Today was one of the toughest drives Greg has ever done: heavy rain, gusty wind, mountain roads and darkness. All in a 25-foot RV that is nearly 11-feet tall.

The challenges started first thing in the morning. We’re still learning how everything works in the motorhome, and Greg awakened to learn that the coach battery was dead. User error! Despite the large house battery, we were stuck until a kind neighbor helped jumpstart the engine. The engine was not happy with Greg’s mistake, and the check engine light was lit all morning.

After a winding drive to Eureka, the RV was low on fuel. However, the diesel in every station we found was 85% biodiesel, while the Mercedes chassis specifically cautions to use a maximum of 20% biodiesel. We found one station with a $75 limit. Greg switched credit cards, and the pump captured the second card permanently! The attendant was very helpful and rebooted the pump to retrieve the card. Remember folks, everything is a computer: just reboot it if it doesn’t work. Greg switched to the 3rd card and also reached the $75 limit; fuel is expensive in California, especially in a small coastal city like Eureka.

We also tried to borrow an OBD tool to reset the check engine light; the auto parts store did not have the right tool, and a local oil change shop connected the tool, reported that there was an error from the power system (duh!) but was unable to clear the check engine light. Another waste of time.

More wind and winding roads, but at least the check engine light cleared after a lunch stop. Finally, we reached Grants Pass, Oregon. More mountain roads, but at least they were from the relative comfort of I-5. Very heavy rain, but the wind was not as bad as at the coast, and no snow like the forecast for Mt. Shasta and the Siskiyou range. We eventually reached Salem for the night. Too tired to drive the last 4 hours, but at least we know we‘ll be home by lunch Saturday.

Finally, Brian asked me to correct my comments about the weather decision: there was a winter storm watch on Thursday, followed by a winter storm warning on Friday with 1-3 feet of snow plus winds of 55+ MPH. That sounded much more serious than what Greg reported yesterday.