20250409 Wednesday, April 9, 2025. Rogue River Valley Vineyards

20250409 Wednesday, April 9, 2025. Rogue River Valley Vineyards

We did not experience the dreaded knock on the RV door in the middle of the night, and actually had a very comfortable night.  Xiaowen's neighborhood is very quiet and there was no traffic during the night.  Ben got the Bronco hitched back up and the RV back into driving configuration.

We bid Xiaowen farewell and headed back north.  We had thought we’d end up taking a direct north route, but it turns out that was on a toll highway, so we headed east to Stockton and then north on I-5.  According to the Siri, that added 51 minutes to our drive for the day, but we'll do just about anything to avoid paying tolls.

Hard core 6hr drive today with mountain passes.

Our RV’s trip computer said we had a 237-mile driving range while the navigation system said we had 218 miles to get to the Redding Costco where we know we can get the R99 diesel safe for the vehicle.  We drove directly to Redding, but got a bit nervous as we got closer to Redding and our driving range continued to drop.  It was with great relief when we pulled off I-5 in Redding and into the Costco.  Surprisingly, the RV took 25.5 gallons.  The RV’s spec sheet says the RV’s official fuel capacity was 24.5 gallons, so it must have really been running on fumes.  It’s not clear if the filler neck can hold a gallon of diesel, but that appears to be a secret reserve.

We had perfect weather with temperatures in the low 70s in Redding, blue skies, and no wind.  We had lunch at an In-n-Out in Redding across the freeway from Costco, and then headed up north. 

We did make a brief bathroom stop north of Shasta and when we got back on I-5, it was right behind another Winnebago View that looked like the same year and configuration as ours, only it was towing a Jeep Wrangler.  We ended up following it through the mountain passes and into Oregon until we took our exit near Ashland. 

 

Pink blossomed trees in Shasta County

Lake Shasta Full

Our destination for the night was a Harvest Host site, Paschal Winery and Vineyard, located in the Rogue River Valley.  We were the 4th rig to arrive as Harvest Host guests.  There were two large Class A’s and another Winnebago View with the same configuration of ours, only probably a year or two older since it was on the prior Sprinter chassis.  We checked in and had a flight of their red wines.  We discovered they have a dinner catered there once a week on Wednesday, and that all the other Harvest Host guests were planning on having dinner, so we got added on to the reservations at the last minute.   

Paschal Winery and Vineyards, Swan

Busy Harvest Host Site

The parking lot at the winery filled up towards the 6:30 dinner time and the dining room was full.  There must be a lot of people here from hotels and Airbnbs in Ashland nearby.  

The dinner was Spanish Meatballs with potatoes and garden salad.  The food was excellent quality although because it was brought in by a catering company, the meatballs weren’t at over 140˚F.  But they were tasty, and for $15, it was a decent meal.  Of course, by the time you add the cost of the earlier wine tasting flight and a glass with dinner, it was more expensive than Dairy Queen but a bit fancier and a very pleasant evening as the sun set on the Rogue Valley.  We took a walk through the vineyard and said hello to the alpacas before calling it a night.  

Tomorrow, we will make our way to Woodland, WA to another Harvest Host site, a family farm operation.  We’ll refuel in Central Point, Salem and Portland tomorrow and check out a US Chef's Store in Eugene to see about party supplies for Ciara's wedding.