And then something jiggled.....

7:48 am - Friday - October 18th - Bishop, CA - 39° F, humidity 40%, wind 14 mph out of the north by northwest (there is actually NO wind right now).  On this date in 2018 we were driving the final leg of our journey to work at Amazon in Campbellsville, KY.....in these pictures we are near Lexington, KY, and then parked at an RV park across the street from Amazon in Campbellsville, KY.....

Horse country

Heartland RV Park, Campbellsville, KY

 .....this would be our third, and final time working at Amazon.  The view this morning.....

The past few years we have only overnighted at Bishop RV Park, but this time we wanted to stay at least two days, to get a chance to just relax after driving for three straight days, plus check out a couple of the local eateries at which we have not previously dined.  The past two years we have been heading south to keep a deadline at Glamis North Hot Springs, but this year we are under no deadlines....when we get to where we are going, we'll be there.  The day dawned clear after the aforementioned overnight rain, but it was under 40° F until well after 9:30 am, so we just stayed put inside the Newell enjoying the surrounding views until it was warm enough to walk over to Schat's Bakery on Main Street.  It is about 4 blocks from the fairgrounds, and is about a 10 minute walk, at most.....

.....the early morning view Thursday just before we began our walk.  Having coffee and pastries at Schat's is a tradition we have going back many years.  When we were at Mammoth Mountain skiing, or mountain biking we'd often have breakfast at the Mammoth location.  A stopover in Bishop must include coffee and pastries, and the purchase of their famous 'Sheepherder Bread', as well as any other baked goods, which might strike our collective fancy...

....we were back home around 11 am at which time I changed clothes in order to take care of a long deferred task....clean out the Newell engine bays.  They were filthy, and I am embarrassed I procrastinated so long in cleaning them.  I began with the driver side bay by emptying out all the stuff (coolant, oil, transmission fluid, Lynx Blocks, etc.), then thoroughly hosing down the area to remove all the accumulated dust, and dirt

The aforementioned 'stuff' I store in the driver side engine bay

The milk crate in which I store 90% of the 'stuff'

The pressurized 'bug sprayer' I fill with degreaser to clean the interior

Everything back in its place...now onto the passenger side

....in the passenger side engine bay I store our portable fire pit, and pancake air compressor....it wasn't quite as dirty, but it was a close second....

Clean once again

Everything back in its place....the large 6" x 6" blocks are used to 'block' the coach when I need to go under it, which is rare

....once the engine bays were clean I headed inside to take a much deserved early afternoon nap.

One thing I must confess right now is I've been on pins and needles since Wednesday morning when we were preparing to leave the Elks Lodge in Gardnerville, NV.  As I often do, I checked the oil and coolant before departure.  I was expecting the oil to be down at least a quart (Detroit Diesel 2 strokes do use oil), but it was just past the full line.....hmmm.  Next I checked the coolant and found it down a couple of quarts.  The first thing that entered my mind was coolant was leaving the cooling system and entering the oil pan.....a VERY BAD thing.  Coolant will damage the bearings, and cause a lot of other expensive issues.  As you know, my mind always goes to very dark places when faced with the unexpected.  I could smell no coolant in the engine oil, so I decided to worry a lot, but keep an eye on it when we got to Bishop.  Fast forward to Thursday afternoon....I had not checked the coolant, or oil levels since we arrived in Bishop as I was a little afraid of what I would find.  As I was preparing to clean the engine side bay I decided to 'face the music' and check the coolant level.  What a relief!  The level had not changed since I topped it off on Wednesday morning.  I next checked the oil and found I was down a quart, which I would expect after all of the climbing we did on Wednesday.  I know I already said it, but WHAT A RELIEF!

Another restaurant we have never eaten at in Bishop is 'Holy Smoke' Texas Style BBQ, which is on the opposite side of Main Street from Schat's Bakery.  Wind was forecast for mid afternoon, but by 3:45 pm there was no wind, so we decided to walk over for some ribs.....

.....we arrived a little after 4 pm, ordered a couple racks of ribs (High on the Hog Ribs), and had barely sat down when the ribs arrived.  AMAZING!  We were not able to consume both racks, so we took one of them home for later consumption....lol.  

The title of this blog indicates the possibility that the 'Jello' is jiggling, and it is.  We had planned to be in Bishop for just two days, leaving Friday, but we are in the middle of a 30 hour wind event, and one of our least favorite things to do is drive the Newell in windy conditions.....especially a side wind condition, which we would have if we left Friday (this morning), so we have opted to 'shelter in place' here in Bishop until Saturday morning.  Having no deadlines to meet makes the decision very easy for us, so we'll hunker down Friday, and continue our journey on Saturday morning.

Thanks for stopping by!

Leg 3 - Eastern Sierra magic.....

 7:36 am - Thursday - October 17th - Bishop, CA - 39° F, humidity 69%, wind 5 mph out of the northwest......mostly clear today with a forecast high of 77° F.  On this date in 2020 TLE and I were having breakfast at 'The Coffee House' located in the Historic Bay Front area of Newport, OR.....

The largest 'Americano' I've ever been served!

.....the view of the Sierra Nevadas out my salon window this morning from Bishop RV Park at the Tri-County Fairgrounds......

We've been doing the drive between Gardnerville, NV and Bishop, CA twice a year these past few years...once going north in the Spring, and once going south in the Fall.  The Fall trip is, and has always been my favorite drive anywhere in the USA.  It is only 150+ miles, but there are numerous passes/summits to surmount on the way, and the going is slow going up and going down, usually in 2nd gear at about 28 mph.  They always say you go down a grade in the same gear you went up it, and we have found that to be wise advice.  Cameras do not do the views justice, but with TLE's help (she took all of these pictures) I will try to give you a sense of what we see along the way.....

Topaz Lake, NV

Back into California

Quacking aspens on the climb to Conway Summit

US-395 is 1,300 miles in length, and this is the highest point in that 1,300 miles

Mono Lake coming into view as we descend from Conway Summit

Beginning the descent from Sherwin Summit down Sherwin Grade (8 miles of 6% grades) to Bishop, CA

....we departed the Tahoe-Douglas Elks Lodge around 9:30 pm to get ahead of the forecast rain for the area scheduled to arrive around 11 am, and managed to stay ahead of it all day.  The drive south was beautiful, quite cloudy, and relaxing.  We arrived at Bishop RV Park (located in the middle of the Tri-County Fairgrounds in Bishop, CA) after a completely uneventful drive around 1:30 pm, and were in our site with water and power by 1:45 pm.  We took one 20 minute break in Bridgeport, CA, but were otherwise moving southward continuously for the 4 hours it took us to reach Bishop.

Around 4 pm TLE and I took a 3/4 mile walk over to 'Whiskey Creek' a fine dining restaurant, which has been a Bishop staple for decades.  The original 'Whiskey Creek' was located at Mammoth Lakes, CA, and we used to eat there a lot back in the 70's when we would spend around 30 days a winter skiing there.  That one closed a few years ago, but the Bishop one is still going strong.....

....the rain we escaped in Gardnerville was scheduled to arrive in Bishop around 6 pm, and we were walking, hence the early dinner time....

....we ordered a bottle of McIntyre (located in the Santa Lucia Highlands near Monterey, CA) Pinot Noir (2019)....what a great Pinot!  For our appetizer we ordered their bacon wrapped shrimp, which was the perfect bite before the entrees.  I ordered, of course, their Filet Mignon with a side salad.....

....and TLE their Chicken Rama.....both dishes were exquisite, and what one would expect from a Yelp 4 star rating....

....for dessert we ordered two Expresso Martinis....what a great way to end a fine dining evening....

....we were home by 5:30 pm, just ahead of the rain...well, the rain did finally come at 7 pm, and went on for about 2 hours....never hard, but it was windy.

Thanks for stopping by!

A splendiferous Thursday in Bishop, CA

Leg 2.....

6:56 am - Wednesday - October 16th - LPG&RVR - 40° F, humidity 67%, wind ZERO mph out of the south....partly cloudy this morning with rain in the afternoon (but we will not be here) and a forecast high of 65° F.  On this date in 2020 I was cooking peppered bacon on our Coleman single burner on the 'lido deck' in Seal Rock, OR.....

....with a view of the ocean.

We were awake before 7 am, but true to our word, we did not get out of bed until the sun lit up the bedroom curtains.....so nice to get up when it is light outside!  I typed my daily blog post, and then we took two laps around the Rest Area to stretch our legs.  We were on the road by 9:30 am heading south on US-395 to Carson City, NV.  The drive south was just as pleasant as Monday's drive, only this day we would cover close to 104 miles before arriving at the COSTCO in Indian Hills, NV around 11:30 am.  We parked our 62' monstrosity across the street in a local sports complex parking lot, and walked over to COSTCO to do some shopping.  We haven't been to COSTCO since September 5th, so there was some pent up demand for things we only buy at COSTCO.  By the time we paid close to $400 for our purchases, and extricated ourselves from COSTCO it was close to 1 pm.  

Next up we drove a couple of blocks over to the Walmart/Trader Joe's parking lot (there is also an In 'N Out Burger there!) to do some more shopping.  Once that was done we walked across the parking lot to have our first In 'N Out Burger in months....I'm not really sure when we had our last one....probably last November....lol!

.....TLE ordered hers 'Protein Style' (lettuce wrapped, no bun)...we cherished every single bite.

We had one more task to complete before heading to the Tahoe-Douglas Elks Lodge in Gardnerville.....top off our propane tank.  The gauges are not real accurate, but it appeared to me that we had used about half of our 60 gallon capacity the past six months.  We arrived around 2:55 pm, not realizing they only pump propane until 3 pm.....whew, that was close!  We took on EXACTLY, and I mean EXACTLY 30 gallons at a cost of over $127....propane is getting expensive!  We'll be using our gas heaters a little more this winter, but I'm sure we can make the next 6 months on 60 gallons just fine.

We arrived at the Elks Lodge around 3:30 pm, and found there were four RV's there.  There have never been more than 2 on any of our numerous prior visits.  Fortunately, there was one spot I could back into pretty easily, and we were able to do so in one try.....that never happens! The gentleman next to us was pretty impressed.  TLE has learned to give good directions over the years, and our communication while parking the Newell and trailer has improved significantly.

By the time we finished setting up for our one night stay, and I had cleaned two days of bugs off the windshield it was getting close to 5 pm.  In all we covered 121 miles, so we have now covered just over 200 miles of the 770 miles to our destination.  We'll continue south on US-395 Wednesday to Bishop where we'll spend a couple of days at the Tri-County Grounds before continuing our journey....that drive will cover over 140 miles through some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere in the U.S. Stay tuned for pictures!

Thanks for stopping by!

The hiatus begins.....

7:42 am - Tuesday - October 15th - Honey Lake Rest Area, Janesville, CA -  39° F, humidity 68%, wind 2 mph out of the west.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 79° F.  On this date in 2016 TLE and I were having dinner with long time friend Don Neff at Christy Hill in Tahoe City, CA.....

....it was a very stormy Fall evening, and one could not tell the difference between Lake Tahoe and a stormy Atlantic Ocean.  One of our all time favorite fine dining restaurants, to which we have returned several times since.

Well, Monday was the 6th day we have been putting things away, and there was just enough time to get it all done before hauling anchor. Our goal was to leave around 2 pm as we didn't want to arrive too early at the Honey Lake Rest Area where we have overnighted on our way south the past two years.  I didn't take any pictures Monday as I was too busy putting the final touches on the trailer organizing.  There was a point where I didn't think it would all fit, but in the end I found a place for everything.

Finally, around 1 pm, we were ready to unhook ourselves from the LPG&RVR utilities, and move the coach out of site #55, where it sat in one place for 6 months and 4 days this year.  Whenever we sit that long I always wonder, and it is only natural, if she will work as she should.  That is why we only drive 80+ miles the first day when leaving LPG&RVR.  If anything arises that needs attention I can take care of it at the Rest Area, which I have done the past two years when the trailer turn/stop lights were not working.  This year they worked, and there were no other issues.

Once I had pulled the Newell forward about 80 feet I folded up the large artificial turf piece, and dragged it into the trailer, followed by the insertion of our 2001 VW Beetle, where it will reside until Saturday, or Sunday when we arrive at our winter destination.  And then we were off...well at least a few hundred feet over to the Clubhouse where we said our final 'until next times'.

As we crossed the bridge at the park exit it was 2:40 pm....a little later than we hoped, but still fine.  Our Garmin Trucker GPS unit advised our ETA at Honey Lake Rest Area would be around 4:20 pm....perfect!

In about 2 miles we were at US-395....our Mother Road....we turned left (southbound) and began our climb to Sage Hen Summit, which sits at exactly 5,555' above sea level.  The Newell performed flawlessly on the 10 mile climb, and then it was down hill to cross the Madeline Plains for the last time in 2024.  US-395 is pretty much straight as an arrow through the Madeline Plains, and you can see for miles.

We hit a couple of construction zones along the way, but we were in no hurry.  The road was straight, and smooth (new pavement), and there was a slight tail wind.  The big Detroit Diesel 6v92TA engine just purred as we floated down the highway.  I looked at TLE and said "It's good to be moving again", and she replied "Yeah", as she always does.  It it good to be moving again.  I am rarely ever happier than when I am behind the wheel of our home on wheels with the cruise control set at 60 mph, my driver side window open so I can hear the 6v92 purring like a kitten.  

Our drive south to the Honey Lake Rest Area was completely uneventful, and we arrived just before 4:30 pm, found a spot in the truck parking area, parked, turned off the Detroit, and just sat there for a few minutes enjoying the view, knowing that there will be no more early morning awakenings for six months.  We'll stay in bed until the sun lights up the curtains in our bedroom every single day......

Isn't she purdy?

....after checking the trailer interior to make sure everything had stayed in its place I pulled a Dr. Pepper out of the Norcold basement fridge, sat down in my recliner, and just enjoyed the view....

....we were expecting over night lows to be in the high 30's Monday night/Tuesday morning so we closed all the mini blinds and curtains to keep the cold air at bay, and it worked.  When we awoke Tuesday morning (today) the outside temp was 39° F, and the Newell interior was at 61° F.....nice!  We were in bed by 9 pm, and didn't get out of bed until after 7 am this morning....a very nice start to our winter hiatus.

Thanks for stopping by!