May 31, 2013 Back to Reality!

Well, here it is … the final day of our trip.  What a trip it’s been!

 

We were hoping to spend the final days tootling about the Olympic Peninsula and … we have … but the weather seems to be un-cooperative.  Typical west coast stuff … but a far cry from the sunny southwest.  We’ve had rain, wind … and in some places … snow!!

What the???

Bruce fogged out!

Yes, we drove up to Hurricane Ridge and wouldn’t you know it … we were in the middle of the clouds so couldn’t really see much … and most of the trails were closed as there still a ‘crap-load’ of  snow up there!  Who’d have thought??

Port Townsend

We explored a few other areas around and walked thru Port  Townsend and Port Angeles. Port Townsend is certainly the nicer and more tourist-friendly town.  Very cool old buildings and an interesting history of logging and fishing etc. 

Lodge at Crescent Lake

We also drove out to Crescent Lake which has an old, wonderful lodge built around 1916 or so.  We stopped in and had a nice coffee on their patio looking out over the lake.  A place I’d definitely like to come back to and maybe stay a night or so.  Old jazz standards playing in the background … you can almost see the people dressed up in their tux’es and silk gowns dancing and having champagne.  Very cool.

Tomorrow is back to Victoria and ‘reality’.  We catch the 12:45 ferry out of Port Angeles to downtown Victoria.  We have a spot reserved at West Bay so we’ll head straight there.

So … that’s all folks … until next time …

Good-bye from our home with 6 wheels! 

May 27, 2013 'Coasting' up to Portland, OR

Hi all,

We finally made it to the west coast of California on (I think) the 23rd.  A little town called Eureka which isn't much to speak of.  Only stayed 1 night.  We then headed out on up the coast and made it to Coos Bay, OR where we got a campsite right on the ocean and stayed there for 2 nights.  The beaches in Oregon are amazing.  The state passed a law quite some time ago giving the public the right to use every inch of the 363 miles of coastline so unlike some places, there's no hotels/resorts/private beaches ... it's ALL public. 
Unfortunately, the weather has turned cool, cloudy and windy at

times.  Which is why we decided to get out the kite and try our luck. 
Wouldn't you know it ... the MINUTE we got it out the wind died right off!  But we got some exercise chasing it when it crashed!

We left Coos Bay to drive a short way up the coast to Newport, OR which we read about in some magazine.  It's a pretty cool place ... been a fishing village forever ... and now still fishing but also lots of quaint shops and restaurants and - because it was Memorial Day weekend - FULL of tourists!

 

This morning the weather turned very snotty and looked to be that way for days to come so we decided to put off the rest of the coast trip for another time.  We headed up to Portland which is where we are right now.  Don't know if we'll stay here 1 or 2 nights ... we don't have to be in Port Angeles to catch the ferry till Friday night and it's not that far away now.  We'll simply play it by ear and see

how it goes.

So sad ... almost the end of this adventure ... but always a new one on the horizon!

May 21, 2013 Resting in Redding, CA

Hi All,

Bruce with Mt. Shasta

Just taking a much needed break here in Redding, CA.  We're staying at an RV park and marina (well ... it does have a boat ramp sort of ...) which is right on the Sacramento River.  The weather is warm and sunny and we had a nice bike ride today.  Actually Redding is quite a nice town ... they have TONS of bike trails all within striking distance of the city.  The one we took today was the Sacramento River Trail which winds around 10 miles +/- thru some very scenic trails with views of Mt. Shasta in the background. 
There's a cool bridge to cross called the Sundial Bridge ... which is the tallest working sundial in the world!  The bridge is next to the Turtle Bay Museum & Exhibition Park.  Carol ... you'd love the turtles in the ponds!

Linda at Sundial Bridge

We're heading out tomorrow for the coast - right now Eureka is the probable destination ... getting ready for the final push home.  We've made our reservations on the Coho for the 1st of June - a Saturday - as we can then move directly into our reserved site back at West Bay Marina.  We've decided to stay in Rosy for June as they have us booked into a cock-a-mamie site that isn't really appropriate for out 5th wheel ... plus at the end of June they have us moving which will cost $$.  So ... we'll still be in small quarters for a while yet but it's ok as it's really starting to feel like 'home'.

I'll write more later when I'm in internet range again ... never know when that will be.

PS ... so far no more major RV problems/emergencies/costs!  Yay!!!

May 22, 2013 Up-date ...
We're still in Redding.  We've decided to stay another day as the weather on the coast looks cold and rainy for the next day or so and we've been enjoying some good warmth here.
We took a drive out to Shasta State Historic Park which sounded better than it was.  Right on the highway and kind of cool brick storefronts but nothing open.  Still ... a nice drive.
This afternoon we'll head out again for another bike ride ... this one goes from Keswick Dam to the Shasta Dam which is about 10 miles.  Lots of flowering trees and shrubs to see ... should be good!
And then definitely tomorrow ... West Coast ... rain or not!

May 16, 2013 - More Motorhome Blues ... and Greens!

Yes, more tales of woe from on the road!

We left Bryce Canyon bright and early heading for US Hwy 50 (dubbed the ‘loneliest road in the U.S.!) on the 13^th and began to enjoy a long ride of empty roads and not much else!  It definitely deserves that name!  Anyway … we stopped for gas a fairly large-ish service station/Burger King/Gas Bar to fill up in a ‘lovely’ town called (of all things) Beaver, UT.  While filling up, one of the guys from the service station wandered over and offered to check our tire pressure as they looked a bit low.  So after filling up we pulled over to the service station and while checking pressure he noticed there was more going on than low pressure … the rear tires were pretty much shot!  Now … we were aware they were in rough shape … when we were in Albuquerque we were told during our checkup at Camping World that they were bad but would ‘probably’ make it thru the trip.  Well, seeing the cracking, blistering, crowning and serious lack of tread this fellow told us we were taking an enormous risk of blowout on this gigantic stretch of ‘nothing’ road.  We decided he was right and as they could do it right away … and gave us a AAA discount, we decided to go for it.

So.  Lunch at Burger King (yum!) waiting.  We were called over after a few minutes … the guy was checking the pressure on the front tires which at first glance looked ok.  He noticed that the ‘inside’ section of tire was wearing away!  What from???  He looked up and saw our shock on that side was rusted, broken and leaking fluid which was dripping on the tire and eating away the surface.  So …. The front tires DID need changing PLUS we needed a new shock. 

Linda is now in ‘shock’ herself!  I laughingly told the guy “don’t look at any more stuff … please!!!”  Unfortunately, he did and saw the rear shocks were in equally as bad a shape … rusted and broken.  So … we changed those as well!  They were fast, I gotta say that for them … they had 3 guys working on Rosy and in 2 hours all was done … with Bruce & Linda U.S.D. $2,615.00 ‘greenbacks’ poorer.

The good news is … all our steering problems … Bruce driving as if he were in constant danger of skidding out of control … was gone!!!  No wonder it was driving so poorly … bad tires, no shocks … it’s a wonder we hadn’t gotten into some serious trouble trying to drive like that! 

So … “Here’s to Beaver” … if we hadn’t of stopped there we might have had a serious blowout or accident!  (But all I wanted was gas ……..)

Lehman Cave Campground

We finally pulled into our destination for the night at Great Basin National Park at around 4-ish.  We really didn’t know what was there but it seemed a good place to stop for the night.  (It was the ONLY place to stop for the night!) We found a very cool campground at the Lehman Cave Campground.  (Bonus - only $6/night fee!)  Didn’t even know there was a cave there!  We took a tour at 9 am this morning (15^th) and it was awesome! 

In Lehman Cave

Small in comparison to Carlsbad etc, but FULL of neat formations.  And the ranger (Ranger Steve) gave a very informative and fun tour – lasting about 1 ½ hours.

After that we drove up to Wheeler Peak parking lot (elevation 10,260 ft) with the thought of taking a hike to some alpine meadows.  However … the elevation was such that there was a LOT of snow on the trail … snowshoes would have been awesome … but with just summer boots and no proper clothing/equipment it soon became apparent that trudging thru snow up to our knees just wasn’t going to work.  Not to mention Bruce is quite sick with his cold so it was a good excuse to head back to camp and some much needed rest.

Trying to hike on Mt Wheeler

The campground is awesome (not many spots but VERY cool) (and no hookups but batteries are working fine!) right on a creek.  We sat out drinking scotch listening to the sound of the water till twilight last night.  So … poorer in $$ but richer in experience!

Today we drove to Fallon, NV still … on the infamous Hwy 50 which is SO long and boring …  ("How long and boring is it you say?)  Well, so boring it’s a

delight when you see a plastic bag stuck on an old fence post … a marvel when you spot a cow … and indescribably amazing when you actually see another car on the road!  That's BORING!!!
You pass several ‘towns’ on that almost 300 miles … some of which have restaurants and gas stations … some of which are even open!!  Not many tho!

A whole lotta nothing!

We’ll spend 2 nights here as there’s a wildlife refuge close by that is supposed to have some great birding.  Then possibly on to Lake Tahoe.  Very tired now … I'll say good night!

May 13, 2013 - Motorhome Blues ...

Yes, we’ve had some motorhome ‘grouchy’ times again.  Things worked out ok in the end but were looking grim for a while.  Let me begin at the beginning.

We pulled into Bryce Canyon National Park on Saturday the 11^th and decided to stay in the park campground.  We hadn’t tried ‘dry camping’ yet and this was a perfect time.  (Note:  Dry camping is basically camping with no hook-ups at all … relying on stored water, propane and battery power.)  We thought we’d be ok as we were full up on all the good stuff … lots of food etc. 

So first night was fine.  Beautiful area … we took a drive to the end of the park which is 18 miles long.  We stopped at all the scenic viewpoints which were amazing to behold!  Bryce is not really a canyon … like Zion … it’s more a plateau along a ridge and you look down into the ‘amphitheatre’ to see the amazing formations.  Back to the campground and a comfortable night with no hookups.  Sunday morning Bruce got up early (5 am) to catch the sunrise and the light on the hoodoos (as it turned out he was about an hour early as sunrise was at 6:22 am) and while he got some good photos he almost froze – actually mildly hypothermic by the time he got back.  After he warmed up a bit we were off on our first hike – the Navajo loop to the Queen’s Garden loop.  It’s about a 3 – 4 mile hike and was SPECTACULAR!  So many amazing viewpoints it’s hard to make time … you have to stop every 10 steps to take more photos!  Anyway we got home eventually only to find everything dead.   No generator, no lights, no furnace, no FRIDGE!!!  Bruce tried everything to no avail!  Apparently the batteries were dead and that was that!

So we had no choice but to forego the 2^nd night we’d already paid for in the park and headed for a private campground to be able to plug into some hydro.  Hmmmm.  The fridge still didn’t work.  So now it’s Sunday – and Mother’s day to boot – and we have no power to the fridge!  Bruce sweated his buns off trying to figure it out. 

He eventually went to the campground office to see if there was a chance of a service station nearby to help us.   Unfortunately – No. 

The campground guy suggested a bunch of things that might be the problem but we’d already thought of them.  He eventually came back and helped us with suggestions as to the possible problem and VOILA … Bruce figured it out!!!  Something about a loose connection to the batteries.  So we’re back in business!

Today we went for a longer hike – the Peek-a-Boo loop which was over 5 miles and went from the top to the canyon floor.  What a marvelous hike!!  Unfortunately we’d started late (8:30am) as Bruce woke up with a raging sore throat and needed a bit more sleep – so it was quite hot at the end.  It took us about 4 hours and we saw some of the most amazing sights!  Bryce really is best seen from the bottom, middle and top.  You just can’t describe it … you really have to experience it and I really, strongly suggest everyone sees it at some point.  Truly amazing!

Tomorrow we head out … going West toward the coast.  I think we’ll make for the Oregon Coast and the road up to our ferry at Port Angeles as it’s getting close to the end of our journey.  

Till next time …

May 10, 2013 ... A little bit of heaven

Hello from Kanab, UT

We just spent an amazing day … we volunteered for the day at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.  Happiness definitely is ‘A Warm Puppy’! 

When you volunteer you get to choose which type of animal you want to work with – they have dogs, cats, horses, pigs, birds …

Of course we chose dogs … and then you get to choose from puppies, young dogs, mature dogs or senior dogs.  I immediately grabbed the puppy slots for Bruce & I!

Oh … how much fun is that?  I kind of lucked out because there’s lots of jobs to do around there like cleaning floors, windows … cleaning poop etc.  But somehow I ‘missed’ all those chores and got to play with a bunch of different puppies all afternoon!

Bruce cleaned some windows and folded laundry and helped feed puppies … but he also got to walk quite a few of them.  

The area itself is amazing ... it's a large no-kill shelter located in Southwestern Utah in Angel Canyon (formerly Kanab Canyon) near Kanab.   The sanctuary is on 3,700 acres (15 km²) owned by Best Friends, with an additional 33,000 acres (130 km²) leased from the United States Bureau of Land Management near Zion National Park, the Grand Canyon's North Rim, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Lake Powell.

The views are spectacular ... and the area feels so peaceful and calm.  They even have a graveyard for their own and other people's pets ... and it sounds very other-worldly with hundreds of wind chimes amongst the graves.  Very moving!

Angel's Rest

You know tho … as much as we loved it … it really makes you remember how much work puppies are.  They are energy in motion!  I’m exhausted!  Tonight will be a nite out for dinner!

May 9th, 2013 Linda's Nightmare

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May 9^th, 2013

Well, my hands have finally become unclenched enough to write.  The past 2 days have been … eventful to say the least.

We finally got out of Colo. Spgs. On Tuesday after installing the new part for the breaking system … all worked fine. 

We hooked up the car and headed out of the campground at around 7:25 am … going the back way as it’s an easier turn onto the highway.  Unfortunately for us they hadn’t unlocked the gate yet.  What??  The front gate is always unlocked!!  So here we are in a smallish lane with no exit.  Do we unhook the car (hassle) or do we try to make the tight turn?  We try to make the turn.  Bruce got right next to the fence (chain link) and started to turn.  What we ALWAYS forget is that the mo-ho kicks out it’s backside when you turn.  So doing what it does naturally, it kicked out, hooked onto the fence and pulled the back bumper into a 90 degree angle.  Luckily the fence survived.  So … after pulling the bumper into some semblance of ‘normal’ we unhooked the car, removed the braking system and … what???  Someone just came out and unlocked the gate!!  Thanks for that.

 

Nice drive thru the mountains!

So hook back up and off we go in a rain shower but hey … no big deal, right?  Well, as accustomed as we are to higher altitudes these past 2 months … at heart we’re still sea-level dwellers.  What we failed to take into account is that rain at 6,400 ft is snow at 9,000 ft.  A lot of snow.  So here we are on little, windy roads snowing heavily with snowplows going thru … at about 20 mph.  I’m sure if you touched me then I’d have played a tune I was so tightly strung! 

Needless to say, Bruce is great at driving thru crappy stuff and did just fine.  We finally wound back down to lower levels and got into rain again.  We made it into Durango safe and sound although it took 1 g and t and 2 glasses of wine to loosen me up. 

Today we decided not to drive into Sedona like we’d originally planned as it’s getting close to ‘coming home time’ and we really should be going north, not south.  So we headed to Kanab, UT … another long drive (over 300 miles) and while it snowed on and off it was mostly uneventful.  What beautiful scenery along the way …

We’re here in Kanab for 2 nights anyway … will venture out to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary tomorrow and hopefully I don’t come away with ½ dozen dogs!  Then we’ll head to Bryce Canyon and hopefully camp there a few days (or more!) with all the hiking, biking and sightseeing there is. 

May 5th, 2013 Stuck in Colorado Springs!

Well, let's see ... we got back from Hawaii on Friday morning (May 3rd). 

Dessert at Mama's Fish House

We had a really great time there with Lonnie & Sandy … saw some cool stuff … did some great drives … and enjoyed the beaches immensely.  It was sad leaving but we celebrated the last night with a fantastic (words can’t even describe) meal at a local legend – Mama’s Fish House.  This place is right on a beach and is so funky and eclectic you don’t realize it’s a Five-star restaurant.  The menu is – of course – heavy on fresh fish and local beef and pork.  We had some amazing meals (EXTREMELY pricey – but hey!  We were celebrating!) and drinks to celebrate Lonnie & Sandy’s anniversary (again!).  Then off to the airport (what a way to go!)

Took the ‘red-eye’ out of Kahului and into Denver via San Francisco.  Arrived terribly jet-lagged plus we went from sea level to over 6,000 ft. in a day.  Needless to say we went almost directly to bed when we got  home.  Slept for 12 hours straight and still felt like crap!

But we got some stuff done like grocery shopping etc. and took another walk around G. of the G. as the weather was actually sunny and warm(ish) for a change.  Had an early supper and early to bed again – ready to head out in the morning.  We’d decided to head west and south – to Sedona, Arizona where the temperatures were warmer. 

However … the best laid plans ….

When trying to hook up our auxiliary breaking system in the morning … it crashed on us!  Can’t drive with no breaking in the towed car so we opted to stay in the Springs a couple more days to try and get it fixed.  We have called the manufacturer and they’re shipping out the part so should get it by Tuesday (with any luck at all). 

We decided to make the most of our extended stay in the area to drive up to Cripple Creek.  It’s a gold-mining town about 1 hour from here – west and about 4,000 ft. higher!

Downtown Cripple Creek

Old Sign in Cripple Creek

What a neat place (if you can overlook the 10,000 casino’s which seem to have taken over much of the town!)  It’s an old town … most buildings are dated 1896 … which seems late until you find out that there was a town fire that demolished all of the old wooden buildings the year before.  But some great architecture and quite a beautiful town.  We had some lunch and wandered for   Apparently Victor has had more gold taken out than California and Alaska combined!  There are mines and remnants of mines everywhere.  The older mines are quite interesting and have some beautiful scenery around.  The ‘new’ mines are completely ‘raping’ the mountainsides and look like a moonscape after the apocolypse.  Very nasty business – gold mining!
a bit, then took the back way into Victor which is only a few miles away.

Mines near Victor

But the drive was nice and photo opps were everywhere!  So the day was certainly not wasted! 

Bruce is off for a bike ride and I think I’ll head to the liquor store as we’re getting dangerously low on wine!

May 6th,
We took a drive out to the Florissant Fossil Beds which is near Cripple Creek.  This is where they've found 1,000's of perfectly preserved fossils and there's also a bunch of petrified redwoods.  They're HUGE ... some 14' - 15' across.  These were widely vandalized in the early part of the 20th century by tourists who were encouraged to come out and take home fossils. It's amazing to think that this whole area ... now home to rolling grasslands and ponderosa pine ... was once covered with giant redwood trees!  A very cool place to see!

Maui ... Wowie!

Where to begin ... it's been fabuluous!  We're staying in a luxury resort with our own bedroom, bathroom and mini-kitchen.  It's part of the suite - the other 1/2 has Lonnie & Sandy's bedroom and their bathroom, the main kitchen, dining room, living room & 2 lanai's.  No ocean view ... but we do have a view of the mountains so get to see the sun come up each morning.  We usually go down to the tables by the bar-b-ques to eat at night so can watch the sunset over the water while dining on fresh fish or whatever we decide on.  Very nice!

Linda snorkeling!

We've done lots of water/beach related stuff ... and (and this is BIG for those of you who know me) I've gone snorkeling for the first time ever!

It didn't last long ... but I saw some cool fishes before I got seasick. 

Sea turtle!

Yes ... in 2 feet of water I managed to get seasick!  Well ... the tide was pushing water in and out ...

I also did another first by going down a waterslide in the hotel pool!  It was super fun!  So I did it several more times and got some really good airtime before hitting the water!  You just never know what I'll be brave enough to do next!

The 4 of us took the drive out to Haleakala National Park the other day.  It's quite a winding, narrow road up to the crater, but was quite interesting once we got up there.  It's not a 'usual' kind of volcanic crater where the hole is there from erupting lava ... it's mostly due to erosion so quite a beautiful yet stark landscape!

Top of Haleakala

We had an enjoyable dinner one night for Lonnie & Sandy's anniversary.  Sunset on the beach ... ahhhh ... beautiful! 

Anniversary dinner

Haleakala crater

I guess they mean business!

We took a drive out to the Nakalele blowhole which unfortunately was not blowing!  Wrong swell direction or low tide or something.  Cool spot nonetheless!

We also drove out to Ulupalakau which was very scenic and had the most magnificent Jacaranda trees along the way!  We enjoyed the

Jacaranda tree

drive as it's less 'touristy' and more of the 'real' island ... lots of old buildings and lush vegetation.

Today we drove the famous 'Hana Highway' which at only 42 miles long is a hair-raising 2 hour +/- drive as it has over 600 twists and

Along Hana Highway

turns and 56 one-lane bridges!  Interesting when there's a cement truck trying to negotiate the same road coming towards you!  But how jaw-droppingly beautiful!  Unfortunately it was raining quite hard when we got there so we didn't stay too long.
Along the way tho there's some neat waterfalls, bamboo forests and

Bruce in bamboo forest

'rainbow eucalyptus' trees!  

Now we're back at the room getting ready for another fantastic bar-b-que meal ... tonight is fresh marlin!  Better get helping with preperations!

Aloha!

Cool general store

Pa'ia

Bar-b-que kings!

April 24, 2013 Aloha from Maui

Aloha!  Warmth ... colours ... fragrances ... Hawaii is amazing!

Getting lai'd at the airport

Especially since when we left Denver on Monday there was a blizzard on the way!  Here the temperatures are steady with a daily high of around 84F.  Today is cloudy and a bit of a drizzle ... but it's WARM! 

On the beach

We haven't done anything too adventurous yet ... but we've got our food and liquor enough for a few days (!) and that always takes a bit of time. 
We did some good beach walks and had a good dinner last night at Leilani's - happy hour with Taco Tuesdays!  Taco's for $4 and beer for $4 and Margaritas for $4!  Watching the sun go down ... just perfect!

Taco Tuesday at Leilani's

Last night I managed to teach the gang how to play Euchre and that's a challenge even when you haven't been drinking all evening!  But lots of fun and we'll do more of that tonight!

Well, time to put on the bathing suits and head to the beach ... we all got a bit of sunburn yesterday so we really have to make sure we lather up with sunscreen a bit better today.

Sunset on the beach

Aloha!

April 20 Denver Ho!

April 19

Snowed in

After being in the deep freeze for the past couple of days there may be life yet in Colorado Springs.  Thursday (yesterday) was a 'veg' day and we got in some marathon card-playing
and movie watching.  Thank God for Walmart $5 DVD's!

Today (Friday) was MUCH warmer and got to nearly 50F!!!  But with the sunshine out it really does feel warmer.  We wanted to take advantage of the good weather to go up the cog railway to Pikes' Peak.  But when we called for tickets ... it was sold out!! for the 9:20 trip.  And they were saying there was no guarantee they'd make it to the top.  Since the clouds begin rolling in over the mountains in the afternoon we thought we'd plan that trip for another day ... possibly when we're back from Hawaii.

Instead we visited the Pioneer Museum in downtown Colo Spgs which was amazingly good! 

Old El Paso Courthouse

Birdcage elevator

Housed in the old 1903 El Paso County Courthouse, it has 2 floors and dozens of exhibits of all aspects of the region.  From paintings, to old photography, to pottery, native American artifacts, info on the black American experience in the region ... to guns, bikes, clothing and more.  What a beautiful building with it's marble columns, birdcage elevator and a beautifully preserved courtroom (where they filmed Perry Mason btw!).  And all for free!  Time well spent!

Wanted Dead or Alive!

Bruce at Red Rock

This afternoon we hiked around Red Rock Canyon which is less than 1/2 mile from our campground!  What a gem!  Lots of trails in a beautiful area.  They used to quarry a lot of the sandstone there that was used in building many of the local homes/buildings.  It's only been a park since 2003 but very nicely maintained and used by hikers, bikers and dog walkers.  The sun was out and it was a lovely afternoon!


April 20th
Getting ready for the big trek to Denver tomorrow.  We'll have to winterize the RV as it's way too risky not to with the weather they've been having - we'll do that 1st thing tomorrow morning.  Today is laundry, packing etc.  Bruce is heading out for a bike ride at Red Rock Canyon right now while it's relatively warm and not raining or snowing! 
We'll head to Rudy's BBQ tonight for our last meal in Colo Spgs ... have to go back for some more of that smoky nirvana.   My next post will be from Hawaii!  Bye for now!