Today, Tuesday March 29, we traveled 171 miles from Copalis Beach to Sequim, WA. We left at 9:45am and drove until 3:00pm. For the next 2 nights we’ll be staying here at Rainbows End RV Park.
It’s a great little park with grassy areas and a nice dog park. We‘re close to the shore, but we’re on Hwy 101. It was easy to set up here for some reason, just felt comfortable. We were escorted to a nice pull-thru site #31.
Hwy 101 driving has been tight for the past 2 trips since entering Washington. Two lanes for the most part with the occasional passing lane or slow traffic pull-out. It is tedious driving on a road like this, scenic yes, but tough on the driver who must stay constantly aware of the lane size, boundary lines, and speed limits.
Some of todays drive hugged the coastline, but the road lead inland a few times for 20-50 mile stretches. We went thru towns like Humptulips, Amanda Park, Queets, Forks, and Port Angeles.
Along the way we passed thru a ton of managed logging territory. Some of the peaks appeared as though they were shaved today, others as though they were shaved 2 weeks ago, you know what I mean, no growth, and some growth.
We shared the roads with many log trucks, at times approaching us one after another, and some times passing us. Empty log trucks are everywhere. We see them stored by the yard fulls along the roads, and there are often times deadhead (empty) loads traveling the roads. When empty, the truck is dismantled with the back wheels and connecting boom stored up on the bed of the truck behind the front wheels. There‘s a large boom coming from the back wheels up over the cab of the truck. As these empty trucks approach in the oncoming lane, you see the boom first. It precedes the vehicle itself.
Days ago I would see these trucks coming at me with this boom protruding up over the cab, and it took me until today to figure out what they were. When assembled these trucks transform to very strong frames, and they carry big loads of huge logs down the road.
Can you tell I was fascinated with these trucks? OK, enough of that.
We passed thru many Indian Reservations. The largest reservation was of the Quinault Tribe, another was of the Makah Tribe. Most of the towns we came thru had a 'Tribal Center'.
There are tons or rivers, therefore bridges to cross as you drive thru NW Washington state. Many of these rivers appear to be of similar width, 100-200 feet wide, and the bridges appear identical, 'cookie cutter' if you will.
About half way here we entered Olympic Park in Olympic Mountains. It’s a huge area containing the Olympic National Forest. The peaks are snow capped at this (Spring) time. We couldn’t see the tops of all the mountains though due to cloudiness.
Today was overcast, no sunshine, but no raindrops either while we broke camp at Copalis Beach this morning, nor when we set up this afternoon in Sequim. For the first hundred miles or so the showers held off, then we used the intermittent wipers some as we drove to Port Angeles. Since then all sprinkles have stopped and it is now approaching 7pm.
With all the rugged countryside we drove thru today I couldn‘t help but think “Rambo must’ve been filmed here“. But, that thought has occurred to me many times in the last 2-3 weeks starting back in Northern California.
The most memorable section of our drive today was when we followed the shore of Lake Crescent, spectacular and formed by the snowcapped Olympic Mountains. The landscape, and my memory perhaps, gave the impression that the water must be very deep, blue, and cold. Lake Crescent reminded me of another we'd visited a few years ago in the Teton Mountain range in Jenny Lake, WY. That one was known to be some 900 feet deep.
We came through Port Angeles, WA today, stopped for fuel, and from there we could see US Coast Guard ships out in the bay. Also, our first glimpse of Canada, specifically the city of Victoria on Vancouver Island, British Columbia across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Here in Sequim it feels like we are back in civilization for the first time in awhile. We never left our site in Copalis Beach because there was nothing for miles in either direction. It was quiet in Netarts, OR too. Here, instead of hearing the waves crash in we can hear the log trucks traversing the highway, and we have the feeling that all of the restaurants and stores are close by.
Day after tomorrow we’ll be heading from here down to Hoodsport, WA which is on Hoods Bay, you might say a tributary of Puget Sound. We’ll stay 2 nights and then move on to see Anne’s cousin Richard in Kent, WA, a suburb of Seattle.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Copalis Beach, WA
On Sunday we drove 175 miles, almost 6 hours, from Netarts, OR to Copalis Beach, WA.
We passed thru several intesting port towns such as Oceanside, Cannon Beach, Seaside and Astoria. Astoria was quite fogged in but we were able to get pictures of the lenghty bridge we crossed over into Washington. There were several tankers sprinkled around throughout the harbor, which is the mouth of the Columbia River which goes on to form much of the border between the two states. From the perspective from that bridge, Washington appeared like a hilly, cloudy wilderness. There were a couple funny names on signs on entering Washington. Take "Dismal Nitch" and "Cape Disappointment" for example.
It seemed like we drove a long time thru that wilderness to our destination. There were just a few towns like Chinook, South Bend, Hoquiam, and Aberdeen along the way, those and a few oyster factories to see. It was like a nature trail, and one thing for sure, it was low tide. Lots of muddy wetlands. We meandered thru lots of logging territory, owned and managed by Weyerhaeuser.
Arriving at Copalis Beach Resort we had our pick of sites. We can hear, then we see (across the grasses outside our windows) the oceans waves roaring onto the beach. It's otherwise quiet here, with large deer comfortably grazing in open areas nearby.
Anne prepared a great dinner last night, then Dixie ran on the beach and we had a great sunset. We'll spend 2 nights here, with tomorrow getting laundry done.
Anne has family in Kent and Spokane in Washington, as well as in extreme northern Idaho, in Bonners Ferry. We hope to spend time with all of them.
On Tuesday we'll head out of Copalis Beach, moving on very close to the most northwest corner of the continental US, to a place called Clallum Bay, WA. Our next overnight stay may be down the road from there in Port Angeles, WA.
We passed thru several intesting port towns such as Oceanside, Cannon Beach, Seaside and Astoria. Astoria was quite fogged in but we were able to get pictures of the lenghty bridge we crossed over into Washington. There were several tankers sprinkled around throughout the harbor, which is the mouth of the Columbia River which goes on to form much of the border between the two states. From the perspective from that bridge, Washington appeared like a hilly, cloudy wilderness. There were a couple funny names on signs on entering Washington. Take "Dismal Nitch" and "Cape Disappointment" for example.
It seemed like we drove a long time thru that wilderness to our destination. There were just a few towns like Chinook, South Bend, Hoquiam, and Aberdeen along the way, those and a few oyster factories to see. It was like a nature trail, and one thing for sure, it was low tide. Lots of muddy wetlands. We meandered thru lots of logging territory, owned and managed by Weyerhaeuser.
Arriving at Copalis Beach Resort we had our pick of sites. We can hear, then we see (across the grasses outside our windows) the oceans waves roaring onto the beach. It's otherwise quiet here, with large deer comfortably grazing in open areas nearby.
Anne prepared a great dinner last night, then Dixie ran on the beach and we had a great sunset. We'll spend 2 nights here, with tomorrow getting laundry done.
Anne has family in Kent and Spokane in Washington, as well as in extreme northern Idaho, in Bonners Ferry. We hope to spend time with all of them.
On Tuesday we'll head out of Copalis Beach, moving on very close to the most northwest corner of the continental US, to a place called Clallum Bay, WA. Our next overnight stay may be down the road from there in Port Angeles, WA.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Netarts, OR
On Thursday we left Lincoln City, OR for Tillamook, OR. Anne has a place picked out. Well, as it turned out, we thought we were headed for Tlllamook, OR. We're actually staying in Netarts, OR, a fishing village. The mailing address is Tlllamook only because Netarts doesn't have it's own Post Office. We're at Big Spruce RV Park. We can see the town boat launch from our site.
The general public enjoys the fishing, crabbing, and oystering here. The proprietor of this park has all sorts of boats, traps, and gear for rent, and his 'yard man' has been pretty busy today. He sets folks up with what they need, then just bops back and forth, to and from the boat launch, dropping off and picking up. While I was walking Dixie this mornin Anne saw some guys shucking some huge oyster shells out. I've seen these huge (oyster looking) shells laying around too. I wonder what those giant ones are?
We've been showered with sun, clouds, and rain while we've been here. Actually Saturday was a gorgeous sunny day with the big light and dark clouds blowing thru, with the occasional sun shower. It almost hit 60 today with the ocean breeze. Typical for this time of year in this region.
No matter where we've been on this long coastal journey over the Pacific Coast Highway, it seems the sun comes out every time we walk out the door, but we've learned to be 'ready for anything'.
We're spending 3 nights here. It's an interesting place with several State Parks and other attractions around. The next town to the North, Bay City, has a tremendous oyster industry, Pacific Oyster. We had lunch over there today and the stew and crab melts were fantastic. Other attractions include the Tillamook Cheese Factory, and the Tillamook Air Museum. The museum is housed in the largest wooden structure in the world, something to see from the outside that's for sure. There's a '3 Capes' scenic ride we need to take around the shore, and Cape Meare's is known for it's cliffs, ocean vistas, and of course the 'Octopus Tree'(?).
On Sunday we'll leave here and drive out of Oregon, on to Copalis Beach in Washinton state. We plan to stay at 'The Dunes Resort. The ride is sure to extend out adventure.
The general public enjoys the fishing, crabbing, and oystering here. The proprietor of this park has all sorts of boats, traps, and gear for rent, and his 'yard man' has been pretty busy today. He sets folks up with what they need, then just bops back and forth, to and from the boat launch, dropping off and picking up. While I was walking Dixie this mornin Anne saw some guys shucking some huge oyster shells out. I've seen these huge (oyster looking) shells laying around too. I wonder what those giant ones are?
We've been showered with sun, clouds, and rain while we've been here. Actually Saturday was a gorgeous sunny day with the big light and dark clouds blowing thru, with the occasional sun shower. It almost hit 60 today with the ocean breeze. Typical for this time of year in this region.
No matter where we've been on this long coastal journey over the Pacific Coast Highway, it seems the sun comes out every time we walk out the door, but we've learned to be 'ready for anything'.
We're spending 3 nights here. It's an interesting place with several State Parks and other attractions around. The next town to the North, Bay City, has a tremendous oyster industry, Pacific Oyster. We had lunch over there today and the stew and crab melts were fantastic. Other attractions include the Tillamook Cheese Factory, and the Tillamook Air Museum. The museum is housed in the largest wooden structure in the world, something to see from the outside that's for sure. There's a '3 Capes' scenic ride we need to take around the shore, and Cape Meare's is known for it's cliffs, ocean vistas, and of course the 'Octopus Tree'(?).
On Sunday we'll leave here and drive out of Oregon, on to Copalis Beach in Washinton state. We plan to stay at 'The Dunes Resort. The ride is sure to extend out adventure.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Notice !
To let you know, we added tons of pictures to the blog(from the past 3 weeks). So, please, go back thru recent pictures so you don't miss any.
Lincoln City, OR
Monday morning we drove north away from Port Orford towards Lincoln City, OR and Coyote Rock RV Park. It was a 5 hour drive, 173 miles up Hwy 101.
One interesting town along the way was named Coos Bay. There was a tremendous lumber indrustry goin on there, with logs being loaded onto a large ship.
In Brandon, we passed some cranberry bogs. We didn't know they raised cranberries in Oregon. It looks like the area where I grew up near Cape Cod, where Ocean Spray got started.
We drove by the 'Oregon Dunes' which we had never heard of. It looked like the dunes area gets lots of day use. We were surprised that the sand dunes followed the highway for what seemed at least 20 miles.
This day of touring was like the last few, with rain, hail, dark clouds, white ones, and sunshine. Just beautiful most of the way.
We were pleased to arrive at Coyote Rock Marina and RV Park. It was a mile inland along a wild river(not dammed), the Siletz, nestled in the mountains. The mountain sides here are closely managed with the big lumber industry near by. Lots of clear cutting happens and it appears ugly at first sight, but the uglyness is short lived and you can see where new growth begins to happen.
Good thing for us it's off season to not only for tourism, but also for the sport fishing. They catch big salmon here, coho and steelhead, as well as rainbow trout, but not at this time of year. We are told this place is packed in summer, and in September when the salmon run.
It will be easy to spend 3 nights here to relax and recharge. The weather forecast is for showers about every day tho. As you've noticed in the pictures, weather systems blow thru here off of the Pacific all the time, constantly it seems, but the sun comes out many times each day and it's beautiful to see. Since we're heading North in Springtime, the temperatures are having a hard time getting into the 60's these days. No complaints tho, they'll get there.
We've now driven about 9,000 miles, and we gave the GMC an oil change, fuel filter, and transmission fluid filter in Lincold City this week.
One interesting town along the way was named Coos Bay. There was a tremendous lumber indrustry goin on there, with logs being loaded onto a large ship.
In Brandon, we passed some cranberry bogs. We didn't know they raised cranberries in Oregon. It looks like the area where I grew up near Cape Cod, where Ocean Spray got started.
We drove by the 'Oregon Dunes' which we had never heard of. It looked like the dunes area gets lots of day use. We were surprised that the sand dunes followed the highway for what seemed at least 20 miles.
This day of touring was like the last few, with rain, hail, dark clouds, white ones, and sunshine. Just beautiful most of the way.
We were pleased to arrive at Coyote Rock Marina and RV Park. It was a mile inland along a wild river(not dammed), the Siletz, nestled in the mountains. The mountain sides here are closely managed with the big lumber industry near by. Lots of clear cutting happens and it appears ugly at first sight, but the uglyness is short lived and you can see where new growth begins to happen.
Good thing for us it's off season to not only for tourism, but also for the sport fishing. They catch big salmon here, coho and steelhead, as well as rainbow trout, but not at this time of year. We are told this place is packed in summer, and in September when the salmon run.
It will be easy to spend 3 nights here to relax and recharge. The weather forecast is for showers about every day tho. As you've noticed in the pictures, weather systems blow thru here off of the Pacific all the time, constantly it seems, but the sun comes out many times each day and it's beautiful to see. Since we're heading North in Springtime, the temperatures are having a hard time getting into the 60's these days. No complaints tho, they'll get there.
We've now driven about 9,000 miles, and we gave the GMC an oil change, fuel filter, and transmission fluid filter in Lincold City this week.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
NORCAL and Port Orford, OR
Trinidad, CA was just a one night stand, and on Saturday we drove another 145 miles up the coast, on Hwy 101, out of California and into Oregon.
Along the way we followed the coast and then exited Hwy 101 to drive thru Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. It was a real convienient side trip. We literaly just drove thru, well I got out a couple of times to take pictures. We exited Hwy 101 for about a half hour, drove slowly thru the redwoods, and the road lead back to Hwy 101. I'll add some pictures but to let you know, it's very hard to capture the height of these giant trees in the camera lens. It's not so hard to portray the girth of these monsters. The forest is damp (to say the least, it's actually soaking wet) so much so that many smaller trees are completely moss covered.
North of there we spotted a small hurd of Elk alongside the road. Then we pulled into a small stand along one of the creeks and picked up some smoked salmon for snacking.
Port Orford was our first stop in Oregon and we're spending time here at Evergreen RV Park. There is a harbor and marina here, used by the local fishermen. The beach consists of grasses, smooth dark gray sand, the absense of shells, large rocks, and big waves. Rock mountains jut sharply down into the ocean at both ends of this harbor, and they are each named ‘such and such Head’. The harbor is full of the giant boulders just like the California coast. Some are on the beach, some in shallow water, and some appear to be maybe 5 miles off shore. Waves crash and spray off of these rocks, and when the sun is out it’s especially beautiful.
Problem is that the weather forecast calls for rain, showers, and clouds for the next 10 straight days. We hope for as many bursts of sunshine and blue sky as we can get. They do pop thru, and when they do it is glorious.
Bud, the proprietor at Evergreen RV Park is a local fisherman and a very pleasant, down to earth man. With the bad weather they’ve had in the Pacific Northwest for the past 2 months, he’s been unable to fish, rather he's adapted and converted to crabbing for a living, at least for the short term.
Bud told us that dogs can run free on the beach here, and after supper we were invited to follow him and his family down to the dock. It was Saturday evening and we took our dogs out on the beach to run. I was just amazed with being there, overwhelmed to be standing down there at the shore, the beach, enormous rocks, distant heads, waves crashing, the sounds of it all, and Dixie running to her hearts content. This pacific coast north of San Francisco has simply blown us away with it's wonder.
Then Bud said ‘follow me’ to the other beach in town, he called it North Beach but on arrival we found the name was really Paradise Point. I guess he didn't want to set our expectations too high. It was just up the coast on the other side of ????? Head. There we stood high up on abrupt cliffs, 75 feet above the waves and sand, and we listened to the pounding surf and watched the sun go down. There were big clouds out over the ocean last night and they made for a fantastic sunset.
Today was Sunday and it rained or drizzled all day long, nonstop. We stayed inside and made plans to leave in the morning for Lincoln City, OR. We are stickin' right to the coast. Tomorrow we pass thru Newport, OR, and we‘ve been told that we must see Cannon Beach somewhere near there.
We had cable TV at Port Orford, but the Wi-Fi signal was so weak we weren’t able to surf the web, never mind post pictures out on the blog.
Along the way we followed the coast and then exited Hwy 101 to drive thru Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. It was a real convienient side trip. We literaly just drove thru, well I got out a couple of times to take pictures. We exited Hwy 101 for about a half hour, drove slowly thru the redwoods, and the road lead back to Hwy 101. I'll add some pictures but to let you know, it's very hard to capture the height of these giant trees in the camera lens. It's not so hard to portray the girth of these monsters. The forest is damp (to say the least, it's actually soaking wet) so much so that many smaller trees are completely moss covered.
North of there we spotted a small hurd of Elk alongside the road. Then we pulled into a small stand along one of the creeks and picked up some smoked salmon for snacking.
Port Orford was our first stop in Oregon and we're spending time here at Evergreen RV Park. There is a harbor and marina here, used by the local fishermen. The beach consists of grasses, smooth dark gray sand, the absense of shells, large rocks, and big waves. Rock mountains jut sharply down into the ocean at both ends of this harbor, and they are each named ‘such and such Head’. The harbor is full of the giant boulders just like the California coast. Some are on the beach, some in shallow water, and some appear to be maybe 5 miles off shore. Waves crash and spray off of these rocks, and when the sun is out it’s especially beautiful.
Problem is that the weather forecast calls for rain, showers, and clouds for the next 10 straight days. We hope for as many bursts of sunshine and blue sky as we can get. They do pop thru, and when they do it is glorious.
Bud, the proprietor at Evergreen RV Park is a local fisherman and a very pleasant, down to earth man. With the bad weather they’ve had in the Pacific Northwest for the past 2 months, he’s been unable to fish, rather he's adapted and converted to crabbing for a living, at least for the short term.
Bud told us that dogs can run free on the beach here, and after supper we were invited to follow him and his family down to the dock. It was Saturday evening and we took our dogs out on the beach to run. I was just amazed with being there, overwhelmed to be standing down there at the shore, the beach, enormous rocks, distant heads, waves crashing, the sounds of it all, and Dixie running to her hearts content. This pacific coast north of San Francisco has simply blown us away with it's wonder.
Then Bud said ‘follow me’ to the other beach in town, he called it North Beach but on arrival we found the name was really Paradise Point. I guess he didn't want to set our expectations too high. It was just up the coast on the other side of ????? Head. There we stood high up on abrupt cliffs, 75 feet above the waves and sand, and we listened to the pounding surf and watched the sun go down. There were big clouds out over the ocean last night and they made for a fantastic sunset.
Today was Sunday and it rained or drizzled all day long, nonstop. We stayed inside and made plans to leave in the morning for Lincoln City, OR. We are stickin' right to the coast. Tomorrow we pass thru Newport, OR, and we‘ve been told that we must see Cannon Beach somewhere near there.
We had cable TV at Port Orford, but the Wi-Fi signal was so weak we weren’t able to surf the web, never mind post pictures out on the blog.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Napa, Tiburon, Sacramento, Caspar Beach, The Sea Ranch, and Trinidad, CA
On setting up in Rohnert Park, CA we realized that Wine Country RV Park wasn’t the best place we’ve stayed, but was a place we could use as ‘home base’ as we take day trips to visit friends and family in the area. We got there on Thursday, March 10.
Friday we descended on Sacramento to drop in on friends we’d made on our cross-country Amtrak trip 13 years ago. Anne drove the first leg of the trip. It would have been a 2 hour drive on the freeway, but we chose a route over the mountains and thru the woods of Napa. It was an amazing, scenic, and fascinating drive thru wine country, but it took us 4 hours. We didn’t care, but we overshot the lunch hour.
It was fun to see friends at their home in Sacto. They lived just off Hwy 80 in the city, but they had a very nice yard, lawn, etc.. The back yard was fenced in so Dixie could go free. Connie and Don were disappointed that we missed lunch, and ‘we’ chose not to go out to dinner. We wanted to leave in time to get back to our place in daylight so we left at 4:00pm and took the freeway. It was frantic, driving this high speed commuter (San Fran to Sacto) road at rush hour. About 30 miles from RP Anne found another way for us to get home, and we exited the rat race to drive thru more of the beautiful hills of Napa.
Saturday morning was laundry morning. We got that done, then at 2:00pm I left and drove 30 minutes to Tiburon, CA to visit a High School friend. Tiburon is an amazing place across the bay from S.F. and in view of the GG Bridge. Anne was happy to stay back, do trip planning, etc.. I haven’t seen Rikkii for 40 years and we had a great time. I met his family, and we went thru yearbooks and picture albums. Around 9pm Rik and I went out for a bite to eat, and I was home by 11pm.
We left Wine Country RV Park Sunday a.m. to visit and spend one night with my cousin Graham Bruce and his partner Martha. They live ‘way out there’ in Napa at the dead end of a bumpy Milton Road, past the bridge, by the marina, down on the Napa River, an amazing place. The clocks sprung ahead last night (right Graham?) and they expected us before noon. On arrival we parked the RV in their wide front driveway and we set up to spend the night.
As they like to say, they ‘live on a sponge‘. This is sea level. Water all around, dock and sailboat out front, tall grasses, vistas, bridges, wildlife, fauna, and perfect nature out every window. Vineyards are around the corner.
Graham and Marty do Jazz together locally, and we listened to some of their recorded music, he arranges and plays, and she sings. Grahams artistic creations are displayed throughout the home. Marty is a decorator, and the place is beautiful, tons of daylight, nothing extravagant, just pure beautiful, including pianos that come to life on a whim. These folks are real artists.
While there we were treated to brunch with momosa’s at Moore’s Landing on the river, and for dinner and breakfast at Marty and Graham’s home. The wharf outside Moore’s was active with a fishing tourneyment going on this day. Wonderful time spent with my cousin, and we planned to leave in the morning for Mendocino, CA and Caspar Beach RV Park.
Around 10am Monday we made our way out of Napa Valley back to Hwy 101. We traveled it for over 100 miles before exiting to Route 20 at Willits, CA which would take us to the coast at Fort Bragg, just north of Mendocino, to Caspar Beach. We chose Hwy 20 over Hwy 128, a more direct but treacherous route to the coast, on the advice of the office at Caspar Beach RV Park. Hwy 20 was no slouch though, mountainous with ‘S’ and switchback turns, in the dense forest, winding up and down thru Redwood and Cyprus trees and clouds. It was only 30 miles to the coast from Hwy 101, but it took well over an hour to drive it.
Arriving at Caspar Beach RV Park we were thrilled to be at this amazing place, at such close proximity to the Pacific Coast across the street. WOW. It’s a wonder of nature, surrounded by cliffs, roaring waves crashing in, spraying high into the air as they smash against enormous, what look like hotel sized jagged boulders, seen right off shore and in deeper waters. There was a small, rushing wild river running out of the mountains into the sea here.
It stopped drizzling as we set up, and as usual, we saw rain, clouds, and sunshine come and go. We opted right away (a no brainer) to spend 4 nights here. They offer an ’early spring’ special, buy 3 and get the 4th night free, plus they honor the 10% Good Sam’s Club discount on top of it.
We came to this general area because my childhood friend Rob and his wife Craven live in a town named The Sea Ranch, CA, 62 miles down on the coast (1 hr 40 min ride on the crooked Pacific Coast Highway, California 1) south of Caspar Beach. We arranged to visit them at their home on Thursday, and, we were pleased when Rob (and his Husky dog Osa) took a ride up to spend Wednesday with us at Caspar Beach. We had a great day running our dogs on the beach, having lunch, and reminiscing. This was an amazing day with sun, showers, big clouds, blue sky, and a hail storm. Wonderous! After all, we are in the Pacific Northwest, whatdayawant? Weather blows thru here like you wouldn’t believe. Just wait a minute……
OMG, it was an unbelievable drive down the PCH to to The Sea Ranch on Thursday morning. Rob and Craven treated us to lunch and then we climbed down 50 feet on a stairway built into the cliffs to the roaring sea below. Dixie and Osa had another day of running and playing together on the gray sand. My camera battery died on the beach, what can I say. At 4 pm we said goodbye, and we got back to Caspar Beach at 5:40pm. We went on past our place a few miles to Fort Bragg to do some shopping.
Our plan had us moving on Friday from Caspar Beach to Smith River, CA. It was an ambitious goal what with the slow, twisty-turny California 1 Hwy for the first hour or so. I didn't realize that when we switched back onto Hwy 101 at the extreme northern end of California 1 that the road would continue to twist and turn, up and down steep grades along the rugged coast.
We didn’t make it as far as Smith River, rather we exercised Anne’s contingency plan to stop in Trinidad, CA. The chosen park had 'no vacancy' tho and the office was closed. We drove around the corner and found several other parks almost immediately.
We stayed overnight amongst giant Redwood trees in Emerald Forest of Trinidad RV Park. Same weather conditions, wet, drizzly, then blue sky and sunshine poking thru while we were there. Giant rain drops pelted the RV roof during the night. An incredible place to spend the night though, but the dampness in these redwood forests is unprecedented, everything is soaking-dripping wet or covered with moss. We took great pictures in the evening and the morning when the blue sky broke thru the clouds.
Friday we descended on Sacramento to drop in on friends we’d made on our cross-country Amtrak trip 13 years ago. Anne drove the first leg of the trip. It would have been a 2 hour drive on the freeway, but we chose a route over the mountains and thru the woods of Napa. It was an amazing, scenic, and fascinating drive thru wine country, but it took us 4 hours. We didn’t care, but we overshot the lunch hour.
It was fun to see friends at their home in Sacto. They lived just off Hwy 80 in the city, but they had a very nice yard, lawn, etc.. The back yard was fenced in so Dixie could go free. Connie and Don were disappointed that we missed lunch, and ‘we’ chose not to go out to dinner. We wanted to leave in time to get back to our place in daylight so we left at 4:00pm and took the freeway. It was frantic, driving this high speed commuter (San Fran to Sacto) road at rush hour. About 30 miles from RP Anne found another way for us to get home, and we exited the rat race to drive thru more of the beautiful hills of Napa.
Saturday morning was laundry morning. We got that done, then at 2:00pm I left and drove 30 minutes to Tiburon, CA to visit a High School friend. Tiburon is an amazing place across the bay from S.F. and in view of the GG Bridge. Anne was happy to stay back, do trip planning, etc.. I haven’t seen Rikkii for 40 years and we had a great time. I met his family, and we went thru yearbooks and picture albums. Around 9pm Rik and I went out for a bite to eat, and I was home by 11pm.
We left Wine Country RV Park Sunday a.m. to visit and spend one night with my cousin Graham Bruce and his partner Martha. They live ‘way out there’ in Napa at the dead end of a bumpy Milton Road, past the bridge, by the marina, down on the Napa River, an amazing place. The clocks sprung ahead last night (right Graham?) and they expected us before noon. On arrival we parked the RV in their wide front driveway and we set up to spend the night.
As they like to say, they ‘live on a sponge‘. This is sea level. Water all around, dock and sailboat out front, tall grasses, vistas, bridges, wildlife, fauna, and perfect nature out every window. Vineyards are around the corner.
Graham and Marty do Jazz together locally, and we listened to some of their recorded music, he arranges and plays, and she sings. Grahams artistic creations are displayed throughout the home. Marty is a decorator, and the place is beautiful, tons of daylight, nothing extravagant, just pure beautiful, including pianos that come to life on a whim. These folks are real artists.
While there we were treated to brunch with momosa’s at Moore’s Landing on the river, and for dinner and breakfast at Marty and Graham’s home. The wharf outside Moore’s was active with a fishing tourneyment going on this day. Wonderful time spent with my cousin, and we planned to leave in the morning for Mendocino, CA and Caspar Beach RV Park.
Around 10am Monday we made our way out of Napa Valley back to Hwy 101. We traveled it for over 100 miles before exiting to Route 20 at Willits, CA which would take us to the coast at Fort Bragg, just north of Mendocino, to Caspar Beach. We chose Hwy 20 over Hwy 128, a more direct but treacherous route to the coast, on the advice of the office at Caspar Beach RV Park. Hwy 20 was no slouch though, mountainous with ‘S’ and switchback turns, in the dense forest, winding up and down thru Redwood and Cyprus trees and clouds. It was only 30 miles to the coast from Hwy 101, but it took well over an hour to drive it.
Arriving at Caspar Beach RV Park we were thrilled to be at this amazing place, at such close proximity to the Pacific Coast across the street. WOW. It’s a wonder of nature, surrounded by cliffs, roaring waves crashing in, spraying high into the air as they smash against enormous, what look like hotel sized jagged boulders, seen right off shore and in deeper waters. There was a small, rushing wild river running out of the mountains into the sea here.
It stopped drizzling as we set up, and as usual, we saw rain, clouds, and sunshine come and go. We opted right away (a no brainer) to spend 4 nights here. They offer an ’early spring’ special, buy 3 and get the 4th night free, plus they honor the 10% Good Sam’s Club discount on top of it.
We came to this general area because my childhood friend Rob and his wife Craven live in a town named The Sea Ranch, CA, 62 miles down on the coast (1 hr 40 min ride on the crooked Pacific Coast Highway, California 1) south of Caspar Beach. We arranged to visit them at their home on Thursday, and, we were pleased when Rob (and his Husky dog Osa) took a ride up to spend Wednesday with us at Caspar Beach. We had a great day running our dogs on the beach, having lunch, and reminiscing. This was an amazing day with sun, showers, big clouds, blue sky, and a hail storm. Wonderous! After all, we are in the Pacific Northwest, whatdayawant? Weather blows thru here like you wouldn’t believe. Just wait a minute……
OMG, it was an unbelievable drive down the PCH to to The Sea Ranch on Thursday morning. Rob and Craven treated us to lunch and then we climbed down 50 feet on a stairway built into the cliffs to the roaring sea below. Dixie and Osa had another day of running and playing together on the gray sand. My camera battery died on the beach, what can I say. At 4 pm we said goodbye, and we got back to Caspar Beach at 5:40pm. We went on past our place a few miles to Fort Bragg to do some shopping.
Our plan had us moving on Friday from Caspar Beach to Smith River, CA. It was an ambitious goal what with the slow, twisty-turny California 1 Hwy for the first hour or so. I didn't realize that when we switched back onto Hwy 101 at the extreme northern end of California 1 that the road would continue to twist and turn, up and down steep grades along the rugged coast.
We didn’t make it as far as Smith River, rather we exercised Anne’s contingency plan to stop in Trinidad, CA. The chosen park had 'no vacancy' tho and the office was closed. We drove around the corner and found several other parks almost immediately.
We stayed overnight amongst giant Redwood trees in Emerald Forest of Trinidad RV Park. Same weather conditions, wet, drizzly, then blue sky and sunshine poking thru while we were there. Giant rain drops pelted the RV roof during the night. An incredible place to spend the night though, but the dampness in these redwood forests is unprecedented, everything is soaking-dripping wet or covered with moss. We took great pictures in the evening and the morning when the blue sky broke thru the clouds.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
San Francisco Bay Area
We've been in the San Francisco Bay area, movin, shakin, bobbin, weavin, and visitin, now it's time to chill out and at least catch you up on what we did on the way here. BTW, while at Kingsburg we never did check out Sequoia and King's Canyon National Parks. We just weren't motivated to drive up into the cold, snowy elevations, so we skipped that trip.
When we left Kingsburg and Viking RV Park we traveled 250 miles NW, as planned, to just beyond San Francisco, stopping at Wine Country RV Park in Rohnert Park, CA.
The first 150 miles were over a rather rough, bumpy, noisy Hwy 99N. It was a flat, difficult drive as the highway was crowded, and the number of lanes varied constantly between 2, 3, and 4 lanes. That's because we passed thru so many sprawled out farming towns and cities, each with their own fast food joints, hotels, fuel stops, and car dealerships. The largest of these places were named Fresno, Chowchilla, and Modesto.
Finally we got off of Hwy 99, switching to Hwy 580W. This took us thru an industrialized area before entering the hill country east of Oakland. That's where we found ourselves in the middle of a huge wind farm, fascinating but ugly, certainly the largest wind farm we’ve seen all along the way thus far, and there have been several.
Hwy 580 moved into some beautiful, hilly territory outside of Oakland. Once in the ‘bay‘ area the sky turned gray and we had to use the windshield wipers for the first time in recent memory. The jet stream has been blowing directly into this area and north for the past month or more and I‘ve been watching and hoping the pattern would change before we got here. We are heading into the Pacific Northwest though, so what’s to be expected, showers and gray skies, and we'll make the most of it.
Once in Oakland we had to decide how to get across San Francisco Bay. It would be either the Bay Bridge/Golden Gate combination or the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Since we could see that SF was completely fogged in and wet we avoided going there today. We could see the skyscrapers in the distance, but not the GG bridge. We took the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge which runs right past Tiburon, and we saw San Quentin. Anyway, at San Rafael the Hwy 580 changes to Hwy 101, and we stayed on that another half hour to our destination, Wine Country RV Park at Rhonert Park, CA.
I guess it was a ‘stroke of luck’ that we opted not to use the Golden Gate Bridge today. There were probably delays there (as you may have heard in the news) as a teen-ager caused a disturbance this afternoon when he jumped off, surviving a 220 foot dive with minor injuries.
When we left Kingsburg and Viking RV Park we traveled 250 miles NW, as planned, to just beyond San Francisco, stopping at Wine Country RV Park in Rohnert Park, CA.
The first 150 miles were over a rather rough, bumpy, noisy Hwy 99N. It was a flat, difficult drive as the highway was crowded, and the number of lanes varied constantly between 2, 3, and 4 lanes. That's because we passed thru so many sprawled out farming towns and cities, each with their own fast food joints, hotels, fuel stops, and car dealerships. The largest of these places were named Fresno, Chowchilla, and Modesto.
Finally we got off of Hwy 99, switching to Hwy 580W. This took us thru an industrialized area before entering the hill country east of Oakland. That's where we found ourselves in the middle of a huge wind farm, fascinating but ugly, certainly the largest wind farm we’ve seen all along the way thus far, and there have been several.
Hwy 580 moved into some beautiful, hilly territory outside of Oakland. Once in the ‘bay‘ area the sky turned gray and we had to use the windshield wipers for the first time in recent memory. The jet stream has been blowing directly into this area and north for the past month or more and I‘ve been watching and hoping the pattern would change before we got here. We are heading into the Pacific Northwest though, so what’s to be expected, showers and gray skies, and we'll make the most of it.
Once in Oakland we had to decide how to get across San Francisco Bay. It would be either the Bay Bridge/Golden Gate combination or the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Since we could see that SF was completely fogged in and wet we avoided going there today. We could see the skyscrapers in the distance, but not the GG bridge. We took the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge which runs right past Tiburon, and we saw San Quentin. Anyway, at San Rafael the Hwy 580 changes to Hwy 101, and we stayed on that another half hour to our destination, Wine Country RV Park at Rhonert Park, CA.
I guess it was a ‘stroke of luck’ that we opted not to use the Golden Gate Bridge today. There were probably delays there (as you may have heard in the news) as a teen-ager caused a disturbance this afternoon when he jumped off, surviving a 220 foot dive with minor injuries.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Lake Elsinore, Kingsburg, Sonoma and Napa Counties
On Tuesday March 8, we left Lake Elsinore, CA after spending five nights there. We drove 250 miles to our next scheduled stop at Kingsburg, CA.
We had a nice stay and good weather in Lake Elsinore but Anne had a couple of sick days with a deep cough and cold in her chest. When her breathing got difficult on Saturday we decided to visit the Urgent Care place. They were quick, and prescribed an antibiotic, inhaler, antihistamine, and cough medicine, all of which have been helpful.
The things about this area that amazed me were the way the lake was formed within the mountains and the way the clouds would cling to the mountain tops.
We would have departed Monday if it weren’t for the dangerous Santa Anna winds forecast for ’the valleys’. Not familiar with these, it was a ‘no brainer’ for us to stay put another day. It’s a good thing we did. The forecast was accurate and the winds exceeded 70 mph in places. Trees were uprooted and trailer trucks toppled. In last nights news the most wind damage was reported in Lancaster, CA, a town close to the route we traveled today.
Leaving Lake Elsinore we were challenged to find a desirable way around Los Angeles. Hearing nothing but horror stories about the traffic we couldn’t resist getting a taste of it. We chose Hwy 210, an east LA freeway running along the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. You might call it the ‘beltway’ furthest (maybe 15 miles) from downtown LA. I was ‘up for it’ because it runs through Pasadena, and we might get a glimpse of the Rose Bowl, or the main street where the Tournament of Roses parade takes place. Well, with the heavy traffic and walled freeway we didn’t see either, but Pasadena is definitely a plush area, even in March.
Hwy 210 was mobbed with speeders and trailer trucks, and ’no’, folks didn’t ‘drive friendly‘. We held our own lane tho and made it thru even if delayed by the crowd. Fifteen miles from Pasadena a message board posted ETA’s to various spots, and it indicated 45 minutes ride to Pasadena. Not too bad I guess, because we figured the traffic was going to loosen up after that. It did!
Beyond there we used Hwy 5 to take us thru San Clarita. Here we began to climb elevations in excess of 4000 feet in the Padres National Forest. Then we swapped to Hwy 99 in a mountain pass in order to get to Bakersfield, CA. It was a neat drive with sweeping mountainside turns. Trailer trucks consumed the 2 right lanes, many climbing very slowly, and respecting that we pretty much stayed in lane 3. Cars were outnumbered on this road, and they liked lane 4. There were snow covered peaks and mountain lakes, one of which (Lake Castaic) was perhaps man made, formed by a huge dam. Another, Pyramid Lake, was surrounded by peaks, just natural as could be and full of beautiful dark blue, what looked like cold waters.
Descending a five mile stretch of 6% (steep) downgrade we entered a valley and passed thru Bakersfield, CA. Intense farmlands engulfed us on the flatland, consisting of blossoming nut trees, vineyards, and various crops thriving on both sides of the roadway. I inquired to find out that they produce a variety of vegs, onions, grapes, plums, apricots, nectarines, peaches, raisons, figs, dates, almonds, cashews, and pistachios. The vineyards are not producing right now, but appear to be high tech with sophisticated irrigation and elaborate vine draping techniques being used.
We finally made it to Kingsburg, CA, a town on Hwy 99 between Bakersfield and Fresno, where the same crops are abundant. With that, ‘DelMonte’ and ’Sun Maid’ are major local employers.
We’re staying at Viking RV Park for 2 nights, nice and small (35 sites) on mowed grass, well maintained and organized. And guess what passes by here,,,,, the railroad ! Choo choo.....
This is a ‘self-managed’ park, the first of it’s kind we’ve ever been to. Hey, why not? The office isn’t staffed, rather, on arrival you follow the yellow-dotted-road to get registered, take an information sheet/envelope from the pedestal, fill it out, enclose payment, and follow the yellow dots till you pick your spot. There’s no Wi-Fi or cable TV, but we‘re pulling in several ‘over the air’ TV stations, many of which are in HD. No Weather Channel, CNN, Fox, or ESPN tho.
I’m keying this blog entry into a Word document and will paste it into the blog when internet access happens next, probably Thursday.
Tomorrow (Weds) we plan to take a leisurely drive to investigate Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, adjacent to one another, within 80 miles east of here. Their snow covered mountain ranges are visible from here.
On Thursday we’ve decided to head to Rohnert Park, CA near San Francisco where we plan to stay at Wine Country RV Park. We have day trips planned with family and friends we want to visit in Napa, Sacramento, Tiburon (San Francisco), and The Sea Ranch.
Unfortunately we didn’t get to San Clemente (from Lake Elsinore) to see my cousin Karen. She was ’out straight’ with lots going on including a weekend road trip of her own.
We had a nice stay and good weather in Lake Elsinore but Anne had a couple of sick days with a deep cough and cold in her chest. When her breathing got difficult on Saturday we decided to visit the Urgent Care place. They were quick, and prescribed an antibiotic, inhaler, antihistamine, and cough medicine, all of which have been helpful.
The things about this area that amazed me were the way the lake was formed within the mountains and the way the clouds would cling to the mountain tops.
We would have departed Monday if it weren’t for the dangerous Santa Anna winds forecast for ’the valleys’. Not familiar with these, it was a ‘no brainer’ for us to stay put another day. It’s a good thing we did. The forecast was accurate and the winds exceeded 70 mph in places. Trees were uprooted and trailer trucks toppled. In last nights news the most wind damage was reported in Lancaster, CA, a town close to the route we traveled today.
Leaving Lake Elsinore we were challenged to find a desirable way around Los Angeles. Hearing nothing but horror stories about the traffic we couldn’t resist getting a taste of it. We chose Hwy 210, an east LA freeway running along the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. You might call it the ‘beltway’ furthest (maybe 15 miles) from downtown LA. I was ‘up for it’ because it runs through Pasadena, and we might get a glimpse of the Rose Bowl, or the main street where the Tournament of Roses parade takes place. Well, with the heavy traffic and walled freeway we didn’t see either, but Pasadena is definitely a plush area, even in March.
Hwy 210 was mobbed with speeders and trailer trucks, and ’no’, folks didn’t ‘drive friendly‘. We held our own lane tho and made it thru even if delayed by the crowd. Fifteen miles from Pasadena a message board posted ETA’s to various spots, and it indicated 45 minutes ride to Pasadena. Not too bad I guess, because we figured the traffic was going to loosen up after that. It did!
Beyond there we used Hwy 5 to take us thru San Clarita. Here we began to climb elevations in excess of 4000 feet in the Padres National Forest. Then we swapped to Hwy 99 in a mountain pass in order to get to Bakersfield, CA. It was a neat drive with sweeping mountainside turns. Trailer trucks consumed the 2 right lanes, many climbing very slowly, and respecting that we pretty much stayed in lane 3. Cars were outnumbered on this road, and they liked lane 4. There were snow covered peaks and mountain lakes, one of which (Lake Castaic) was perhaps man made, formed by a huge dam. Another, Pyramid Lake, was surrounded by peaks, just natural as could be and full of beautiful dark blue, what looked like cold waters.
Descending a five mile stretch of 6% (steep) downgrade we entered a valley and passed thru Bakersfield, CA. Intense farmlands engulfed us on the flatland, consisting of blossoming nut trees, vineyards, and various crops thriving on both sides of the roadway. I inquired to find out that they produce a variety of vegs, onions, grapes, plums, apricots, nectarines, peaches, raisons, figs, dates, almonds, cashews, and pistachios. The vineyards are not producing right now, but appear to be high tech with sophisticated irrigation and elaborate vine draping techniques being used.
We finally made it to Kingsburg, CA, a town on Hwy 99 between Bakersfield and Fresno, where the same crops are abundant. With that, ‘DelMonte’ and ’Sun Maid’ are major local employers.
We’re staying at Viking RV Park for 2 nights, nice and small (35 sites) on mowed grass, well maintained and organized. And guess what passes by here,,,,, the railroad ! Choo choo.....
This is a ‘self-managed’ park, the first of it’s kind we’ve ever been to. Hey, why not? The office isn’t staffed, rather, on arrival you follow the yellow-dotted-road to get registered, take an information sheet/envelope from the pedestal, fill it out, enclose payment, and follow the yellow dots till you pick your spot. There’s no Wi-Fi or cable TV, but we‘re pulling in several ‘over the air’ TV stations, many of which are in HD. No Weather Channel, CNN, Fox, or ESPN tho.
I’m keying this blog entry into a Word document and will paste it into the blog when internet access happens next, probably Thursday.
Tomorrow (Weds) we plan to take a leisurely drive to investigate Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, adjacent to one another, within 80 miles east of here. Their snow covered mountain ranges are visible from here.
On Thursday we’ve decided to head to Rohnert Park, CA near San Francisco where we plan to stay at Wine Country RV Park. We have day trips planned with family and friends we want to visit in Napa, Sacramento, Tiburon (San Francisco), and The Sea Ranch.
Unfortunately we didn’t get to San Clemente (from Lake Elsinore) to see my cousin Karen. She was ’out straight’ with lots going on including a weekend road trip of her own.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
On To Southern California
Hi all friends,
I'm happy to say that on Sunday I was able to fix the problem with the leaking diesel fuel back in Wellton, AZ. YEAH! Miracles never cease! So on Monday we left Wellton and drove thru the desert dunes and Yuma, AZ, then up, over, and across snow capped mountains then down into San Diego, CA. We stuck to the plan and pulled into the Mission Bay RV Resort.
I drove the first leg of the trip which took us through several amazing areas, the first being the extreme southwestern desert of Arizona. Near Yuma we crossed the Colorado River into California. We were checked out by Border Control again, then we passed thru the bewildering Glamis Dunes section of the Algodones Wilderness Dunes. It was amazing to drive thru this area. The closest and only thing I've ever seen similar, albeit on a much smaller scale, were the sand dunes on the way into Provincetown, MA. Then we encountered the Jacumba Wilderness running directly along side the Mexican border of Baja California.
When Anne took over the driving we climbed into the elevations of several mountain passes and Indian Reservations in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I enjoyed this much more than Anne could because she was litterally unable to safely take her eyes off of the road. With up and down grades between 6 and 10% I broke out the vehicle manual and read up on how we could take advantage of the 'tow mode' and 'manual shifting capabilities' of the Allision transmission in the GMC. There were 'vehicle water' stops all along the way too, no doubt more popular during the hot summer.
There was plenty of snow cover in the elevations, but coming back down from there the mountains turned green and we passed thru the heavily populated and beautiful hilly surburban San Diego towns like Alpine, El Cajon, and La Mesa, finally making it safely into San Diego.
About 30 miles ourside San Diego though the camera battery died. Unfortunately, I didn't have the car charger in the vehicle with us and there was no 'pulling over' for it on this Hwy 8 freeway.
We came to San Diego to visit with a dear friend of mine from Rollins College, 37 years ago. We spent one evening with her and a long lunch hour the next day. My friend was pleased that someone would visit after so many years, and it was great to see her again. She treated us to some good local, healthy treats.
There is a fantastic dog park in San Diego on Fiesta Island. We spent a few sessions out there with Dixie, along with hundreds of other folks and their dogs. This was beautiful acreage right on Mission Bay, and Dixie enjoyed running free.
The Mission Bay RV Park was also very scenic, providing walking opportunities around the Bay, especially beautiful during the evenings. The properties on the water there were unreal. Fishermen on the shore were taking Halibuy and Sea Bass and it was fun to watch.
One reservation I have about California since getting here again is with the freeways and the driving. I'm about to embark on a bumper sticker campaign I might call 'DRIVE FRIENDLY !!'. It's a term that I saw written on the 'Welcome to Texas' sign, and I liked it. Folks don't drive friendly here, rather they seem like they only want to get ahead of everyone else on the road. Scary.
Anne's had some trouble sleeping lately what with the diet we've been enjoying as of late. So, we stopped into 'Healthy Back' and picked up an additional 'wedge' to help keep her at a more appropriate angle when she sleeps. It helped as she had a good nights sleep last night.
With a cloudy forecast for today (Thursday) we packed up and left San Diego (in the sun, DUH) for Lake Elsinore, CA. It was a short trip of about 80 miles. The traffic was heavy for the first half hour. We are now in 'Lake Park' for at least the next 3 nights. It's a nice park on the lake and seems like a very nice rural area in the hills. Lake Elsinore is the largest natural freshwater lake in Southern California and is set against the Ortega Mountains of western Riverside county.
We hear the weather hasn't been nice in northern California lately, so I'm hoping we'll be happy to stay in Southern CA for a good long time. After Lake Elsinore we're thinking we may move on to Lompoc, CA, back on the coast just north of LA. Sseems we've had sunny weather for the past several weeks, so there's no hurry to head north if it's not going to be nice.
While here in Lake Elsinore I'm also hoping to get in a visit with my cousin Karen in San Clemente, about 40 miles away. I haven't seen her for 35-40 years. We spoke yesterday but she's having to travel to a surfing event this weekend and won't be home until late Sunday night, so, we'll have to see if we can make a visit happen. Not sure at this point.
I'm happy to say that on Sunday I was able to fix the problem with the leaking diesel fuel back in Wellton, AZ. YEAH! Miracles never cease! So on Monday we left Wellton and drove thru the desert dunes and Yuma, AZ, then up, over, and across snow capped mountains then down into San Diego, CA. We stuck to the plan and pulled into the Mission Bay RV Resort.
I drove the first leg of the trip which took us through several amazing areas, the first being the extreme southwestern desert of Arizona. Near Yuma we crossed the Colorado River into California. We were checked out by Border Control again, then we passed thru the bewildering Glamis Dunes section of the Algodones Wilderness Dunes. It was amazing to drive thru this area. The closest and only thing I've ever seen similar, albeit on a much smaller scale, were the sand dunes on the way into Provincetown, MA. Then we encountered the Jacumba Wilderness running directly along side the Mexican border of Baja California.
When Anne took over the driving we climbed into the elevations of several mountain passes and Indian Reservations in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I enjoyed this much more than Anne could because she was litterally unable to safely take her eyes off of the road. With up and down grades between 6 and 10% I broke out the vehicle manual and read up on how we could take advantage of the 'tow mode' and 'manual shifting capabilities' of the Allision transmission in the GMC. There were 'vehicle water' stops all along the way too, no doubt more popular during the hot summer.
There was plenty of snow cover in the elevations, but coming back down from there the mountains turned green and we passed thru the heavily populated and beautiful hilly surburban San Diego towns like Alpine, El Cajon, and La Mesa, finally making it safely into San Diego.
About 30 miles ourside San Diego though the camera battery died. Unfortunately, I didn't have the car charger in the vehicle with us and there was no 'pulling over' for it on this Hwy 8 freeway.
We came to San Diego to visit with a dear friend of mine from Rollins College, 37 years ago. We spent one evening with her and a long lunch hour the next day. My friend was pleased that someone would visit after so many years, and it was great to see her again. She treated us to some good local, healthy treats.
There is a fantastic dog park in San Diego on Fiesta Island. We spent a few sessions out there with Dixie, along with hundreds of other folks and their dogs. This was beautiful acreage right on Mission Bay, and Dixie enjoyed running free.
The Mission Bay RV Park was also very scenic, providing walking opportunities around the Bay, especially beautiful during the evenings. The properties on the water there were unreal. Fishermen on the shore were taking Halibuy and Sea Bass and it was fun to watch.
One reservation I have about California since getting here again is with the freeways and the driving. I'm about to embark on a bumper sticker campaign I might call 'DRIVE FRIENDLY !!'. It's a term that I saw written on the 'Welcome to Texas' sign, and I liked it. Folks don't drive friendly here, rather they seem like they only want to get ahead of everyone else on the road. Scary.
Anne's had some trouble sleeping lately what with the diet we've been enjoying as of late. So, we stopped into 'Healthy Back' and picked up an additional 'wedge' to help keep her at a more appropriate angle when she sleeps. It helped as she had a good nights sleep last night.
With a cloudy forecast for today (Thursday) we packed up and left San Diego (in the sun, DUH) for Lake Elsinore, CA. It was a short trip of about 80 miles. The traffic was heavy for the first half hour. We are now in 'Lake Park' for at least the next 3 nights. It's a nice park on the lake and seems like a very nice rural area in the hills. Lake Elsinore is the largest natural freshwater lake in Southern California and is set against the Ortega Mountains of western Riverside county.
We hear the weather hasn't been nice in northern California lately, so I'm hoping we'll be happy to stay in Southern CA for a good long time. After Lake Elsinore we're thinking we may move on to Lompoc, CA, back on the coast just north of LA. Sseems we've had sunny weather for the past several weeks, so there's no hurry to head north if it's not going to be nice.
While here in Lake Elsinore I'm also hoping to get in a visit with my cousin Karen in San Clemente, about 40 miles away. I haven't seen her for 35-40 years. We spoke yesterday but she's having to travel to a surfing event this weekend and won't be home until late Sunday night, so, we'll have to see if we can make a visit happen. Not sure at this point.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Southern Arizona
Hi all friends,
We've had a sunny and relaxing week in the Phoenix area, Mesa Regal RV Resort. All is well, Sunday Feb 27, and now we have moved on towards San Diego. Today we are in sunny Wellton, AZ, 25 miles east of Yuma, AZ. AYAH,,,, way down theya.
Unfortunately, as of this a.m. we're having an issue with our tow vehicle. We're leaking diesel fuel from the fuel filter onto the ground (now catching the drip) and we have an error message on the dash board indicating we're running under reduced power. We feel fortunate that we didn't get stuck in the middle of the desert yesterday as we travelled.
Tomorrow mornin' I'll go to the GMC dealer in Yuma (leave Anne here) and have this taken care of. Not too worried, as I dont' think it's too serious, and we're insurance poor on the vehicles, so the $ damage shouldn't be too bad no matter what. I'd prefer not to have to be towed from the highway to Yuma tho, so say a prayer for me.
Sorry we haven't written into the blog as much lately. We relaxed so much in Mesa that we didn't do too much else. I will get caught up with more details all about the RV City we stayed at shortly.
Our plan has us at Mission Bay RV Resort in San Diego on Tuesday thru Friday, Feb 28 to March 4.
Take good care everyone. We hope all is well with you.
We are so grateful that God has put us here, and made us able to enjoy this part of the world the way we are.
We've had a sunny and relaxing week in the Phoenix area, Mesa Regal RV Resort. All is well, Sunday Feb 27, and now we have moved on towards San Diego. Today we are in sunny Wellton, AZ, 25 miles east of Yuma, AZ. AYAH,,,, way down theya.
Unfortunately, as of this a.m. we're having an issue with our tow vehicle. We're leaking diesel fuel from the fuel filter onto the ground (now catching the drip) and we have an error message on the dash board indicating we're running under reduced power. We feel fortunate that we didn't get stuck in the middle of the desert yesterday as we travelled.
Tomorrow mornin' I'll go to the GMC dealer in Yuma (leave Anne here) and have this taken care of. Not too worried, as I dont' think it's too serious, and we're insurance poor on the vehicles, so the $ damage shouldn't be too bad no matter what. I'd prefer not to have to be towed from the highway to Yuma tho, so say a prayer for me.
Sorry we haven't written into the blog as much lately. We relaxed so much in Mesa that we didn't do too much else. I will get caught up with more details all about the RV City we stayed at shortly.
Our plan has us at Mission Bay RV Resort in San Diego on Tuesday thru Friday, Feb 28 to March 4.
Take good care everyone. We hope all is well with you.
We are so grateful that God has put us here, and made us able to enjoy this part of the world the way we are.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Carlsbad, NM ==> El Paso ==> Deming, NM ==> Tucson ==> Picacho, AZ
Anne and I have been in southern New Mexico, western Texas, and southern Arizona for the past several days. I swear, in this southwest climate you can stand on the sunny side of the RV and gently bake in the dry heat, and on the shady side you can enjoy a cool breeze. Only one of us enjoys the heat though. Does that mean we have to stand on opposite sides of the RV?
One of our tires seems to have developed a slow leak, so stopped into a car repair place to inflate it fully on leaving Carlsbad. I asked the technician if there were other places down the road where we could get air if we needed it, and he said “There’s nothing down the road that way.” Well, he wasn’t kidding. We had a 260 mile drive thru the desert today, practically ran out of fuel, and we saw nothing but the desert scene most of the way till we got to the suburbs of El Paso, where we paid dearly for fuel.
So we drove southerly, back into western Texas and eventually thru the southwestern town of El Paso. Then back into southern NM, finally stopping in Deming, NM for one night. On the way we were checked out (for the second time) by the Border Patrol. Not sure I mentioned earlier that the Border Patrol checked us out on our way out of Study Butte. Sometimes we see them out inspecting and working on fences near the highways too.
Anne booked us into an RV park in Deming named ‘Hi-Lo RV Park‘. It was a ‘singles’ park, but welcomed others. It happened to be the international headquarters of an organization known as LOW (Loners On Wheels). Hi-Lo was a real good neat park with crushed stone everywhere, and beautiful cactus gardens all over. The crushed stone was a welcomed change from the dusty conditions we’d become accustomed to in Study Butte and Carlsbad. The sunset was spectacular here, and combined with large stratus and puffy clouds the sky became a yellow-orange-blue blazing delight. I was overwhelmed. By the way, when we got here the air pressure was low again in our right rear tire.
We didn’t disconnect the RV from the truck here, so this morning was easier than usual to get off and running. We stopped into a tire shop on the way back to the highway and they took us right in. The young man quickly found a screw embedded in our tire. He removed that, patched the tire, and we were on our way. I was pleased as the repair only set us back a half hour and $10.75.
Today we drove on Hwy I-10w for 250 miles, passing directly thru Tucson, AZ and continuing all the way to Picacho, AZ. Tucson has grown a lot since the last time we were here, maybe 10 years ago. It's a different world here tho, and I love being here in the desert.
Anne made the arrangements (as always) here in Picacho and we checked into the ‘Arizona Hideaway RV Park’. On site they have Frankie’s Chuckwagon Restaurant, and tonight (Fri) they offered their fabulous fish fry (Cod) which we took advantage of. We enjoyed it but it was nothing like the fresh fish we’re used to back home. They also have really beautiful cactus gardens here too.
This place is adjacent to a horse and cattle ranch. At sunset out back we could actually see cowboys roping calfs (sp?). A nice fringe benefit.
The weather has been beautiful for several days now but there are storms forecasted for central/northern Arizona this Sat/Sun. We’ll stay well south Flagstaff where it is going to snow, and even south of Phoenix to let the bad stuff pass before we visit Anne's childhood friend in Mesa, then her brother and her nephew's family in Prescott Valley.
We continue to meet tons of nice people from all over. The folks in this part of the country are real nice just like everybody back home. We miss and love all of you, and I’m happy you follow along with us, reading and looking at the blog. That feels good. Thanks.
One of our tires seems to have developed a slow leak, so stopped into a car repair place to inflate it fully on leaving Carlsbad. I asked the technician if there were other places down the road where we could get air if we needed it, and he said “There’s nothing down the road that way.” Well, he wasn’t kidding. We had a 260 mile drive thru the desert today, practically ran out of fuel, and we saw nothing but the desert scene most of the way till we got to the suburbs of El Paso, where we paid dearly for fuel.
So we drove southerly, back into western Texas and eventually thru the southwestern town of El Paso. Then back into southern NM, finally stopping in Deming, NM for one night. On the way we were checked out (for the second time) by the Border Patrol. Not sure I mentioned earlier that the Border Patrol checked us out on our way out of Study Butte. Sometimes we see them out inspecting and working on fences near the highways too.
Anne booked us into an RV park in Deming named ‘Hi-Lo RV Park‘. It was a ‘singles’ park, but welcomed others. It happened to be the international headquarters of an organization known as LOW (Loners On Wheels). Hi-Lo was a real good neat park with crushed stone everywhere, and beautiful cactus gardens all over. The crushed stone was a welcomed change from the dusty conditions we’d become accustomed to in Study Butte and Carlsbad. The sunset was spectacular here, and combined with large stratus and puffy clouds the sky became a yellow-orange-blue blazing delight. I was overwhelmed. By the way, when we got here the air pressure was low again in our right rear tire.
We didn’t disconnect the RV from the truck here, so this morning was easier than usual to get off and running. We stopped into a tire shop on the way back to the highway and they took us right in. The young man quickly found a screw embedded in our tire. He removed that, patched the tire, and we were on our way. I was pleased as the repair only set us back a half hour and $10.75.
Today we drove on Hwy I-10w for 250 miles, passing directly thru Tucson, AZ and continuing all the way to Picacho, AZ. Tucson has grown a lot since the last time we were here, maybe 10 years ago. It's a different world here tho, and I love being here in the desert.
Anne made the arrangements (as always) here in Picacho and we checked into the ‘Arizona Hideaway RV Park’. On site they have Frankie’s Chuckwagon Restaurant, and tonight (Fri) they offered their fabulous fish fry (Cod) which we took advantage of. We enjoyed it but it was nothing like the fresh fish we’re used to back home. They also have really beautiful cactus gardens here too.
This place is adjacent to a horse and cattle ranch. At sunset out back we could actually see cowboys roping calfs (sp?). A nice fringe benefit.
The weather has been beautiful for several days now but there are storms forecasted for central/northern Arizona this Sat/Sun. We’ll stay well south Flagstaff where it is going to snow, and even south of Phoenix to let the bad stuff pass before we visit Anne's childhood friend in Mesa, then her brother and her nephew's family in Prescott Valley.
We continue to meet tons of nice people from all over. The folks in this part of the country are real nice just like everybody back home. We miss and love all of you, and I’m happy you follow along with us, reading and looking at the blog. That feels good. Thanks.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Austin ==> Fort Stockton ==> Study Butte, TX ==> Carlsbad, NM
Whew, we need a day off to get caught up on the blog. Not kiddin ya. We didn't stay in Fort Stockton long enough to update it, then we reached Study Butte, TX and we had no internet nor any TV reception. Myself, I felt like Chuck Connors, with parched lips, nose, canteen, and all.
The Texas 'Hill Country' west of Austin was a beautiful drive, not like anything I expected from Texas. Golden rolling hills forever, all speckled with individual green trees, some big rocks, and white rock passes cut thru the high spots. I actually got a few pictures on the way that didn't have cell phone towers in them, but it wasn't easy.
A long haul it was to Fort Stockton, TX tho, 350 miles. When we got there, the GPS led us thru the puckies as we made our way to F.S. RV Park (I guess it was a short cut) but with that entrance to town we never really warmed up to this place. Wal*mart didn't even have auto-opening doors, HAHA. We set up quickly tho and just spent the night here.
Driving south from there to Study Butte (pronounced Stoody Bute) we got into scenery that wouldn't quit, and it really never did for 2 days or so until half way to Carlsbad, NM. We've taken 150 pictures per day for the past 3 days. Study Butte is 1 mile out of Big Bend National Park, and some RV'er had told us about staying there. It worked out good as we spent 2 nights in this quaint, scenic, western like town, and one full day site seeing in the park. We didn't haul the RV into the park. Too many steep grades and dog leg turns on the way up and down. RV's over 24 feet are not recommended, but to our delight pets were allowed (unlike Baxter State Park the first time we went there with ol'Cosell, our first boxer dog).
The Rio Grande wasn't so impressive but pretty, and we didn't even get our feet wet as planned (well Dixie did !) due to steep and muddy entries. It was kinda refreshing tho since the temps have been in the 80's the past couple of days.
From Study Butte we headed to Carlsbad, NM. Taking Texas Routes 118N and 17N the scenery continued to be out of this world. Anne and I have never scene anything like it, and so concentrated in one huge area. Once we got to Pecos, TX tho the road flattened out and went on straight forever all the way to Carlsbad, actually I think it veered to the left one time.
We have a nice park to stay in here, but we've decided not to take in Carlsbad Caverns or other local attractions. We need a rest, and to do some laundry, so a day off it is. It is a nice dry 86 degrees today, and the nightime cools off, 76 after supper, and we had to stay under the covers overnight.
Tomorrow we'll head out on the road again and we'll pass (Anne says quickly) thru El Paso on our way to Demming, NM. The next day we'll start to spec out some familiar faces as we visit friends and family in different spots in Arizona, from Tuscon to Prescott Valley and beyond.
The Texas 'Hill Country' west of Austin was a beautiful drive, not like anything I expected from Texas. Golden rolling hills forever, all speckled with individual green trees, some big rocks, and white rock passes cut thru the high spots. I actually got a few pictures on the way that didn't have cell phone towers in them, but it wasn't easy.
A long haul it was to Fort Stockton, TX tho, 350 miles. When we got there, the GPS led us thru the puckies as we made our way to F.S. RV Park (I guess it was a short cut) but with that entrance to town we never really warmed up to this place. Wal*mart didn't even have auto-opening doors, HAHA. We set up quickly tho and just spent the night here.
Driving south from there to Study Butte (pronounced Stoody Bute) we got into scenery that wouldn't quit, and it really never did for 2 days or so until half way to Carlsbad, NM. We've taken 150 pictures per day for the past 3 days. Study Butte is 1 mile out of Big Bend National Park, and some RV'er had told us about staying there. It worked out good as we spent 2 nights in this quaint, scenic, western like town, and one full day site seeing in the park. We didn't haul the RV into the park. Too many steep grades and dog leg turns on the way up and down. RV's over 24 feet are not recommended, but to our delight pets were allowed (unlike Baxter State Park the first time we went there with ol'Cosell, our first boxer dog).
The Rio Grande wasn't so impressive but pretty, and we didn't even get our feet wet as planned (well Dixie did !) due to steep and muddy entries. It was kinda refreshing tho since the temps have been in the 80's the past couple of days.
From Study Butte we headed to Carlsbad, NM. Taking Texas Routes 118N and 17N the scenery continued to be out of this world. Anne and I have never scene anything like it, and so concentrated in one huge area. Once we got to Pecos, TX tho the road flattened out and went on straight forever all the way to Carlsbad, actually I think it veered to the left one time.
We have a nice park to stay in here, but we've decided not to take in Carlsbad Caverns or other local attractions. We need a rest, and to do some laundry, so a day off it is. It is a nice dry 86 degrees today, and the nightime cools off, 76 after supper, and we had to stay under the covers overnight.
Tomorrow we'll head out on the road again and we'll pass (Anne says quickly) thru El Paso on our way to Demming, NM. The next day we'll start to spec out some familiar faces as we visit friends and family in different spots in Arizona, from Tuscon to Prescott Valley and beyond.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Huntsville ===> Austin
On Thursday we checked out of Heartland RV Park and headed for the Zion Church BBQ, only to find it closed. Not open today, probably due to the unseasonably cold weather.
I'm wondering whether they had running water at this time. I noticed the electric water heater actually installed on the back porch, under cover but basically outdoors. It had a few sheets of metal siding propped up surrounding it, certainly nothing that would protect it from any real cold like what we had overnight. So the long awaited BBQ meal never happened, nor were we able to meet the folks we saw on Travel Channel. Even with no one here at noon, the 'smoker' had been fired up some time this morning, and it was smokin' outfront, probably in preparation for Friday's menu. Do you think they smoke the meat overnight? Regardless, we won't be here to taste it.
Dissappointed, we drive thru McDonalds, and hit the highway. It was a boring ride to Austin, but we were excited to get there. This is known as the World Capital of Live Music because they haved some 200 busy music venues here. Seems like a great medium sized city, significantly larger than Portland, surrounded with golf courses and rural countryside. Wish I had some oceanfront property here. The immediate suburbs, in view of the skyscrapers, consists of rolling hills and country homes with big lawns. I bet it's beautiful in the Springtime.
We check-in at Oak Forest RV Park, the neatest park we've stayed at todate. We are parked on a cement slab as are all the RV's here. The hookups are fancy, well lit, and just as neat as a pin. All facilities here are perfect. Even 3 fenced in dog areas, Anne thinks for small, medium and large dogs. There are some unbelievable song birds in the trees here so Beasley just salivates in the screen doorway.
Today was a productive day. We got some much needed new caulking done around our tub and got our rugs washed. Then we drove around to get a feel for this town, and we enjoyed the Green Mesquite BBQ for lunch. We had bright sunshine all day with a high of 55. Tomorrow's temp will be 65, with Sunday and Monday 75. Sun is forecast for the next 4-5 days.
We'll leave Austin in the morning and drive 5 hours, 347 miles to Fort Stockton, TX. There we'll take one day to relax and plan our time at the nearby Big Bend National Park down on the Rio Grande. After taking that in we'll finish the drive across Texas and move on to the next scheduled stop, Carlsbad, NM.
I'm wondering whether they had running water at this time. I noticed the electric water heater actually installed on the back porch, under cover but basically outdoors. It had a few sheets of metal siding propped up surrounding it, certainly nothing that would protect it from any real cold like what we had overnight. So the long awaited BBQ meal never happened, nor were we able to meet the folks we saw on Travel Channel. Even with no one here at noon, the 'smoker' had been fired up some time this morning, and it was smokin' outfront, probably in preparation for Friday's menu. Do you think they smoke the meat overnight? Regardless, we won't be here to taste it.
Dissappointed, we drive thru McDonalds, and hit the highway. It was a boring ride to Austin, but we were excited to get there. This is known as the World Capital of Live Music because they haved some 200 busy music venues here. Seems like a great medium sized city, significantly larger than Portland, surrounded with golf courses and rural countryside. Wish I had some oceanfront property here. The immediate suburbs, in view of the skyscrapers, consists of rolling hills and country homes with big lawns. I bet it's beautiful in the Springtime.
We check-in at Oak Forest RV Park, the neatest park we've stayed at todate. We are parked on a cement slab as are all the RV's here. The hookups are fancy, well lit, and just as neat as a pin. All facilities here are perfect. Even 3 fenced in dog areas, Anne thinks for small, medium and large dogs. There are some unbelievable song birds in the trees here so Beasley just salivates in the screen doorway.
Today was a productive day. We got some much needed new caulking done around our tub and got our rugs washed. Then we drove around to get a feel for this town, and we enjoyed the Green Mesquite BBQ for lunch. We had bright sunshine all day with a high of 55. Tomorrow's temp will be 65, with Sunday and Monday 75. Sun is forecast for the next 4-5 days.
We'll leave Austin in the morning and drive 5 hours, 347 miles to Fort Stockton, TX. There we'll take one day to relax and plan our time at the nearby Big Bend National Park down on the Rio Grande. After taking that in we'll finish the drive across Texas and move on to the next scheduled stop, Carlsbad, NM.
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