Heading Home

Friday
The last morning of our visit to McKinley's campground always begins early. All the crabs that we have in storage must be cooked before we leave. Charlene has to start the big pots of water heating up around 7:00 so we will be able to leave in the morning. While the crabs are cooking, we start breaking camp.

The tide is out, it's good that the boats came out the day before

Charlene cooks our crabs out in front of the office

As we labored to get ready for the trek home, our work is punctuated by trips to the cooking pots to pick up a load of bright-red, freshly-cooked crabs to deliver to our compound. Each motorhome has ice chests, out in the middle of our camp area, placed there to collect a share of the catch for each rig. The crabs are then divided among the motorhomes by some of the women.

I had a bit of disappointment when I went to collect the crabs that I stored in storages pots that I made out of of milk cases. We had been so successful this year at catching crabs that we needed more storage capacity. To do this, Nilo and I bought some milk cases to turn into live wells. We wired two cases together to make one clam-shell style storage pot. Nilo and I made two pots each so we could store our limit of crabs. This seemed to be a good temporary solution to the storage shortage.

One of my home made crab storage pots has been destroyed

When I went to the dock to retrieve my crabs to take to the cook pot, I found that one of my live wells had been broken allowing all the crabs to escape, 24 in number. Most live wells are made of wood or plastic that floats. The milk cases I used were made of plastic that is not buoyant. As a result, my flimsy storage units sank to the bottom of the dock area. Not only did they sink, but one drifted to a position that was under one of the dock extensions. When the tide went out, the weight of the dock came down on the jerry-rigged pot crushing it. This allowed the incarcerated critters to make their escape. Even with the loss of the pot full of crabs, we still took home more than in previous years.

Another load of fresh cooked crabs ready to be divided up

Twenty-five crabs were counted out at a time and placed in an ice chest. Then the next cooler would receive twenty-five red crustaceans and so on. The remaining crabs were then divided up evenly among all the motorhomes until all the crabs were packed and iced down ready to travel. We would be taking home more crabs this year than any previous year. We did very well in spite of the rain. Now we would have nice weather to start our trip back to California.

Nilo said his good-byes and took off. He was planning to drive the entire distance to his home in California on this day. It was estimated that it would be a drive of approximately 15 hours in duration.

Packing ice chests with crabs in preparation for the trek home

There was a lot of activity in camp as everybody was preparing for the trip home. Ice chests full of red crusteceans are put into storage. Motorhomes were maneuvered into positions to be able to connect boat trailers and towed vehicles. Ray was making the rounds of motorhomes to clean the windshields. Somehow, the show all came together with everybody ready to get on the road at about the same time.

Ray washing the windshield on our motorhome

By now, the path home had become very familiar. Even so, it is still a very pleasant drive through scenic regions of Oregon and California. The first stop would be at Washburn State Park to use the dump station facilities. Kay and I fared much better this year due to the larger capacity of the water tank and holding tanks in our new motorhome. I think we may have had enough capacity for another two days.

Again we find our RVs lined up for necessary chores

With Kay driving, I was free to take pictures

We said our good-byes to Dave and Barbara, they would be stopping at a campground in Florence. The route back to I-5 took us along highways 38 and 138 which is a scenic route along part of the Umpqua River Valley from Reedsport to Sutherlin. I always enjoy this scenic drive along the river. The trip driving south on I-5 was uneventful and is becoming a very familiar route to us.

Tom and Nora ahead of us driving next to the Umpqua River

Harry and Wally led the way and were far enough ahead of us that we lost track of them shortly before getting to our destination for the night. As Tom, Nilo and I approached the Valley of the Rogue State Park, we heard Kevin on the CB radio. This was somewhat amazing.

Kevin and Melody departed from Waldport the day before Kay and I arrived. They went on their way to pursue their own vacation schedule. Then after a week, Kevin drove into the campground right behind Wally and Harry. The remainder of our caravan fell in behind Kevin. We were fortunate to all be able to have our RVs in the same loop.

Again we are in one of our favorite campgrounds

Everybody gathered, to visit for awhile before the evening meal. We assembled at the picnic table in Harry and Shirley's campsite which was located in the approximate center of our camping area. It was determined that several of us needed more ice for the ice chests holding our crabs.

A time to visit and catch up

Kevin unhooked his towed vehicle so we could use it to go find a place to buy ice. Tom and I got into the car and Kevin drove us in the direction of Grants Pass to the nearby town of Rogue River. It seemed like a nice little village nestled in the mountains. It appeared as if Kevin had been to this town before as he found his way to a small shopping center. We went to the grocery store to get the several bags of ice as well as a few supplies for our motorhomes.

After arriving back in camp, the ice was added to our respective ice chests. It wasn't long until it was time for the evening meal. The main dish of the last evening meal, of each trip, has traditionally been loose crab legs. These are the crab legs that come loose in the cooking pot when the crabs are prepared for transport in our ice chests.

Earlier in the day, when the crabs were cooked, legs would come loose from the crab bodies and fall to the bottom of the cook pot. When the cooking was finished, the legs would be scooped up and piled on top of the crabs in the bucket. Then in camp, when the crabs were divided up among the motorhome ice chests, the loose legs were all put in one ice chest.

A great meal together on our last full day on the road

During the evening meal, all those crab legs are put into a big bowl that is then passed around. It is a delicious way to make the final distribution of crab meat. Along with the crab legs, each motorhome provides a dish to share. It makes for a good meal with good conversation among friends. It was a nice way to end our day.

Saturday
Our caravan was back on I-5 at 8:00 heading toward Medford where we pulled into a truck stop to refuel our rigs. The drive south into California didn't take very long and a short distance inside the sate we stopped at the State Agricultural Inspection Station. We were whisked through without delay and were on our way in a very short time.

Soon we saw the usual view of Mt. Shasta looming in the distance and getting larger with each mile down the road. As lunch time approached, the lead driver was looking for roadside rest area where could all pull off the Interstate to have lunch.

The weather was clear and sunny, so eating outdoors was going to be a treat. We found our way to the same rest stop we've used on past trips to have our lunch. With our sandwiches and other goodies in hand, we all assembled at a picnic table in the shade. This gave some of us an opportunity to finish off the last of the loose crab legs that hadn't been consumed the night before.

Parked in a rest stop where we have lunch

After lunch, we all said our good-byes as this would be the last time we see each other on this trip. As we got back out on southbound I-5, it wasn't long before our caravan began to break up. Tom was heading home to drop off his boat and to prepare for another trip that would begin the next day. Kay and I headed on home so we could turn our rig around for the next trip. That trip would commence the next morning.

When we arrived home, it was decided that it was too much trouble to back the motorhome next to our garage when we would be leaving the next morning. So, I parallel parked our motorhome on the street in front of our house. It was impossible to get the RV level in this location, so Kay and I spent the night in the house.

While at home for the evening, I used the time to clean a lot of crabs while Kay washed clothes to get ready for our departure the next morning. This was somewhat of a hectic way to end another RV Fun Trip.

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