Lewis & Clark and Beyond

October 18, Day 61

Today was a travel day. We hit a couple of segments of Rte 66, but were mostly on I40. We did stop in Grants, NM and toured a mining museum. Grants has a varied history with ranching and farming, but took off with the discovery of uranium. The town flourished in the WWII and cold war era. The main floor of the museum was a history of the town and a little bit about mining. The basement was a replica of a uranium mine and included a lot of actual mining equipment in a well developed mine setting. The docents were audio recordings by retired career miners who told about different phases of the mining operation. We learned that the mine replica was developed by the mine workers in conjunction with some of the mining companies and was actually in place before the above ground structure was built. A great museum! We are spending the night in Santa Rosa, NM.

October 19, Day 62

I had my oil changed before we left Santa Rosa. We followed old Rte 66 for the remainder of the state of New Mexico. The road surface was decent and it closely followed I40 on either the north or south side. There were a couple of segments where it was difficult to determine what was old 66 and what was a local road. At one point, the road hit a tee; north went over the tracks and continued east as a gravel road, south went through a very narrow tunnel under I40 that looked more like access for farm stock than vehicles. As it worked out, we needed to go through the tunnel. If our rigs had been any wider or taller, we would not have fit. We entered Texas just after lunch and lost an hour. We are now on Central time for the remainder of the trip. Just west of Amarillo, we stopped to view the ‘Cadillac Ranch’. The owner of the ranch half buried at a forty-five degree angle ten Cadillac cars in a neat row with their front ends in the dirt and the rears sticking in the ground. The cars have been totally spray painted with graffiti. We chose to bypass Amarillo and picked 66 back up on the east side of the city. In Groom, we observed the leaning water tower. Evidently it was built that way. We are spending the night in a rest area just west of McLean, TX. I wonder how much sleep I will get tonight with all the truck coming and going.

October 12, Day 55

We spent the morning touring Hoover Dam. We parked on the AZ side and walked over the dam to the visitor center. The water level was down about 40 feet, but that does not seem to be unusual for this time of the year. The tour was of the generating room. There was also an interpretive center that focused on the purpose of the dam, its construction, and electrical generation. The dam is a most impressive structure and they are in the process of building a bridge a short distance down river from the dam to divert Rte 93 from having to go over the dam. I think this bridge project is in response to security issues after 9/11. There is a security check of vehicles before being allowed to cross the highway on the dam. Trucks are still restricted. We were allowed to take our RV’s over the dam after they were searched inside and out. In the afternoon, we went to the Boulder City Library to check email. The library has an amphitheater with some water features. Very nice!

October 13, Day 56

I woke up to the howling of coyotes. We got an early start and headed to Kingman via Rte 93 which gave us another look at Hoover Dam. Once we hit I40, we headed back west to pick-up a portion of Rte 66 and took it to the town of Oatman. Oatman is a former mining town on the highway that has turned into a tourist center. One of the main attractions is the feral donkeys that freely roam the town. They are very tame and love the carrots that the tourists feed them. We visited the many shops and watched a staged wild west shootout. The 22 mile trip from Kingman was at times beautiful and tawdry. In the flat areas, there are a lot of shanties and abandoned trailers. In the mountain areas, we were on a steep road with a lot of hairpin turns. There were some beautiful sandstone cliffs that we tried to photograph. We are in Kingman for the night. We planned to stay in the Wal-Mart parking lot, but were told by security that we would have to leave at midnight when they close, so we moved up the road and are in a gravel lot behind a Walgreens.

October 14, Day 57

We arrived at Grand Canyon National Park at the south rim about noon. Once again they waived the $25 entry fee because we hold the Passport card. The reference I have on National Park camping cautioned about the importance of having reservations through October, but we came in ‘cold’ to find the campground is barely a quarter full. After setting up, we took the shuttle bus getting to view the canyon from a number of locations. Like Glacier Park, the shuttle bus is free and runs on a frequent schedule. What a great service! This canyon is truly an awesome work of nature. I knew it would be large, but did not anticipate the scale. One observation I made about my fellow tourists is that at least half of those visiting are from some other country. I was told by a camper at Glacier to expect a lot of visitors from other countries in the Fall of the year, but I was still surprised at the high percentage. We talked to visitors from Holland, Germany, France, and Great Britain just in the short time we were on the shuttle bus. We are at 7’000 feet of altitude, so I suspect it will get a little chilly tonight. Tomorrow we hope to do some hiking along the rim.

October 15, Day 58

It was really cold this morning. I learned later at the visitor center that it got down to 30° last night and is supposed to get to 24° tonight. We fixed a real breakfast this morning of pancakes and sausage and then headed for the canyon. We took the shuttle to the east visitor center to view the exhibits and then headed back west. We walked the rim trail for a couple of miles and decided that was enough for the day. That trail provides a variety of views of the canyon. We had a good view of the Bright Angel trail which is the one that goes down to the base of the canyon. As much as I might like to make the effort, the trail descends 4500 feet in 7.8 miles. Hikers that make the trek usually go done one day, camp at the bottom, and ascend the next day. Perhaps another year? When we got back to camp, I saw that someone had closed the door to my rig. I had left the prime door open leaving only the screen door closed for ventilation for Cutie. I suspect she was barking and someone got tired of listening to her. So much for being a good neighbor!

October 16, Day 59

I don’t think it got as cold last night as the night before. I sat outside bundled up with my morning coffee feeding the ravens. These huge bird almost stalk you if they think you have food. I put out some of Cutie’s dry dog food and they loved it. We also say two mule deer in the campground as we were preparing to leave. We left the Grand Canyon National Park mid morning. There was a long line at the dump station and we had to wait a half hour. Your would think that a campground with 200+ sites would have more than one dump site. I stopped en route to fill up on propane as I was almost out. We took AZ180 to Flagstaff and I40 which took us through the Coconino National Forrest laden with Ponderosa pine . It was a scenic route that rose to an elevation of 8,022 feet. The only wild life I saw was a coyote crossing the road in front of me. East of Flagstaff we got off I40 to try to look at some Rte 66 sights, but they were gone. We did leave the expressway to tour Meteor Crater. The area is privately owned, but they have a very nicely developed interpretive center and viewing area at the rim of the crater. The wind velocity today was so high we actually had to hold on to the railings to keep our balance while viewing or photographing the crater. The center focuses on the meteor impact, history of the crater, and meteor impacts and craters around the world. It was worth the entrance fee. Our last stop of the day is at Winslow, AZ. We drove a short segment of Rte 66 to and through Winslow, toured a local museum, and viewed the corner made famous in the ’70’s song “Take It Easy” with the line, ’Standin’ on the corner in Winslow Arizona.’ In Winslow we also toured the former Fred Harvey hotel La Posada. This is a Mary Colter designed building and the last that she did for the Santa Fe Railroad about 1930. It sat vacant for 40 years, but has been recently renovated by the same firm that is doing the hotel/train station we visited in Needles, CA. It is now a five star hotel and is absolutely beautiful! There is a lot of Southwest art on display throughout the public areas of the hotel with some of the original furniture. We are spending the night at the Winslow Wal-Mart.

October 17, Day 60

I did not get a good night’s sleep. The Wal-Mart was noisy and there was an inebriated Native American vagrant knocking on doors trying to get a hand-out. I was awakened at 4:00 a.m. by two diesel rigs firing up and leaving. I took advantage of the time to read. We left about 7:30, drove east on I40 for a couple of miles, and stopped at a Rte 66 vestige called the Jackrabbit Trading Post. It was a beat-up dive, but they had a lot of Rte 66 photos and the like on display and good prices. What they didn’t have was coffee! Our next Rte 66 stop was Holbrook to view the Wigwam Village Motel. This is a throwback to another era! Each 15 or more motel rooms is a stand alone tee pee made of what appears to be stucco. They are each about 16 feet in diameter and 25 feet high. I asked the cleaning lady to show me a room and she was more than happy to oblige. The two double beds pretty much fill the room and the bathroom includes only a toilet and lavatory. They hardly meet today’s standards, but are still in high demand. We had breakfast in Holbrook at a Mexican diner. I had eggs ranchero with mild sauce over the eggs that somewhat hit my upper limit on degree of fire. Our big activity of the day was a run through the Petrified Forest National Park. We drove the 40 miles within the park from south to north stopping at a number of view points and taking two short hikes to view the petrified logs and some ancient Indian remains dating back to 1300 A.D. The former residents are believed to be the ancestors of today’s Hopi Indians. There are a great number of petrified trees in the park and the vistas are varied and beautiful. I am beginning to appreciate the desert. As the day progressed, the wind picked up again. Thankfully, it was a trail wind as we traveled on I40. We are in a nice campground in Gallup, NM for the night. We are both a little tired of ‘dry camping’ and need a long hot shower. The laundry facilities will come in handy as well.

October 8, Day 51

Today is Columbus Day and Brent has the day off while the kids and Melissa have school. I cleaned the rig in the morning and drove to his house. Brad joined us and we went to a local Mexican restaurant. The food was great and very authentic. After lunch, Brad insisted that we go down a few doors and get a bubble tea. This is an Asian beverage consisting of milk, iced tea, and large tapioca pearls the size of peas. They provide it with a large diameter straw. When you suck up a tapioca pearl, it is like getting a ’hocker’ in you mouth. It is a bit of ‘gager‘, but interesting. After lunch, it was time for the end of the school day for Sam and Lilly, so we drove to their school to pick them up. They attend Valley Christian School. I had a chance to meet their teachers and tour Melissa’s classroom. The construction of California elementary schools is very different from the Midwest. For example, the cloak room consists of hooks on the outside of the building under the roof eave. The cafeteria eating area is a large tent. Brent, I, and the kids went to their place and began working on homework. Melissa had to stay for a while and then run errands. I stayed for dinner and then headed back to the campground.

October 9, Day 52

We took our time in the morning to give traffic a chance to clear before hitting the expressway. Brent stopped by before going to work to say goodbye. It was nice of him to go out of his way to do that. We expressed it to Barstow, CA to pick-up Rte 66 and tour a museum there only the learn that the museum is only open on weekends. So we took off on the ‘Mother Road’ which in this part of the country is mostly rough pavement allowing anywhere between 40 and 50 mph. We are essentially in the high dessert. There is hardly any traffic on the road. We might see another car coming toward us about every 15 minutes. There is nothing to see on either side of the road expect a few abandoned buildings and sometimes I40 which somewhat parallels Rte 66‘. We did see an ancient lava flow which was ’cool’. We stopped in Amboy to see one of the few remaining remnants of the era when the road was in its prime. The place is called Roy’s motel and diner. It is in good shape, but not really functioning. Ten miles east of Amboy, Will burned out a bearing on one of the wheels of her trailer. Calls to AAA have yet to yield anything specific. So, we are in what used to be Chambless and is now a group of abandoned buildings. We will camp here along side the road and deal with the issue in the morning. Brent called to check on us and I told him about the break down. He cautioned us to ‘lock-down’ because of the crazies that live in the dessert. We had a quiet night.

October 10, Day 53

I set my alarm clock to wake Will up at 5:00 a.m. so she could call her Michigan insurance agent at 8:00 a.m. eastern time. I went back to bed. She knocked on my door an hour and a half later to tell me all was set and the tow truck would be there within the hour. He actually made it in less because was on a tire change call on I40 when he got the call. He took off the damaged tire, tied up the suspension, and towed the rig to a shop in Needles. It took most of the day to make the repair and check the other wheels. He also fixed my electric stairs which stopped functioning this morning as well. While he was working on the project, we looked around the town. There is not much to see, it is a rather tawdry town. We did tour a railway station Harvey House facility that is going through an extension renovation. We had a chance to look at the project and the job superintendent even let me look at the drawings. We went to an Indian casino, but got called out by security because we left Cutie in the vehicle with the windows rolled down. Evidently, it is against the law to leave a pet in a vehicle in Arizona even if the windows are down. We are camped for the night in a park on the shores of Colorado River in the city of Needles. The park has a pool and Jacuzzi tub and pool of which we took full advantage.

October 11, Day 54

We drove north from Needles to Bolder City, NV. We toured the town which is very quaint. Bolder City is the community built specifically to house workman during the construction of the Hoover Dam. They have done a lot of work recently to upgrade the downtown area. There are a number of shops, restaurants, and hotels to support the tourist trade that come to visit the dam. We had lunch in café that we are told was featured on Food TV on their ‘Diners and Dives’ shows. The food was good. We hit a number of shops. One antique shop actually had antiques rather than ‘old junk’ in it. We are camping at a Lake Meade National Recreational campground. We are finally back in the ‘cheap seats’ after spending a lot of time in CA. It is nice to be paying $5 for camping rather than $30. Of course, we don’t have anything like electricity, showers, or the Pacific Ocean, but we can survive for a couple of days before things start getting a little ‘gamey’. Tomorrow we tour the Hoover Dam.

October 2, Day 45

We drove back north and spent the day in Monterey doing the tourist bit. We toured Fisherman’s Warf, Cannery Row, and the Maritime Museum. Will toured the Aquarium, but I chose to ‘take a pass’ on that. We are at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park again tonight. Tomorrow, we continue heading south.

October 3, Day 46

Today was a fantastic day as far as scenery and experiences. We traveled on Rte 1 through the Big Sur section of the coast. The Santa Lucia Range of mountains extends right to the Pacific with the highway carved into the side generally about a hundred feet above sea level creating some of the most impressive scenery I have seen. There were a lot of ‘turn offs’ to view the scenery and we took full advantage of them. The Big Sur stretch of the highway is protected from development, so the scenery is not spoiled. The undeveloped nature of the area does have a down side. Will forgot to fill-up her gas tank before we left, so was ‘fleeced’ at one of the few stations by having to pay $4.79 a gallon! At one of the earlier view points we took a hike under the adjacent concrete arch bridge down to the shore where there was a lot of sea kept washed ashore. They look like some kind of alien creature. Some of the stems were 10 feet long and the consistency of a rubber hose. They have a round float bladder at the top to keep the foliage on the surface and the remaining 10+ hangs in the water below. Very eerie looking! At another viewpoints after we had left the mountains, we were lucky to view a colony of elephant seals lounging on the beach. I say lucky because we stopped and because they are only there at certain months of the year. According to the volunteer docents who serves the area, the colony appeared in the 90’s with a few members and has grown in size since becoming protected. Those we observed were juveniles, but were by not means small. They will leave in November/December when the mature adults begin arriving. A short distance from this seal beach is the Hurst Castle. We took one of the tours and it was very well done. The construction of the castle and surrounding structures began in 1919 and took 18 years to complete at a cost of $10million (1919) dollars. It is built in the Mediterranean style and has a great many art objects incorporated into the structure such as columns, friezes, tapestries, woodwork, and statuary. The art work was really more impressive than the buildings which are extensive and very well done. The landscaping is extensive as well with many ornamental trees and flowering shrubs. We are parked for the night at Pismo State Beach. The park is clean and the beach is really nice being at least 100 yards wide with very fine light colored sand. We got our first pictures of a Pacific sunset.

October 4, Day 47

We got a late start today as we do not plan to travel very many miles. We had a ‘real’ breakfast, did laundry, and got fuel before hitting the road. We mostly traveled on Rte 101, but when we exited on to Rte 1 it ran right along the coast. There were many RVs parked at the first State Beach we encountered watching the surfers. We would have joined them, but there was no room. We did park a little further down the highway on the coast for lunch, but the beach was not as nice and there were no surfers. We are parked for the night at McGrath State Beach. The further south we travel, the more expensive the camping. This park is $5 more than those further north and offers the same amenities. We plan to take off very early to try to avoid the traffic through the Los Angles area. We rendezvous with Brent some time tomorrow at another State Beach close to camp Pendleton.

October 5, Day 48

We rolled out in the wee hours of the morning to make the run through Los Angles and environs before the rush of traffic. I was supposed to get up at 1:00 a.m., but I guess I didn’t set the alarm correctly because Will had to wake me. We still hit the road at 2:00 a.m. as planned. After getting turned around in Ventura, we finally got back on Rte 101 and made the trip without any more problems. I cannot imagine navigating those freeways in an RV with six lanes of traffic. It would not be so bad if you could stay in one lane and keep going, but lanes keep pealing off and adding, so there was a lot of lane changes. We stopped for gas and a short nap at San Juan Capistrano and ended up at San Onofre State Beach where we hung out for the day. I read some of the references for our Rte 66 trip leg and did some much needed cleaning. Brent got a an ‘early quit’, and met us at the beach, and escorted us to Camp Pendleton Marine Base where we will be camping for the next few days. While we have stayed at a number of State Beaches in California and Oregon, this is the first time we have actually been on the beach itself. At the other locations, we have always been a few hundred yards with some dunes separating us from the Pacific. Here, we are in the sand right on the beach, and with full hook-up! Brent took us to the commissary to pick up some supplies. Wow, are the prices great! Brent left us to get set-up only to returned after dark with Melissa and the Sam, Lilly, and Sam’s friend Josiah along with Brent’s military friend Brad. We had a camp fire and burned some steaks and veggies with the requisite ‘some-mores‘ to follow. Sam & Lilly stayed the night after moving in all of their gear and beach paraphernalia. While the rig has acidulations to sleep three kids and an adult, the ‘living space’ is a little tight. The kids were good about going to bed. I let them ‘get silly’ for a while and then called ‘lights out.

October 6, Day 49

After breakfast, the kids headed for the beach. They swam and body surfed for about three hours and it was time for peanut butter and jelly. A loaf of bread and jar of peanut butter later, Brent arrived to take the kids to a birthday party. I crashed taking a nice long afternoon nap. Brent and family returned at dinner time with ribs and corn. Before dinner, Brent and the kids went swimming. The ribs and corn were cooked on the grill and, of course, followed with another round of ‘some-mores’. The kids spent the night again.

October 7, Day 50

After a breakfast of bacon and eggs, the kids were in the water again for a couple of hours before we had a lunch. We loaded all of the gear into Will’s truck and drove to Brent & Melissa’s house where we are hanging out checking email. Sam & Lilly are reluctantly doing their homework..

Septmeber 26, Day 39

I think this is going to be leisure stay. Barbara is feeding us well and we are not doing a lot except relaxing. This has been a total ’lay-back’ day.

September 27, Day 40 This morning, Thursday, we did pancakes and sausage for Barb. & Rosa. I put my scooter on the ground today and took a spin around the area. There is a winery not far up the road. It is a little high end for my taste, however I love the architecture of the buildings. Barbara and I worked on a couple of small jobs here today.

September 28, Day 41

We laid around most of the day reading. In the afternoon, went sailing with a friend of Barbara’s named Mike who recently picked up a used 27 footer. The wind was good at about 10 to 15 knots. Barbara was at the helm on the way across the lake and I took it on the way back. It was a good three hours cruise after which we drove over to the Indian Casino for a light dinner.

September 29, Day 42

Barbara & Rosa headed for the Bay Area today for a birthday celebration. We said our goodbyes even though we were hanging around until Sunday morning. I did a little grounds work for Barb, took my scooter for a spin and relaxed. Will and I went to Son’s of Italy BBQ in the next town for a meal and that was pretty much the day.

September 30, Day 43

We left Barbara’s and headed back to Rte 101 and south once more. Along the way, Nita decided that she wanted to spend some time at Bonita Beach where they filmed the movie, ‘The Birds’, so we parted ways anticipating a possible link-up some along the route. We exited 101 at San Rafael just as the traffic was getting crazy and headed west to Samuel P. Taylor State Park. It is a small piece of state real estate in the much larger Golden Gate National Recreational Area and the only public camping in the Bay Area. We are camping in a Redwood grove. The facilities are typical of western parks in that there is no electricity, only water and restroom facilities. This is the first time that we have found the showers to be coin operated. The cost, 25 cents for 2.5 minutes. We will see how that goes!

October 1, Day 44

I deposited $1 for my morning shower and could have gotten by for less. There was a lot of hot water! After breakfast, we left the Taylor State Park and headed west to pick-up Rte 1. The first portion was not too pretty, but as road began to follow the Pacific shore, the beauty increased and the road got more and more winding. By the time we got near Muier Woods, it was really bad. At one point, I ‘bottomed out’ which normally only happens if I have to cross a deep gulley. We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and made it through San Francisco without any problems. We continued on Rte 1 and stopped for the night at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park just south of Monterey which we plan to visit tomorrow.

September 20, Day 33

We drove to Gold Beach and have booked a day long jet boat ride up the Rogue River tomorrow. The short trip here was a mix of vistas. Some of the time we were deep into the wooded mountains and other times right on the coast which is rugged with the mountains extending right to the ocean. Before leaving the area of last night’s stay, we toured a fishing village named Charleston, just outside Coos Bay. They had a lot of sea food for sale in area stores or off he boats. One store cans its own product. They had smoked oysters and I thought of Dad, he loved them. The prices in the stores did not seem to be much of a bargain. They were, however, selling albatross (sp?) tuna off the boat (whole) for $2.00 a pound. A typical fish was 20 pounds. The guy we talked to indicated that he generally yields about 50% after cleaning. He must have had 100 pounds of steaks that he was going to be cooking for some group. He was throwing the scraps in the bay and the gulls and sea lions which were right there consuming every scrap as they hit the water. Tonight we are in a commercial RV park so we can be close to town for the 7:30 a.m. call for the boat ride.

September 21, Day 34

We took a day long jet boat ride up the Rogue River at Gold Beach, OR. The Rogue River is federally declared ‘Wild River’. With such designation, there can be no effort to control the flow of the designated portion of the river or development within a prescribed distance from the river. A portion of the river is open to recreation (ie: fishing & camping), however another portion is controlled and restricts the number who can access it each day. Half of that number goes to individuals on a permit basis and the other half is reserved for commercial firms such as the one that provided our jet boat ride. Individuals make application a year in advance to get a permit to kayak or raft down the controled portion of the river. The eight hour excursion took us 54 miles up the river to a point where the power boat could go no further because of the rocks. On the way, the boat took us through deep cut mountain valleys and rapids; the largest having a ‘class three’ designation. Kayakers start their journey 35 miles further upstream from the point where we stopped. They typically take 3-5 days to travel the controlled portion of the river. During our trip, we saw osprey, American eagle, and a lot of waterfowl. After the boat ride, we moved to the Quosatana campground which is in the Siskiyou National Forrest. It is a relatively new facility right on Rogue River about 15 miles from the mouth of the river. After setting up camp, we watched a doe with two fawns meandering through the campground.

September 22-23, Day 35-36

What a beautiful day at a fantastic campground. The day is cool, but sunny. A perfect start to autumn. The campground is less than a third occupied. We took an early morning walk on the gravel bank next to the river. We watched the same jet boats cruise by that we had traveled on the day before. They did not look as cold as we did thanks to the sun. Cutie waded in the water and got wet enough to get that ’wet dog’ smell. After breakfast, we picked blackberries getting enough to make a blackberry Brown Betty. It turned out great! Maybe it is something like having hot dogs at the ball park, the setting helps a lot. Mid-day a group of wild turkeys sauntered through the campground. (What is a group of turkeys called beside politicians?) At dinner time, a doe with three fauns came to beg. We gave them some apple. We decided to stay another day. When we leave here, we are going to link up with another camper in northern California, just about 50 miles down the road. We were advised to enter California with a full tank of gas as fuel there is about fifty cents a gallon higher.

September 24, Day 37

We left camp early and linked up with Nita in Smith River, CA. We made certain that we filled up in Oregon as the prices in California .40 per gallon higher. We continued on 101 which took us through the Redwood National Park. What a national treasure! We stopped for lunch at a pull-off and took a short walk to view a redwood tree that is 25feet in diameter at its base and estimated to be 1500 years old. Along the route, we say elk, but the pull-off opportunities were limited, so we could not get any pictures. We are spending the night in a county park near Eureka overlooking Humboldt Bay. It is a little tawdry as the scenery is a mix of industrial and natural. The place need some cleaning and maintenance. They could learn something from the folk in Oregon!

September 25, Day 38

Today was a difficult driving day, but much worth the effort. We took the scenic route from Eureka to Lucerne to visit with my sister Barbara. The route took us through old growth Redwood forests. The scenic segment off Rte 101 was along a 32 miles road called ‘Avenue of the Giants’. The road was winding with many steep hills and few flat valleys and took us through the Humboldt Redwood State Park. Most Impressive. The second beautiful secondary road we took was CA Route 1 The first portion was again through old growth Redwood and Douglas Fir forest. This road was even more mountainous with tighter turns. On the two roads we probably averaged less than 15 miles per hour having to take some of the turns at a crawl Easily this has been the most difficult roads we have traversed the entire trip. The portion of Rte 1 along the ocean was easier, but still beautiful. Our last difficult road segment was CA Rte. 20 from Fort Bragg back to Rte 10l. This was another mountain road through rugged country. In all we, we drove only 225 miles, but it took us 9 hours with a minimal of time lost due to stops.

We arrived at Barbara’s about 4:00. I am very impressed with what she has done to the place since I saw it back in 2004 (not certain of the year). I told her that she has a ‘compound’ with the two houses and separate office/studio. The thee of us are parked in her various driveways and she has given us access to the guest house facilities. This is more than a few steps above where we stayed last night. We did Tai carry-out for dinner. This was my first exposure to Tai food and I really liked it. As we were eating on the deck, we were watching a helicopter make trips back and forth from the lake picking up water to extinguish a brush fire in the hills behind Barb’s place.

September 19, Day 32

We had a beautiful drive today. The road was winding a passed through some beautiful yet rugged mountain forests We stopped at a high viewpoint to see the Hecta Head Lighthouse from across the bay. The next more impressive stop was at Devils Churn which is a gorge that the sea has eroded through a vein of soft stone deep into the side of a mountain. The first viewpoint is a couple hundred feet above the gorge and provides a opportunity to watch and listen to the waves flow up the gorge creating muffled roars as they crash into the hollowed out areas under the harder overhanging rocks. We followed the trail down to a flat area about ten feet above sea level where we go a close-up view of waves rolling into the gorge. Most impressive! In the same general area is Cape Creek Bridge. It is poured concrete arch bridge of significant height. Traffic crosses the bridge and immediately enters a tunnel. This is very rugged topography to try to traverse with a road! Our next stop was at a commercial venture called Seal Cave. While I am not very fond of commercial operations, I must admit that they have done a very nice job of providing access while still protecting this huge seaside cave. They purport that this is the largest seal lion cave in the world and I can believe them, it is huge at 125 high and about an acre in area. We saw one sea lion sleeping on a huge rock in the middle of the pool.. There is a small colony of female seas lions who live here all year. The males migrate north in the winter and come back in the spring to mate (sound like some guys I know). When we arrived at Coos Bay we headed for the library to check email and update blogs. Our last stop before heading to the campground was to Wal-Mart for supplies. We are camping at Sunset Bay about three miles outside of a fishing village named Charleston.

September 20, Day 33

We drove to Gold Beach and have booked a day long jet boat ride up the Rogue River tomorrow. The short trip here was a mix of vistas. Some of the time we were deep into the wooded mountains and other times right on the coast. Before leaving the area of last night’s stay, we toured a fishing village named Charleston, just outside Coos Bay. They had a lot of sea food for sale in area stores or off he boats. One store cans its own product. They had smoked oysters and I thought of Dad, he loved them. The prices in the stores did not seem to be much of a bargain. They were, however, selling albatross (sp?) tuna off the boat (whole) for $2.00 a pound. A typical fish was 20 pounds. The guy we talked to indicated that he generally yields about 50% after cleaning. He must have had 100 pounds of steaks that he was going to be cooking for some group. He was throwing the scraps in the bay and the gulls and sea lions were right there eating every scrap. Tonight we are in a commercial RV park so we can be close to town for the 7:30 a.m. call for the boat ride.

September 16, Day 30

Today was a short drive day, only about 100 miles. We moved from one Oregon State Park to another. Tonight, we are dry camping (no electricity or water) at Lookout Cape State Park which is right on the Pacific. Our campsite is about 100 yards from the ocean edge. We made two stops on the way. The first was at a Pendelton outlet store in Seaside. I found a nice shirt. The second stop was at the Tillamock cheese factory. It is a large facility, but the tour is no where as good as the one they provide at Fair Oaks Farm back in Indiana; however, the ice cream is just as good. Just north of Tillamock, Will ran out of gas across the street from a gas station. She had a small amount in a gas can which got her started again so she could pull into the station. After getting set-up at the park, we took a long walk on the beach. While the views up and down the coast are beautiful, they are shrouded in mist. No pictures at this stop! I would love to see a Pacific sunset, but I am afraid it will be blocked by clouds this evening.

September 17, Day 31

Another short driving day and another night camping on the Pacific Coast beach. Tonight we are at the Tillicum Beach Campground which is a Forest Service site, so with the senior passport the fees are more to my liking. On the way down the coast, we stopped at one roadside viewing station to look for whales, but did not see any. I thought I saw a sea lion, but I think my eyes were playing tricks on me. We also toured the Yaquina Bay Light House. This is the tallest lighthouse on the Oregon coast and sits on a rocky spit of land that extends a mile into the ocean. There is also a very informative Interpretive Center that focuses on marine biology and the building of the lighthouse. I did get a chance to climb to the top of the lighthouse - 110 steps! The area was teaming with kelp flies. Hours after leaving the area, I am still trying to rid my rig of them.

September 11, Day 24

Today ended up being a errand day in Lewiston. We hoped to drive to a lookout north of the city which boasts a three state view, but their was a heavy haze over the area. Instead, we spent most of day running errands. For some unknown reason, a part of the load leveler system on Will’s rig got bent and needed to be replaced. We chased around town until we found an RV parts dealer which is also the local Ford dealer. While they did not have the part, they put us on to a weld shop that could facilitate a repair. While they were working on the part, I walked across the street and got a much needed hair cut. Afterward, we found the library, checked email, and updated blogs. In the afternoon, back at the park, I gave my rig a much needed wash.

September 12, Day 25

Our travel today began by following the Snake River west. At one point, we left the river and entered a very hilly county not unlike central Montana. I did not know that they grew wheat on this side of the Continental Divide in Oregon. We also saw some grape vineyards. Nothing is green in this part of the country unless it is irrigated. What a change from the Midwest. We are camping tonight at a Corps of Engineers site at the McNary Lock and Dam on the Columbia. We stopped at the dam to tour an information center on salmon. At this dam, they have a sophisticated system beyond a fish ladder for the purpose of separating out the fingerling salmon which they collect and barge downstream to facilitate their journey to the sea.

September 13, Day 26

Today we traveled from an arid to a temperate climate. In 175 miles we left the parched area of eastern Oregon which sees only 10” of rain a year and entered the Cascade Mountains which are cool and damp. We traveled on I84 which follows the Columbia River. While the mountains began to loom on either side of the river, we were generally traveling on level roads as the highway hugs the river. I say river, but it is really a series of lakes created by dams. We stopped in Maryville to tour an art museum bequeathed by Sam Hill who was an entrepreneur and married the daughter of the Minneapolis Hill who was instrumental in building the Northern Pacific Railroad and the lodges we toured at Glacier National Park. The museum was a bit of a ‘hodge-podge’ except for the lower floor which houses a display of artifacts from American Indians. What made it so interesting is that displays were categorized by geographic regions from the Artic, south to Arizona, and east to the plains and beyond. It was interesting to see how the tools, clothing, and baskets varied with the various regions. Very neat! We are camping this evening in Ainsworth State Park. I am most impressed with the Oregon system of Sate Park. They have 275 sites scattered throughout the state with a high concentration along the Pacific Coast and Columbia River. This parks lies close to the river, highway, and railroads. While we cannot hear the highway, the traffic on the railroad lines which are on both sides of the river is very heavy. There seems to be a train every half hour or so running one way or the other. It is almost like being back in Lake County.

September 14, Day 27

Rather than jumping back on to I84, we took the historical highway that was the forerunner to the expressway and runs parallel. It is a two lane highway that winds through the Columbia Gorge area, a most impressive section of the river. We stopped to view a number of water falls one of which is the tallest in North America. We also visited a the Crown Point Vista overlook which includes a impressive 1920’s stone octagonal structure. This remaining stretch of highway is well preserved with a lot of stone barrier walls and poured concrete bridges. We took a diversion to go to a Campland to get some need parts. The last leg of the day’s trip was across the coastal mountains to Fort Stephens State Park where we will spend a few day and complete the Lewis and Clark leg of our trip by visiting the sites as they completed their journey and spent the winter before making their return trip.

September 15, Day 28-29

Fort Stevens State Park is at the mouth of Columbia River. It is large park and former Army base dating back to the Civil War era and was decommissioned after WWII. It is the largest park in the Oregon system and has over 500 campsites. We will be here through the weekend. We visited Cape Disappointment on the Washington side of the river near where L&C camped upon first arriving at this their final destination. The cape was not named by them but by a ship’s captain a decade before they arrived by land. There is a well done Interpretive Center which reviews the entire trip of the corps while focusing on the Corps activities in the area of the mouth of the Columbia. Our second visit of the day was to Fort Clatsop. This is a reconstruction of the facility built by the Corps in only a week to serve as a home as they wintered over and prepared to starting the trip back to St. Louis. The fort was a disappointment as it is too nice to be in any way a realistic representation. The Fort Mandan replica was much more realistic. The impressive element of the site is the stand of old growth Sitka Spruce. A number of the trees are in excess of 5’ in diameter at the measuring point 6’ off the ground. The canopy of these trees is so dense that little or nothing grows at their base. This ends the first leg of our journey. We have traversed 3600+ miles in four weeks which is fewer miles than the Corps did in its eighteen months of travel. While we averaged 125+ miles per day, they averaged 15. I was impressed with the accomplishments of the corps after reading Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose. That book is what prompted me to take this trip. I am even more impressed with the accomplishments of the Corps of Discovery after traversing much of the same route, the easy way.

It is rainy today. We are going to devote the morning to exploring the park. We drove to the northern area where the historic army base is located. Because of the rain, we opted for the guided tour in the back of a canvas covered duce-and-a-half military truck. The remaining elements of the fort consist of gun battery bulwarks and the foundations of buildings. There are a few Civil War era artillery pieces. Next, we drove to extreme north end of the park which is were the south jetty of the mouth of Columbia River is located. There are some viewing towers to provide a view of the area. The Corps of Engineers began constructing jetties at the mouth of the river in the early 19^th century in an attempt to control the formation of sand bars that impacted shipping. Today, the shipping channel at the mouth is only a half mile wide due to the construction of jetties. The natural mouth of the river appears to be about five miles wide. Our last visit of the morning is to one of the beaches on the Pacific where a ship went aground a hundred years ago. A portion of the iron skeleton is still visible while mostly buried in the sand. There were a number of people riding horses on the beach. The afternoon is devoted to changing out the fresh water fill station on my rigThe foundation also has . I developed a problem and could not hook up directly to city water. The remainder of the day will be devoted to reading and napping.

September 8, Day 21

There was coffee with the LOW group this morning. Wow, and I thought I made strong coffee!! After breakfast, we headed to Livingston so I could get to my appointment for an oil change. I dropped Will off at the library so she could check email and update her blog. Afterward, I joined her at the library and did the same thing. We looked for a place to grab a bite to eat and ended up at a thrift shop. Will forgot to bring a warm coat and found a nice one for $5. I picked up some towels to use as rags and a kitchen knife. On the way back, we decided to go to the Chico Spa again. By Montana standards, it is only ‘down the road a piece’. It was actually 12 miles one way. This time I brought my shampoo and took full advantage of the shower after soaking in the pool for a hour or so. I tried the ’hot’ pool, but could only stay in it for a few minutes. We have been up and down this Yellowstone river valley a number of times now and it seems to be more beautiful with each trip. There are a lot of small ‘gentlemen ranches’ hugging the river and dotting the foothills. Some are old, but most are recent with very nice log houses and out-buildings. Many have either horses, a few head of cattle, or sheep. The other campers report that the real estate here is very expensive and most of the ‘mini-ranches’ would go for over $1M. The campground is right on the river and just before sundown this evening we saw a small herd of mule deer across the river. Even at the distance of 100 yards they were of aware of my presence and the older does kept a close eye on me. The longer I am here, the more I like the place.

September 9, Day 22

After coffee and saying goodbye to the Big Sky LOW group, we headed back to Livingston to do laundry. On the way, we spotted a single yearling deer ‘bounding’ through the field to put distance between herself and the vehicles. Near Three Forks, MT, we stopped at the Missouri Headwaters State Park. This is the point where the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin Rivers converge to form the Missouri. From here, it is 2500+ river miles to where the Missouri meets the Mississippi. Cutie took a swim in the head waters of the Missouri at a boat launch where we met some locals who were loading their inflatable rafts after having done a five hour float down the Gallatin. They had two dogs with them. They report that the younger swam most of the way. Tonight we are again at a Wal-Mart parking lot in Butte, MT, along with about 15 other rigs.

September 10, Day 23

Well, we went from deep Fall to full Summer in one day’s drive. This morning when we got up in Butte and it was 29° . When we got to Lewiston, ID, it was 88° . We took I90 from Butte to Missoula, MT, where we picked up US12 over the Lolo pass and through the Bitterroot Mountains. This has to be one of the most beautiful routes in the country. The first 30 miles is an inclining grade until you get to the Lolo Pass on the Continental Divide at an elevation of 5235’. The next 100 miles is a steep down hill grade of winding and twisting highway through National Forrest. The highway follows the fast running Lochsa River which has high pine covered mountains jutting up on both sides. Spectacular!! At Lowell, ID, the highway leaves the National Forest, enters and Indian Reservation, and begins to follow the less fast running Clearwater River for the last 100 miles of less dramatic scenery into Lewiston which has an elevation of only 738’. I am anxious to see what kind of fuel consumption I experienced for this leg of the trip! We are staying two nights in Hells Gate State Park outside Lewiston. This is the first time we have stayed in a full service park with electricity, city water, and showers for twelve days. It is a bit pricey, but we are ready for a little luxury.