Winter came early to the Klamath Basin this year, with record low temperatures and heavy snow in late November. We had sub-zero temperatures and plenty of packed snow and ice on the roads. The prospects for getting out of town with our trailer weren’t looking good any time soon. Finally, on December 2nd, we had a break in the weather; we finished packing and prepping the trailer, grabbed the dogs, and, like last year, made a break for it. And like last year, as soon as we got out of town, the weather improved considerably. Still, we were in Redding at a modest RV park waiting out a heavy rain and taking an extra day to organize things.
This roadside RV park is just one piece of evidenceof how bad the economy is. More and more, parks that used to cater to travelers have converted to mobile home parks that accommodate full-time residents, mostly in old trailers and beater cars and trucks. Pit bulls are the pet of choice. This park was still well-cared for, but with fewer travelers on the road and plenty of people looking for the cheapest place to live where they can still stay warm and dry and cook their own food, many RV parks make for a vivid snapshot of how real people are being affected by the economic downturn. Once again, Mary and I feel lucky to enjoy our good fortune and glad that we can be out there spreading our limited bounty around.
After we left Redding we drove down to Mt. Madonna county park in the coastal mountains between Gilroy and Watsonville. I’ve stayed at Mt. Madonna several times when I’ve come down for the Moto-GP races at Laguna Seca, and it’s a nice little park, situated in mixed redwood and oak trees. In the summer, it’s full of families enjoying the cool setting above the heat of the valley to the east and the persistent fog along the coast. In the winter, as is often the case, we have the campground to ourselves. With improving weather coming over the next week, we plan to enjoy some of the hiking trails and dramatic views of Monterey Bay. We’ll also visit some old friends in Santa Cruz and some of Mary’s family in San Jose. Then it’s on to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in SoCal just above the Mexican border.
I don’t really consider our winter travels to have begun until we actually get down to the desert.
Btw, as I’m writing this I’m sitting in the customer lounge of the Watsonville Dodge dealer while I have the truck transmission serviced. When we started up the long hill into the campground, I remembered from my motorcycle trips how steep and winding the road is. Of course, it’s a quick zip up on a bike, but pulling our 9000-pound trailer, even our Dodge Cummins Diesel bogged down to the point I was only holding at five miles per hour and not at all confident we would make it to the top. Had I thought about it, I would have shifted down to 4WD low, but I wasn’t about to stop and try to make the shift on that hill.
We finally made the top with the red transmission light on and the smell of overheated fluid. The light went out just like it should as soon as I pulled over and let the truck idle in neutral for a minute, but to be on the safe side, I’m laying out $300 dollars to tune up the tranny. Just one more opportunity to make a little contribution to the local economy.
(Oops: make that $350. The service tech just told me the transmission fluid looked a little dark from over-heating, so they're going to do a complete flush. If I stay around much longer, they'll sell me a new truck.)
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