July 2009: Another visit to my ol' buddy Al in Oregon
Cruising over Shasta Lake
2009-7-12
Sunday, Home to Klamath Falls, OR via I-5, US97: 351 Miles
I looked forward to this trip with much anticipation as I haven't been on the road other than the terrors of SoCal driving for quite some time. And, of course, the trips to Brannan which aren't quite the same as being On the Road Again. I hit the road around 0900 and headed up I-5. At Weed, I took Hiway 97 to Klamath Falls, about 350 miles altogether. Along Hiway 97 the wind blew to about 35-40 MPH, and in K-Falls the wind continued blowing, although about 20 MPH or so.
On
this day I turned 70,000 miles on the coach. We bought it with less than 5000
miles so we are, indeed, getting our money's worth with it.
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2009-7-13
Monday, K-Falls to Prineville, OR via US97,etc.
Morning dawned calm and cool and I turned on the coach heater as it was in the 50s in the coach. I went about my usual morning chores, took my walk and was on the road by 0900. It is a beautiful drive along US97 in Oregon, and I greatly enjoyed the beautiful morning.
I arrived in Prineville a bit after noon, and my first stop was at Les Schwab Tires to get a price for new shocks for the back of the coach. I got a very good price, and set an appointment to get the work done Thursday. I replaced the front shocks at 43,000 miles, and the back shocks now have over 70,000 miles on them. I should have replaced them many miles ago.
I
arrived at Al's place and it was good to see my old high school buddy once
again. I dropped the jacks at his place and set the coach up to spend a few
day. We hooked up his new 14' pontoon boat to his van and headed to a nearby reservoir for
its maiden voyage. We were both very pleased with its wonderful ride, huge
amount of deck space and the quiet and trusty little 9.9 HP Suzuki 4-stroke. We
trolled a bit, but mostly cruised the required two hours at and below half
throttle to begin properly breaking it in. Tuesday and Wednesday we will head to
mountain lakes to do some serious fishing.
After
the boat ride we headed home and dropped the boat, then headed to a local
Mexican restaurant for some good food to go. We followed up with treats from
Dairy Queen. So much for my diet during this visit.
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2009-7-14
Tuesday, fishing with Al
We
left early for Wikiup Reservoir near La Pine Oregon, about two hours from
Prineville. We launched the new pontoon boat into a glass-like lake and spent
the next few hours trolling and jigging for trout and kokanee. There was a
hatch of flying insects that filled the area with flitting critters that
seemed to cover the entire lake. The fish were no doubt full of bugs, and the surface feeding
never ended as we tried our best to catch a few fish. We didn't have a bite the
whole day. Nevertheless, it was as beautiful day on the lake as one could hope
for. The sun was bright and warm, the lake was flat calm and we had a great
time trying. But we went home empty, having not had so much as a nibble all
day.
Once
home, we decided on Chinese food for dinner, and once again I pigged out. I
guess this vacation includes a few days off my diet. I'll have to do a lot
better when I head for home. We have another day of fishing on Wednesday at the
local Ochoco Reservoir. Maybe we'll do better.
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2009-7-15
Wednesday, fishing with Al again.
We
continued our fishing adventure, and this day we went to the nearby Ochoco
Reservoir. We managed to boat a few little crappie, one little catfish
and one trout of about 8" and covered with sores - all caught while
trolling. All were released. We fished from about 0900 to about 1230, then
headed back home. It was another beautiful day on the water, and this lake was
not at all buggie as was Wikiup. While the fishing was slow the whole visit, we
did have a grand time together fishing and visiting - and breaking in Al's
grand new pontoon boat.
We
went shopping in the early evening, and came home with roasted chicken for
dinner. I ate a whole chicken! And I loved it. But when I leave Al's on
Thursday after the new shock absorbers are installed on the coach, I have got
to get back on my diet!
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2009-7-16
Thursday, heading for home via US97 to Klamath Falls, OR = 174 miles.
the new shocks installed as planned, and Al and I had breakfast at a nearby restaurant during the install.
I
headed for La Pine, about 30 miles south of Bend, to visit my sis and her family
for a few hours before continuing on to Klamath Falls for the night. My
brother-in-law wanted to join me for the trip south. We planned to spend the
night at Klamath Falls Wal-Mart, then head home the next morning. I would drop
him off in Gridley,CA , then head on home.
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2009-7-17
Friday, Klamath Falls, OR to home via US97, I-5, SR99 = 353 miles.
I was up at 0430 on the final day of this Oregon trip. My stirring about woke up John who slept on the couch. I tended to my usual morning chores, made coffee, washed the front coach windows, etc. and we were on our way to Gridley by 0600. It was a wonderful drive on a beautiful July morning in Oregon.
We
arrived at Gridley at 1100. John was at the end of his trip and I had another
couple of hours to go. I drove through the Sacramento traffic and arrived home
at 1400. It felt good to be home, and in just 10 days Lavonne and I will again
board the magic carpet and head for Colorado. Life is good.
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