Tuesday October 30
We head out of Crescent City northbound on the 101. We soon cross the border into Oregon. After traveling 4022 miles we pull into Turtle Rock Resort in Gold Beach. Our home for the next 6 months.
The resort is located on Hunter Creek and stone's throw from the beach. We took the dogs for a walk along the beach and could see they were excited to have this as their home base. We drove into the town and checked things out. Phil bought a fishing license and spent a while getting the fishing scoop from the locals. Fishing is a very big thing here. At the other end of town is The Rogue River, where King Salmon are still running. The Steelhead season begins January 1.
Our first night in Gold Beach brought a sample of the famous NorthWest weather. . The wind came up and driving rain pelted the RV. Just Oregon hospitality welcoming us......
Later today we will drive back to Crescent City to meet up with Sue and Ron Orso who drove my car from NH. Tomorrow we will begin our orientation at Turtle Rock. After my vast experience of five nights of RV campground experience I will be on the other side of the phone working in the reservation office. Phil will be working outside in maintenance so a trip to the raincoat-and-galoshes store is in order today.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
We leave the rest area and drive a relatively short but challenging two hour drive through several Redwood groves. We arrive at Crescent Beach and check into the city-owned RV park right on the beach.
We are yards from the Pacific. This is an interesting town and and interesting RV Park. The town was partially destroyed by a tsunami in 1964 brought on by the Anchorage AK earthquake. As a result the downtown section looks like something out of a west coast "Mad Men" with some older architecture uptown. There is an outstanding municipal park, community pool, and other city amenities right on the beach. Also an 1865 lighthouse high on a high rocky outcrop that escaped destruction during the tsunami.
We found a great place for lunch then walked through the harbor and the town's nooks and crannies. We took the dogs for a long walk through the park and out on to the pier. We came back to the RV so we could call family members and and watch the weather channel to see the effects of Hurricane Sandy.
There are many full-timers here at this RV park. Actually the title of RV park is a stretch. It is interesting that there is a substantial population living full time in campers and trailers in these settings. These are not tricked out rigs, but pretty aged and sad looking. These are never going to be seen on the road again. There are many "colorful" characters here and we have seen lots of folks living on the road. This is a lifestyle that could not be duplicated in the harsh climate of Maine. We have seen many folks who are living full time at these parks - in climates where it is feasible. I don't know if it is because they are suffering from the economic downturn or because it is a cheap way to live with beach frontage- or in the case of Carson City -because it is a stone's throw from a casino.
We are yards from the Pacific. This is an interesting town and and interesting RV Park. The town was partially destroyed by a tsunami in 1964 brought on by the Anchorage AK earthquake. As a result the downtown section looks like something out of a west coast "Mad Men" with some older architecture uptown. There is an outstanding municipal park, community pool, and other city amenities right on the beach. Also an 1865 lighthouse high on a high rocky outcrop that escaped destruction during the tsunami.
We found a great place for lunch then walked through the harbor and the town's nooks and crannies. We took the dogs for a long walk through the park and out on to the pier. We came back to the RV so we could call family members and and watch the weather channel to see the effects of Hurricane Sandy.
There are many full-timers here at this RV park. Actually the title of RV park is a stretch. It is interesting that there is a substantial population living full time in campers and trailers in these settings. These are not tricked out rigs, but pretty aged and sad looking. These are never going to be seen on the road again. There are many "colorful" characters here and we have seen lots of folks living on the road. This is a lifestyle that could not be duplicated in the harsh climate of Maine. We have seen many folks who are living full time at these parks - in climates where it is feasible. I don't know if it is because they are suffering from the economic downturn or because it is a cheap way to live with beach frontage- or in the case of Carson City -because it is a stone's throw from a casino.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Saturday Oct 27th
We pull out of Carson City and head to Reno to pick up I 80. We drive past the "biggest little city in America" which is home to the usual retail outlets as well as some big Casinos and event centers. We head up, and up. Again we are out of the desert and into quintessential California pine country- the Sierra Nevada. Truckee is surrounded by peaks including some ski resorts open for business. We descend the other side and head down into the Sacramento valley and are clearly into agricultural California. Many wineries, fruit and nut farms line the highway. We pass through Colusa and find a paved pull off on CA 20. With spend the night here with beautiful views of the Golden Hills and the rising almost full moon.
During the night we hear...something... sort of clucking and yipping. The Cruise and Vinny certainly went on alert. I am researching this to figure out what it was. We saw lots of gopher-type holes and I saw a smallish rodent-like from a distance.
As we pull out on Sunday we are barely a mile and come across a herd of elk on the hill by the road. We pass into Lake County and it is clear that they have recently experience a pretty substantial brushfire. We pass by a couple of houses that looked like they had very close calls. We drive around Clear Lake and pick up 101 north of Ukiah. We are heading into Redwood country. It is exciting to see our first redwoods. And more herds of elk. We cross the Russian and Eel rivers. Lots of up and downs and hairpin turns and we finally catch our first glimpse of the PACIFIC! We leave the sun and drive into fog. We drive through Eureka which was quite spread out and appears to have quite an eclectic population mix. Further up 101 we pass through Arcata, home of Humboldt State. We find a rest area north of Trinidad, which has an exquisite path bordered by Redwoods and some really big stumps.
The past two days have brought back some vivid California memories for me - in the form of smells. When we were in the valley, the smell of the live oak trees and that wild short grass reminded me of childhood visits to my grandmother's home in Ojai. When we got to the pine forest and redwoods, memories of annual summer visits to Doyle Spring on the Tule River we brought back to me just by inhaling the air.
We pull out of Carson City and head to Reno to pick up I 80. We drive past the "biggest little city in America" which is home to the usual retail outlets as well as some big Casinos and event centers. We head up, and up. Again we are out of the desert and into quintessential California pine country- the Sierra Nevada. Truckee is surrounded by peaks including some ski resorts open for business. We descend the other side and head down into the Sacramento valley and are clearly into agricultural California. Many wineries, fruit and nut farms line the highway. We pass through Colusa and find a paved pull off on CA 20. With spend the night here with beautiful views of the Golden Hills and the rising almost full moon.
During the night we hear...something... sort of clucking and yipping. The Cruise and Vinny certainly went on alert. I am researching this to figure out what it was. We saw lots of gopher-type holes and I saw a smallish rodent-like from a distance.
As we pull out on Sunday we are barely a mile and come across a herd of elk on the hill by the road. We pass into Lake County and it is clear that they have recently experience a pretty substantial brushfire. We pass by a couple of houses that looked like they had very close calls. We drive around Clear Lake and pick up 101 north of Ukiah. We are heading into Redwood country. It is exciting to see our first redwoods. And more herds of elk. We cross the Russian and Eel rivers. Lots of up and downs and hairpin turns and we finally catch our first glimpse of the PACIFIC! We leave the sun and drive into fog. We drive through Eureka which was quite spread out and appears to have quite an eclectic population mix. Further up 101 we pass through Arcata, home of Humboldt State. We find a rest area north of Trinidad, which has an exquisite path bordered by Redwoods and some really big stumps.
The past two days have brought back some vivid California memories for me - in the form of smells. When we were in the valley, the smell of the live oak trees and that wild short grass reminded me of childhood visits to my grandmother's home in Ojai. When we got to the pine forest and redwoods, memories of annual summer visits to Doyle Spring on the Tule River we brought back to me just by inhaling the air.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Friday October 26
We leave Fallon NV in a bit of a mental fog, almost drove off with the stairs out, did drive off with the tv antenna up and missed the turning towards Carson City because we were fixing the tv antenna. After all this initial excitement we settled down and headed through mining country through Silver Springs into Carson City.
We settle into a nice RV park and off load the Miata and start our "day off" We drive the 20 miles or so to South Lake Tahoe and stopped for lunch. Then we drove the road around Lake Tahoe, stopping for photos and to look at the different communities bordering the Lake. We head towards the outskirts of Reno then turn to make the long climb up the Geiger Grade to Virginia City. Now I was really hoping to see Hoss and Little Joe in town (picking up supplies for the Ponderosa) instead we saw cute old buildings, hokey tourist traps and some kind of creepy locals. In its heyday over a billion dollars of silver and gold were mined in this area. There are plenty of relics from this era. On the road from Virginia City back to Carson City we passed dozens of mines - some that appeared to be active and some, well I don't know they had barbed wire fences around them and lots of no trespassing signs which I was fully prepared to heed.
Back home at the RV we fed and walked the dogs and headed across the street, literally, to Bodine's Casino for their $9.99 Prime rib special. We walked through the casino and sat down. Phil played out his $20 after some gains and losses. We headed to the restaurant for dinner. After dinner it was my turn and I fed a twenty into the machine. My bank got whittled down then I had three or four good pulls which put me ahead $8.25 so I cashed out and we went home.
We plan to be in Gold Beach OR next Thursday so we are planning our final 575 miles and five days!
Here are photos of Lake Tahoe - say no more
We leave Fallon NV in a bit of a mental fog, almost drove off with the stairs out, did drive off with the tv antenna up and missed the turning towards Carson City because we were fixing the tv antenna. After all this initial excitement we settled down and headed through mining country through Silver Springs into Carson City.
We settle into a nice RV park and off load the Miata and start our "day off" We drive the 20 miles or so to South Lake Tahoe and stopped for lunch. Then we drove the road around Lake Tahoe, stopping for photos and to look at the different communities bordering the Lake. We head towards the outskirts of Reno then turn to make the long climb up the Geiger Grade to Virginia City. Now I was really hoping to see Hoss and Little Joe in town (picking up supplies for the Ponderosa) instead we saw cute old buildings, hokey tourist traps and some kind of creepy locals. In its heyday over a billion dollars of silver and gold were mined in this area. There are plenty of relics from this era. On the road from Virginia City back to Carson City we passed dozens of mines - some that appeared to be active and some, well I don't know they had barbed wire fences around them and lots of no trespassing signs which I was fully prepared to heed.
Back home at the RV we fed and walked the dogs and headed across the street, literally, to Bodine's Casino for their $9.99 Prime rib special. We walked through the casino and sat down. Phil played out his $20 after some gains and losses. We headed to the restaurant for dinner. After dinner it was my turn and I fed a twenty into the machine. My bank got whittled down then I had three or four good pulls which put me ahead $8.25 so I cashed out and we went home.
We plan to be in Gold Beach OR next Thursday so we are planning our final 575 miles and five days!
Here are photos of Lake Tahoe - say no more
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Thursday Oct 25
We depart "Border Inn" NV and head west. We are thrilled to finally see some wildlife: Two coyotes standing close to the highway. I am am too excited and too slow to capture any photos.
We are driving into some ominous clouds which turn out to be snow squalls. We are happy to see that the "chains required" signs are not flashing and the approaching vehicles are not shrouded in snow. We drive in and out of snow squalls, sunshine, sleet, sunshine, hail and sunshine all day. After reaching lower altitudes we seem to be out of the precipitation. We are also out of the more interesting landscape and into more desert like environs. The views around every turn are amazing - desert valleys stretching into the distance and up to huge snow covered peaks.
Following the route of the Pony Express (more recently dubbed "the Loneliest road in America" ) we pass through little towns like Ely which has some neat old buildings and lots of neglected ones. Ditto Eureka and Austin. All these towns have struggled since the demise of their booming mining operations: which in Austin's case was 1873 - glad I am not the CEO of that chamber of commerce.....
Following the route of the Pony Express (more recently dubbed "the Loneliest road in America" ) we pass through little towns like Ely which has some neat old buildings and lots of neglected ones. Ditto Eureka and Austin. All these towns have struggled since the demise of their booming mining operations: which in Austin's case was 1873 - glad I am not the CEO of that chamber of commerce.....
About 20 mile east of Fallon NV we pass a giant sand dune which dwarfs a giant community of RVs. We see a steady stream of rigs with large toy boxes passing us clearly headed to the Dune. We chatted with one of these folks in the Wal Mart parking lot - turns out there is an annual get together around Halloween - where basically people come, party and bring their four-wheelers or whatever and rip up the sand dune.
Giant sand dune with zillions of RVs. I know I used this photo before but now it all makes sense......
We stop about 10 miles beyond this to see the petroglyphs. We have passed a few good sites for viewing these ancient artifacts but none has been big rig friendly. We stretch our legs at the Grimes Point site. The carvings are neat but I have to say the area is pretty bleak. I am not sure if the Navy Jet fighters from the local base flying overhead detract from or enhance the place.
Tonight we are parked at the Wal Mart in Fallon NV Hence I have internet and cell phone access. Tomorrow we are off to Carson City and environs for sight seeing!
We stop about 10 miles beyond this to see the petroglyphs. We have passed a few good sites for viewing these ancient artifacts but none has been big rig friendly. We stretch our legs at the Grimes Point site. The carvings are neat but I have to say the area is pretty bleak. I am not sure if the Navy Jet fighters from the local base flying overhead detract from or enhance the place.
Wednesday October 24th
We pack up and head out of Moab. There are changing landscapes around every corner: Reds, Grays, striped then desert. Then Cold. Then SNOW. We cross the border into Nevada. We stop yards from the border for the night.
We go into the bar/gas station/restaurant/ casino and blow $2 on slots. We walk the dogs near the "RV park" which consists of a couple of sad trailers and no amenities that I can see. The view of Mt Wheeler cover in snow is the last thing we see at night and our first sight in the morning.
Here are more photos from Utah and our first glimpse of Nevada
My first, and likely my last, experience gambling
This a pathetic attempt to capture the dramatic landscape/weather
This a crazy giant sand dune in the middle of nothing Nevada. Those tiny white specs are a gazillion RVs there for the giant Halloween (don't these people have a calendar????) blow out
can't explain why these are in here twice...
We pack up and head out of Moab. There are changing landscapes around every corner: Reds, Grays, striped then desert. Then Cold. Then SNOW. We cross the border into Nevada. We stop yards from the border for the night.
We go into the bar/gas station/restaurant/ casino and blow $2 on slots. We walk the dogs near the "RV park" which consists of a couple of sad trailers and no amenities that I can see. The view of Mt Wheeler cover in snow is the last thing we see at night and our first sight in the morning.
Here are more photos from Utah and our first glimpse of Nevada
This is the view from the RV when we woke up on Thursday in Nevada!
This a pathetic attempt to capture the dramatic landscape/weather
This a crazy giant sand dune in the middle of nothing Nevada. Those tiny white specs are a gazillion RVs there for the giant Halloween (don't these people have a calendar????) blow out
The rest of Moab
I know the narrative on Utah has been sparse. Quite frankly I am not sure what to say beyond It Has All been Amazing.
On Tuesday the 23rd we headed into town to get some breakfast and check things out. After we were full of a hearty breakfast we headed back to Arches National Park and drove to the trail head for Devil's Garden hike. We set out under windy conditions we hiked to several amazing (help me here, Thesaurus ) arches. Over fins, across sand and through meandering washes. We hiked for about 4 1/2 hours taking several side trails to viewpoints. It was a tremendous day we got some much needed exercise and enjoyed great weather and spending time in a place of great beauty.
Side note; I am 5 months post op for ACL surgery and the knee felt strong and I was confident hiking including traversing a fin on a weird angle!
Here are a heap of photos:
Monday, October 22, 2012
Monday October 22
We leave The Montrose Wal Mart after stocking up on groceries. We head West again and travel through beautiful, rugged and sparse landscapes to Utah which offers more of the same until we turn off the Interstate. We head south on 128 which is a winding but passable road which offers some of the most amazing scenery we have seen on our trip so far.
We are oohing and aaaahing the whole drive.
We check into a great RV park just outside Moab city limits and off load the Miata and head to Arches National Park. I don't know what to say - the photos don't do it justice. The scenery is amazing - in every direction. The place is so spiritual and powerful we both felt the presence of the ancients that came before us- we are just awestruck and any narrative would diminish the impression it made.
So I think I will just post a bunch of photos:
We leave The Montrose Wal Mart after stocking up on groceries. We head West again and travel through beautiful, rugged and sparse landscapes to Utah which offers more of the same until we turn off the Interstate. We head south on 128 which is a winding but passable road which offers some of the most amazing scenery we have seen on our trip so far.
We are oohing and aaaahing the whole drive.
We check into a great RV park just outside Moab city limits and off load the Miata and head to Arches National Park. I don't know what to say - the photos don't do it justice. The scenery is amazing - in every direction. The place is so spiritual and powerful we both felt the presence of the ancients that came before us- we are just awestruck and any narrative would diminish the impression it made.
So I think I will just post a bunch of photos:
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