Colusa – Sacramento River SRA (3)

We left as close to after work as we could get and were rolling by 4. Our plans were nearly foiled by tree removal people who did not take me seriously when I said we’d need the street in front of our driveway cleared after 3. We had one last big pine tree on the hillside that needed to come down and tree removal is an event I should never be home to witness. I had planned for that and they were supposed to come the next day. Arriving home, there were huge piles of tree pieces, plus a wood chipper on a trailer, all in front of the house. Good thing we have Caravan Movers, man. We were able to use our neighbors’ driveway space and motored Dory across the street to hitch up. After a narrow exit through debris and vehicles, it was smooth sailing and an uneventful hundred or so miles until we got to the SRA. There are no reservations for this place, but also not many campers. There are a couple of sites with electric hookups, but the parking area at the back makes it an easy stopover without the need for unhitching.

This trip, by the way, is a salvaged portion of what was to be a longer, more exciting journey up to Vancouver Island for an Altogather. We had gotten clearance to miss work for two whole weeks and we had the whole thing booked. It was going to be a push to get up there as quickly as possible, and an expensive ferry crossing for just four days on the island. Still, there were people going who we really wanted to see. Sadly, reality started getting real and many of our close friends had to bail. Add to that the demise of our air conditioner at home with a replacement cost of $19k, and the stress of missing that much work was just too much for both of us. We regretfully decided to pull the plug, but kept the last portion in Ashland and Redding. In Ashland we had non refundable theatre tickets, so we shortened the excursion as a five day up-and-back. Three days off work and significantly less money spent on reservations and gas felt a lot less stressful. It would have been fun and we’re still sad to have missed seeing dear friends, but at least we got in a fun trip and saw other fun people.

Colusa Sacramento River SRA has been a solid stop on the way up to Ashland, and got even better with the new knowledge that there is a doughnut place within walking distance so Richard can get in a morning mission. We also walked the trails along the river this time and that was a pleasant way to stretch our legs after dinner. It’s a quiet place, just on the edge of the small town of Colusa. The location is right for a head start on the drive to Ashland, which is otherwise a grueling trip to try to do in one day while towing a trailer. I’d happily stay here again.

Total miles: 111.4, 18.5 mpg, 2 hours 51 min. Site 13 no hookups. Free dump. Great cell service.