More RV Repairs, Time with Relatives, and Dunsmuir, California - July 11-13, 2024

Thursday, July 11: With the 5th wheel in need of repair, our primary concern today is getting it travel-worthy. A quick review for those of you who didn't see Tuesday's blog: As we were driving the last two miles to our RV park in Stockton, California, we hit terrible twisting, frame-tweaking bumps on the city street. It broke a bolt on the rocker arm between the two leaf springs that held up our frame. The frame dropped onto our two passenger-side 5th-wheel tires which started smoking. We pulled over immediately and Bob assessed the damage. He determined we could limp our 5th wheel to the RV park. We safely parked it on our site (for the next three nights). 

Yesterday, Bob called a couple of mobile RV techs to see if they could help us. The first mobile RV tech, recommended by the RV park, did not have the right tools. He recommended that we call Discover RV in Lodi.

That was the right call. Discover RV had a mobile technician out this morning. Nick was able to replace all the hardware on our suspension (rocker arms, shackles, leaf spring bolts, etc.) with heavy-duty replacements, enough so that we could drive our rig to their shop in Lodi (12 miles away) where they will replace the hardware on the opposite side.

Nick put in a temporary jack to help get the
right jack under the frame.

In the center of this photo, behind the tires, 
is where all the work was done in our campsite.

Nick is hard at work in the RV park.

Their garages in Lodi were big enough to fit our 5th wheel inside out of the heat. They hooked our 5th wheel up to power our AC and refrigerator. The cats kept their cool for the afternoon. 

While they toiled, we went to Denny's for lunch. Then we waited in their store for hours while they completed the work. They also replaced the propane tank regulators. We waited from 10:45 am to 4 pm, but all is well. Our tires look okay. Thank goodness! We just replaced one of them in Deming, New Mexico, earlier in the trip.

We took Kristin and Rudy to dinner at Olive Garden in Stockton. We had great conversation about retirement and travel. We talked so long that we had to hurry to Aunt Genie's house. We promised to take ice cream to her, and it was fast approaching 9 pm, her bedtime. When we arrived, she was mopping the floor! LOL. That's something I would do. She apologized, but I said, "Don't worry about it, we're not going eat off the floor."

Kristin and Rudy showed up a few minutes later with three flavors of Umpqua Ice Cream (from Oregon): chocolate peanut butter, strawberry, and vanilla. They usually buy Tillamook Ice Cream (also from Oregon). Over dinner, we told Kristin and Rudy how much we love Umpqua Ice Cream and they found it at the grocery store next to Olive Garden!! All of us overate! Mmmm! We finally left Aunt Genie's at 10 pm. She makes exceptions to her bedtime for ice cream. Ha ha.

Friday, July 12: Today is a 255-mile driving day on I-5 between Stockton and Dunsmuir, California. We are going from farmland in the Central Valley to the foothills, past Lake Shasta, and into the Trinity Mountains. 

Lake Shasta's water level has come way up
since the last time we drove by.

I-5 heading into the Trinity Mountains.

Lake Shasta is well known for watercraft
such as ski boats and houseboats.

Mt. Shasta - one of multiple views from I-5 north.

Dunsmuir is at an average elevation of 2,289' above sea level in the Upper Sacramento River Canyon approximately 12 miles south of Mt. Shasta. Mt. Shasta is a dormant volcano with a height of 14,162 feet. Even with the elevation change, the temperature did not moderate much. When we went to dinner, it was 99 degrees!

We stayed at the Railroad Park RV Resort. What a nice place. It's rustic, scenic, and nestled in the pine trees. Plus, it has railroad cabooses for lodging, in addition to the RV sites.

In Phoenix, Aunt Sally told Bob about a cousin he had never met named Chris. When she found out we were going through Redding, California, where they live, Aunt Sally called them and put us on speakerphone. Chris and Ron were thrilled to meet us and offered to drive an hour to Dunsmuir to take us to dinner.

After we passed through Redding on our way north, we called Chris and Ron to let them know we were almost in Dunsmuir. They left home and drove north about 1/2-hour after we called. They brought their dog, Bodie, with them. 

It was so hot, that we couldn't leave Bodie outside. He came into the RV on a leash, lay on the floor, and panted. He discovered the cats' water dish on the kitchen floor and took a long drink. You should have seen the cats. They stationed themselves on the dining room table and didn't take their eyes off Bodie while he was in our 5th wheel. It was quite cute and funny. Bodie was a perfect gentleman and lay quietly during our visit in the 5th wheel.

Ron and Chris took us to Dunsmuir Brewery Works for dinner. We sat on the patio at the last available table with shade. There was live music and the food was very tasty. Bob had a wonderful Reuben sandwich, Chris and I had hamburgers, and Ron had a chicken sandwich.

Dunsmuir Brewery Works patio. From left to 
right: Susan, Bob, Ron, Chris, and Bodie.

We all love to travel so we talked for a long time about going places. Chris and Bob connected over a family conversation. The music was excellent. We were happy to meet them and can't wait to see them again soon.

On the way back to the RV park I took a photo of the Sacramento River in Dunsmuir.

The Sacramento River in Dunsmuir.

After dinner, Chris and Ron headed home. They didn't want to drive in the mountains in the dark.

Thank you both for making the drive north AND taking us to dinner. You made us feel special!

That's it for today.

Saturday, July 13: The RV resort and campground filled up overnight. A big family reunion came in who stayed in the cabooses. 

Early in the morning, we walked 1/2 mile to the "motel." The cabooses made up the majority of the lodging. We had wonderful photo ops. Not only were there mountain views, but we also had terrific views of Castle Crags!

The RV park office. Signs near the
dumpster read, "Bears frequent the area."

A view through the Railroad RV Park
campground.

Our 5th wheel is in the end site on the right.

Starting to see Castle Crags through the trees.

Bob is in front of some of the cabooses.

I didn't realize there was a guy photo-
bombing from the top of the caboose!

Another view of Castle Crags.

Different railroad company cabooses are
represented here. Yreka Western.

McCloud River railroad.

We walked around the main part of the resort looking at everything.

We have no idea what kind of railroad
equipment this is!

This is a wonderful view of Castle Crags.

This is the main part of the resort.

1926 Willamette Locomotive.

This locomotive is amazing!!

After our early morning walk, we headed north on I-5 for our 329-mile drive to Salem, Oregon. Along the way, we stopped at Timber Valley Escapees Park in Sutherlin, Oregon, and spent 10 minutes driving around the park. It's beautiful. We will be spending more time there in the summer.

From there, we had lunch at our favorite K&R Drive-In in Rice Hill. We've been stopping there for lunches for over 30 years. Whenever we went camping with the boys along Hwy. 138, this is where we had lunch on the way there or back. They serve Umpqua Ice Cream. You know how we feel about that. And that was our dessert today!

I made last-minute reservations in the Salem/Corvallis area within a week of our stay. Making last-minute reservations is not my thing, but our first choice of staying at Timber Valley didn't work out. They were full because they were having their annual meeting.

It turns out that all the places I tried to book in Albany, Corvallis, Turner, Independence, Rickreall, and Salem were full. The Marion County (and one other county) Fair was in full swing; there was a triathlon this weekend and a softball tournament. With great perseverance, I found a marvelous campground in north Salem called Hee Hee Illahee RV Resort. They had availability and I snagged a site. We loved it!

I wanted to be in this area to do a 10 km Volksmarch in Independence on Sunday. More on that tomorrow. 

Good night, all.