San Bernardino To Acton, California – The Longer Way

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 22nd year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

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Yesterday I drove the motorhome 104 miles from San Bernardino to Acton, California. The longer way.

 

My normal route would have taken me via California Highway 138, a drive of 69 miles. There is an unusual cold weather front in the area. Highway 138 crosses Mountain Top Pass at 4,810 feet of elevation. Because of the cold front chains were required yesterday morning. I have no chains and really have no interest in driving the motorhome in snow.

 

So instead, I took the longer routes of Interstate Highways 210 and 5 and California Highway 14 for a total of 104 miles. 35 miles longer than my normal route. The last 10 miles of the trip, I traveled on Soledad Canyon road which is very scenic and contains a number of commercial movie ranches and filming locations.

 

In 2015, I published a blog entry about Soledad Canyon Road which you can view by clicking this link…

https://otrwjam.wordpress.com/2015/03/11/soledad-canyon-california/

 

 

Here are a couple of photos on Soledad Canyon Road I took yesterday morning…

 

 

 

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then arrived at Thousand Trails Soledad Canyon RV Resort…

 

 

 

My parking spot…

 

 

 

And the usual dinette window photo…

 

I expect to depart here April 3rd.

 

 

 

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

 Forecast for today is partly sunny and 53 degrees. At 5 AM, this morning it’s 33.8!  Brrrrr!

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 700 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110455945462646142273?source=pwa

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2018

Wilsonville, Oregon

Yesterday I drove the motorhome the 145 miles from Lacey, Washington to Wilsonville, Oregon.

I departed at 8:10 AM driving in fog which became dense at times and stayed with me until I crossed into Oregon…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

I took Interstate Highway 205…the by-pass around Portland, Oregon. There was so much traffic on 205, I wondered if anyone was using Interstate Highway 5 through Portland…

After three hours of intense and dangerous driving ( I hate Interstate Highways…but sometimes you have to use them if you want to make any progress in a timely manner), I arrived tired and parked overnight at Moose Lodge #1598 in Wilsonville where they provided an electrical connection so I could use my electric heater…

Here’s the usual dinette window photo…

I spent the afternoon reading, taking a nap, doing some computer work and visiting with the local Moose members. I’ll continue my southerly journey later this morning. Google Earth is telling me I’ve got 647 miles to go until I arrive at Mary’s home at Murphys, California.

Yesterday’s high temperature was 65 degrees with partly cloudy/sunny skies. At 5:00 AM when I arose thus morning it was 43 degrees! Brrr! Time to put on some miles heading south!

Last night I watched another old movie from the 1930’s. This time it was 1939 – The Hunchback Of Notre Dame starring Charles Laughton. Another classic!

Enjoying friendly Moose clubs is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Oregon. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

A BUMPY TRIP TO FLINT, MI.

We left  Grosse Ile yesterday with our usual early morning walk. I get to enjoy other people’s gardens this way.

The flowers in the neighborhood are much prettier than what I have at home.

Tall, Ornamental grass I’d never seen before caught my eye.

Unexpected in such a close neighborhood was this doe and her still spotted fawn right next to the Bronco when I rounded the block. For me,  still a treat even though I have pesty deer in my yard at home all the time.

We left with our electrical problem unsolved. We stopped at an auto supply and picked up new connectors for the “brake buddy” system and battery charger to the Bronco from the motor home. Hopefully, down the line, that will solve the problem. Another stop for a tire rotation and another for an oil change on the motor home. Then, the bumpy interstate 75 north to Fraser Michigan. The roads here are just terrible. Jolting the motor home, jarring your teeth and me picking up things that don’t usually fall or giggle loose.

We stopped in Fraser, Michigan to have lunch and chat with another old school chum of Jim’s he hadn’t seen in fifty years, Ray Ferullo. We had a good time reminiscing at lunch. Ray was also part of the Revere “gang’s” Shark Auto Club. He conceded that the group of friends, Bill Gallagher, Al Penta, Jim, himself and a couple of others were definitely walking the fine edge of nearly getting into trouble. “No one went to jail,” he said.  “We were ah, “noticeable” around school.”  It was fun.

Then, back on the jarring, bumpy, pot-holed interstate to just outside of Flint, Michigan where we spent the night at a friendly VFW post # 3027. We have been unable to find Soo Hill and Danforth on the map and a woman in the bar got out her atlas and helped us narrow down where it might be. Danforth is old tromping grounds of mine. We had our first home telephone in Escanaba, and our second in Danforth with a multiple party line. For some reason or another I can still remember our phone number in Danforth. It was 2505XJ. We’ll see what happens when we get closer.

Oakland, New Jersey – Day 1

Yesterday I drove the motorhome the about 100 miles from Allentown, Pennsylvania to Oakland, New Jersey. Most of the drive was on Interstate Highways 78 and 287 with LOTS of traffic and MANY 18-wheelers. While the speed limit was 65…most vehicles zipped along at 75-80 miles per hour. It’s a downright dangerous situation and very stressful driving. Unfortunately when you are in this part of the United States the other roadways are very narrow, congested and very slow going. My driving technique is to stay to the right, maintain about a 60 mile per hour speed and hopefully avoid any problems.

We are parked in a beautiful park-like setting at Elks Club #2167. Here are some of the photos that I took when we arrived in the blistering heat…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

We have a peek-a-boo view of the Ramapo River through the windshield…

and the usual dinette window photo…

About 4:00 PM we were joined by my friends Jim and Ginny Palumbo whom I have known since 1976. They live about a five-minute drive away. We went to an Italian restaurant for supper…

Where I had pasta and meatballs. One good thing about being back East is one can get delicious Italian food…

About 5:30 this morning I took a walk around the grounds…while it was cooler..and took a few more photos. Mary really likes this place. This Elks Club is essentially closed for lack of membership. That’s really sad because it’s such a pretty place. So, it’s also quite quiet and peaceful here considering we are in such a heavily populated area.

Mary flies out of Newark Airport on Wednesday to return home to California for about a six-week stay and I’ll depart Thursday morning heading for my son’s home in Connecticut. Mary has a tentative return-to-me date of July 16th.

Yesterday was another scorcher and it’s supposed to that way again today. Here’s a photo I took at 5:30 AM yesterday morning…

Here’s an image from accuweather.com showing the heat and unhealthy air quality advisory for today. I’ve placed a red dot at our approximate location in Oakland, New Jersey…

And we are still about three weeks away from the official start of Summer!

Like yesterday, I hereby declare YUK, YUK and YUK for the current weather!

Enjoying beautiful fraternal club grounds is another joy of the full-timing lifestyle!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of New Jersey. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

I’ll Be Making Some Adjustments…

hopefully later today.

I arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico yesterday on a Sunday morning at 10:00 hoping for light traffic. The below map from the visitors center shows that Albuquerque has two intersecting Interstate Highways forming, more or less, a big plus (+) sign in the middle of the city. I-25 running North to South and I-40 running East to West…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

I must admit I was truly surprised at how much traffic there was on a Sunday morning. Sure glad I didn’t decide to come in on a weekday!

I settled in at Moose Lodge #2241 shown as #1 on the map….

This is the view out of the dinette window…not bad for a large city…

It was difficult to find a relatively flat piece of ground in the sloping grade of the parking lot. The reason I chose this location is because it is very near to the only Workhorse Chassis (the kind on the motorhome) repair facility in the area. You might remember a couple of weeks ago when I entered Truth or Consequences that the ABS light came on…

I stopped at the local Chevrolet dealership there…but their three different diagnostic scanners would not communicate with the Workhorse Chassis. Hence my current appointment at the only Workhorse Chassis repair facility in the Albuquerque area at 9:00 AM this morning. Hopefully by noon the ABS light situation will be rectified and the Anti-Locking Brake System will be working properly.

So…what adjustments am I talking about. If you look at the above Moose parking lot photo once again…

On the far right side of the building you can see a sound barrier wall. Directly on the other side of the wall is eight lanes of a very busy Interstate Highway 40. The sound barrier wall really doesn’t work. The parking lot is VERY NOISY FROM THE HIGHWAY TRAFFIC AT ALL HOURS OF THE DAY AND NIGHT! Get the picture? Trying to get some sleep last night was a real nightmare! Pun intended! It’s interesting to note that on the left side of the above building…just on the other side of those trees…is a KOA Campground where folks are paying $46 a night and listening to the same noise I had last night.

So, what to do? Yesterday I took the Bronco and did some scouting of the area. One of the places I went to is VFW Post #401 shown as point #2 on the map…

it’s located very near the airport where I’m scheduled to meet Mary one week from tomorrow. It’s situated in an industrial complex with a locked gate at night and quite quiet for being in a large city. Once the ABS light is fixed…hopefully today…I’ll be moving over to the VFW Post. The Commander there said there’s no problem with a long-term stay.

The only potential glitch with moving today is the Workhorse Chassis repair facility might not have the parts to affect the repair. If that’s the case…I’ll play it all by ear.

A few days ago when I was camped at South Monticello Campground on Elephant Butte Lake…I mentioned that the quiet there was almost deafening and that I would be wishing I had some of that quiet here in Albuquerque. I was so right!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust