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Posts tagged ‘Oregon’

Sep 4

Sunset At Emigrant Lake

First thing this morning Kelly and I moved to a different campsite – we’re now situated at Emigrant Lake which is just down the road from our previous site. This location is better.

RV parks are super convenient, but often a bit crowded for our preference.  Relocating sites was easy enough and before too long it was time to get myself back to work.  The Verizon broadband is working like a champ and something tells me we will not be moving sites again until we begin our journey back to Half Moon Bay.

This is a great place for sure – just check out this sunset.  Absolutely beautiful.

Sep 2

Let’s Go To Ashland

Today we took our time getting ready to depart. Per usual, Lilly got a nice walk before much else was completed. We strolled down to and through the marina – a great location really. Every once and a while I wish we lived on a houseboat – today was one of those occasions. Something about living on the water appeals to me. Maybe some day.

After returning from our walk, I began getting things ready for the road while Kelly made breakfast – eggs, sausage, and toast. It doesn’t get more staple than this. Sometimes less is more and in this case, a simple breakfast really hit the spot.

Breakfast sandwiches in the making

The drive today was relatively straightforward, only about seventy miles but I was curious to see how our truck would handle the numerous high passes between where we were and where we were headed. There is one particularly big mountain pass on the way towards Oregon. At 4300 feet (ish) it is the highest point anywhere along interstate 5, and certainly the makings for a good “umph” test.

When we bought our Airstream the most stressful decision in that process was deciding what type of tow vehicle to get. After making about a dozen “final” decisions, we landed on a 2012 Ford F-150. Brand spankin’ new.

I specifically wanted a half-ton, not a three-quarter ton truck as this is also my daily driver. There are many who evangelize the need for a massive truck, but there are also many touting the F-150 as equally fit for purpose when spec’d correctly.

Upgraded towing features were a must in my mind as was the optional and relatively new ‘Ecoboost’ engine. A six cylinder engine designed to be a brute, the Ecoboost engine pounds out a whopping amount of torque and horsepower. The truck did fabulously over the passes.

At one point We decided to stop in the town of Mt. Shast. I was craving and espresso and since Northbond Roasters – one of my favorite coffee roasters is located there, we pulled into town. I assumed there would be a hip little coffee shop I could drop into and grab my pull. I was wrong. Apparently these folks roast beans only, no hipster point of sale to be found. Total bummer.

All wasn’t a total loss, the views of Mt. Shasta mountain were great today.

After a bit of research, we decided to book two nights at the Glenyan RV park, located about five miles outside Ashland. The park is pretty nice – a mix of what appear to be full-time RV residents and travelers like Kelly and me. Full hook-ups will run you $34 per night and the place has a quasi state park vibe. Not too bad really.

Like so many RV campgrounds, claims of available wi-fi are just shy of a boldface lie. Our Verizon broadband seems to be doing ok; a bit slow for streaming, but probably should fine for work purposes. If connectivity speed proves to be problematic, I’ll simply head into town and squat at a coffee shop as needed.

We’ve been to Ashland many times – we quite like it actually. Often on our short list of Oregon towns to make residence someday (Portland and Bend being the other top vote getters), we almost always stop here whenever passing through. I’m looking forward to spending a few days in the area in order to more thoroughly test drive this place.

I also cannot wait to visit Noble coffee shop. I so hope they are open tomorrow even though it is a holiday. Fingers crossed.

Sep 2

On the Road Again – Finally

Having spent the past five weeks living full-time in the Airstream, Kelly and I used the Labor Day holiday as an excuse to hit the road and let the Airstream stretch her legs. We’ve been parked for far too long without a trip and were really excited to get away. Of course, we chose Oregon as our initial destination … southern Oregon to be specific. Odds are good we’ll land someplace near Ashland. We’ll see what happens.

For now, we’re parked in a beautiful place – Brandy Creek campground near Whiskeytown, CA. We’re traveling I-5 in order to make decent time. I also wanted to get our truck/airstream combo weighed which essentially limits us to the interstate where semi-truck mega stop are plentiful. Have yet to weigh our set-up, I was anxious to verify whether or not we are loaded with too much stuff. (UPDATE – we were not … in fact, we had lots of room to spare, but our weight distribution needs some refining).

Brandy Creek is a bit out-of-the-way – about ten miles, but the detour was worth it. There are no hooks-ups, which was fine with us because we needed/wanted to test drive our new Yamaha generator. All went well I happy to report.

There were about 30 total sites, of which about half were taken. Of course, the people next to us thought it would be cool to be loud — too loud I thought. Who decides to wait until 10:30pm to set-up tents? Is the 40 foot RV and the monster generator not enough? Good grief.

Apparently – as you can see in the pictures below – the deer were not annoyed. Food is food and the knuckleheads next to us had seemingly unlimited supplies of bread to toss on the ground. The deer seemed quite satisfied.

 

In addition to its namesake creek, there is a great beach and mountain lake, but I forgot to grab my camera, so no pictures.

Tomorrow we’re off to Oregon.

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