Tempe, or Bust!

Well, we almost got "busted", by equipment problems enroute, but somehow we made it with two Penske rental trucks loaded with almost our entire worldly possessions.  Lanie and I had already been down in Tempe, AZ for over a month before flying "home" to Eugene on Oct 29th, preparing to pack up our household goods, packed away in two storage units there since the sale of our house in May, 2013, and head to our new home in Tempe, AZ. We had precious little time to catch up with good friends in Eugene before getting down to the business of packing up and heading out. For that, we had the help, on Saturday, Nov 1st, of two hired hands from a local moving company, plus brother-in-law, Bret and his wife, Mickey.

 By Saturday night, we were all packed up and ready to go... sort of... it's hard leaving a town we'd both lived in for all (Lanie's) and most (Me) of our lives.  Good friends Connie and Addison had put us up (again) for our short stay in Eugene; and we were grateful (again) for their hospitality.  And then, Sunday around Noon, son-in-law, Drew, flew in from Denver as our "hired driver" for one of the Penske's (Lanie was to fly back to the Phoenix Valley Monday). Drew barely had time to get his feet on the ground in Eugene before he and I were headed down the highway Sunday afternoon on our 1250 mile trek to Tempe.

At a rest area near Roseburg, OR, My rig plus "Tessie", the Toyota, on a tow dolly behind

Day 1 – Sunday, Nov 2^nd – Intended Destination– Ashland, 190 miles -   Actual Achieved – Same

Okay, things started out well enough on that Sunday afternoon, except for when we had to park the  rigs that evening at a “too small” Hotel Parking lot in Ashland.  But before that, I discovered that my rig, the "Yellow Penske", a diesel,  loaded to the max and also towing "Tessie" (our Toyota RAV4), herself heavily loaded with boxes of dishes and fine china, was a  real "Pig" on the passes between Roseburg and Grants Pass.  We got down to 35 mph or slower several times, with my right foot urgently pressing the accelerator to the floor as we chugged up the inclines.  So it was a SLOW trudge down to Ashland, not a promising sign with the much higher and more difficult Siskiyou Pass looming the next morning... 

But, back to the Parking Lot Debacle.  I had been assured by Hotel Staff in Ashland that there was plenty of parking for "big rigs" in and around the hotel.  However, they would not let me, with my Yellow Penske and attached "Tesssie Tow Dolly", occupy most of the back half of their hotel parking lot.  So it was on to the street we went, to a cul-de-sac turnaround that he hotel clerk (again) assured me was plenty big enough to accommodate my truck and attached trailer.  

IT WASN'T!  Midway through the circle, I had the truck tires pressed to the curb, the trailer behind me was nearly jackknifed, and I was "stuck".  But Drew, up in the hotel room, and with a good view out the window of my predicament, came down to help guide me; and we were eventually able to inch our way out of a big jam and park on the street heading out to the highway.  Then, next morning, early, we were off, RIGHT ON SCHEDULE (the last time we could say that during the entire trip).

Drew walking away from his rig during a stop near Roseburg, OR.

Day 2 – Monday, Nov 3^rd – Intended Destination – Lost Hills, CA, 520 miles – Actual – 360 miles, overnighting in Paterson, CA.

Monday morning went well... it was the afternoon that unraveled in a hurry... but more on that later.  Anyhow, we chugged up the Siskiyou Pass out of Ashland.... VERY SLOWLY!.. the speedometer on my truck dropping all the way to about 28 MPH as we crested the summit. And for the next 100 miles or so it was slow slogging as well as we went UP and DOWN, and so forth and so on, until we cleared Shasta Lake and dropped into Redding and Red Bluff.  We'd survived the hilly Northern part of our route, and were on the flats of North/Central California, setting sights on Lost Hills, CA, just above Bakersfield,

At Weed, CA rest area, Mt. Shasta up close and personal!

And we started to make better time on the long, mostly straight, if also boring, stretches of I5 between Red Bluff and LA.... UNTIL we weren't!  But we'll get to that "UNTIL" bit in just a bit. First, have to explain that  I5 in this stretch clear of the mountains of Northern California is REALLY boring; and, since the Penske Diesel I was driving was so noisy I couldn't hope to hear the radio, I did the next best thing to combat boredom, singing my own songs, no doubt off key (trust me, my singing in a noisy truck cab with nobody else around is the only safe time for me to be opening my mouth like that.... I'm a terrible singer!).  So there I was cruising into and outta the greater Sacramento area, and belting out some great travel related lyrics from back in various days, like; 1) "Hit The Road Jack" (Ray Charles); 2) "Coming into Los Angeles, bringing in a couple of ki's, but don't touch my bags if you please, Mister Customs Man (That's a catchy tune I've always liked... but what the heck is a  "Ki(lo)"?.); 3) of course "On the Road Again" (Willie Nelson)... my personal theme song the last year and a half; and 4), rather oddly, given I was in California heading to Phoenix, "I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come" (Wilbert Harrison).

Uh Oh, should have taken that last song as an omen, since, the last time we were actually in the vicinity of Kansas City, in June of this year, we had a blowout on one of the 5th Wheel Tires, which delayed us in KC for a time.  So there I was singing "Going to Kansas City" and other songs, and somewhere Southwest of Sacramento and Fresno,  when my dashboard started beeping at me, a "low coolant" level warning, followed by a warning/directive to "STOP ENGINE"... It took me awhile to realize "Big Brother" (the Truck computer) meant "STOP NOW"... Soon, my engine, directed, not by me, but by "Big Brother", was slowing down, then stopping as I pulled off to the shoulder of I5. NOW WHAT?

 (AS Jonah Bug, our Grandson, would say ) Uh Oh!... Unplanned Shut Down along I5 South of Sacramento and Fresno

Drew had pulled to the side behind me, and, after a brief discussion, he agreed to head 2 miles down the road to the Next Freeway Exit and get a hotel room; as it was clear that Lost Hills, our intended destination that evening, but still 3 hours away, was "LOST" for the night, jinxed perhaps by that damn Kansas City song!

 I called Penske roadside service, and about half an hour later a "White Knight" (service truck) appeared on the horizon and pulled up in front of my stalled vehicle... He took one look at the engine and coolant reservoir, pronounced that I was short on coolant (Duh!) and added a gallon jug of water to the reservoir, telling me there was probably a slow leak in the system; but,  with the reservoir now full, I could probably make it the rest of the way to the Phoenix Valley.  He left me another jug of water, just in case, and a box of See's chocolate (he'd received a case of the chocolates from an ealier service customer that day).

A "Care Package" from the service guy, a jug of water (to replace lost coolant) and a box of See's Chocolates

So Drew and I were now over-nighting in the "middle of nowhere" in Central California, I'd finally stopped singing that damn  "Kansas City" song,  and we both realized reaching Tempe (still 700 or so miles away) by the next evening was a "pipe dream"... We re-evaluated, which included, for me, a retreat to the bottle, namely a "Lucky Bastard" Ale, brought to you by the same company that introduced Arrogant Bastard Ale to the World several years back.  The ale was very good, if also quite ironic.... I mean "Lucky Bastard" seemed like the ultimate oxymoron at that point in our journey.   But tomorrow would be better... wouldn't it?

My Ale of choice Monday evening, perhaps an "Oxymoron" given the days events

Day 3 – Tuesday, Nov 4^th –  (Original) Intended Destination – Tempe AZ, 540 miles (from the "lost" Lost Hills Stop) – Actual - 200 miles, struggling into Bakersfield, CA for repairs in afternoon

So we were off early the next morning, re-adjusting our goals on the fly to now expect, rather than arriving in Tempe that afternoon, to overnight instead in Blythe, CA near the Arizona border, which would leave us with a relatively short 160 mile jaunt into Tempe the next morning.  So much for (already re-adjusted) plans.  Barely 120 miles or so down the freeway this day, "Big Brother" interrupted to inform me that he was shutting down the damn truck yet again for the same reason, "Low Coolant Level"... Obviously, we still had a problem!

But I had extra coolant, that jug of water left me by the first service man the day before, and I added it then; Drew and I discussed "trying" to get to our next scheduled fuel stop 40 miles down the road, somewhat ironically (there's that word again) in Lost Hills, our "lost destination" from the previous day.  So we headed out again, and, YES, we made it with no further interference from "Big Brother"!.  But, after fueling up, we re-checked the coolant levels, finding them down halfway to "warning levels" in just 40 miles; obviously this wasn't good.  So we placed another call to Penske roadside service, and they quickly dispatched another service man. Irony reigned again on this trip as Drew and I both realized we were now parked in a gravel lot right next to the Hotel in Lost Hills we'd intended to be staying at the previous night; clear proof that we were exactly a day behind schedule, if not worse; we still had a sick truck to contend with after all.

About an hour later Steve, from a Truck Service company in Bakersfield, 40 miles away, arrived to declare that 1) we indeed had a leak, in the coolant hose; and 2) it needed to be fixed.  Steve gave us a choice... he could drive back to Bakersfield, pick up a hose and drive back (another two hours at least), or we could follow him back to his shop in Bakersfield, and he could repair it there.  Bakersfield was just that much further along (40 miles actually) on our route to Tempe, so the choice was easy.  Off we went, already resigned to over-nighting in Bakersfield, this on a day we expected to be relaxing in Tempe.

So it took another couple hours after arriving in Bakersfield for Steve and crew (see pic below) to craft ("jury rig") a replacement hose for my truck's coolant system.  But they finished eventually and we were ready to head off Wednesday morning. Can't thank Steve and associates at JTS Truck Repair in Bakersfield for their assistance enough!

Steve (in fluorescent green vest) and pals gathering around our "Sick Penske", Bakersfield, OR, Tues, Nov 4th

 

Drew hanging out in Bakersfield, why is he standing so close to Tessie?

Oh Gawd, the ramp is down, Drew might be escaping  to Colorado!... or perhaps not! (it was all a staged event, I think)

That night Drew and I could really only laugh (better than crying) at the sequence of events leading us to us spending our time at the end of this day, not in Tempe as originally expected, but in Bakersfield, CA.  The sobering thought was we still had 500 miles to go, and all this with a "jury-rigged" (by Steve) coolant hose (since the factory hose replacement would not be available until another day later).

Day 4 – Wednesday, Nov 5^th – (Original) Intended Destination – NONE, WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE IN TEMPE BY THE PREVIOUS DAY, FOR GAWD'S SAKE! – Actual - 500 miles, Bakersfield  to Tempe

Okay, nothing really went wrong on this day, my Birthday as a matter of fact.  We survived the grinding Tehachapi Pass out of Bakersfield with NO loss of coolant in my Penske diesel (Steve and company had done their repair well), jockeyed with semis down the rather hairy long downgrade into San Bernadino, and trekked across the Mojave Desert to Arizona, arriving in the greater Phoenix area just in time for "Rush Hour"... Oh Joy!... A slow crawl over the last 20 miles of our journey in rush hour traffic ended eventually at our new home in Tempe.  We made it!   And all of us, Drew, Lanie and I, joined by Tempe based daughter, Emily, celebrated that night at Oregano's Pizza, one of our favorite eating places in Tempe.

All of which led to another crew, with Lanie and I helping as we could, unloading us the next morning.  It may take us a few weeks to unpack everything, but we, and our belongings,  are here at last; with a huge thank you to Drew for soldiering on through 3 1/2 days driving the rental trucks ; and a special thanks to Steve and crew in Bakersfield for keeping us going!

Our "Guest Bedroom" in Tempe, post un-loading, "pick a box and make yourself comfortable!!"

You Can Go Home Again and Again and Again and........!

Sunset at the Oregon Coast

By the time we arrived back in Eugene, ALL of us, that is Myself, Lanie, Big Bertha (the Chevy Diesel) and the 5^th Wheel, had been on the road for some 13 months.  It was August 1, 2014 when we pulled into Deerwood RV Park just South of Eugene for a month long stay; it was also our 33rd wedding anniversary.  That was one BIG THING to celebrate on that day; being HOME again was the other.  Lanie was born and raised there; and, except for a brief year slaving for a National CPA firm in Portland after graduation from the UO, I’d lived in Eugene ever since..  So this was truly HOME for both of us, and it was good to be back.

 

Uniquely Eugene, Saturday Market, 40 years+ running and still going strong

 But, at the same time, it felt different.  For one, we’d sold our Eugene house before leaving on our 13 month “gypsy trail” around and around this great country;  the” 5^th”, now parked at Deerwood, had been our "home on wheels" for some time now.  For another, our “work roots”, for lack of a better term, though still deep, were irreversibly changed.  Lanie had spent nearly 35 years at the UO, me 16+ at EWEB.  Now, we had no early alarm clocks to start us on our daily work grind.  I can’t speak for Lanie, but, though I enjoyed the work I did for the most part, now, in retirement, I didn’t miss the “work” part at all. But I did miss the people I worked with, as did Lanie.

At the Afghani Food Cart at Saturday Market, Shish Kabobs to die for

It was kind of weird for me to head out to the ROC (Roosevelt Operations Center in West Eugene, my EWEB home for the last 3 months of my work career), and not be able to just swipe an access card to get in.  I called one co-worker, got her voicemail, and left a message asking her if she’d come down and let me in; then called another co-worker, same thing.  I must have stood outside the locked entrance doors for 10 minutes before another EWEB employee  I recognized (but couldn’t immediately recall her first name) came by; and I politely asked if she’d let me in.  She agreed and I was “inside” finally, punching in as a “guest” and catching up with old friends.  Lanie did similar at the UO, though she was such a long-time fixture at the UO College of Education, I doubt that she had to wait 10 minutes before “begging” a former co-worker to let her in.

Siuslaw River near Mapleton, at our friends, Mary Ellen and Tim's, riverside retreat

Anyhow, there was so much catching up to do, both at work and in personal affairs such as doctor’s, dentist, appointments, maintenance on workhorse Bertha, etc., that the time just seemed to fly by; our weeks in Eugene were just as busy, if not more so, than our previous standard work weeks.  We also were soon away from Eugene for more than a week, first hitching up the 5^th and heading to Bend for a long weekend to attend a wedding; from there heading directly to one of our favorite RV parks on the Central Oregon Coast for a few more days, then , on return from the coast, dropping off the 5^th for some repairs and annual maintenance.   Since this was our “home on wheels”, we, temporarily homeless, headed to the Salem area for a couple days, staying in a motel and doing some wine tasting.  By the time we picked up the 5^th, on a Friday, and set it back up at Deerwood, we were already at mid-month; yet it seemed like we’d barely had time to “catch our breath”.  And the hectic pace wasn’t over quite yet.

Deschutes River in Central Oregon

"Roughing It" at Sea & Sand RV Park near Depoe Bay

The truly beautiful Oregon Coast

Next morning, a Saturday, I was off to the Portland area, first to have a long breakfast in SE Portland with my long-time best friend, Lyn, who drove all the way down from the North Seattle area just for the food and conversation.  It meant a lot to me for him to do that, and it was great catching up, however briefly.  Then I was off to my Clackamas High School 45th class reunion picnic (yes, do the math, I’m that OLD, but I really don’t feel so.)  Anyhow, it was nice catching up with old friends from “way back in the day”.  And, after an overnight stay up there, I was back in Eugene, and Lanie and I were planning what to pack in on our remaining ever dwindling period of time in the Eugene area.  

"The Daver" and "Spike", two good buds from Clackhi Football Days

And more buds, clockwise from left, Doug, Bill, and Bill.. all were wrestling teammates - Bill, with the grey hair... okay, to be more precise.. "up-front" Bill, was State Wrestling champ our senior year at 136 lbs

And before we knew it, we were OFF, leaving behind (again) a wonderful hometown and truly great and scenic state (BEST in the country in my humble opinion), not to mention family and friends.   We were headed to Colorado again via a meandering route that took us out the Columbia Gorge, up into Washington State to Spokane, then following the Columbia even further up to a little town called Trail, British Columbia.  We had a truly steep descent into the Columbia river canyon to Trail and a truly remarkable, long hard pass to climb out the next morning, crossing from there into the Eastern part of Idaho panhandle and then into Northwestern Montana, spending a second night on the road in a KOA on Flathead Lake.  Third night was spent at Little Bighorn, a return visit to the RV Park there; then we headed down through Wyoming to Colorado, arriving there on September 3rd.

Blass "Splash, Bounce and Camp", our exclusive RV spot in Louisville, CO

 You see we had a date at our 2^nd Home these days in Louisville, Colorado.  Grandson, Jonah, lives there with his full-time attendants, our daughter Sara and son-in-law, Drew.  But for two weeks in early September we were needed as more than just doting grandparents (which we unmistakably are). Seems his regular Nanny was on vacation the early part of September, and we were needed to fill in.  It was a volunteer job, but we weren’t complaining; besides one of the perks was being able to park our rig right in the Kid’s large driveway.  We spent our evenings there, where we had electricity and water hookups, and our days with “Little Man” Jonah in and around the house.  He was and is an absolute delight, a happy, easygoing, and very loving and loveable little tyke almost all the time.  We were also fortunate to see… well Lanie saw them at least… his first two wobbly walking steps, on the occasion of his 14^th month birthday no less.  And during our time in Colorado he’s sprouted a couple more teeth, and is quickly learning how to use those “chompers”.

Jonah's an outdoor kid, one of his favorite spots being a water tub, with toys, on the deck

And here he is at the controls in his backyard "cabin"

 In a larger sense, and this owing to our recent year of blissful retirement and “gypsy like” ways, we have been fortunate to be able to visit Jonah and his parents several times over the past 14 months, starting with our arrival for Jonah’s birth on 7/4/13, and continuing with Thanksgiving in Colorado again, a return for his first birthday, then this latest trip “home” as Nanny’s.  Plus we’d spent a few days with Sara and Jonah in Nashville last November, a week with the whole clan, including also Tempe based daughter, Emily and her boyfriend, Trevor,  in March in the Phoenix Valley,  a rendezvous with Jonah and his parents in Des Moines, IA, and, just before that, a quick visit back in Oregon this past June for my Mom’s memorial service.

Jonah, hula hoop in hand, multi-tasking in his family room - He was also standing and working on that walking thing at the same time.

We’ve been truly blessed to spend so much time with Jonah, Sara, Drew, plus that week in March with Emily and Trevor, and, before that, Christmas with Emily in Arizona.  But come tomorrow (Sep 18) as I write this, we’ll be hitching up and heading out from Colorado yet again.  Originally we’d talked about a swing up through Wisconsin and Michigan, two states we’d missed on our cross-country travels the previous Fall, then spending the winter months working our way South down the Atlantic Coast and across the Southern Gulf Coast, including Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, BEFORE landing in the Phoenix Valley by March.  

 BUT that all changed…  backing up a little bit here on the timeline… when we found out, as we were headed toward Colorado in late August, that the townhome we own in Tempe that had been leased out for the past few years, but that we always intended to move into after our long travels, had been vacated suddenly by the existing tenant, who had broken the year long lease (originally extending through March 2015) she had with us.

So we basically had two choices: 1) have our property managers rent it out for another one year lease period; or 2) take the house back now and accelerate our Arizona moving plans.  We pondered the alternatives for a bit before deciding on the latter, the decision influenced just a bit by the other big news we received about this time from daughter, Emily, namely that she and Trevor were now engaged with a wedding planned sometime within the next year.  

Our "Gypsy Travel" Map has a few states left unfilled (Wisconsin, Mich, Virginia, etc)- Those will have to wait

So we will now be heading directly South and a little West to Arizona, setting up our last “Gypsy Camp” for a while at Tempe Travel Trailer Villa, which is conveniently near both our daughter and Trevor, and our soon-to-be new residence.  We’ll live in the 5^th for another month or so while updating the townhome, then head to Eugene probably in late October to load up our household belongings, presently in two West Eugene storage units, and drive back down to Tempe, our latest “home” since retiring.  

We’ll miss Eugene and Oregon.. A LOT!... but are already planning regular return trips to the area next late Summer/Early Fall, a trip that may well become an annual affair.  And Jonah and his parents, as long as they remain in Colorado, are just a short flight, or easy two day drive, from Tempe.  If they move elsewhere, well we’ll track em down regularly.  And now, in Tempe, we’ll be close by to help with preparations for the upcoming Emily and Trevor wedding, which will undoubtedly be in Arizona.  Life is good for us right now, I think.  

All in all, Home is where the Heart Is, I truly believe!

Lanie and I at Sara and Drew's wedding, July 31, 2010, King Estates Winery, Oregon

Trevor and Emily, Tempe, AZ

The Blass family, Sara, Drew, and Jonah, Louisville, CO