Wet, Wet, Northern California.....

.....and the locals are thrilled with the heavy moisture.  We understand!  It has been so dry in California and here, in the northern part, residents faced endless summer fires, an earthquake in the Napa wine region and severe drought conditions.  

This photo tells the story of the driving conditions once we entered northern California, yesterday afternoon

Early Wednesday morning - Harrisburg, Oregon.

Jeanette and I were buttoned up and ready to roll out from the River Life RV Resort in central Oregon by 7:45 am, yesterday.  Unlike the previous night, there was no frost. Ten minutes later, we turned on to I-5 southbound with the goal to drive to Rolling Hills, CA; an eight hour drive.

Low clouds in southern Oregon

Driving conditions in southern Oregon were very good.  Intermittent sun between low lying clouds was the story for the better part of the first three hours. 

We drove through some low lying clouds which limited our visibility for very short periods.

Tire Pressure Monitoring System and our rear view camera

The seven inch colour TV in the cab of our truck helps us monitor how the swivel wheel, with the motorcycle, is doing out back behind the 5th wheel.  

Rolling by the Seven Feathers area - famous for its 5 Star RV Resort.

It has been our custom to overnight here, these past several years, but we chose to change things up a bit this year.  Our plan was to take only two days to get to northern California.  In years past,  we took three days to accomplish that.  As it turned out, the ABS issue with our truck made for a three day drive to accomplish our goal.  Two nights at the River Life RV Park was fine.  Getting the truck into a Ford dealer nearby was a blessing.  Getting the ABS brake fault repaired?  Immeasurable!

We count seven long up mountain drives with an equal amount of downhills.

The Siskiyou Mountain pass is the longest of several we have to manage to cross into northern California.  The road conditions were very good.  With no ABS dash light to cause us concern, we were most relaxed for the better part of the four hours it takes to return to near level driving conditions in northern California.  Our truck performed flawlessly.  

High elevations in northern California

Years past, we have always rolled past this All Star Liquors but we changed that up this time around.  Minutes after crossing into California from Oregon, this stand alone liquor outlet can't be missed. We rolled in.

RV parking is a ways from the entrance.

Jeanette and I walked in and we were quickly amazed by the size of the place.  The liquor selections were endless.  The prices?  Low, very low by our Canadian standards.  So, we made our selections, paid the low prices and, as is their custom, someone walks and carries the liquor to your vehicle.  Nice service.

The fella who is carrying our purchases told me he walks up and down this long drive and parking area all day long.  He is in great shape!  Nice guy too!

The liquor outlet looks small but it really packs in the cheap booze.

Rain, rain....and heavy at times too!

It was shortly after we left the cheap liquor outlet that we hit the heavy rains forecast for northern California.  And it was heavy at times.  No problems with traffic however.  We rolled without issues.

Shasta Lakes is thirsty for rain.  Bring it on.

Watching the local TV news last evening, we learned that rain accumulations in this area all bleed into Shasta Lakes.  More rain is forecast.  We drove through the first heavy rain storm and another one is forecast for mid to late afternoon today (Thursday).  The last of three storms is forecast for mid-Friday too.  Bring it on!  Californians desperately need moisture.

We chose to roll into the Rolling Hills Casino RV Park in Corning, CA.  Eight hours after leaving our central Oregon RV park, we arrive here at 4:00 pm sharp.  The ladies manning the RV registration office were thrilled with the rains.  

Busy, busy place.....

We learned of this RV park from Rick and Paulette Doyle  Rick's Bits 'n Bytes, Pics and News  On our return home last spring, we rolled into this place.  It is perfect for an overnight.  The RV spots are all pull through's.   Even with the heavy rains here, the graveled pads are level, dry and free of mud.  We paid our $28 and chose our own spot.  Within minutes we were settled in with full services.

We had dinner on board - a nice pasta - and we followed that up with a walk in the light mist of rain.  We did walk through the casino but there is little there that appeals to us.  We aren't fans of the one armed bandits.  The smokey smell permeated the outdoors too.  Unlike Canadian casinos - with no smoking rules - this casino (along with most US casinos) is not smoke free. There is a small area that is smoke free though. It was packed to the gills.
 
It was a pleasant evening walk though....and Rollings Hills is a very good overnight spot.

Oh....and the overnight temperatures hovered in the mid to high 40's (+10 Celsius), unlike the 28/28 degree F (-6 Celsius) we faced in central, Oregon.  

As I am about to publish this post, this Thursday morning, the outdoor temperature sits at 50 degrees F (+10 Celsius).  One more day and we should be wearing summer clothing.

Thanks for dropping by.