La Ventana Again

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Northern and Central California

Camped now at Harris Ranch steak house/truck stop/Tesla charging station just south of Coalinga, CA. There must be 100 or more charging stations. Maybe 4 Teslas using it now. Saw this place on freecampsites.net. Not recommended if the wind's out of the north due to the smell from the cattle stockyards up there. Wind's out of the south now so all's good. Indeed it has been windy. Highway warning signs have warned of high, gusty winds throughout the days' travels, and my van has been buffeted quite a bit. Many trees are uprooted along I-5 and other roads. Some flooding remains. I did a scenic route along the mighty Sacramento River around Chico, CA and had to turn back on River Rd. (duh) when I saw it covered with water.

Last night's camp at the Randolph Collier rest area near Yreka, CA was the nicest rest area I've ever camped at. I highly recommend it. Quiet, by a river, big place, pretty too. Was in the low 40s when I woke up. Upper 50s here now. Funny thing happened at another rest area south near Dunsmuir, CA where the snow and ice were mildly scary. Guy was walking towards his car with a 3 foot length of toilet paper hanging out of the back of his pants. I said "Excuse me, but you have a piece of toilet paper hanging out your pants." He looke at me suspiciously, then reached back and thanked me. How would that even happen???

Learned a new term in Oregon from bumper stickers I saw; Oregunians. The sticker shows an assault rifle below. Is there hope? Dunno.

I'm wearing out my steering wheel mounted radio tuning button. The further south you go the higher percentage of Hispanic radio stations there are. Once you're south of the border that's all there is, so I'm trying to enjoy good old American music while I can. Let me say this, will hip hop ever fade away? Please. And why is Ozzy Osborne's voice so compelling after almost 50 years?

Gas prices have been below $4/gallon if you bother to look around. I'm going to do the math in Mexico and convert pesos and liters to dollars per gallon just out of curiosity. Not much you can do about it though.

Having a margarita now. Time to cook some sliders and make a salad. Tomorrow, Bakersfield and a rendezvous with friend Dave. Will swim laps at the community pool, try to buy a couple extra sets of strings for my new concert uke, and wash my van at Dave's. Then, the Salton Sea.

Snowy conditions near Dunsmuir, CA.

Flooded walnut grove near Sacramento.

Massive Tesla charging station (with only 2 cars charging) near the Harris Ranch complex. Wonder how much electricity it takes to illuminate this place? Each charger has elaborate glowing lights.

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