Leaving California....

Our Monday started with a very early morning pull away from our Caliente Springs Resort site, hitching the swivel wheel, loading the motorcycle, saying good bye and driving away.

Hector and Chico (his great dog) were up early and eager to lend a hand

Jeanette and I wanted to be rolling out very early.  Our goal was to drive the nine hours required to get us to Kit Fox RV in Patterson, off I-5 in central California.

Lining up to attach the swivel wheel

Attached and secured, I fired up the Nomad...and very quickly rode it up the ramp and on to the deck.

Readers may recall when I wrote about losing the clutch on the motorcycle riding up the twisty and curvy high mountain highway 74.  When the engine was hot, the clutch would not work.  It is worn out.  Choosing to take it back home for repair, I thought of a few ways to load it onto the swivel wheel.  One thought was that maybe....just maybe....with a cold engine, I may have sufficient clutch to quickly load it.  I tested the theory out several days before departure and, sure enough, a cold engine offered sufficient clutch to get it loaded.  And it did!!! 

Driving north on Highway 62 from Desert Hot Springs.

Bye byes exchanged with Diane, Hector and Chico - and with a nice, fresh coffee in hand offered up by them - we drove away from park.

Long, long climb up Highway 62 towards Yucca Valley

Our very first 30 minutes would entail a long, very long climb up Highway 62 to Yucca Valley before turning onto 247 and heading north towards Barstow.  To manage that climb long before the forecast high 100+ heat was a worthy goal too.

Driving #247 in the Lucerne Valley, heading to Barstow.

We headed west from Barstow on I-15, taking a turn onto Highway 58 towards Bakersfield, CA.

The lovely area around Tehachapi, Ca

 By 12:45 pm, we rolled by one of our most favourite RV parks, Orange Grove.  It is mere minutes east from Bakersfield.  Rolling through Bakersfield was a breeze - albeit the road construction - and before long, we headed off Highway 99 north, onto Higwhay 46 west towards I-5.  In Lost Hills (just off I-5), took us north again on I-5.  I-5 will be our route from this point going forward.

Our pull through site at Kit Fox RV park in Patterson, CA

By 4:30 pm on our first drive day, we were settled in at Kit Fox RV.  We did not unhitch. We were tired but happy to have traveled a long day.  Our plan going forward would be far more reasonable.  Day 2 would see us drive 5 hours - driving through Stockton and Bakersfield, CA - to our planned second night stop at the Rolling Hills RV park in Corning, northern California.  We arrived and were all set up by 2:00 pm.

Our site in Rolling Hills RV park - at the Rolling Hills Casino

By early evening, there was not one site available here or on the paved boon docking site.  It was busy with transport trucks and RVs.  Being in the RV park was a gift.  Very little noise.....nice private sites....and lovely afternoon temperatures and great views overlooking the lovely golf course here.

 We took a long walk under sunny skies but with very breezy west winds buffeting golfers.  Jeanette did suggest a round for me but to golf those windy conditions would be trying at best....and it would be a rush to try and play 18 holes before sunset.  We just enjoyed walking the grounds and checking things out.

The waterfall that fronts the Rolling Hills Casino.

 Jeanette spotted several olive trees and had to check one out.  She is pulling off some older olives from the branches.  The ground was littered with fallen olives.  For the uninitiated, this area is famous for growing and reaping olives.

Enjoying the late afternoon sun - away from the wind.  Arriving early gave us plenty of time to select the right site to block off the wind.  Ours was a very comfortable site offering great valley, golf course and mountain views to the south and west.

Every possible site was taken by 6:00 pm

We head further north today.  Our travel plans include driving through the major passes that will take us from northern California and into southern Oregon.  We have two possible overnight options and we'll report on the site that would best suit us in a later post.

It's off to close up and get the wheels rolling once again.

Thanks for dropping by.