Klamath to Salinas, California

Daisy and I spent July 24 to 27 traveling south in California from Klamath to Salinas. Our original plan was to take Highway 299 from the 101 to I-5 in Redding, but on July 23 a wildfire started near the intersection of 299 and Carr Powerhouse Road, a route that we had planned to be using.  What was called the Carr Fire caused 299 to be closed, so we had to choose a different route. We learned later that by the time it was contained in late August, the Carr Fire had burned nearly 230,000 acres, destroyed over 1,600 structures, and killed 8 people. 

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Day 40 

222 miles

A foggy start for us on the road and the elk in the fields.

The very high fire danger was unfortunately the case in much of California as well other states, due to drought and high temperatures.

Tragically, fires caused not only delays, but loss of life and property. We were lucky to have only minor disruptions in our schedule because of the Carr Fire and previously the Ferguson fire in the south that caused us to postpone going to Yosemite until another trip.

The Shasta-Trinity National Forests and the city of Redding suffered major damage from the Carr Fire.

As we were traveling miles south of the direct area of the Carr Fire, there was a definite smoky layer in the air.

This photo shows light ash from the fires on the windshield of our truck after we had spent the night in Red Bluff, approximately 30 miles south of the Carr Fire.

Because of the closure of Highway 299, we stayed on 101 further south and took 36 east to Red Bluff. The beginning of the trip went through more dramatic redwood forests…

…then we came to an area of major highway reconstruction. This 5-mile stretch of road was closed except for one hour from 12 to 1, which fortunately was when we got there. During that hour, traffic alternated one way at a time through the work area, so we were delayed about 45 minutes. It could have been much worse.

We were very relieved to arrive in Red Bluff by 4 p.m., and glad to be at the Durango RV Resort, one of the fancier full-service places we stayed on this trip. 

The high temperatures in Red Bluff were in the triple digits both days we were there—much different from the highs in the 70s we had enjoyed along the Pacific coast.

The sunset was lovely, even if some of the color may have been influenced by smoke from the fires to the north.

Wednesday, 25 July

Day 41

It was such a nice campground that we decided to stay over and have a down day. So we did laundry, washed the truck and camper, and walked a crossed the street to a supermarket to get a few light items.  We discovered an Asian take-out restaurant on the way back and took dinner back to our truck camper.

The official high in Red Bluff was 111 degrees.  Our exterior thermometer showed 123 degrees reflecting the additional heat from the concrete pad we were parked on. 

Thursday, 26 July 

Day 42

175 miles

We had a fairly short travel day to Stockton. On the way, we saw many aspects of agricultural production, ranging from olive groves…

….to fruit orchards and hay bales…

…to large trucks filled with Roma tomatoes. We didn’t count, but saw over 30 of these double trailers going north on the highway during our 2 days of travel. From the way the tomatoes were being transported, we thought they were going to a cannery to be processed into juice or other tomato products.

We also saw many fields that were being harvested, using machinery, hand labor, or some combination.

The temperature in Stockton was only slightly cooler than Red Bluff…

…but we were fortunate to have a lovely RV site next to the San Joaquin River. 

I have seen many kinds of truck campers but this truck tent camper adjacent to our site was definitely unique.

This was an interesting place along an inner-coastal waterway to hang out for one night during the week.

We heard that the Carr fire that had caused us to divert our course had now crowned and was growing rapidly.  The road that we had crossed over was closed as well.  There were other fires that we were also watching.  At this point,  the air appeared to be getting a little clearer as we headed south west.

 

Friday, 27 July

Day 43

127 miles

It was a cloudless but hazy day as we left heading to Salinas, California. This was a special day for we were meeting up with the grandboys, daughter Shannon, and son-in-law Matt, who is working on a master's degree at the Naval Post Graduate school near Monterrey Bay. We were headed toward the coast and when we arrived the temperature was a moderate and welcoming 68 degrees as compared to the 100+ degrees we had been enduring.

The country side was getting dryer with sparse vegetation so I was surprised with the extent of cooler bay weather.

This area is a major agricultural production enterprise and the key here is irrigation.  Add water and amazing things happen.

We arrived in Salinas at 12:30 pm. We had the rental car company come pick us up so we we could have better mobility in getting around and carrying family as needed.

Daisy and I did a little mall shopping while waiting to go meet the kids for dinner. We enjoyed a great family meal at Little Sicily and laid plans for the next few days.

Josiah is 12, Levi 9, and Micah is 14 months and learning to crawl. There would be more good times to come as we visited the clan. This moment was especially significant for me in that my birthday was coming very soon. I could think of no better way to celebrate this occasion than with my kids and Daisy present.