"Those are my principles. And if you don't like them...well, I have others." - Groucho Marx

It's Friday morning and we're sitting in a Starbucks in Santa Cruz. So far Camping Trip 2018 is a bit of a bust.

The first omen came 15 minutes from home when the Blazer started running a little hotter than normal. I stopped and filled the overflow tank with water (it was empty), the temp came down immediately, and we headed 3 hours south to Valley of the Rogue State Park.That all went OK except for the occasional spike in the Blazer running temp. I stopped 2 or 3 times to add water to the tank and headed off again, each time with the same result - fine for 50 miles or so and then a gradual increase.

We set up camp and drove back into Grants Pass, 10 miles north, for dinner at In-n'-Out. Yummy, The back to turn in early.

We were out at 6:30 the next morning for the 8 hour drive to Henry Cowell State Park here in CA. Same problem: the car doesn't officially overheat but the temp starts to rise quickly and I take the first opportunity to again fill the reserve tank. Where is that water going?? Nothing is coming out of the radiator, the tank, anywhere. Yet the tank empties. Hmmm.

Oh, and it's 96 degrees, the smoke from fires is so thick you can only see a mile or two, and we're up and down grades that rises 2,000 to 3,000' each, increasing the overheating issue. Naught to do except press on, filling the overflow tank as necessary and keep an eagle (and anxious) eye on the temp needle.

We got to the park at about 4 p.m. and into our spot.
Where's the electrical hookup?? Back to the entrance check in booth.
None of the sites at this park have any electric, something that escaped my notice when I selected an "RV/Trailer" site. We've never had an RV spot without electric. OK we'll deal with no microwave, no coffee pot, and no charging of any device.

By 10 p.m. Pam was snoring like I've never heard her snore. In a space that's 4' wide and 6' long. By 10:30 I'd moved to the Blazer for the night and "slept" sitting up.
At 5 a.m. this morning I put four quarters in the box in the stinky shower stall for hot water. Four minutes later the COLD water shut off.
"Hmmm. I don't know why that would be. I'll tell maintenance."

We may get a motel room for Saturday night. If I can't get a hot shower ain't nobody gonna want me in the same room, never mind preaching to them. My sermon will stink.

We're debating what to do about the drive home. The temps are supposed to be 10 degrees lower so that will help. But we may still plan on driving home in the middle of the night when it's that much cooler. I took off the radiator cap this morning and the radiator was full. The overflow tank was, again, empty. Hole in that tank? I can't see any evidence of that, viz. a puddle underneath. Weird.

The money we put in the curbside meter is about to run out so that's all you'll get for this post.
Oh, by the way, there are NO available outlets in this Starbucks, either. Is that a CA thing??

We're going to take a hike or two this afternoon in the park. THey're supposed to have some nice walks through the redwoods. And I'm going to take a NAP!!

It can only go uphill from here.
Of course that will cause overheating....