Friday April 11, '14

We woke up to a beautiful warm morning in Red Bluff.  I hadn't been on the road long when I spotted a giant "Truck Wash" sign.  Because Myrtle was now covered with Oregon and California bugs in addition to the Washington dirt, I remembered brother David's advice and decided to give it a try.  There was no office, just a road around the back of the building where two lines of semis (with trailers) waited their turn.  So I got in line, feeling kind of silly given Myrtle's size in the company of these trucks.

When I came to the front of my line I got to watch the performance.  Four, sometimes five, guys ran all around the semi in front of me with about four kinds of very long-handled washers.  Lots of shouting to encourage each other as they did front, sides, wheel wells--everywhere.  As they were getting toward the end of the job one guy grabbed a flashlight and ran around and checked everything.  They did some touch-up here and there, and then it was my turn.

It turned out that you go into the office to pay after the job is done.  They checked to see what I wanted done, guided me into the building, had me roll my window up, and went at it.  Very cool to watch from the inside--sprays of foam, fuzzy scrubbers, soft brushes, and lots of high pressure water.  I checked to make sure that Livy wasn't freaked out--she was sitting on the bunk very calmly watching out the window.  Her eyes were the size of saucers, but she has evidently decided that Myrtle is home, and a good safe place!

The whole process took a good 10 minutes and only cost $30.50!  Great entertainment and a clean RV--not bad at all!

We continued on south down I-5.  From north of Sacramento down to our stop for the night at Santa Nella, I-5's concrete pavement is a nightmare.  It is in terrible condition, which I suppose is a reflection of the state of California's finances. I just got in the next-to-inside lane, tucked in behind a semi, and gritted my teeth. The asphalt is somewhat smoother south of Stockton, although the concrete bridges and overpasses continue to be rough.

RV park view from bed.

We are now in Santa Nella RV Park, just off I-5 on highway 33 (you'll see my view of 33 in a picture below).  We are just a skip from highway 152, which will us take over Pacheco Pass through the coast range and onto highway 101 tomorrow.

It was sunny and warm when we got here, but it has cooled down to 73 degrees at 8:45 and is quite windy.  I'd just as soon get the windy over tonight, so I don't have to deal with wind AND curvy mountain roads at the same time.  Oh!  My gas "economy" got back up to 11 mpg this afternoon.  I have to say, cruising along at 60 mph is pretty nice too!

Livy is birdwatching.

That's a Walmart truck on hiway 33.

New bugs since the truck wash!

My personal palm tree.