Monday, July 20, 2009

Katharine Lee Bates, wrote a poem in the 1800's that has since been put to music. We learned this going up Pike's Peak. She had gone up the mountain and wrote this poem: " Oh, beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!"
We all know the words and somehow this trip really brings that home.

We started out heading North towards the Pacific Ocean. On the way we stopped at Beringer's winery. It is what you would think of as an "old family winery". The typical big home with the vineyards all around. What a picture the site is. We did not take the tour. Instead we just went into the tasting room. Had a few tastes, and then we purchased some wine.

Leaving the winery, we wanted to get over to the coast and take the "1" north towards Ft. Bragg.



We drove thru a section of California redwoods, the small ones. The Giant Redwoods are a lot farther North than we were going today,The weather in Yountville when we left was mid 70's, when we got on the coast it was cold and foggy, we saw the temperature drop to the mid 40's and 50's. The coast highway is steep, rugged and no place to drive a motorhome. Glad this was a day trip in the car. Lunchtime found us at the Albion river gorge, we found a neat little restaurant at the bottom of the gorge. The restaurant had history of the area done up in scrapbooks for customers to look at while waiting for their lunch. The area at one time was a logging area. The lumber was being sent down to San Francisco to build the "Painted Ladies"? Well, that's just a guess but it was during that time frame that the mills where sending lumber to San Francisco.

Driving up the coast highway we found beautiful rugged areas and not many beaches. But we did find one beach in which Tom and Charley got out for a walk. Charley was on the black, stony Pacific beach scared of the waves and had a ball avoiding getting wet.

We stopped in the little village of Mendocino. It is well known for being an artist haven. Nancy shopped and had a great time. The photos for this village don't do it justice. Tom and Charley walked the boardwalk.

When we attempted to go over the mountains and head back to Yountville we found the terrain really difficult. Who says "tail of the dragon" is a great motorcycle ride? You haven't been on the roads between the coast and the middle of California? Lots of u-turns, ups and downs and you name it - we drove it. Nancy was really scared that we might go off the road in a few places. No Guardrails!!!!!

We arrived back at the campsite to have a lovely dinner and enjoy visiting with great new friends.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Friday the 17th outside Reno, Nevada was a do noting day for us. We sat around the campsite, and otherwise took a breather.

Saturday we were headed west, once again. Nancy went to put the jacks up and once again they would not go. Tom had to manually help them up, but this is not going to stop our vacation. It's going to be "rock & roll" for the rest of the trip again! We knew that we had about a 20 mile long up-grade and then a 40 mile down-grade getting from Nevada into California (Donner Pass, elev 7293'). We started out with Tom driving the motorhome and Nancy driving the car. We made pretty good time and about 90 miles into our drive we turned off on a side road and re-connected the auto to the motorhome to finish the trip to Yountville, CA.

We arrived in Yountville at the VA home. It is the largest facility for veteran's there is in the USA. They have an RV park. Not many spaces with full hook-up and a few spaces with just water and electric. We found a lovely spot under a big old tree and manage to set up for the night. Aren't sure just how long we will be in the area, but the rates are good. Saturday afternoon found us heading into Napa and eating out. We toured the little villages of Napa and Yountville. They sure are pretty, very quaint & very pricey.

Sunday morning we think we should head into the big city. We have looked at maps and so off we go into the wild blue yonder heading for San Francisco. When we arrive in the city we are heading south over the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge. Wow, the fog is so heavy that we can't even see the top of the bridge, but over it we go. First we find the parks and just sit and park for awhile and watch for the bridge and the boats. We also make out Alkatraz and an escapee :)=

Next we think we will try and find Lombard St. Not an easy thing to do, but with our dumb luck Tom takes a turn and we find we are on Lombard St. heading down. The crazy street is full of curves and the flowers are everywhere. It is really a site to behold. We really did actually drive down Lombard Street!!!

From there we think our next stop should be Fishermen's Wharf. We drive down there and lo and behold in the big city we find a free parking spot, like most of the city the garages charge $22.00 per day. Anyhow we are 2 blocks from the wharf.

We walk down the Embarcadero and go out on pier 45 and it is a museum. There are some old WWII Navy boats tied to the pier and for a price you can enter them. No, thanks! Then Nancy wants to go farther down the Embarcadero to Pier 39, this is where the sea lions are and also where there are lots of shops. We walk until we are tired, then we walk some more. Nancy's knee hurts her so she is using Tom's cane. We had lunch at Boudins Bread Co. Great SF sourdough breads. Nancy found some new jewelry out on the pier for a pretty good price , too.

The next stop on our city tour is the "painted ladies", We find them, and Tom finds a parking space. Nancy gets out and walks and takes many photos of the houses. They are truly beautiful. Nancy is so happy that she gets to see them.

From there we head out towards Chinatown. We drive by the gate and then try to find a place to park. We were told there would not be any parking places and they were correct, so we just drive through and think we have had enough of playing tourist. From there we find our way to the Oakland Bay Bridge-going the wrong way to get any great photos, we are on the lower level. Darn, next time we should reverse the way we drive into the city. Oh well, a great day and a tiring day. We arrive back at the motorhome and hope to relax. Charley is so happy to see us. She spent the whole day in the A/C. We got home and all she wanted to do is "gotta pee, gotta pee"!

Everything in this part of California is like a tinderbox, just waiting for a spark! I mean South Florida in March/April doesn't compare. These people are prime for some really major, catastrophic wild fires. Sure hope it doesn't happen. If a fire starts here, it will be international level news.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Wednesday we took the day to arrive in Verdi, Nv (pronounced Ver-Die). When we arrived in Reno (about 10 miles away) we unhooked the Saturn in a Lowe's parking lot, then went on the prowl to find an RV park. Wow, are we glad we did that, there are a lot of RV parks in and around the area, but are they ever packed in! We thought we would get out of "Dodge" and perhaps find something a little further down the road, and Tom spotted an ad in Woodall's about this really great sounding RV park in Verdi at exit 2 off I-80. We called ahead and they had a spot for us so we both drove a vehicle and headed west again. We arrived and is it ever nice. Tom will post a photo or two of our campsite.

Wednesday afternoon, after getting set up it was on to some mundane items - like the laundry. A neccessity at this point. After getting it all done and put away it pretty much blew the day.

Thursday we had plans to go to Carson City, the capital of Nevada. We wanted to tour the capitol bldg., then drive around Lake Tahoe. Well on the way to Carson City Nancy spotted an RV sales office and they just happened to have Tiffin motorhomes on the lot. We did a fast u-turn and went to look. Yes, we are thinking of a new motorhome. No, we did not buy, but it gave us a chance to really see the inside of the Tiffin Phaeton 36 instead of looking at the floorplan on the web site. Really nice motorhome.

After a couple of hours we finally left and started our tour of the Lake. Oh, first we found a Harley store. Bummer they had nothing we wanted. We also found a casino in which to eat a nice meal at a low price. We headed south to South Lake Tahoe, it is on the border between Nevada and California. After find the Harley store here, we started out of town. Nancy missed the turn so we had to backtrack and get on route 89. Let me say the photos of Lake Tahoe do not do it justice. It is absolutely stunning!!!! The water is sooooo blue, the cliffs you're on are so high and the trees are so huge. We have photos to show, but again they do not show the area with as much depth and clearity as I would like. It was a very warm day so it was hazy background. If you look at the photos hard you can see the snow on the mountain peaks.

The end of the day found us heading into Reno to purchase a few groceries. Lynn, I found a stapler like you have, thank you.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Today started out in Wyoming. We left early this a.m. heading into Utah. We arrived in Salt Lake City and headed for a Costco. We purchased Nancy new sunglasses as she left her good pair in her motorcycle back in Estero. Bought a chicken for lunch and ate it in the parking lot.

The terrain in Utah is different than Wyoming. Just didn't think it would be so different. The rock outcroppings are neat. Really hard to explain. We stopped at a rest area and took Charley out. She tried to make friends with the prairie dogs but they just hid when she got close. The rest area was really nice and it was good just to get out of the rv.

Left Salt Lake City heading west. Hoped to make the Bonneville Salt Flats. Just outside of Salt Lake City the road is straight and flat and we did make good time. We saw the Great Salt Lake. It is huge, much larger than I had imagined it to be. There seems to be a dike around the lake and the swamp area around the lake is full of salt deposits. All along the road to the salt flats were deposits of salt. It was like looking at snow all along the road. When we get to the salt flats we get out and walk around. You can actually walk on the salt flats, it would be like walking along the shoreline of the gulf where the water had just receded. The area is vast and the salt is slightly damp. We all walked down to the salt flats and Charley had a hard time figuring out what it was. (After all most of the time we take her for walks she finds real grass)

Anyhow after our side trip we got back on the road and made it to Elko, NV. Tonight is just a stopover with us continuing on tomorrow. We hope to make it to Reno tomorrow.

We had such a different day, with all the salt deposits along the road. The mountains we could see behind the salt flats we saw for at least 50 miles. The area is so vast, and when we hit the state line into Nevada it was like the salt flats disappeared and the mountains came back.

Talked with son, Jeff today. The salt flats is somewhere he has not been. Wow, we beat him somewhere, imagine that.

Monday, July 13,2009

Sunday was a sunny day with just a hint of warmth in the morning. By 10:00 a.m. the weather was warm and we were on our way to Royal Gorge Bridge. We arrived to find you can't even see the bridge or the souvenor store without paying $25.00 for that priviledge, NO Way would we pay$25.00 each to view a bridge. We found a person and asked if you could view the bridge without paying that terrible price. We went and found a turnout and viewed the bridge from there.

We took Charley with us and so we returned to the RV to drop her off as our next stop was the Air Force Academy. We went through security and then off to the visitor center. We watched a movie and then went to find the beautiful chapel. The top floor is the prodestant chapel, underneath that is the Catholic chapel, Jewish temple and Buddist shrine. All are lovely and it was really something to see close up. We had been there before but you forget how lovely things can be.

Monday we left Colorado Springs early (5:53 a.m.) and headed north. We traveled I-25 north towards Wyoming. We had to get into Wyoming to be able to put up the dorkey little state on our state map that almost all RV and trailers. Let me tell you about Wyoming, we were entering Medicine Bow National Forest, with not a tree in site. That really bumed me out. Who ever tells you that Wyoming is a do nothing state is just about right. They do have lots of windmill farms. That is big business here. The winds they do blow, and blow and blow. We fought 40 to 50mph winds all day long. We finally stopped for the night at exit 34 by Fort Bringer. All in all a long day, glad to have stopped for the evening. Tomorrow looks to be another day on the road.

Waldo and Carmen have had an exciting vacation so far. Hope all our friends are in good health and reading our blog.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

This morning Tom Called Skip Wiley. Skip lives south in West Pubelo, Co. He came to Colorado Springs and we had a wonderful time catching up on family and things. We went into Manitoba Springs and found a neat spot for lunch. Then back to the motorhome and show a few photos to Skip and then he headed back home.

After Skip left we took Charley to a dog park. She loved being able to run and be off a leash for awhile, but even dogs have a tough time with air up here.

We went to the Flying W Ranch for a dinner show. It was lots of fun. They pair people up and you sit a picnic table with 12 people. The dinner is a cafeteria style and is chuckwagon fare. After dinner they had a 5 piece cowboy band and they play the instruments and sing old time fares. What a great time. We were with two other couples and our table only had 7 people at it. The other 5 that were slated to sit with us had 3 little boys and they found another table to sit at. Their youngest was only 1 years old and even before they started to eat he was not a happy camper. He had missed his afternoon nap and therefore we were sorta happy that they found another place to eat and hear the show from.

Well, Carmen and Waldo are tired so we are heading to bed tonight. Good night.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Carmen and Waldo had a wonderful trip yesterday. We did like 550 miles in the RV. Much to long of a day, but hey here we are in Colorado Springs for the next 4 days. The trip just wore us both out, we started at 7:30 a.m. and got off the road at 5:30 p.m., but remember we had an hour time change in there. But it was nice to arrive somewhere where we will be for a few days time.

Waldo touched bases with his cousins and one of them is in Michigan. Imagine that!!! Anyhow tomorrow (Saturday) we will meet up with Skip Wiley.

We had wanted to get into "Garden of the Gods" RV park but they were full up. So we called and found another park close by, not nearly as nice, but there is some big time trials for the Pikes Peak Climb this week-end. Guess we are lucky to get a spot.

Today we will check the weather report and if nice we will take the cog rail up the Peak. If not good weather report then we will head towards the Air Force Academy. Tonight it looks like we might find a nice restaurant for dinner and then back to the RV. Hey, at least we have cable here.

Hope all of my friends are having a great summer. Signing off for now. (It is like 6:30 a.m. MST)

Well we went to Pikes Peak on the cog train. What a nice time. We took Flat Stanley and they did not even charge us for his trip up to the top and back. Jeff called when we were at the summit, and we had no signal strength so the call had to wait and be returned when we got back down off the peak. All three grand-daughters called and wished me a "happy birthday, grandma" How nice to hear their voices.

This afternoon we went to the Garden of the Gods. Wow, the scenery is magnificient! The rocks are like what you see in Sedona, but the formations are really neat. Charley could go with us, as long as she was on a leash and we cleaned up after her. Tom, Charley and I went walking on the only path the information lady told us to walk on. Tom and Charley headed back to the car and Nancy continued to walk, with them picking her up farther down the trail. What a trial, the higher elevation and the warm weather made for difficult walking. But, they did manage to find each other. Nancy kept wanting to take pictures,so Tom would find the parking area, and out would hop Nancy to take just one more picture. Finally, Nancy's camera battery died, just three short pictures short of where she wanted it to. Oh well, I guess they will have to return and take those shots some other day.

when we were changing for dinner Greg, Lynn, Emily and Allison called to wish me a happy birthday. I did not answer the call and so they left a singing message. Yes, I did save it. Love to get the call.

This evening we have reservations for 2 at MacKenzie's Chop House at 6:30. Looks and sounds like a nice dinner place...you can look them up on the internet. Afterwards I think Waldo and Carmen (aka Tom and Nancy) will crash, big time. What a Birthday.

Aster checking my e-mail and facebook I had many more of you wish me a happy day. So nice to know that people are thinking of you. Thanks for the many wishes and making my day great.