On the Oregon Trail

Another first....we are in Oregon!  Neither one of us has ever been to this beautiful state before!  It was a good ride over at least 3,  high mountain passes each around  4,000 ft.  The snow-capped mountain below is Mt. Shasta.  Amazing scenery when you see the high mountains, the tall pines, 80 degrees and huge reservoirs with people boating.

Last night there was an earthquake in Napa/Calligosta, CA.  Fortunately it was small and we didn't feel a thing but time for sure to move on!  We sure loved this region of California.

We stopped at a Walmart to get ice for the cooler in Anderson, CA early this afternoon and for some really lucky reason, Gil noticed a screw had penetrated the rear tire of the car.  Walmart couldn't replace the tire so we drove to an America's Tire store where they had the one we thought we would need in stock.  It's amazing how quickly you can research and check things out with the iPhone...pretty cool.  It's really a lifesaver when you are 55' feet long and pulling a heavy load in the mountains.

It turns out the screw was removed and was about 2 inches long but it hadn't penetrated the sidewall, but was stuck in the heavy rubber. The tire didn't need replacing and was safe to drive. After about an hour, we were on our way again, but chose to bypass the hairpin turns on the road to the coast and opted for I-5 to Phoenix, AZ for the night.  Gil says he's lived a 'charmed' life and I'm inclined to agree.  It could have been disaster.  A couple was at the tire store with their 5th wheel that had blown a tire coming down the mountain....now that is scary!

The RV park in Phoenix, OR is clean and nice and the host greeted us with warm cookies so all is well.  Tomorrow we head to Coos Bay, OR on the coast, where we'll connect with the Seattle kids.  I can't wait  to see them all...it's been over  4 months!  They will be ATV'ing on the dunes with some of their friends and we are going to get to know Brody and Maycen again!!!  Perfect!

Love and best wishes to my niece and her soon to be husband who will wed tomorrow on the island of Kauai.  Interesting trivia, Drew Horwood, who  has been winning for about 8 days on the show Jeporady, is a Cargill employee in Minneapolis and is working on the Tartan project.  

Willie continues to be a great 'travel camper' and loves having his mom and dad both at home all the time.  He has a bed in the trailer under the table and one in the car.  We are doing really good.  Surprisingly, we aren't getting 'cabin-fever' or driving each other crazy.  We take lots of walks and have settled into the routine I was worried I would miss!  We each have our RV 'jobs' and it's working out great!  I'm the inside person getting things set up - nesting ya know and Gil handles all the outside stuff like water/sewer/cable hookups.  Hoping for the snow to stop falling on our friends and family in Minnesota!!!  Enough already!