When it was time to begin our day the rain was still falling lightly. Fortunately the weather cleared just before we needed to break camp. The rain had caused the dust to turn to mud on our motorhomes and cars. Our caravan left camp at 8:30 so we could meet Vince and Cliffie by 9:00 at the junction of US-101 and highway 20 just north of Ukiah.

The rain turned a thin layer of dust into mud

As our caravan pulled out on the highway JB attempted to call Vince on his cell phone, however, he received no answer. He said that either Vince didn't have his cell phone turned on yet or he was in an area that didn't have cell phone coverage. As we headed north, we all talked, on our CB radios about how we would try to rendezvous with Vince and Cliffie since we were not able to get a hold of them on the phone. Also there was some concern about us being behind schedule by an estimated 10 minutes.

Fog rolling over coastal mountains is a scene similar to that seen near where we live

As we approached the point where Highway 101 crossed over Highway 20, precisely 10 minutes after 9 o'clock, JB said that off to the right is where Vince and Cliffie would come from as they traveled from the Sacramento Valley to Highway 101. We figured that Vince probably was somewhere north of us on 101. The view of the connector between 20 and 101 was obscured by a small hill. Then, just as we passed the little hill, Vince and Cliffie's motorhome came into view just as it pulled out onto 101 directly in front of our caravan taking the lead position. What are the chances of something like this happening? We couldn't have planned it better.

While we were looking down an empty Highway 20 and talking about catching up with Vince and Cliffie, they were on the connector behind the little hill. Vince came on the radio and told us how he had been concerned about not being able to get a cell phone signal and being 10 minutes late for our planned rendezvous. I am really amazed how this all worked out.

Our caravan now consisted of four motorhomes as we settled in for a routine drive through the beautiful scenery of Northern California. There appeared, hanging over the coastal mountains, a light layer of clouds that would recede as the morning wore on. Traffic was moving along at the speed limit as we approached Willits, California where the speed limit decreased. As we entered town, we drove under an arch that proclaimed, "WILLITS - GATEWAY TO THE REDWOODS." We became part of a long parade of various types of vehicles, the result of the slower speed, winding its way through the middle of town.

In a short time, after leaving Willits, we saw a scene that was like looking through a time warp back to the late 1960s and early 1970s. Next to a long stretch of the west side of the highway was a Woodstock-style gathering of hippie vans/buses, tents and people wearing tie-died clothing. We would learn later that the Woodstock West gathering was an event put together by Wavey Gravey — a hippie character from the first Woodstock. I noticed that a lot of the hippie-types I saw looked old and wrinkled. Then I realized that they are in the same age group as me and my friends. Even so, it appeared as if there was a new generation of younger hippie-types along with the older ones.

A blast from the past next to the highway – a "Happening" featuring Wavey Gravey

After stopping for a short time so JC and I could refuel our motorhomes, we then continued on to a place to stop for lunch. It was decided that we would have lunch at the Samoa Cookhouse near Eureka, California. I've heard about this place for many years and I was looking forward to having lunch there. As we drove toward our lunchtime destination, our route took us through the beautiful redwoods where the big trees were very close to the highway.

It is time for lunch at the Samoa Cook House

We had no trouble finding the restaurant; however, it took a little while figuring out the parking. I drove up to the parking area next to the cookhouse, but there wasn't enough room for all of our motorhomes. Vince knew of a parking area down the hill next to the roadway. We found our way there and found that all of our RVs fit in the parking lot nicely.

There was a short waiting time before we could be seated in the cookhouse. This gave me an opportunity to look around the small logging museum located in the cookhouse building. There is a nice collection of old photos and logging equipment. When our group was called into the dinning room, we were all seated together at a long table.

Our caravan crew having lunch at the Samoa Cook House – a fun place to eat

Our server is Scott – he did a good job taking care of our group

At the end of our table stood our server who introduced himself as Scott and told us a bit about the Samoa Cookhouse. Scott told us what was on the menu which is predetermined depending on what day of the week you come to the cookhouse. With this being Sunday, the main dish would be ham with all the good stuff to go with it. For those who don't like ham, they must come on another day. I found the food to be good and there was enough that a person had no need to leave the table hungry. The best part is that the price was very reasonable.

Time to get back on the road after a nice lunch

After lunch we all made our way back to the motorhomes as we walked down the hill. As I arrived at the road side of the lot I saw a view of all four motorhomes lined up as if ready to begin some sort of race. Instead, the motorhomes departed one behind the other forming our small RV caravan. In short time we were all back on U.S. 101 heading north. Our route would take us along the coast with a nice view of the Pacific Ocean on our left.

The remainder of the trip was routine with our group arriving in Gold Beach, Oregon in the late afternoon. After leaving the coast highway our little caravan found its way along a narrow back-country road that had a few curves to negotiate to our destination. This being the first time for me to make this trip, it seemed to take longer than I thought it would once we left the main highway. Then around a curve I saw the entrance to the campground where we would be staying, the Kimball Creek Bend RV Resort.

A great RV campground located on the Rogue River

After registering, the owner of the campground — driving a golf cart — led our group to our campsites. The motorhomes were driven into the sites head-first which gave us a very nice view overlooking the Rogue River. Across the river from the campground was forest covered mountain scenery. I thought our view was very nice indeed. It didn't take long to get set up in our campsite and get ready for dinner. Tables from a couple of our campsites were put together to provide a communal dinning area for our meals. This was a very familiar way for us to have our meals together as a group.

This is how our RVs looked as viewed from the Rogue River bank

This is the view we had looking toward the Rogue River from our campsites

After dinner, our group gathered around a nice campfire to visit and exchange impressions of the day's activities. It was a nice way to end a very busy day.

This is always a nice way to end the day

A warm fire, after dinner, was always welcome as it helped to ward off the evening chill

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