We’re in our fourth day on the road, heading north from Burns, Oregon on U.S. 20. We should arrive in Bend, Oregon by early afternoon. We will be staying there (Crown Villa RV Resort) for six nights including July 4th.
It’s been a pretty good trip so far. We’ve had the normal issues that arise as soon as the motorhome hits the road; there’s always something. This time is was the Norcold 1200 refrigerator acting up. The freezer got super cold quickly, but the two bays of the refrigerator proper didn’t want to cool down. It took a couple of days, for some reason. I will have to look into that.
The on-the-road weather has been pretty good thus far for the trip. Not much wind except once when, without notice, the rig shifted about 8 feet to the left very quickly. Luckily, no one was in the oncoming lane, or we would have made a terrible mess out there on Hwy 95.
Speaking of that, yesterday I passed a crappy pileup near McDermitt, Oregon. A semi-tractor trailer combo had executed a head-on with a truck hauling a bunch of porta potties. A messy sight, for sure. I hope the drivers made it out okay. I wonder if a strong wind gust caused the accident? Scary.
The two dogs, Baby and BonBon, are in “RV mode”: they are happy, playful, and enjoying the sights and sounds of new places. This is BonBon’s first big trip, although we broke her in on a couple of small trips (like to Denver and Cedar City). She particularly likes to sit on top of the couch and look out of the window at people and animals at whatever RV park we are visiting. JayJay used to like that, too.
It will be warm when we get to Bend later today. The entire Northwest has been suffering from record heat (it was 110 plus degrees for a couple of days earlier this week in Seattle…an all-time record). We can probably expect temperatures in Bend to be in the 90 to 100 degree range while we are there. Luckily, our ceiling fans and air conditioner units work well…so far. If we can survive Bend, then we can expect the weather to improve markedly on the Oregon coast where it has been in the 60 to 70 degree range. Ahhhhh…the beach! Can’t wait!
We ate “out” in Burns last night at a little Mexican restaurant. Okay food, nothing special…but it tasted great. We’ve been on a Nutrisystem diet for several months, so anything with a little flavor tastes special. I am really looking forward to the great seafood on the Oregon Coast. We know some joints in Charleston and Brookings with excellent fish, calamari, and crab. Yummy!
The Covid-19 pandemic seems to be winding down in Nevada and Oregon. Most people are vaccinated and maskless, and the businesses that survived are attempting to resurrect the prosperity that they once enjoyed. It is hard to believe how any small business survived twelve months of restrictions. The ones that did are going to find less competition, for sure, at least for awhile. They are also going to have trouble bringing back all of their low-wage employees, many of which have moved on to other careers or may have returned to Mexico for work (how ironic!).
Our 120-mile trek today to Bend will complete a 1,000 mile swing through one of the most desolate, sparsely-populated portions of America (central Nevada and eastern Oregon). Lots of sagebrush, very little evidence of moisture, and rudimentary structures, mostly in need of repair. It is amazing to me that anyone would choose to live in this region but places like Tonapah, Winnemucca, and Burns have survived for a long time…obviously somebody likes it there! Incredibly, even in these most desolate areas, farmers and ranchers are able to eke out a living.
I wonder if they will make it another hundred years, given the toll that Global Warming will take. Groundwater wells can only last so long. (Heck, we face the same jeopardy in Mesquite, Nevada, where scads of new homes are putting pressure on our limited acquifer. I expect restrictions to be announced soon from our local water district.)