Home Safe and Sound

We are sure happy to be home...between extreme heat, out of control fires, and coach repairs, we had quite a trip.  OK, we also had a lot of fun in between all the drama!

Rich could hardly wait to jump on his mower, and reclaim the lawn, me.....housework....not so much.  I concentrated on clearing out the coach.  Some how or other, we accumulate a lot of stuff on the road, maps, brochures, tons of rocks (not quite literally), shells, funny sticks, extra fast food napkins, you know, STUFF! 

Anyway, we are about sorted out, laundrys' caught up, and we've almost figured out how to work the tv again.

Til next time,

Rich and Cyn.

Catching Up

We loved San Francisco so much that we ended up spending a week touring around.  This picture is of the section known as Chinatown.  There is a playground near here, and every afternoon ,the older  men and women get together and play cards on makeshift tables.  It is so neat to see lots of children and adults out like that. 

 My glamor shot, high above the pacific, north of San Francisco.

Rich climbing down to stick his toe in crystal clear Lake Tahoe, one of the deepest lakes in the country.

 Napa Valley, where there is water, there are vineyards, no water, no green....a beautiful place with golden hills.

 

We also loved Chicago...only not the traffic and road system.  We had to drive our car in, and the parking was expensive.  Along with that, when we tried to navigate, our gps got lost, and took us subterranean, very scary under the city amidst girders and strange noises.  Even so, we loved the Navy Pier, Lake Shore Drive, and of course, the Miracle Mile shopping district.  Couldn't find any of the famous museums, though we did try.  They have done a wonderful job with the lake shore, lots of public beachs and parks.

 

Lake Michigan, blue, cool, and huge.  Lots of people on the city beaches and parks all along Lake Shore Drive. 

 

We will be leaving this area  and heading to Elkhart, Indiana tomorrow.  Our windshield has popped loose again, and Thor Motor Coach has given us appointment at their factory to try to figure out the problem once and for all.  This is the fifth time it has happened, always in the same corner. Wish us luck!

Love and miss everyone, seems like once we point east, we get in a hurry to get home!

 



Oops, almost left out Cheyenne, Wyoming....gorgeous place.  I think Rich liked it best of all.... 

Monterrey Peninsula

Whew, it has been too hot in Tulare - 110 degrees.  We decided to visit the Monterrey Peninsula, one of our targets for this trip.  Drove over to Vandenberg Air Base and spent a couple of days.  We had to buy jackets as the temperature was in the 60's.  I played golf at Torrey Pines and it was by far the most beautiful piece of ground ever.  I thought I would play at Pebble Beach - wrong.  A round of golf was $495 plus either cart or caddie.  Two cups of coffee costs $10.00.  They have four courses and all are beautiful as they wind around the coastline.  We attached a couple of pictures including the Rolex at the first tee.  Homes in the area were all the way from everyday to McMansions.

Went to visit the Hearst Castle.  William Hearst built the castle over 26 years beginning in 1909.  This estate had 260,000 acres at one time.  We included a picture of the pool and the grand entrance.  The castle sits on a mountain top approximately 1.0 mile above the ocean.  Hearst gave the castle and 82,000 acres to California for $1.00 in his will.  The gift included 13 miles of coastline that cannot be developed.
We stayed at Fort Hunter-Ligget while there.  That fort was one of the most remote areas that I have ever visited.  Road in was 20 miles of 1.5 lane highway that went from 0 to perhaps 4,000 feet with sheer cliffs and no guard-rails.  Some old man nearly hit us when he missed a turn.  Visited a 300 year old Spanish Mission that was part of the Spanish Trail.  The Spanish Trail was a series of missions from Monterrey, Mexico up through all of California.  Missions were spaced approximately 1 days walk from one another.  Indians were pressed into service to do all of the heavy work while  monks and overseers supervised.

Iconic Pacific Coast Highway shot

Storybook cottages at Carmel-by-the-Sea

 Another cottage in Carmel

 Hearst  Castle Grand Entrance

 

Neptune Pool at Hearst Castle

Beautiful, dramatic coastline

Signature pine at Pebble Beach.  This tree is their logo.

Clock at the first tee - note it is a Rolex!

Mission Saint Antonio, 1732

 



 

We stopped in Carmel by the Sea with its quirky little bungalows.  We have never seen such a wide diversity of seaside cottages. 

Lompoc to Morro Rock

Yesterday we drove 70 miles up the central section of the Pacific Coast Highway, and it was is amazing.

  At Oceano Beach, campers are allowed to pull their rigs right onto the beach.  This area has large sand dunes, and lots of people bring their ATVs to tackle the hills.

Oceano beach camping

Avila Beach

Morro Rock - there are cars parked around the bottom of it.  It was formed as a volcanic plug.

 Seals at San Luis Obispo harbor

 Shell Beach

Starfish at SLO

 

Along this part of the coast, heavy fog drifts in during the evening, hangs around in the early mornings, and disappears during the day.  It stays very cool, with temps in the 70s, and cold wind.  We wore jackets most of the time.

 

We had the best ever fish tacos for lunch at the harbor.  Rich was amazed at the size of the crabs and oysters they had for sale - oysters as big as his hand, and crabs 7 to 8 inches tip to tip. 

 

Today, we head north again, this time for two days near Cape San Martin. 

 

 



Shelly and Sequoia National Park

We have loved being at Shelly's house.  She has a full hookup in her back yard, and we are all set up.
Monday, we drove 50 or so miles to Sequoia National Park, home of the giant forest, the General Sherman tree, and beautiful mountain vistas.

The General Sherman tree is the largest tree known in the world, and is 2200 years old. 

To give you an idea of how huge the tree is, below is the same photo, clipped and enlarged to show the people at it's base:

 

My lovely Aunt Shelly, and me

Rich at the base of three sisters (above and behind him). 

 

We are leaving the coach, and headed to the coast for a week.  Internet will be sketchy, but I will post when I can.  

 

 



San Diego

Our time in San Diego with family was way too short, but we did manage to do quite a bit, Rich played golf at Torrey Pines, went to a Padres game with Uncle Johnny and cousin Ted.  "The girls", Aunt Wanda, Angela, and I went to see "The Lone Ranger", (worth seeing, we loved it), and some shopping and dining out. 

Travis was "off work" for a few hours, and we got to take him out and about.  He enjoyed meeting Wanda and Johnny again, and got a brief glimpse of old town San Diego. 

It was a fast few days, and we have now moved to Oxnard, Ca.  - right above Malibu.  We are only here two days, then off to see another much loved aunt, Shelly.

What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas

Yep, wherever you are told that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, they are talking about your money, or rather the money you used to have....

Although we didn't gamble away the family fortune, we did find Las Vegas to be expensive...on all fronts, food, gas, hotel, coffee, fun.  It was too hot to stay in the coach, so we stayed at the Mirage Casino and Resort, a beautiful place with everything needed for a complete vacation.  They are set up so you never have to leave the resort but of course, we did.  We had to see the Venetian, Caesar's Palace, all the famous landmarks along the strip.  Oh, and the "Freemont Experience", a canopy'd, light show over a pedestrian street. 

Yes sirrreeee, Vegas is something else.  .  .  .  .  .

In Ceasar's Palace

Part of the Strip

The Freemont Experience

 

 

We moved to San Diego, and will be visiting family here, and further north.  NOW THIS IS WEATHER WE CAN EMBRACE - it's a moderate 78ish degrees during the day, and low 60s at night.  Perfect, and of course, we love all the charm of this area.  A happy coincidence is that Travis is here on business, and we get to see him for a few hours.  

 

Moab Miscellany

Yesterday we took a random drive around Moab, Ut.  It is a small town with one main street geared towards tourists (like us!).

 

 

The town sits in a green valley surrounded by steep, rocky, arid mountains.  Looks cool with all that green, but looks are deceiving. 

 

 

See the tracks on the "Lions Back"?  There is a large, BLM area above town, where ATVs and 4 wheel drive enthusiasts can practice their skills on huge boulders.

 

This unusual home and it's fence are stamped and carved with a southwestern motif.  It is really pretty, and does not look out of place here.

 

This morning we are packing up and heading towards Las Vegas after all.  The terrible heat has cooled just enough that we decided to give it a try.  We will have to stop for one night in Cedar City, just because we limit our driving to under 300 miles a day.

 

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July...we will try to avoid leading any parades down main street...

 

 

 

 

 



Dead Horse Point State Park

WOW!  Beautiful sceneary again. 

Dead Horse Point - In the 1500's, Spanish explorers released horses in the area during their travels.  For 300 years the herd roamed the area free.  During the 1800's, cowboys and ranchers chased the wild horses onto Dead Horse Point.  There they build fences behind the horses as the entrance is only 36 feet wide. They removed the saleable horses and "broomtails" were released back into the wild.  Legend has it that a group of "broomtail" horses were left on the point to die of thirst and hunger and that's how it got its name.   Today, wild horses do not live in the park.   

Dead Horse Point State Park

The Colorado River at DHP

Pinion Pine

 

Pinion Pine fence

 





Canyonlands - hazy from smoke.

 

The haze just kept getting worse.....

This area is Utah's "Grand Canyon".  It is not as deep or as wide, but every bit as breathtaking.  Lots of movies were filmed here - Thelma and Louis when they drove their car over one of the cliffs, Mission Impossible II with Tom Cruise, are among the more famous.  Canyonlands is "greener" with lots of scrubby bushes, pinion pines, and wildflowers when it rains.  It got really hazy while we were there, and we didn't get a lot of good pictures, but we enjoyed it anyway.  Temperatures are above 110 degrees.

Arches National Park

Arches did not disappoint....it is beautiful.  It was also very hot, we had to take it in two trips, early morning, and later in the evening.  We've loaded an album with all our pictures, just click on our profile, and on the album "6-28-2013".  Rock formations are 300 million years old made by actions of the Colorado and Green Rivers. The Moab region is divided into four sections, the Arches, the Needles, Canyonlands, and the Maze.  Each is distinctly different.  Hollywood has filmed many movies in the immediate area.

Thank you Sherry and Dink for the safari hats, here I am in mine

triple arches

Skyview arch, and Rich in his safari hat

This gives you a good idea of the scale of this place - see the car?

The heat here is horrible.  Dry or not, it depletes energy, and makes doing anything a real challenge.  Other than that, we love it here.  People are super nice, lots of things to see and do. 

The heat is so bad, we've had to change our plans to go to Las Vegas, they are expecting 110 to 120 over the next 10 days.  No thank you!  We will probably head north east for a while.

Preview and Heat, June 27th

We arrived safely in Moab, Utah yesterday. It was a tense drive on two lane, over a mountain road.  We KNOW it's not the best time of the year to visit the desert, but the last time we were in the southwest, we missed three national/state parks that are high on our list of places to see.  We were only 200 miles away, and decided to make the trip.  Arches National Park, Dead Horse Point State Park, and Canyonlands National Park.  We couldn't wait to start, and took the car for a little drive after we set up.  Here's a preview of the beautiful red rock country surrounding us:

 

And here's a preview of what we can expect temperature wise:

 



In case you can't read this, it says it's 7:33 at night, 80 degrees in the coach, and 106.8 degrees outside!

On another note, we've received some nice "nonreply" anonymous comments on the blog, and because they are nonreply status, we will have to answer here: the trout Rich caught were caught on a lake on the Southern Ute Reservation using an imitation grasshopper fly.  He has not fished any of the rivers yet.  Rich watched an Indian woman fishing using a remote controlled motor boat . . . I think that was rather clever.

Fire on the Mountain, Pagosa Springs

It has been a quiet few days for us.  We are still in Pagosa Springs, Co., because Rich still has dental work to be done.  His final appointment is Tuesday, June 25th.

We have watched as a wild fire has grown from the small lightning strike blaze first pictured in the "Wolf Creek Pass" post we made earlier, to over 66,000 acres.  You can find the details by searching for the "West Fork Fire, Co.".  We are not in any danger as we are 8 miles south, but we are so sad for beautiful South Fork, which we left on Monday.  South Fork has been evacuated and the fire is only 1.5 miles from the town.  Wolf Creek Pass is closed to all traffic, the town of South Fork is evacuated, including the campground we stayed in.  We've talked to other RVers, who had to evacuate at 1:00 a.m. in the morning.  It was very scary for them.  One couple went out to eat, and were not allowed back to their RV.  Finally a state police officer and fire unit escorted them back to retrieve their coach, they are here in the same campground with us.

 

 

On a happier note, Rich went trout fishing Friday, and caught his limit.  Trout this size were everywhere.  Our small freezer is now overloaded with trout.

 



One day, we visited Durango, we were there last year also  It is a pretty town, that emphasizes its cowboy, mining, logging, railroading past.  They still have narrow gauge train excursions up into the mountains.  Durango's landmark building is the beautiful Strater hotel.  Inside, the hotel is just like it was at the turn of the century. 

 

 

Louis L'amour was a near permanent resident.  While staying at this hotel, he wrote most of his paperback novels.  All of the staff were in period clothing.  We would have loved to stay here a night.  On the way home, we stopped by the Ignacio Ute Casino.  Bad mistake, we broke our own rule of $40 or one hour and came home losers.