We're off

Okay, I've never tried this before so here goes nothing - by trial and error I'll figure it out eventually but in the meantime, at least we'll have something for you all to read and look at.

So we left SB at noon on Friday, August 1 and got as far as Stockton, CA. We were a little hesitant about stopping in Stockton but the directory said there was a Good Sam Park (Riverpoint Landing Marina and RV Resort) so we took the plunge on faith. We got there at 8:45 so it was dark but we could see that the river ran right beside the campground and there was a marina right behind us (full of multi-million dollar yachts.) What a gorgeous spot! Around the campsite was a park and the harbor so we were really insulated from the city itself - off in our own little world. The campsites were right at water's edge on the Sacramento River.

Miles driven = 378.7

Saturday, August 2 we got as far as Alturas, CA (I've named it the "Twilight Zone" town.) Before we got there though we stopped for lunch in Red Bluff and had a magnificent lunch at Eat Em Up - the most terrific pulled pork imaginable! We then walked to the local park which was on the Sacramento River - a beautiful spot with hardly anyone there. It was very hot though so we didn't walk for too long - 99 degrees.

Miles driven = 357.3

When we got to Alturas it took a good five minutes before we saw a car or person - the town initially looked like it was deserted. When I woke up in the morning I went for a walk. I walked for 20 minutes and in that time saw no-one nor did I see a car. Each street I crossed I looked both ways and could see for quite a distance - it was eerie looking down the main street which went on for blocks and it looked like a scene out of the Twilight Zone - It was spooky!

Sunday, August 3 we only drove 243 miles all day. We spent quite a big of time in Sunriver Oregon where they had a village with various stores, a small airport, miles of bike paths and multiple stores renting bicycles and kayaks right beside a river. It was cute - I would have thought that on a Sunday in the middle of summer, it would be packed but it sure wasn't. We spent the night in the Scandia RV Park in Bend OR which was an unusual RV park in that it was in the middle of town so we could walk to shopping, restaurants, etc. We discovered a bakery two doors away that opened at 4:30 am so I went there for coffee at 6 am while Norm slept on until about 8.

Miles driven=243

Monday, August 4 we ended up in Ritzville, Washington. What a long day! We stopped at Shaniko, Oregon, a small western town that looks like it's seen better days. Stinking hot all day. We stopped at the Stonehenge War Memorial, across the Columbia River from Biggs, Oregon. What an impressive war memorial! We only spent about 10 minutes there because we were melting and had to get back into the air conditioning. We took the scenic route and followed the Columbia River from Biggs, Oregon to Plymouth, Washington then headed north up the 395. That highway has virtually nothing on it, the countryside is totally flat and you're even hard pressed to see a cow. It looks like what you'd imagine the moon was like. We were more than ready to finally find a small town called Ritzville, Washington where we could park for the night. La Quinta RV Park even has a pool so Norm was able to cool off.

Miles driven=332.2