Days 24 - 9/28 - Portland to Medford

On Thursday, we traveled from the Portland area to the Medford area where we stopped at the KOA in Gold Hill, Oregon. Along the way took an extended break at Eugene where we visited Kelvin and Cindy Dietz. 

Byron and Kelvin connected through an online group of GMC MotorHome owners nearly a decade ago. Kelvin contacted Byron to design a paint scheme for his coach. The final job was done 10 years ago and Kelvin says he’s still pleased to tell folks that Byron was involved. Since then, Byron has other graphic design work for him.

Our first motorhome was a vintage GMC coach that we owned for three years. We got greatly involved in some of the FMCA groups dedicated to the GMC unit. GMC produced these from 1973 through 1978 and thousands of them are still operational today. The drivetrain was based on the front wheel drive Oldsmobile Toronado with a ride-dampening suspension developed especially for the motorhome.

Kelvin and his wife enjoy their vintage GMC. It was repainted

nearly ten years ago based final design by Byron. Here it is

shown on the Oregon Coast with Hecta Head Lighthouse

in the background.

We have learned a thing or two about this RV trip planning app Martha used for this trip. Just because it says an RV can travel a road doesn’t necessarily mean you want to be on that road. We were on a highway that traversed up and down and around at speeds of 45 miles and hour or less. We saw beautiful Oregon countryside in the Cascades. The drive was not very restful but we made it with no problems encountered.

We were primarily on I-5 for this segment of the trip. Though we didn’t encounter sharp curves or narrow roadways, we did encounter steep inclines. A 7% grade is not uncommon in the Cascades. At times our uphill speed got down to 38 (and all the hamsters in the cage were pedaling hard). It makes one very thankful for truck lanes. Holding it below 55 on the downhill slopes was challenging, too. It makes one very thankful for thing like engine braking as well as good, mechanical brakes.

Steep slopes line the way just as steep inclines provide driving challenges.

This is the experience of driving in the Cascades of Oregon and Washington.

Of course, in this area there are several plateaus with large, open fields where there are groves of fruit trees or cattle and sheep farms. It is just amazingly beautiful.

Once at the KOA in Gold Hill just north of Medford, we had a good opportunity to rest in preparation for the touring to be done at Crater Lake National Park. At this KOA we were settled in among the trees and parked on a surface of small pebbles.

Martha took this photo of our Newmar Dutch Star without

the use of flash on her iPhone. It came out looking great.

The LED light strip is our primary security lighting at night.

By the way, the paint scheme of our rig was also done by Byron.