ROAD NOTES:
Next day so some of the edge is taken off, but here goes. Marty the Mechanic is a horrible person. He recommended I remove part of the drive shaft to keep from ruining my transmission. I am sure he knew it couldn't be done with a wrench. But it did cause us to sink another $20 (rounded) & 2 hours.
Then I got stuck being helped by a an incredibly generous yet reeking of alcohol transient fellow. Which got a little bit weird and threatened to involve the whole of Crescent City. He literally knocked on the window of a Jeep as it pulled into the parking lot to ask the operator how his drive shaft worked. Finally I gave him $7 for his "help" and talked him into leaving. (Mostly so that we could get on the road ourselves because we were resigned to another hotel or travelling, but couldn't go anywhere while he was "fixing" our troubles.) So it's 8pm and we finally start the long slow march home. (at 45mph) 
The agreed upon goal over everything else: GET OUT OF CALIFORNIA!!!! The plus side was that it was very pretty for the 2 hours the sun was up. Very scenic:
Would have been more enjoyable in our own car but apparently vacationers cannot be choosers. WE do settle into a slow but cramped:
routine and things were as good as can be expected. But we hit our first steep grade. I engage the brakes in an effort to control our descent and suddenly the engine starts revving like a first time driver trying not to kill the engine after a stoplight. (Except this has an automatic transmission) The Tachometer is up between 4 & 5K RPM & it only goes to 6,000. I say words I am certain my teenage daughter has never heard her friends say. And fight it back under control. This fight repeats itself over every steep grade all night long. It being 10pm Ellen Realizes she might be hungry & states a desire to stop "Somewhere" to eat. For all my enjoyment of writing I am unable to come up with words why would rather avoid pulling into a parking lot where I would have to back up a 24 foot U-haul with a rav-4 strapped to a tow dolly attached to the back. In some ways I guess I thought it would be self evident. We "compromise" on a rest area and using some of the camping food. (which basically means Sandwiches again ) So crawling along using every slow moving vehicle turnout I can find (there are more in California than in Oregon) and breathing a sigh of relief every time I receive a passing lane (to let others go by) and dreading steep grades. We slog into Oregon:
(a Milestone hooray) Round about Grants Pass, just as we merge onto I-5 the Check engine light comes on. How cool a vacation story would it be if the U-Haul broke down on us. so dinner (sandwiches) @ Rest Area north of grants pass & we notice the Rav is slipping loose from it's restraints. So we back it off the dolly. Reload and tighten down firmly. Also check engine fluids due to check engine light. (because it couldn't' have anything to do with the transmission and it's behaviour on steep grades.) They look good. And we are off. Ellen doesn't really want to sleep but half-heartedly dozes. As the night drags on I notice that I am driving a little bit faster. Never over 55mph but getting home and done with this is taking precedence over safety and junk. Round about 10 to 1am Bug pops her Monster & gets wired. She is bouncing & singing & talking a mile a minute. You know the child is out of her mind when she starts telling me how much she likes love songs. But it works she helps keep me awake and aware. Finally we roll into Donald @ 3:30am. We have to park downtown and drive the Camry to ferry our junk home. 2 trips and we are completely unloaded and in bed by 4am.
Questions Inspired by the day:
Do I ow stupidity tax for my foolishly taking it down the 6 mile dirt road with an empty tow dolly behind?
Excluding the Naval to Kneecap zone what part of my body has not been sunburned?
Why does California hate me so?
How successful do you expect a casino to be if it looks like a barn?
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