A hard day's travel 08-03-19

We were up bright and early, waving goodbye to Phyllis and her husband while we were on our morning walk. On the road at 8:30am we had mostly moderate traffic and lots of construction.  KoKo with Agapanthus.

Into the slot for several miles. 

In several places I-5 was one lane in each direction.  I seemed to always be the last of the pack.  At least this time I wasn't right behind a semi. 

 One lane traffic each direction.  Each in a "slot" with minimal shoulder.

In the middle of this picture is the "Ag station" into California.  Every car must stop and declare any fresh fruits or veggies they have from outside the state.  Mostly they are looking for homegrown items that might carry bugs or diseases we'd like to keep out of California.  I've often wondered how effective this operation is. 

 And in the middle of this picture is Mt Shasta.  She sort of just appears out of the haze in what previously looked like empty sky.

This is in the "State of Jefferson" and those of you have traveled I-5 know the metal cow and her calf in a field along the north bound highway.  She has been graffitied over the years, but still stands proud.  Pickup is heading north on the Interstate.
(The white smear is a reflection on the side window.) 

There she is, out in the open.  Shasta is the only mountain I saw on this trip, all the rest were hiding behind the clouds despite the lovely (and very hot) weather we have enjoyed on this trip. 

And then we had this view for about 2 1/2 hours after we hit something on the roadway and had an almost instantaneous flat right front tire.  

Fortunately there is a very wide shoulder at this section of road and we could pull way off the traffic lanes.  We were almost at Abrams Lake Road north of Shasta City.  

This was the view out the right side of the car - up very steep slope. 

There was almost a whole lane between our car and the traffic, but it was still nervous making when large vehicles zipped by. 

(I've never posted a video - hope it works)

Of course I called AAA to take advantage of my 62 year membership.  They were very nice, but we had a hard time telling them exactly where we were stuck.  A CHP stopped and told me the name of the exit ahead and I advised AAA.  And we waited.  It was hot, but I couldn't run the A/C continuously because then it wouldn't work at all.  So, 20 minutes off and 10 minutes on.  After a while another CHP stopped and was going to get in touch with AAA to see what the problem was.  At that moment the tow truck pulled up.  

Calm and patient?  Not happy. 

Hot and patient.  Also not happy.  He is blue due to the light coming through the very top of the windshield which is tinted.   We had lots of water and a supply of cookies and cheese slices and crackers and..... etc. 

I agreed that we would stay in our car and be pulled up onto the flatbed.  It was very interesting and not scary at all.  One reason I agreed to this is that I doubted I could climb up into the seat of the truck!   He took the next road off (Abrams Lake Road) and went along a surface road to the tire shop in Shasta City.  Where they were very nice and helpful . 

Since we had such good seats I took one more picture of Shasta!

KoKo rarely meets a stranger and will sit on just about any lap that is available.  This fellow was waiting for his tires to be rotated.  

They were able to plug the tire and about 2:30pm we were on I-5 again.  A five hour delay in our day.  We REALLY wanted to stay with Mary in San Juan Bautista, so we drove and drove and arrived at her house at 9pm.  I was on my last leg and so was KoKo. After a bite to eat we hit the bed, got up about 7:30am, went for a potty walk, he wouldn't eat his breakfast, and I didn't want any.  So, we went back to bed until noon.  Oh, how I needed that extra sleep.   We are prepared to leave in the morning to drive home.  KoKo will be happy, I think, this road trip was boring for him.   I had a great time.  

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A day on the road - I-5, of course. 08-02-19

KoKo and I had breakfast in Beaverton, OR, with out friend Terry Grant.  We met at a place with outdoor dining, but we were a little worried because when we woke up it was raining and we took our walk in the rain.  Dried KoKo off as best as I could, fortunately it was not cold.  

After a tasty breakfast and an all-too-short-visit with Terry we followed the Waze (an app) directions to I-5 south and did some "touring" of residential areas as I missed the "turn right".  Then we crawled in the traffic south of Portland for quite a few miles.  But things loosened up and it was not the congestion I saw on the way north.  

The clouds moved away and finally the sun came out. 

Lovely blue sky with fluffy white clouds. On the far hill right in line with the highway is a clear cut hillside surrounded by the tall uncut timber.  It is such a wound on the landscape.  And always makes me a little sad. 

Now days when they clear cut they do at least leave a few "mother" trees to help reforest the broken land. 

Somewhere along the way we stopped at a rest stop for a piddle and KoKo got tree sap on his feet.  I tried to wipe it off with some doggie wipes, but that wasn't very effective.  When we arrived here in Ashland, OR, for the night I tried again with hot water and soap.  No luck.  So, out came the scissors and I trimmed it all (I hope) off with the hair between his toes.  He was very tolerant of this operation and has not been chewing at his feet.  Hope it was successful, we'll see what his groomer says after we get home. 

After we were in our room I had an e-mail from Phyllis Reddish, a quilter from Orange County who I have known for many years, but seldom see these days.  She said, "You are staying at our motel, I saw you in the lobby, but you got away before I could catch you."  How amazing!!  I almost never run into people I know and certainly not so far from home.  We met in the lobby and had a little visit and a hug.  So nice to see her again.  

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