We left Idaho after the eclipse, as most others did also. But I was hoping, that as we traveled to the next destination, which was close to the path, there would be some clearing of places to stay.
We left Idaho and entered Eastern Oregon. It initially was was nice as we were following a river, but once we left the river and turned south on US395 it turned very ugly. Barren, desolate, blah. We got a spot in Lakeview OR at the Juniper’s Reservoir RV Resort with a Passport America discount. It was a nice campground for the evening. The manager mentioned that they were completely full for the last week or so (eclipse) and tonight was their first break. It also rained on us that evening continuing the persistent rain we went through during this entire trip. In the almost 4 months we were on the road, about 15-20 days did not bring rain to us.
The next day we continued on to the coast stopping for a bit to visit with one of Roxie’s cousins in Klamath Falls OR. We had just joined Boondockers Welcome and lined up a spot for the night between Medford and Grants Pass. This was going to work out really well, at least we thought it was. As we came down the hills into Medford we could see the smoke from the fires on the Oregon coast:
This type of environment is not good for Roxie as she had a bout of Valley Fever and her lungs are still affected by it. We contacted our boondocking host and told him we were pushing on. We contacted an RV park in Cave Junction OR and pressed on.
The smoke was even WORSE in Cave Junction. We told the RV park that we could not handle the smoke and we pressed on again on highway 199 to Crescent City CA. We ended up at the Walmart that night with about 20 other RV’s and others.
The next morning we continued to Eureka to spend 5 nights and visit some of Roxie’s family. She has a cousin there that is on Hospice and is not doing well. I tried to make reservations at the RV park just in town but they were full. I had to take the old KOA and an electric and water spot. I thought it would be fine. It wasn’t. This is potentially the WORST campground I have ever stayed at. See my review. We struggled through the campground inadequacies and were able to visit. But we had to move on to get to our Aug 31 destination.
After Eureka we went a bit more than halfway and stayed at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa CA. This is a Passport America location and it is a very decent location. Great for a one night stay. Then on to South San Francisco to stay at our normal location for a week.
This is the reason to get back to California:
A one-year-old!
We were able to see Atlas, Hannah, and Lukas numerous times even though San Francisco was in the throes of an extreme heatwave!
After we were done there we headed to our son’s house to moochdock next to it. We will be hanging around his house for a while, take some trips around, visit other relatives for the holidays, make some repairs/modifications to the trailer and then we will hit it again after the first of the year, hopefully with better timing!
Coming back to California makes me realize why we left in the first place over 4 months ago. This state is nowhere near how I remember it back in my teens. Everything seemed so vibrant, fair and hopeful. I feel dread, inequity, and despair now when I come to California. Products are so much more expensive than other areas. Here is where I have paid the MOST for diesel fuel than 21 other states. Here seemingly everything is taxed. They even tax ice here! The roads are in such disrepair even though the road taxes are the highest anywhere! Money is spent on things that don’t help everyone (high-speed rail, etc.). It is a sad state of affairs and is only getting worse. I don’t want to be dragged down by it. I am very happy to have Texas as my residence and I am sure California does not miss me one bit!
