Oy Vey! What a Weird Couple Weeks!

The Gumbos have experienced many unexpected occurrences during their travels on their boat and in their RV but the last couple weeks take the cake! Bad weather, equipment failures and a big change in plans were features of this time period.

After leaving Barstow, the Gumbos headed to one of their favorite camping locations — Salt Creek Beach on the Salton Sea. This campsite is a dry camping (no hook-ups) spot right on the eastern shore of the Salton Sea. Typically, the weather is warm and dry and campers are treated to beautiful views over the sea toward the mountains to the west. But this year, when the Gumbos arrived, the sky was overcast and the mountains were not even visible.

A view to the east, where the hills were still visible.

Usually, the Salton Sea and the mountains are seen in the distance. Not this year!

And then the rain hit. And, boy, did it rain! The Gumbos can usually handle rain (they do live in the Northwest!) but this particular rain caused the campground, that was all dirt, to become one big pile of mud. The mud was so thick that the truck and RV were not able to be moved and Duwayne, who didn’t think to bring boots, had to wrap his feet in garbage bags to carry the Bean to a dry spot for her doodies.

NOT the Stairway to Heaven!

The truck was moved to (slightly) drier ground.

NOT a happy camper!

Finally, after a couple days, the skies cleared and the views returned to normal.

It was during this time that the Gumbos decided to drastically change their plans. Since leaving home, Duwayne had been experiencing an odd tingling sensation on the right side of his head whenever he stood up or rolled over in bed. While not painful, the condition didn’t seem to be improving. After talking to an insurance nurse and his primary care physician, it was determined that he should head home for an evaluation. So, no Mexico this year!! Instead, the Gumbos would make the long slog back up I-5 toward home.

While still at the Salton Sea, the plan was for son Jherek and his fiance, Mayumi, to drive from Glendale to the Salton Sea for a visit. But, because it took numerous days for the campground to dry out enough to become passable, it was decided that the Gumbos would move to the Morongo Casino, just north of Palm Springs, and the Glendalers would meet Duwayne and Darla Jean there.

The casino parking lot. Not the most scenic campsite, but FREE!

Jherek and Mayumi DID manage to visit and a delightful time was had visiting and catching up with their latest adventures.

Jherek bought the Bean a “Pup Cup” at Starbucks!

The next day, the Gumbos traveled northwest towards the Bakersfield area, where they discovered a delightful campground called Kern River Campground.

This campground was absolutely beautiful and, because it was winter, there were very few campers around. The weather was wonderful and the Bean wore herself (and her owners) out chasing the hundreds of squirrels and trying to tease them out of there holes.

There were HUNDREDS of these around!

Squirrel hunting.

The Bean insisted on MANY squirrel walks each day until she exhausted herself.

While at this campground, the Gumbos took advantage of their recently-purchased Starlink system to watch the early release of “Exhibiting Forgiveness” — premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. This is the first major motion picture for which Jherek has composed the soundtrack music.

Yes, the Gumbos are actually paying Elon Musk for the privilege of using his Starlink internet system!

The movie is fantastic and so is the music! Distribution has not yet been worked out but, once the movie is available, the Gumbos will let you know. A must watch!!

After a couple days at Kern River, the Gumbos traveled north to a Harvest Host site near Turlock, CA called The Burroughs Family Farms. This is a 4000 acre almond orchard and farm with lotsa sheep, cattle and mules living all around the designated camping area.

The Gumbos would have really enjoyed their stay here had it not been for a discovery that Duwayne made shortly after parking the rig. He noticed that the two tires on one side of the fifth wheel were almost touching each other! The last time he had seen this was when, on an earlier rig, the leaf spring u-bolts had broken, causing one axle to move closer to the other. After crawling under the rig, expecting to see the same problem, Duwayne was greeted with the following:

One of the brackets that attaches the leaf spring to the frame had totally broken loose and had managed to also crack the frame! This meant that the RV was not going ANYWHERE until a repair could be made.

When the property owners were informed that the Gumbos were (at least temporarily) stuck, one of them immediately drove over to check out the problem. Eddy brought his welding truck over, helped remove the broken part, cleaned up the rough metal edges and got ready to try to weld the part back on. That was when the bent and cracked frame was discovered. He decided this repair was “above his pay grade”.

Jacking up the rig to get at the damaged area.

Eddy cleaning up the damaged bracket.

The cracked and bent frame.

The cleaned-up part.

So, the next morning, after spending some time combing the internet for mobile welders in the area, Duwayne managed to contact Sylva’s Mobile Welding, located about 90 minutes away. Willy, the owner, agreed to come out immediately and said he was sure he could solve the problem.

Sure enough, 90 minutes later, Willy arrived with tools, welding equipment and lots of spare metal to fabricate a repair.

Darla Jean, over-seeing the proceedings.

After Willy spending 4 hours, and the Gumbos spending $500, the repair was complete and the rig could once again head north. What a relief!

After a long day, the Gumbos had a nice visit with Christine, one of the farm’s owners.

With the rig repaired, the tanks still mostly full and plenty of food still on board, it was now time to head for home. Let’s hope the next week is a little less eventful!

South From Sacto

After spending almost two weeks in Sacramento, it was time for the Gumbos to head further south. Usually, a route is taken down Hwy 99 towards Bakersfield where they head east toward Lake Isabella and then Barstow. But this year the Gumbos decided to try something slightly different. After driving down Hwy 99 as far as Madera, the Gumbos headed east for about 20 miles to a campground that Duwayne had read about online.

The campground was called Codorniz Recreation Area Campground, located on Lake Eastman, a man-made reservoir created by the damming of the Chowchilla River. After a nice drive through some rolling hills and grazing land, the Gumbos found themselves at a really nice, mostly empty campground, nestled amongst oak trees and big boulders. And, as an added bonus, this campground featured full hook-up sites for only $15/night with a senior citizen pass.

There were plenty of opportunities for nice walks, bike rides and hole-sniffing.

The Gumbos were only planning on spending three nights at Codorniz but, because they were enjoying the quiet beauty of the place, they extended their stay another two days. During that time, they drove as far as they could around the lake.

On a side note, when Duwayne was researching this campground, he read a review on Campendium (https://www.campendium.com/). Notice the last paragraph:

Duwayne thought it best not to mention this review to Darla Jean and, as it turned out, the spiders were dormant at this time of year.

After leaving Codorniz, the Gumbos continued south on Hwy 99 to Bakersfield, where they turned east, traversed the Tehachapi Pass and ended up at a Harvest Host campsite — the Slash X Ranch Cafe in Barstow.

This funky little place turned out to be a dive bar with a HUGE parking area in the back. It appeared to cater to the off-road motorcycle crowd (and they were expecting a large gathering of these folks the following day) but was pretty quiet on the particular Friday night that the Gumbos visited.

If you squint, you can spot The Dude through the door in the barn.

The parking area

Inside the bar . . .

. . . where Duwayne and Darla Jean had some drinks and a really     nice dinner.

Apparently hats are a “thing” here. And not one Maga hat was spotted!

Next up, south toward the border.

On The Road Again — 2024 Edition

This year, The Gumbos got off to a rather late start. Darla Jean had to make a couple trips to Pennsylvania in November to help with her brother, who was in hospice care, and then Darla Jean and Duwayne had to travel back again in early December to attend his memorial service. Then, of course, there were the Christmas holidays to deal with — meaning The Gumbos didn’t leave home until December 29.

Because there was a good weather window for getting down I-5 and over the Siskiyou Pass, The Gumbos made a bee-line South, making only three overnight stops. The first was at the Polk County Fairgrounds, just west of Salem, OR. Duwayne and Darla Jean had stayed there last year during their trip home, so they knew it was easy access with cheap parking in a big lot. This year, the entire staff was on holiday vacation so there was no one to accept payment. A freebie!

It was quite rainy, so the Gumbos just hung out indoors.

The next stop was at a yearly favorite — Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville, OR. The Gumbos always enjoy the quiet, scenic and free camping alongside the Umpqua River.

The final stop before Sacramento was at Rolling Hills Casino in Corning, CA. While it’s a convenient geographic stop, it’s just a big parking lot with lots of other RVs and semi trucks. Not a very romantic place to spend New Year’s Eve!

Back in Central California, The Gumbos once again “mooch-docked” (free camping in someone’s driveway) at Bob (Darla Jean’s brother) & Linal’s house in Sacramento.

While there, Duwayne took advantage of Bob’s amazing workshop (https://lazyibuilds.com/) to do some much-needed RV repair. When that was done, he and Darla Jean helped with Bob’s pantry remodel project. For the past few years, Bob has been building new shelving to replace the outdated metal racks in their PACKED pantry. Now that the shelving was ready to install, the first step was to empty the pantry.

The pantry before emptying.

Just SOME of the pantry stuff!

And more.

After all the pantry items were removed, Bob and Duwayne were free to move the new cabinets in.

The empty pantry.

The new cabinets installed.

And a newly-loaded pantry!

Also, while in Sacramento, The Gumbos were invited to attend the unveiling of an installation of the Stan Lunetta Music Circus drum kit at the Wayne Thiebaud Foundation. The late Stan Lunetta was once Duwayne’s drum teacher and, later, a fellow band mate. For many years, Stan performed in the orchestra at Sacramento’s Music Circus (a popular musical theater production enclosed in a permanent tent). During his tenure, Stan developed a unique drum set-up that included every instrument needed to play any musical in the modern repertoire. Stan’s widow, Sharon, recently donated the drum set to the Thiebaud Foundation so that it will be preserved for future viewing.

The Lunettas: daughter Laura, sons Leigh and Larry, and wife Sharon.

Wayne’s step-son Mat, who pain-stakingly dismantled, moved and setup the drums at their new home.

Mat, who is also a former drum student of Stan’s has some of his own unique drumsets on display.

The next day, Duwayne and Darla Jean traveled to Elk Grove to spend a couple days with their good friends Ken and Susan Horton. They must have had too much fun eating and drinking to take any photos as this is the only one that shows up:

And, finally, a day before they continued their journey South, Duwayne and Darla Jean crossed an item off the “bucket list”. For about 60 years, Duwayne has been driving by a neighborhood bar, located about 3 blocks from where he used to live with his parents. He’s always wondered what the place was like inside but, not being a “bar person”, he never got around to stopping in. But this year he decided he needed to check it out. So, The Gumbos and Bob and Linal dropped in for a drink. Turns out, The Interlude is a great neighborhood dive bar with cheap drinks and friendly people!

The Gumbos thank Bob, Linal and Winky for being wonderful hosts for almost 2 weeks. Now it’s time to head South!

The Final (abbreviated) Leg and a Trip Summary

The Gumbos had intended on taking about five days to make the trip up I-5 from Sacramento to Poulsbo. They looked closely at the weather forecasts for Sacramento, the Siskiyous, Central Oregon and Poulsbo and tried to find a decent window to avoid “atmospheric rivers” and snowy conditions.

They left Sacramento with another atmospheric river predicted for that area the next day. No snow was predicted for the Siskiyous for the next couple days so they made a reservation at a Harvest Host in Weed, CA for the first night.

Mount Shasta had a lot more snow on it than it did when The Gumbos passed by 2 months ago!

However, when they were passing by Mt. Shasta, they checked the weather for Weed and noticed that the nighttime temperature was predicted to be 27˚F. That was too cold for The Gumbos! So, they made a quick decision to cancel the Harvest Host reservation and drive for another 3 hours (!) to Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville, OR.

Duwayne and Darla Jean have stopped at Seven Feathers a number of times and planned on spending a couple days there.

The sun was out and it was warm enough (sort of) to have happy hour outside.

But, after waking up the following morning and checking the weather, it looked like things were going to worsen in northern Oregon and Washington in the next couple days. So, it was decided to pack up and continue north further up I-5.

The Gumbos drove about 3 hours to the Polk County Fairgrounds, on old Highway 99 between Corvallis and Salem.

This campsite is basically just a huge parking lot but with power and water for just $25/night. The Gumbos were one of just two RV’s camping there although, apparently, the place is packed every weekend.

BIG parking lot!

There was some interesting farm equipment on display, as part of the Polk County Museum.

It was a nice quiet night with no rain and relatively warm temps. With dry conditions predicted for one more day in the Poulsbo area, The Gumbos decided to make the last 4-hour push for home. So, they got an early start and were hoping to get home by early afternoon. But, typical of this year’s luck, just 10 miles from home, they got stuck in an hour-long traffic jam caused by a head-on collision just a half mile ahead.

The Gumbos could have made big money charging for use of their onboard restroom facilities!

Finally, after the accident was cleared, The Gumbos arrived at home!

So, now it’s time to look back at this year’s trip and evaluate it compared to past trips.

Things that worked:

The Lithium Battery was awesome! It charged quickly and, even with a couple hours of TV watching and a whole night of CPAP use, with typical Arizona and Southern California sun, the solar panels had the battery up to 100% charge by 10:30am! And the iPhone app allowed easy monitoring of the battery’s state of charge.

The Lectric E-bike was a real game-changer. Duwayne enjoyed many bike rides and didn’t worry about trail conditions or hills. He was even able to ride 3 miles up Route 66 in 25mph winds to inquire about road conditions.

The Propane Firepit was enjoyed many times and made evening campfires possible when firewood was either not available or the wood was wet (which was most of the time).

A pleasant surprise this season was the almost constant cellular coverage. Unlike past years, The Gumbos rarely had no coverage and often had 2-3 bars of 5G!

Things that didn’t work:

The Gumbos use their satellite DishTV to access both cable TV sites and local channels. This was particularly important this year as they needed current weather forecasts for their locations. Unfortunately, in mid-February, the Dish network was hit by a ransomware attack and a lot of the service’s functionality was compromised. The Gumbos were not able to access local channels and were unable to contact Dish. Kind of a bummer!

Another problem was with Gumbo’s toilet. Early in the trip, it decided to not STOP flushing! That became an issue because the only way to stop the flushing was to turn of the water pump — which meant no water use for any other purpose (sinks, shower, etc.).
Duwayne managed to jury-rig a shut-off valve on the toilet water supply but a new toilet is in the works.

And then, during the last week of the trip, the oven would no longer stay lit. Apparently, there’s a part called a “thermocouple” that tells the oven burner that the pilot light is lit and its okay to keep heating. Gumbo’s thermocouple had died. The last week of travel featured no meals that required an oven.

Overall Trip Summary and Observations:

The Gumbos have traveled south four times and this is the first time they encountered such weird weather. While the trip to California was pleasant, Sacramento had just endured a number of heavy rain events and it was COLD! And, after leaving Sacramento, Duwayne and Darla Jean had to dodge multiple rain and heavy wind events. It was rarely warm enough for an afternoon outdoor reading session or evening happy hour. Even Arizona was cold and windy. And the trip from Arizona back to Central California featured lots of near-misses with rainstorms and flooding. The Gumbos hope that this is not the new normal.

An interesting observation The Gumbos made this year was the types of RV’s that were seen and the types of people using those RV’s. When camping in state parks and structured campsites, it seemed that there was a preponderance of small vans and car campers. And most of the people using these vehicles were single women! It wasn’t until The Gumbos got to the BLM land of Arizona that they started to see larger 5th wheels and Class A RV’s.

Lastly, a big positive was the lower fuel prices experienced this year. While not the low prices of a few years ago, they were still about a buck a gallon less than last year. Much appreciated!

So, now The Gumbos are planning their next season’s trip. They are pondering the possibility of heading MUCH further east (maybe as far as the East Coast!) but will definitely take changing climate conditions under consideration.

West From Arizona, Featuring Visits With Loved Ones.

The Gumbos’ trip West from Lake Havasu was all about The Bean. This little puppy was sorta grumpy having to spend over three weeks in the desert — rocky, gravelly, cactus-y terrain is not fun on her puppy feet. She wanted some sand or, better yet, grass!

So, after briefly traveling north, Duwayne and Darla Jean pointed the rig west on I-40, in search of softer ground.

Duwayne driving west on I-40. Notice the shorts — the first, and only, time these were worn during the entire trip!

About 2 hours down the road, The Gumbos stopped at Amboy Crater, very near the town of Amboy, on historic Route 66. Amboy was once a somewhat thriving community, featuring Roy’s Cafe, until I-40 was built. Once the new freeway was completed, Amboy became a ghost town. The cafe, which once boasted a staff of 70 is now still open but with a staff of 2!

And, just outside of Amboy is Amboy Crater — a relatively recent volcanic crater — which has a couple of parking lots that allow overnight RV camping.

This was a beautiful spot, in the middle of the Mojave Desert, that had wonderful views and soft sand for The Bean to walk on.

Amboy Crater

The 1-mile walk out to the crater was calling Duwayne’s name but because of the first 80˚ day and with 25 knot winds, he decided to take a pass till next time.

The Bean loved this spot!

That’s Route 66!

Because this place is in the middle of nowhere, the night sky is amazing. Duwayne tried to take a photo with his iPhone but wasn’t successful. The Gumbos were able to identify Cassiopeia, The Big Dipper and the ever-illusive Bart Simpson constellation.

A VERY happy camper!

After a night at Amboy Crater, The Gumbos continued west on I-40 and then northwest on Hwy 58 up to to the town of Tehachapi. They were only intending to spend 2 nights at Brite Lake Aquatic Recreation Area (a campsite they had stayed at the previous year) but an updated weather forecast predicted yet ANOTHER atmospheric river heading to Central and Northern California. So, The Gumbos elected to stay for 3 nights, which was MORE than okay with The Bean because this place had GRASS! And squirrels!

And while they were camping at this spot, they had the most WONDERFUL visit from their son Jherek and his fiancé Mayumi, who drove from Glendale for the day. Food and wine were consumed, a drive to the town of Tehachapi was enjoyed and lotsa talking and hugging was done.

After Jherek and Mayumi departed, The Gumbos hunkered down for the approaching rain.

The expected rain DID appear that night but, by the following morning, it was dry enough for The Gumbos to hitch up and take off. The trip down towards Bakersfield from the Tehachapi Pass was like driving through a car wash — heavy rain with 18-wheelers spraying up a wall of water. But, by the time they got down into the Fresno area, the skies cleared, the temperature warmed up and the travelers had beautiful weather as they arrived at their destination — RandCher Vineyards in Caruthers, CA. This was another Harvest Host stay and The Gumbos parked in the middle of the vineyard.

As explained by the owner, who greeted Duwayne and Darla Jean during their stay, RandCher grows Thompson Seedless grapes that they sell to SunMaid for raisins.

Cheryl (the Cher of RandCher) and Darla Jean.

The Bean enjoyed sniffing the freshly-spread manure!

The owners were a little concerned that, due to the recent heavy rains, the vines were starting to bud too early.

After a very peaceful night, The Gumbos continued North up I-5 to Bob and Linal’s house in Sacramento. Duwayne and Darla Jean arrived at a perfect time as Bob’s company was hosting a St. Patrick’s Day Party on one evening and a crab feed was planned for the following day.

The St. Patrick’s Day party was held at a local sports bar.

An open bar meant lotsa Jameson!

Another highlight of the Sacramento stay was a visit with old friends Sharon Lunetta and her kids, Laura and Larry. Sharon is the wife of the late Stan Lunetta — a famous percussionist and electronic music device inventor that Duwayne had performed with in the group AMRA ARMA during the ’70’s and ’80’s.

(L to R) Laura, Larry, Sharon, Duwayne, The Bean and Darla Jean

Larry, after much tinkering, has been able to get Stan’s “CUBE” working.

The foyer in the Lunetta house features Stan’s “OBELISK”

“OBELISK” close-up

AMRA ARMA electronic music mask

Another AMRA ARMA mask

And yet another music sculpture

After a delightful brunch with the Lunettas, The Gumbos did a brief drive-by tour of past residences in Sacramento and finished up with a visit to East Lawn Cemetery where Darla Jean’s mother and other relatives are buried.

And finally, on a warm and dry Saturday night, Bob & Linal treated The Gumbos to a scholarship benefit crab feed. While Darla Jean cracked crab, Duwayne shoveled it in. A trip to the doctor for gout treatment is probably in his future.

The day after the crab feed featured yet one more “atmospheric river” — more California heavy rain. Linal took Duwayne and Darla Jean to one of their favorite shopping spots — KP International Market. This place features amazing produce, seafood and tons of weird Asian and Mexican foodstuffs.

Just a small part of the produce section

One of the many aisles devoted to hot sauces and seasoning oils

Tons of weird frozen seafood items

Yum yum — crawfish!

Lotsa seafood

After eating WAY too much, The Gumbos hope to find a near-future weather window to allow them to drive the last 750 miles up I-5 to home.