RENO-NV to ARCATA-CA ~ Finding Out More About My Husband

Let Us Run Away - Loving Caliber | Lyrics:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk9dgIiwiQU)0

August 20th: We had planned to have a special lunch in Reno to mark our 7th month Wedding Anniversary … but smokey haze, a summer storm, & a flood alert chased us out :-(

Holland said, "Let's get to the california coast - hopefully the ocean breeze will keep the smoke away from us." I said, "You hate california." He said, "I do; but I love you. I gotta get you away from this smoke."

So, we pulled stakes, and headed West - towards Eureka-CA

Eureka-CA from Reno-NV; 6 hr. 26 min (344.7 mi) via CA-44 W and CA-299 W

The weather we are heading into …

Never say never.

No revisiting memories in Reno-NV; gotta keep moving.

We'll go where Elohim leads.

Holland's feelings about calimexarabia is very strong; today is a big concession for him.

Love in action - despite the grousing.

Holland is making this reroute trip to keep me alive.

We went through Tahoe National Forest - it was pretty, but it was all rocky landscape; some boulders had glacier scars marking them.

We drove through Sacramento and Redding … and Holland revealed some more of his family history in these areas:

Hwy #193 - a new experience for me; an old familiar route for Holland.

Redding lanes; the Plan was to stop here overnight before moving on to Eureka.

Redding-CA from Reno-NV; 3 hr. 18 min (198.5 mi) via US-395 N and CA-44 W

Rice fields - Holland claims calimexarabian (my wording - not his) rice is better than imported rice.

Holland has a beekeeper cousin - on his mother's side - who pollinates the Almond Orchards in CA

Holland had an Uncle - on his mother's side - who had a vineyard; he sold his raisins to Sunkist Raisins Corp.

Holland comes from a family of money-makers; and Holland himself, has worked steady since he was 14 yo. Work-related Disability Retirement is a hard adjustment for him.

I had no idea of the Family I married into, 7 months ago.

By the time we got to Cottonwood, we were hungry, so we grabbed a mexican flavored pizza from a little strip mall pizzeria. It was eatable.

We were making time to enjoy our journey, but we didn't sit too long in any one place while trying to stay ahead of the wildfire smoke, and keep an eye on the storm's progress.

And of course we had Liberty tagged to the back of Betsy … which made touching down in a few places more than a little interesting: but my man is a trucking pro, and he got us out of tight places ;-)

Pizza on the go.

Driving straight through to Shasta-CA

I was shocked this truck was allowed in anti-Christ/anti-America calimexarabia. Happy - but surprised to see it.

Checking the storm status.

Another new experience to me - old, familiar ground to Holland.

None of this tight-quarters stuff was here last time Holland was here - he can't leave fast enough. LOL

Headed to the Coast …

Goat trail to the Dam-Lake; we're headed to the Coast, now. No overnight, here.

That was a little too much 'adventure'.

Pushing forward, we continued towards Eureka - thank the Lord, there was no smokey smell in Eureka; but, Holland decided to backtrack to Weaverville, and continue up the coastline from there (he wanted to show me places I had not yet been to, in CA).

We stopped and read an interesting roadside marker ... and spotted the Hell's Angels Complex a mile or so up the road. The Hell's Angels Complex had a huge wrought iron gate and fence surrounding their property - you would think they'd welcome the criminals inside with open arms.

I didn't bother taking any pictures of the Trinity Alps Mountains because the forest was just burnt black snags; Holland said a wildfire swept through there 2 or 3 years ago.

It was pitch black outside when we started over yet another Pass, and road workers laying some kind of pipe down the middle of the road. The smokey odor was very strong is Humboldt County - we could taste it, as well as smell it INSIDE the pickup cab.

Along the Trinity Highway there were plenty of places to pull over and boondock … but the overhanging smoke, and the smoke odor … kept us moving: places where the sun was shining, and the air was clear - there wasn't a pullover big enough for us: but places the smoke was heavy and strong, there were all kinds of pullover spaces large enough for us. It was crazy.

Eureka-CA

Interesting roadside marker.

A few paces down the road, the Hells Angels Compound was spotted.

Sunset driving over the Pass; sun shafts were poking through in a circular mode - impressively cool.

Weaverville-CA

Weaverville-CA

Oh no! Smoke ahead of us - we didn't outrun it, after all. Darn it.

No boondocking tonight; gotta get past the smoke.

Night road crews working. In the smoke.

Pipe being laid down the middle of the lane.

Periodic road work the entire length of the Pass; steep 7% grade.

This is where Holland's roots (the Ruth Harris-Gerald Lee Redmill Family)  started; Arcata-CA

I like finding out more about my Husband ;-)

When we simply couldn't drive another mile (at this point, we'd been on the road from AM to AM, driving straight through with very short pit calls), we pulled over and spent the night in Trinidad Northbound Rest Area - Holland rigged the steps so we could pull them in when we turned in, because he didn't want some sleepy traveler to run into them and mess 'em up (the rigging worked very well); Bleu slept in our bedroom because that was the only slide-out we moved out: he couldn't get to his kennel in the livingroom (he was a happy camper ;-)).

"Exennials"

 

❤️They call us ”The Elderly”❤️

We were born in the 40-50-60’s.

We grew up in the 50-60-70's.

We studied in the 60-70-80's.

We were dating in the 70-80-90's.

We got married and discovered the world in the 70-80-90's.

We venture into the 80-90’s.

We stabilize in the 2000’s.

We got wiser in the 2010’s.

And we are going firmly through and beyond 2020.

Turns out we've lived through EIGHT different decades...

TWO different centuries...

TWO different millennia...

We have gone from the telephone with an operator for long-distance calls to video calls to anywhere in the world.

We have gone from slides to YouTube, from vinyl records to online music, from handwritten letters to email and Whats App.

From live matches on the radio, to black and white TV, color TV and then to 3D HD TV.

We went to the Video store and now we watch Netflix.

We got to know the first computers, punch cards, floppy disks and now we have gigabytes and megabytes on our smartphones.

We wore shorts throughout our childhood and then long trousers, Oxfords, flares, shell suits & blue jeans.

We dodged infantile paralysis, meningitis, polio, tuberculosis, swine flu and now COVID-19.

We rode skates, tricycles, bicycles, mopeds, petrol or diesel cars and now we drive hybrids or electric.

Yes, we've been through a lot but what a great life we've had!

They could describe us as “exennials”; people who were born in that world of the fifties, who had an analog childhood and a digital adulthood.

We've kind of “Seen-It-All”!

Our generation has literally lived through and witnessed more than any other in every dimension of life.

It is our generation that has literally adapted to “CHANGE”.

A big round of applause to all the members of a very special generation, which is UNIQUE.

Keep on keeping on!

GOOD CHANGES

We bought a juicer last night while we were out and about, in Sparks-NV; we have been talking about it for months, and just finally did it. We know we need to be living a healthier lifestyle, but we've been honeymooning - living footloose and easy; this morning our {healthy} got started.

Admittedly, it's a small step … but it is a step in the right direction  :-)

Juicing a whole watermelon - rind, flesh, seeds; good stuff.

Not only does watermelon taste good … but it also hosts many health benefits. Watermelon fights disease. Watermelon has more lycopene than any other fresh fruit or vegetable. Lycopene is an antioxidant linked to decreased risk of cancer, heart disease and age-related eye disorders.

Watermelon also helps our bodies stay hydrated in order to function properly. Watermelon is a good source of Vitamin C - which when eaten or applied topically - helps your body make collagen, a protein that keeps your skin supple and your hair strong. Watermelon is also a rich source of citrulline, an amino acid that may improve exercise performance - and reduce muscle soreness … and it may increase nitric oxide levels in your body. Nitric oxide helps your blood vessels expand, which lowers blood pressure. Plus, it boasts antioxidants and anti-inflammatory proprieties.

We bought other fruits and veggies to juice, too; this will be an easier way to get the nutrients our bodies need, while on the road full-time. Juicing is a good change.

Holland also got busy getting the generator ready for our trip down South. This thing has been a major pain in the ass, with the safety features that have basically made it worthless - but hopefully he can get it straightened out today, so we can fully enjoy our boondocking experiences.

Whipping that rebellious hunk of metal into shape, will be another good thing ;-)

Working on the generator …

This has been the most frustrating thing.

I bought a little table top fan the other day to use when I am sitting at the table working on one thing, or another: we do have a very nice air conditioning system in our home, but we also have 9' ceilings in the livingroom & bunkroom - this works fine for Holland, who is 6'4" and can enjoy the cool breeze near the ceiling … I'm a chubby little shrimp at 5'2"; I need cool air down where I dwell, so I bought and brought this cute little vintage air fan home.

This is definitely a good thing.

I like everything about this little fan; style, color (my birth color), and that is keeps me cool, down here near the floor ;-)

For Supper, we pulled a food packet from our 'Patriot Foods' cache, and tried it out: it was a different Spanish Rice recipe and I was a bit skeptical (I make my Spanish Rice with a tomato base), but it was surprisingly good :-)

Sabbath wraps up tonight, and we plan to turn in early so we wake refreshed for our roadtrip tomorrow morning.

Life is good :-)

Patriot Foods 'Spanish Rice'; tasty.

SPARKS-NV

August 17th: We left Elko-NV, very early in the morning; about 4:30 AM. We wanted to put as much distance between us and the smoky haze as possible. The plan was to get to Reno before before nightfall.

Just trusting Elohim.

 Sunrise and salt plains in Pumpernickel Valley-NV; 5,100 ft. elevation. The painted sky looked different every 5 seconds.

Sunrise & Gilded bottoms of bright white clouds; sunrise in Pumpernickel Valley-NV

Smoky haze in the background; Pumpernickel Valley-NV

Smoke haze hanging over the valley; Pumpernickel Valley-NV.

Sun lit hill; Pumpernickel Valley-NV

There were lightening flashes piercing the dusky sky in Crescent City-NV … and that continued into Winnemucca-NV; there was no rain, just bright flashes of bright light every now and then.

It started raining in Battle Mountain - and the smell of smoke was strong. Holland started planning a reroute, if the smoke got progressively worse. I was really struggling to breathe easy; and we were both passing  the inhaler between us (it's Holland's inhaler, and it is stronger than mine: Holland insisted I use it, too).

Battle Mountain-NV from Elko-NV; 1 hr 6 min (70.6 mi) via I-80 W

Winnemucca-NV; nothing was open at 6:30 AM, so we pushed forward.

Quarter-sized raindrops; it was over almost as quickly as it started.

Route to Reno-NV

Obviously Elohim has a reason for rushing me thru these places; I'm okay with that.

We pulled into a Rest Area along the highway around 7 AM, but the parking lot was on a hill and the 5th wheel was slanted to the left, so I suggested we go back downhill to a graveled turnout I spotted - so that's what we did.

We'd only had 2-3 hrs. sleep the night before, so we pulled over in a secluded gravel pullout, and opened the bedroom slide out for some shut-eye before moving on; Crosgrave-NV

Woke refreshed; changed clothes, and on the move again.

We'll settle for a star …

Stopped here for something to chew on - it's slim pickings for hours between towns.

Breakfast in Mill City-NV. I love crunch wraps - and this one was not the usual fare Longview-WA dishes out; this one had been made with mashed black beans and spicy cumin instead of the bland refried beans. It was delish!

A big, fat, fluffy cloud; feeling Elohim's love for us; Lovelock-NV

Driving along, we saw a good sized dust-up (not 'dust devils' because they weren't madly swirling - just kinda sucked upward by the wind) between Lovelock-NV & Fallon-NV.

Bleu threw his front paws up on the console and started nudging our arms, so we started looking for someplace to pull over. We saw a Rest Area sign and turned right. The Rest Area had an interesting set-up … and informative Historical Plaques - I was thankful Bleu's bladder prodded us to turn in there ;-)

3 different weather patterns happening all at once, here.

Pulled over at a Rest Area to ease Bleu's bladder; Fallon-NV; the relief station was designed to resemble an old west street building.

An Historical Marker ~ the California Trail went thru here.

California Trail Marker at Fallon-NV Rest Area:

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

I looked up and saw my Home rounding the bend ~ Husband, Bleu, & home on wheels. It was a hot day and Holland wanted to make things easy for me. He's the greatest :-)

A little bit down the road, Holland's shoulder was prodding us to find someplace to park for the night, so I synced my cell with the truck's GPS … and immediately got a message flashing across the phone screen that my phone had been {disabled}.

WTHeck

So, I got on my Tablet and surfed the internet - strangely, that worked.

I tried the KOA first because we have a membership with them, but as usual no one was answering the phone (we will not be renewing the worthless membership). I tried another RV Park number, and a site was secured :-)

We didn't make Reno tonight … but we will. Holland's shoulder needs a break, and this is as good a place as any.

My cell got a 'disabled' message before it went dead. Good thing I had my Tablet with me.

I never had that happen before; Holland explained a possible reason.

A very nice place to hunker down - Holland booked the site until Sunday afternoon.

Sparks Marina RV Resort:

(#1200 E Lincoln Way, Sparks-NV)

Sparks-NV

Sunday afternoon, we'll be in Reno :-)