The Road Less Traveled

Quartzsite Shopping

2012-01-25T19:19:00.011-07:00

The first thing we noticed when we arrived in Quartzsite this year was the fancy new sign. Whew! Really classes up the place. It seems they have four of them to cover all the ways in. Pretty impressive.
The camels are to commemorate the local experiment by the Army to use camels. I understand it didn't work out too well.

As soon as possible, Ron visited the world famous (at least to RVers) Quartzsite Bakery. Just walking in the door is enough to make me gain weight.

Over the course of several days, we did what all the visitors do - go shopping. There are several areas of town that are packed with vendors selling whatever you're looking for. I didn't know I was looking for an animal hat until I saw it.

Anyone for a delicious snack? (At least there's no trans fats.)

Ron is in heaven with all the hardware booths.

Then on Saturday, the 'Big Tent' opened. Covering three football fields, the Big Tent is the place to find anything you need for your RV. From lights to braking systems, from water pumps to tow bars, from cookware to satelite TV, along with the ever popular jewelry, it's all here. And so are the RVers.

With their little buddies.

I have to wonder if this dog is having any fun. Yes, there is a dog in there.

It was a cloudy, cold day when we hit the Big Tent so Ron was just happy to find this campfire to warm his hands.

More Quartzsite

2012-01-17T19:43:00.002-07:00

Dave had asked if I could get some pictures from up high, so last Sunday Nancy joined us for a hike up 'Q' Mountain.

Although it's not a long hike, it is steep with lots of loose rocks. But the view is pretty cool.
The background on the previous picture is the town which is mostly comprised of RV parks and restaurants, but, until recently, no hotels. In fact the story is that somebody burned down the first hotel built several years ago. I don't know if that's true or just a myth.

Looking down from the top, here's the 'Q' on Q Mountain.

This is a small section of public land dotted with a few of the thousands of RVs.

And all the white dots out by the mountains are more RVs. And the big RV show doesn't even open until Saturday.

From the top of the mountain, we could see this mine so we had to check it out.

After doing a full inspection, Ron decided it was probably a stamp mill where they brought the rocks from the surrounding mines.

But there was no doubt where the trash dump was.

Farewell to Joey

2012-01-15T19:24:00.004-07:00

Yesterday we attended a 'celebration of life' for our friend Joey who was the unofficial social director of our WIN RV group. My best description is that she was wonderfully unique. She will be sadly missed as was evidenced by the turnout for her memorial. There were no tears (or not many), but instead a remembrance party that she would have been proud of.

Our WIN poet, Randy, wrote a fitting poem to help send her on her way.

REMEMBERING JOEY

If there be life beyond this one
then Joey Shelton's there
bringing spirit folks together
for parties in the air.

Perhaps she drives a heavenly rig,
A class A Cloudmobile.
A special bed for Sadie waits
beside the steering wheel.

And with her friends already there
enjoys celestial beauty.
Dorothy Prince, our founder and
Billy and Nora and Judy.

Joey played our travel game well,
becoming a part of WIN history;
ranged a thousand roads with us;
staged a murder mystery.

Organized a kayak circuit;
lent a sympathetic ear;
cared for Mr Pete Bonine
during his final year.

But her greatest gift to us
was laughter, full and hearty.
Like no one else Joey knew
how to throw a party.

It's no trivial claim to fame
that one throws parties well;
It called us out of our separateness
when she rang the social bell.

And if there be no life beyond,
then she lived this one well;
with cheer and hope through ups and downs
of life's carousel.

Randy Vining 1/10/12

We love you, Joey! Happy heavenly travels.

The Big 'Q'

2012-01-12T20:12:00.007-07:00

The RVer's Mecca called us and we answered the summons. The last two weeks of January, tens of thousands of RVs take over the tiny town of Quartzsite, Arizona, parking on public land in the surrounding desert. This is a conservative estimate, some guess as high as a million. For three days, we prepared. Ron cleaned, caulked, and waxed the RV. It looks gorgeous until the first sand storm anyway. I shopped and planned two weeks of meals. Although years ago, I got over the feeling that I would never see another grocery store, the feeling is justified in Quartzsite.

After gassing up at Fry's (60 cents off on 35 gallons with my accumulated Fry's points), we were off and running at 10 o'clock. The trip through Phoenix was as harrowing as ever, but we rewarded ourselves with a stop at Cracker Barrel for brunch. Nobody does breakfast better.

And by late afternoon, our destination was in sight.

Because we're early for the main event, there was no problem finding a great spot to park. Soon the RVs will be bumper to bumper.

It wasn't long before Ron was back up on the roof. Uh-oh.

So, here's the scoop. After listening to me whine for years about how the TV cuts out every time the slightest breeze blows the satellite dish, Ron created a spring system to hold it steady. When he finished his invention, we tested it by cranking the dish up and down to make sure it worked smoothly.

Back to today, when I tried to tune in the satellite dish, I raised it, but was unable to rotate it to face south. How could we have both forgotten to test that? Hence, Ron back on the roof. Soon he had it working perfectly. Of course my solution was that we could just always park facing north. Then the dish would be facing the right way. Hey, what's wrong with that?

Here's to the end of a lovely day.

Taking in the Desert

2012-01-08T20:19:00.001-07:00

The other day Ron and I took a short hike to appreciate the nearby desert. The Dutchman Trail is a gentle uphill grade through some nice scenery. It takes off from the end of First Water Road off AZ 88.

The trail has several stream crossings, some with and some without water. It's always a surprise to see water in the desert.

Just watch out for the cholla cactus.

I like the interesting rocks along the way.

After about two miles, we admired this view of Weaver's Needle then turned around.

On the return trip, we noticed these 'ancient' petroglyphs.

Hum, maybe not so ancient.

Year in Review

2012-01-04T20:19:00.001-07:00

When I wrote about the calendar that I created online, I had several people request to see all the pictures from it. Although they were probably just being polite, I thought I could do a post combining a recap of our travels in 2011 with the pictures from the calendar.

We took off from Mesa in mid May and quickly reached Joshua Tree National Park. Joshua Tree is one of my favorite places with its unusual scenery and cooler temperatures.

We worked our way north along the western side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and hit Sequoia, King's Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks along the way.
Continuing north through central California, we enjoyed waterfalls, the area around Mt. Shasta, and Lassen National Park. Our favorite camping spot was the free campground at Lake Shastina where we stayed for almost two weeks.

The beginning of July, we made it to Oregon where we used Klamath Falls area as our base for a visit to Lava Beds National Park, a great hike along the Pacific Crest Trail,

And a trip to amazing Crater Lake National Park.

Next we moved to beautiful, but buggy, Diamond Lake and followed OR138 just north of the lake to see some of the many waterfalls along the North Umpqua River. (The rhododendrons were along the trail to Watson Falls.)

We fell in love with the area around Bend, Oregon. Not only is the area incredibly scenic with lots of wonderful hiking, but the town itself is just the right size and the people are very active. This is Tumalo Falls.

Sparks Lake is also just outside of Bend and is probably the most photogenic lake I've ever seen.

But even Bend couldn't keep us forever and in early August we moved on to Silverton where we saw Silver Falls State Park and Oregon State Garden.

At this point, my calendar pictures jump from Silverton, Oregon, to Whidbey Island which is close to the northern border of Washington and our northernmost point on the trip. On the way, we saw Mt. St. Helens, a terrific Lumberjack Festival, Mt. Rainier (in the clouds), and the other side of Mt. St. Helens. And how could I forget my crabbing experience? But I chose my pictures for scenic value and picked this shot of a fisherman on the beach of Whidbey Island.

And, although I can hardly believe it, my next picture is back in Oregon. It's not that we didn't enjoy Washington, just that the pictures didn't make the cut. One of our favorite stops was Sequim, near Olympic National Park and the ferry to Victoria, British Columbia. We had a great day exploring Seattle and flew out of there to a wedding in Milwaukee in early September. By mid September, we were back in Oregon in seriously cute Astoria. After that, we mostly hugged the coast all the way to Redwood Valley, CA. This seagull was at one of the rest stops along US101 in Oregon.

Here we have the Yaquina Bay Bridge

And Yaquina Head lighthouse. (Okay, I cheated a bit here. The picture on the calendar was a horizontal to fit the page, but I like this one better.)

And lastly, Cape Foulweather which luckily didn't live up to its name. All of these last three were in or near Newport where we also visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

Although that is the end of the calendar pictures, it wasn't the end of our fun. We continued south along the coast with favorite stops in North Bend and Gold Beach, OR, Eureka, CA, then through the fabulous Avenue of the Giants. We followed US101 to Redwood Valley, then took CA20 across the state to Sparks, NV. After a day trip to historic Virginia City, we continued across Nevada, moving shamelessly quickly. With only a pause to watch for UFOs along the Extraterrestrial Highway, we arrived at Boulder Beach CG on Lake Mead for a well-deserved rest. We checked out the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge and took a trip into Las Vegas. From there it was just a hop, skip, and jump back to Mesa and the end of our trip just before Halloween.

I'm sure I missed important things, but that's our trip in a nutshell. We had great weather on our trip north, just a few hot days in Northern California. Unfortunately, the west coast had an unusually wet September and October, so the trip south wasn't as perfect. But we always enjoy ourselves. Like I saw on a t-shirt, "The worst day retired is better than the best day at work." Or something like that.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T21:02:00.003-07:00

Although I tend to stay up until all hours, I don't like to be out at night. But this year, Ron talked me into going out for New Year's Eve. We had a blast at one of the nearby RV parks that cater to snowbirds. It's been awhile since we've gone dancing, and I had to laugh at the expression on Ron's face as he concentrated on his tricky dance moves. I swear I saw smoke coming out of his ears. Dancing is one reason why I'm glad to be a woman. I just follow.

We made it all the way to 11:15, then came home to watch the ball drop in Times Square. Did you know they repeat that? And have the guts to put 'Live' in the upper left of the TV screen? Who do they think they're kidding?

Then today demonstrated why we stay in southern Arizona for the winter. What a perfect day!

Happy New Year to all my blogger friends!

White Christmas

2011-12-28T22:16:00.002-07:00

There is a risk when attempting a trip to Colorado in the winter and we had a close call this year. The night before we were scheduled to fly out of nice sunny Arizona, Denver had snow. Although the storm didn't result in a lot of snow at the Denver airport, it still managed to delay our takeoff for about two hours. Ron and I agree, though, that we would much rather have that delay in the Phoenix airport rather than circling Denver, waiting to land.

However, the next morning was gorgeous, as well as the rest of our visit. Ron's daughter lives close to the foothills and the snow on the deck was impressive.

Granddaughter Shannon and granddog Maddie were happy to see us.

This is Maddie's favorite spot. She is the quintessential lapdog and never gets tired of being petted.

On Christmas Eve, Adam and Shannon set out milk and cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. I never thought about the poor reindeer.

To me, the most amazing part of the holiday is when the extended family gets together to exchange presents. Being from a very small family, the scene is a little overwhelming to me. See for yourself.

We're back in the warm now and by giving up our seats on the return flight, we each scored a $350 credit toward our next trip. Cool! Now it's time for me to catch up on the 100+ blog postings that I've missed.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T09:27:00.001-07:00

My (and Diana's) father was into Photoshop long before the program was invented and computers were the size of whole buildings. His method was literally 'cut and paste'. To commemorate the season, I thought I would post a few of my favorite cards of Christmases past (way past.)

Before I turned into the chubby girl in the previously posted Halloween picture, I was a very cute little kid. That's me in the upper left with Diana looking adorable on the right.

Wow! Those are some really BIG stockings!

As you can see, our father was very creative. (Still is, actually.)

When I hit school age, I entered my awkward stage. Even my candle was fat!
(Our mother was a teacher and I believe one of her coworkers, an art teacher, drew the candles.)

Ron and I hope this holiday season finds you happy and healthy and living life to the fullest!

San Tan Regional Park

2011-12-21T19:35:00.006-07:00

We're heading for a colder climate tomorrow, so we wanted to fully appreciate today's sunny and 60 degree weather. We haven't been hiking lately, but our blogger friends Carol and John suggested meeting at San Tan Regional Park.
We had a nice hike, four miles and not at all strenuous. In other words, not like the climb up Picacho Peak that the four of us did almost two years ago. If you want to see a challenge, click here. But back to today, a walk in the park was just perfect, since we hadn't seen Carol and John for a year and had lots to say.

I thought this cactus looked interesting with the back-lighting, but my photography doesn't quite capture it.

This park is popular with our four-footed friends too.
After our exercise, we attacked the pizza buffet at Pizza Hut. Yum! And we still didn't run out of things to talk about. What a fun time!

In preparation for our flight to Denver tomorrow, I thought I'd do a little Photoshopping to see how we look in the snow. Humm. Maybe we should pack coats.

The Excitement Never Ends

2011-12-17T21:17:00.000-07:00

When you live in an 'over-55' community, things become interesting that were never even noticed before. One day, Ron and I realized the wet spot in front of our house was not drying up. He called the Mesa water people and we awaited developments.

The next day there were some hyroglyphics added to the blacktop. I think this is code for 'some crazy people live here who are full of BS.'

As the workers started digging, I started snapping.

Soon they had to bring in the big sucky machine to empty out the waterhole.
At this point they noticed me lurking so I told them they were the entertainment for the day. They were very nice. (I could see them thinking, "Ah, she's old enough to be my grandmother.")

Remarkably soon, they found the problem. No wonder the street was flooded. I congratulated the guys on finding it so quickly and one confided, "We got lucky."

And before you could say 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious', it was repaired.

They brought in some clean dirt to fill the hole.

And patted it down with the backhoe.

Then finished packing with the 'big foot' thing.

After topping it off with some crushed blacktop and packing that down, it was finished. They told Ron they would be back in a couple of weeks or months to permanently fix the blacktop.

During the repair, five other neighbors came by to see what was happening. I bet the workers just love the over-55 communities!

How Cool!

2011-12-12T18:37:00.004-07:00

No, not the weather, although it has been downright chilly here lately. Sometimes it doesn't even get up to 60! Brrrr.

Anyway, my title refers to something I ordered online and highly recommend to all my picture-taking friends. I ordered a calendar of my photos and am thrilled with the results. Although I know you can buy these calendars at many locations, I went with Staples online where you can upload your pictures, add captions, and either pick it up at your local store or have it sent to you for only $9.49 plus tax. Last year, I created one to pick up at the store. Although I was happy with that one, this year I ordered it to be sent and I think this one looks more professional.

Don't worry, I'm not going to bore you with each month, but here's a sample.

You can also add events like this one.

One more.

Go ahead and give it a try. Imagine seeing your favorite pictures each month.

Have you Heard about Onions?

2011-12-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

I know this is long and doesn't even have pictures, but it's really interesting. Ron and I had heard the first story a couple of years ago and have kept an unpeeled onion in our kitchen (both in the RV and house) ever since. Of course I didn't admit that to anybody else lest they think we were crazy. We didn't get the flu, although we probably wouldn't have anyway. After recently receiving this as an email and reading it to the end, I think before I eat or store onions. Whether you believe this or not, I think you'll find it a fascinating read. Here goes:

PLEASE READ TO THE END: IMPORTANT

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu.. Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it and many died.

The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.

Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser. She said that several years ago, many of her employees were coming down with the flu, and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu.

Now there is a P. S. to this for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with this most
interesting experience about onions:

Thanks for the reminder. I don't know about the farmer's story...but, I do know that I contracted pneumonia, and, needless to say, I was very ill... I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put it into an empty jar, and place the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs. ..sure enough it happened just like that...the onion was a mess and I began to feel better.

Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.

This is the other note.

Lots of times when we have stomach problems we don't know what to blame. Maybe it's the onions that are to blame. Onions absorb bacteria is the reason they are so good at preventing us from getting colds and flu and is the very reason we shouldn't eat an onion that has been sitting for a time after it has been cut open.

LEFT OVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS

I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, makers of mayonnaise. Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I learned from a chemist.

Ed, who was our tour guide, is a food chemistry whiz. During the tour, someone asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise. People are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil. Ed's answer will surprise you. Ed said that all commercially-made mayo is completely safe.

"It doesn't even have to be refrigerated. No harm in refrigerating it, but it's not really necessary." He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment. He then talked about the summer picnic, with the bowl of potato salad sitting on the table, and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick.

Ed says that, when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials look for is when the 'victim' last ate ONIONS and where those onions came from (in the potato salad?). Ed says it's not the mayonnaise (as long as it's not homemade mayo) that spoils in the outdoors. It's probably the ONIONS, and if not the onions, it's the POTATOES.

He explained onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked onions. You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion.. He says it's not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your refrigerator.

It's already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit, that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you put in your hot dogs at the baseball park!). Ed says if you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you'll probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover onion and put on your sandwich, you're asking for trouble. Both the onions and the moist potato in a potato salad, will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down.

Also, dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.

Please remember it is dangerous to cut an onion and try to use it to cook the next day, it becomes highly poisonous for even a single night and creates toxic bacteria which may cause adverse stomach infections because of excess bile secretions and even food poisoning.

Please pass this on to all you love and care about.

Signs of Autumn

2011-11-28T19:24:00.005-07:00

Let's face it, since we're back in Mesa for the winter, I'll have to be more creative with my posts. I was thinking, "What does autumn mean to me?" Well of course there are a couple of fun holidays, but I'm going to go with 'pumpkin chucking'.

Although this fine tradition is celebrated in various places, we were in Moab a few years ago for their annual Pumpkin Chuckin' contest. What a hoot!

The chucking methods ranged from the basic catapult

To this elaborate dragon cannon.

These cute little girls displayed plenty of heart, but their pumpkin only went about 10 feet.

These guys went for the basic giant slingshot and dressed the part.

But there was really no competition for the dragon cannon which hurled a pumpkin clear out of sight.

Backtrack

2011-11-20T14:24:00.001-07:00

Recently I spent a lovely week visiting with my father in Pennsylvania. At 90 (closing in on 91), it's wonderful to see how well he's doing. He complains that he can't do what he used to, but personally I'm glad he hired somebody this year to climb up on the roof of his two story house and blow the leaves out of the gutter.

I happened to be there for Veteran's Day which started with a visit to the local elementary school for a program honoring our servicemen past and present. The precious little girl next door had asked him to come.

Then we went to Applebees for their free meal for veterans. I never saw so many old guys in one place. I guess the young ones were at work. The waitress gave my father a cute card made by a student in one of the other elementary schools. We got a charge out of it.

Not to embarrass him, but here's my very handsome father in 1943 when he joined the army.

What I didn't know until fairly recently was that he was in the second wave to land on Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-Day. I simply can't imagine my kind and gentle father going through that horror and I guess that's why he never talked about it. If it wasn't for France deciding to give a medal to all the servicemen who were involved, I probably would never have known. Here's the medal and nice accompanying letter.

I always say my father lives on the side of a mountain, although when Ron saw it, he asked, "Where's the mountain?" Hey! These are the grand old Appalachians, not the upstart Rockies! We admired this colorful sunset through the living room window.

And to backtrack even more, we received this picture of Ron's granddaughter Shannon in her Halloween costume. She decided what she wanted to be and her mother made it happen.

I promise this is the last Halloween picture, but this is Shannon last year. Cute, huh?

Halloween Two

2011-11-02T20:20:00.004-06:00

Okay, enough with the cute grandchildren in their Halloween costumes. Since I do not have grandkids (just a grandcat), I am fighting back the only way I can - old pictures.

Here are my two daughters with their best friend about 35 years ago. My little angel looks worried and my ballerina is wearing her orthopedic shoes. Since they don't read my blog, they'll never know I'm exploiting them.

Now for a real laugh, this is me about 50 years ago. As you can see, I was ahead of my time being the only kid in my school that was overweight. Although my father always said I was only 'pleasingly plump', once I lost the weight, he admitted I was fat.

I Ain't Afraid of No Ghost!

2011-10-30T20:50:00.005-06:00

We dashed across California, Nevada, and Arizona to be back at the house in Mesa in time for the community Halloween party. Okay, that's not really true, but we are back at our winter home and the party was a lot of fun. How old are we anyway?

Ron and I went as a ghostbuster with his captive ghost. I admit I wasn't very original, but when I said I was going as a ghost, Ron came up with the ghostbuster costume using the leaf vacuum. Pretty good, huh?

Steve and Linda were the prize winners with their doctor and patient costumes.

Happy Halloween and don't eat too much candy!

Big Dam and Bridge

2011-10-27T21:36:00.001-06:00

The Hoover Dam was built in the early 30s during the Great Depression and destroyed and rebuilt in Superman: The Movie. But enough history.

Pictures of the dam are usually from the lower side, but these are the giant intakes on the Lake Mead side.

After years of unlimited traffic driving over the dam with massive security backups since 9/11, the bypass bridge was completed in 2010. Phil, Ron, and Donna posed for me in front of the new bridge.

The wind caught Ron's hat and blew it over the edge. We couldn't believe he went after it. Yikes!

The view of the Black Canyon below the dam is impressive.

Although the sides of the bridge are too high to see anything while driving across, there is a walkway for pedestrians. Cool!

The seal in the walkway marks the state line between Nevada and Arizona.

After our excursion, we indulged in a late breakfast, or, in Diana's case, dessert.

Only in Vegas

2011-10-22T22:59:00.000-06:00

Ron and I caught up with some WIN friends (and a relative) at Boulder campground - a great spot right outside of Boulder City, NV, and right on Lake Mead. Since my sister Diana already posted our trip to Hoover Dam, I'll save that and post our trip to downtown Las Vegas and the Fremont Street Experience.

In 1994, five blocks of Fremont St. were closed to traffic and a canopy, 90 ft. high and 1500 ft. long, was built over the road. Light and sound shows using 12 million LED lights and 220 speakers are presented hourly. It's a spectacle unlike any other.

Between shows the zip lines were busy.

Ron and I took advantage of the photo op with a pile of money.

And I saw a renegade from Kiss. (I don't know who the cowboy is.)

While Ron fought off a casino monster.

But then it was time for the 8 o'clock show which was a tribute to Don McLean's classic American Pie.

We all sang along during the chorus. (I'm showing my age again.)

Although it was getting late, we did a drive by of the 'Strip.' These are my 'action' shots.

And we even saw the volcano erupt at the Mirage.
(If you want good pictures, you'll have to wait for Diana to post hers.)

Another day we biked a 'rails to trails' from near the campground towards the Hoover Dam.

The railroad was used to transport materials and equipment during the construction of the dam, but now it's a scenic trail.

It has great views of Lake Mead along the way.

Nevada Sightings

2011-10-20T20:05:00.004-06:00

After leaving Reno, we headed across Nevada - the state of the sprightly cow.

And onto the Extraterrestrial Highway. Lest you think I'm making this up, even the GPS knows it's true.

The ET highway runs across the north side of Nellis Air Force Base including the Nevada Test Site, which was the primary testing location of American nuclear devices. Area 51 is a top secret military installation bordering the Nevada Test Site. Although there are many rumors, myths, and legends surrounding Area 51, the most popular theory is that it is used to test and reverse engineer recovered alien space craft.

The restaurant in Rachel has managed to take advantage of their location along the ET highway.

Selling everything with an alien theme.

They also posted this sign in the restaurant.

Wow!

We parked overnight in a nice pullout and Ron watched for unusual activity. Between the time the sun set and the moon rose, he saw moving flashing lights. However he decided it was space junk tumbling around in orbit. Scary what you can see when it's really dark.

Virginia City

2011-10-18T20:18:00.001-06:00

While in Sparks, we took a day trip up to Virginia City, NV. This is not your ordinary old mining town. During the latter half of the 19th century, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of gold and silver were taken out of the hills above and from deep under the town itself. This included the famous Comstock Lode, the largest strike of silver ever found in the United States.

The instant millionaires built mansions and imported furniture and fashions from Europe and the Orient.

Much of this silver was coined into silver dollars at the Carson City mint. The Silver Queen was created using 3,261 of those dollars. She's 16 feet tall and contains 210 lbs. of silver and resides in the bar of the same name.

I love how they painted the side of this building.

This duo looks like they stepped out of a time machine.

I loved the old fashioned candy store.

And we even found a 'surrey with the fringe on top'. (If you're not a fan of musicals, that's a song from Oklahoma.)

We caught the Virgina and Truckee RR as it left on its excursion. I would have preferred to see the steam engine, but I guess they use a diesel during the week.

Heading Inland

2011-10-16T21:29:00.005-06:00

We said goodbye to the West Coast but not before I visited Glass Beach. Years ago when I was in the area and looking for things to do, I read that there was a beach in Fort Bragg, CA, that was famous for sea glass. How cool! I went and was amazed by all the pretty glass and I was not alone. There were people there gathering it up in buckets! Later I learned that the glass was actually from an offshore dump that was in use from 1949 to 1967. Wow! What a gimmick! Get the tourists to clean up the beach! Although I have to wonder what happened to the rest of the trash? All you see on the beach is glass. Where is all the metal and plastic from the dump? Is there a Metal Beach or a Plastic Beach?

Here's my sunset shot of the coast at Glass Beach.

And here's a closeup of the beach. Understandably, it doesn't have nearly as much glass as when I was there about 8 years ago, but if you come at low tide, you can still find it.

In fact, they have turned part of the beach into a state park and don't allow scavenging, but I went outside the park and got a handful.

So here's my other thought. Since it's obviously a tourist attraction, why doesn't the Fort Bragg Chamber of Commerce start throwing their city's glass recyclables out in the ocean? (I bet you're wondering if I'm kidding.)

We also spent a lovely evening with friends of Ron's who he knew from high school. The wonderful thing to me is that Mary and Bob met in the first grade and were high school sweethearts. They are a special couple and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting them.

We zipped across California (so unlike us) and landed at a casino in Sparks, Nevada, for a few days. Close by was a wonderful bike path along the Truckee River.

We took it from Sparks to Reno (not as far as it sounds) where we admired the pretty downtown.

We're back to the desert with its colorful sunsets.

Avenue of the Giants

2011-10-13T21:27:00.001-06:00

Just off US101 in northern California is an alternate route called the Avenue of the Giants. The road twists and turns past a wonderful showcase of the giant coast redwoods in Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

Nancy managed to snap this picture of us while following in her motorhome - not the easiest thing to do.

Ron and I did some tree hugging in Founders Grove. This is the Founders Tree - not the largest in the forest, but pretty big at 346 feet tall, 12.7 feet in diameter, and 40 feet in circumference.

For me, the walk through Founders Grove is the highlight of a trip to the redwoods.

And everything is so green!

This is the Dyerville Giant that fell in 1991. When last measured it was 364 feet tall, 17 feet in diameter, and 52 feet in circumference.

The visitors center had this RV made from a redwood log with a very unusual driver.

It must weigh a heck of a lot - just look at how thick the walls and doors are.

I have to confess that I tend to be a snob about sightseeing. If it seems too touristy, I don't even stop. But this time I checked out a couple of the tourist traps with mixed results.

First we stopped at the Eternal Tree House (Cafe & Gift Shop). It was a redwood stump that had been hollowed out with a door and window added. It left us underwhelmed.

But nearby there were some cool chainsaw sculptures. Here's Nancy with a new friend.

Then we checked out the One Log House (Cafe & Gift Shop). Inside this redwood log is a living area 32 feet long and 7 feet high. We thought it was worth the $1 entrance fee.

The layout could have been better. The bedroom was in the center.

The living area was at one end.

And the kitchen at the other.

Very cute and livable.

Of course, it's the same size as our RV, but I wouldn't want to drive it.

This and That

2011-10-10T13:46:00.003-06:00

I'm feeling disjointed today, so here are just a couple of miscellaneous pictures.

Walking down the sidewalk, we came across this Passion Flower vine (Passiflora). Look how gorgeous!

And there was this weird vegetable in the natural food store. Geez, I'll take a picture of anything.

But I did want to mention that our high point while in Eureka, CA, was touring the Blue Ox Millworks - a very interesting place that uses old 'human-powered' tools. Nancy did a fantastic job documenting our visit on her blog, so rather than repeating, click here to see hers.

Pretty Ferndale

2011-10-07T22:11:00.001-06:00

As is depicted on this mural, Ferndale is known for three things - cows, the Fernbridge, and Victorian houses.

Although I don't have any cow pictures, I always say if I was a cow, I'd want to live in Ferndale. The grass is lush and the contented cows are everywhere.

I slid down a muddy hill to get this picture of the bridge which just celebrated its 100th birthday. Speaking from experience, it is a bit narrow for today's trucks and RVs.

And the Victorian architecture is splendid. Although you can see with the stores on Main Street, it's kind of a skin deep beauty with fancy fronts.

But elsewhere, there are plenty of beautiful old buildings that were built in the town's heyday. Known as 'butterfat palaces', these houses were built with money from the prosperous dairy industry.

I guess these people just kept adding on as they had more children.

But wait! Every Memorial Day weekend, Ferndale, along with neighboring Eureka and Arcata, host the Kinetic Grand Championship, the Triathlon of the Art World. I attended this event twice and if you have never seen it, you have to go! Contestants come from all over with their kinetic creations, which must be people powered and able to move on land, through sand or mud, and float on water. These creations can be as simple as a decorated bicycle with one driver to a huge machine with multiple drivers. It's probably the most fun I ever witnessed.

Ferndale has a small Kinetic Museum with a few of the sculptures on display.

But you really have to witness the craziness involved to appreciate this 3-day event.

California, Here We Come

2011-10-05T21:50:00.000-06:00

But first a couple more shots of the Oregon coast.

This is only one of the many 'arch rocks' along the coast.

And another shot of the cloudy coastline, but we were just glad when it wasn't raining.

The day we packed up and headed south, it was back to the usual low clouds and mist.

Entering California didn't cause the sun to shine and with the lack of solar to charge the batteries, we did something shocking. We looked in our Escapees book for a half price campground and plugged in. We pulled out all our rechargeable items - phones, toothbrush (mine), shaver (Ron's), camera batteries - and charged up a storm. I could feel the surge of power.

The campground was right on the Klamath River. If you look closely, you can see we didn't escape the rain.

The next morning, we went to see this unique 'farmhouse'. During World War II, the U.S. Army built this building to house an early warning radar station. With shingled roof and fake windows and dormers, it appeared to be a simple farmhouse from the air. The personnel stationed here reported any suspicious boats and planes to a communications center in San Francisco who could dispatch fighter planes if the crafts were identified as hostile.

Continuing south, we entered the range of the Coast Redwoods which are taller, but not as big around as the Giant Sequoias. These trees can grow to 380 feet and 22 feet in diameter. I just picked an average tree to video. Be sure to look for Ron standing at the base for size.

As you can see, there are actually three trees.

And we stopped to see the Corkscrew Tree, which seems to be four trees that grew in a very unusual way.

Gold Beach, OR

2011-10-04T19:56:00.008-06:00

On the way south to our next stop in Gold Beach we stopped at a few of the many viewpoints. As usual, we didn't have to worry about the sun blinding us.

In Bandon, we took the alternate ocean drive to see Face Rock. Take a good look at this. I thought it was a little creepy.

I was surprised they hadn't named this one seal rock. All that's missing is the ball balanced on his nose.

This was the view where we pulled over for lunch.

Just outside of Gold Beach, Donna found us a great spot to park, on a gravel bar along the Rogue River. We were thrilled to see harbor seals and river otters fishing right in front of us.

Ron, Nancy, and I went to see the largest Myrtlewood tree in Oregon. Wow! It's 88 feet tall and 42 feet in circumference. You could make a whole bedroom set out of that.

The base had been hollowed out by fire and we wondered if anything was living in it. How about it, Nancy?

Water, water everywhere. We've been having so much rain that we even thought about heading inland, but it's raining there too.

But we found something to do that wasn't 'dampened' by the weather. About 10 miles north of Gold Beach is Honey Bear campground which, oddly enough, has a German restaurant. In addition to German sausage, sauerkraut, potato pancakes, and red cabbage, they also serve up some fine entertainment. It began innocently enough with dancing. Here are Janet and Doug demonstrating their polka skills.

And the audience participated in the finest Oktoberfest tradition.

But where the heck does the Chicken Dance fit in?

By the end, I think everyone in the place was doing this silly dance. I would have taken a movie then, but I was too busy acting like a chicken.

Needless to say, we had a great time. I only got a picture of about half of the crazy WINs.

Coos Bay

2011-10-01T22:44:00.009-06:00

Continuing our journey south, we moved to the Coos Bay area and another casino, The Mill Casino. They have a nice big gravel lot and the WINs arrived for a three day stay.

The southern part of the Oregon coast is known for myrtlewood trees which can be made into the most beautiful things. We toured the factory at The Oregon Connection and watched the artisans at work. Thanks to Nancy for the pictures and for turning off her flash so this guy didn't lose a finger.

This place has been around for awhile. They still have the original main power shaft that runs the length of the room and use belts off it to run various equipment.

The beauty of myrtlewood is the variety of color and grain, even in the same piece.

Although I'm not into gift shops, I really liked the myrtlewood creations. I even bought an unfinished dish and plan on finishing it myself.

Look at all the different colors and shades.

We also toured the Cranberry Sweets candy factory and showroom where you can watch the candy being made through the glass and try the 30 or so samples. Wow! My kind of place.

While at the myrtlewood factory we heard all about how hard it is to find wood and all the regulations involved. But when we visited Golden and Silver Falls State Natural Area, we certainly saw huge myrtlewood trees. Although, to be fair, I guess they couldn't cut down the trees there.

Even though the end of September isn't exactly prime waterfall season, Silver Falls was very pretty.

And this is neighboring Golden Falls. Just imagine what they would look like in the spring!

I even got a group shot in front of Golden Falls - Ron, Nancy, and Diane.

Sights along 101

2011-09-28T21:30:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I'm asked how I find all the interesting (at least to me) things to do in an area. Well we stop at state visitor centers, use the AAA book, and take the advice of people who live in or have been to the area. But on the drive down US101 known as the Coastal Highway, it's even easier. Oregon has put together a mile by mile listing of what to see and do along this road. Genius! The following are some of the things we saw between Tillamook (mm 65) and Florence (mm 190) along this very scenic road.

Oregon was very generous when they built viewpoints along the coastal road. It appears they even pay this gull to pose for visitors at one of them.

We saw the world's shortest river, the 'D' river. A whole 120 feet long, it connects Devils Lake to the Bay in Lincoln City.
(Hey, I don't just make these things up - it's in the Guinness Book of Records.)

And Depoe Bay claims to have the world's smallest navigable harbor. It is pretty small, but what amazed me was the entrance to the harbor. How would you like to navigate a boat through this?

This is the view through the gift shop window at Cape Foulweather. The gift shop is the only way to see it.

We didn't stay long at Yaquina Head lighthouse because the flies were sooo annoying. We understand there had just been a hatch.

I quickly snapped another picture from a little farther away. You can see why they needed a lighthouse there.

The same structual engineer, Conde McCullough, designed most (maybe all?) of the bridges on the Oregon coastal road. This is the one in Newport over Yaquina Bay.

Newport was one of our stops and we stayed at the Port of Newport Marina and RV Park. It was expensive at $17.68 a night to boondock in their parking lot, but this was the view out the front window of our rig.

One day we stopped for lunch at a wayside where we read that a short walk would take us to a beach where beachcombers find agates. So Ron and I trotted right on down to see if we could find any. When we arrived at the beach we realized that we don't know what agates look like. Oh well, we just picked up a couple of pretty rocks and were happy.
Since then I googled agates and even saw some in a gift shop although I'm still not sure what they look like unpolished.

We stopped at the Heceta Head lighthouse viewpoint because the book said it was where all the calendar pictures are taken from. See the lighthouse?

Let me crop that for you. As you can see, we have had some fog/clouds along our way.

And at Darlingtonia State Natural Site, you can see these terrific giant carnivorous plants. I wanted Ron to put his hand next to one for size, but he was afraid he could lose a finger.

Oregon Coast Aquarium

2011-09-26T22:47:00.003-06:00

I decided the Oregon Coast Aquarium is a misnomer. When the aquarium was mentioned as something to see, I was not enthusiastic. Watching fish swim around in a tank is not at the top of my list of favorite things. But this aquarium is so much more and I'm so glad I went.

First we watched the sea otters being fed. Gosh, do they gulp down the food. And who doesn't love otters.

Then we moved on to the seals and sea lions. These are harbor seals.

And the sea lions seem to know that food is coming.
We learned the most obvious difference between the two is that the sea lions can 'walk' on land while the seals have to just bounce along on their bellies.

Next was the seabird exhibit. These are common murres which, as their name suggests, are very common along the Oregon coast.

But let me skip to my personal favorite, the tufted puffin. Ron and I have a major disagreement on these birds. I think they're the cutest things ever and he thinks they're ugly. What do you think?

I love to watch them 'fly' through the water, but this guy looks like he's standing on top.

I took a short movie of his odd behavior.

There were aquariums, but they had some unique occupants. These are moon jellyfish. Cool, huh?

And I knew I should have written down what this was. I just know it wasn't a jellyfish.

And we were told these are not starfish since they are not fish. They have been renamed sea stars. I swear they weren't this colorful at the Jersey shore.

They also had some big aquariums with lots of fish, but the only ones I recognized were the sharks. The sturgeons were interesting since they're endangered and can grow so big. It was way too dark for my camera, so no pictures. You'll have to go yourself.

The Oregon Coast Aquarium is in Newport, Oregon.

Out and About

2011-09-24T22:21:00.002-06:00

After two days of clouds and rain (well, really, what did we expect in the Northwest?), we were thrilled to finally see the sun. So off we went on the Three Capes Scenic Loop - Cape Meares, Cape Lookout, and Cape Kiwanda.

First up was Cape Meares with its very short lighthouse - only 38 feet tall.

The view from the lighthouse was spectacular, even with the ever present fog on the water.

Continuing to Oceanside, Donna led us to a place she had visited before where, at low tide, you can walk through a tunnel to reach another beach. Here's Jan ready to brave the dark.

It never got completely dark or I wouldn't have done it. This is the view out the other end.

I had to go just a little farther to catch the waves hitting the rocks.
Which might have been pushing my luck since the tide was turning. A rogue wave surprised us and while Jan and Ron dashed up the rocks to higher ground, I ended up with wet feet for the rest of the day. (You know the old joke that if you encounter a bear, you just have to be faster than your hiking partner? Well, I am the person that the bear would catch.)

Unfortunately, Oceanside was actually the end of our loop since the road between Oceanside and Netarts is currently closed. The problem began in March when the road slumped due to heavy rains. At first they were able to keep one lane open, but as the problem escalated the road was closed. Some enterprising person even printed up t-shirts that say 'I survived the Great Divide'.

So we backtracked and went to Munson Creek Falls, just a few miles south of our campground. It's the highest on the Oregon coast at 319 feet, but not too photogenic with all the trees in the way.

But we really loved the short hike to reach the falls. I don't know if it really is a rain forest, but it sure seemed like it to us. I felt that if I stood still too long I would sprout moss.

We stayed very close to the Tillamook Air Museum which is housed in the largest wooden clear-span structure ever built (according to the Guinness Book of Records.) The hanger was built in 1943 to house blimps that were used for anti-submarine coast patrol and convoy escort. Ron toured the museum and although he appreciated the 30 airplanes on display and the information on the blimps, he said the movie showing how they built the structure was the most interesting. He highly recommends it if you're in the area.

I know the hanger doesn't look that big in the picture so I'll give some stats.
Length - 1072 feet
Height - 192 feet
Width - 296 feet
Doors - 120 feet high, six sections each weighing 30 tons, 220 feet wide openings.

Tillamook, OR

2011-09-23T21:40:00.004-06:00

Heading south on US 101, we stopped at the overlook for the most famous of the offshore 'sea stacks', Haystack Rock. Being from the East Coast I am always amazed by the scenic Oregon coast.

We pulled into the campground at the Tillamook Airport and were thrilled to see a herd of Roosevelt Elk. There had to be 60 of them.

What to do . . . Well, a fellow WIN recommended the Pioneer Museum and since it was raining, it sounded like a good idea. They did have some Pioneer displays, although I don't think the organ came in a covered wagon.

And we decided no pioneer woman had enough time on her hands to cut fancy shelf paper out of newspaper.

But on the second floor was an impressive collection of stuffed animals. After looking for them all over the Northwest, I finally got a picture of an American Dipper.

We also never saw any of these guys - thank heaven.

Of course you can't visit Tillamook without touring the Tillamook cheese factory.

But we did one better and also went to the Blue Heron cheese factory. Here's Mary enjoying their sample dips. They put out pretzel sticks and cups of dip - I'm not sure how sanitary that is, but we filled up.

Yippee!

2011-09-21T23:12:00.005-06:00

Today I received my computer back from HP after its hard drive crash. But what's really amazing is they saved my files, which in my world means my pictures! Wow! I'm doing a happy dance!

Although I'm again behind in the blog, I'm going to backtrack for just one posting to share the pictures I thought I had lost. We had such a wonderful time on Whidbey Island that I just have to do it. Whidbey Island is located in the San Juan Islands in the northwest corner of Washington.

To access Whidbey Island from the north, you drive a narrow double bridge over Deception Pass. Named by George Vancouver in 1792, the 'deception' was that at first he thought the island was a peninsula.

As I mentioned in a previous post (here), we stayed at Rocky Point Recreation Area. You can see how roomy the spaces are.

Here's Ron standing on the Deception Pass bridge. The tidal flow creates whirlpools and swift currents under the bridge, as well as exciting boating opportunities.

We took a day trip to Fort Casey State Park and the Admiralty Lighthouse.

Fort Casey was one of three forts built to defend the Puget Sound in the 1890s. Here's Ron manning one of the big guns.

One day 19 of us took a jet boat tour through Deception Pass.

We had such a good time. True to their promise, they didn't get us all wet. (The jet boats were just to navigate the tricky currents.) The guide was very knowledgeable, although his jokes were a bit too corny. Hey, I like a silly joke just fine, but there's a limit to how silly it should be.

Just look at all these happy faces!

Even the few people on the boat who weren't WINs posed for my picture.

At the end of the day, we walked down to watch the fishermen. It was a fitting farewell to a great place.

More Astoria

2011-09-17T23:17:00.001-06:00

It was another dreary morning when we headed back across the bridge into Washington. Our first stop was a place that Lewis and Clark named Dismal Nitch. The Corps of Discovery was trapped there for six days by raging storms while within sight of the end of their journey. We could easily imagine their frustration.

Next we moved on to Cape Disappointment State Park. I'm seeing a theme here. Am I the only one who thinks this sign is funny?
(Actually Cape Disappointment was named long before Lewis and Clark made their incredible journey. In 1788, British fur trader John Meares named it in frustration over not finding the river channel.)

However in 1805, Cape Disappointment was one of the places that the Lewis and Clark expedition considered for their winter quarters. They took a vote and decided to cross the river into Oregon. The interpretive center at the park chronicles their fantastic journey from St. Louis to the Pacific. Even I spent quite a bit of time reading the signs and examining the exhibits. I highly recommend it.

It did clear up enough that we could see the lighthouse overlooking the Columbia River.

Then we went to see the North Head lighthouse on the Pacific Ocean side of the point. I swear this has to be the shallowest surf ever.

And here's the North Head lighthouse. (Only the first two of many lighthouses to come, I'm sure.)

Back in Astoria, we drove up streets with ridiculously steep grades to the Astoria Column. The 125 foot column stands 635 feet above the Columbia River. And you can climb it, which Ron and I did, making the views even more amazing.

But what I like best about The Column is how it's decorated with scenes depicting the area's history.

It's a good spot to see the 4 mile bridge over the Columbia River joining Oregon and Washington.

Astoria, OR

2011-09-16T23:10:00.005-06:00

We're back in Oregon in Astoria which has to be the hilliest place I've ever been. We plan to stay with the WINs for awhile, traveling south along the coast. However if we have too much dreary weather, that could change.

As you can see by these pictures, the clouds settled in to annoy us. So we adjusted our schedule and had a museum and town day. First we hit the Maritime Museum, which was very nice, but not really my cup of tea.

I did enjoy touring this lightship, used to mark the channel into the Columbia River from 1950 to 1979. It had a crew of 18 and was replaced by the buoy in the foreground. Although that seems like an obvious move, the buoy was notoriously hard to repair in the rough water of the channel.

There were a lot of ship models that I had to admire for their perfection, but my favorite exhibit was one that showed the land changes over the years around the mouth of the Columbia. I should have taken a movie of that.

We followed the barking to discover these sea lions hanging out on the pier. The one in the cage was fighting all comers to retain his 'king of the mountain' status. Not too smart since we found out the cage is used to catch the animals for branding so they can keep tabs on them. Run, little guy, run!

Or you'll end up looking like these poor souls. We also heard these are the males who couldn't find mates. Well, no wonder, just look at them!

After lunch, we rode the Riverfront Trolley. It's a bargain at $1 a ride or $2 for the day.

Built in 1913, it used overhead wires for power. Now it has a generator which rides along and provides the power.

The trolley must have been restored recently. Nothing looks this good after 98 years.

The conductor really fit the part. Can you see what the sign over his head says? (As always, you can click on the picture to enlarge it.)

There were actually two conductors who took turns driving and narrating. We passed many canneries like this one that were reminders of Astoria's past.

When the fish was hand packed into cans. (Maybe progress isn't so bad.)

I thought this new construction project looked a little like a New England fishing village. Cute, but we learned all the flat land in Astoria is fill dirt from dredging the channel.

One of the WINs, Sue, bought a bunch of oysters which was an excuse for a potluck. It was supposed to be snacks, but I doubt if anybody ate dinner afterward.

Here are the hapless oysters which look even more disgusting than the crabs in my former post.

It always pays to have the proper tool for the job. I guess nobody had a putty knife.

Sue also breaded and fried some oysters. Donna looks like she's not quite sure she wants to try it.
I did eat a bite and asked Sue if she could just fry me up a ball of the breading.

But there was plenty of other food. As you can see, we're all bundled up. I think this was the coldest potluck I ever attended.

Traveling Notes

2011-09-13T22:03:00.006-06:00

On our way south from Bremerton, WA, we crossed the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

Although I'm sure it's very safe and stable, I couldn't help thinking of the previous version of this bridge. Affectionately nicknamed Galloping Gertie because of its tendency to sway in the wind, it was only used for four months before it collapsed in spectacular failure.

Here's a link to amazing film of the collapse of Galloping Gertie. Happily, we made it across safely.

Like many snowbirds, we're now on our way south for the winter. We plan to hug the coast for awhile, mostly on US101. As we travel, I like to read the AAA TourBook to see if we're passing anything interesting. South Bend, WA, caught my interest because of their courthouse. Although not the largest town in Pacific County, they engaged in a bit of chicanery to become the county seat. After an election was held to determine which city would have the honor, the rival town of Oysterville disputed the results. Some of the citizens of South Bend took the matter into their own hands, rowed across the bay, and stole records from the previous courthouse in Oysterville. And, yes, there was some drinking involved.

To further cement their position, they built a magnificent courthouse, once described as a 'gilded palace of extravagance.' You have to admire such determination.

The crowning point of the building is this stained glass dome, 35 feet in diameter.

Seattle Day Trip

2011-09-10T20:59:00.002-06:00

Ron and I left Sequim for the Bremerton Elks - $15 a night, but just a ferry ride away from Seattle. Twice in one week, we took a ferry to explore a major city.

There was no comparison in the prices of the two ferry rides. It was FREE to ride as a passenger from Bremerton to Seattle. They do make you pay to leave Seattle, but even that was a bargain at $7.10 for me and $3.55 for Ron.

Leaving Bremerton, we could see the smoke in the Olympic Mountains from a wildfire.

Once in Seattle, we hopped on a FREE bus. Yes, all the buses in the downtown area are free. Amazing. We rode past some lovely old buildings like this one.

Then hopped on the monorail to go see the iconic symbol of Seattle.

When I was there years ago, I remember it costing $18 to ride to the top. Well, maybe I'm remembering wrong, but it's still $18 ($16 for Ron.) We really weren't going to do it, but we figured we could eat a cheap lunch to compensate.

Here are all the people enjoying the views at the top.

You can see the monorail track going into downtown. Both it and the Space Needle were built for the 1962 World's Fair. Ron and his brother attended it and actually ate breakfast at the top of the Needle. They paid $6 for the ride up AND breakfast!

They took our picture with the hope that we would love ourselves so much that we would buy it. BUT, you could use the kiosk at the top to send it to your email for FREE.

After a filling lunch at McDonalds (looking down from the top of the Needle, we saw the big "M" on their roof), we hopped back on the monorail. (Oh, I almost forgot - $1 for Ron and $2 for me.) That strange structure in the background was also built for the '62 Worlds Fair.

As I get older, everybody seems to look younger and younger. Here's our driver, responsible for our lives, looking about 15 years old.

And we zoomed back downtown.

Where we walked a couple of blocks to see them throw the fish at the famous Pike Place Fish Market. What a hoot! And these are not tiny fish! See it in the corner?

Next we hopped on another FREE bus and went to Pioneer Square to the FREE Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park. What a fascinating event in our history. Such hardship the stampeders endured and most of them never made a nickel.

After a short walk back to the ferry, we said goodbye to Seattle. It was really a pleasant surprise how tourist-friendly the city was. They even have people on bicycles roaming downtown to direct visitors to their destinations. It was really a lovely day and not just because it was reasonably priced.

Bike Trip

2011-09-08T23:01:00.004-06:00

About a mile from where we were parked in Sequim, WA, was the Olympic Discovery Trail. This bike/hike trail is currently 25 miles long between Sequim and Port Angeles, but will eventually travel 100 miles from Port Townsand to Lake Ozette on the Pacific coast. It's mostly paved with some well-packed composite - just what we like.

Oooo, maybe we'll see elk! Actually we understand there are a lot of elk around Sequim, but we never saw any.

Part of the trail is a 'rails to trails' like this renovated railroad bridge over the Dungeness River. We stopped and watched the salmon swimming upstream to spawn.

We were confused by this one-log-at-a-time logging vehicle. I googled the name on the side, LIB Tech, and discovered they make snowboards and skateboards. Humm.

Did I mention that Sequim is nice and flat? The trail passed through some pastoral scenes.

With the appropriate bovine creatures.

Why the side trip down this wide, tree-lined street, you may ask?

Because it was time for Ron's morning coffee break. He is a creature of habit.

After our stop, Ron decided to turn back, but since he had forced me to consume a mocha frappe, I had to continue to burn off the extra calories.

And am I glad I did. How often do you see a giraffe in town?

And I had to laugh at this sign.

But what really made me glad I persevered was this lovely Japanese water garden.

I was pretty tired when I got home. I figure I did about 13 miles and I'm not really a cyclist. Ron did about 9 miles and if I had turned around with him, I wouldn't have had sore legs the next day. But I also wouldn't have discovered the garden.

Olympic National Park

2011-09-06T22:58:00.003-06:00

Our main reason for attending the Sequim gathering was to see Olympic National Park. I hadn't been there since I was young, almost 50 years ago, and Ron had never seen it. Although the highest mountain, Mt. Olympus, is less than 8000 feet, when you're looking at it from sea level, that's pretty high.

We were fortunate to have our own knowledgeable guide, Jane, a WIN who lives in the area. She took us up to Deer Park where she had worked at the ranger station. From the campground there, we headed out on a surprisingly level hike with spectacular views of the surrounding mountains.

Although it was easy, the trail was more like an animal path that hugged the side of the mountain.

Uh-oh, here come the clouds. I was a little worried we might get socked in.

But we remained in the sun back to the trailhead. The next stop was Blue Mountain. We went up to the parking lot and were rather disappointed with the view.

But we headed up the short trail to the mountaintop and the clouds parted. Here's our top of the mountain shot with Al, Jane, and Ron.

At 6000 feet, we felt like we were on top of the world. Our thanks to Jane for sharing her favorite hike with us.

Victoria, BC

2011-09-04T22:15:00.002-06:00

First of all, thanks to all of you for your backup hints. I promise to do better in the future. Like the technician said, "You only lose your data once." Since the computer is under warranty and is being sent back to HP, I don't have the option to keep the old hard drive. They'll probably refurbish it for some other sucker to use. Like I said, I'm not really upset about it and am happy to still have the ones in the blog.

On to other things. Since we're here in Sequim at the north end of the Olympic Peninsula, several of us decided to ride the ferry over to pretty Victoria on Vancouver Island. From nearby Port Angeles, WA, to Victoria, the ferry costs $33 for a foot passenger and a whole bucket of money for a car, so we left the cars in Port Angeles. The day began with fog as so many of them do, so we had this lovely view off the bow of the ship.

But nothing dims the enthusiasm of the WINs. Look how happy Diane, Carolyn, Margaret, Trish, and Marian are.

Arriving in Victoria, I noticed these houseboats in the harbor. Even the houseboats are adorable.

Right at the head of the harbor is the historic Empress Hotel. I understand you can get a room there for just a couple hundred to two thousand dollars a night.

We decided to pretend that we belong there and check out the lobby. Here Marvin, Peggy, and Ron get comfortable. Peggy says you can tell the tourists by their shoes. What do you think?

Victoria is known for beautiful flowers. I heard there are 1500 hanging baskets all over town.

I thought this rendering of Mona Lisa was interesting. It must be hard to emulate the masters on a brick sidewalk. Her mouth looks a bit off kilter. (I couldn't get this one to post right side up.)

I don't think I've ever seen so many boats in one place. Of course if you live on an island, it would be helpful to have one.

Vancouver Island is famous for totem poles. This was my favorite one in Thunderbird Park. Duncan, about 50 km to the north, is known as the City of Totems.

Victoria is the capital of British Columbia and the lovely Legislative Buildings are also right on the harbor.

We were allowed to walk around the public areas freely.

But when Ron asked where he could get a donut, we had to hand over our IDs for security passes. Hum.

Sequim, WA

2011-09-02T22:11:00.003-06:00

First a sad story, although a familiar one to many people. The hard drive in my 6-month old laptop bit the dust. What's with that? My 6-year old machine, ancient in the technical world, still works, but is just soooo slow. Anyway, being the type of person that I am, I had no backups and lost all my pictures for the last six months. But hey! At least I have the blog. So now my laptop is going back to its HP home to be repaired (under warranty, at least) and I'm using Ron's computer. It's a good thing we both have one. The only thing that really bothers me is that I lost the pictures from our jet boat tour of Deception Pass at the north end of Whidbey Island. I had some really cute pictures of the WINs as 19 of us took over most of the boat. It was a fun day.

But time to move on. No use crying over spilled milk, and all that jazz. We moved with the WINs to Sequim after a quick stop in Chimacum to check out the Escapees RV park there.

This is Point Wilson lighthouse in Port Townsand. It's not nearly as pretty as the Admiralty lighthouse on Whidbey Island, but that picture is gone forever (sigh.) I have a feeling this is just the first of many lighthouses to come as we head south along the coast.

What are all these people looking at? Why, birds, of course. We took a tour with an Audubon guide which was very interesting although we didn't see a lot of birds.

We stopped at an overlook in Dungeness Recreation Area in Sequim. I liked how the waves make this interesting scalloped pattern.

Along a short hike down to the beach, we came across this tree that grew around and over a 'nurse' stump. Interesting.

The Dungeness Spit is the world's longest natural sand spit and it grows each year as more sand is deposited at the end. There is a lighthouse which is only accessible by a 6-mile (one way) hike out the spit, but there were telescopes set up to view it. It looked like this.

We walked down to the beach to look for seals that were reportedly in the area. Ron sat on a convenient log while I walked farther along. As I was coming back, discouraged because I didn't see any seals, I snapped this of Ron scanning the water. It turned out he was watching the very seal I had been looking for. I never even saw it!

Driftwood Days

2011-08-30T13:01:00.002-06:00

We spent several days on Whidbey Island, parked in Rocky Point Recreation Area - a great spot near Oak Harbor. It's actually on NAS land (Naval Air Station), but they allow others to use it ($7 for military, $8 for us.) What a deal! The spaces are huge and within sight of the Strait of Juan De Fuca and walking distance to the beach. If you're interested in a cheap and scenic campground, the coordinates are 48.32172, -122.69814. No hookups, of course, but they have a dump with water. We heard rumors that they might close it, so call the Gallery Golf course to check first.

We were lucky to be in Oak Harbor during their annual Driftwood Days. What a hoot! Groups of people get together and build imaginative things out of anything they find on the beach. They create their masterpieces at low tide, the judges award prizes, then the creations are washed away by the incoming tide.

I liked this one because the youngsters put a lot of detail in it. They had decorative seaweed, pieces of driftwood for cups and plates, and seashell hors d'oeuvres. Also they were cute kids.

This one is hard to see, but it's a giant octopus which has captured these kids who played it up, yelling for help. I liked the interactivity.

This very solid looking boat had the coolest figurehead on the prow. I do have to wonder if they cheated and brought it with them. What are the chances that they found it that day?

And look at this gorgeous starfish. I would give them 'best use of material' with all the rocks and green touches.

Another great boat. I swear this one looked like it should float.

But my very favorite was this Loch Ness monster because they used the water as part of their creation. That was brave. In fact right after I took this picture, the head fell down. Luckily the judging was over.

As you can see, there is plenty of driftwood available for the contest.

This and That

2011-08-27T20:53:00.000-06:00

We spent a week in Mt. Vernon, WA, and, although they pale beside the crabbing experience, we did do a few other things.

When we first arrived, we ran smack into some police action.

We even made the paper.

I just liked this lone tree we found on our walk around one of the San Juan Islands.

There is always food involved with the WINs. This was just finger foods, but we filled up.

One day we took a tour of the Boeing factory in Everett. Cameras are not allowed on the tour, but we saw them building the giant 747s and the new 787s. They get parts from all over the world and built specially modified 747s to transport them. I thought it look like a pregnant airplane.

One day we visited nearby La Conner, home of the famous (in their minds, anyway) Rainbow Bridge. Cute town, but honestly, all these little towns are cute.

But for something unusual, just look at these clouds!

Have you ever seen a perfect 'feather' cloud?

One more of Rainbow Bridge and cool clouds.

Can you see what this naughty little fountain dog is doing?

Oh, and most exciting, we did laundry and replaced a spring on one of the leveling jacks that broke. Woo-hoo!

On a totally unrelated topic, my daughter's friend posted this warning on Facebook.

As Hurricane Irene prepares to batter the East Coast, federal disaster officials have warned that Internet outages could force people to interact with other people for the first time in years. Residents are bracing themselves for the horror of awkward silences and unwanted eye contact. FEMA has advised: “Be prepared. Write down possible topics to talk about in advance. Sports...the weather. Remember, a conversation is basically a series of Facebook updates strung together."

Not to make light of a serious subject, but I thought it was cute.

New Experience

2011-08-25T22:55:00.002-06:00

And really, what would life be without a new experience now and then? This one happened when Ron and I moved north to Mt. Vernon, WA, to join our friends at the Skagit (rhymes with gadget) County fairgrounds.

Fellow WINs Ron and Patty have been living in the area all summer, enjoying Ron's boat. They went above and beyond on the hospitality by taking all of us out for a day of crabbing, six at a time. It took three days to give everybody a turn.

Here's Captain Ron.

It was pretty foggy when we motored out, but Ron had lots of lookouts.

Whoa, what's this? Looks like some kind of ghost ship.

Able first mate Patty did a fine job.

I couldn't believe the number of crabs that we caught. I was so shocked that I forgot to take a picture until half were out. Even with throwing back all the females, which most of them were, we ended up with 10 legal-sized crabs out of two traps.

I thought I was holding it as instructed, but this one still scratched me.

Charlotte is fearless and took control of this monster.

The fun really began when the crabs started escaping the cage and running all over the bottom of the boat. No pictures, sorry, I was too busy screaming like a girl.

Ron uses a clever method to kill them - one quick chop in half. Seems much more humane than throwing them in the boiling water alive. Here Diane tries the technique.

Then he cleaned them right on the boat. This guy was hoping for a taste.

We took our catch to Saddlebag Island, which is a state park, where Ron proceeded to cook them in a big pot with a propane gas burner that he had brought along. What a guy!

We all agreed that it was a memorable day. We can't thank Ron enough for giving us this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Mt. St. Helens - East Side!

2011-08-23T21:24:00.002-06:00

Or maybe I should say 'the other side.' The east entrance to Mt. St. Helens is less accessible and therefore not as popular. That's unfortunate because, in my opinion, it's much more interesting. Although the west side has that lovely observatory and the view of the Toutle River valley, the east has been left to recover on its own. You see the three distinct areas of devastation, created by the May 1980 horizontal blast from Mt. St. Helens.

After driving along a twisty road through beautiful old growth forest, you turn a corner and there it is - the scorch zone. In this first zone, which extends up to 17 miles from the volcano, the trees were instantly killed by a cloud of hot air and fine ash. You can see these ghost trees still standing after 31 years and the new growth since then.

Next is the blowdown zone from 7.5 to 15.5 miles from the mountain. In this area, the trees were snapped off and lie pointing in the direction of the blast.
In the closest zone to the mountain, the tree removal zone, the trees were actually ripped out of the ground, roots and all. I was confused because there isn't much debris in that area, but the ranger told us these trees were not just ripped out of the ground, but were blown for miles. Sure enough, we did see them in the other zones, but I didn't get a good picture. Just imagine giant trees flying through the air!

You also get a nice view of Spirit Lake, which rose 800 feet in a tidal wave effect when the north side of the Mt. St. Helens collapsed into it. That snapped off all the trees on the surrounding hills and carried the logs back to the surface of the lake. Although a lot have since sunk to the bottom, you can see all the logs that remain floating to this day.

At the end of the road is a parking lot with a ranger who gives an informative talk and answers questions. That doesn't sound like much, but he was very good. But for those who just have to do more, there are 368 steps to the top of Windy Ridge.

The flowers weren't quite as magnificent as on the other side, but there were some nice patches. Here's nearby Mt. Adams as seen from about half way up the steps.
For those of you who don't want that much of a workout, I'll be honest. It isn't worth it. You get a view of Spirit Lake which isn't as good as the one from the viewpoint along the road. And you see Mt. St. Helens from 200 feet higher than at the bottom of the steps. It's just for bragging rights.

Here's the lady herself. But wait! What's that I see?

RUN!

That's a lot of steps to run down.
Before you ask, that was just blowing ash coming off the edge of the mountain. Although it does put out steam at times, that would come from the center.

Speaking of steam, here are a couple of steam engine pictures for my father.

We found it in Elbe, WA, and I had to stand in the street to get the picture, so I couldn't get the whole thing in. Looks old.

And in the 'what the heck' category, I want to know who rides in the lawn chairs?

Mt. Rainier

2011-08-21T22:29:00.005-06:00

Our next stop was Mineral, WA, a tiny town on a pretty lake which is convieniently located near Mt. Rainier.

We headed up to Mt. Rainier National Park and had this lovely first look at the mountain. See it? Pretty great, huh?

At the Longmire museum, I was very impressed by this picture. This is the actual garb worn by the first woman to climb Mt. Rainier. Wow! Like the climb itself isn't hard enough without wearing a dress to do it!

We stopped to admire Christine Falls, obviously named after my younger daughter. Although the lower section of the falls was pretty with the stone bridge framing it . . .

I thought the upper part was more interesting.
(Yes, I know I promised no more waterfalls, but I believe I specified Oregon waterfalls.)

Then I noticed what my GPS was trying to tell me. Ah, if it was only that easy to find.

Here's Ron at one of the viewpoints patiently waiting for the mountain to appear.

But wait! How about another waterfall? This is Narada Falls - another beauty.

We finally reached the Paradise visitor center. At 5400ft, this is the highest point on the park road and the departure point for climbers to the 14122 ft. peak. Mt. Rainier is truly a sight from this point, but, alas, she was completely hidden in the clouds.

Looking for other entertainment, we spotted this park ranger cutting steps in the snow. Hum. I don't see those lasting too long.

And the other mountains in the area looked pretty cool.

But little did I realize, the best view I would get of Mt. Rainier would be on a walk around Mineral Lake from the campground where we stayed. However this was the next evening since it never did clear up that day.

Now I know what you're thinking, "Why didn't you wait until the next day to visit Mt. Rainier?" Well the answer is we were pressed for time and had something else already planned. Stay tuned.

Loggers' Jubilee

2011-08-19T21:43:00.003-06:00

We moved on to Napavine, WA, where we stayed on property owned by Jerry who is a former WIN. It's amazing but he looks just like he did 10 years ago when I first met him. I wish I could say the same about myself.

We had our normal fun time with the rest of the WINs, but we also attended the 69th Annual Loggers' Jubilee in Morton, WA. This event celebrates the long history of logging in the Pacific Northwest and is the most entertainment you can buy for $5!

The day began with bed races between the girls of the area schools. Those girls really flew down the street.

Each bed had a trusting boy riding along. This one just had to see where he was going - maybe not so trusting.

Then it was time for the parade. Ted snapped this picture of Ellie, Joanne, Carolyn, me, and Ron waiting for the start. I just had to laugh because it looks like we can't decide which direction to watch for it.

Ah, here it comes with a most unusual color guard. Aren't they WW1 uniforms?

This superhero's horse moved forward when he bounced. That must have been quite a workout.

The Shriners made their usual splash, or bang in this case. That dummy really flew out of the cannon.

And you never saw so many logging trucks, but it was the theme of the parade, after all.

I liked the artwork on the side of this truck.

After eating some unhealthy food at the vendor booths, we made our way to the arena for the main event. The raising of the flag was especially moving with twisted steel beams from the World Trade Center on the truck behind the flag. No, we will never forget.

Although I'm not sure of the event names, I think this was the 'tree climb' - a race to climb an 80' pole and zoom back down. This contestant did the climb like he was walking on level ground.

This is the 'horizonal chop.' I'm posting this for two reasons: 1 - Look at the flimsy shoes these guys wear. Where are the steel-toed boots? and 2 - He was the only one with a nice plaid lumberjack shirt on. That was before they made him change into the contest t-shirt.

This was the 'single buck' event. Each man had a really long saw and a helper who placed a wedge into his cut and oiled the saw.

The next two are the 'springboard chop' where the logger cuts a notch in the tree, slaps in a spingboard and jumps up on the board - twice!

Then standing on the second springboard, he chops through the log attached to the top.
There were several 'log malfuncitons' where the top log toppled without being cut through.

There was a clown who made us all nervous when he climbed up the 80' pole and, at the top, juggled, did a handstand, and generally goofed off. Then his wife 'shot' him and he 'fell' off the pole. Of course I missed the beginning of the fall. I do wish they would announce when to start filming.

And I don't know the name of my favorite competition but I'm calling it the 'Log Run'. Check out the balance, speed, and skill required for this event.

Mt. St. Helens - West Side

2011-08-17T20:32:00.004-06:00

After more than a month in glorious Oregon, we caught back up with our WIN friends in tiny Toutle, Washington, where someone had arranged that we would stay in a field next to the school. This is a win/win for these little towns, as we contributed over $300 to the school directly in addition to any other purchases we made in the area.

The benefit of this location, is that it is right on the way to Mt. St. Helens. Of course they probably didn't think it was a benefit in 1980 when the mountain erupted and the Toutle River carried logs, ash, and rubble into town.

But today she's calm and we drove over several of these lovely bridges.

Overlooking the Toutle River where all the debris changed the valley so drastically.

Up to Johnston Ridge Observatory for this view of the mountain. It was a little cloudy, but still an impressive sight.

The observatory (really more of a visitor center) is very informative and the movie is one of the best I've ever seen. It must have been designed to keep the kids awake with a lot of loud noises and special effects.

Then we took the walk uphill through the gorgeous wild flowers and tress snapped by the blast.

Wow!

On the way back down, we stopped at Coldwater Lake which didn't even exist before Mt. St. Helens blew and formed a natural dam.

At the little museum in nearby Castle Rock, they had these 'before' and 'after' pictures.

Isn't Mother Nature amazing?

Quick Stop

2011-08-14T22:54:00.000-06:00

While we were in Oregon, we wanted to buy new tires for the RV (no sales tax.) Since we were about to leave this wonderful state, we realized it was now or never. Please note, during the economic downturn in 08-09, we did our part to help by buying a house. With the recent crisis, we bought tires, which were almost as much as a house. Ron called places in the Portland area and we settled on six Continental tires (which are made in the U.S., thereby saving someone's job for a day.) We stopped for one night at the Gresham Elks and were happy to participate in their taco night. Yum.

Even though we were there for a purpose, we still just had to take the scenic drive along the Columbia River. The viewpoint was a little disappointing with an overcast sky.

But the waterfalls were spectacular. This is Bridal Veil Falls. (I wonder how many waterfalls are named Bridal Veil or Bridalveil.)

Multnomah Falls is the most famous of the Columbia gorge waterfalls and I promise is the last Oregon waterfall I will post. Depending on who you believe, it's either 611 or 620 feet tall. Either way, it's quite a sight.

I took this of a picture in the visitors center. I don't think I would have stood on that rickety looking bridge.

"What is Ron doing?" you may ask.

Just trying to obey the sign.

Bagby Hot Springs

2011-08-13T21:32:00.002-06:00

About 45 minutes south of Estacada, Oregon, is the most elaborate natural hot springs setup I have ever seen. After missing a turn and taking the scenic route up a mountain, I made a note of the coordinates to post here. But, wouldn't you know, I lost that paper. It's about 45 minutes southeast of Estacada, mostly down 224. Ask in town for better directions.

Oregon towns seem to love murals which is nice because I do too. Estacada had some vivid ones. I liked this Shakespearean based one.

And this lovely Oregon scene. (The clouds are real, not part of the painting.)

Then it was off to Bagby Hot Springs.

The beautiful 1 1/2 mile trail is through an old growth forest.

With some super-constructed bridges.

The hot (very hot) water comes from this tiny spring and runs through a log trough . .

Into private log tubs like this one or round group tubs. If the water is too hot, buckets are available to use for fetching cold water from a nearby source.

As you can see, there are plenty of big logs to use for construction.

Now, I am not actually a fan of hot springs. Not only do I not enjoy sitting in very hot water, all I can think about is 'bacteria.' I know, I'm pathetic. But Bagby is worth visiting for the lovely hike and the amazing construction that has been done there as a cooperative effort of the locals and the forest service. Check it out if you're ever in the area, just not on a weekend like we did. Estacada is southeast of Portland.

Oregon City

2011-08-10T20:59:00.006-06:00

Our next move was to Oregon City, the oldest incorporated city west of the Rockies and the end of the famous Oregon Trail. The trail was 2040 miles long, passed through six states and was used by an estimated 200,000 brave pioneers from 1843 to the 1860s.

If interested, you'll have to click on the map to see the trail route.

Boggles the mind, doesn't it?

We stayed at the Oregon City Elks Park which is about 15 miles south of Oregon City and right along the Mollala River. Nice.

But the road in was a horror. We would have appreciated a little warning, but when I called to check for an available spot, the campground host didn't say a word. The road was one lane, twisty and hilly with no visibility of oncoming traffic. If we had known, we would have unhooked and I would have driven ahead to block traffic, which is what we did on the way out. But once we had committed ourselves, it was too late.
Luckily, the road wasn't very long, but once again, we didn't know that coming in.

Once we stopped shaking, we took the car to Oregon City to see the 'End of the Trail Interpretive Center', listed as a 'gem' in the AAA book. Surprise, surprise, due to the economy it was closed. BUT at the visitors center, we found out there is a free trolley that takes visitors around town. Did I mention it is free?

The driver was great, entertained us, and pointed out points of interest. This was my favorite historical house.

He even waited while we checked out Willamette Falls and the very unique dam on the Willamette River.

After the tour, we took the only vertical street in North America, Elevator Street. In Oregon City's early years, most of the city was located at river level. But as the city grew, houses were built atop the 90 foot bluff. In 1915, the first Municipal Elevator was built to carry pedestrians and bicyclists between the two town levels. It was replaced in 1955 with the current elevator. And did I mention it is free?

There is an observaion deck at the top with great views of the surrounding city and the Willamette River. It also has panels with pictures that change as you move past them. What I found interesting was that most sets of them showed views of the same scene from years ago and recently.

Here is the set showing 7th Street from the bridge to the elevator. Look at the old cars and original elevator.

Compared to the more recent scene and the new elevator.
I also thought it strange that it looks like the same 'right turn only' sign in both pictures. That must be one well made sign.

Silver Falls State Park

2011-08-08T23:24:00.004-06:00

As I mentioned in the previous post, we stopped in Silverton mainly to visit nearby Silver Falls SP. The Silverton Elks kindly allowed us to park for two nights, even though their parking lot was minimal. Although we really appreciate their kindness, we don't recommend this spot to our fellow Elk RVers. We were right next to a busy corner with a four-way stop and the fumes gave us both a headache. Fair warning.

If not for that problem, we would have liked to stay longer. Silverton is another one of those cute Oregon towns and we were parked just a block off Main St. They have interesting murals all over town and we did a walking tour to see them.

This is my favorite.

On to the park which contains ten unique waterfalls that can be viewed via a trail along Silver Creek. I estimate the trail to be four to five miles and the best way for us to see everything would be to begin at the upper end and walk down stream. Unfortunately, we didn't have another car to leave at the lower end, so we stopped at different trailheads and climbed down to creek level and back up THREE times. But we did manage to see seven of the ten waterfalls.

This is the South Falls, the tallest single drop at 177 feet. The falls flow over basalt lava atop softer, older rock. This softer rock wears away creating pathways behind some of the falls. You can see little people on the path in this picture.

I think we might have become jaded with all the massive waterfalls we've seen. Although the height of this waterfall was impressive, Silver Creek, at least at this time of the year, doesn't have the shear volume of the McKenzie.

After walking behind the falls, looping down to the creek and back up, we headed for the next trailhead. Then it was down to the creek again where we wondered about this clearly over-constructed 3-foot bridge. Gorgeous, but how much weight did they plan on it holding?

Ah, here's Middle North Falls. (Why not just Middle Falls?) We could get right next to this one, so it seemed more impressive and I really like all the greenery and the look of the lava walls.

On we went to Drake Falls, which was hidden behind some trees, but I was distracted by this flower. It looks like something in the pea family.

Next was Lower North Falls which was interesting because of how the water just shimmered along the rock. It would make a great waterslide - just watch out for those giant logs at the bottom.

Ron and I decided to do the tourist picture in front of Double Falls.

For sure we're not in the high desert anymore. Look at all the moss growing on this tree.

Finally we ended at North Falls with another hike down and up. I picked this picture to post because of the tree. The waterfall is 136 feet high and this tree extended way out of the picture. We estimated it had to be at least 180 feet, but what really amazed us was that it wasn't very big around.

So what have we learned here? Go to Silver Falls State Park in the spring or early summer and take two cars. It is a special place especially for waterfall lovers.

Oregon State Garden

2011-08-06T23:06:00.008-06:00

We moved to the Silverton Elks to be close to Silver Falls State Park - a place I've wanted to see for years. But first we visited the Oregon State Garden, right here in Silverton.

It's only been open for ten years, but it's well worth a trip.

A tram takes you around and the driver explains each area. We took that first so we would know our way when we walked. If the driver hadn't told us this was a peacock, I don't know if we would have recognized it.

I won't bore you with lots of flower pictures, but I did admire this double daylily.

And here's a snapdragon that's taller than Ron.

Here they were demonstrating a 'green' roof. Ron said we could try it on our shed in Mesa, but he thought the dirt might be a little heavy.

But on to the fun stuff - the Children's Garden.

These trees were labeled as Weeping Giant Sequoias, but the tram driver called them Dr. Seuss trees.

How about these pot people?

And flower 'bed' complete with nightstand.

But my very favorite was the train garden. I loved the train and all the bonsai trees, but the best thing was the horn on this baby. Just listen.

Cascades Highway

2011-08-04T21:38:00.002-06:00

Last Sunday we took the McKenzie-Santiam Tour Route. We began with breakfast at a restaurant in Sisters. After all, it was Sunday.

On the way to town, we stopped at the Mt. Washington viewpoint. It has a different look for the Cascade Mountains.

At the McKenzie Pass is a cool structure made of lava - the Dee Wright Observatory. It has a great view of the surrounding lava fields and mountains.

Here's Ron with North and Middle Sister. The little bump to the right is Little Brother - no kidding!

There are also several waterfalls along the route. This is Koosah Falls. According to the handout from the visitor center, it's supposed to be divided into two falls, but with the water volume currently so high, it filled in the middle.

From there it's a short hike along the roaring McKenzie River to Sahalie Falls.

And here it is - another massive flow of water falling 100 feet.

Whew! It makes me a little dizzy.

Santiam Pass

2011-08-02T23:17:00.002-06:00

We moved to another sno park, this one just west of Santiam Pass and about a mile off of US20. This is the biggest sno park I have ever seen - a good four times the size of Wanoga. We could park 100 rigs here, but we are alone.

Coincidentally, I was here 9 years ago with Diana and Randy when we admired this lovely Bear Grass. It seems to grow only in very limited areas. I hope that doesn't mean there are bears nearby.

Here's a closeup of one of the complex blooms.

There are also lots of wild strawberries here. Ron's going to pick some for his breakfast.

Some of the WINs had raved about the color of the Metolius River, so we checked it out. Wow! Near the Wizard Falls fish hatchery, the river has cut a deep grove down the center of the bedrock. The water is crystal clear and you can see how shallow it is along the edge, but the center reflects those blue light rays and is a stunning aqua.
We asked how deep it is in the center and were told, "Very!"

We were also told about the springs that pour out of the bank into the river, so, once again, we had to see it. Well, it wasn't nearly as impressive as Mossbrae Falls in Dunsmuir, CA, but it was a beautiful hike along the Metolius river.

And I wanted to show Ron the campground where we had also stayed in 2002 - Jack Creek. The creek is just amazing with flowers and plants growing on all the fallen logs. I remembered it as being one of the most memorable sights of my second year of full-timing.

Mt. Bachelor

2011-07-30T18:33:00.009-06:00

One day some of us took the ski lift halfway up Mt. Bachelor to Pine Marten Lodge at 7,775 feet. I wish you could ride up backwards since turning around to watch the scenery was hard on my neck.

The parking lot looks pretty far down there, with Broken Top looming in the background.

Here come Carolyn, Paul, and Marian right behind us.

View of the Three Sisters and Broken Top from the top of the lift.

We were lucky to be there in time for a talk by a forest ranger. He was very interesting and because we had been to so many of the surrounding sights, we knew the answers to all his questions. At one point he turned his hat over to me.

One thing we didn't know, was that Sparks Lake, nestled here at the base of South Sister, is disappearing. See the green meadow to the right of the lake? It used to be part of the lake. Not only does the lake level drop during the summer, but it drops more each year. There are what he called sinkholes that are draining the water. He said you can even hear it draining. That's when I decided I had to go back to Sparks Lake.

But first, at the base of the ski lift, Rachel Scdoris, four time Iditarod Musher, and her father - trainer, Jerry Scdoris - offer dog sled rides for a nominal fee. If they had actually pulled you in a sled, I would have been first in line. However, it was more like an ATV, so I wasn't interested. But Rachel and her father were very nice and talked to us for quite a while.

They said the dogs are called Alaskan Huskies which I think means any kind of dog mixture that just loves to run. They did all look kind of similar, which makes sense since Rachel and Jerry raise and train their own dogs.

This little one is one of her best leaders. I guess size doesn't matter.

Then off we went to revisit Sparks Lake. What makes Sparks so unusual and scenic is all the lava that surrounds and is part of the lake.

We hiked along the lakeshore and, sure enough, we did hear the water draining out! It sounded like water going through a culvert, but there was no culvert. Cool!

So if you want to see this beautiful lake, hurry before it's gone.

Cascade Lakes

2011-07-28T20:46:00.003-06:00

We moved up to a sno park located about 15 miles west of Bend. The sno parks are used primarily in the winter for snow mobiles, cross-country skiing, sledding, and even dog sledding. But in the summer, RVs are welcome to stay. Wanoga sno park is conveniently located along the Cascade Lakes National Scenic Byway at a cool 5500 feet. The obvious activity from here is to tour the lakes along the scenic byway. So yesterday Ron and I made the trip.

Our first stop was Sparks Lake. This lake was the favorite of Ray Atkeson, Oregon's photographer laureate, and a short trail leads to some amazing views. That's South Sister in the background.

There go some of our WIN friends kayaking the lake with Broken Top peeking over the trees.

Although Sparks is the most picturesque of the lakes, we found something interesting at each one. At Elk Lake we found this little 'Tom Sawyer' poling his homemade raft. Of course his girlfriend 'Becky' was riding along.

We watched a flock of Mergansers swimming and diving on Lava Lake.

And at Little Lava Lake, we spotted this tiny duck with her precious brood.

We also had a great lunch at the restaurant at Cultus Lake while we watched the kids, young and old, playing in the lake. It was another gorgeous day.

Bend, Oregon

2011-07-23T23:47:00.004-06:00

(Second try - I hit the wrong button.)

Bend is a very nice place. With 80,000 people, it is just the right size. They have all the important stores - like Trader Joe's, Costco, and outlet stores, but surprisingly the downtown is booming. We drove through the other day and I think every parking spot was taken. That's nice to see.

Although I've been neglecting the blog, we have been busy here. We're parked on National Forest land conveniently located just about four miles from downtown.

Here's the view out the front of the RV. Oh, look! It's Ron filling in the windshield crack so it won't get any bigger. He did this a few years ago on the same crack, but it recently started to run again.

On to our various activities. One day we took the bikes for a ride along the Deschutes River. Pretty and flat - my kind of ride.

We went to the High Desert Museum. They had a sawmill from the early 1900s that was not running, but having Ben (in period costume) tell us about the workings and history almost made up for it. He said all the boards for the surrounding pioneer building reconstructions were cut by this sawmill. They would love to run it every day, but the guys with the know how are getting old and are not available. They need to pass on that knowledge to the 50-year-old youngsters.

I liked this diorama of western life on the trail.

They had some animals that were unable to be released into the wild. I think the otter was depressed because he was lonely. He did come out and do a lap for us though.

And very exciting! I got to see a salmon jumping upstream. (Okay, he was a bit metallic.)
The museum had lots more to see and was reasonably priced.

Another day we went to Tumalo Falls. How gorgeous! It reminded us of Lower Yellowstone Falls, but without the yellow cliffs.

Here's a closer view.

Just look at the power of this waterfall!

By following the trail for a couple miles, you can see two other impressive falls.

This picture is actually the upper part of the previous one. The other waterfall was through the trees so I didn't get a decent picture.

If you are really observant, you might see this undernourished elephant along the way.

Another day I made up for my previous failure to climb to the top of the cinder cone in Lassen NP. In the northern part of Newberry Crater National Monument, they have one you can DRIVE up!

Here's the view into the center of a cinder cone. I'm glad I didn't go to too much trouble. I was expecting it to be deeper.

La Pine

2011-07-17T20:18:00.008-06:00

La Pine, Oregon, is a nice little town with a great attitude towards RVers. The Moose Lodge and American Legion both welcome RVers and have available hookups, the local truck stop has a dump, and even the Dairy Queen has RV parking. But the best thing about La Pine is there are NO mosquitoes. We settled in at the Moose for four nights. Funny thing, fellow WINs Janet and Doug happened to stop at the American Legion, so we had some fun with them too.

We visited a couple of volcanoes nearby. The first was a strange looking formation called Fort Rock because of its appearance.

It's the remains of an ancient underwater volcano and in more recent times was surrounded by water and used by the Native Americans.

Now it's surrounded by farmland. It looks even more like a fort from this angle.

Then we went to Newberry Crater National Monument. Like Crater Lake, this was a huge mountain that erupted and collapsed. There is a road to the top of Mt. Paulina which is actually part of the rim of the caldera, but once again, the road was closed with snow! But we did a short hike that climbed to a vantage point and we could see pretty Lake Paulina.

Okay, I'm guessing phlox.

I was really excited to hear they have an obsidian lava flow. Obsidian contains a high percentage of silica, the primary ingredient in glass. Native Americans used obsidian for arrowheads and tools because of its sharp fracture lines.
Ron is standing next to a large piece of obsidian. The flow as actually a mixture of obsidian and pumice, the difference being the pumice cooled with bubbles in the rock.

This one I know is penstemon, growing bravely among the lava flow.

Back down at lake level, it doesn't look nearly as colorful. Where Crater Lake has one big lake with an island, Newberry Crater has two lakes separated by the cinder cone you see in the distance.

And more waterfalls! Paulina Creek splits into a pretty double waterfall.

Here's another shot from below.

Great Bike Ride

2011-07-15T22:46:00.000-06:00

The Dellenback Bike Path is an 11.5 mile paved trail around Diamond Lake. It is mostly level and rated easy, but I'm really not much of a cyclist. We were staying at the south end of the lake in Broken Arrow CG which has connecting trails to the bike path. I suggested we go clockwise around the lake with the thought that we would be most of the way around when we passed through the resort area with a cafe where I could refuel for the rest of the trip. Pretty smart, huh?

So off we went confident that our blazing speed would keep us ahead of the hungry mosquitoes.

For the most part, that worked, but I did take a risk stopping to take pictures.

Mt. Thielsen is on the east side of Diamond Lake. The lightning rod spire at the top is a volcanic core that was worn down by glaciers.

Here are Thielsen and the Sawtooths - sounds like a musical group, doesn't it?

And to the west of the lake is Mt. Bailey, also formed by volcanic action, but looking very different.

It was really a lovely ride although we did hit some swarms of tiny flying bugs. It reminded me to keep my mouth shut. During this stretch, I heard a young girl forcefully say to her parents, "Next time we WILL take the car!" I had to laugh. Kids!

And yes, we did stop at the cafe, but I only had iced coffee while Ron had a sundae!

Oregon Waterfalls

2011-07-13T23:17:00.003-06:00

Continuing north, we settled around Diamond Lake, just north of Crater Lake. This is a wonderful area with plenty of natural beauty and ways to enjoy it. However the mosquitoes have gotten increasing worse with each move and we are forced to take bold action.

One day we decided to drive scenic OR138 which follows the North Umpqua River, stopping at some of the numerous waterfalls along the way.

Ron came prepared for the hungry wildlife.

The first waterfall we visited was Watson Falls. A short hike took us along pretty Watson Creek . .

To Watson Falls which plunges 272 feet over the edge of a basalt lava flow.

I enjoyed the rhododendron blooming along the trail.

Next up was Toketee Falls - one of the most photographed along the route. This was obviously the wrong time of day. I actually thought this was the worst waterfall picture I would take all day, but I was wrong.

The drive between the falls was gorgeous and deserved a picture too. For some reason, this is called Rattlesnake Rock.

Now on to the worst picture. It started out well with this pretty trail.

Tragically Susan Creek Falls was in full sun with all the surrounding area in deep shade. But in the spirit of full disclosure, I'm posting the picture anyway.

On our way home, I decided to try Toketee Falls again. Either I was still too early (at 5pm) or the picture should be taken before the sun hits it in the morning.

So here is one of the voracious critters trying her best to attack. Actually, mosquitoes are not my most hated insect. The tiny black flies in UP of Michigan and the ticks in Arkansas are worse in my opinion. Luckily it's been cool enough that we can cover up (Ron has his bee keeper suit and I have my Avon bug guard.)

Change of Pace

2011-07-11T22:17:00.001-06:00

Since we were in a campground right across the street, we decided to visit the Collier Logging Museum in Chiloquin, OR. They had an amazing amount of logging equipment plus lots of other old stuff. Not really my thing. Now if the equipment had been operational and they were demonstrating how it worked, that would be cool. But just to see it lying around didn't really impress me. However in an effort to pretend to be well rounded, I'll do a post on it.

There were a couple of big saw thingies that I'm sure were very dangerous to operate.

Ron was very impressed by this Beloit Tree Harvestor.

With its arm thingy, it could delimb a 62 foot tree and shear a 24 inch tree off at the base.

I did kind of like this other thingy with all the wheels.

And the real log outhouse.

But soon I was wondering aimlessly looking for things I could understand. I found some rusty stuff for Diana.

And a locomotive for my father. (It was in with lots of other stuff, so I couldn't get a very good picture, but I'm hoping it's interesting.)

I'll even throw in the sign for this 'G.O.P.' engine.

I like the colors of the creek (this would be a river back east.) Who needs to go to Tahiti?

And look at the fine logging boots carved out of a log - how appropriate.

All kidding aside, it really was an impressive collection and maybe we should have come for the Saturday afternoon tour and learned something. One thing I do know, logging is a tough job and I wouldn't want to do it.

Crater Lake National Park

2011-07-09T18:07:00.004-06:00

We have moved to a National Forest campground in Chiloquin, Oregon, which is $5 a night with the Golden Age discount and almost empty. I'm glad nobody was watching when we drove around the loop and I hopped out at every site with my compass in hand. In addition to our usual criteria of sun for the solar panels and a break in the trees for the satellite dish, we also wanted late afternoon shade because it was hot when we arrived. Needless to say, we found the perfect site - it just took a little effort.

The next day was still hot so we decided to cool off by going to Crater Lake NP. Weather.com (my bible) said that clouds would be building up in the afternoon, so we hurried up the hill.

I had never gone into the park from the south (at least not that I remember) and was surprised by the gorgeous pastureland. The land was perfectly flat all the way to the park boundary. Here is our first view of the Crater Lake cliffs with some contented cows in the foreground.

This sign shows the outline of Mt. Mazama before it erupted and collapsed to form Crater Lake.

At the top, I took about a thousand pictures. Here's the classic shot of the very blue Crater Lake with Wizard Island and part of the rim. Just ignore the pine pollen swirling in the water.
The unbelievable blue color is caused by the way the light is reflected through the clear water. The lake is 1932 feet deep at its deepest part with no rivers flowing in or out.

If you want to learn more about the fall of Mr. Mazama, click on the following picture of the information sign.

Would you believe we took a plane ride over the lake? I didn't think so.

And we got the required picture to show we were really there. Bowing to peer pressure, we even removed our sunglasses and hats.

Although the East Rim road is still closed due to snow, we drove the West Rim to Watchman Overlook for a closer look at Wizard Island.

On our way out of the park, we stopped at the overlook for Annie Creek Canyon. Just look at those clouds rolling in.

If anyplace deserves a video, it would be Crater Lake.

Moving On

2011-07-07T21:15:00.004-06:00

About time, you say? Our motto is 'We don't move very far or very fast.' And with the price of gas, it's a good thing.

Leaving our friends at Lake Shastina, we headed for Klamath Falls, Oregon, because neither of us had ever been there. We settled in at the Moose lodge in their tiny, little parking lot. Luckily it was over the holiday weekend and they didn't have anything planned. My father, who loves trains, would love this place, because . .

IT IS RIGHT ON THE BUSY RAILROAD TRACKS!
Actually I'm fine with trains, but the way the RV bounced when they passed did bother me at night.

Not only did we have freight trains running through our backyard, but Amtrak has a station right there. So I had plenty of time to snap this when the northbound train pulled out.

I liked the looks of the second engine better. (These are for my father.)
I always thought it would be fun to ride a train instead of flying somewhere, but it just costs too darn much! And Ron just received an email that said the government is subsiding Amtrak to the tune of $1.565 billion a year. Ridiculous! If they aren't making money, they should cut the unprofitable routes, like any other business would do.

From Klamath Falls we took a day trip back into California to see Lava Beds National Monument, another place neither of us had been. We explored spatter cones

And lava tubes which are formed when the lava flows underground. Here Ron is looking for the entrance to one of the tubes. Keep in mind, the entrance is where the roof has collapsed.

My thinking is that more of the roof could collapse at any time, so I only went in a few feet. (BTW, there is a smooth path along the wall - you don't have to stumble over all the lava.)

Another day, we took a hike recommended by Diana - it pays to have a genius for a sister. This is an easy hike along the Pacific Crest Trail just off OR140. It hugs the side of Brown Mountain through lava fields. We couldn't believe how much work had been involved to make this the beautiful trail it is.

The lava fields also allow gorgeous views. Here I am with Mt. McLoughlin, another of the major volcanic peaks of the Cascade Range.

And for my daily flower, we found a wild Bleeding Heart.

Now on to my weird internet connection problem. Our little Verizon 5-spot has been working fine the whole time we were in California. As soon as I tried to use it in Oregon, my computer didn't see it. Immediately I thought it was my fairly new computer (#%!@*!, I knew I shouldn't have gotten it, etc.), but I tried to connect with Ron's computer and his didn't see the 5-spot either. All the lights were properly lit and we had perfect phone service, so I was at a loss. Since it was the holiday weekend, I waited until Tuesday to cart my computer and the 5-spot into the Verizon Wireless store (I wanted to talk to the 'A' team.) The clerk told me you have to hold in the 'on' button until all the lights come on - which he did and it worked! Now I know for a fact that it worked before without doing that so I was my usual skeptical self. But the fact is that it worked for him, so what could I say? I went back to the rig and again it didn't work. The only thing I could imagine was that there was some kind of interference with the train station. We moved to a different location and it's back to working perfectly. Interesting, huh?

Farewell to Mt. Shasta

2011-07-05T15:44:00.005-06:00

Well, now I'm behind in the blog again due to some weird connection problem. I'll get into that in the next post, but first I have to finish our stay at Lake Shastina. We managed to stretch out our water usage for 10 days when we just had to leave.

Lest you think every day is perfect, we had two days of extreme wind and clouds. But I even enjoyed our view with the clouds.

And to answer Marti and Paul who commented that they can never get a picture of the mountains in the Northwest without clouds, you mean like this?

But finally the winds died down and the sun returned. We returned to Castle Crags State Park for the gentle Root Creek Trail. I had read it was a peaceful walk through the woods with a 150 foot waterfall at the end. Well, it was peaceful, but we never saw a waterfall unless you count this one.

However I was captivated by this pretty wildflower. I'm sure somebody out there knows what it is.

And I finally got a picture that I think is a decent balance between the white snow and dark trees. But I'm sure a filter would help like E Squared and Mui suggested.

I'll leave you with a few Mt. Shasta facts. Dave had asked if the mountain always has snow on it. We had wondered the same thing and asked at the Sisson Museum in the city of Mt. Shasta. (Nice museum, worth the trip) Although the snow does melt on the south and west slopes, there are glaciers on the north and northeast slopes, so they remain white. Mt. Shasta is 14,161 ft. (4,317 meters) tall and consists of four major volcanic cones. The Shastina Cone, which you can see on the left erupted about 9500 years ago, while the latest erruption from the Hotlum Cone at the peak was only about 200 years ago. Yikes! Although we were assured that was a minor eruption, I don't think I would want to live at the base.

Nearby Sights

2011-06-30T22:04:00.002-06:00

So what else have we done while enjoying our free campground at Lake Shastina? Well, here are a few of the high points.

This was the most unusual hike. You actually follow the railroad tracks for 1 1/4 miles to reach an equally unusual waterfall.

Mossbrae Falls is only about 50 feet high, but 150 feet wide. The water cascades from numerous springs down into the Sacramento River. It's really quite a sight.

Here's another piece of it.

These pretty flowering bushes were along the trail (or railroad track, in this case.)

We also went to Hedge Creek Falls - a short, but steep hike down from the road. Pretty, but what I was really excited about was spotting an American Dipper or Water Ouzel happily dipping into the rushing water looking for lunch.

Another day we visited the Living Memorial Sculpture Garden, located nearby in the National Forest. Dennis Smith, who is the artist and sculptor, lives on site and explained the project to us and answered our questions.

The garden is dedicated to veterans of all conflicts. This is Dennis's version of the famous raising of the flag on Iwo Jima during WWII.

But Dennis also wanted to honor all who serve. This sculpture commemorates nurses, medics, and doctors whose courageous acts save so many lives.

And let us never forget the POW/MIAs.

This sculpture had quite a story. It is called The Peaceful Warrior, one who loves peace but will fight to preserve that peace.

I asked Dennis about the dents on the warrior's chest which appear to be from bullets. I wondered if they were part of the original sculpture or from vandalism. He explained that it was an act of vandalism done by a jealous artist whose designs had been rejected. Wow! I personally thought it added to the meaning of the sculpture, but I'm not sure Dennis would agree.

There are 10 sculptures in all, each one more poignant than the last. We were all very impressed and glad we had the opportunity to see them.

And you know I couldn't post without another shot of Mt. Shasta. We visited a lavender farm and I couldn't resist. This would be better with early morning light and in another week when the lavender would be in full bloom, but we do what we can.

We plan to stay here until our 14-day limit is up or our holding tanks fill up, whichever comes first. With us it will be the tanks, I'm sure.

New Friends and Experiences

2011-06-28T21:23:00.001-06:00

But first I have to tell you what I found out about this lovely free campground at Lake Shastina. It wasn't always this nice. I understand that in the past it was used by homeless people (as opposed to those of us who are houseless) and was really a dump. The county has cleaned it up and regularly patrols it now. We have been here for over a week (14 day limit) and the worst problem we saw was a loose dog.

As I think I mentioned, we caught back up with our WIN friends. On a previous trip through this area, Donna had met Jane who lives here in Weed. We had Jane join us for a potluck one evening and she invited us for Sunday brunch. We all brought something (I made lemon poppy seed muffins and Ron brought precooked sausages) and we had quite a feast. I should have gotten pictures before we demolished the food, but I missed that. (We WINs can eat!)

From the left are Ron, Austin, Lois, Claudia, Jane, and Jane's friend Barbara.

Also present were Donna, Paul, Margaret, Ellie, Judy, Mary, and Duane.

Jane has a gorgeous place on 5 acres with three horses. This one is 3 years old and very friendly.

She seemed to take a liking to Claudia's hair.

Jane hitched up Momma who has won numerous ribbons and treated some of us to a ride. Fellow horse woman Margaret was first up. Just look at the view from Jane's backyard!

Like almost every little girl, I read all the horse books and dreamed of having a pony. Then I grew up and realized they're not like big dogs. Margaret snapped this picture of me enjoying a ride around the course.
After our visit with Jane, Ron and I checked out a waterfall that a local man had told us about. It was nice, but not a great picture.

Next we drove the Everitt Memorial Hwy up Mt. Shasta. On the way we stopped for this view of 'The Eddys', the mountain range across the valley. You also can see the town of Mt. Shasta and Lake Siskiyou.

Then we were stopped once again by snow. It didn't look that deep to me, but I guess their snow plowing budget is shot for the year.

We did get closer to the peak and the road only goes another 3 miles anyway.

Lake Shastina

2011-06-25T21:08:00.005-06:00

And the many faces of Mt. Shasta.

For the past week, we have been staying in what is probably the best FREE campground in the world. Lake Shastina Public Access Campground is run by the county of Siskiyou and located outside of Weed, CA. We are parked right on the lake and, other than our WIN friends, the campground is remarkably empty.

Now for the faces - here we have Mt. Shasta in full sunlight.

Next, she appears softer in evening light. Those are our RVs parked on the right.

Finally, just as the sun drops below the horizon, the mountain top is tipped with pink. Pretty cool, huh?

The lake is home to hundreds of Western Grebes which stay too far away to photograph. But we caught these white pelicans and cormorants doing some cooperative fishing one day.

We've been pretty busy here with sightseeing, hiking, and potlucks. More about that next post.

Castle Crags State Park

2011-06-22T22:26:00.003-06:00

The rest of the group moved on, but Ron and I just weren't tired of our spot in the forest yet. We'll catch up again soon.

Meanwhile, we did a day trip to Castle Crags State Park on Father's Day. We started with breakfast at the Cornerstone Bakery and Cafe in Dunsmuir (CA). I had a banana pecan waffle (yum) and Ron had what he always has - he's nothing if not consistent.

Then it was off to the park. We drove up to the vista parking lot, which happens to be where most of the hikes start. Good thing we went on a Sunday - the parking volunteer said on Saturdays it's usually full by then and he has to close it down. How sad. They need buses!

Anyway here's a shot of Castle Crags from the vista point - just a short walk from the parking lot. Although we've seen granite spires like this in other areas, it's an unusual formation here.

And looking the other way, Mt. Shasta appears in all her glory. Since my camera is not as efficient as our eyes, I had to underexpose this to show the pretty snow. I don't know how the pros do it.

Although we really didn't come very prepared (only one bottle of water between us and no hiking pack,) I convinced Ron that we should follow the parking volunteer's suggestion and hike up to Indian Springs. He looked older than we do and he insisted we could do it. He pointed out that we can refill our water bottle at the spring. The hike uses the same Crags Trail that goes up into the Crags, but cuts off after 1 1/2 miles (and 1000 foot elevation gain.)

The first quarter mile was a snap, then it was a continuous climb from there. Just look at the gorgeous trail - no rocks and covered in pine needles.

Ron decided to turn around after 1 1/4 miles of this climb through the woods and, wouldn't you know, just after that, it opened up and flattened out.

There was enough sunlight for some interesting plants to bloom. I like this hairy little thing.

And this one that looks like a tiny iris.

The cutoff for Indian Springs (an easy .2 mile) had fantastic views of the valley . . .

And the Crags which seemed close enough to touch.

I filled my water bottle at the cool oasis. (If you're really paying attention, you realize that Ron went back down without water.)

I had seen a picture someplace of Castle Dome (one of the Crags) with Mt. Shasta in the background and I was determined to find that shot. So I returned to the Crags Trail and continued up (and up, and up). I even had to do some rock scrambling, but finally, there it was!

Ta-da!

As you can see, I was right up in the crags at this point. I'm thinking this makes up for my failure of the other day.

More Waterfalls and a Tip

2011-06-19T20:15:00.001-06:00

While staying with some WIN friends on public land outside of McCloud, CA, we hopped in the car to do the Falls Loop - Upper, Middle, and Lower Falls. It was Ron and the girls - Ron drove.

Upper Falls, while interesting, was not picturesque, so no picture. Then we found the riverwalk and discovered you can walk between the falls. Cool. Donna kindly volunteered to shuttle the car and the rest of us took off for Middle Falls.

The trail hugged the side of the hill with wonderful views of the rushing water below.

Soon we arrived at Middle Falls where Donna joined us at the overlook and we oohed and aahed over this view.

We learned that it was three times as far to the Lower Falls and the other two ladies decided to join Donna in the car. So it was down to Ron and me. From the overlook, the trail wound down to river level and we discovered that Middle Falls is even more impressive from below.

Then we were off to Lower Falls. As you can see the trail was lovely and shady right along the river.

Here we are at the end with Lower Falls in the background. We are so glad we were with Mary, Ellie, and Donna or we would have had to climb back up!

Now for the tip. Mary told us about a fantastic use for fabric softener dryer sheets. You know those bug remains that are glued on the front of your RV and car? Well, she said you just wet them down with a spray bottle (of water) and rub with a dryer sheet and they magically come off. Having had little success with products like 'Bug Be Gone,' we were skeptical, but Mary said we would be amazed. Well, Donna tried it and we WERE amazed. (I should have a picture, sorry.) Try it yourself and see!

Failure

2011-06-17T23:02:00.001-06:00

I had a goal. I wanted to climb the Cinder Cone in Lassen NP. It looked so cool and at four miles round trip with 700 ft. elevation change, I thought I could do it.

For those of you who are interested, this trail is accessed via a gravel road off state road 44. I had previously checked with the visitor center on the condition of the road and they assured me that our low-clearance vehicle would be fine. And it was, that was not the problem.

It was a gorgeous day with not a cloud in the sky. Most of the trail wanders through a sparse ponderosa pine forest by fantastic lava beds. These flows were from the mid 1600s although they sure look more recent. It's amazing to me how the lava flowed in such a thick mass, then just stopped.

After about 1 1/2 miles, there it was, the Cinder Cone. But wait, didn't I ask if there was snow on the trail? And where is the trail?

A lady who was waiting for her family to get back down told me this is it. Yikes! But she said it was actually easier climbing in the snow than on the cinders which is like climbing in deep sand.

So I started up, and sure enough, it wasn't too bad. I just put my feet where the others had and it was like climbing stairs. I was moving right along then suddenly I realized, "Oh No! At some point I have to get back down." And I didn't listen to Ron who told me to bring my hiking sticks. So I carefully turned around and inched my way back down. (I am really terrible going down a steep trail.)

This is as far up as I went. I feel like such a failure and a wimp.

I'm sure the view would have been much better from farther up.

It did make me feel a little better watching the others slip and slide coming down, but not much since they had made it to the top.

On our way home, we stopped at a viewpoint and I got one last shot of Mt. Lassen. This area had burned recently and I though the skeleton trees were interesting too.

Falls, Fire, and Ice

2011-06-15T22:27:00.000-06:00

Well, we caught up with our WIN friends in Burney, CA. It's great to see friends on the road and have a support group. There are only six of us right now, but more will be joining as we go along. With a smaller group, it is easier to find places to park and right now we're scattered around an empty lot in Burney. When we park in a town like this, it's surprising how much we contribute to the local economy. In addition to groceries and gas, we have all done our laundry, a couple went to the tire store, we ate meals out, and I even broke down and bought a new pair of reading glasses. I know my lost glasses will show up, but I figure I can use two pairs anyway.

Ron and I went to see McArthur-Burney Falls State Park, which the others had done before we arrived. The park is the showcase for the lovely Burney Falls.

This waterfall is very unusual in that water comes over the top, but also right out of the cliff wall.

Another day, Ron and I shuffled off to see nearby Lassen Volcanic National Park, which neither of us had ever visited. Unfortunately most of the park road was still closed with snow (SNOW! Are they kidding?) But it was very pretty - maybe more so with the snow.

We started in the very interesting visitors center as any good tourist does. There were pictures there taken of Mt. Lassen erupting in 1915. Really something.

There are actually four types of volcanoes and Lassen NP is special in that it has all four types. But if you want to know what they all are, you'll have to go watch the movie in the visitors center yourself.

Although it's not a great picture, I had to post this shot of a Steller's Jay. Look at that neon blue.

Heading up the 10-mile section of park road that was open, we first passed Chaos Crags and lots of volcanic rock.

'Hot' rocks like this one were blown out of Mt. Lassen on May 14, 1915. As the hot lava rocks careened down the mountainside, they touched off a snow avalanche. The avalanche carried this 300-ton rock five miles from Lassen Peak to its current location. Ron agreed that it was, indeed, hot.

Here's Mt. Lassen, clouds and all.

At the end of the 10 miles of open road was the Devastated Area trail. Hum . . . looks like a problem.

Is this the trailhead?

Hey, nothing stops us.

We returned to the visitors center and took the trail around Manzanita Lake where we saw this family of Canada geese. I'm not a fan of the over-populated Canada geese, but even they are cute when young.

I had hopes of getting a good shot of Mt. Lassen with the lake in the foreground, but when I uploaded my pictures to the computer, I lost a bunch. Note to self - never delete the pictures off the camera until you're sure they all uploaded. Anyway, this is the only lake/mountain picture that was saved. This is Chaos Crags with Manzanita Lake and some nice fisherman.

Good and Bad

2011-06-13T23:11:00.005-06:00

Well, we're in Redding, CA, which has the reputation of being Hot, Hot, Hot (bad). However, we are staying at the Elks Lodge which has hookups so we can run the air conditioner (good), but we're jammed in here like sardines (bad). The lodge is right on the river with a wonderful bike path right behind it (good), but we figured it would be too hot to bike (bad). Well, you see how it goes. Oh, and I forgot to mention that it's $20 a night. Wow! Very bad.

So we left the rig to swelter and ran up the hill to Shasta Dam. On the way, we had some great views of the dam, lake, and Mount Shasta.

The volunteers there claim they have the best dam tour, but I've heard that one before. Personally, I have no desire to walk around inside a giant block of concrete holding back a massive amount of water, so we just watched the video at the visitor center. It was pretty good and I wasn't even claustrophobic.

I don't mind standing on the dam, though. Here's a shot of the very pretty Sacramento River coming out of the dam and the power plant.

By the time we came back to Redding and went out to dinner, it was cooling off and we took a walk on the bike path. I've never seen anything like this railroad trestle. It not only crosses the river, but runs quite a way up the hill.
I wanted so badly to get a picture of a train on the bridge. I even sat for an hour waiting for one to come.

I tried to make a friend along the way, but he just wasn't interested.

The next day we awoke to clouds (bad for pictures, but very good because they kept the temperature down to less than 80.) We took off to see the famous Sundial Bridge.
Well, I don't get it. It's not a sundial and the architect designed it to represent a goose in flight (the pylon is a wing.) So why isn't it the Goose Bridge?

Adjacent to the bridge is a nice botanical garden. Here's Ron admiring the yellow garden.

I go for the unusual like the odd blue/green color on these flowers (which is a Blue Puya from Chile.)

And the interesting Monkey Puzzle Tree.

How about a purple fire hydrant? I never saw one of those either.

This butterfly was kind enough to pose.

And they even had mosaic in the children's garden which I love.

What a sweet lady bug. You can tell she's a lady bug because she has lipstick on.

Then in the afternoon we took the bikes off the back of the rig and rode the whole bike trail. It's about 7 miles of the second most beautiful bike trail ever. (The first is the Hiawatha trail between Montana and Idaho. You probably remember it from Diana's blog. Click here if you want to refresh your memory, but not until you finish reading this post. Ha!)

It runs along one side of the Sacramento River, crosses this bridge (which Ron is on), and comes back the other side. A very pretty ride on a smooth, paved path.

While we were riding, we did come upon a sundial and it was human powered. Since it was cloudy we had to make a quick trip back in the morning to check it out. Ron was the acting human and stood on the indicater for June. As you can see, his shaddow points to between 9 and 10, indicating 9:30. It was actually 10:30 because of the daylight savings time adjustment. Cool, huh?

And miracle of miracles, a train came by just for me. We were a little far away, but that's what cropping is for.

Come to think of it, there were way more 'goods' than 'bads' and I'm so glad we make Redding a stop. Next we'll be jumping up the hill for cooler temperatures.