn-off south of Susanville! 

We turned off Skyline Road onto CA 139, the highway got narrower and the road went up and up. Soon, we were high up on a narrow two-lane road with no guard rail, looking down hundreds thousands of feet. If you know me, I am terrified of roads like that. Growing up, all my nightmares were about going over a cliff in a vehicle. I was not amused. 

I had Bob look in the Motor Carrier's Atlas. He informed me that CA 139 was not a trucker's route until it got to Eagle Lake, miles ahead. I didn't turn around, but I drove carefully over the mountains. There wasn't much traffic, thank goodness! We reconnected to U.S. 395 in Canby, California, and continued to Tulelake. At Canby, we switched places and Bob drove for the remainder of the afternoon. NOTE: I do not recommend CA 139 between Susanville, California, and Canby, California for RVers unless you don't mind mountain driving on narrow roads!!!

We chose to stay at the Tulelake-Butte Valley Fairgrounds RV Park. We had full hook-ups (30 amp) for $36/night. If you have Passport America, it is $18/night. 

Our site, #13, was very level. The surface was dry grass. Behind our site was an irrigation ditch. Many birds flitted around by the trees, fence, and on the ground. We opened all our curtains for "kitty TV." JoJo especially loved "hunting" the birds from inside. It was very peaceful at this campground and we would stay here again.

If we come back, we will take the time to go to Captain Jack's Stronghold and the caves, including ice caves, at Lava Beds National Monument. There is also great bird-watching at Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge. 

Site 13 at Tulelake-Butte Valley Fairgrounds
RV Park. The park is first-come, first-served.

At the campground looking toward the
irrigation ditch and farmland beyond.

The fairgrounds RV park is at the back
of the fair complex.

I was exhausted from driving today. Bob wanted to go out and explore, but I wanted to stay in and work on writing my blog from Saturday.

He took off to learn about Camp Tulelake and the Tulelake Segregation Center AKA Tule Lake War Relocation Center. Both detained Japanese in the internment centers during World War II. He came back with a wealth of information in the form of brochures and what he learned from the National Park Service ranger. I told him he needs to write a blog!

The Tulelake area is known for its potatoes. Cal-Ore Produce is headquartered in Tulelake, California. It was started in 1976 by a small group of potato growers located in the Klamath Basin. Today, Cal-Ore is recognized as a major provider of organic potatoes in the Western United States. They farm over 2,500 acres of premium-quality potatoes. As we were driving out of Tulelake this morning, I saw a big barn with a painted sign that read, "The World's Perfect Potato." I didn't get a photo of it.

[As an aside, my memory of Klamath Basin potatoes started when I was 25 years old. My husband, Russell, and I lived in Klamath Falls. We were living on a shoestring budget and never seemed to have enough food in our apartment. Russell's mom, Eve, left a 40-pound box of potatoes on our doorstep one day. For about a month, we ate potatoes in every way, shape, and form: mashed, hashed browns, scalloped potatoes, French fries, baked potatoes, and sliced thin then pan-cooked in butter. Those were lean times for us.]

When Bob returned from his exploration, we had breakfast for dinner: pancakes, fried eggs, and hot cinnamon applesauce in lieu of syrup. Very tasty!

When we did the dishes last night, there was no hot water in our 5th wheel. We think when they worked on our black tank handle maybe they changed a setting for our hot water heater or bypassed it while they worked on the plumbing. This morning, I took a shower in the RV park shower house. We need to figure out how to fix our hot water heater situation!!!

I stayed up late finishing my two blogs from Saturday and then called it a night.