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We arrived home – Salem, that is, at 4:00 Sunday afternoon after 7 days, 1,560  miles, 6 camping spots, and 150 gallons of diesel. No incidents along the road and it seemed the Lord prepared the way before us. We came to many spots of damp pavement but only a very little rain on Tehachapi Pass. We fought some wind Monday night and Tuesday morning and discovered they issued high wind warnings later Tuesday after we had passed on. It was a long trip, but good. We listened to 3 stories on tape or CD.

Monday we left Jim and Joyce’s about 10:00. The first obstacle was getting around the corner. The road in and out is basically one way and a construction crew had been working on the gas lines for about a week. There was always room to squeeze by but the day we left they decided to dig up the corner where I needed to make a wide turn. This picture shows how tight it was getting by.

Just as we got on the highway – about 4 miles from Jim’s house – we heard a click, click, click sound. Joyce and I wondered about it and thought we would check on it as soon as a good stopping place appeared. Then it got louder and louder so I pulled over immediately. We looked and looked but couldn’t find any problem. Then Joyce said, “What’s this?” I looked at the right front tire to see a piece of black electrical tape on the tread with one end loose. It was click-clacking away as the wheel revolved. I’m sure it would have eventually flown off.

We drove a “whole” 3 or 4 hours to Wickenburg, northwest of Phoenix and got a place in Desert Gardens RV Park. The purpose was to meet Marilyn and Joy Griffith, friends from our Grants Pass days. They now live in Prescott so they drove down and we spent the afternoon talking and eating dinner together.

Tuesday we drove on up Highway 93 to I-40 then west to Kingman (one last stop at a Cracker Barrel for lunch!) and on into California. In Barstow we turned onto Highway 58. Our stop for that night was at Boron, CA. in the Arabian Trailer Oasis. Be impressed by the name, not the ambiance. However, for $20 it served the purpose of getting us off the road for the night. The wind blew but we were snuggled in. Boron, population 2,200, is known for the Borax mine located a few miles away.

The next day we were on the road early. It was a big 11 hour day. Over the Tehachapi Pass, thru Bakersfield, up highway 99, over to I-5 at Manteca, and on north to Corning. The Olive Pit is always our stop in that part of the country. We dry camped in their back parking along with a couple other RVs and a truck or two.

Thursday it was on to Grants Pass to visit with friends and park in Mike and Joann’s front yard. We had a great visit with them and a couple other people plus lunch with Don and Myrna, Joyce’s brother and sister-in-law. Friday we headed to Elmira (west of Eugene) to see my sister, Beth. We stayed there two nights visiting with her and Roy and Twyla, her son and daughter-in-law.

We went with her to church Sunday and then into Eugene to have lunch at Papa's Pizza with another of Joyce’s brothers. This time it was Jack and Luwayne along with Brandon and Megan and family and Katelyn. Bandon is Jack and Luwayne’s son. Katelyn is Joyce’s grand-niece from Alaska. She attends college in Seattle and was down visiting a friend during spring break.

And then it was off for home. As so this winter adventure draws to an end. I spent most of last evening sorting thru mail. It’s amazing how much junk mail a guy can get! And how much there is to catch up on.

I will continue to blog but perhaps not quite as often. So until next time… blessings.

The Tucson moon taken thru Jim and Joyce’s telescope.