Castle RV Park
Tuesday | 24 April 2001 | Merced, California:
Another beautiful, sunny day. DT took a long run along the un-scenic portion of
the local bike path; we packed up and headed south on Highway 97. (Our "crack"
had moved upwards about one-inch while we were PARKED! DT touched-up his
manicure job before we left town.) We saw hundreds of birds - even a few turtles
basking in the sun - on our way out of town. We had no plans, no route, no
reservations... this is a good and a bad thing. The only trouble we had was the
constant assault of big, fat, juicy bugs - probably bees. They kept committing
suicide on our wind screen and DT had to stop twice to wash the window!
As soon as we crossed the border into California, the roads became terrible.
As an Oregon tax-payer, this makes me quite proud, and as a RV owner with a
cracking window, it makes me very nervous. Again, my grapefruit were inspected
and confiscated at the Ag Station and we then continued on, enjoying the
fabulous views of Mt. Shasta. The crack did not increase all day!
Mt. Shasta and My driver
Goldie and the BC2
We drove to Weed, and then joined I-5. Every car in
California seemed to be driving south on I-5. Traffic was terrible -
truckers driving too fast, cars darting in and out doing their best
impersonations of Mario Andretti! Very stressful. Lake Shasta was beautiful
in the sun and the water line was to the "full" mark.
I decided... and please make a note of this, dear reader... it was "I" who
decided this I-5 driving experience was just something I could not stand
another moment (also do not forget - "I" am not driving...) and we needed to
"relax, enjoy life, take the back roads" - along Historic Highway 99!
Historic Highway 99 was a mess through Red Bluff, through Chico and through
numerous other towns! I heard the "Blue Light Special" is back and every
Californian (who was not driving south on I-5) was going to K-Mart in Chico.
We also encountered road repairs and bottlenecks of every description. To
the credit of this beautiful valley, we also drove (slowly) through mile
after mile of olive, walnut and stone-fruit tree orchards, past beautiful
farms and ranches, acres of grassland, wildflowers and charming towns - none
of which seemed to have a campground.
We were tired. We were hungry. My driver was not angry with me for my
brilliant "off the main road" idea. He decided we should head for a
campground south of Sacramento that had a golf course. He could play 9 holes
while I cooked a gourmet dinner! Brilliant plan, except for the rush-hour
traffic through Sacramento! By the time we pulled into the golfing RV park
it was 7 p.m. The campground had no water and would have no water for 24
hours - and it was ONLY $33 per night. We had little water in our tank, so
were forced to turn down this offer.
Merced, here we come! I did something I have never done before and probably
should not do: I put a frozen lasagna in the oven and turned it on to 350
degrees. The lasagna was ready by the time we pulled into the Castle Air
Museum RV Park - the campground we frequent most often. We set-up camp in
the dark and had dinner at 8:30 p.m. DT was most disappointed - he thought
when I had said I was putting a frozen lasagna in the oven, that I was
putting a home-made frozen lasagna in the oven... but it was a veggie
lasagna I had purchased at Safeway. It was yucky. It contained corn kernels.
It was strange. Luckily, I had made a lovely salad with asparagus spears,
tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, etc., so my driver did not starve. I do not
recommend Safeway frozen veggie lasagna.
We will remain here for several days, visiting with family and celebrating
DT's birthday.
RV Park:
Castle RV Park in Atwater, California
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