Dalepalooza

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Dalepalooza II - The Graeagle Adventure

We had such a great time on our 7000 mile odyssey to Florida and back that we thought we would try a mini camping expedition...Dalepalooza II The Graeagle Adventure! We are heading out on Sun, July 12, 2010 to Plumas Eureka State Park. We have been going up here for years and this time we will meet up with the Dach's; Pete, Maryann and Maria. They had some trailer "issues", so they are staying in a cabin in the neighboring "town" of Johnsville.
Hiking, fishing, camping, swimming, exploring. Chipmunks, woodpeckers, beavers and black bears. Jack, Bridget, Maria, and two special guests. Check back to see what we've done, where we've gone, and who fell in the river! Pictures and updates when we can. The GPS logger will be on so if I have reception, you should be able to see exactly where we are at all times. Dalepalooza II. Let's Go! Nothin' but miles of smiles!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Safely Home

After a grueling 545 mile day, we are home! We all wanted to take showers and crawl into our own beds, but there was work to be done. Unloading the trailer was on the list, as was cleaning out Jodie's car. Jodie has a book event tomorrow morning and needs to pack up her Usborne Children's books - www.livetoread.com (shamless plug!).

A quick inspection shows the entire trip resulted in the expected wear and tear on everything and everyone.

The trailer had the following "issues":
* one wheel bearing failure resulting in burned brake assemly to one wheel
* one vent cover on the top of the trailer blew apart due to the 45mph headwinds we had driving up I-5 on the return trip
* The rear slide track bolts came out. Thanks Russ for the repair!

All other equipment worked very well. In fact, we ran the refrigerator all month and still have lots of propane fuel left in the 30 pound bottle!

This was a great adventure and as usual, taking the roads less traveled led us to fantastic adventures (except for 5 hour detour in Texas!). Our breakdown in Louisiana was something else! It was mindboggling that we would breakdown half a mile from a great RV camp. We spent the downtime exploring the Crawfish Capitol of the World and met some of the nicest folks on the trip. Southern hospitality (and $300) got us fixed up and ready to roll on.

We want to thank everyone in Florida for all the hospitality and love. We miss you all. If Robert can work enough overtime, perhaps we can do it again soon.

The Last Vacation Fuel Stop

At 2PM we stopped for the dreaded, "I gotta go". After the Dale Family left our kidney fluid at the rest stop, we topped off the tank and traded duties; Jodie is now pilot-in-command and I get blogging duty. California is nice this time of year. Its 68 degrees and humidity is about 35 percent. Hee hee to all the Florida family. Sorry, I couldn't help it. We are listening to the SF Giants game on the radio and although we are a few hours from home, I am melancholy about the Palooza being nearly over. Go Giants!

Grapevine?

Well, we did it! We chugged up the Grapevine grade with no problem. Vehicle temps were fine and we didn't go below 45 MPH. It was very windy and cool and this may have helped. For those who don't know, the Grapevine Grade starts at 450ft above sea level and peaks at 4144ft. All this in only about 6 miles! When its hot, there are cars and trucks pulled to the side overheating or actually on fire. Now, we literally have a straight shot up Interstate 5 to Highway 4 and home.

Carioki ©

We are buzzing down the road, singin' songs on the radio and the Ipod and it comes to us.........Car-ioki! We'll make millions!

Jack is a Champ at RV Duties!

Its 0530 hours and we are preparing for our last leg homeward bound. The family seems to tolerate these early morning well. Weather report calls for it to be not so hot, so I hope this helps getting over the Grapevine Grade. Jack loves to be the trailer pit crew guy, hooking up and unhooking all the systems and performing our pre-departure checks. Jack usually is first out to get the rig ready for the road. He knows all the systems and is very fast. He should work for a NASCAR pit crew... if they raced RV's!