Pack Your Bags, Let Go!

Cape Flattery

2009-11-06T22:25:00.001-08:00

(August 2009) If you look at a map of Washington state, you’ll see that far northwest tip of the state. It’s actually the farthest northwest point of the contiguous United States. That was our next destination.

Cape Flattery sits on a point of land where the Strait of Juan de Fuca empties into the Pacific ocean. This area falls within the boundaries of the Makah Indian Reservation and is the northern boundary of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. The Makah’s have done a marvelous job of preserving this beautiful area as well as making it accessible to the thousands of visitors during the year. However, during the winter months it would truly be a miserable hike out to the Cape, since the trail goes out thru the rain forest of the Olympic Peninsula. Since we were there in August, it was warm and dry and beautiful!

To get to the Cape Flattery trail head you have to follow Highway 112 thru the towns of Seiku (see-q) (this is where Bob goes fishing with his retired plumber buddies) and then the native American town of Neah Bay. It’s a narrow, two lane highway along the shores of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. On a clear day you can see the outline of Vancouver Island, British Columbia across the Strait. As we traveled along this day we also saw some of the locals….

This mom and her twins seemed to think this was their territory so we slowed down and let them take their time.

They headed up into someone’s yard to munch on their flowers, no doubt.

They claim the trail is one half mile long……both Bob and I disagreed. We think it’s probably closer to a mile. We’ve both here before and walked the trail but we were both younger and more fit.

At first it was an easy stroll. It did become a little more difficult but the beauty of our surroundings helped us to continue on.

In some places the dirt trail gave way to a boardwalk trail.

In other places is was a little rough.

At about this point my right knee was starting to scream and the trail was only getting worse. So it was here that I found a nice log in the shade to sit on and gave Bob my camera. I hated not making it out to the Cape but we both agreed that if I messed up my knee it would be a nightmare getting back up to the truck. I had walked about 2/3 of the way by this time.

The pictures from here on were taken on my camera by Bob. Next time I’ll wear better shoes and take a walking stick.

And the one big thing I missed by not going out to the end of the trail. A large gray whale was frolicking in the water, just off the shore and right below the overlook.

It was an exhilarating day, I was disappointed that my bad knee held me from reaching the end of the trail. But while I was sitting and waiting on that log, I enjoyed the beauty of the forest around me and also really enjoyed visiting with those who were coming and going on the trail. Many took advantage of my large comfortable perch to sit and catch their breath. When Bob came back up the trail huffing and puffing, he sat and rested for a few minutes and then we made our way back to the truck. At the trail head we looked back down the path at the beautiful natural forest where we had just spent several hours.

Heading back to Port Angeles we pulled into Neah Bay. Besides being a native American community, it’s a great destination for avid fishermen.

Back in Port Angeles we checked into our spot in the far corner of Albertson’s parking lot. It had been a long day and we were so tired.

To be continued~

Hurricane Ridge

2009-10-30T22:05:00.001-07:00

(August 2009) On a cloudy and overcast day we headed out from Port Angeles for the 17 mile drive to Hurricane Ridge. Following a winding but well maintained road we leave sea level and end up at 5,200 feet elevation. A stunning 360* view awaits us at the Summit. Hurricane Ridge is part of the Olympic Mountains range and offers views of high meadows, wild life, wild flowers and the distant high peaks including Mt Olympus and Mt Angeles. Hurricane Ridge was so named for it’s sometimes intensive gales and winds. As we were driving higher into the clouds Bob kept saying, “I think we picked the wrong day to come up here~we won’t see a thing.” The fog /clouds were so thick. But I kept saying, “ I bet when we get to the top we’ll be above all this.” Well, I was right…..as we rounded the last big curve, heading for the parking lot….we were indeed above all the fog/clouds.

And it was beautiful! We always love to come to Hurricane Ridge and we’ve never been there when the weather was absolutely dreadful (maybe that’s why we keep going back.)

On a clear day you can see the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Vancouver Island, British Columbia from the vantage point below.

Hurricane Ridge has a fabulous Visitor’s Center for the 3 million or so visitors each year. It contains an interpretive center, theater, gift shop, restrooms, first aide station and snack bar. Even the views from inside the Center are breath taking. From the Visitor’s Center parking lot there are many paved meadow trails that lead off to various hiking trails. Along the trails are benches where one can sit and just take in the ever changing views. On this day the clouds lay in the valley below us when we first got there. They were swirling and blowing and by the time we left several hours later came swirling down over us as we sat on a bench on the other side of the parking lot watching a group of marmots playing in the meadow below us. This area is also home to black bear (we didn’t see any) and black tail deer (we saw lots of those).

A sweet little doe, Bob figured I was perhaps 15 feet from her. She would look up from time to time but then just keep on eating.

We walked on by her to enjoy more views of this lovely area. Below you can see the ski tow that operates during the winter months for skiers.

There is a trail that goes out to the rise in the background and there were people out there strolling along. My knee would not have taken that trail so we skipped it this visit.

Heading back to the Visitor’s Center we came upon the doe we had seen earlier or maybe another one….still eating and completely oblivious to the crowds of people snapping pictures of her.

We crossed the parking lot and just sat there for about an hour, taking in the beauty. An older couple came along and sat down, sharing our bench. They were from Germany…traveling around the United States in a rented motor home. We had a lovely conversation with them and they both said that the sights of Hurricane Ridge reminded them of the Swiss Alps.

The clouds came sweeping over us as we walked to the truck and headed back down to Port Angeles. It was an exhilarating day.

Come back for the next installment; Cape Flattery

TWILIGHT

2009-10-26T16:05:00.001-07:00

I’m almost sure most folks have heard of the movie and books of “Twilight.” Well, while we were in the area we headed for the little (3,120 people lived there in 2000) town of Forks, WA where “Twilight” takes place.

For many years, the city's economy was fueled by the local timber industry. With recent declines in the industry, however, Forks has had to rely on the nearby Clallam Bay Correctional Center and Olympic Corrections Center as a source of jobs. Forks is a popular destination for sportsmen who fish for salmon and rainbow trout in nearby rivers.

But since “Twilight” came out, the streets and shops of Forks has been teaming with people from all over the world. We noticed that all the motels had their “No Vacancy” signs lit ~ a great boost for their economy. I had a couple destinations in mind to gather some “Twilight” memorabilia. The shop “Dazzled by Twilight” had a penny squishing machine……so that’s where I headed first. Also the towns of Port Angeles and La Push are featured in the “Twilight” stories and in the movie.

After we left Forks, we headed for the Native American community of La Push. La Push is on Washington’s coast and the home of Jacob.

I saw this sign in a store there. This store is also where I had an interesting conversation with two teenage girls from New York. Yes, the dad of one of the girls had brought them out here to experience “Twilight.”

This bulletin board was on the huge porch of the store in La Push.

The ocean beach at La Push.

In Port Angeles I was able to photograph a few “Twilight” sites. This Port Angeles “Dazzled by Twilight” store was much bigger than the one in Forks.

This Italian restaurant in Port Angeles is where Edward took Bella on their first date.

And the now empty Gottschalk’s department store is where Bella and the other girls went to buy their prom dresses. There’s one window with this display and the rest of the store is empty.

This “Twilight” adventure was interesting for me, as I had not read the books or seen the movie. After we returned home, I watched the movie and all that we saw…made sense.

To be continued; Hurricane Ridge

A Trip To Washington’s Olympic Peninsula

2009-10-22T22:06:00.001-07:00

If you look at a map of Washington state you’ll see that funny part way off to the left up towards the U.S. and Canadian border and the Pacific Ocean. The city of Port Angeles is sort of the center of the universe in this part of our state. From there you can catch an auto/passenger ferry for a 90 minute ride across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Victoria, British Columbia, you can take a 45 minute drive up to Hurricane Ridge referred to the Alps of Washington state, you can drive into the Olympic Peninsula rain forest, sit in the hot springs pool at Sol Duc, drive to the native American communities of Neah Bay and La Push and walk out to the north western corner of the United States at Cape Flattery. This was our destination in August…I hope you’ll come along and enjoy the ride.

(August 16, 2009) We left about 4pm and headed for the Hood Canal Floating Bridge which took us to that part of the state.

We arrived in Port Angeles where we camped out in the far corner of Albertson’s parking lot. (Albertson’s is a large grocery store for those of you who don’t have one nearby). There were actually other R.V.’s there, so we felt right at home~no hook-ups but the price was right.

(August 17, 2009) We brought our Passports thinking we might catch the ferry to Victoria, BC but that never happened. The first ferry leaves at 8:20am and it seems we could never get up and get ready in time to get the truck parked, get our tickets and actually board the ferry 15-20 minutes before it was due to depart. So this first full day in this area, after going to the local Goodwill and a great store called Swains (they have everything you can imagine except grocery items) we headed for Sol Duc Hot Springs. The resort has cabins and RV lot but we headed for the National Campground just up the road from the resort. It’s a lovely campground, it actually reminded us a lot of the campgrounds in the Redwoods~lots of big trees. While the resort’s RV park was like a zoo. No trees, just row after row of RV’s with their TV Satellite dishes aimed to the sky and their BBQ’s going.

(August 18, 2009) After some breakfast we drove down to the resort so Bob could hit the pools. How come breakfast tastes so good eaten at a picnic table in the woods?

The patio cafe where the bathers and others can enjoy a snack.

There are three hot mineral pools of varying temperatures, and one large swimming pool. I didn’t go in this trip but have been in them before. While Bob was soaking his weary bones, I was showering in the camper and then sat by the pools reading my book. It was a beautiful sunny day…so relaxing.

The springs, known to local Indian tribes for their therapeutic value, first came to the attention of settlers in the 1880s. An elaborate resort opened up in 1912, and was characterized as "the most noted pleasure and health resort on the Pacific Coast" until it burned down in 1916.

The resort was rebuilt on a much less grand scale in the 1920s, and was operated into the 1970s until it ran into trouble with its thermal spring in the 1970s. These problems were overcome, and the resort was rebuilt in the 1980s. It continues to operate until this day, attracting thousands of visitors a year. I can remember back in the 1970’s there was a pipe coming out of the hillside and the hot mineral water flowed out of the pipe into a large pool. It has all been remodeled since I was there in the 1970’s.

The Sol Duc River flows just along the edge of the resort.

I was actually sitting at a picnic table here reading for awhile. What an experience! So peaceful……

The Olympic Peninsula of Washington is considered a rain forest area. They get at least 12 inches of rain here every year. Thankfully while we were there, it was sunny, dry and warm.

When you walk thru this area you see all this wonderful moss hanging from the trees. It’s so beautiful….

And deer everywhere…..they were standing right at the edge of our campsite munching away.

The Sol Duc National campground was full for this third night so we went to a Bureau of Land Management campground along the highway. It’s very primitive (thankfully we’re fully contained) but very nicely laid out and FREE!

To be continued; A Twilight Experience

We Continue to Head For Home

2009-09-06T19:01:00.001-07:00

(June 7, 2009) From Susanville, CA we followed Highway 89 around Lassen National Park.

Before long, we came to beautiful Burney Falls State Park. I had been there over 30 years ago and remembered that it was a beautiful area but seeing it once again I realized it was more lovely than I remembered.

There’s a very nice campground here. Along with camping cabins, a store and gift shop, bathrooms and showers. Lake Britton is also in the park and there you can launch your own boat or reserve one of the park’s boat to use during your stay. There are lots of hiking trails in many different lengths and degrees of difficulty. I hope we can go back there one day and camp for a few days…it’s truly a beautiful place.

Can you see the critter in the picture below? They were running all over the hillside above the falls.

After leaving Burney State Park we continued in a north westerly direction towards I-5. We hadn’t gone too far when we passed this unusual looking tree. We were so curious Bob turned around and went back to get a closer look. There was a huge gravel area around the tree and it was obvious that there has been lots of cars coming and going from there.

Hundreds of pair of shoes and slippers were hanging from this tree. It was certainly a curious sight and no where in the area was there any explanation.

We stopped in Weed, California for some lunch. Weed sits in the shadow of Mt Shasta and I was happy to get some pictures of it without being in a moving vehicle.

After lunch we soon crossed into Oregon veering back to the east and Highway 97. We were heading for Klamath Falls, Oregon. Klamath Falls is a lovely city that sits at 4, 120 feet above sea level, I wish we could have spent more time there. We did pass by Klamath Lake…20 miles long and in most places only 15 feet deep. Our destination goal today was Crater Lake. However it was getting late and we couldn’t find a reasonably priced campground. So we ended up back in Klamath Falls spending the night in the far corner of their Fred Meyer parking lot.

(June 8, 2009) After stocking up on milk and some other groceries we head for Crater Lake National Park. It’s about a 60 mile drive from Klamath Falls and as you climb to over 6,100 feet the scenery is breathtaking! Here it was June and there was still snow along the edges of the road.

This is the explanation of “Fossil Fumaroles” I was able to find on Google.

“ The history of the strange rock formations in

front of you began about 7,700 years ago

when the eruptions of Mt. Mazama were reaching

their climax. Torrents of red-hot, gas-charged

pumice poured down Mazama's slopes at speeds

of up to 100 mph (160kph). On top of this came

a flow of heavier rocks called scoria. These

glowing avalanches flooded down slope for many

miles, leaving deep deposits in their wake.

Temperatures in the deposits may have

exceeded 750 F (400 C). Plumes of vapors

appeared, as gasses escaped from the settling

rocks through vents called fumaroles. Minerals

in the gasses, combined with extreme heat,

welded the sides of the fumaroles in the shape

of slender cones. Since then, Annie Creek has

eroded a canyon through the deposits, exposing

the foxxil fumaroles as pinnacles and columns.

The depth of the canyon here at Godfrey Glen

is about 250 feet (75m).”

As we neared Crater Lake there was more snow.

And we’re here! Crater Lake was formed over 7,000 years ago with the collapse of Mt Mazama. At 1,949 feet~it is the deepest lake in the United States. and ranks 7th in the world. The level remains pretty much the same all year because it’s fed by rain and snow and only drops during the summer months due to evaporation.

The island is called Wizard Island and there is a boat landing out there for tour boats.

Crater Lake is 6 miles across and 20 miles around the rim. We went part of the way around but some of the road was still closed due to their heavy snowfall last winter.

Their gift shop, rest rooms and snack bar are located in this building. There’s a penny squishing machine in there. The curious watched me squish some pennies and when they saw the Crater Lake penny, several went to get change which included quarters and shiny pennies.

The snow and the mountains in the distance were so pretty. After being in the desert it was quite a change.

As we head down from Crater Lake we are treated to different views.

At this turn-out we climbed up several flights of wide stairs to look at the lake as we turned to head down ~ there was the truck and camper.

There was a person on the hill below, climbing presumably up to the fire look out on the top.

Out of Cater Lake National Park we go….

22 miles south of Bend, Oregon we pulled into La Pine Oregon State Campground. All Of Oregon’s state parks are great to camp in….they are very well maintained and laid out nicely. We had two visitors at this campground. Our first one was this little guy.

He was very brave and in the picture below, he was just a few feet from where Bob was eating pistachios.

Our second visitor(s) were hundreds of mosquitoes. After we got dinner cooked, we actually had to retreat into the camper. For some reason we left home with no repellent ….not a good thing to do. (That’s been taken care of~believe me)

(June 9, 2009) We were up and leaving the campground about 9:45am. I was excited because I knew that tonight I’d be sleeping in my own bed. But when we came to Bend, Oregon we had to stop. We both love Bend and after a visit to their Goodwill and the Outlet stores we pulled into the Black Bear Diner for some lunch.

If you have a Black Bear Diner near you, I highly recommend you stop by and check it out. The decor is so cute and the food is delish!

After some shopping and some eating we continue north on Highway 97 and then west on Highway 27. With Mt Hood barely visible in the distance…we crossed a mountain pass in a storm…thunder, lightening, heavy rain and hail. It was so scary…and of course those who are familiar with the road did not slow down. Talk about a “white knuckle” ride !

When we got over the pass, Bob pulled into a Dairy Queen where we had to have a Peanut Buster Parfait to calm our nerves.

We eventually came to Interstate 5 and crossed the mighty Columbia River into Washington state at 6:05pm.

Up I-5 we went, pulling into the driveway at 8:30pm. We’d been gone 29 days and traveled 3,079.3 miles. Safe at home again.

Thank you all so much for coming along on this road trip.

We took a short 5 day road trip on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula in August….I’ll be posting those entries in the future.

Virginia City, Nevada

2009-09-03T23:28:00.001-07:00

(June 4, 2009) We got into Virginia City, NV late in the afternoon. We got a spot in the Virginia City RV park overlooking Boot Hill.

It was dinner time by the time we got settled so we went into town (just a few blocks) and got some dinner. We ate at the Chinese Restaurant there and I have to say, it was probably the worst Chinese meal we’ve ever had. They people working there were all very nice but oh my…..the food was just awful. We were going to walk around some more but the wind picked up and a heavy rain followed to we beat it back to the camper and settled in for the night.

I have to say this campground had the nicest shower facilities we have ever encountered. It was just like being at home. They had 6 shower rooms, all were sparkling clean, decorated nicely, each room had pegs for hanging clothes, towels etc. each room had a large bench to sit on, electrical outlets for a hair dryer and each had a toilet and washbowl. I could write a whole Blog entry on campground showers & bathrooms. Some are deplorable !!!! This one gets an A+. I wrote a review on their website and we also called them after we got home to tell them how we appreciated their accommodations.

Friday morning, we checked out of the campground and drove into town to explore. We’ve been here before but Virginia City is such a neat little town. There’s board sidewalks and you never know what you’ll see. This particular weekend they were celebrating their 150th Anniversary. We were wishing we could stick around and enjoy all the events but after a few hours we needed to move on.

When we were last here, there was a fund raising drive going on to restore the steeple and front of the St Mary In The Mountains Catholic Church. I was happy to see that they apparently reached their goal and the work was in progress. This beautiful church dates back to 1875.

You can pan for gold..

Didn’t every western town have a Bucket of Blood Saloon?

This place was so neat! Down this alley were all kinds of shops, the one on the right was a consignment shop with some of the neatest stuff I’ve ever seen. Lots of antiques and stuff from the 1950’s.

The Suicide Table (a Faro table) is located in the Delta Saloon. It’s reported that back in the 1800’s former owner Black Jake shot himself at the table, after loosing his entire life savings in one evening.

I think every old west town has a Ponderosa Saloon too. From this saloon you can take an underground mine tour. We did that last time we were here. It was very interesting and it gave me a new respect for miners.

The walk in vault inside the Ponderosa

Two cowboys (or bank robbers) in town, hanging out and having a beer.

An old ore car at the end of a parking lot. As you can see it’s actually sitting on a little piece of track.

The Silver Queen Hotel and Wedding Chapel is the home of this unusual wall hanging. The Silver Queen’s dress contains 3,261 silver dollars and her belt contains 28 twenty dollar gold pieces. This picture is a tribute to Virginia City’s once great silver mining industry.

As I mentioned earlier, this was the weekend of their 150th anniversary celebration so there were lots of folks in different outfits from the past.

These cow pokes were coming into town after months out on the range (I think).

Leaving Virginia City, heading down into the Carson City area, the road is narrow and slow going.

Our next stop was at the home of Bob’s 91 year old Aunt Helen and her two son’s and grandson, just outside Carson City. All the guys were away, so we went to visit her and spend the night so she wouldn’t have to be home alone. She was so glad to see us and I think relieved because her grandson has two dogs that needed fed and exercised and it would have been difficult for her.

Bob and his Aunt Helen looking at old pictures.

Bob out exercising Roxy & Tucker. They are a handful !!!! But sooooo sweet!

Aunt Helen’s grandson came home early the next morning. He plays in a band and they had a gig in Reno so he got home as soon as he could. Bob’s cousin Andy was in southern California making the rounds of places that sell his Jerky. And his cousin Ian was over in Truckee, CA taking his turn at their caboose where they sell the jerky and Ian’s beautiful candles.

(June 6, 2009) About 11:30am we hugged Aunt Helen goodbye and headed out for Truckee. It was a miserable drive around Lake Tahoe, foggy and raining….couldn’t even really see the lake. I was really disappointed at the weather.

This was the best view of Lake Tahoe I could get.

But we finally got to Truckee and found the caboose and Ian.

After a nice dinner at the Italian place just to the right of the caboose, we went over to the apartment that the guys use while they’re in Truckee and visited with Ian until the wee hours. When we left him, we came back to this parking lot and spent the night in front of the caboose. The next morning we were up and ready to hit the road about 8:30am. We did drive down thru Truckee but there wasn’t much open.

I love it that this old Flying A station has been restored and is being used.

After driving thru town we were back on the freeway heading for Susanville, CA.

Heading For Nevada

2009-09-02T18:47:00.001-07:00

(June 3,2009) After we left Ridgecrest, the weather began to change. It got very windy and we did run into some rain. Actually it was raining sideways because of the wind.

Lucky for us it was a tail wind, so we got really good gas mileage on this leg of the trip. We reached the little town of Lee Vining, CA about 6:30pm. We debated about going up into Yosemite National Park but decided to press on instead. I love this area, it’s very pretty. One of the unusual sites along this stretch of Highway 395 is Mono Lake. (I couldn’t find a good picture of Mono Lake in my files so here’s a postcard picture of it.)

It is a large, shallow, alkaline lake that is impressive enough from a distance but close up has added interest in the form of unusual tufa (calcium carbonate) pinnacles, deposited over thousands of years around underwater springs and now left exposed because the lake level has fallen in recent times.

About 7:30pm that evening we reached Chris’s Flat campground on Highway 395. We’ve also stayed at this campground before and it’s primitive but very clean and well maintained. Chris’s Flat Campground is located right beside the West Fork of the Walker River but if you camp here, you need to be prepared for low temperatures during the night, because it’s at 6,600 feet elevation. It’s so beautiful in this area of the Central Sierra Mountains……

The night sky in the Central Sierra Mountain Range

June 4, 2009 brought warm sunshine

West fork of the Walker River borders one side of the campground

The beautiful Nevada sky…

We finally got rolling again and made it into Gardnerville, Nevada mid day, where we got some lunch. The Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center is located in this old school building in Gardnerville.

After lunch and filling the gas tank we continued on to the little town of Genoa, Nevada. Genoa was Nevada’s first settlement, established in 1851. I’ll give you just a little history from a pamphlet I picked up there; John Reese and 16 other men settled what was then known as Mormon Station on July 4, 1851. Mormon Station would become known as Nevada’s first permanent settlement. Mormon Station was renamed Genoa by Judge Orson Hyde in 1855 presumably after a mission he made to Genoa, Italy. The current town proper population is 220 people. The elevation is 4,700 feet with a climate similar to that of an alpine village. Snow is common in the winter and summer temps can reach 100 degrees. The town has several quaint shops & restaurants as well as two museums and a park.

The doors into the Genoa Bar are very tall and narrow, as you can see. But incase you can’t see the door knobs….they are very low down on the doors so that the cowboys couldn’t open them while sitting on their horses.

Next stop~Virginia City, Nevada.

Heading Home~Our First Night On The Trail

2009-08-31T23:51:00.001-07:00

(June 2, 2009) After we said our sad goodbye’s we headed for out first camp spot…..just 134 miles from Pasadena. After passing thru the San Gabriel mountains, we stopped at a rest stop above the high desert town of Palmdale, CA to stretch our legs. We’ve been here before & I love the view down below this rest stop. There’s a few windmills, a bunch of beautiful homes and water. The water is the California Aqueduct running thru this area. My picture does not do the beauty of this area justice. And during the summer months there’s a warm, dry wind blowing~all the time.

From there we continued onto Lancaster, CA. We stopped there to shop at their super Wal Mart and thankfully there was a Mc Donald’s inside the Wal Mart because in the hot, dry windy climate I really needed one of their Iced Coffee’s (large)!

Continuing on down the highway we come to Mojave, CA and their airplane graveyard. It’s eerie to see the row after row of planes that are just parked. I understand they do give tours of their ‘flight line’ maybe next time we’ll take the time to do that.

Before too long we come to our destination. We camped here before and I’ve Blogged about this place before…but this area is such a wondrous sight I have to mention it again. It’s the Ricardo Campground in California’s Red Rock Canyon State Park on Highway 14.

The state of California established this area as a state park in 1968. This area was used a Native American trade route for hundreds of years and in about 1850, the survivors of the famous Death Valley trek passed thru Red Rock Canyon. Then in 1893 placer gold activity began with hundreds of miners sifting the sands of the canyon. The canyon has been used as a passage for driving large flocks of sheep to the north, as a stage coach stop, as a railroad route and as a truck stop. It has also been used as a location for Hollywood movies.

As you travel thru or camp in this area you’ll see the unique and colorful layers of white, pink, red and brown cliffs. The fluted folds are the result of wind & rain eroding the softer materials beneath the dark caprocks, which were formed by a harder lava flow layer.

Like most people I always imagined the desert as empty and uninteresting. But I’ve learned to love and appreciate these dry arid areas. So very different from the Pacific Northwest where I live.

The last time we camped here, the Joshua trees were in bloom….truly a beautiful sight.

All of the campsites are backed by these awesome cliffs.

Night in the desert~so quiet and peaceful.

The next morning we’re up and cooking breakfast.

Linda’s campground scramble (I make it at home too)

Joshua Trees

As we drove out of the campground, we were already looking forward to our next visit there. Such a beautiful, peaceful place.

(June 3, 2009) After leaving the campground our next destination was Ridgecrest, CA. My paternal grandfather lived there the last 25-30 years of his life. He was a professional photographer, artist and businessman. He and his wife (my step grandma) owned and operated Desert Graphic Arts for many years. His business logo was the Joshua Tree, so as a youngster I grew to love them but I was an adult before I finally saw one growing in their natural habitat. Anyway it had been several years since I’d visited his resting place, so once we got into town we went out to the cemetery so I could leave some flowers.

After that we stopped at the local Goodwill and did some shopping. I should never go in those places because I always find books to buy. This time was no exception, plus I found 2 blouses for $2.75 each. This GW was very clean and well organized~it was really fun looking around there.

As we left Ridgecrest and headed for the Highway 14/Highway 395 junction the weather began to change. To be continued~

Random Pictures Of The Los Angeles Area

2009-08-28T12:13:00.001-07:00

(May/June 2009) Frequently while we are in southern California, we are driving here and there and I usually always have my camera with me. So I’m taking pictures like crazy. This entry is going to feature some of those random shots.

The famous Pasadena In-N-Out. It is amazing, no matter what time of day or night you go there, cars are lined up, in two rows to get to the drive up window. They usually have staff walking along the cars taking orders so that hopefully your order will be ready shortly after you finally get to the window. There’s no indoor seating, just a few tables outside…which are normally taken.

This building is not too far from the Santa Monica Pier. I loved the beautiful bougainvillea growing around the wall.

Another southern California favorite of mine are the beautiful Jacaranda trees with their purple flowers.

Southern California has so many beautiful trees. This tree lined street heads up the hill to the home of Bob’s daughter & family.

Angels Flight in downtown Los Angeles. First opened in 1901 running until 1969. They redeveloped the area and it reopened in 1996. In 2001 there was a serious accident on the tramway and it has been closed ever since. Work continues and they hope to have it up and running again soon.

The lovely campus of Pasadena City College. Both of Bob’s grandkids are taking classes here.

A couple views of the Los Angeles skyline.

Self explanatory….

Philippe’s home of the original French dip sandwich and they are good.

You stand in line to order and then find a place to sit at the long tables. Sometimes it seems like it takes forever but their French Dip is worth the wait.

The Pasadena Trader Joe’s was the original store. Not this building but Pasadena is where it originated.

This building is just a couple blocks from Olvera Street

Some of the Olvera Street shops.

A church very near Olvera Street

If you ever take Amtrak to Los Angeles, you’ll end up here at the Union Depot.

White Oleander~beautiful but deadly.

Thanks again…next entry we head north towards home.

Santa Monica Pier and Lunch Out

2009-08-27T00:23:00.001-07:00

(May 29, 2009) We took some time today to take a drive out to the Santa Monica Pier. We both love to go there if the weather is nice.

Sadly it seems like every time we go out there we see more and more people that seem to be homeless.

The guy below had a large wire bird cage hooked to the back of his bike. What was in it? A large plastic alligator !?!

There’s a small amusement park towards the end of the pier.

The Ferris wheel had a role in the crazy movie “1941.”

You might even catch a fish at the end of the pier.

At the beginning of the Pier is the Carousel Building. It is so unique and beautiful and houses a beautiful Merry Go Round. I loved the windows in this building.

There’s a Bubba Gump Shrimp Company located at the street end of the pier. We don’t have any of these close to home so decided to take advantage of the opportunity to have lunch here.

I recommend the coconut shrimp~Yummy!

We were seated at beach level and as I looked out the window I couldn’t figure out what that big roller was. Finally we asked our waiter and he explained that they roll the beach with it.

I believe it’s made of concrete and has raised buildings & landmarks of the Los Angeles area which when rolled across the compact sand leave impressions behind~until the public starts walking on it of course.

After lunch, we gazed out at the beautiful Pacific Ocean and the folks on the beach…….

And head back to the car ~ a rather long uphill walk but totally worth the trouble.

Looking back at the Pier, we hope to visit again next time we’re in the area.

I can’t remember the exact day but I know it was pretty close to when we were getting ready to head home, our dear Blogger friend Joann came and picked me up and we went to ‘Islands’ for lunch. If you live in southern California or anywhere there is an ‘Islands’ restaurant~you have to try their tortilla soup. Ahhhhhhh it is so good. We had a wonderful time of visiting and eating….when we got back to Bob’s daughter’s house Bob took some pictures of the two of us. She posted her pictures back in June but I’m a little slower, since I’m doing the commentary. Anyway, the sun was bright which really bothers my blue eyes….so pardon the squint.

Joann tells me she likes to drive, so I’m waiting for the day she gets in her little red car, heads for I-5 and then heads north. I told her I’m just a few blocks from I-5 (about 1,200 miles north of her.)

I hope you’ll join me for the next episode….I hope to wrap this trip up in the next week and a half.

Los Rios

2009-08-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

(May 28, 2009) As we were leaving the Mission Bob was asking one of the staff there about heading back to Pasadena. She advised that we wait until at least 7:30 or 8pm, allowing for commuter traffic to clear out. So that gave us several hours to kill. She suggested we explore the Los Rios area, just a few blocks from the Mission. So, we found a place to get some dinner and since most of the business were closed for the day, we headed in the direction of Los Rios. The tracks for Amtrak and the commuter MetroLink run on the far side of a big public parking lot and Los Rios is just across the tracks. Los Rios Historic District includes 31 historic structures which line both sides of Los Rios street. This District contains the oldest continually occupied residential streets in California and includes three adobe house built in 1794 as housing for families connected to the Mission. Since we'd been walking most of the day, we did not get to all the houses but we did get by a few of them. These I'd like to share with you.....

I loved this mailbox!

And coming from a railroad family I was intrigued with this old railway station luggage cart.

Yes, there are still people living in the little house at the back of this property.

This is occupied by the Rios family (10th generation) and used as a residence and law office. It is the oldest residence in California continuously occupied by a single family.

The building below is presently a shop for gardeners. They had some very unique yard ornaments, etc for sale. And the business was also for sale ~

The different flower gardens around this little community were magnificant.

Amtrak does make a stop here. We came very close to making a round trip to San Diego while killing time before heading back to Pasadena. It would have cost $34 for the two of us -roundtrip. Very reasonable. I would have loved to do it but was afraid if something happened & we couldn't get back (like missing the return train) we'd be stuck in San Diego and the truck/camper with all our stuff would be in San Juan Capistrano. So we didn't....maybe next time.

Here comes the MetroLink Commuter Train...

That's all of our very long day in this great part of southern California. I'm going to be away for a few days now and will continue this when I get back. I'm anxious to share some more areas we visitied with you in future updates.

San Juan Capistrano

2009-08-10T01:13:00.001-07:00

(May 28, 2009) We were up early, ate breakfast and showered so we could get on the road to San Juan Capistrano. As I mentioned a couple entries back, we stopped there on the way to the campground but the mission was closed for the day.

Once we got parked, we strolled down the block toward the mission. I soon discovered that this little town of San Juan Capistrano is a place you could spend a couple days exploring. The first place we stopped was ‘The Old Barn Antiques Mall’ stall after stall (10,000 sq feet) rented by different folks to sell their wares on consignment. Most of the items were antiques and/or collectibles. We spent maybe 45 minutes in there and just barely got inside the door. It’s one of those places where you keep seeing things and you say to yourself “I remember grandma had one of those” or “mom had one of those when I was a kid, I wonder what happened to it?”

We continued on crossing the street to the main entrance of the mission. Founded in 1776, this mission is the seventh on the mission chain. Called the “Jewel of the Missions” it occupies a 10 acre site. There’s a central courtyard, many museum rooms and displays. The Sierra Chapel is one of the oldest buildings in California. The ruins of the Great Stone Church are also found inside the Mission walls. It was almost completely destroyed in an earthquake during Sunday morning service in 1812 killing 42 Native American worshippers.

Pictured with this plaque is one of the Mission Bells seen along Highway 101 denoting the route created in the late 1700’s to connect the Missions (El Camino Real~The Kings Highway)

The wheel pictured below was used to grind olives into oil.

This is an example of the huts the Native American’s from this area lived in.

Some pictures depicting the rooms that the early folks used for living quarters. After seeing these cots ~ I will never again complain about an uncomfortable bed.

These were the ovens used to bake the mission’s bread.

Some vintage garden tools below

Sitting on a bench in a cool passage way~a beautiful view of the gardens.

A diorama featuring the first baptism at this mission.

The beautiful Sierra Chapel. Mass was first celebrated here in 1783.

Looking towards the back of the chapel

All of the missions seem to have their own cemeteries. Looking at some of the headstones, you know this place has been here a long time.

Some resting places are very crude….

The Bell Wall

Below are some of southern California’s beautiful Jacaranda Trees with their purple flowers. I love them & wish they would grow in the Pacific Northwest.

Below are a few pictures of the original buildings that were pretty much destroyed in an 1812 earthquake. They’ve done a great job of carrying for the portions that didn’t collapse, killing over 40 people.

Our day here is almost over….

Just before we left the mission grounds we came upon this tree. I’m sorry, I can’t remember the name of it but I don’t imagine any little boy would ever try climbing it. Ouch….

If you ever get to southern California, I hope you’ll take a day and visit San Juan Capistrano. It’s truly a beautiful place……..

San Diego’s Sea World Part 2

2009-07-28T17:25:00.001-07:00

(May 27, 2009) The day was very long, and we were both disappointed that there were some areas we just didn’t have time to see. I really want to go back someday….so we can see those missed sections. This park is so beautiful! It’s clean and well laid out. The staff are knowledgeable and courteous. Now for the rest of out day~

the sting rays were in a pool low enough to touch them. They are cool and rubbery feeling.

they’ve trained the killer whales to purposely splash the crowd~we were up above the “splash zone”

SeaWorld closed at 6pm this day. We left there and worked our way down to North Harbor Drive to the Maritime Museum. We had two brief visits to that area when we were there on a cruise ship last year. So were happy to have the opportunity to take our time this particular evening. We got some dinner at an open air seafood place. And then headed down the sidewalk to see the sights.

The beautiful Star of India, launched in 1863 and remains the oldest ship in the world that still maintains a regular sailing schedule. She’s been on San Diego’s waterfront for 75 years.

Pictured below is the HMS Surprise, a replica of a late 18th century Royal Navy frigate. She was in the film “Master and Commander.”

Below is the USS Dolphin. The Dolphin, a research submarine, was launched in 1968 and is reported to be the deepest diving submarine in the world. However, the actual depth is a Navy secret.

Pictured below is the 1904 steam yacht, the Medea. The world’s wealthy elite preferred this way of water travel. She has been restored to her original glory with hand sawn oak, polished teak and authentic furnishings. Some folks walking by thought this guy was a statue. Not so…he scared many people with sudden movements~we watched him for a long time….very entertaining. And that concludes our day in San Diego. I hope you enjoyed yourselves…….

Future entries; San Juan Capistrano Mission, Santa Monica Pier, Crater Lake, Oregon…..

How About A Day At San Diego’s Sea World?

2009-07-22T20:16:00.001-07:00

(May 27, 2009) It was a beautiful day, blue sky, big white fluffy clouds, about 78* with a breeze. Mostly, I’m going to let the pictures speak for themselves.

We did go up in the observation tower pictured below. The pictures from up there follow~

Going up ^

Bob’s truck & camper are down there

That’s all from the tower.

In the next entry I’ll continue our day at Sea World and then San Diego’s water front. Hope you enjoyed this pictorial tour of a lovely place.

San Diego Here We Come !

2009-07-13T12:44:00.001-07:00

(May 26, 27 & 29, 2009) There were so many projects going on at the home of Bob’s daughter & son in law, we really shouldn’t have left there for this little side trip to San Diego…….but we’d made the reservations at a campground in San Clemente (home of Ronald Reagan) so we went ahead & left Pasadena for a few days. We stayed in a campground there before but couldn’t remember the name of the campground….so we took a chance when we made these reservations. On the way we pulled off the freeway in San Juan Capistrano.

I really wanted to see the mission there. We found a huge parking lot just a block off the main drag and walked up to a place to get some dinner.

The food was wonderful~and the open air eating area was so nice…we sat at a beautiful tiled table.

This place was just across from the mission and we found out that the mission had closed at 5pm and we were there about 5:15pm so that visit would have to wait for another day.

After eating, we did walk around a little and found San Juan Capistrano a delightful community.

A view of the mission from Pedro’s where we were eating.

We’ll be back for a visit at the mission.

Back in the truck and heading south on Interstate 5, we were anxious to get to the campground & get settled. We arrived at San Clemente State Beach and realized immediately that this was not the campground we’d been to before. Bob had said he hoped that we were heading for the right campground because he didn’t want to pull in to some fancy place where there were million dollar motor homes all around us. Well, it happened…..as we pulled into Space 66, our neighbor’s in Space 65 nearly fit the bill.

We need have a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean and I explained to Bob, that we had all we needed in his older Chinook camper that those folks had in their big, fancy motor home. The sunset was incredible !

We could hear the ocean crashing on the beach below us and seals barking to each other. I could have set outside all night listening to the surf.

The next morning as we drove thru the campground, I snapped some pictures of the different trees & flowers.

You cannot imagine how many shots I took before I got the picture below. Let’s just say my shutter finger was getting sore. LOL!!!

As we left the campground this Wednesday (May 27, 2009) morning, we were both anxious to reach our planned destination of San Diego’s Sea World.

Just a note~the campground we were hoping to stay in again was the San Mateo Campground. Most sites are very private and the restrooms are clean. We found it on our way back to Pasadena and made a note of it, so we can stay there again someday.

TO BE CONTINUED:

Just a few More Hours & We’ll Be in Pasadena.

2009-07-07T00:00:00.001-07:00

(May 14, 2009) Like I mentioned in the last entry, we left the Wal Mart parking lot about 9:30am. We still had abut 221 miles to go before reaching Pasadena. And as you can already tell, we don’t always make very good mileage in a day. And since we like to stop all along the way, we decided to drive as far as the Grapevine and then go on into Pasadena the next day. It was fun to continue on Highway 99 until it intersected with I-5. Ahead of us we could see the area known as the Grapevine.

Thru this area we saw lots of active oil wells and some not active. This one was working.

This is the area that Bob and his family found closed last December, due to heavy snow & ice. Hard to believe this desert area could have those types of conditions….but this is high desert. The grade is somewhat steep, and the big trucks as well as some cars can have a problem with over heating. There are places all along this route to stop and take on water.

The town of Gorman, California is pretty much located at the summit of this pass. We pulled in there to get something to eat and some gas. I can’t remember the restaurant, but it was a chain…like Wendy’s, Burger King one of those, I was surprised to see it in this area. At the gas station Bob asked about a local campground and the attendant directed us to a large campground just a couple miles away. We pulled into the toll booth and the man assured us there were lots of empty sites but that the place would start filling up the next afternoon. He made some comment about it being, hot, dusty and noisy. Anyway, we paid for a spot and followed his directions. He said it would be about ½ mile to the sites and that there were several sections and we were free to take any empty spot. We drove on sort of a bumpy, dusty road and then we came around a corner and realized we were in a ‘non-traditional’ campground. It was a campground for folks with quad runners, dirt bikes, etc. There were trails all over the surrounding hillsides. The sites were all very primitive, the only convenience was a wooden cover over a metal picnic table and a fire pit at each site…..no pavement, just a rocky dirt area to park. Oh well, we were tired and this would certainly be an experience. We finally found one site that was somewhat level, up from a large group of people who were there for the trails.

Even though this area was very desolate looking, it beautiful in it’s own way. I even found some color among the sage.

We walked around the area, to stretch our legs but the wind came up and it was quite strong. So strong it was blowing the fine silt everywhere, including in our eyes so we headed back to the camper and locked ourselves away from it.

As night fell the campers below us put up these interesting lights on long poles extending up into the air from their RV’s. We had never seen that before.

It was so quite that night, except for the wind. No traffic sounds, no airplanes ~ we both had a very restful night. The next morning we fixed breakfast & secured everything in the camper and away we went. Very happy to once again travel on a smooth paved highway. Very near Magic Mountain, we stopped for lunch and then drove on into Pasadena. We arrived at the home of Bob’s daughter and family about 2:30 in the afternoon. It was so good to see them again, park the camper and get it settled into it’s spot in their driveway.

To be continued~

Today We Meet Linda & Family!

2009-06-29T18:22:00.001-07:00

(May 13, 2009) We got a little later start this morning. We found the campground host to be quite delightful to talk to. He had worked in the movie industry before retiring and had some great stories to tell.

Our destination today was from Interstate 5 to Highway 99 and the home of Linda (Finding Footprints In The Sand) and her family. I called Linda from the campground and she figured we had about a 4-5 hour drive ahead of us. So we started out, thinking if we stopped to eat in the afternoon, it would allow them to have their dinner and we’d get there about 6:30 or 7pm.

We hadn’t driven very far when we heard a loud ‘thump’ sound. Bob checked the rear view mirror and didn’t see anything, so we figured it was coming from one of the semi trucks that were along side of us. We went maybe a half a mile further and then we heard lots of ‘thumps’ and they were loud. When it was safe …he pulled to side the road and went out to look the truck over. There it was~the inside dual tire on the left rear of the truck…bald…all the tread had come off. Slowly we continued on until we came to a rest area where he pulled in. He called AAA and after 30 minutes of haggling about where we were located, etc. the lady came back on the line and stated that AAA doesn’t change inside tires. That was not what we wanted to hear, especially since he pays extra for RV coverage. There was a fellow picking thru the trash, collecting empty bottles and cans (5¢ refund in California). Figuring he was a local, Bob asked him how far to the next town & was there a place to get a tire changed. The man informed us we were about 6 miles north of Williams, California and that there were two tire shops there. So we headed out, not going much faster than 45 –50 mph. We limped into Williams where he stopped at a burger place for directions to the nearest tire shop. Thankfully it was just a few blocks away. When we got there, Bob went in and the man working there said he’d change it for $25. Bob actually was taking 2 truck tires back to Pasadena to trade, so the guy was able to use one of those tires to replace the bad one.

Meanwhile it’s getting later and we haven’t traveled very far. We haven’t even reached Sacramento yet, where we’ll branch off to Highway 99. After finally getting thru Sacramento (that was fun at the beginning of rush hour traffic) we head down 99. That was really fun for both of us because it had been so many years since we’d traveled that highway. We passed miles of man made rice paddies.

It’s amazing how we’ve been able to create a way to grow almost any product.

Finally as it was beginning to get dark we were seeing signs for Linda’s town. Then there we were….the freeway signs said this city had 11 exits. WOW ! Not the little town it was back in 1955 when I was there last to visit my cousins. Linda had given me directions~but we totally missed their exit. It was the first one as you enter their town and it eluded us. After several phone calls, we finally pulled down their street & there they were…standing on the side walk out in front of their house in the dark. All of them….Linda, Bill, Son2, Son3 and even their kitty.

It was so good to see them but I was so disappointed that it was dark and I couldn’t see their beautiful yard. Son3 got a flash light and showed me some of their roses but it just wasn’t the same as being there in the daylight. I’m so glad Linda posts lots of pictures of her yard & flowers.

Finally about 10pm we left so they could get to bed. Bill directed us to a Wal Mart parking lot where we could camp out for the night. When we got there, there were lots of other RV’s so we felt very comfortable. And once the guy collected all the shopping carts out of the parking lot, it was very quiet. I always like it when we park like that because it allows for some shopping in the morning when the store opens. And this next morning was no exception. Besides the Wal Mart there was also a Goodwill store in the same complex so that kept us busy until about 9:30am when we finally got under way again. This parking lot was so beautifully landscaped. Here’s some pictures I took right there in our free “RV park.” As you can see, there was quite a few others in the parking lot.

next entry….our fourth day on the trail.

Heading South Once Again

2009-06-24T12:22:00.001-07:00

We left here about noon on Monday May 11th. The day after Mother’s Day. My son’s girlfriend had given me these beautiful roses and I struggled over leaving them behind. So I hung three of them upside down to dry, sent seven of them home with my grand daughter & son in law for my daughter to enjoy and put these two in water in an old Taco Bell cup and they went along with us.

Our goal was to reach southern Oregon this first night on the trail. We stopped only a couple times, once for gas and another time in a rest area to fix lunch. At this rest area we saw what we thought was a chain of Toyota’s. After checking it out, it was actually two sets of Toyota’s towing another one.

Finally we arrived in Canyonville, Oregon and the beautiful Seven Feather’s Casino.

We had a wonderful dinner there and slept back in a corner of their parking lot.

The next morning we continued south and soon came to Medford, Oregon. Lot’s of us get those ‘Harry & David’ catalogs in the mail just before the holidays…….well this is their beautiful store. So many goodies in there. I bought some fresh apricots, and some of their ‘Moose Munch’ for snacking on while we were driving.

We crossed into California about 1pm that second day. We are always anxious to see the condition of Mt Shasta in northern California and she didn’t disappoint us on this trip. She was beautiful !

Lake Shasta was looking pretty good too. Sometimes it’s very low but I’d say the water level was better than we’ve seen it in the past. If you look on a map & check out northern California~it’s a huge lake.

Our second night on the trail found us at Woodson Bridge State Park, about 6 miles east of Corning, California. Corning is all about olives. There’s olive trees everywhere you look and all sorts of shops that feature olive products. (Rows of olive trees in the picture below.)

Our site was surrounded by beautiful trees. The campground was clean & well cared for. The only problem was the shower. In California you have to have a handful of quarters to get the showers going. It’s usually 50 cents for the first seven minutes and then more quarters if you want or need more time. I went in and inserted five quarters and only got ice cold water. I always take my cell phone with me, so I called Bob and he went to the camp host (which thankfully was next to the shower building) and soon warm water flowed freely. The host was so apologetic , stating that they’d been having problems with the hot water system in the park.

By Tuesday evening I was getting excited because~ the next day we’d be rolling into Fresno and Linda Reynolds's house.

In our first two days we had only covered 634.4 miles , just a little more than half way to Pasadena, CA.

San Diego

2008-12-04T00:40:00.000-08:00

Tuesday September 30th ~We'd chosen an excursion that left the dock at 9:45am which meant we had to be off the ship at least by 9:30am. I'd put out an order for room service breakfast to save time getting ready. I'm one of those people that has to eat within about 30 minutes of getting up or I get a headache and generally feel awful. Well, that's fine at home but on the ship it means get up, get a shower, get dressed, get "my face on", dry my hair~it can't be done in 30 minutes. So the only way I've figured to make these early departures work is "Room Service." Bob, had a cup of the coffee I'd ordered and then went up to the Windjammer to the breakfast buffet. So I had time to do what I needed to do by myself.

My friend Judy from high school who lives in San Diego (but had to work this particular day) said "If you went to the Zoo last time, take the SEAL this time." So that's what we did. The SEAL is a boat and it's a bus. They have these things in San Francisco and also in Seattle. Perhaps other places too but those are the ones I know about for sure.

We got a narrated tour thru San Diego before splashing down into the waters of San Diego Bay. We cruised past Navy ships, tugboats and fishing vessels. We saw hundreds of seals, birds and other marine life. We also passed by the area where the Navy trains dolphins for maneuvers. We could see the dolphins jumping in their large sea pens. The day was sunny and warm, the view of San Diego from the water was breath taking~it was a beautiful day.

looking out across the harbor at the San Diego skyline

The following pictures were taken as we passed a huge bait/fuel dock. They all hang out here waiting for a handout.

When we were through with our harbor cruise, the SEAL crawled up the boat ramp and became a street vehicle again. The Captain & the First Mate (the gal doing the narration) went down underneath the thing and pulled out the seaweed that had collected on the wheels as they were folded under the craft.

We had sort of planned on visiting the Midway Museum which was just across from where our ship was docked but it was so hot by the time we got back to the ship, neither one of us felt like walking over there so we just got back on board and got some lunch and then relaxed by the pool the rest of the afternoon. We would have only have had a couple hours at the museum~not enough time for sure.

The Midway Museum

Cruisers soaking up the sun

San Diego Skyline

We got back in time to take in the Men's Sexy Leg Contest at poolside. This competition was a big hit with the crowd. (No, Bob didn't participate)

I took this picture of the ship's bow while we were still at dockside in San Diego.

Even on an 88* plus day folks will gather here

the brave ones were climbing "The Wall"

these guys were shooting some hoops

this couple were playing ping pong.

From the ship we could see planes landing & taking off at the San Diego Airport. They say one lands or takes off every 90 seconds~after watching I believe it !!

When it was time to leave San Diego, we were at the railing as we pulled out of the harbor. Again we had San Diego Harbor Police and the Pilot boat guiding us out to sea. And a warm breeze blowing our hair.

We left the Midway behind

A Navy helicopter coming in

The Pilot jumped back onto his little boat after we got out far enough.

6:35pm the sun is setting off San Diego, CA

At 7pm the ship's Captain Rick Sullivan held a "Welcome Aboard" reception where he told us about the ship and introduced all the people in charge of the different areas of the ship. These big ships have a crew of around 400-500 people ( or more)working all thru out the ship. There are many department heads supervising them.

There is so much to do on these ships, if you did everything on the schedule you would never sleep. There are activities such as dancing into the wee hours of the morning.

But not for two old people....no way!

(Note: if you click on they pictures they become almost full screen)

Wednesday ~ Catalina Island

Just Here For The Weekend

2008-11-29T13:03:00.001-08:00

When we arrived Friday night we knew we would just be here for a couple days, for right now anyway. On Saturday, Bob's grandson had a full day planned for the two of them. He had fine tuned his driving since our last visit and was anxious to show Papa Bob some places he'd discovered in his travels around the area. They had a great day, even drove out to Santa Monica, having lunch at the Pier. Papa Bob explained to this young man that you don't have to pay the $10 or $12 for public parking at the Pier. You merely park at Sears, walk the few blocks to the Pier, then make a purchase when you come back to Sears and show the receipt to the Sears Parking Attendant and you've got 2 hours free parking.

Sunday was a busy day. We had to drag our suitcases out from behind the front seat of the truck and get them in order for Monday's departure on Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas. It was a day of ironing, making decisions about which clothes to take and which to leave behind, give one last pressing to those that need it, where are the Passports, the cruise documents, secure the proper tags on all the luggage, etc. etc. I decided to leave the shirts and blouses until Monday morning to be packed, then they'd only be in the suitcase a few hours.

Bob's Pasadena daughter is such a good cook. We had scrumptious meals everyday we were there. So our weekend dinners were to die for.

Monday morning it was the final packing, and loading the bags in the back of the car....and by noon we were heading out to San Pedro, CA and the Los Angeles Cruise Ship Center. It's about a 45 minute drive at that time of the day. Fortunately we'd just been there in March so we knew the way and remembered "don't go over the big bridge!" They are so organized at these places. Hope pulled up to the curb, after hugs good bye, we got out and Bob unloaded our bags, there was a man right there with a big flat cart and onto the cart went our bags and away he went. You're given tags with your name and Cabin # on each ~so they can get your bags to your cabin with in a couple hours. With over 2,00o passengers on most of these ships~that's amazing.

We'd completed the on-line check in but still needed to get in line and step up to the counter to show our Passports and complete the process. Which included each of us getting our Sea Pass. The Sea Pass is your personal ID on the cruise, it's linked to a credit or debit card for on-board purchases and also identifies you as you depart and re-enter the ship.

As we proceeded to the ship, we handed our Sea Pass to a man, he puts it in a machine, you stand on a line and look into a camera affair & they take your picture~your face is now attached to your Sea Pass. When you go ashore, you have to have your Sea Pass handy and they pop it in the machine and look to be sure it's really you. Even the little ones do this.

By the time we got all checked in and on board we headed to our cabin and found my bags already in the cabin & Bob's showed up about 15 minutes later. The first thing I like to do is pick my drawers & get everything unpacked. We are "home" now for the next four days so lets make it look like home. We stow the suitcases in the closet and head up to the "Welcome Aboard" buffet. Lunch ~ yummy!! They have so many good things to eat, it's hard to choose. After eating lunch we headed up to the pool deck. The "Sail Away" festivities were in full swing and there were lots of people already splashing about in the big beautiful pool, some even in the hot tub.

(a lesson in line dancing)

This is a very beautiful port and once again the weather was gorgeous. Sun, gentle breeze, we're on board a beautiful cruise ship. Ahhhh this is the life.

At 4pm everyone dons their life vest and heads to their assigned Muster Stations. This is a mandatory activity and all passengers must participate. I understand if you decide to skip out on this they come looking for you later & you still have to do it. They did mark each of us off by cabin number as we entered the deck area where the drill was held. The ship does not leave the dock until this drill is over. We always hope that this will be the only time we have to put those life vests on........

(our ship was in the waterway behind that building)

Shortly after 5pm we slowly pulled away from the dock. The Port Police had a boat on each side of us and of course there was the Pilot boat.

As we headed out to sea, people along the waterway waved goodbye & we waved back.

Soon the Port Police boats turned and went back and shortly after that the Pilot boat pulled up close and the Pilot jumped off the ship onto the deck of the Pilot boat. We were own our own heading out to sea.

We sat on the deck for an hour or so, watching the people and since we had a late dinner seating (8pm) we had some time to re-explore the ship. We were just on the Monarch in March, so it was pretty easy to find our way around. After looking over the excursions list, we headed to the appropriate desk and got signed up for an excursion in each of the ports we would be visiting this week.

We eventually went back to the cabin where we met our cabin attendant for the first time. He was such a nice fellow~I chuckled each time he called Bob "Mr. Robert." We freshened up for dinner and took off down to Claude's Dining Room ~ table 440. That first dinner you always feel a little apprehensive....most of the tables in the large dining rooms are for 6 or 8 people so you never know who you're going to be eating with. Once again we were blessed to have 2 couples who were delightful dinner companions for the week. Allen & Kathi from Pennsylvania and Howard and Grace from Vancouver, BC shared our table. Every evening with these 4 other people was delightful!

Tuesday morning, we'll be in San Diego~

Will We Get To Pasadena By This Evening?

2008-11-25T17:50:00.001-08:00

After a delicious pancake breakfast at Mc Donald's, we continued south on Highway 101. After awhile we came to beautiful Pismo Beach. It was so beautiful, we pulled into the public parking area, Bob put enough money into the slot for us to have 90 minutes on the pier or on the beach. It was absolutely beautiful there. Sit back, relax and imagine the warm sun, a slight breeze, the beauty of the Pacific ocean ~ sand & surf, the seagulls, the surfers, the people playing on the beach.....just let your mind take you away and you'll know what sort of day it was.

There's such a beautiful sloping beach here at Pismo Beach.

Those dark spots are not seals~those are surfers, waiting for the perfect wave.

This little place is about mid-way on the pier. You can rent a fishing rod, get a snack, even a postcard here.

There is now a fine for feeding the pigeons and seagulls at Pismo Beach. They produce hundreds of pounds of waste which causes diseases and ruins the wood pier.

This pretty little church is on the National Historic Registry.

We reluctantly walk back to the truck and get back on the freeway. I had been looking for my sunglasses all day so when we got to Oxnard we pulled off the freeway and went into Wal Mart so I could get some new clip on sunglasses that fit my glasses. They are so expensive~I think they were $16 and would you believe I later found my old ones. Oh well, now I have two pair so should never be without them.

Meanwhile, we're in rush hour traffic and the going is so slow. I think we saw the first Pasadena sign ~

but it would be two hours before we actually got to the home of Bob's daughter & family.

It was good to be off the freeway and heading up the tree lined streets toward their house.

We pulled up to the gate and called for them to open it at about 7pm.

It was so good to see everyone, they came running out and there were hugs all around. Bob's daughter, Hope had some dinner ready and we gladly sat down to feed our faces.

We checked our mileage....we'd driven 1,380 miles since we left my house in Washington state.

Thursday September 25, 2008 ~We need to get moving!

2008-11-23T12:45:00.000-08:00

When we woke up this Thursday morning, we finally got to see where we camped last night. (Remember it was pitch black when we pulled into this campground at 8pm). It was so beautiful! We were right in among the giant Redwood trees.

Look at the size of the stump behind me!

Bob getting the camper loaded up.

When you look up into these magnificant trees...well, lets just say one feels very small indeed.

It's interesting to look at the bark of the Redwood up close. Not like the Douglas Fir that grows here in the Pacific northwest, that's for sure.

They have these food lockers at all the camp sights for those with tents. Put your food in there & lock it up or the bears will come looking for it in your tent.
On the road again. This is a little section of highway called "Avenue of the Giants" off Highway 101. Very narrow but then 101 isn't much different in some areas.

We stopped here briefly. Sometimes there will be a chainsaw carver working but not today. This place along the highway has all things Redwood & Bigfoot. (They don't know that Bigfoot lives in Washington state!)

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We finally got on the road again, knowing that we needed to cover some distance today if are ever going to get to Pasadena by Friday evening. We stopped in another cute little town ~ Willits, California for gas. But, oh my it was so hot! I'm sure it was at least 100*. Just suffocating!

From Willits we continued on, rolling into the San Francisco around 4pm. Before heading across the Golden Gate bridge we turned off and went up into the Presido on the northern tip of the San Francisco peninsula. The narrow winding road takes you high up into the hills above the Golden Gate bridge and offers magnificent views of San Francisco Bay and of the city. This area has a very interesting history. It has been a fortified location since 1776 when the Spanish made it the military center of their expansion in the area. It was later passed to Mexico and they passed it to the United States in 1847. In 1995 it was closed as a military base and since then has began the change of mixed commercial and public use. In 1962 Congress recognized the Presido as a National Historic Landmark. As you drive around you can still see many of the old bunkers and of course buildings used for military purposes in the past. This particular afternoon, it was sunny and warm up there but extremely windy. Almost so windy we could barely open the doors of the truck to get out and take pictures.

Up in the Presido. I believe the housing down there is still being used by military personnel. There were people on the beach and vehicles coming & going. Can you believe that guy out there? The wind was blowing so hard~I was afraid he'd loose his balance and fall off.

Bird Rock (YUCK!!!!!!!!!)

One of the old military buildings left for public viewing. As I remember, this was a Brig. There were bars on the windows.

The Golden Gate Bridge

It was so windy here this picture of "The Rock" also known as Alcatraz was a little blurry. I was leaning on a bench but that wasn't enough.

We'll be down there soon.
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After leaving the Presido we crossed the Golden Gate bridge, paying the $5.00 toll (you only pay when you're going southbound) blending in with all the commuter traffic.

heading for the toll booth

We're in town now and heading for Beach Street that will take us down to Fisherman's Wharf.

This sign cracked me up! Even if I was a wine drinker, I don't think I'd feel comfortable in SNOB bar. LOL !

The houses are so close together but they are all so beautiful. When we came home I took more pictures of these homes. I'll share those at a later date.

heading down towards Fisherman's Wharf.

This particular line of the trolley car system starts in front of this 24 hour Walgreen Store.

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The traffic wasn't really that bad, those people move right along and are courteous enough to let you change lanes when you put on your turn signal. Our destination goal was the Fisherman's Wharf area to get something to eat and then on down 101 to a campground.

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We actually found a parking place right at the corner of Jefferson and Jones. Bob pulled that big truck & camper right in and we filled the parking meter full of quarters and took off walking down the street.

How would you like a loaf of crab shaped sourdough bread? I got a small loaf of regular shaped sourdough~theirs is so good!

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Most of the eating places were already really busy by this time, so we ended up walking back past the truck and went into In-N-Out for dinner (yum? yum!).

Robin, I had a fry in your honor!

One last walk past the marina and then we went back to the truck and headed south on Highway 101.

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It was now after 7pm and Bob said that we'd pull into the first campground or rest area and spend the night. We saw some private campgrounds but a couple of them wanted $40 for a night and that's just ridiculous! We kept thinking we'd find a rest area~so we kept driving and driving and driving. Finally about 150 miles south of S.F, near Soledad, CA I saw a big McDonald's sign off to the side of the freeway and we could see lots of semi trucks in their parking lot. By now it's almost 11pm and we are both exhausted. So we took the exit and found a spot out at the end of this huge parking lot and settled in for the night. We figured if we could get a couple hours sleep & then someone pounded on the door and told us to leave~at least we would have some sleep . Well, no one bothered us and we slept like babies.

The next morning, we went into the McDonald's for some breakfast and told the manager we'd looked for a rest area after leaving S.F. and there didn't seem to be any. He said, "no, there's no rest areas between here and S.F. but you're always welcome to park here." Wow ! How nice of them! I'm still going to write Arnold Schwarzenegger (former actor and now governor of CA) about this situation. That's crazy not to have a place for people to pull over & take a rest break. We did consider that big prison just off the highway there in Soledad but by the time we stopped we were too tired to care. However, I had my can of Hornet & Wasp spray ready in case someone came breaking in the back door of the camper.

It's now Friday morning~will we make it to Pasadena tonight or not? That remains to be seen.

September 24, 2008

2008-11-16T20:14:00.001-08:00

As we left the campground I noticed a pretty little tree lined pond~another photo opportunity!

We continued south on Highway 101 passing thru the Oregon Dunes area. It's incredible to see these huge sand dunes...more like hills rather than ordinary sand dunes. This area goes on for miles...

Our next stop was The Old Mill Casino in Coos Bay. We stopped for breakfast and only breakfast (just wanted to make that clear~LOL)

After breakfast I suggested we stop at the big Myrtlewood Gift shop in Coos Bay. I had a few things in mind for Christmas gifts. Myrtlewood is America's most beautiful hardwood. The unique wood from this tree varies in color from a deep rich brown to silver, gray, red and even yellow. These trees are very rare and in America are only found along the southern Oregon and northern California coastline.

The next picture is one I got from Google of a Myrtlewood Tree

As we continued on Bob said, "oh my, did you see that?" No, I hadn't seen that...so he found a place to turn around~back we went about 1/2 a mile and then he turned up this gravel road and stopped the truck. We got out and walked around a Forest Service gate and looked out onto a valley that was so pretty. (Another photo opportunity)

Beautiful, just beautiful!

After passing the little town of Bandon,

we arrived in Port Orford. There's a street in Port Orford that offers a spectacular view of the ocean. There's even a big sign painted on the street~"Ocean View" with a big arrow. We usuallu like to sit there for awhile and take in the view but on this day the wind was blowing so hard we didn't stick around very long.

they pull their boats up on land here when they are not using them.

There's a beautiful mosaic bench here, where you can sit and look out at the ocean...but again it was very windy & cold so we didn't stick around long enough to sit & enjoy the view.

Later in the afternoon we pulled into Humbug Mountain State Campground to take a shower. We had to pay $2 each here because we had not camped there. We could have showered early this morning but it was so cold & the shower room were not heated so we decided to pass on showers until later in the day. The shower at Humbug felt great! As we continued south we came to another one of my favorite places on the Oregon coast~Gold Beach, Oregon. This charming little town sits in a stragic spot....right where the Rogue River empties into the Pacific Ocean. A haven for fisherman and also a great place to take a jet boat ride up the Rogue River. They run the jet boats up and down the river during the summer months..I've done it several times here and it's a blast! It was still very windy when we stopped here but we got out and walked around to the front of Jot's Resort and watched the fisherman bring in their catch (salmon & big ones!) Hungry seagulls and seals waited in anticipation for a fishy treat. At this point we were about 25 miles north of the California border.

Some fisherman bringing in their catch.

Jonathon Seagull waiting for fish innards.

from the river side of Jot's Resort you can look across the bay at the beautiful bridge that crosses the Rogue River.

Shortly after crossing the border into California, we stopped at a vista point (Califronia's term for view point) just past Crescent City, CA. You drive right thru town but it's always fun to stop here and look back at the city.

When you come to the bridge that crosses the Klamath River you'll see 4 large golden bears (two on each end) that sit on each side of the bridge. They are so pretty and are the symbol that Claifornia even uses on their state flag.

Then in Klamath, CA is the infamous Trees of Mystery. You can't miss the big Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox sitting at the back of the parking lot.

We only stopped here to stretch our legs and take the pictures. Both of us have gone up into the Trees of Mystery display area on several occasions. As we entered the town of Eureka, CA I happened to glance over to my right and I saw the top of a very interesting building. I pointed it out to Bob and he started heading in that general direction. In all the times we've driven thru the old gold rush town, we've never noticed this place before. After snaking around thru a neighborhood we finally came to this breath taking mansion.

Built in 1884-86 for William Carson this house has a spectacular view of the harbor in Eureka. Mr Carson came to Eureka to get in on the gold rush. But by the time he got there it was pretty much over. So instead, he went into the lumber business. When this home was being built, if the season was slow in his lumber mills, he would hire the workers to work on the house so he wouldn't have to lay them off. Across the street is "The Pink Lady" the home Mr Carson built for his son and new daughter in law as a wedding gift. This home is now occupied by a group of architects and the main Carson home is the site of a privtate men's Masonic group.

Bob was determined to camp in the Redwood this night, It was 8pm and pitch dark by the time we pulled into Burlington Campground right smack dab in the middle of the giant Redwoods. It was quite an adventure helping Bob get the truck backed into a narrow campsite in the pitch black and not stumble over the picnic table or the fire pit or have the truck back into a tree. One adventure I don't ever care to repeat !

Tsunami Information

2008-11-13T17:46:00.000-08:00

I've had a couple comments and several emails regarding Tsunami's on the west coast of the United States. At this time we have a very good off shore warning system but there are two kinds of Tsunami's after an earthquake. A local Tsunami (and the most dangerous) can come ashore withing 15 to 20 minutes after an earthquake. People who live at sea level or lower than 100 feet above sea level are instructed to evacuate to higher ground immediately when they feel the ground shaking. A distant Tsunami will take up to 4 hours or more to come onshore. Since you probably won't feel the earthquake, typically there is time for an official warning so you can evacuate to safety. People who live & play in these areas just need to be prepared and know what to look for. As you can see by the following article, we have had them on the west coast.

1964 Tsunami Affecting the West Coast of North America
Now known as the Good Friday Tsunami, the west coast, especially in the state of Alaska, was affected by a tsunami that was the most devastating ever in the continent of North America. On March 28th 1964, the United States experienced its biggest earthquake in history near College Fjord in Prince William Sound of the coast of Alaska that measured 9.2 on the Richter scale. The earthquake lasted for three to five minutes in most areas with jolting of the ocean floor creating large tsunamis. Although the earthquake did cause some destruction, the majority of death and property damage was caused by the resulting tsunami. The small Alaskan coastal communities of Girdwood, Portage, Vladez, and some native villages were absolutely decimated. There were a total of 106 people killed in Alaska due to the tsunami waves which reached heights of 11.5 meters (38 feet).
The tsunami traveled south along the west coast to impact the Canadian province of British Columbia
The mainland coast and Vancouver Island were affected where houses were seen being washed away to sea. Considerable damage was also felt in Crescent City, California where eleven people lost their lives. Even Hawaii, thousands of kilometers away felt the impact of the tsunami.

September 23, 2008

2008-11-12T11:39:00.000-08:00

Our first night was quiet and peaceful. As we were leaving in the morning, we realized the staff , local officials and volunteers were in the middle of a Tsunami drill. They kindly handed us a flyer with information on what to do if we were in a Tsunami Hazard Zone. One thing I noticed along the Oregon coast is that there are signs posted along the highway letting you know when you are in a hazard zone and again when you're leaving one.

This pedestrian/bike bridge spans Highway 101 at Rockaway, Oregon. For the most part Highway 101 is a two lane roadway. In some cases it goes right thru the middle of towns both big and small. The next town after Rockaway is Garibaldi. You always know when you're getting close by the big "G" painted up on the hillside above the town. This is one of the many places where they slow you down to 25 miles an hour and you drive right thru the center of town. We always look forward to arriving in Tillamook, Oregon. The Tillamook Cheese Factory is a favorite stop for thousands of tourists. In their huge parking lot, you see license plates from every state and you hear every language being spoken as as you wander thru their building.

as you enter and leave the city of Tillamook, you'll see pastures filled with cows, not only Holsteins but Jersey & Guernsey. This mama and calf that greet you as you enter the building, of course are made of plastic.

While at the cheese factory you can go to an upper level and look down at the cheese making process. These pictures were taken thru the viewing window. You can see the workers, all in white and hair covers working on the various aspects of the cheese packing process. In the cheese making process part of the building all you see are big vats. Here the blocks of cheese were being cut into different size chunks and then sent thru wrapping machines and then being packed into boxes to be shipped out to stores everywhere.

There's a huge (and wonderful) gift shop at the cheese factory and a section where you can buy all of their products~ cheese, milk, ice cream, fudge etc. There's also the Farmhouse Cafe where you can grab a quick meal. We bought a couple bags of cheese curds, and I bought two 8 oz blocks of one of my favorites~Garlic White Cheddar Cheese (YUMMY!). They don't sell this one in stores, you can only get it here at the Tillamook Cheese Factory or at their on line store. I did end up giving one to Bob's daughter so on the way home bought more for myself, my son & son in law.

After making our cheese purchases, we got in line to buy our ice cream treat. This is Bob's dish of 3 scoops. They have approximately 30-40 flavors of ice cream and they are all so rich and delicious.

In 1854 several dairy farmers got together and built a 2 masted schooner to use in getting their cheese and dairy products to Portland. Tillamook still uses a picture of the "Morning Star" on their labels and a replica of this sailing ship sits in front of the Tillamook building to this day.

After leaving Tillamook we took a slight detour to the west~off Highway 101 to Cape Kiwanda. This is a very neat area where fishing dory's are launched into the ocean surf. This day there were no dory's being launched but we've been there before when there was a lot of activity on the beach.

In the past we've seen people on horseback heading down the beach and up the trails on that far hill.
Heading across one of Oregon's magnificent bridges~we continue our journey.
We come to an area along the coast called the Devil's Churn. We'd never stopped there before so pulled in and got out to check it out.

As you can see the water was calm compared to what it can be. After I took this picture, some people emerged on the rocks below. They'd followed a trail that took off down the hill from the parking area. Brave souls !

Some folks were down walking on the beach along here.

The beautiful home and lighthouse (on the far left out of the picture) at Hecta Head.

The rest of the buildings at Hecta Head

I just love the Oregon bridges...

We stopped at another view point to look at the ocean and we heard this loud "seal" noise. We walked along the guard rail, looking down and there was this huge group of seals. There are so noisy ! This location was about 1/4 mile north of Sea Lion Caves. Obviously some of them were out of their cave and in this "romantic" little cove.

Our second night on the trail~we found a lovely spot at J.M.Honeyman State Park.
This Oregon state campground also had quite a few Yurts available.

Well, at this point we'd only been away from home a little over 24 hours and we've only covered 358 miles. We still have 1,000 miles to go before we get to Pasadena. We've got lots of ground to cover before we reach our destination.

Monday September 22, 2008~Here We Go

2008-11-06T22:24:00.000-08:00

Bob decided to let his brother take over the negations on the sail boat they found on Craigslist. So we were finally going to be able to head out shortly after 12 noon. (Miracle of miracles~we didn't have to turn around and go back because one of us suddenly remembered something we forgot) I opened our "Road Trip" notebook and made a note of the date, time and mileage.

When we got to Olympia (about 25 miles south of here) Bob pulled off the freeway and into a gas station to get the tank filled. This very first fill up was at $3.60 a gallon. (We certainly saw that figure fluctuate during our trip.)

We continued down Interstate 5 until we reached Longview, WA. We drove thru town heading for the "big bridge" that goes over the Columbia River, into Oregon. There was a very light rain falling, really more like a mist. Heading west on Oregon's Highway 30 we notice that some of the leaves on the trees were just beginning to show a hint of fall color. We drove thru Astoria (Oh, how I love that town) and soon were are heading south on Highway 101. We'll be on 101 now all the way into southern California. We pull off and drive into Seaside. Stopping to walk around in their Carousel Mall, then past Cannon Beach and eventually reach Nehalem Bay Oregon State Campground. We picked our site, fixed something to eat and settle in for our first evening on the road.

Crossing the bridge between Longview, WA and Rainier, Oregon.

Looking back to where we just came from. That's Washington state in the back ground. Separated from Oregon by the Columbia River.

There's a lot of big freighter's that come up and down the Columbia in this area.

In the distance, the next "big" bridge that goes over Young's Bay there in Astoria. This body of water leads out to the Pacific Ocean. This used to be a toll bridge but they took the toll off several years ago. Astoria is the oldest American settlement west of the Rockies. It's a great town & I love to go there. There's all sorts of neat shops and a wonderful Maritime Museum in Astoria.

At the turn around in Seaside, OR. A statue of Lewis and Clark. The Oregon coast is reported to be the end of their trek.

This is a photo of the Seaside turnaround that I borrowed from Google. It's fun to walk out there and watch the cars come & go and look out at the beach and of course the Pacific ocean.

At the Carousel Mall in Seaside.

Stopping along Highway 101 at one of the many view points.

Entering Nehalem Bay Oregon State Campground.

Bob has to have a campfire if we're in a campground. There was only one night coming back that the weather was a little ugly and he didn't build a fire. He can sit out there for hours, listening to his tunes.

The Oregon State campgrounds are all very nice. Most of them require reservations during the summer season but if you're traveling during the "off" season there's not usually a problem getting a spot. In every campground both heading south and then coming home, there were never more than a dozen campers. Very nice, as you get your pick of the best spots. They all have nice facilities including free showers. In California~you'd better have a fist full of quarters if you want a hot shower.