Driving Day

Canyonville, Oregon: Again, we woke to a beautiful clear day in Sacramento. It was pretty chilly though. We were up early and on the road north via I-5. Not far north of Sacramento, our sunny day became cloudy and it began to rain.

Before we left this morning I made a pot of my famous Inverter Stew. This dish is simply a basic beef stew recipe, cooked in a crockpot (that is sitting in the sink of your RV, powered by your inverter, cooking-away while you drive down the road).

I also used a Reynolds Slow Cooker Liner because I am lazy.
(The lid is strapped down because I am not stupid.)

We stopped in Corning for fuel ($2.95 per gallon for diesel) and for a stop to a "tourist shop" - The Olive Pit. Now, I won't say this is the best place for a break, or the worst place for a break. Truth be told, we haven't been here since our daughter was in a car seat (and Lisa just attended her five-year college reunion). Not too much has changed. The Olive Pit sells local and imported olives of all sorts, in every flavor, ripeness and stuffed-ness imaginable. They also sell a huge selection of pickled vegetables, salad dressing, gourmet foods, teas, candies, dried fruits, nuts and assorted condiments.

RV NOTES: The Olive Pit is just a block west off I-5 at Exit 631 in Corning, California. They have long pull-through RV parking spaces and a dog exercise area. The store offers free olive tastings and a restaurant serving burgers, hot dogs, shakes and Italian coffee drinks at extremely reasonable prices. On-line and mail order also available. (GPS: Latitude N39°55.720'/Longitude W122°11.809, Elevation: 260 feet)

The Olive Pit in Corning, California

We made sandwiches in our kitchen (parked in the Olive Pit parking lot) and then continued north. Checking the ODOT road report, we learned it was snowing on the mountain passes and chains were required. We kept checking via my blackberry (I was also checking the Oregon Senate race results constantly) and as we approached the Siskiyou Pass, the chain restrictions were lifted, so we forged ahead. Traffic was light. It was just us, and approximately five million semi's on I-5 today.

The view from here

We made it over the passes and wanted to stop for the night, but there was no room at the inn (i.e. RV parks). This is typical when the pass is closed or restricted. RVer's either stop after crossing, or stop and wait to cross in the morning... so it is difficult to find a place to stay either side of the mountain passes.

Around Medford, I noticed the wind screen wipers were very noisy. On closer inspection it was the wiper over the driver-side of the window making the racket. It was crossing over the center seam in the wind screen on the up-side and popping down below the window on the down-side swipe. Hmmm. Actually, we thought it was going to go flying off the bus altogether at any moment, so we pulled-over. Thank goodness we did. The bracket holding the wiper to the front of the bus was virtually hanging off! Two huge screws holding the bracket to the bus were popped out over an inch! DT went to work on this task with a gigantic Philips head screw driver and we were back on the road in no time. Whew!

Don't forget, these are not the original wipers. Long time readers may remember that a few years ago while in Pullman, Washington for a WSU-Oregon football game, we were vandalized - someone broke both wipers off the front of our motorhome. Disgruntled fans? ("Someone" also stole 48 cans of beer from our cooler that weekend... they did not take the cooler, just the beer... still not sure how they carted all those cans away... maybe engineering students?)

Anyway, it was mostly an uneventful day. We broke our "don't drive after dark" rule, simply because we couldn't find a place to stay. We continued on until Exit 99 - Seven Feathers Casino RV Park - one of our favorite over-night spots.

Time for the stew! I made the dish with Oregon grass-fed beef (from my freezer) and vegetables purchased from the Oxbow Public Market in Napa. Everything was organic. The stew was delicious, served with a "Pain pour deux" loaf of garlic bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dip.

Our supper

We are having an early night. It is chilly and we are tired. Until my next update, I remain, your road warrior correspondent.

RV Park:Seven Feathers RV Resort. (I-5 in southern Oregon, exit 99.) We love this place. Though we have only been to the casino a few times, the new and modern Seven Feathers is a convenient stop between Portland and points south. Large full hook-up sites, great indoor pool and spa, walking paths, bath houses, laundry, free wifi, shuttle to casino, pet friendly and people friendly. A host in a golf cart will guide you to your site. The casino has shows, restaurants, a bar, hotel and gaming. You may opt to camp overnight in the casino parking lot at no charge. Seven Feathers also offers a travel plaza/truck stop with fuel and a coffee shop. The RV Resort is across I-5 from the casino, away from the freeway and very quiet. Tonight, with Good Sam discount, we paid $34.20.