Monday & Tuesday – Feb 3&4
Close your eyes, clear your mind… drink in nature’s beauty (or, at least, share a sip) with me…
Brilliant blue skies over seas building… stronger and higher as they course towards the shallows and crash upon the rocks and beach, clouds (low) and fog mingling with the mists pushed up from the waves crashing on shore and spraying Chuck as we pass. Thick, ever-green forests towering over the roads… so tall they block the sun and the sign says “headlight area ahead” … And that was just one short passage of a long day of driving.
We have had two days of fantastic views provided by mother nature. Not just the redwood forests, not just the open Pacific ocean as far as we could see, and not just the beautiful beaches (Sophie just loved to frolic on every chance she got)…. but later, this afternoon, such wide open and flat expanses you could just picture the wagon trains spread out meandering their way towards a far-away horizon and praying nothing bad would happen while they had no cover. And then, if they actually made it across the flats, how on earth did they manoeuvre through the deep and treacherous river gorges and valleys? We thought often about our forefathers and mothers… and how courageous and strong they must have been to have even attempted to pass through this terrain on their journeys north and west.
And, oh boy, did we enjoy the Fish Market, a fresh seafood cafe, right on the water of the harbour at Bandon.. the neatest little town… with the bestest fish and chips. And then there was Brookings; what a cool place. Folks come from all over to fish the rivers in the area. The only sort of bad thing that happened there is that, while driving down a darkish street looking for the evening meal, we accidently drove over broken glass. That wasn’t the worst. While out checking the tires I found no glass embedded (that was good) but I did find a self-tapping screw drilled right into one of the tires (that wasn’t good). All tires still being round we had dinner and headed back to our motel. The next day (this morning) I got up early and headed back 4 blocks (Brookings isn’t very big) to the Les Schwab Tire Center… got there an hour before they opened and walked right in. Told my story to the nice young man who signed Chuck up for the first appointment. Not only did these folks fix the ‘screwed’ tire, but they checked all four for glass, checked the tire pressure in all five.. and had the whole thing finished by 0830 hrs. And then, they charge me $0.00 for the service!! Wouldn’t even take a donation to their slush fund.. nada. Just a smile and a hand-shake and I was on my way. Well done Les Schwabb… thank you !!
Today’s drive took us through the red-wood forest and up to an elevation of at least 3500 feet. The good news is it was a dry and sunny 3500 feet and Chuck did the hills just fine. We finally arrived in Williams, had a nice dinner and have checked in to our hotel. Tomorrow we will be leaving early (0500 hrs.) as we have a date to look at a Casita trailer in Henderson, Nevada. We’ve been watching for one of these for some time now… they’re rare as hens teeth and sell even faster; sometimes only hours after being listed. Kathy has spoken with a fellow who owns one currently stored in Henderson and we hope it will still be there when we arrive. So…. it’s to bed early tonight and up before dawn…. Chuck’s gassed and oiled and aired and ready to go. The princess is already asleep and snoring away… dreaming of sandpipers on foam sprayed beaches… and Kathy’s researching insurance, sales and tax laws in Nevada, California, Washington and Arizona. Me, I’m just chatting with you all… and hoping that life is going well for you and yours…. Take good care.. talk again soon…. CJ
