Silver Spur RV Park
Saturday, October 16, 3 pm PDT Silverton OR
I’ve spent the last two weeks here in Silverton OR waiting for one part to be delivered to the RV Dealer located in Milwaukie OR, just south of Portland. The RV Park I’ve been waiting for is the rear Top Cap which is the piece underlying the fiberglass exterior of the top rear of the coach. I’ve got a very big crack in that part and it’s that crack that forms the main threat of water leakage into the coach. I have a large plastic patch covering the crack as a temporary stop gap, but that fix is starting to peal away. This RV Park is located 31 miles south of the dealer via back roads, 80 miles away via freeways. The rear Top Cap is due into the dealer on Oct. 21 and they expect to start work on the RV on Monday, Oct. 25th. The repairs will take 2 weeks and quite possibly more. Starting Oct. 25th, Woody and I will be bunking with Maureen Clark, a cat and dog show vendor who lives in rural Kelso WA.
On Oct 3rd, I had to ask a Bend Thousand Trails RV Park employee for help changing the inlet drinking water-line filter in my coach for the first time since I bought the coach. It had needed changing for months but I haven’t the shoulder and arm strength to twist off the housing, even using the special wrench supplied. The filter had become so clogged with solids and debris that my water faucets were only putting out a tiny trickle of water. My biggest problems (as opposed to the more expensive accidents that damage the RV) have been all the things that men usually do to maintain a home or vehicle that I haven’t the strength or experience to do. I usually have to pay a service company or repair shop to do the kind of things that most male RV owners do themselves, but I knew that when I bought the RV. However, I hate to take the RV into a local repair shop just to change a filter and it was Sunday when they aren’t open, and I really needed a shower. So, I’m glad the park employee was able, even anxious, to help me. I think he didn’t twist it on as tight as it was before so I’ll be able to remove it myself next time. And the shower with free flowing water (for the first time in at least a month) was wonderful. Life on the road.
I left Bend OR on Wednesday, Oct. 6 with snow in the forecast for the following weekend up on the passes between Bend and the Oregon coast. However, the weather was gorgeous on both Tuesday and Wednesday - lots of sunshine and blue skies despite a cold NW wind blowing across the lakes and through the 5000 ft passes. On Tuesday, I drove the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway taking pictures of Devil Lake
and a big lava and ash flow
. On Wednesday as I headed back east, I took a picture of Odell Lake 
just west of Willamette Pass and then continued over the dry pass and down through the Willamette Valley to Eugene OR. The pass itself was absolutely magnificent but there was construction, single lanes in each direction, and no place to pull off to take a picture. Since I got here to Silverton, I’ve just done maintenance stuff. I got a new battery for my CR-V because the original equipment battery was running down to zip in cold weather, especially after being towed. My auxiliary brakes, which brake the towed car when the RV brakes are depressed, had stopped working due to a connection or line failure. I got that fixed. I got a haircut, but once again, the girl cut my hair about 1.5 inches shorter than I wanted, so I’m back to a pixie. It’ll be at least 8 weeks until my hair grows out so I can get it permed. I ran out to Camping World for RV supplies and refills. I’ve read lots of books. And I went to see Secretariat (the movie) and love it. I was crazy about that horse back in 1973 when he won the Triple Crown. I watched all 3 races and read all about him in Sports Illustrated, which I subscribed to back then. I kept his cover photo on my wall (I was in Graduate School at the time). But I didn’t know the story about his owner, Penny Chenery, who risked everything on the hope that Secretariat would win the Triple Crown. Everyone is very good in the film. Diane Lane looks and acts great as Penney, as does John Malkovich as the trainer. I highly recommend the movie, especially if you like horses.
After the RV repairs are completed (nominally Nov. 9), I will head south to California. It will take me 4 days to reach Morgan Hill CA, south of San Jose vi freeway. The main concern is the high country on the Oregon/California border where there could be ice or snow on I-5 S. I plan to drive through that area on Day 2 after I pick up the RV, but will check the road and weather forecast to make sure that the weather will be warm or dry, preferably both or I will not start out on that leg. Gladys plans to join me for a couple weeks in the RV after the repairs are completed. I’ll probably pick her up in San Francisco after I reach Morgan Hill. If the weather south of the Bay Area isn’t too bad, we’ll spend around a week in the Morgan Hill area looking at sea otters near Moss Landing on the coast and visiting fruit /veggie stands and wineries in the Monterey Peninsula and the garlic and artichoke growing areas around Gilroy and Castroville. (November is really too late for otter viewing, but the RV damage and repairs have delayed my travel schedule by over a month.) From there, I’ll head south to the ranch country east of LA and thence on to Chula Vista in time for Thanksgiving with Bob and Carolyn Williams. Bob and Carolyn leave for New Zealand and Australia on Oct. 18 on a once in a lifetime cruise and will be gone for 24 days.
Woody is fine but has been taken off deli turkey. He was getting tired of it and throwing it up too often, so I’ve put him on meat baby food and Fancy Feast for treats. They are both more expensive and higher in calories than deli turkey, but they don’t upset his stomach. Woody prefers sitting in a sunny window to being outside in the sun because the air is too cold these days. I think he'll enjoy the change of scene at Maureen's house in Kelso. I just hope that her cats don't terrorize Woody.
