Weather watchers.....

 6:36 am - Tuesday - April 12th - Gardnerville, NV - 19° F!!!, 60% humidity, wind 5 mph out of the south by southwest......crystal clear, BLUE, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 44° F, but we will not see that high as we roll our wheels in about 90 minutes to Likely, CA where it is also 19° F as I write, but has a forecast high today of just 36° F.  On this date in 2014 TLE and I were hiking a slot canyon near Kanab, UT......↴

The winds began around 2 am Monday and howled most of the day with gusts into the 40 mph range quite often.  With the wind came first rain, then snow......

....the snow came in the afternoon, and just about the time it began to stick, it stopped.  Snow for two hours is interesting, and fun, but more than that begins to make one worry about driving conditions the next day.....lol.

Due to the high winds, rain and snow we  stayed inside the entire day, as one might expect, being weather watchers.  I did venture outside for brief interludes three times, however. Once when it stopped snowing, and raining to retrieve one of my winter jackets from the trailer (I put them away back before we left Seal Rock), and the other was, again, after it stopped snowing and raining to wipe down only the VW windows....it was too cold to do anything more.  The third, and final time was near sunset to remove the tire covers once I was sure it was not going to rain anymore....didn't want my shiny ALCOA wheels to get dirty, so I covered them Sunday afternoon before the rain/snow came.

Otherwise, Monday was a very laid back day.  We watched a complete Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester City, I watched some YouTube videos, we read a lot, and there were at least two well deserved naps.  We had four electric heaters (bedroom, bathroom, salon, and water bay) running continuously all day long, and into the night as the temperature never got out of the 30's.  As I write this morning (Tuesday) we have those same four electric heaters running, plus the salon gas furnace.  

We were in bed by 10 pm....at least I was.....Tuesday will be an early day as we want to get out of the Elks Lodge by 8 am to take on diesel and propane before heading north....we want to arrive in Likely before it begins to snow Tuesday, which is forecast to be around 2 pm.  

When we are traveling we pay very close attention to the weather as there are a number of weather conditions we try to avoid like the plague.....high cross winds, headwinds, snow, rain, and fog.  Often the weather forecast will dictate when we begin our driving day, such as Tuesday. Originally we were going to continue our drive north Monday, but the high winds, rain and snow changed that plan to Tuesday.  We have delayed our departure from numerous locations over the years due to high winds, snow, rain, fog forecast along our route.  The only time we will drive on windy days is if the wind is a following wind (sailing term)....or in other words....a tailwind, and that has been the case a number of times.....nothing like a tailwind to improve your fuel mileage, right?

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Weather holding pattern......

 7:18 am - Monday - April 11th - Gardnerville, NV - 43° F, humidity 50% (not sure how it is only 50% as it is raining....lol), wind 20 mph out of the southwest....forecast for today is rain/snow with a high of 47° F.....in Likely, CA the current temp is 36° F with a forecast high of 39° F, and snow...what are we getting into?

On this date in 2017 we rode our bikes from the San Luis Obispo Elks Lodge down to Avila Beach and back.....↴

.....the view this morning....we're all alone at the Gardnerville Elks.....↴

All by ourselves Monday morning!

Sun, blue skies on one side of the coach.....

.....and rain, heavy cloud cover on the other side

Sunday was a beautiful Carson Valley day, and even though the temperature only got to 63° F, it felt warmer than that.  We needed to check out a fuel station in Carson City for accessibility for our 62' feet of rolling steel....this station (Sinclair) has the best diesel price in the Carson Valley at $4.47/gallon...everyone else is at $4.89/gallon....42 cents per gallon adds up over 180 gallons....almost $76....to save $76 we'll drive to check out the station....lol.  Additionally, we wanted to visit the local Trader Joe's and COSTCO one more time to stock up on a few staples we prefer to buy at those stores.

We left home around 11 am to make the 21 mile drive north into Carson City to first check out the fuel station.  Usually I can tell if we can get in and out of a station by looking at Google Earth and/or Street View, but sometimes I need to see it in person to be sure.  Early on in our journeys we got into some tight situations in fuel stations, and do not want a repeat of those experiences.  It took about 25 minutes to get there, and within a couple of minutes we knew it would work for us, so when we leave on Tuesday, or Wednesday (weather permitting) we'll top off our tank there.  We have enough diesel left in our tank (about 75 gallons) to make to Likely with more than a few gallons to spare, but we like to arrive at a job with a full tank as that prevents moisture from building up inside the tank over 5, or 6 months, plus who knows how much diesel will cost in 6 months the way things are going?

After stops at COSTCO  and Trader Joe's we were home by 1:30 pm, and settling in to watch the final round of this year's Masters.  After all the dust settled Scottie Scheffler won by 3 strokes over Rory McElroy, which is Scottie's fourth win in the last 57 days....sounds almost Tigeresk, no?

Most every time we pass through the Carson Valley we get together with college friend Terry Dickerson.  Her husband, Chuck, died about 13 years ago, unfortunately.  I've been friends with the Dickerson boys going back to college, and am still in contact with Chuck's younger brother, John.  Losing a spouse late in life is not what any of us plan, but when it happens there is a void left, of course.  About 6 years ago Terri met a very nice man, Bill, with whom she has been since then.  We haven't really had a chance to meet, and get to know Bill, so we made arrangements to meet Terri and Bill for dinner Sunday night at one of our favorite local Mexican restaurants......

Dinner at El Charro Avita in Carson City

.....we met them at their home just south of Carson City around 5:30 pm where we spent an hour talking, and then drove together into town arriving at the restaurant around 6:30 pm.  Then for another two hours we talked non-stop....what a great evening spent with good people, and we love Bill!  Our table was in a back corner of the restaurant, and I was facing away from the rest of the tables, so I had no idea we were the last ones in the restaurant at 8:40 pm.....lol.  It's been a long time since we closed down a restaurant!

We were home around 9:20 pm, and beginning to witness the forecast winds, and heavy cloud cover moving in.....there is an 89% chance of precipitation all day Monday, so we will be hunkering down most of the day.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Eastern Sierra interlude.....

 7:58 am - Sunday - April 10th - Gardnerville, NV - 33° F, humidity 37%, wind 3 mph out of the east by northeast......partly cloudy today with a forecast high of 63° F....a 30° differential!  On this date in 2015 TLE and I were visiting 'Four Corners'......↴

New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona

For the first time in about a week we slept with our windows wide open  Friday night in Bishop, CA.  We awoke Saturday to the sun hitting the Sierra Nevadas to the west.  Our goal was to be on US-395 northbound by 8 am....I think we exited the Tri-County Fairgrounds around 8:10 am....not too bad.....

....within 15 minutes we were beginning the assault on our first high elevation summit of the day...Sherwin Grade.....

The beginning of Sherwin Grade.....about 8 miles of 6% grade...a real 'grinder'

.....the coach ran well Friday over Cajon Pass, and several other long climbs, but Saturday we would be going over 5 high elevation summits....Sherwin Grade at 6,427', Dead Man Summit at 8,047', Conway Summit at 8,143', Devil's Gate Summit at 7,519', and lastly Simeh Dimee at 5,987'.....these five summits would prove to be the 'acid test' as to how well our radiator is working.....

Mammoth Lakes is still 30 miles away

That 6% grade is relentless!

.....it took us about 30 minutes to climb the 8 miles of 6% grade to the summit, and we took a break at the Crowley Lake Vista Point so I could check the coolant and oil levels....all was well.  Within minutes after that stop Mammoth Mountain came into view.....

Mammoth Mountain on the left (snow capped), and the Minarets on the right

.....next up was Dead Man Summit, then the city of Lee Vining, followed by Conway Grade which takes us the Mono Lake Vista Point, just short of Conway Summit.....we always stop here whether going north, or south to take a few pictures, and Saturday was no exception......

....we spent about 20 minutes before continuing on to Bridgeport.....

Conway Summit...the highest point on US-395 which runs from the Canadian border in Washington State to San Diego, CA

.....after Conway Summit there is a long 8 mile downhill grade into Bridgeport where we found a place to park, and took about a 40 minute break, including a walk around town before we continued our northward journey.....

The old county courthouse

Diesel is $7.39/gallon in Bridgeport....ouch!

.....about 10 miles outside Bridgeport we came to Devil's Gate Summit, and then the long, long downhill through the Walker River drainage, through Walker, Coleville and Topaz......

....before passing Topaz Lake......

.....and into Nevada....only one pass remains....Simeh Dimee, and then it is downhill into Gardnerville and Minden, NV.....

.....usually we overnight at Silver City RV Resort in Minden, NV, but we found out recently that there is an Elks Lodge in Gardnerville which provides 50 amp electrical, and water, so we decided to check it out.....

......they have 5 paved sites which more than fit our 62' length, the Lodge looks pretty new, and the nightly rate is just $20....

....we arrived at the Lodge around 1 pm to find four of the five sites were available.  We would have preferred to park in the site on the far left of the picture above, but due to the tightness of the parking lot it was easier for us to park right next to the Phaeton, which you see to the left of the Newell.

After getting set up for a few days we headed out to a local micro brewery called Shoe Tree Brewing Company....they have two locations....Minden and Carson City....we chose the one closest to us in Minden. Yelp gives this location 5 stars on just 5 reviews, so it must be pretty new.  The one in Carson City gets 4.5 stars on 80 reviews.....we come in around 4 stars....if there had been food, and it was exceptional we would probably be at 4.5 stars......

.....as I said, they don't serve food, but there is pizza place next store, so TLE and I ordered a medium Factory Special with Anchovies (amazing pizza!), and then went into the brewery to order a couple of brews.  We enjoyed our pizza and brews alfresco, which is our preferred mode of dining.  TLE had one of their Porters (Shoe Tree Cocoa Burrito Supreme), and I their Shoe Tree Gingie-Gingerbread Brown.....both brews get high marks from TLE and I.  What a nice way to end another successful travel day.

So far we have covered around 420 miles from Fontana with only the minor speedometer issue......the engine, transmission and oil temps have been right where they should be translating into a very stress free drive so far.  We'll hang out here in the Carson Valley for a few days before continuing to the Likely Place RV and Golf Resort on Tuesday, or Wednesday...it really depends on how the weather plays out.  We're supposed to have rain/snow here in Gardnerville Monday, and in Likely, CA snow is forecast for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  There may be no way to avoid the weather, but we'll see.  There may be a weather window from Tuesday evening to late Wednesday when there is no precipitation, so we are inclined to leave here Wednesday for the final 206 miles.  We'll top off the diesel tank, which now sits at about 1/3 full, at the good Nevada price of $4.47/gallon.....over $2/gallon less than it was in Fontana!

Thanks for stopping by!

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When uncertainty turns to certainty......

 7:10 am - Saturday - April 9th - Bishop, CA - 51° F, humidity 25%, wind 5 mph out of the north by northwest....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today in Bishop with a forecast high of 81° F, but we will not be experiencing that high....we roll our wheels in about an hour for Minden, NV where the high today will be 69° F.  Meanwhile, in Likely, CA, our ultimate destination it is 28° F right now as I write.  Here are some snapshots of Minden, NV and Likely, CA for the next few days.....↴

Minden, NV

Likely, CA

.....looks like some weather is coming to Northern California.....do you see that low of 16° F in Likely this coming Wednesday?  Looks like we are moving from Spring back to Winter...lol!

We were up by 6 am on Friday wanting to get out of Fontana before the high of the day, 98° F, arrived.  We were actually rolling our wheels out of the Elks Backyard about 7:10 am, and northbound on I-215 to I-15 a few minutes later.  We reached the summit of Cajon Pass before 8 am, and transitioned to US-395 northbound, which will take us all the way to Likely, CA, our summer destination.

By 10 am we were in the beautiful Owens Valley.....

....oh how I have missed those big, long views!  The coach ran wonderfully with engine, transmission and oil temps back to where they should be...I am so thankful for our reconditioned radiator!  

About 10 miles south of Coso Junction (Rest Area) my speedometer suddenly quit working, and when it stops working so does my cruise control....doh!  I've had problems with the signal generator several times over the years, but the last time I had to fix it was about 4 years ago, and since then it has worked flawlessly until Friday.  I was determined to get it going again, so within minutes of arriving at the Rest Area I was under the coach detaching the signal generator unit from the side of the Allison transmission.  Within a minute, or two I saw it was something simple....something I could fix in seconds, which I did.  I had the generator reinstalled within minutes, and we were back on our way with a now functioning speedometer, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, a functioning cruise control.....the cruise control depends on a signal from the signal generator to function...without that signal there is no cruise control. 

Our first destination of the day was Lone Pine, CA where we have stayed numerous times over the years at Boulder Creek RV Resort.  I figured if I was tired, or we were still having issues with engine temps we could stop there, and continue on the next day, however, when we arrived around 11:30 am the coach was running cool,  and I was ready to continue to Bishop, CA and Tri-County Fairgrounds.  Within an hour we were cruising down Main Street in Bishop, and by 1 pm we were in our campsite.....

.....from Bishop it is 150 miles to Minden, NV....not a long driving day, but over that 150 miles we will go over a lot of high elevation passes, which will be a real test for our radiator.  It is one of my favorite drives.....the scenery between Bishop and Minden along this Eastern Sierra highway is just spectacular, and we never tire of it....US-395 is our 'Mother Road'.

There was no need for A/C in Bishop on Friday....the high temp was only 84° F.  We spent the afternoon watching Round 2 of the Masters golf tournament.  To say I heaved a big sigh of relief when we arrived in Bishop without any overheating issues would be an understatement....at last all the uncertainty of the week melted away, and I was once again certain our home was in good working order.  Frankly, worrying about how the coach would perform after all the work we have had done weighed heavily on my mind all week, so for me to tell you I took a long nap during the afternoon should come as no surprise.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to buy a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!

A long day, but a very short post.....

Good afternoon!  We left Fontana around 7 am this morning (Friday), and I didn't have time to post my latest blog post until now....thank you for your patience!

 4:25 pm - Friday - April 8th - Bishop, CA - 85° F, 10% humidity, wind 6 mph out of the southwest.....clear, blue skies today in Bishop....our view right now↴

Tri-County Fairgrounds, Bishop, CA

.....on this date in 2014 TLE and I were touring 'Antelope Canyon' near Page, AZ....amazing slot canyon......↴

They finished hooking up all the hoses to our radiator, and pouring back in the coolant around 11:30 am Thursday morning, but there was a semi tractor parked in front of us having its radiator replaced, so we could not leave until they finished, which was around 12:30 pm.  We were back at the Elks Lodge by 1 pm, plugged in, and had both A/C's running to cool down the interior on this 95° F afternoon.  Once the interior was cool again, I went outside to finish organizing the trailer for turf and VW insertion Friday morning around 7 am.  

By the by, the total cost to remove and reinstall the radiator, 'rod' it, and paint it, plus a few other things they fixed, was around $1,900....far less than I had expected.  If it had needed a new core the cost could have exceeded $5,000.  Our radiator was last 'cored' back in September of 2006, and it cost $4,000 then, so one can only imagine the cost to do the same today.  All that being said, Sal said we had a very good radiator, and it should be good for years to come.

I didn't finish with the trailer until close to sundown, and then it was time for a long, hot shower.  We were in bed a little after 9 pm knowing we wanted to roll our wheels as close to 7 am as possible to beat the heat out of the Pomona Valley, which was forecast to be 98° F Friday, and we wanted no part of that climbing Cajon Pass which tops out around 4,000'+ elevation....we would begin that climb at 1,200'.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to buy a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!

Hope for the best, expect the worst, or maybe something in between....lol!

7:36 am - Thursday - April 7th - Fontana, CA - 75° F, humidity 16%, wind 10 mph out of the north.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 96° F. On this date in 2015 TLE and I were hiking the Honiker Trail down to the San Juan River near Goosenecks State Park, UT......↴ 

When I called Continental Radiator Service on Tuesday they told me they thought they would be finished fixing the Newell radiator, and have it reinstalled by Wednesday afternoon.  I thought that was rather optimistic, so I kind of prepared myself for disappointment as TLE and I began the 143 mile drive from Montecito back south to Fontana Wednesday morning around 9:30 am.  I would have been satisfied to arrive back at Continental to find they had finished the radiator, but did not expect it to be back in the Newell Wednesday.

After a completely uneventful, rather light traffic drive south we arrived at Continental around 12:30 pm, and after unlocking the Newell entry for TLE I walked to the back of the Newell to see if the radiator was back in the Newell.....

....as I anticipated, it was not.  My next question, "Was the radiator finished?", was answered in pretty short order. I looked around and saw Sal standing talking with one of the workers about 20 feet away, so walked over to ask him about the radiator status.  As I approached he was talking, so I waited for a break in the conversation.....as I waited I looked down at what they were looking at and realized it was my radiator lying there on its back.....

.....that made me happy....I could see it had been painted, and was back together.  I spontaneously spoke saying "That's my radiator....", to which Sal said "Yes!.....we're finished fixing it, and we will have it back in the Newell by the end of the day ready to have its hoses reconnected to it first thing Thursday!".....to which I replied...."Cool!".  So, it was not as good as promised, but better than I had hoped, and I am good with that.

I noticed when I was inspecting the rear of the Newell a lot of rust scale on the support beam, and mounting brackets.......

....after talking with Sale I decided to walk to a local hardware store I had spied on our way to Continental Monday morning to buy a wire brush, and some black Rustoleum paint to get rid of as much of the rust scale as possible, then cover it with a good coat of paint before they set the radiator back in the Newell.  It took me about 30 minutes to wire brush all the metal, and then apply a few coats of paint.....

......the job of dealing with the rust courtesy Coastal Oregon will go on for some time, but I am getting a handle on it slowly, but surely.

Within a couple of hours of me painting the rear area of the Newell the guys were reinstalling the radiator....it took 4 guys......

.....and there she is....back in the Newell, and bolted in....now it is time to attach the numerous hoses!

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog we are in the middle of another Santa Ana wind event, and with it comes the attendant heat.....the high on Wednesday was 94° F, and the high Thursday will be 96° F....thankfully we are plugged into 20 amp electric, and were able to run our rear A/C all afternoon, and into the night.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to buy a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!