This trip began at a weekend rally of our RV club in Bodega Bay, California. We would be returning to the place where Kay and I purchased our first class "A" motorhome a few years before. As we did then, we would be traveling with others from our RV club.

Our caravan consisted of five motorhomes as we drove from the California coast heading for the Sacramento Valley. Some of the rigs were towing cars while the others were traveling sans toads. We would be meeting up with two more rigs, from our RV club, when we reached Oregon.

Our caravan traveled on a scenic, back-country road as we found our way to highway I-5. There was regular chatter on the CB radio as people in our group talked about previous experiences in the area in years gone by. As we passed the old Mare Island Navel Station, I was reminded of a time many years ago when I was stationed there for special training when I was in the U.S. Navy.

It wasn't very long until our caravan found its way to I-5 where we settled in for a routine ride up through the fertile Sacramento Valley. The motorhomes that were towing cars had to maintain a slower speed as dictated by California law. It was suggested that those of us who were not towing should go out ahead to our destination for the night to "nail down" enough sites for everyone in our caravan. As a result, our parade of RVs split into a faster group and a slower section all heading for a casino a few miles north of Klamath Falls, Oregon.

There was only one scene that was somewhat unusual, along I-5, as we passed a staging area for crews of forest-fire fighters. I could see several helicopters next to a group of tanker trucks and tents.

A forest fire fighter staging area along I-5

Soon the familiar view of Lake Shasta appeared as our caravan crossed over the Pit River Bridge that spans an arm of the lake. The lake seemed as if it was near full with a few water craft leaving wakes on the water in the distance. This point in our trips to Oregon has always a welcome milestone.

The Pit River Bridge is a familiar milestone on our trip to Oregon

With a familiar milestone behind us, we can expect to see more familiar vistas ahead. The distinctive Castle Crags appear suddenly on the left side of the road. This happens shortly before Mt. Shasta appears to arise, in the distance, from behind the nearby forest covered mountains.

Castle Crags rock formation appear suddenly on the west side of the highway

We had lost contact with the towing part of our caravan for some time by the time our part of the caravan found its way to Weed, California. This is where we made the transition from I-5 to U.S. 97 and drove through town to a roadside rest area on the north side of town.

The Grass Lake Rest Area was a good place to stop for lunch, so our two motorhomes found our way into the parking area. It felt good to get out from behind the steering wheel and stretch my legs. I always like to stop at this particular rest area. The high desert scenery has a peaceful "feel" to it.

Our "big" motorhomes look a bit small next to eighteen-wheelers

Our motorhome was parked next to Martie's and Larry's rig with eighteen-wheelers on either side of our RVs. After a leisurely lunch, our small group pulled out on highway 97 and headed north. This would be the highway we followed to our final destination near Redmond, Oregon.

The view of a large meadow as seen from the Grass Lake Rest Area

After getting underway on highway 97 the ride was uneventful as our small caravan cruised along through the high-desert countryside. It seemed to take a long time for us to reach Oregon. As we crossed into Oregon I was reminded of trips to Lava Beds National Monument that Kay and I had taken this way in the past with our son.

Shortly before reaching the city of Klamath Falls, our duo of motorhomes crossed over a body of water laden with floating logs. I've seen this type of scene in the past when we traveled in western Canada. Even though floating logs down a river was a common sight many years ago, it seems as if it is unusual today. It is unusual enough that I quickly grabbed my camera as I drove and clicked off a shot of the scene outside Kay's window.

Logs floating on a river while waiting to become boards

It wasn't very long until we made our way through Klamath Falls and headed north toward our destination at a Native-American casino. This route took us next to Klamath Lake for several miles. This is the section of our route where the lake dominates the view on the left side of the roadway.

Above are two views of Klamath Lake next to highway 97

This also is where we saw the phenomena of what looks like narrow, vertical-clouds of smoke rising up next to the side of the road. These clouds occur at intervals for a couple of miles. When we reached the first cloud it was revealed that the cloud really was a swarm of thousands of flies swirling in the air to form a column.

Soon the lake falls away in our rearview mirror as we begin looking ahead for the casino. Our mission, as the advance section of our motorhome caravan, is to located sufficient parking space at the casino to accommodate our entire group of RVs.

Upon arriving at the Kla-Mo-Ya Casino, just south of Chiloquin, Oregon, we saw a large open area on the northwest corner of the parking lot. So, our two rigs proceeded to the area to claim it for our caravan. It was about an hour and a half later that Tina and Kevin arrived to join our group. Some time later Harry and Shirley showed up to take up a position with our caravan. We now were four.

There appears to plenty of room for our caravan of what would become six motorhomes

Tina and Kevin were the first of our group towing cars to show up. It seems that Tom and Nora had a problem that required they spend some time in Klamath Falls with Nilo and Kathy staying with them. We learned that the problem was an oil leak in the engine compartment. This sounded serious and I was concerned that it might require Tom and Nora to cancel out on the FMCA convention.

This sign makes it very easy to find the small casino

Once it was determined that all of the motorhomes in our group to arrive in time for dinner, were already here, our group went inside the casino to find a place to eat. Since this appeared to be a new casino, small in size, we found that there was only a small café style place to have our evening meal. The items on the menu were simple in nature; however, there was enough of a selection to give all of us something to choose from.

After dinner I found that our place in the parking lot had filled in around our motorhomes. The two rigs that were delayed in Klamath Falls had not arrived yet. We were getting concerned and it was found that most in our group could not get a cell phone signal. I was able to find a "hot spot" where I was able to make a call just in time to hear that the remainder of our caravan was close to us and would arrive shortly.

When the rest of our group finally arrived, Tom had quite a story to tell. I was very impressed with the fact that Tom was able to make a temporary fix on the engine of his motorhome and continue the trip. The delay was the result of finding a place to buy a part and then trying to find a car wash to clean fuel-oil off of the car. After hearing Tom’s story I was extremely impressed that he was here at all.

With parking lot now filled, the cars navigating among the vehicles often would get disturbingly close to our motorhomes. There was a new section of the parking lot that appeared to be a new addition located closer to the highway. When we arrived the new area had been closed to vehicles. With the older area full, the newer area was opened. Some of us decided to get our motorhomes away from the busy area and drive over to the new section. Others in our group also relocated.

Larry was still in the casino, so Martie decided to move their motorhome to the newly opened parking area. I helped to guide her to a shortcut so she wouldn't have to go through the packed parking area. When Martie was nearly in position, I turned to go to my motorhome to move it.

When I looked, all I saw was an empty spot where my motorhome was once parked. Then I looked to the right and there was my motorhome slowly navigating its way through the tightly packed collection of automobiles, SUVs and pickup trucks. Kay had taken on the task of moving our motorhome to the less crowded parking area for the night. I was amazed at how she was able to maneuver our motorhome through such tight conditions. She had to find a complex path that allowed enough room to allow her to make the wider turns required by the size of our rig. Moving slow and steady, Kay made it to a nice place between two trees where we would spend the night.

The people in our group "called it a day" a bit early because we had to get an early start so we could get to our final destination before noon.

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