VISALIA-CA TO LONG BEACH-WA; A Long & Winding Roadtrip

We pulled stakes in Visalia-CA Thursday morning, and headed north.

Holland was looking like a pirate - he had called Bleu into the bedroom Tuesday morning and got Bleu so excitedly frisky that Bleu raked him across his right cheek with a sharp claw. When I saw it, I asked, "Did you spank him, so he doesn't do it again?" Holland said, "No, because he didn't do it on purpose." And I replied, "That's why I don't let him near my face when he gets on the bed with me … he's still a rambunctious puppy." Holland put peroxide on the scratch, but it worried me because Holland's skin if fragile and he bleeds easily due to his medications.

It was raining when we left and CA … and raining when we touched down in WA: it has been a very wet, very cold winter for us snowbirds who had hoped for more sunshine than we experienced.

I'm arriving back in the PNW as pale as I left this Fall.

Holland is arriving back here in as much pain as he had when we left for a warmer climate. He was in burning pain when we left Visalia and had hoped to stop many times along the route, but an incoming winter storm urged him onward; and Elohim's hand on him kept him from screaming in anguish.

There were many memories he had shared with his brothers Scott, and Steve (nicknamed, Tito), along the route: and when we came to the towns and cities where they had worked together on several construction jobs, he told me stories about those times. They are good memories. The death of Tito is still hard on Holland.

We 3 are on the road again …

Redding-Ca from Visalia-CA; 5 hr. 40 min (372.5 mi) via CA-99 N and I-5 N

Redding-CA is today's goal.

We'll be wrapping things up in WA quickly, to get back to Laton-CA by March 15th.

Modesto-CA; Holland lived here for 6 years. 11:35 AM

Modesto-CA from Visalia-CA; 2 hr. 3 min (136.3 mi) via CA-99 N

Holland claims he is a country boy - but he really likes big city living.

I had prayed that Elohim would give Holland peace of mind and ease of pain on this journey … and that He would send our guardian angels to walk beside our vehicle (1 on each side: like logging crews do to help the crummy driver, on foggy mornings: a 'crummy' is the vehicle transporting loggers to the work site) to get us safely through whatever was before us. It was raining, sometimes heavily - and snow was in the forecast prediction, somewhere along the route northward.

Heart-shaped clouds were everywhere I looked: both sides of Betsy ;-)

Heart clouds started showing up as we passed thru Ripon-CA

Ripon-CA from Modesto-CA; 14 min (11.8 mi) via CA-99 N

A DOUBLE HEART cloud!

I've never seen SO MANY heart clouds in one area - Elohim's loving care was very evident ;-)

I was glad Elohim was covering us with His love in a big way - a bit further down the road (between Galt-Ca & Ione-CA), a car filled to capacity jumped in front of us … fish-tailed wildly, and nearly sputtered to a dead stop in front of us! Betsy was doing the speed limit, which is 55 for us hauling our big 5th wheel (and Independence carries a 15,000-lb. payload fully loaded: we are fully loaded): flashbacks of our near-hit episode in Long Beach earlier this year, flashed before my widening eyes - if that driver did not get his car under control and up to speed, we would run right over it: Holland braked cautiously because of the rain, but there was no way we could avoid a direct hit if that car stalled. Even at a reduced speed, the contact would have been disastrous. The driver did not try to control his car - instead he jetted across the two left-side lanes and nearly caused a wreck over there. Thankfully, no one was pulled into a death scene :-(

Freeway drivers make me nervous - thank God,  Holland is driving.

August 29th, 2023 Blog Post: HOQUIAM-WA ~ Our Morning Miracle-Bleu's Afternoon Exploration (https://roadgypsiesvalandholland.blogspot.com/2023/08/aberdeen-wa-our-morning-miracle-bleus.html)

The road was very rough along the Sacramento route (no matter what lane you use), and the drivers were very rude: tail-gating, hand gesturing, road-hogging, and road rage is the theme of the traffic there.

I am glad Holland is a calm driver, with a clear head and a controlled response.

A loving reminder that Elohim is keeping His eye on us ;-) Galt-CA

Thank You, God!

Galt~CA

Sacramento-CA from Galt-CA; 29 min (26.8 mi) via CA-99 N

Another double cloud, along Hwy 99; Holland spent a lot of his childhood & young adult life on this 'old freeway'; I'm lovin' the show of love ;-) Sacramento-CA

Sacramento-CA; Holland had worked here quite a bit. 12:57'noon

Happily traveling along, laughing-talking-intermediately petting Bleu's furry little head … Holland noticed that we were climbing in elevation instead of traveling across flat terrain: we had missed our turn. Holland was not happy (we had burned precious time going in the opposite direction) that the road crew had taken the road sign down while they fiddled around with whatever they were sent to do. So, we turned around and I surfed my Tablet seeking an alternate route; I had lost cell signal, but the Tablet connection was still strong. Alternate route directions led us along a rural route with pastoral scenery … and another narrow "miss" - this time involving a semi truck. Thank the Lord, Elohim sets us "as the apple of His eye" ;-)

Eventually the Tablet connect frizzled; so, Holland tried his phone. It worked (my spendy Apple Phone, still did not). His phone connection stayed strong as he gingerly aimed Betsy & Independence through my happy patches of rural delight: these are also places Holland has never been, so my heart was happy to be experiencing these places "for the first time", together. I like that we are making first time memories as we build our Life together that includes some building on - and restructuring of Past memories.

Rerouted to a rural bypass road - Holland felt a migraine coming on.

CA-193W leading to Old Hwy #65 … not where Holland would like to be; but close enough to stop his migraine: and a rural want was granted to me by a reroute not wanted ;-)

We passed a semi-truck barreling towards us with front tires IN OUR LANE … Holland accepted that happenstance as a divine answer to his prayer: I was thankful for Elohim's divine hand of protection.

Lincoln-CA; my rural fix for the Day ;-)

Lincoln-CA: 

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln,_California)

If Elohim allows it, I want to come back here when we get the slide-in camper, and explore Placer County.

Passing through on our way out of town, a large building operation caught my eye, and I recognized the Business Name (McBean) as a Family Name connected to Bob's mother's side of the Family Branches; so I snapped off a pic, and researched it later on; to pass to Michelle for her genealogy collection.

Charles Gladding, along with Peter McGill McBean and George Chambers, established Gladding-McBean in 1875. Its original product was clay sewer pipe. By 1883, the company had grown to 75 employees, and it then evolved into a major manufacturer of architectural terra-cotta: everything I have viewed online was beautifully crafted artistic pieces of work.

In 1976 Interpace Corp. "announced their intention to cease operations at the Lincoln plant" where Gladding, McBean began. Pacific Coast Building Products then purchased the Lincoln factory and restored the historic name of Gladding, McBean, which remains in business today.

McBean Building; Bob's Family History, for Michelle.

Gladding-McBean: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladding,_McBean & https://www.gladdingmcbean.com/,  https://goldcountrymedia.com/news/42510/the-way-of-clay-a-brief-history-of-gladding-mcbean/; Peter McGill McBean: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/176735164/peter-mcgill-mcbean, https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/peter-mcgill-mcbean-24-rq0yf3, https://gmcb.com/franciscan_archive/index.php/library/historical-timeline-of-franciscan/, Franciscan Ceramics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franciscan_Ceramics)

CA Hwy #65 from Lincoln-CA; 13 min (11.5 mi) via Old Hwy 65 and CA-65 S

CA Hwy #65; along this route, there was a lot of zig-zagging to finally reach Redding-CA

CA State Route #65: 

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Route_65)

Traveling along Hwy #65, we passed through Wheatland-CA, which is marked as a truck route: again, a very rural community.

Holland had bit his tongue pretty hard a few nights ago when he was night owling, and it was pretty tender; but he thought he might be able to eat some soft burrito's, so while he bought some diesel in Wheatland-CA … I walked across the way to Taco Bell, glad he was finally going to be swallowing more than ice cream and popsicles. Taco Bell may not be the most nutritious food - but it is more substantial for his body, than the sugary goodies he'd been feeding into it.

Wheatland-CA from Lincoln-CA; 13 min (11.4 mi) via Old Hwy 65 and CA-65 N

Holland filled Betsy's thirsty tank, while I walked over to Taco Bell for some soft lunch foods.

We drove through Marysville, known as "California's Oldest Little City," that was originally envisioned as a major metropolis. The city was founded Jan. 18, 1850, as tens of thousands of gold miners and merchants and capitalists flocked to the region in the days of the Gold Rush.

Marysville is an historic Gold Rush town in California's Central Valley. When Marysville was a hub of gold mining activity, it was one of California's largest cities with a futuristic view of unlimited possibilities - with high ambitions to be the New York of the Pacific.

Marysville-CA; I love driving thru these old towns, off the beaten track.

Marysville-CA: 

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marysville,_California)

Historic 'skyscraper' Hart Building.

Hart Building, Marysville-CA:

 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hart_Building_(Marysville,_California))

Older part of town; Marysville-CA

The State Theatre, Marysville-CA: 

(https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/8924)

The Ghost Train (1927) MOVIE: 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnAILZwU-zo)

Stopping and gawking with Independence is not feasible; plus a winter storm is brewing. We gotta keep moving.

Leaving Marysville, I saw a pretty impressive brick compound - a school district headquarters.

Marysville Joint Unified School District: 

(https://vimeo.com/ HYPERLINK "https://vimeo.com/834507907")

When we reached Redding-CA, we holed up for about an hour at a Rest Stop there. When we woke from our short snooze, Holland said a winter storm was brewing, and ready to dump more rain, snow, and bitter cold wind gusts along the route we needed to take to get to WA for his doctor appointment on the 20th; so we continued forward. He wanted to get over all the Passes along the route, before midnight. So far, we were pretty much on schedule - later than he had wanted to be, but not as late as to be overly concerning.

Herbert S. Miles Safety Rest Stop Northbound in Red Bluff, CA; we snugged in among the parked semi's, and napped for about an hour before hitting the road again. 4:46 PM

Holland has decided to push on towards Medford-OR to avoid the incoming winter storm.

Update on the Passes - Grants pass & the Siskiyou Pass.

Even with that short nap back in Redding, I could not stay awake to save my soul (the boredom of the freeway, and the whine of whirling tires puts me out), so when I woke and asked how soon we'd be going over the first of the Passes, Holland said, "We've already gone through the first while you slept - be thankful you were asleep; the road was slick, so there was pea gravel spread on it. But it was still interesting towing Independence through there." I asked, "Isn't it kinda dangerous to put pea gravel down instead of sand or deicing formula? The rock could be kicked up and break windshields." He said, "Yeah, that true; but what else should they do? Sand and deicer would be washed away with this heavy rainfall." Truth. Can't argue that.

We had made it over the Passes before midnight - and with no snow. Elohim had been merciful, and we were thankful.

Redding-CA to Medford-OR

Siskiyou Pass-OR & Grants Pass-OR:

 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siskiyou_Mountains & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grants_Pass,_Oregon)

Shasta/Siskiyou Region-CA:  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Shasta,_California)

It was pitch black nightfall when we stopped in Ashland for some road munchies and went over the Siskiyou Pass. The temperatures were warming up as we made Portland around 2 AM, so Holland said, "How about we drive through to Rainier-OR, and pull over to park in the church parking lot, there?" He had been driving practically straight hours with one short rest period: YES, rest please!

Relatively easy passage through the Siskiyou Pass …

By the time we pulled over in Rainier-OR, we'd been on the road for 17 hours/30 minutes & 864 miles traveled. We slept in Betsy's cab for 3 hours before pulling out onto the highway towards Astoria-OR - and onward to Long Beach-WA, where we had been invited weeks ago to park and hole up while in WA, to take care of business there :-)

Rainier-OR from Ashland-OR; 5 hr. 22 min (336.9 mi) via I-5 N

Moving on after a brief stop in Ashland-OR …

Portland-OR, around 2 AM

When we woke up, we debated driving onward over Ocean Beach Highway-WA, or Hwy #30 through Astoria-OR - I said both are dicey this time of year: landslides on the KM, on the WA side of the Columbia River … and road washouts along Hwy #30, with wild waves and high ocean winds on the Megler-Astoria Bridge we needed to cross to get to Long Beach on the WA side.

Thoughts of crossing that horrible, dangerous bridge, during stormy weather gave me more concern than the possible risks on the WA side :-(

Astoria-OR from Rainier-OR; 58 min (48.2 mi) via US-30 W

Long Beach-WA from Astoria-OR; 30 min (19.1 mi) via US-101 N

Elohim was faithful, and merciful - and we got to Long Beach with no heart-stopping complications. I called David to let him know we were back in WA, headed towards his property: he said the sand there might be too soft with all the rainfall … but if we thought it was okay, he'd see us there next week. Holland walked in, and checked the ground out - and we were set up by 9:20 AM; and peacefully sawing zzz's for a few hours ;-)

Breezy trees in Long Beach. 8:55 AM

Set up & so ready to snooze a couple hours away ;-)

We'd been 20 hours in the truck: and Holland had driven 937 miles with burning pain in knees and shoulders - hopefully that pain will get some  relief with cortisone shots on the 20th. There are days it is unbearable, and this cold wet weather that has had the south, as well as the north, in a death grip has not been kind to my kind-hearted, loving husband.

I am hoping his doctor can provide some kind of relief from the unrelenting pain that torments his body, before we head back to Laton-CA to meet and greet cousins … and bask in the love that flows freely and warms Holland's heart, there :-)