roadquill1

Yesterday (Thursday) after our stay at JD Hemphill’s Ranch thanks to Harvest Host, we drove north to Standish CA, and then followed HWY 395 further northeast to Alturas, CA. We ate a massive breakfast at the Wagon Wheel Cafe, and then continued until we hit 299 just past Canby, CA. When HWY 139 cut off to the northwest we followed it all the way to Klamath Falls, OR. This highway route is one of my favourites for scenery, low traffic and for uninterrupted listening of my iTunes playlists! We had some beautiful sunshine, and a few snow squalls (nothing sticking), but felt that we were lucky to have missed the major weather that went through the night before. Too soon, folks! Too soon!

After purchasing fuel, and a few groceries in Klamath, we found our RV Park, RJourneys, heading out of town on Hwy 97 which leads to Bend, OR. It was a chilly night and with -2º predicted, I chose not to connect our water hose. Good plan, Stan!

This morning, on the south (under) side of Oregon, here is what was happening at 6:30 a.m.:

Unfortunately, the law in Oregon states that in certain areas and during posted winter conditions, all vehicles under 10,000 lb (that’s “pounds” for the younger generation), and pulling a trailer must carry chains. As a comparative side note, in California, any vehicle with 4-wheel drive is exempt from this rule. Since we had not brought our chains, we were a bit concerned as the fine for not abiding by the law is $880.

I found an App (OR Road Report) which shows all highways and all possible risks. It includes all the road cams, so I spend much of the next 2 hours checking the road cams.

We waited until almost 9:00 a.m. and since the snow had basically stopped falling in Klamath Falls, and the road cams all looked passable, we continued on our way. Needless to say, as we headed north on 97, we caught up to portions of the snowfall, but nothing was sticking so at Hwy 58 we turned west to head over Willamette Pass to Eugene. The rest of the ride was beautiful, and restful, until I turned too early to get onto I-5, and we wandered around the countryside for a few kilometres before finding our way back onto that vehicle conveyor belt!

We landed at Portland-Woodburn RV for the second time this trip and are now comfortable in our very filthy TruckHouse Jr. The afternoon and evening were beautiful with temperature at 17º. The bright side of Oregon – is here!

Tomorrow, we hit our second Harvest Host site at Port Angeles, and then on Sunday morning we “Coho” it back to Victoria for our final leg over the Malahat.

Looking forward to getting home, cutting the lawn and getting into our hobby habits – quilting and woodworking.

Love and best wishes to all!

Tony, and Sandy