April 10, '14

I managed to get all my pre-launch tasks done a bit faster than the last time I camped in an RV campground--dumping gray and black water (waste water to the non RVers) was more organized, and that task takes me the most time.  I did my pre-launch walk-around-and-check twice.  Good thing!  The second time I noticed my fresh water hose laying on the pavement where I put it to warm up so it would coil and store more easily.  Maybe I need to do that check a third time--I go around looking at Myrtle's various openings and don't look at the ground.

Another beautiful morning--a bit nippy, but not bad.  Sutherlin turns out to be north of Roseburg, not Grants Pass, so I had an hour longer drive than I thought I did.  But I made it into California before noon.  The gas economy (HA!) has been fascinating to me--skip it if its boring.  From Vancouver WA to Sutherlin I averaged 11.3 mpg.  I did not reset it, so I watched the average drop as I went up over the Siskiyous--down to 10.4 at one point.  I think that means I was probably getting something like 8 mpg going up the hills.  I ended up here in Red Bluff with an average for the two days of 10.8 mpg--that is a lot better than I expected.

I had an invaluable learning experience this afternoon.  I stopped at a rest area to check the correct exit number for the Red Bluff RV park, and thought I'd open the gallon jug of Arizona iced tea for something cold.  So here is the lesson:

JUST BECAUSE NOTHING SHIFTED AROUND IN THE FRIDGE YESTERDAY DOES NOT MEAN IT WON'T TODAY.

I opened the fridge without my spare hand in place to catch whatever.  Of course it had to be the unopened gallon jug of Arizona iced tea.  That jug hit the floor and exploded!  I had an iced tea river heading for the truck cab and I just stood there saying "What?  Towels?  Towels, you idiot!"  The tea, which of course has sugar in it, is not cooperatively running down the steps so I can just open the door. Or pooling up in the rug.  I did manage to get a towel dam built before much of it ran into the cab, and it turns out there is this little hole in the floor just under the back of the passenger's seat.  I don't want to know where it goes because whatever is down there is now sugar coated.  When I pulled into my space in the RV park I picked up my lawn chair and Livy, and we went out and sat and meditated on the great treetops around us.  Or at least I did.

Eventually I got us hooked up, washed down the walls, cupboard fronts, floor, and one of Livy's paws, changed into some non-sticky shorts, and trekked off to the laundry room to wash everything.  Hint:  I want more of those back-packing towels for Christmas.  They are awesome.

So I'm sending you some pictures of the gorgeous flowers near the laundry room.  And I hope you are all done laughing, because at 8 pm it was 80 degrees.  So there.

Love the old-fashioned roses!

Absolutely perfect.

First rose in full bloom I saw.

The sticky culprit!