Nine Stops to Home and Creepy Little Hitchhikers

Kaibab Lake

This has been an interesting weather trip. Sigh. I know folks experiencing truly devastating acts of Mother Nature – hurricanes, floods, etc. – can rightly say “Cry me a river.” But that still doesn’t make wild temperature swings and battling high winds the least bit entertaining. We usually enjoy keeping our trip planning jello, planning a week or several days out and staying flexible to take advantage of great spots or moving on if we’re not enamored with a site. However on this trip, with the weather as crazy as it was, we were debating routes and timing pretty much until Rog started the coach and a decision had to be made. We considered following Bob and Carole north, where it looked like they would escape the worst of the winds, but we had missed Rog’s mom on the way down. Remember all that SNOW??? And really wanted to make it to Redding, CA on the way home, so we headed west.

We left Petrified Forest National on Saturday, 4/29, with several potential end points in mind. We drove by Prescott National Forest and put it on our list of places we’d like to explore, the scenery was gorgeous with towering dun-colored rock formations and trees! A welcome sight after weeks in the desert. We decided not to push too far and stopped at Kaibab Lake State Park near Williams, AZ.  The entire park was first come/first served until May 5^th and we snagged a huge pull-through site under the pines with a view of the lake. Wow. The weather was perfect and we really, really, really wanted to just park for a few days and enjoy some kayaking and relaxing with the pups. Raney’s birthday was Sunday, 4/30, and it would have been wonderful to be able to spend the day at the lake.

We got a great spot near the lake.

We really wanted to just hang out here for a few day. Can you blame us?

Daddy is being closely supervised by Riley and Raney.

Sadly, that wasn’t in the cards. Rog was monitoring the National Weather Service forecast and Kaibab Lake was right smack in the middle of (not) fun stuff to come. Our weather would have been lovely for one more day and then the winds would kick up to 30-40mph. Every. Single. Day. We would have been trapped, and by Friday there was a possibility of snow. Arrrrrgh! With no weather window to escape later in the week, we reluctantly left early the next morning for Quartzsite, AZ. (Happy Birthday Raney!)

We knew it would be warm in Quartzsite and, even though we love to boondock there, we opted for hookups so we could run the air conditioner to keep the pups comfortable. A good call since it hit 103° on Sunday and was still 90° at 10pm that night! The winds were atrocious during the drive, but worse was on the way. We found a spot at Quail Run RV Park in town and paid for one night with the option to add a second. We were happy to stay put because the winds arrived as promised. I took advantage of our extra day to do laundry. Temps in the triple digits and five industrial-sized dryers running…all I wanted was some ice cream when I finished. We had planned on Silly Al’s for dinner, pizza and our favorite Big Blue Van, and there was a homemade ice cream shop just across the street from Al’s. We drove over only to find that they were repaving the parking lot and both businesses were closed! No ice cream. No pizza. No beer. Disappointed doesn’t begin to cover it. I had to settle for Dairy Queen. Better than nothing, I guess. Lol.

Quail Run - not very scenic, but we did have power. 

Definitely missing the pine trees and Kaibab Lake. Lol. 

Miss Raney is one year old!

On Tuesday, 5/2, we left early for Amboy Crater. Though gusty a times, at least Rog wasn’t fighting a steady 20+mph sidewind the whole way. We set up in our usual spot in the overflow parking area and again, had it all to ourselves. The kids got lots of off leash play and hang out on the patio time.

Great boondocking spot with Amboy Crater in the background.

The pups love hanging out with Dad. 

Wednesday, saw us on the road again heading for Orange Grove RV Park near Bakersfield, CA. After one night there and the requisite jaunt to the California Fruit Depot to load up on snacks, we moved on. Our next stop was Vista Ranch, the Harvest Host location in Merced, CA that we’ve stayed at several times. On this visit, the almond orchards had green fuzzy little baby almond pods. We’d never seen those before. I did not find out until later that the whole pod is edible! I learned that the fuzzy orbs are filled with soft jelly-like skinless almonds that have a delicate nutty flavor and a completely different texture than mature almonds. They’re crunchy and tart and when fresh, the pods can be eaten whole. Did you know that? I had no clue and I’m bummed that I didn’t get to try one.

The almond orchard was full of fuzzy green goodness.

As you might have noticed, we were retracing our steps back to Rian’s in Sacramento. We arrived at her house Friday afternoon, 5/6, and Rian cooked us a wonderful chicken dinner. She and I went thrifting and hit a couple estate sales on Saturday. We hit one gold mine where she got a whole set of vintage Fire King mugs for $1. The folks were just trying to get rid of stuff, so everything was sold in lots for a dollar. We really got some great bargains at that sale! 

Rian loves up the puppy sister and puppy brother.

Rian's favorite buy of the day!

While Rian and I were out treasure hunting, the pups were enjoying the back yard and Rog was having a less than enjoyable time trying to repair the rear air conditioner on the coach. He had a new control board delivered to Rian’s and was hopeful that would do the trick. But when he installed it, not only didn’t it work, but it started acting weird in new ways. Ugh!! Looks like it might require professional attention. I guess he used up his quota of repair miracles fixing the rear slide. Lol.

On Sunday, we did a Costco run in the morning and then helped Rian pick up a new dining table and chairs. She scored a great deal off Facebook Market Place, $50 for a vintage table and five chairs. She needed something she could expand for company and this one came with a leaf. When we got it home, we found it also had a second butterfly leaf, so it goes from 5 to 6 to 7 feet. Perfect! She had her old table sold before the day was out, what a great way to trade-up.  We spent the rest of the day just hanging out, watched a movie, and ordered in sushi. It was delightful to kick back and relax for a bit.

Rian's new dining room set, another great score!

Rog cuddling Rian's fur-baby, Floyd,
Riley (the ultimate daddy's boy) says, "What the heck!", and then
comes to Mommy for advice. Lol.

Monday, 5/8, was Rog’s birthday and we made strawberry waffles for breakfast. (But no mimosas ☹, he was driving.  Lol.)  Then we got on the road to Redding and our awesome moochdock spot at his mom’s house. Just as we pulled onto her street it started to rain. In a matter of minutes, it was a downpour interspersed with hail and the occasional crack of thunder. We braved the elements to get the car unhooked and the rig parked. Maybe five minutes after we finished it was blue skies and sunshine! Really?? Still trying to figure out what I did to piss off the weather gods. Lol. The pups enjoyed lounging in the backyard. The weather stayed lovely, although it was ramping up to the mid-90’s by the end of the week.

The rain stopped and we had sunshine the rest of our stay.

We enjoyed our visit with Rog’s mom and her partner Ed in Redding. We had just missed them in Sacramento, Barb was there to have surgery for skin cancer on her face. Something Rog can sympathize with since he had a similar procedure several years ago. Once we got settled, I went to work on the laundry, both Riley and Raney got much needed baths, and Rog ticked a few things off his mom’s “honey do” list. Rog and I made a point to check out Final Draft Brewery in Redding because they had several sours on tap. They had 35 taps and an incredible selection, well worth the visit.  On Wednesday, to celebrate Rog’s birthday and Mother’s Day, we all went to Moonstone Bistro, a favorite of ours. Fresh, quality ingredients creatively prepared – it’s always a treat. (Thanks for dinner Ed!) 

Wow - check out that extensive tap list!

A lovely dinner at Moonstone Bistro.

Make a wish!

We hugged Mom goodbye on Thursday morning, 5/11, and made our way to Valley of the Rogue State Park just south of Grants Pass, OR. The weather seemed to be in a rare cooperative mood, and we were treated to glorious views of a snow covered Mt. Shasta. All the lakes and rivers we passed were higher than we’ve seen them in years. Hopefully this bodes well for the summer.

Beautiful snow-covered Mt. Shasta.

We’ve stayed at Valley of the Rogue on several occasions and chose it over a Harvest Host location in Grants Pass so we could walk the pups on the trails and let Riley play in the river. We did have a lovely walk and Riley did his best crocadog impression in the Rogue River.  I’m not sure if it was the time of year or the wet spring or what, but when we got back to the RV Rog pulled a bug from behind his ear and showed it to me. Is that a tick? Yep. A few minutes later, he found another one. Then I found one on me. Ugh! We went over all four of us with a fine-toothed comb, both literally and figuratively. Before we were done, we’d pulled 15 of the creepy little hitchhikers off us! Ick. I’m still twitchy. Every time a stray hair brushed my neck, I’d do the boogie-woogie dance and have to go make sure nothing was there. I’ll be checking the kids regularly too, even though they are both on flea/tick preventative, I prefer not to take any chances. Sorry, but I’m just a little put off by blood sucking vermin that can transmit deadly diseases. Ok, make that a lot put off. Ick. Ick. Ick.

Riley and Raney in the Rogue River.

Sometimes it's hard to get the Crocadog out of the water. Lol. 

A very large skink that had me doing the two-step, until I realized he had legs. 😝

After a restless night (was that something crawling on me??? Lol.), we left on Friday, 5/12, for our final stop before home. We have come to really enjoy the Boondockers Welcome hosts at Hazelnut Haven in Hubbard, OR. We used to stay at the French Prairie rest stop just south of Portland, but this is so much nicer. No semi-trucks pulling in and idling their motors half the night. The hosts, Gerald and Sheryl, are super nice and greet each visitor with a small bag of hazelnuts from their farm and home baked cookies. What a treat! We parked next to the orchard and the pups loved being outside after a long drive in the coach. 

Parked next to the hazelnut orchard for the night. 

But wait, that’s not all! Hazelnut Haven wasn’t too far from Raney’s breeder, who we affectionately call Grandma Mai. If you recall, this is where we stayed when we picked her up almost a year ago. I contacted Mai to see if she was available for a brief visit Saturday morning. This is dog show season, so I was pleasantly surprised that she was home. She was excited to see Raney and we agreed to meet at a schoolyard where Raney and her sister, Nova, would have more room to play. And play they did! The girls had a total blast. Gma Mai spoiled Raney, bringing her a huge birthday bag filled with toys and treats. It was great to see Mai and her husband, Dave, and we’re hoping to host a puppy reunion this summer.

Gma Mai, Raney, Nova and Dave.

Raney and Nova.
Good looks run in the family!

Raney and her proud Mommy.
(Thanks Mai for all the pics!)

The spoiled Birthday Girl loved her toys and treats.
Thank you Gma Mai and Dave!

Raney has a lot of catching up to do – two of her siblings, Nova and Gunthar, have already finished their AKC Championships! Raney’s dad, Marco, was invited to the 2023 Westminster Dog Show where he received an Award of Merit and then proceeded to win several honors at the Mastiff Club Of America Specialty Shows. Raney’s mom, Kiska, has an alphabet soup of titles including AKC Bronze Grand Champion. Girlfriend has some very big shoes to fill. Good thing we all agree she is gorgeous. Lol. (Am I biased? Naaaah. 😊)

Raney's Dad!
GCHG R3 Cabezon One More Ride "Marco"
won Select Dog at 2023 Mastiff Club Of America Regional Specialty.
(Pictured with the Judge, his handler, and owners.)

Rog had gone ahead in the RV, so after the play session I met back up with him and Riley at a rest stop. The remainder of our drive was uneventful – except he still had a stiff side-wind part of the way. Really?? Rog had hoped we’d left the wind behind when we left the desert, but apparently it decided to tag along. Lol. Rog said he felt like he’d done more driving on this trip than last year, so I checked the spreadsheet. He was not wrong. This year he drove 4905 miles over 81 days compared to 3350 miles over 85 days last year. We both agreed that we had not scheduled enough down days to just relax – something we need to work on. But there’s so much to see and do, it’s sometimes hard to remember that tired and cranky does not make for a fun trip. We’ll work on that. 😉

We made it home to the jungle on Saturday, 5/13. Not exaggerating there. Before we left in February, Rog fertilized the lawn and threw down ten pounds of grass seed with a wish and a prayer. The big pups totally trash the yard, and he was hoping it might recover in our absence. The grass was knee high in places, so I guess that’s a win. Lol.

Welcome home.

We have lots to do before we head out again. But, our next trip will be much shorter. We’ll be heading for the boonies to get Riley away from all the fireworks over the 4^th of July. We’re going back to Cottonwood Canyon in OR with a group of family and friends, hope you’ll join us!