A windy trip home from our 'happy place'

    Home sweet home!  But getting here was pretty involved.  So soon the fun is over.

Stored for the summer

    We started the journey home as we always do with a stop at Camping World in Tucson to get the trailer winterized. While we were out killing time, actually watching a movie called “Dog,” I received a text notifying me that my trailer brakes were not working.

    The word was they had not been working for a long time so I authorized the shop to fix them as trailer brakes can be very important or perhaps you already knew that. The problem turned out to be a fried brake controller which was probably the most inexpensive fix possible.

   With that we rehooked up the trailer and began the trip to Flagstaff to store the trailer. But first, we got to do our annual (except for years when Covid screws everything up) stop in Casa Grande for a leisurely dinner. Unfortunately, our favorite restaurant there – Mimi’s – apparently didn’t survive the pandemic so we settled for Buffalo Wild Wings, which is the same place we grabbed food and ate in the parking lot in 2020 during the opening weeks of Covid.

Killing time at the mall

   After dinner we gassed up in Phoenix and began the long slow trip up the mountain to Flagstaff. We refueled again about 9:30 p.m. on the mountain and then arrived at our usual rest area about 10:30 p.m. only to find it completely full of trucks and RVs. Soooo,  we made a turnaround on the freeway and headed back to the rest area on the opposite side of the freeway where we found lots of room. It did mean about a three-mile back track but we both got a good night’s sleep.

    The trip up the rest of the  mountain in the morning was uneventful and the temperatures dropped to around freezing when we arrived at the storage lot about 6:50 a.m. It took us about 40 minutes to transfer our luggage and other stuff back to the Tahoe, secure the trailer for its storage and then made our departure.

    After picking up a cup of coffee for Joan we started the first leg of our trip to Bakersfield. Much of the freeways on the way there have been significantly improved and the journey was smooth all the way. We did have to negotiate the California agricultural inspection stations, which has become a joke.

 The inspectors merely stand at the finish line and wave everyone through. They used to ask if we were carrying fruit but apparently there is no need to do that anymore.  We could have been carrying a half a ton of citrus into the state and they didn’t even ask. Not saying we were carrying any citrus, but my lunch was really good that day.

California gas (cheap)

 We checked in at the Comfort Inn and had dinner at the same restaurant we ate at several years ago. As always this served as Joan’s birthday dinner. I really know how to treat a lady on her special day.  It was 82 degrees when we arrived.

    The next day, Sunday, was a shorter trip up the California valley. It was sad to see how many former farms are now just wasted fields overgrown with weeds. Lots of signs bemoaning the lack of water coming to the valley.

    Again, an uneventful journey and we arrived at cousin Cynthia’s at 1:12 p.m. The area was enjoying warmer than usual weather. Cynthia cooked us a wonderful dinner (it was our anniversary after all) and we enjoyed a nice dessert. Cynthia is a world class host and we have been the recipient of many wonderful visits there.

   On Monday, I headed over the hill to Santa Cruz to visit our son William arriving in the late morning. William and I enjoyed a nice day catching up and then we watched movies and William’s favorite – professional wrestling.  On Tuesday, I got up early, dusted his furniture and did some extensive yard work in front of his mobile home to satisfy the rules of the park. HOA rules and all that.

  While I was working Cynthia and Joan were enjoying lavish spa treatments, wine tastings, shopping and great food.

Joan and William

   I returned to Cynthia’s Tuesday night and enjoyed a night with my cousin and my wife and then on Wednesday, Joan and I got up and went back to William’s to spend the day. The weather was incredible and we were able to sit outside William’s patio and enjoy a wonderful time of visiting. 

   That night we met with William’s mother, husband, William and Joan and I at the Hindquarters Restaurant for a family dinner. All too soon it was all over and Joan and I dropped William off at home and headed back to Cynthia’s.

    On Thursday, the three of us got up, enjoyed a great breakfast and then headed out to do a little Livermore wine tasting. We had a delightful afternoon eating lunch and Joan and Cynthia did the wine tasting at Garre Winery. I, as always, was the designated driver. We had a delightful waitress there who made it a very fun day.

    On the way back to Cynthia’s house from the winery we noticed that traffic on I-580 eastbound was completely stopped. Several California Highway patrol officers were walking side-by-side down a long stretch of highway looking for something. I speculated shell casings and later on the news I learned I was right!  Just a routine California highway shooting and fortunately on the other side of the road from us.

Jim and Liz at Cliff House

   Then it was Friday morning and Joan and I headed out for a visit with our friend Jan who lives in Hidden Valley Lake California. We enjoyed a wonderful visit with Jan, including a short trip to the local Twin Pines Casino for dinner. Back at the house we visited some more and then headed to bed. I also found the cheapest California gas ($4.89) that I would find during our week stay. The other two tanks we purchased (at Costco) were $5.25, which in California terms is a real bargain.

    Just as a reminder Jan and her late husband Norm are longtime friends of mine and now Joan. They drove to San Antonio in 2012 to visit us there and we had a great time. Sadly, Norm died just a few months later, but we love visiting with Jan at her wonderful home.

    Saturday morning came quickly (hard to believe we have been gone from Arizona for a week now) and we were off on the first leg of our long trip home to Michigan. First we had a lunch date with another good friend of ours.  In recent years, we have always stopped in El Dorado Hills to visit Kenny, a man I worked with at the Atherton Police Department in the 1970s, and his long time partner, Liz.  Sadly, Kenny died earlier this year, but we wanted to stop and visit with Liz. We had a beautiful lunch at the Cliff House Restaurant on the American River in Folsom.

Liz and Joan at Cliff House

   And then too soon that was over and it was time to really start the trek home. The first part of the trip is a 60-mile climb over the beautiful Sierra Mountains near Lake Tahoe. Some years we come through and the snow is piled higher than our car. This year it was not so deep. In fact there was a severe shortage of snow. Another storm was expected just a day after we drove through so while we are happy they were getting more snow, we were equally happy it waited until we got through the pass.

   We did pass a semi truck and trailer that had an interesting slogan written on the side: “India kills minorities.” And something about “Never forget the Seik Massacre,” or something like that.  When I get a chance I will do a little research and find out what that’s all about.

   The temperature ranged from 55 degrees in the morning, to 76 degrees near Sacramento and then down to 53 degrees a little east of Reno. We saw a pretty persistent dust devil along I-80 in Nevada, a few wild prong horn antelope and we cruised into Winnemucca, Nevada about 5 p.m. at the Days Inn. There was time for Joan and I to visit a local casino and leave behind a small donation for the locals.

   The next morning we were invited to take our free breakfast back to our room due to ongoing Covid regulations and when I stopped to drop our room keys off at the office on our way out I forget to look where I was going and tripped on a curb. The fall was stopped by my face on the concrete walk which left my face a bloody mess. I’ll post a photo. Fortunately, the only thing really injured was my pride as I failed to break any bones. Just a solid bonk on the head.

On I-80 near South Lake Tahoe

   During our trip through Nevada, Utah, including the endless Bonneville salt flats, and then Wyoming we once again marveled at the varied beauty of the west. Also Wyoming has done a great job of building overpasses that allow deer, coyotes and other wildlife to safely cross the freeway. They have erected very high fences on both sides of the freeway and the animals are funneled to the overpasses for crossing. In some places there are tunnels under the freeway that serve the same purpose. We also went through Pumpernickel Valley, which must be where pumpernickel comes from.

   Our highest temperature in Utah was 46 degrees. I haven’t mentioned yet, but will start now describing our windy conditions that really began almost as soon as we left our friend Jan’s house in Hidden Valley Lake. 

   The wind would plague us in varying, but non-stop degrees all the way to Illinois. We were grateful that we missed the other bad weather that was following us, but the wind played havoc with gas mileage and with the ease of driving. Sunday ended in Rock Springs, Wyoming a place we have never stayed before.  We stayed at the Clarion Inn there and it was very nice. They had a nice restaurant where they served a wonderful free breakfast for people who stayed at the hotel.

   It would be good to mention here that Wyoming and it’s sister, Nebraska are very long states when going across them. Wyoming has some interesting scenery, but aside from a small area where flocks of Sand Hill cranes can be seen east of Kearney, Nebraska, not much to see in the Cornhusker state. We had a nice dinner at a local chain restaurant called Whiskey Creek.

Busted face

   We stayed, also for the first time, in Kearney, Nebraska at the New Victorian Inn and Suites which was a nice stop also. The wind was still following us and at this point it would have been a big money saver if I had purchased a spinnaker and main sail to aid us on the rest of our trip.

   On the long trip out of Nebraska from Kearney, we witnessed a semi-truck and trailer completely engulfed in flames on the lanes opposite ours and were confident that the fire had been reported but it was quite a while before we saw the emergency vehicles headed in the direction of the fire. It appeared the driver had gotten safely out of the vehicle, but we offered a little prayer just in case.

    A little further along we witnessed a semi-truck and trailer that had literally been blown over on its side. The winds were probably to blame. As for the sand hills we have seen more on previous trips.

    Our final stop (usually we stop at my sister Laura’s in North Aurora, Illinois the night before we head home, but she moved a couple years ago and I’m sure the new owners would probably not let us stay) was in Davenport, Iowa at the Rhythm City Casino and Resort. We had a nice dinner and after using up my free play and a little extra I went to our room and started on this blog post. Joan stayed behind in her never ending quest to aid the local economies of numerous reservations. The hotel and casino were relatively new and beautiful, but out in the middle of nowhere.

   On Wednesday, we headed out in only mild winds for a change, for home. We had a pretty easy Illinois crossing, but as we approached Michigan the rain started falling and we spent the rest of the trip wet. As we left I-69 in Lapeer for the final three miles to our house I quipped to Joan that we would probably get stopped by the train. Sadly, that turned out to be prophetic as our final leg home was delayed by a medium length freight train.

   We pulled into our driveway a little after 4 p.m. and almost 4 months after we left in December. Thanks again for joining us on our latest adventure. We started out on December 21 from Lapeer and landed back at home on April 13. We drove a total of 11,563 miles during those months.

Departure from Voyager RV park April 1

Mileage: 89952

Time: 8:22 a.m.

Departure from Camping World Tucson

Mileage: 89998

Time: 5:26 p.m.

Arrived at Flagstaff storage lot April 2

Mileage: 90282

Time: 6:49 a.m.

Departure from storage lot

Time: 7:34 a.m.

Arrival at Bakersfield April 2

Mileage: 90756

Time: 2:50 p.m.

Departure from Bakersfield April 3 (Happy Anniversary to us!)

Mileage: 90756

Time: 9:15 a.m.

Arrival at Cynthia’s house in Danville, California

Mileage: 91008

Time: 1:12 p.m.

Departure from Cynthia’s House April 8

Mileage: 91350

Time: 10 a.m.

Arrival at Jan’s house in Hidden Valley Lake, California

Mileage: 91449

Time: 12:15 p.m.

Departure from Jan’s house April 9

Time: 8:30 a.m.

Arrival at hotel in Winnemucca, Nevada April 9

Mileage: 91882

Time: 5:26 p.m.

Departure from Winnemucca April 10

Time: 8:15 a.m.

Arrival in Rock Springs, Wyoming April 10

Mileage: 92412

Time: 4:47 p.m. (MDT)

Departure from Rock Springs, Wyoming April 11

8:37 a.m.

Arrival in Kearney, Nebraska April 11 (CDT)

Mileage: 92982

Time: 5:42 p.m. (CDT)

Departure from Kearney, Nebraska April 12

Time: 7:56 a.m.

Arrival in Davenport, Iowa April 12

Mileage: 93465

Time: 3:05 p.m. (CDT)

Departure from Davenport, Iowa April 13

Time: 8:02 a.m.

Arrival at home in Lapeer, Michigan April 13

Mileage: 93923

Time: 4:09 p.m. (EDT)