TO LOAD STORIES SO I WILL BE STARTING
JOE'S TRIP LOG Part II TO CONTINUE THIS
BLOG PAGE.
DAY # 106 - THURSDAY 07/17/14 - PORT ANGELES, WA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
9,555 PORT ANGELES, WA. 8:30 am / 59 / Cloudy
Chiropractor appointment for JoAnn first thing on a dreary heavy dark cloudy
morning so instead of hiking in this heavy fog I take her to breakfast at local
favorite breakfast hangout CORNERHOUSE CAFE in downtown. Excellent
choice for a relaxing meal & listen to the locals. Return JoAnn to the trailer and
by 10:00 am light patches of blue sky slowly appear. VERY GOOD!
TRAILHEAD: From Port Angeles, Hurricane Ridge Road to just prior to
Heart O' the Hills entrance station, turn right drive past
bunkhouse to parking lot.
The 3.5 miles to Lake Angeles climbs 2,400 ft. and is VERY steep workout right
from the start. Typical Olympic awesome hike through DENSE forest, thick lush
green ferns and quiet solitude.
Lake Angeles is a beautiful green lake with an island, surrounded by thick dense trees and
soggy mud bogs.
Decided to continue up trail to the high ridge above the lake for a chance at better views
and after some daring rock scrambles & skinny ridge running the views North over the
Strait of Juan de Fuca, East over Lake Angeles and South to Klahhane Ridge were well
worth the three heart attacks I had scrambling to this view point.
My last hike before leaving for Canada and I figure at 68 miles I have only hiked a tiny
fraction of the 800 gorgeous miles of trails in this park. Definitely on the top of my LONG
list of amazing places to return for more hiking adventures!
DAY # 105 - WEDNESDAY 07/16/14 - PORT ANGELES, WA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
9,530 VICTORIA , BRITISH COLUMBIA , CANADA 11:00 am / 73 / Sunny
My first trip into Canada in a long, long time. Use the Black Ball Ferry out of Port
Angeles for the 90 minute ride on the M.V. Coho across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Fascinating how orderly they load vehicles from motorcycles to tandem trailer trucks.
Walk the entire ferry for best views and find the view of back best with view of
quickly fading Olympic Mountains & Port Angeles. Playing 20 questions with both
customs officials very interesting. No matter how hard I tried to psychic myself I
was still overcome with the "International Dreds" soon as we pulled into Victoria.
First on list a visit to the ROYAL BC MUSEUM. Highlight is the "Viking Display"
which under new history theories depicts the Vikings now as "friendly" nomadic
wandering tribes instead of the ruthless warriors we were taught about. I enjoyed
the really bad guys theories much better. Pretty soon under our strict politically
correct society Atilla The Hun will become a predecessor to the Peace Corps!
Enjoyed the early miners, loggers, and characters of this area much better. Walk
over to Fisherman's Wharf and were disappointed to find only food booths with
common outdoor tables (which were all full) to eat on. Walk the David Foster
Inner Harbour Walking Route for a beautiful tour around the colorful harbor. This
was the high lite of my day. Finally with time running out on our return ferry we
find the the Bard & Banker Pub in downtown for a quick lunch and guess what,
still no seafood for poor JoAnn. Once again it is $47.85 for two hamburgers,
fries (friets) a beer and water. This place is WAY too expensive for my tastes!
Glad to be back on the ferry and heading HOME until half way across the strait
a thick fog bank rolls in, the gentle waves turn into whitecaps which has this big
ferry tossing & rolling pretty good. Now the ship fog horn is sounding every
10 seconds, decks are cleared of passengers and replaced by binocular wielding
crew members. Life was really exciting for about a half hour until until we pop out
of the fog and everything is back to normal. For pictures of Victoria please refer
JoAnn's main blog page as downloading pictures on wi-fi here is a chore.
DAY # 104 - TUESDAY 07/15/14 - PORT ANGELES, WA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
9,478 SOL DUC FALLS / DEER LAKE, OLYMPIC N.P., WA. - 8 Miles
TRAILHEAD: Hwy. 101 West of Port Angeles, left on SOL DUC HOT
SPRINGS ROAD past resort to end of road. Follow
Sol Duc Falls Trail to falls, cross bridge, turn right on
Lovers Lane Trail until you reach DEER LAKE TRAIL
Junction.
First .8 miles is a freeway trail with heavy people use, crying babies, screaming kids
who don't listen to their out of breath & shape parents. Falls are kinda nice and if you
need peace and quiet for a break just walk upstream past bridge to campsites.
Once on the Deer Lake Trail ALL non-serious hikers are COMPLETELY eliminated.
This trail is steep (gaining 1,800 ft. elevation in 3 miles) extremely rocky with treacherous
tree roots not to mention the never ending switchbacks. My kinda trail!!!
The long hard climb up Canyon Creek is well worth the huge physical effort as once you
crest the seemingly never reachable ridge there is Deer Lake in all it's splendor.
While eating lunch I had a veeery interesting conversation with the volunteer back country
campground host. Olympic National Park uses volunteers to host the backpacking
campsites and this host works 4 days on and 3 days off pretty much at any campsite of
his choice when ever he wants. Never had any inclination to be a regular campground host
and deal with regular rowdy campers BUT a back country host dealing only with backpackers
and much more freedom to explore the area just might be an option down the road for me!!
That is as long as those rowdy party animal hikers from ARIZONA don't find out where I
would be hosting.
DAY # 103 - MONDAY 07/14/14 - PORT ANGELES, WA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
9,407 ELWHA RIVER TRAIL, OLYMPIC N.P., WA. - 6Miles 10:00 am / 69 / Sunny
TRAILHEAD: Hwy. 101 West of Port Angeles, left on Little River Rd. (#3050)
right on Olympic Hot Springs Rd., left on Whiskey Bend Rd. to
Whiskey Bend Trail Head.
Follow the trail toward Dodger Point and at about mile 1.5 look for the GOBLIN GATES
trail on the right. This is a must see beautiful lava rock narrows which funnels the Elwha
River into a series of noisy rapids and is a PERFECT first break stop.
Continue on the lower Elwha River Trail instead of returning back uphill to the upper
and follow trail signs to Humes Ranch. The lower trail follows the river with nice
campsites and river access and meanders through some small meadows. Humes
Ranch House has been kept in great condition and is excellent 2nd break stop.
Once again continue on the lower trail to the long Dodger Point Suspension Bridge which
spans the Elwha River and marks beginning of Elwha River Grand Canyon. I would have
loved to explore the Geyser Valley Trail on other side of the river but have already placed
myself in sever time constraints to make JoAnn's 4:30 pm chiropractor appointment.
From the bridge return via the UPPER Elwha River Trail and follow the signs to Michael's
Cabin which makes a wonderful loop hike through this beautiful area rich with homesteading
history and lore. Big bonus was I only met TWO other hikers all day until 50 yards before
end of hike where I met a large group with several of them in open toe sandals and flip flops.
Big change from yesterdays hike and I hope someday to return here with a backpack and
thoroughly explore this fascinating canyon from top to bottom.
DAY # 102 - SUNDAY 07/13/14 - PORT ANGELES, WA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
9,345 HURRICANE RIDGE, OLYMPIC NATL. PARK, WA. 10:30 am / 74 / Sunny
Beautiful drive up the Hurricane Ridge Road with a stop at both ranger stations and gift
shops and view points in between. Ready to hike and JoAnn disappointingly discovers
she has forgotten her hiking boots and only has sandals to walk in. Bummer!! Walk a
a few of the touristy paved trails to view points for pictures and I take a quick
exploratory hike up the Klahhane Ridge Trail to the base of Mount Angeles. Not very
happy with the crowds of non-hikers on this trail. Way too much complaining and I was
beginning to think they were on a Mean Ol Joe hike. EVERYONE was complaining about
the excessive heat (it was 79 deg. with a cool breeze, I was still in my long underwear top),
the narrow trail & steep dropoff (trail was at least 2 ft. wide and one older gentleman
literally froze in front of me when he looked down), and the high altitude (when you START
at 5,200 ft. and the trail goes UPHILL expect to feel the altitude). Guess I have been lucky
to hike mostly seldom used trails or trails that only veteran hikers would attempt so I had a
difficult time adapting to this one.
As you can see the views are spectacular and I will need to do some homework to
discover more primitive hikes in this area.
9,368 DECONSTRUCTED ELWHA DAM 4:00 pm / 70 / Sunny
Walk to the deconstructed Elwha Dam which from 1911 when it was built until 2011
created Lake Aldwell from our RV Park. Please google the very interesting story on
how and why the dam was built and unbuilt.
Instead of an after dinner walk we took an after dinner drive West down Hwy. 112
Along the way we did manage to find some back roads which took us to where the
the Elwha River deposited all the Lake Aldwell sediments into the strait when it was
drained. Formed a quite interesting delta.
DAY # 101 - SATURDAY 07/12/14 - PORT ANGELES, WA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
9,255 PORT TOWSEND / FORT WORDEN ST. PARK, WA. 11:30 am / 76 / Sunny
Meet up with Linda & Chris LaRue and Kim once we find Diamond Point RV Park where
they are staying. Turned into a typical Washington wonder around lost with bad street signs,
no street signs and wrong street signs. Should have followed the GPS lady who this time was
correct except the streets she had me follow had different names on them. Ride with Chris to
Port Townsend first to scope out the ferry dock I will use on Friday to Coupville. The "kind"
gentleman whom we made an attempt to retrieve information from was twice as rude and
unfriendly as the lady on the other side a couple weeks ago. It is very apparent now that I
will need a small MIRACLE to get my rig on this ferry and across the bay. Visit the down-
town Farmers Market for the ladies to browse and buy lunch. I had Pupusas from the
from the Ecuador food booth. Tasty & spicy pork cooked inside a thick tortilla folded with
cabbage, cheese and spicy green sauce. First time for this style of cooking, I liked it!
Drive over to Fort Worden State Park to walk the beach and tour the Point Wilson Lighthouse.
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Waiting for the previous tour to exit the tower and much to our surprise and delight who
should walk out, our long time hiking buddy and friend from Mesa, Patty Carpenter!!!
WOW, it is definitely a small world these days.
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Long pleasant walk on beach shuffling through rocks, drift wood, a jelly fish and watching
boats cruise through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Drive back to Sequim (pronounced Squim
and don't ask me why Washington places extra letters in all their words) for the dinner from
HELL at Applebee's. If EVERYTHING could possibly go wrong with a meal it happened
at this one! Seem like we have been on a run of bad restaurant meals lately.
9,280 DAM BAR, HWY. 101 & 112, ELWHA, WA. 9:00 pm / 61 / Full Moon
This GREAT bar is 1 mile from our RV park which means it is pretty much in the
middle of nowhere. Country-Rock band CROSSFIRE turned out to be the best
band we have heard so far in this area. They actually played Rock & Roll sounding
rock songs, Country sounding country tunes, and the occasional Folk sounded like
folk. The owners are very personable as are the customers. Excellent night as it has
been a while since JoAnn has gone out and listened to music with me.
DAY # 100 - FRIDAY 07/11/14 - HOH RAIN FOREST to PORT ANGELES, WA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
9,190 ELWHA DAM RV PARK, PORT ANGELES, WA. 2:00 pm / 79 / Sunny
Late start from Hard Rain RV Park because of repair to broken sewer pipe which was in
process of repair for the last 3 days. County chose today to repaint road stripping on this
narrow curvy road and I did manage to miss the bright yellow centerline paint but must have
just nicked the white edge line paint with the trailer as I did notice a slight dusting of white
dots on the trailer bumper & right side wheel wells. OH WELL! At least I kept my truck
clean. Arrive at camp after beautiful drive down Hwy. 101 by Lake Crescent and discover
our pull thru site to be not so level side to side. After much back & forth, side to side and
different angles we need only three blocks on the left wheels to be level BUT now the
power cord is a foot too short and we begin the process all over again. Late afternoon
and we are off to explore Port Angeles and have lunch at Port Angeles Crab Shack for
some dungeness crabs the area is famous for. GUESS WHAT? Our luck of the day has
not changed as they are OUT OF dungeness crabs. Nothing better than spending $35.00
at a crab restaurant for hamburgers. Walk the quaint downtown, get ferry to Victoria,
Canada information and decide to call it a day.
Strange oddities category: Street parking in downtown Port Angeles has a 2 hour time
limit with NO EXCEPTIONS so every hour and a half or so you see everyone rotating
vehicles to different spaces. Very interesting. first band to check out was the STEVE
GRANDINETTI BAND for rock & roll at Bar N9ne. Rock & Roll in this town must
be SLOW folksy cry in your beer country tinged music because the entire first set was
just that. High lite of the bar is they have an artist painting a picture in middle of the
dance floor while the band is playing. OK, enough falling asleep in my beer and I try
the Barhop Brewery after rotating parking spaces where JOY IN MUDVILLE should
be playing classic funk & rock and roll. I became instantly leery when the lead guitar
player is a "lead" banjo player. The music was neither funk or rock and roll but straight
bluegrass with hint of funk & rock thrown in. At least the crowd was lively, very friendly
and the band much more animated and fun. First time ever to hear a slide played on a
banjo, quite an interesting sound to say the least! Two Hot Buzz Pale Ale's (8.6 %
alcohol) and I didn't mind hearing Jimi Hendrix played on the banjo with a slide. This
bar is right on the dock and I leave to a spectacular nearly full moon and all the ships
brightly lit up out on the bay and moored at the docks.
DAY # 99 - THURSDAY 07/10/14 - HOH RAIN FOREST, WA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
9,014 BOGACHIEL RIVER TRAIL, OLYMPIC N.P., WA.- 7 miles 9:30 am / 64 / Sunny
JoAnn working on her blog so I get a free morning to hike but I must be back by 1:00 pm
so I will have to hustle this one. Decide on the Bogachiel River Trail which is the next major
river North of the Hoh River. Expected 15-20 minute drive turned into 45 as the last two
miles of the Undi / Bogachiel Road (# 2932 - East of the State Park) is a narrow two track
dirt path along the river.
1/4 mile into the hike I arrive at the WETLAND LOOP TRAIL junction and I must decide
if this will be a worthy detour with my limited time schedule. I really dislike hiking this way
as I want to see EVERYTHING when I hike so my decision to take this loop turned out
perfect. The Bogachiel Trail is part of the "PACIFIC NORTHWEST TRAIL" system so
pack animals are allowed and I was happy to get away from the litter of "trail apples"and
hike on a primitive seldom used trail for the next 1.5 miles. I like the feeling of brushing
through the thick ferns on the narrow trail versus three foot wide main trail. I like the
crunch of miniature pine cones underfoot but dislike the tree roots which trip the feet while
my eyes are distracted by the amazing forest canopy above me. Being from Arizona and
desert hiking I am still AMAZED at the fascinating network of creaking wood bridges and
weathered decaying boardwalks over water crossings and muddy bogs.
Back on the main Bogachiel River Trail and I return to rock hopping the creek crossings
and slogging through the mud bogs as horses would tear up the wood crossings. Instantly
notice another huge difference, the birds. On the main trail the sing to you as they are
accustomed to people but up on the high ridge and meadows of the primitive Wetland
Loop Trail they screech loudly at you for invading THEIR space.
Hike for two hours and FORCE myself to turn around and now have to speedwalk back
through this amazing rain forest. That is until I spy the perfect snack break spot.
Nothing better than fresh picked juicy blackberries and still slightly tart raspberries. Now
I am really behind schedule and only take this picture for JoAnn as my sole excuse for
returning late. Thanks to my professional driving skills and no speed traps I make in back
to camp at 1:12 pm. NOT BAD!
This is the third beach we have explored in this area and instantly became my favorite.
The beach is BLACK sand with shiny polished pebbles which really make the white
weathered beach logs and bright greens of the surrounding ferns and trees stand out.
The steeper slope of the beach makes for bigger and louder crashing waves as they
pound on the beach and hurtle into the massive rocks island jutting from the ocean.
strata to the North. The star fish have vivid colors and anemone are large enough that
one actually caught a crab and I have picture proof !! JoAnn even braved the crashing
waves to boulder hop into & through it.
PERFECT DAY!! Hike through a rain forest in the morning and take a stroll down
a beautiful beach in the afternoon.
DAY # 98 - WEDNESDAY 07/09/14 - HOH RAIN FOREST, WA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
8,984 KALALOCH & RUBY BEACHES, OLYMPIC N.P., WA. 11:00 am / 61 / Foggy
Road Trip day after big hike yesterday so it's beach day. First to visit is Kalaloch Beach
with it's clutter of huge driftwood trees. Did not have to walk far on the smooth flat sand
before discovering one disturbing phenomenon, the beach is littered with dead and still
moving jelly fish. With this many on the beach I shudder at how many are in the water.
Looking at the bent trees the storms here must be ferocious!
After a pleasant lunch at the Kalaoch Resort Inn with perfect window table overlooking
the beach and ocean we travel North back up Highway 101 to Ruby Beach. Detour
to visit the Big Cedar Tree just for a look see not that we haven't been around "big"
trees already, we were just curious. WOW, this gnarled 300 ft. plus tall monster was
well worth the 1/2 mile side trip!
Ruby Beach was exactly what we expected from a Washington beach, high sea cliffs, tide
pools with abundant & colorful life, and huge picturesque rocks. Played with the sea anemone,
climbed around Abbey Rock into a crevice full of star fish, sea caves & dripping springs from
the high cliffs, and wide perfect sandy beach to stroll without the worry of what you might
step on. Really enjoyed watching JoAnn cross the makeshift log bridges, her favorite thing.
DAY # 97 - TUESDAY 07/08/14 - HOH RAIN FOREST, WA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
8,945 HOH RIVER TRAIL,OLYMPIC NATL. PARK, WA. - 9 miles
I have dreamed of visiting this area since I was a little kid reading stories and admiring
photographs of this fascinating area. Quick trip through the Hoh Rain Forest VisitorCenter for trail tips and off we go into a wonderland of HUGE trees, hanging moss,
fascinating nursemaid trees, colorful fungus & mushrooms, roaring cascades and the
fast flowing milky white Hoh River.
played, admired the sights, explored EVERYTHING, and took way too many pictures.
Can you pick out the colorful 8 inch long slug crawling through the green moss in center
photograph? If not the right photo shows it in all it's splendor. If HUGE slugs make you
squeamish this is definitely NOT the place for you as they are EVERYWHERE!! At mile
4.5 we FINALLY reach our destination - BIG CEDER TREES GROVE.
Everything is over sized in this area from the fungus to the fallen tree root balls to the
spectacular Olympic Mountains. It is no SMALL wonder it took us nearly 8 hours
to walk 9 miles!
DAY # 96 - MONDAY 07/07/14 - SHELTON, WA. to HOH RAIN FOREST
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
8,890 HARD RAIN RV PARK, FORKS, WA. 1:30 pm / 81 / Sunny
Late start as we are still attempting to hang dry all our clothes because the park dryers
ran out of propane. Waited around till 11:00 pm for the maintenance crew to inform
us of this problem. Clothes do not dry near as fast in humid damp Washington as they
do in Arizona. Uneventful tow West down Hwy. 8 and 12 (we think as we still are
unsure of these Washington highways) and North up Hwy. 101 through thick GREEN
forests and misty foggy Pacific Ocean coastline. This section of Hwy. 101 is absolutely
INCREDIBLE! Easy tow means rough time parking and today is no exception as our
site # 12 is a slippery sloping mud bog with a tight entrance around tree stumps. Three
attempts to back in only to discover the side to side angle is too steep so we start all
over again for different trailer placement in the site. We definitely earned our cold beer
on this parking job.
After a long relaxing lunch of burgers & fries from the Hard Rain Cafe next door we
decide a drive into Forks to explore the town where JoAnn's favorite soap opera
movie series TWILIGHT was filmed. We soon discover the town does not look
ANYTHING like the movie so a little AFTER the fact research we discover the
movie series was actually filmed at many of the places we have already visited in
OREGON!! Funny when driving through those areas we did make comments of
how they looked very similar to the movie! Decide to wash the truck since this was
an extremely rare sunny day in these parts, pull into a self wash and quickly
discover just how swiftly time flies in Vampire land. $1.75 for 5 minutes of wash
time, YEA RIGHT! Fastest 5 minutes of my life. $8.75 later and even with JoAnn's
assistance we kinda sorta got the truck semi clean.
DAY # 95 - SUNDAY 07/06/14 - OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
8,655 FLAPJACK LAKES HIKE - 16 miles 10:30 am / 71 / Sunny
TRAILHEAD: Hwy. 101 to Hwy. 119 past Lake Cushman to Forest Road # 24
to Staircase Ranger Station. Hike 4 miles up North Fork Skokomish Trail.
The first four miles on North Fork Skokomish Trail is fairly level easy walk through
dense stands (some fallen) of fir & cedar trees with wide array of bridges and walk
ways for creek and bog crossings. Being from Arizona and not at all accustomed to
bridge walking I think a more apt name would be the Trail Of Bridges.
Once on the Flapjack Trail you begin a one mile STEEP 900 ft. elevation gain switchback climb
to a high ridge of roaring cascades through Madeline & Donahue Creeks. The next two miles keep
you breathing hard as you struggle to reach that saddle which always seems to look the same
distance away no matter how long or how fast you hike.
The last mile up Donahue Canyon is a straight up steep gut buster of a workout which has you
praying for some switchbacks to cut the steepness out of the trail. FINALLY you walk over
that never reachable ridge to the spectacular emerald green FLAPJACK LAKES!
DAY # 94 - SATURDAY 07/05/14 - SHELTON, WA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
8,584 SHELTON, WASHINGTON 11:00 am / 67 / Partly Cloudy
Sleep in late, drive to Shelton for delightful brunch at Sisters Restaurant where the
locals dine. Walk to the small farmers market not expecting much but we are both
very surprised as I listen to a rich voiced folk singer GEORGE LeHEW and buy his
CD "Honky Tonk Clown" and enjoy his charming way with words in his lyrics.
JoAnn buys a lavender / vanilla candle to take the musty wet odor from the trailer
and with much trepidation some waxy skin balm which according to the saleslady
will smooth the roughest skin. WOW, we should have bought more of that stuff as
my rough worn out hands are noticeably smoother with only two applications.
Meet the family at Travel Inn RV Resort where Chris parked his trailer for the races
tonight for a surprising very tasty BBQ cookout. Ate way too much and soon hear
the race cars hot lapping for our que to head to the track. Once again I am surprised
at the LONG line waiting to enter the track. How do these tracks in the middle of
absolute NOWHERE attract such huge crowds? Well run races on a lightning fast
1/4 mile high banked perfectly groomed black gumbo clay track that's how. Kim's
relative Don Briggs, Jr. passed two cars on the final lap in his immaculate # 13 Chevy
to finish 5th in a very competitive and exciting Street Stock feature. My friend Evan
Margeson won the 360 winged sprint feature. Took the kids into the pits after the
fireworks to check out the race cars and meet the drivers. Most amazing event of
a very eventful day; we managed to find Hwy. 108 back to Shelton in the dead of
night amid the confusing street signs. Second amazing feat; I meet a race fan from
Tennessee with a Hooker Hood # 99 racing shirt that instantly took both of us back
to 1968-1969 when he was KING of the Southern dirt sprint car circuit.
DAY # 93 - FRIDAY 07/04/14 - MT. RAINIER N.P. to SHELTON, WA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
8,505 LITTLE CREEK CASINO RV PARK 2:00 pm / 74 / Partly Cloudy
Good early morning start and we should have no problems retracing our route back out
of Mt. Rainier. WRONG AGAIN! Miss the Hwy. 161 turn (once again we learn how
POORLY Washington marks their highways). There goes my easy access fuel stop in
Eatonville which leaves us desperately searching once again for fuel & JoAnn pit stop.
Find a Union 76 in McKenna with diesel but a tight squeeze in and a tough busy
intersection exit out. Hwy. 510 North of Yelm has three very busy and narrow traffic
circles to negotiate but I manage to force my through much to the chagrin of several
motorists. Pull into the Little Creek RV Park to find the office closed and no employees
around. Park in the middle of the road and walk all the way over to the hotel lobby for
instruction. Spaces are short so trailers and vehicles stick out into the roadways which
made for some interesting maneuvering on my part to drive a figure 8 through to my
assigned space. No sooner set up and we drive back to Yelm for our Fourth of July
picnic and celebrations with JoAnn's family in Washington.
Retrace our drive traffic circles and all back to Yelm with one SMALL problem. My
truck tags expired on June 30th with the new registration stickers at Linda's house.
Small problem becomes BIG worry when local sheriff begins following me ten miles
from her house and I begin to watch him type into his computer. Begin to rehearse
hopefully believable stories for him when he makes quick turn down another street.
With excellent help from the GPS lady we arrive at Linda & Chris LaRue's nice house
on large property with amazing view of Mt. Rainier from their back patio. Been a
long long time between visits and first time to meet Chris's new girlfriend Kim. Soon
JoAnn's nephew Andy and wife Nicole arrive and we FEAST on HUGE steaks and
catch up on family stories & happenings. Surprised to learn Kim's family races cars
and will be racing at Grays Harbor Raceway tomorrow night!
DAY # 92 - THURSDAY 07/03/14 - MT. RAINIER NATL. PARK
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
8,395 WONDERLAND TRAIL / BOX CANYON - 10 Miles 11:00 am / 51 / Fog
Wake to another rainy morning and delay deciding what we would do today in hopes
the weather & my dreary spirits would change. I decide to take a chance and hike
and JoAnn decides to stay home. JoAnn not happy that I couldn't tell her exactly
which of three hikes I would be taking. I try to calm her anxiety with the fact my truck
will be in plain sight at the trail head if something goes wrong. Light rain and heavy fog at
first two trail heads I arrive so I choose my original choice I scouted yesterday, the
Wonderland Trail from Box Canyon over the Cowlitz Divide to Indian Bar. Stevens
Canyon looks wicked in the swirling fog which I am hoping the wind will blow out by
the time I reach Box Canyon at the bottom.
Box Canyon parking lot is empty when I arrive at 11:00 am so it looks like I will be hiking
alone. First mile to Nickel Creek interesting in the dark overcast skies with very cool log
bridge, washed out tree roots supported by thin air and the neatest outdoor toilet at the
backpackers campground.
The next two steep switchback miles up to Cowlitz Divide were a hard breather. Once on
the divide I begin crossing snow banks, short, soft and wet to begin with but once over
5,500 ft. the trail is mostly snow and I follow faint foot prints as there are NO trail markers.
Once again on the long crossings I carry a bundle of sticks to mark my way back as my
footprints quickly disappear in the softening snow. Seems like I was either mucking
through slippery wet mud or mushing over soft slippery wet cold snow banks.
After over an hour of trudging through this mess I get my first view of Mt. Rainier!!
South and mountain range to the East are in full splendor for me today. Time to turn
around anyway as I promised a worried JoAnn I would be back by 6:00 pm and I
will have to hustle to make that time.
NOTE: FOR ALL YOU PEOPLE IN ARIZONA BROILING IN THE HEAT I WILL
GLADLY TRADE ONE OF YOUR 110 deg. DAYS TO THAW MY BONES
OUT FOR THESE WINDY DAMP CLOUDY COLD 50 deg. DAYS!!
APPRECIATE WHAT YOU HAVE.
DAY # 91 - WEDNESDAY 07/02/14 - MT. RAINIER NATL. PARK
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
8,287 ROAD TRIP - SUNRISE & PARADISE 11:00 am / 74 / Partly Cloudy
Perfect day for road trip as JoAnn is tired from yesterdays tough hike and the weather not
close to the 78 deg. & sunshine we had. First stop Mazama Ridge Lookout for breath
taking views of Mt. Rainier in the clouds.
narrow highway through Stevens Canyon to Box Canyon. Beautiful examples of glacier
polished rock floors and water carved slot canyon. I scout the Wonderland Trail north
where it crosses here and looks interesting for maybe a hike tomorrow.
Long drive around the Eastern end of the park via Hwy. 123 & 410 to Sunrise Highway.
Once past White River Campground the road is NARROW, STEEP and sheer drop-offs
with NO guardrails. A motorhome used too much of my lane on one curve pushing me to
very edge of the road and freaking JoAnn who was already shielding her eyes from looking
down. Stopped at a well designed hairpin rest area for a breather and different views of Mt.
Rainier and semi frozen Sunrise Lake.
Next stop a VERY expensive $25.00 lunch consisting of two hamburgers and soda drinks at
the Sunrise Inn Cafe. Hike the Emmons Vista Trail for a couple miles in each direction before
the long slow two hour drive back to camp and a quick check of the White River Campground.
DAY # 90 - TUESDAY 07/01/14 - MT. RAINIER NATL. PARK
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
8,180 WONDERLAND / RAMPART RIDGE TRAIL - 11 Miles 9:00 am / 71 / Sunny
JoAnn has always dreamed of hiking the Wonderland Trail so we choose this section of
it beginning at the Longmire Wilderness Center. First two miles have all JoAnn's
FAVORITE trail characteristics, steep uphill at high altitude, switchbacks, high stairs,
rotten wood bridges, mosquitoes, snow crossings and more uphill.
We finally have our first bright non-cloudy sunny morning in a LONG time and we hike
in a forest so thick with trees it is almost dark! We follow the Rampart Ridge Trail
toward Van Trump Park where we have been told the views of Mt. Rainier are
spectacular. The trail is 2.7 miles of steep steady uphill with teasing glimpses of
Mt. Rainier through the dense trees and roaring cascades from the melting snow
pack which obliterates the trail.
After several LONG treacherous snow crossings and one slippery creek crossing where
JoAnn slipped and soaked her hiking shoe in the frigid ice melt water we lost the trail.
JoAnn searched the snow banks high and I wondered around low when I stepped on
what appeared to be a wooden post. Digging the snow out I discover it is the TOP of
the trail sign!!! Confident that we sorta know our location we trudge onward, round a
bend in the trail and WOW there is the MASSIVE Mt. Rainier right in our face!
Awesome lunch spot with Rainier on one side and a view across the Nisqually River
to the rugged Tatoosh Range on the other side.
We had planned to loop out Van Trump Creek via Christine Falls, walk the highway back
to the Wonderland Trail but the snow is much too deep and soft for us to attempt safely
so we backtrack the 5.5 miles of 2,200 ft. elevation loss (translates to STEEP downhill).
Once again we had this beautiful trail all to ourselves except for the three hikers we meet
hiking in when we were half way back out.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
8,157 MOUNTHAVEN RV RESORT 2:00 pm / 68 / Partly Cloudy
Hopefully we will not carry all this rain with us to Mount Rainier. Make sure we hit the
ONLY rest area on the route whether we needed to or not. Made a valiant attempt
to fuel up in Puyallup (you pronounce it for me) but the only station selling diesel on
my side of the road placed their one diesel pump exactly where it would be perfectly
IMPOSSIBLE to fit my rig. Must say I am getting pretty good at backing out of tight
situations. Thank goodness for BARNEY'S CORNER STORE in Eatonville with
perfect pump position and fuel was 10 cents a gallon cheaper! Musta used ALL my
luck because when we arrive at Mounthaven we quickly discover our original site is
between three huge trees and much too narrow for my trailer much less the three slides.
Site 16 isn't much better as I must back around boulders, trees, and front porch of the
Sequoia Cabin just to line up the site and now I must angle around the electric boxes
and sewer connections of BOTH adjoining sites. Half hour later and JoAnn had sailors
within 5 miles of us blushing from her opinions of who designed this crazy site layout.
Finally in but the sewer hookup for site 15 is under front of my trailer and my truck
blocks both sites 15 & 17. Will be VERY interesting if we have neighbors. Lunch
at WILDBERRY RESTAURANT which serves Himalayan cuisine. Not bad at all!!
I had the Beef Momo (dumplings) Dinner and JoAnn had the Sherpa Stew. Drive
into the Longmire visitors center for trail information and our first glimpse of the very
imposing Mount Rainier.
DAY # 88 - SUNDAY 06/29/14 - BURLINGTON , WA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
7,984 DECEPTION PASS STATE PARK 2:00 pm / 71 / Sunny
Wake up once again to dreary gray clouds and drizzly rain. Blah, Blah, Blah. Breakfast
at the KOA Clubhouse and take care of laundry chores. Original plan for today was
to hike the Cascades Natl. Park but they were shrouded in dark heavy clouds so we
opted for plan B, drive over to WIDBEY ISLAND scout the area and check out
Port Townsend to Coupeville Ferry for possibilities of taking it on our return from the
Olympics. Lady was very short with, handing us some pamphlets and informing us to
use the web site. WELL, if I could figure out their DAMN COMPLICATED web site
on how to ferry a 5th wheel & truck I definitely WOULD NOT have driven 50 miles to
MAKE SURE I could fit!! Guess I will just have to check it out from the Port Townsend
when I'm over there. DECEPTION PASS STATE PARK looked interesting when we
drove by so we pay the 10 bucks and check out what the park has to offer. Guess us
Arizonan's have to pay for sunshine cause soon as we drive through the gate, clouds
disappear and BRIGHT sunshine appears. Most Amazing Phenomenon! Walk their
version of a pebble beach, watch BIG boats cruise in and out of the bay, and return
through DENSE forest. Drive back to Burlington and the clouds roll in again. Guess
we should appreciate the three hours of sunshine we did receive today.
DAY # 87 - SATURDAY 06/28/14 - BURLINGTON , WA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
7,910 BURLINGTON / SKAGIT SPEEDWAY RAIN / RAIN / RAIN
Rained all night, already have severe case of cabin fever, drive into downtown Burlington
for brunch. Walk searching for restaurants when customers in the HOTTIE TOTTIE
DELI give us two thumbs up. Strange name but excellent food, service, and friendly
customers. Plan at Skagit Speedway was to run last nights show at 11:00 am this
morning and give the drivers a short break before racing the big DIRT CUP
CHAMPIONSHIP race at 7:00 pm tonight. YEA RIGHT!!! The race car crews
would love to prep the cars twice in one day. I show up at noon and the track is still
a lake but hear engines buzzing in the parking lot. Investigate the sounds over an
embankment and discover the local 3/4 midget kids racing association is racing on
a beautiful 1/16 mi. clay track. Very impressed with the competition as these little
kids race HARD & AGGRESSIVE with three of the kids flipping their cars! Some
of the kids were so small all you could see was a big ol helmet with two little ol hands
gripping the steering wheel. In the senior division the first two drivers bumped and
banged and pushed on each other for 25 laps before I discover the winner was a GIRL.
No small wonder the 12 year old boy was racing so aggressive!! The adult class was go
karts with 125 cu. in. two stroke motorcycle engines raced by the TOTALLY INSANE!!
When they weren't slide jobbing and banging into each other the were banking their karts
off the concrete barriers for extra speed or for braking, I couldn't determine which.
The afternoon sprint car races were thankfully for the crews & drivers were canceled.
Back home for a quick dinner before heading back to the track without JoAnn who
decided not to venture out in the cold, misty, wet rainy night air. NOTE TO SKAGIT
SPEEDWAY MANAGEMENT: When it has been raining for four straight days and
the weatherman gives you a small window of opportunity, please, please take FULL
advantage and let the racers race and forget all the normal big race pageantry. Did
manage 23 thrilling fast laps of the scheduled 40 laps before the rains came. Local
Washington favorite BROCK LEMLEY held off a fast contingent of California drivers
which included a daring high groove pass of 4 time dirt cup champion Jonathan Allard
to take the very popular win.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
7,880 BURLINGTON / SKAGIT SPEEDWAY RAIN / RAIN / RAIN
Rained all night, rained all morning, took the truck into Les Schwab Tries for an oil
change and tire rotation. JoAnn managed to obtain a chiropractic appointment this
morning also. Ate lunch and it is still raining so back to the trailer and watch a movie,
take a nap. Still Sprinkling when I drive out to Skagit Speedway but am greeted with
more rain once I arrive. Sit under the announcer's booth for two hours bench racing
with other fans before races are called. Drop by the SKAGIT VALLEY CASINO
& RESORT to check out band playing in the Winners Lounge. Excellent classic rock
band SLY MISTER Y with two lead guitars, strong vocals, and nice saxophone player.
Finally have the chance to sample MANNY'S PALE ALE and what started as a
bummer of a night is turning out better. Wish JoAnn would have joined me as this is
very danceable band and the club has nice dance floor. Big NEGATIVE is the
cigarette smoke became unbearable after two sets and I headed home in the RAIN.
DAY # 85 - THURSDAY 06/26/14 - KELSO to BURLINGTON, WA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
7,864 BURLINGTON / SKAGIT SPEEDWAY 4:00 pm / 68 / Rain
Raining when we load up in Kelso, rain showers all the way to Seattle, wet stuff
slows to a sprinkle when we set up in Burlington. This means we must be in
Washington. NOTE OF WARNING: When hauling a trailer up I-5, Hwy. 512,
Hwy. 167, I-405 and back into the I-5 there are NO rest areas OR truck stops
for 150 miles with easy access to bathrooms. With JoAnn near desperation I exit
off the I-405 on one of the very few exit ramps which were not under construction.
Squeeze into a very small, tight, and almost full Fred Meyer parking lot, drop JoAnn
off and some how maneuver the rig around and back through the parking lot to pick
her up. Lesson learned, don't take rest areas or truck stops for granted as they are
rare in Washington. We are spoiled in Arizona & California. Set up in the very nice
KOA in Burlington and with help from the friendly manager we set up oil change
service for the truck and find a chiropractor for JoAnn. Lunch at BOB'S BURGER
& BREWS just down the street and quick nap before heading over to SKAGIT
SPEEDWAY. NOTES & THOUGHTS FROM FIRST NIGHT AT SKAGIT:
1: Small parking lot so the attendants park the cars in lines 6 deep bumper to
bumper and door handle to door handle. Never in all my life have I ever seen
this parking system. I asked what happens if you have an emergency and need
to leave? Call 911 and the police will assist you as unless you are lucky enough
to park on the outer edges as there is no way possible to move 20 vehicles to let
you exit. Leaving after the races just pray the owners parked around you don't
decide to visit the pits or stay late. It is quite entertaining to watch everyone
maneuver around parked cars to get out!
2: If you want to drink beer you are ONLY allowed to sit in the far end sections of
the grandstands and unfortunately those are also the sections smokers are allowed
to sit. The beer booths are fenced in the back and security patrols front walkways
to keep us beer drinkers in their place. Discover it is best to sit far into the corners
anyway as the front straight wall is so high you cannot view the race cars on the
front stretch from the main grandstand.
3: DO NOT wear light or white clothing as everyone is quickly covered in a thick
layer of fine black gumbo clay dust by the end of every race. Felt bad for the fans
in turn one stands as by lap three of each race they would disappear in a thick dust
storm cloud pushed over them by the big wings on the race cars.
4: Note to the promoter - There is NO RULE that states the feature race race must
start at 10:00 pm., especially on a Thursday night qualifying race with Seattle 70
miles away. Heats and "B" mains were completed by 8:45 pm so for the next hour
and 15 minutes the track was replowed, graded, watered, and repacked. The fans
became bored and boredom soon turned into rowdiness. I must admit it was very
entertaining to listen in on the heated "debates" between rival fans. They take their
racing very seriously here especially when the California racers show up for the big
money races. More serious than the fans were the push truck and wrecker drivers
as their track repacking soon turned into some serious bumper to bumper racing
between them which received a well deserved ovation from the fans
5: Be prepared for some FAST racing action as the 410 winged sprinters turn this
3/10 mile high banked track at 10 - 11 second laps. (fast time was 10.696 sec.).
Note of warning: when they crash they crash hard as there is not much margin for
error when racing this fast in close quarters to other racers and in the groove up
against the wall. I can see why the Tempe Tornado LELAND McSPADDEN
would love to come up here and race!
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
7,572 APE CAVES / LAVA CANYON 11:00 am / 74 / Cloudy
Absolutely beautiful drive up Highway 503 along the LEWIS RIVER past Lake Merwin
and Yale Lake. Turn onto Forest Road 83 and drive the ever winding road through a
dark tunnel of trees. The APE CAVES are actually Lava Tubes but get their name from
the loggers who thought Big Foot lived in them. NOTE: Around here Big Foot stories
rival Jesse James stories in the South or Lost Gold Mine Legends of Arizona. The Park
rangers warned us the tube temperatures would be 42 degrees so back to the truck for
our HEAVY coats & gloves. What they DID NOT inform us about was the COLD
breeze blowing through the tubes. I was very uncomfortable with the fact I could see
my ICY breath for most of the hike and did not want to think about the wind chill factor.
We did manage to find both "landmarks" of the Lower Cave, the Railroad Tracks and the
Meatball. After two hours of COLD air, water dripping down our necks, and slopping
through puddles we decided to save the Upper Cave for another day.
Lava Canyon was our next destination for great views of "other" side of Mt. St. Helens and
lunch by waterfalls. The South side of the mountain looks pretty normal.
LAVA CANYON begins a little touristy with paved trail, sturdy metal bridges and a million
warning signs of DEATH if you step off the trail and fall off a cliff. Being the courteous hikers
we are we gave ourselves permission to "step off the trail" and find a nice lunch spot over
looking the upper falls and lower canyon. After 1/2 mile we are at home on a "real" trail,
narrow, high ridges, slippery wet, and best of all a REAL swinging suspension bridge!!
That bridge would swing and wave enough with 6" open spaces between the wood slats
to make ME a little nervous. My first trip across I had JoAnn's hiking poles in one hand and
my camera in the other which had the bridge really rocking without hanging onto the side cables.
I thought for sure I could get tears of fear out of JoAnn on this one but no luck and she even
took several QUICK glances through the slats at the roaring waterfall below!
AWESOME DAY OF CAVES, WATERFALLS, AND SWINGING BRIDGES. JUST
ANOTHER SO-SO DAY WHEN YOU ARE RETIRED.
DAY # 83 - TUESDAY 06/24/14 - KELSO/ LONGVIEW, WA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
7,500 KELSO / LONGVIEW, WA. 10:00 am / 66 / Rain
Rain ALL night and scattered showers throughout the morning, sounds like perfect
day for some R & R. Sat around the trailer until 10:00 am and that was enough
relaxing for me, and it was off to explore downtown Longview. Whomever laid out
these streets played a good joke on everyone who has to drive them. Very interesting
"square" downtown. Ate a long slow lunch at COUNTRY FOLKS DELI as we both
used up what was left of the morning to finish the HUGE deli sandwiches we ordered.
The optical shop next door spent 20 minutes repairing JoAnn's glasses for free. The
people around here are exceptionally friendly and helpful. Caught the movie "How to
Train Your Dragon II" at Three Rivers Theater an old style theater with low back seats,
no stadium seating, and "washrooms" instead of restrooms. Walk over to TAM
O'SHANTER PARK on Coweeman River walking path and catch some little league
baseball action. Meet a friendly couple and we talk hiking around Mt. St. Helens and
life in general in the Kelso area. Forget it doesn't get dark around here until 10:00 pm
and receive a phone call from JoAnn reminding me that my evening stroll is already over
3 hours long and where am I.
DAY # 82 - MONDAY 06/23/14 - MT. ST. HELENS VOLCANIC MON.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
7,435 MT. ST. HELENS NATIONAL VOLCANIC MON. 9:00 am / 64 / Sunny
I have been DREAMING about visiting this mountain ever since it's eruption in May of 1980.
JoAnn and I were on a 3 day backpack trip through Bandelier Natl.Monument in New
Mexico at the time of this big event. JoAnn was LUCKY enough to visit here in 1982
with her brother Larry's family when the mountain was still SMOKING! We made a
futile attempt to ride the Harley up here in September 2004 but heavy rain & fog caused
us to abort that visit. Most of the severe damage on the TOUTLE RIVER has been
reclaimed by nature and the surrounding mountains have regrown their normal trees and
vegetation. My first views of this impressive mountain with one side completely blown out
left me speechless. WOW!
On recommendation from Mike Plowman & the Rangers we choose the 12 mile round
trip hike from JOHNSTON RIDGE OBSERVATORY to ST. HELENS LAKE. This
hike has AWESOME ever changing views into the crater of Mt. St. Helens with the
INTIMIDATING expanding lava dome on your mind the entire hike! JoAnn was more
intimidated by the NARROW HIGH ridges the slippery pumice trail follows.
SPIRIT LAKE with it's huge piles of log jams which shift across the lake blown by the wind
is much more impressive in person than ANY of the many pictures I've see. Two hours into
the hike and I am still in awe of the powerful forces mother nature can have on this earth!
MT. ADAMS is a very imposing backdrop to this scene of destruction.
After the steepest climb of the day we reach our lunch spot at 5,040 ft. with spectacular
views of ST. HELENS LAKE, below us, MT. ADAMS to the East, MT. ST. HELENS
to the South, just the snowy tip of MT. RAINIER to the North and beautiful volcanic
devastation and wildflowers all around us. Throw in a sittin' log for lunch, peaceful solitude
of no other hikers and a window arch for dessert, who could ask for anything more!!??
With afternoon storm clouds quickly blowing in we reluctantly return hike and weather
luck was with us once again as it begins raining on the drive back to camp. Quick
dinner at Shari's Cafe & Pies, hot showers, and it was off to bed for these two very
tired hikers.
DAY # 81 - SUNDAY 06/22/14 - BANKS, OR to KELSO, WA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
7,365 BROOKHOLLOW RV PARK, Kelso, WA. 1:00 pm / 78 / Sunny
Figured since we were already on Hwy. 47 and having scouted the road to Vernonia
it would be quicker to use this route versus driving all the way back to Portland and
catching I-5. Maybe not! Hwy. 47 is good until the town of Mist then the last 12 miles
to Hwy. 30 over CLATSKANIE PASS is very narrow rough bumpy patched tight
turns at max speed 10 to 15 mph. The trailer tends to move the truck around a lot
when attempting the tight turns on the rough road surface. Hwy. 30 is good road until
we reach the RAINIER BRIDGE over the Columbia River where JoAnn had to close
her eyes and place head in lap on the STEEP, NARROW, HIGH bridge. That bridge
is a rush pulling a big ol' trailer over!!! Find the park after negotiating the confusing
streets of Longview / Kelso, WA. which are laid out with 3 point intersections and
major road construction on the Cowlitz River Bridge. Lunch at STUFFY'S II and
laugh at the Little League Baseball team kids & parents who marvel the the LARGE
portions of food the kids received.
DAY # 80 - SATURDAY 06/21/14 - L.L. STUB STEWART STATE PARK
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
7,203 CANNON BEACH, OREGON 9:00 am / 58 / High Winds
Did not expect the high amount traffic this early in the morning heading for the Ocean
and parking this big truck in downtown Cannon Beach proved difficult. Walk out on
the beach and discover why; today is the 50th annual Cannon Beach Sand Castle
Competition. I have seen finished sand sculptures but never beginning with flat sand
to building a plan to sculpting & carving to a finished product. Amazing the effort,
hard work and coordination all the team members put into one of these big sculptures.
The high winds were beginning to give me an earache and my growling stomach told
me it was time for lunch. Walk the soft sand beach back into town for lunch and
shopping and return in a couple hours to watch what progress has been made on
the sculptures. Slowly taking shapes and the spectators have quadrupled.
Wish we could hang around for the judging but the cold wind and huge crowd
was bothering me and we needed to get back for the auto races tonight. Glad
we left early as the line of traffic trying to get into Cannon Beach stretched for
8 miles down Hwy. 101!!
DAY # 79 - FRIDAY 06/20/14 - COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE to BANKS. OR.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
7,128 L.L. STUB STEWART STATE PARK 1:00 pm / 61 / Cloudy
Another dreary dark overcast rainy morning to pack up everything at Ainsworth SP.
and even though we are looking forward to the somewhat warmer & sunnier climate
(supposedly) West of Portland it is still difficult to leave this beautiful park. By some
minor miracle we manage to negotiate the interstate maze of I-84 , I-5 , I-405 , to
Hwy. 26 West without problems and rely on good old fashioned maps to find L.L.
STUB STEWART STATE PARK since it has no address or coordinates for the GPS.
Set up and punch in Mexican Restaurants in Banks in the GPS and the nice lady directs
us to KING TORTA Mexican restaurant in North Plains. OH WELL, I guess that is
close enough as the shrimp burrito was superb and HUGE. Grocery shop and scout
location of Sunset Speedway which is downtown in a one light hamlet but once again
no signage or obvious entrance to the track we could see behind Sunset Park. Ask the
local sheriff who was more interested in his speed trap than giving directions to lost tourists.
I'll figure it out on my own Saturday night.
NOTE TO ALL OREGON RESIDENTS: Just because it is supposedly summer on
your calendar, when it is 54 deg. outside with 10 - 12 m.p.h. breeze blowing this DOES
NOT constitute SUMMER so Tee shirts, shorts, and flip flops are inappropriate wear!!
This also applies to ALL businesses who deem it proper under these conditions to run
their air conditioners. I think the three hours of sunshine we had today did somehow
throw their judgments off so I may cut them a little slack.
Take an evening drive to check out Hwy. 47 North for trailer towing capabilities.
Beautiful drive through thick forests, under old railroad trestles, crossing the Nehalem
River and cruise into the old lumber town of VERNONIA. Walk the town and snack/
dinner/brews at Black Bear Cafe & Saloon. Take a long evening walk on the maze of
hiking trails back at camp. Mileages seem a little off so it was well after dark before I
arrive back at the trailer.
DAY # 78 - THURSDAY 06/19/14 - COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE, OR.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
6,995 TRIPLE FALLS, ONEONTA FALLS, UPPER HORSETAIL FALLS
Wake up to rare sunshine & clear blue skies and quickly decide this is a perfect day
to take JoAnn on MY favorite hike part of which I have been hiking every evening.
Leave right from Ainsworth Campground, connect into Trail # 400, West to Upper
Horsetail Falls Trail # 438, to the only trail I have yet to complete TRIPLE FALLS
Trail # 424. JoAnn enjoyed the misty shower behind UPPER HORSETAIL FALLS
and I REALLY enjoyed her walk with much trepidation across the "Indiana Jones"
bridge at ONEONTA FALLS.
The last 1.5 mile to TRIPLE FALLS was a steep 800 ft. climb up switchbacks and BIG
stairs but well worth the effort to view yet another unusual water fall and "log" bridge
crossing. Above the falls the steep canyon creates one long series of cascades for
Oneonta Creek to flow over. The bridge has an uncomfortable amount of movement
when walking across, must have been JoAnn because I would NEVER bounce a bridge.
Long leisure lunch before the return 3 miles DOWNHILL back to camp. I may have
snickered a little at JoAnn attempting to high step the stairs walking up but I got my
comeuppance with my creaky knees LONG steeping down. Long break at our
favorite Columbia Gorge Overlook to watch sail boats drift by and trains rumble by.
Tracy and everyone else who still must work. Nice surprise when I opened the BBQ
to cook dinner, a FULL bag of HUGE delicious CHERRIES. THANK YOU MIKE!
Great combination plump juicy fresh picked cherries & beer!
DAY # 77 - WEDNESDAY 06/18/14 - COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE, OR.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
6,995 PORTLAND, OREGON 11:00 am / 64 / Cloudy
Shopping trip day into downtown Portland to buy new hiking /trekking poles for
JoAnn at REI. This trip the GPS lady directed me exactly where I needed to go
as I would have had a difficult time figuring out the maze of freeway interchanges,
bridges, and confusing exits of downtown Portland. Really enjoyed the fantastic
view off the I-5 bridge of the Willamette River bridges and downtown until I had
maneuver some quick lane changes and squeak my truck onto the I-405. I quickly
understand why everyone rides bicycles or drives those little matchbox cars here.
The lanes and streets are VERY NARROW and I had a difficult time with this 3/4
ton long bed truck. Fortunately REI had their own parking garage which was
designed for parking bicycles as I BARLEY fit under the height bar and had to
execute a six point turn to back out of my parking space with four other drivers
patiently waiting for my spot. Needles to say we WALKED to lunch at the
ROGUE SPORTS BAR on recommendation of the REI cashier. For a sports
bar we had surprisingly good food, JoAnn had salmon & a Chipotle Pale Ale and
I a Kobe Philly Cheese steak sandwich & American Amber Ale. WOW, these
local ale's and beer's are sure spoiling us for wonderful tasting brews.
7,032 GLENN W. REPOGLE MEMORIAL 4:00 pm / 67 / Cloudy
Arrive back at Ainsworth State Park and I am still overstuffed from lunch so a
"short" 3 mi. walk from our camp was much needed. Walked to my favorite
Columbia Gorge overlook just past Upper Horsetail Falls. Perch on a comfy
sittin' log, enjoy the awesome view up river, daydream about Lewis & Clark
adventuring through here, and watch the noisy rumbling freight trains roll by
400 ft. straight down below me. JoAnn startled me back to reality with a phone
call at 6:00 pm inquiring just how long my "short" walk would last. Her tone did
motivate me to hike the 1.5 mi. back in 40 minutes.
DAY # 76 - TUESDAY 06/17/14 - COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE, OR.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
6,950 EAGLE CREEK CANYON, Columbia River Gorge, OR. 8:45 am / 52 / Drizzle
Our good friend MIKE PLOWMAN shows up on time to guide us on his favorite hike, a
14 mile trek up EAGLE CREEK to TUNNEL and CROSSOVER FALLS. Promised us
sunshine and an easy 700 ft. elevation gain. Well he was sorta kinda close as the elevation
gain was 1,700 ft. and the debate is still on as to weather we had 18 seconds of sunshine on
the drive home or it was merely the dark clouds lightening up just a little. He made up for his
HUGE errors in judgement with a SPECTACULAR hike through enormous moss covered
trees with blowing fog banks concealing the tops, roaring cascades, narrow slippery ridgeline
climbs on the sheer canyon walls, swaying wooden bridges and of course some of the most
amazing waterfalls we have ever seen.
The high ridge climbs with sheer drop-offs were my favorite sections of the trail and I was
amazed at how well JoAnn overcame her fear of heights especially considering how narrow
the trail became and slippery the wet basalt rocks were! Next favorite were the water
crossings both log (which made me extremely nervous after JoAnn's fall off one in Lassen)
and "High Bridge" with its sway and holes in the well worn wooden planks.
The vegetation was just as spectacular as the scenery as evidence by the most unusual
tree (left of center in picture below) growing out of a fern & moss hanging garden on
sheer wall across Eagle Creek.
Now what we have all been waiting for.... THE WATERFALLS. Each one spectacular
in it's own unique way.
CROSSOVER FALLS in which the divided flow actually crosses itself in mid falls. I
don't believe I have ever seen another falls have this unusual characteristic!
And of course the main attraction TUNNEL FALLS which is passed behind through a tunnel
after slipping and sliding down the heavy misty spray soaked narrow approach trail. See if you
can pick out JoAnn in the right photo as she exits on left side of tunnel into the hanging garden.
May help to click on the picture to enlarge it.
THANK YOU MIKE FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SHARE THIS AMAZING
HIKE WITH US ON A MOST MEMORABLE DAY!
MEDICAL INSURANCE CANCELLATION SCARE
NOTICE TO ALL G.M. RETIREES PLEASE MAKE DOUBLE SURE YOUR MEDICAL
BLUE CROSS INSURANCE CONTINUES WHEN YOU RETIRE!! I JUST FOUND
OUT THIS MORNING THAT I HAVE BEEN WITHOUT MEDICAL INSURANCE
SINCE MARCH 1st AND WITH ALL THE HIKING AND MOUNTAIN CLIMBING
WE HAVE BEEN DOING THIS IS VERY BOTHERSOME.
Spend THREE HOURS on the phone this morning with two different FIDELITY reps,
their Supervisors and their bosses in a semi futile attempt to rectify this serious mistake on
THEIR part. Somehow the medical payment which should have been deducted from my
retirement paychecks was not properly set up so I was canceled. I should have at least
been notified of this by E-Mail but Fidelity seems to have difficulty with this request also
so a letter of notification was sent to my OLD Yuma address. NOTE OF WARNING:
We have discovered through trial and MUCH error that about 40% of the companies who
promise E-Mail notifications don't have a clue how to do this!! Makes life extremely
difficult for those without a mailing address. NOW back to correcting problems within
large corporations. I discover between the two phone reps that Fidelity no longer
deducts payments from retiree checks and the other tells me payments must be deducted
from checking accounts. The big problem is the second rep CANNOT set up a
payment from my checking because I am already set up to pay through my retirement
check which according to supervisors can no longer be done and was set up improperly
in the first place. Now I am informed that it will take ALL of them 6 to 10 working days
to figure out how to correct my situation and I am still WITHOUT any medical insurance!
Just ONE more problem for me to worry about on top of my truck falling off a hoist and
all the difficulties with the trailer. And people wonder why I just want to hide in the mountains.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
6,920 HOOD RIVER / COLUMBIA RIVER ROAD TRIP 11:00 am / 57 / RAIN
With rain pounding on the trailer roof all night and all morning and Fidelity Insurance
raining on my already sour mood we decide a road trip to explore this beautiful gorge
was best for our spirits today.
Please note the "Oregon Sunny" skies in the picture. I have noticed if the sunshine does
show itself for longer than 15 seconds the natives run and hide inside as they don't have a
clue what it is. On the other hand us Zonies will instantly stop what we are doing to enjoy
our 15 seconds of glory even if in the middle of crossing a busy street! We drive East
staying on the two lane Hwy. 30 instead of the busy fast I-84 to enjoy the drive more.
Lunch at the CASCADE LOCKS CAFE in Cascade Locks where we sit INSIDE and
enjoy the view of the wind whipped white capped waves on the Columbia River. Visit
the quaint town of Hood River with a short stroll around downtown and sit in a coffee
house to warm up and reminisce our motorcycle trip through here in 2009. It is a windy
blustery 62 degrees outside and people are dressed as if it were SUMMER. I really hate
disappoint them but they HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SUMMER IS around here! Please
come to Arizona for the harsh reality of SUMMER. Cross the Columbia River on slippery
narrow open metal grating they call a "bridge" around here. Slip & slide the truck as much
as I did the Harley and return in Washington via Hwy. 14. Very relieved I am not towing
the 5th wheel as most of the tunnels are 13ft. 8in., 13ft., or 12ft. 6in. high clearance and I
would be missing both my A/C units. Cross back over the "Bridge to the Gods" into
Oregon. Now that is a fun bridge because it is high, narrow, low guard rail, and at 25 MPH
the metal grating disappears and looking down it appears you are driving on air & water!
Plus it made JoAnn VERY nervous and QUITE.
6,950 UPPER HORSETAIL & ONEONTA FALLS 2:30 pm / 61 / Drizzle
Leave JoAnn at the trailer for a nap and take a short (3.5 mile) hike to explore the falls
around our camp. Everything on the trail is GREEN & WET including the rocks and
trees which are covered in GREEN moss.
At mile 1.5 I reach the UPPER HORSETAIL FALLS (Ponytail Falls) which are really
cool because the trail runs BEHIND them.
The best is yet to come as the trail switchbacks through thick ferns and high moss covered
weeping walls over into ONEONTA GORGE which is the next canyon to the West. The
old metal bridge with rickety moss coated wood slats to walk on at the base of ONEONTA
FALLS comes with a warning! After reading I just had to cross at least three times with
visions of Indiana Jones on one of his jungle adventures.
OK, enough dreaming as I promised JoAnn I would be back by 6:00 pm and it is
already 5:15 and I've got to hustle back to camp. OHH YES, I FORGOT, I STILL
DON'T HAVE MEDICAL INSURANCE. So why am I doing this??
DAY # 74 - SUNDAY 06/15/14 - EUGENE, OR to COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE, OR
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
6,885 AINSWORTH STATE PARK, PORTLAND, OR. 1:30 pm / 60 / Rain
Pack up the trailer in the rain, drive 150 miles in the rain, set up the trailer in the rain,
guess this must be Oregon. Sit and look at the rain for a couple hours before cooking
dinner in the rain. Rain sorta stopped and I decided to attempt an after dinner walk on
the Columbia Gorge Trail which runs through this park. I learn real quick it doesn't need
to be raining for you to get wet as walking through waist high ferns and the wind blowing
water drops out of the trees will soak you very quickly. Rule #1, NEVER leave home
without your FULL rain suit on.
DAY # 73 - SATURDAY 06/14/14 - EUGENE, OR.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
6,670 DOWNTOWN EUGENE, OR. 11:00 am / 60 / Cloudy
Lazy slow moving and unmotivated morning for us Zonies who are in dire need of
SUNSHINE to charge our batteries. Cruise downtown to see what's happening on
a Saturday in Eugene. Paying parking fees in the new parking pay machines takes a
college degree or lots of help from the locals. These Oregonions are a different breed
but make for very interesting people watching. Not near as strange as San Francisco
and MUCH MUCH friendlier. Excellent pizza at SIZZLE PIE with home brew beer.
One thing for sure they do know how to brew great tasting beer here in Oregon.
Walk around the Farmers Market and shop the local grown produce. Fun to watch
musicians busking, violin, accordion, flute, guitar, bongo drums, most of them young
kids. Back to the trailer for quick nap and attempt to re-energize ourselves for races.
Use the GPS to find the proper route tonight but the nice lady directed me over a rickety
bridge and through an eight foot high tunnel under the train tracks. No way those race
car haulers fit through this route so it's back to the Shell station route for us. Huge
near capacity crowd tonight compared to the sparse showing last night. Manage a top
row seat among the locals and learn EVERYTHING that happened in Cottage Grove
this week. Once again the winged sprinters are turning 11 second laps and the I.M.C.A.
Modifieds are turning "slow" 13 second laps. Another "Relay for Life" Cancer walk
and JoAnn joins me for the walk around. Still amazed how steep the banks are on this
small 1/4 mile track. Once again the racing is fast and very competitive as JoAnn picks
Henry VanDam who wins the 35 lap feature. We both really liked this track.
DAY # 72 - FRIDAY 06/13/14 - CRATER LAKE N.P. to EUGENE, OR.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
6,577 ARMITAGE PARK CAMPGROUND, EUGENE, OR. 1:45 pm / 64 / Drizzle
Pack up to leave in drizzly rain for a typical Oregon mountain drive down Hwy. 138
through thick forests shrouded in heavy blowing fog. Throw in a couple heavy rain
showers and it was an interesting 80 miles into Roseburg. Once on I-5 we make good
time into Eugene and miracle of miracles on Friday the 13th we find the park without
getting LOST. NOW I know something is wrong as I back the trailer into Space # 31
on the first attempt and it is even parked STRAIGHT! Quick trip to KFC to cure
JoAnn's craving for Hot Wings and grab a bucket to go before the races. Friendly
lady behind the counter (Hedy from Prescott, AZ.) PROMISED me that the dark
ominous clouds were typical Oregon sunshine and the races would not be rained out!
JoAnn elected to stay in warm dry trailer and left me to face the elements alone tonight.
6,636 COTTAGE GROVE SPEEDWAY, Cottage Grove, OR 7:00 pm / 62 / Cloudy
Of ALL the race race tracks I have ever been too this was by far the most difficult to
find. Drove around lost for 30 minutes in the SMALL village of Cottage Grove and for
the life of me could not find how to enter the track. At times I could see it below me on
Hwy. 99 overpass or across a river on some back street but the Google map was WAY
wrong and JoAnn was not around to run the GPS for me. FINALLY discover you turn
by the Shell gas station, over steep rough train tracks, through a small neighborhood and
finally down a ONE LANE dirt road into the small parking lot. No signs, no nothing.
Once again you must walk ALL the way around a chain link fence which signifies the
VIP parking and enter the race track. WELL WORTH THE EFFORT!! This is one
FAST & RACY race track! The winged sprinters turn this 1/4 mile high banked clay
track in the low 11 seconds per lap and those were feature race times! The high banks
offer three grooves and the tacky clay has the cars pulling wheelies down the straights.
This was "Walk for Cancer" night and at intermission the fans were allowed to walk
around the track. Kinda nice to walk with the drivers and listen to them discuss the
track and race set-ups. Called JoAnn and gave her a step by step of my walk around.
J.J. Hickle won his first A.S.C.S. Northwest tour race in amazing fashion from the 7th
starting spot. I can see why all these drivers are young kids as it was difficult for this
old guy to follow the cars turning 11 second laps much less be on the track with 23
other drivers racing each other wheel to wheel on this small track. WOW!
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
6,378 TIPSOO MOUNTAIN TRAIL # 1472, Umpqua Natl. Forest 8:30 am / 41 / Cloudy
JoAnn taking a break so I am hiking solo and select a difficult ranger suggested hike.
Cold dreary morning with dark storm clouds blowing in from the West but the storm is
not PREDICTED to arrive until tonight and I figure to squeeze in a morning hike. Things
begin to look bad on the drive to the trail head as the road turns into a narrow two track
once past Cinnamon Fire Lookout and I am in 4-wheel drive plowing through snow
banks. Problem two, there is no parking area and I am forced into a six turn turnaround
without getting the truck stuck in the mud and snow. Since mine are the only vehicle
tracks on the road I figure no one else will be up here and park in the road. Problem
three is uncovered quickly into the hike, NO TRAIL MARKERS. After the second
long snow crossing I discover my footprints are not very visible in the tree shaded snow,
especially when the dark clouds roll in. Quickly learn to stick tree limbs in the snow to
mark my way back out of here as finding the trail is damn near impossible in all this snow
with no trail markers. I am beginning to question WHY the pretty brunette lady ranger
would send this desert rat on a hike like this in the first place? Now I question WHY I
have spent the last THREE hours walking in circles searching for trail signs trying to figure
this trail out. I stubbornly give up on reaching the top and stop for a quick lunch. Manage
half a sandwich before I realize the mosquitoes just may eat me alive before I finish the
the other half. Not even Alabama had mosquitoes this thick or aggressive. Rare smart
idea on my part to mark the trail as I race back to the truck in half an hour to finish
lunch and watch the first rain showers begin.
DAY # 70 - WEDNESDAY 06/11/14 - CRATER LAKE N.P.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
6,340 UMPQUA NATIONAL FOREST ROAD TRIP 10:00 am / 59 / Sunny
Beautiful mountain morning for a road trip and the waterfall drive down Hwy. 138
is perfect. WATSON FALL plunging 272 ft. off a black lava cliff into thick lodgepole
pines and fir trees is spectacular. Mile Post 60.5 on Hwy. 138 turn South of Road 37
to parking lot on right. Easy walk to falls and we bushwack to the base but the cold
heavy wet mist drove us quickly up to the normal view points. Next stop the Toketee
ranger station, spend long time talking to friendly (probably bored) rangers about hikes
in the area since Crater Lake hiking trails are all closed. TOKETEE FALLS our next
destination at Mile Post 58.5 turn North onto Forest Road 34, stay left at the Y and
park next to the interesting Toketee Lake "sieve". This is a 10 ft. high redwood pipe
used to transport water from Toketee Lake to a power station. Amazing how and
why they constructed it from wood and how much water would trickle and squirt
from the small wood cracks. Hike is through the narrow North Umpqua River
Gorge with 200 steps leading to the platform overlooking the 80 ft. lower and 40 ft.
upper falls. Drive back for nice lunch at Diamond Lake Resort overlooking
Diamond Lake.
JoAnn ready for a nap but the Mt. Bailey Trail Head is a tempting 3 miles from camp
so I decide to "scout" it out. You can't scout a trail without hiking a "little" section of
it so I speed hike the lower 2 miles and it became interesting enough to hike just a
"little" farther. My turnaround time of 4:00 pm was extended just a "little" if I could
just reach that next view point just across the next snow crossing over the next ridge.
At the 3.5 mile point about 7,000 ft. on the 8,363 ft. mountain the snow crossings
were more treacherous than I was willing to handle solo and the view point had the
perfect sitting rock and amazing view over Diamond Lake to Mt. Thielsen. WOW!
These mountains are SPECTACULAR. Speed walk back down with expectations
of the lecture I will receive from JoAnn for being just a "little" late.
DAY # 69 - TUESDAY 06/10/14 - CRATER LAKE N.P.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
6,300 MT. THIELSEN TRAIL, Umpqua Natl. Forest 9:00 am / 38 / Sunny
Trail head to this landmark peak is only 4 miles from our camp and at 5,300 ft. the
lower section of trail looks snow free and no rangers around telling us we CAN'T do
it. Three steps from the truck and we quickly discover our first major obstacle, 5 million
HUGE mosquitoes per square foot. Keep moving and they don't bother you so much,
now that is MOTIVATION to keep your ass moving UP the mountain. Snow avalanches
have knocked down huge swaths of trees, some cleared and some we stair step over or
crawl under, or just take a long walk around. At 7,000 ft. we hit our first big snow
crossing and I figure this is a good excuse for JoAnn to turn around as she is already
struggling with the altitude. NOT TODAY! She has her sense of adventure and is up to
the challenge. By 8,000 ft. the snow crossings become long enough the trail is difficult to
follow as the deep boot prints of previous hikers tend to wander in their search for the trail.
We crest the high ridge just below the volcanic rock spire into a saddle where the P.C.T.
supposedly crosses at 8,500 ft. but the snow is too deep to find any signs of it. We
retreat from the cold windy snow blown saddle and eat lunch on a rock outcropping
with stunning views of Mt. Thielsen above us, Diamond Lake below, and snow capped
Mt. Bailey to the West. Discover that mosquitoes don't like cold snow, or high altitude
or both as we have a peaceful lunch free of those pesky critters. JoAnn leads us back
down slipping and sliding through the ever softening sun soaked snow and we are back
to the truck by 2:30 pm. Not bad at all for an "easy" 9 mile walk!
# 68 - MONDAY 06/09/14 - CRATER LAKE N.P.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
6,223 CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK 10:00 am / 52 / Sunny
More snow than we had anticipated as just about everything is still closed in the park.
Disappointed the East Rim Road is closed as are ALL the hiking trails. The information
ranger was very short with us saying there was nothing to do in the park but drive and
look. I much more enjoyed the can do attitude of the Lassen Rangers who told us if we
wanted an adventure to be careful and GO FOR IT. I can sorta understand the
frustrations of the rangers here as half the sightseers were walking around in flip-flops
and sandals but for us veteran hikers with proper equipment (like we had in the Subway)
and slightly more common sense we should have been shown a little more consideration.
Crater Lake is STUNNING in the snow and we did a short rim hike and made an
attempt at Garfield Peak but JoAnn insisted on turning around at the first snow bank.
Tried scouting the P.C.T. section of trail through here but the snow was too deep to
find the trail. At least in Lassen the rangers made an effort to mark the trails across the
snow with flags but here no effort was made. Ate lunch at the secluded Goodby Picnic
Area and left the park.
6,270 CLEARWATER FALLS, Umpqua Natl. Forest, OR 2:00 pm / 69 / Sunny
our "challenging" trailer turnaround of yesterday. Guess my interpretation of a "fall" and
a "cascade" is slightly different from the forest service as I always thought a water fall
had to actually FALL off something instead of CASCADE over rocks. Oh well, it
was beautiful anyway with thick green moss growing everywhere and a picturesque
pond on top of the "falls".
DAY # 67 - SUNDAY 06/08/14 - MEDFORD, OR. to CRATER LAKE N.P.
LESSONS LEARNED ON GETTING A 34 FOOT TRAILER STUCK !!!
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
6,195 DIAMOND LAKE RV PARK 3:00 pm / 61 / Sunny
Easy 85 mile drive up Highways 62 & 230 and we are at camp in a couple hours.
YEA RIGHT!! That would NEVER happen to us. The GPS coordinates JoAnn
entered took us right by the park (they definitely need a LARGER sign) and 15
miles past to a turn off for CLEARWATER FALLS on Hwy. 138. My gut told me
we were WAY WRONG but JoAnn insisted we follow the GPS lady's directions (she
has only been wrong 25% of the time so far this trip) and we end up stuck down a
steep narrow one lane dirt forest road. Somehow I now must turn this entire rig around
or back it up 1/2 mile of curves to the main highway!! Find a small side track that
maybe I can back the trailer into and with many miracles turn this rig around. On my
fourth attempt with the right front truck tire hanging off steep drop off, the left trailer tires
sliding precariously into a ditch and top of trailer slicing through tree branches I manage
to back into the side track. WHEW!! We are out of there and make it to the RV
park after stopping to ask directions from every person we meet with the GPS shut
OFF and LOCKED in the glove box. Set the trailer up, take a LONG walk to settle
the nerves, nice campfire with LOTS OF BEER and this EASY day is over.
DAY # 66 - SATURDAY 06/07/14 - MEDFORD, OR.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
6,059 JACKSONVILLE, OREGON 11:00 am / 76 / Sunny
Scenic drive down Hwy. 238 through rolling hills, strawberry fields, vineyards, and ranches
to this historic mining town. Continuation of beer week celebrations with a car show thrown
in. Eat lunch on the vine / tree covered patio of BELLA UNION RESTAURANT &
SALOON. JoAnn enjoys the stores and I stroll through the car show along Main Street.
6,085 SOUTHERN OREGON SPEEDWAY, Medford, OR. 6:00 pm / 91 / Sunny
Race track is very difficult to locate as it is hidden behind baseball fields, go-kart race track
and a drag strip in the Jackson Sports Complex in White City. Follow a long line of cars
down a one lane pot holed dusty paved / dirt road into a rough parking lot in one foot thick
semi mowed bunch grass 1/2 mile from the grandstands. I have visions of some catalytic
converter catching the dry grass on fire and burning up all the vehicles. The grandstands are
already 3/4 full one hour before races start and they are in competition with the drag strip
which is also running races. They are running 7 classes of cars tonight of which 5 have
qualifications so by the time racing starts the track is a DUST BOWL. Quite humorous to
to view the dust coated spectators and my beard is nice shade of dusty clay brown. Track
is watered at intermission which means the racers must repack the track all over again. To
make a LONG show LONGER they now run chain races in 3 of the divisions and for the
features introduce EVERY driver and list EVERY sponsor since this is sponsor appreciation
night. We finally leave the the track at 12:30 am and walk the 1/2 mile back to the truck by
moonlight as there are no lights in the parking lot. We must shake our clothes out before
we enter the trailer to prevent a dust bowl inside and I take a quick shower to wash the
three pounds of dirt out of my beard.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
6,022 MEDFORD, OREGON 1:00 pm / 86 / Sunny
As usual it is very difficult to leave this beautiful place. JoAnn enjoyed the mountain drive
on Hwy 199 winding through spectacular forest along the Smith River. I on the other
hand spent two tense hours herding the trailer through tight curves and on the look out
for racing logging trucks. No relief once we reach Medford as Hwy. 62 out to the
Lakewood RV Park in White City is 8 miles of gridlocked heavy traffic. Quick set up
and lunch at DINER 62 where ALL the locals eat and you are treated as a local. We
were informed to all the inside jokes between customers & staff. Buy a paper to find
out what's happening on a Friday night and guess what. Tonight is opening night for
the week long MEDFORD BEER FEST. Hit the kick-off party at WALKABOUT
BREWERY only because the band playing was called BUCKLE RASH. Order a
round of Workman's Pale Ale and delicious bar-b-que, find a table out back by the
bandstand and to our surprise the band was excellent. Fun country rock sound with
song lyrics reminiscent of our favorite local Tempe band "The Refreshments".
dreadlocks, and a lead guitar player playing Z.Z. Top Slide guitar licks? I
love the beer kegs propping up the trailer, this town surely knows how to party!
DAY # 64 - THURSDAY 06/05/14 - CRESCENT CITY, CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
5,890 CRESCENT CITY BEACH and LIGHTHOUSE 10:00 am / 71 / Windy
Easy day for JoAnn to recuperate from the strenuous & difficult hike yesterday. Drive
ENDERTS BEACH ROAD to the picturesque overlook and spend rest of morning
strolling the beautiful, wide, flat, hard pack gray sand of Crescent Beach. JoAnn has a
knack for collecting perfect sand dollars and we have an ocean view picnic lunch. Take
the CRESCENT CITY LIGHTHOUSE tour which is a must do as the guides are very
personable and knowledgeable with fascinating stories of the lighthouse history and
Crescent City itself.
DAY # 63 - WEDNESDAY 06/04/14 - PRAIRIE CREEK REDWOODS S.P.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
5,824 JAMES IRVINE to FERN CANYON to MINER'S RIDGE TRAILS
This 11.9 mile loop trail through HUGE old growth redwoods, luscious ferns, dense
eerie dark stands of pines, rambling creeks, sparkling mushrooms, and a walk on
the gray sands with wild crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean is a DEFINITE BUCKET
LIST hike for anyone who LOVES hiking!!! This awe inspiring hike begins at the Elk
Prairie Visitors Center in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. WARNING: The first
mile of the JAMES IRVINE TRAIL is the most difficult as it took JoAnn & I nearly TWO
hours to complete in our awe struck condition we took pictures of EVERYTHING!
Your wildest imaginations cannot fathom just how BIG & TALL these redwoods are
and even the down and dead trees are nurse maids to an amazing collection of plants and
other trees. Everything else is larger than life from the Ponderosa & Fir trees, chest high
ferns, gobs of hanging moss, mushrooms, and down to 8 inch long yellow banana slugs.
At mile 3 you crest a ridge and begin to hear the loud rumble of the crashing ocean waves
rolling through the trees still 2.5 trail miles away. DO NOT miss the FERN CANYON
TRAIL as this short 1/2 mile trail will take you through an entirely different world of striking
fern covered walls, wet stream crossings, and jumbled logs to the Pacific Ocean.
Once you leave the sunny, green, water world of FERN CANYON you walk straight
into another different world of heavy misty fog banks and pounding wild ocean waves.
Between Fern Canyon and the ocean beach is a huge mud bog with only one trail to
traverse through it and OOOOPS a herd of HUGE male elk grazing on the trail. JoAnn
grabs the camera and rushes toward them for pictures all the while I am thinking we
should be rushing the OTHER way away from them. While she is happily snapping
pictures I search for a detour around them without sinking up to my knees in the black
mucky mud of the bog so I can sit on the beach and feed my starving stomach.
Quick lunch as the foggy ocean air is beginning to chill our desert bones and we begin the 1.2
mile trudge through the heavy sand and saw grass to loop out the MINER'S RIDGE TRAIL.
This got old in a hurry so we search for the old Gold Bluff Beach Road and walk the hard
pack to the trail head. Thousands of woolly worms have hatched and are crawling everywhere.
Eerie how the dead worms run over by vehicles or trampled by hikers have left ghostly white
patterns in the brown packed dirt. Luckily we find Miner's Ridge Trail in the ever thickening
fog and begin the long uphill climb back to our vehicle. Lasting impressions. Everything on
this hike is OLD, HUGE, and the scenery changes so DRASTIC it is almost too difficult to
totally comprehend.
DAY # 62 - TUESDAY 06/03/14 - PRAIRIE CREEK REDWOODS S.P.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
5,726 PRAIRIE CREEK / REDWOODS NATL. PARK 10:00 am / 48 / Fog
Wake up to heavy clouds and fog making for the perfect day for a road trip. Drive South
on Hwy. 101 to the town of Klamath. Search for ALDER CAMP ROAD and discover
a viewpoint overlooking where the KLAMATH RIVER flows into the Pacific Ocean.
Fascinating area in the wispy fog especially the eerie Williams Family graveyard below
the viewpoint. Disappointed that the Coastal Drive Road has been closed and turned
into a Hiker / Biker Trail forcing a backtrack to the HIGH BLUFF PICNIC AREA.
Much too cold, windy, & dreary for a lunch break, back on the road through the
moss covered tunnel of overhanging trees to Hwy. 101.
Cruise down the NEWTON B. DRURY SCENIC HIGHWAY through Prairie Creek
Redwoods State Park and check out trails for tomorrow's hike. Lunch underneath
a towering redwood which dwarfed my truck parked on the pull off. Drop into the
visitors center with a herd of elk munching their lunch in the grassy meadow across
from the parking lot. The friendly and informative ranger gave us the perfect 11 mile
hike and sold me the perfect "Advice From A Redwood" hiking shirt. Excited about
tomorrow after scouting beginning of trail. Sun finally shows it's glow at 3:00 pm as
we drive back to camp. Lounge in the warm rays in the meadow outside our trailer
reading a Dean Koontz mystery thriller "The Good Guy" sipping a cold one until my
stomach reminds me it is dinner time. Ahhh, this is retirement!
DAY # 61 - MONDAY 06/02/14 - JEDEDIAH SMITH REDWOODS SP.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
5,660 CRAIGS CREEK TRAIL # 1E02 10:00 am / 52 / Sunny
Short drive from our camp to the trail head outside the town of HIOUCHI at the
confluence of SMITH RIVER & SOUTH FORK RIVER. Trail follows along a
high ridge through thick stands of trees, crossing small cascading streams every
1/4 mile or so, waist high ferns with thick green moss growing on everything and
all the while South Fork River roars below you. The groves of Redwoods aren't
as big here but much more spectacular because you enjoy them with NO OTHER
PEOPLE. JoAnn and I have this place all to ourselves! Once you reach CRAIGS
CREEK the trail turns down to the South Fork River with an array of old mining
equipment at the bottom. The map shows a footbridge across the river but I could
not find it and the swift flowing water was WAY TO COLD for me to wade across.
DAY # 60- SUNDAY 06/01/14 - REDDING to REDWOODS NP., CA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
5,649 REDWOODS RV RESORT , CRESCENT CITY, CA 3:00 pm / 64 / Sunny
Early start to beat morning traffic as we will need to navigate Hwy. 299 West
as it zig-zags its way through the confusing downtown streets of Redding. JoAnn
navigates us to perfection now all I need to do is pull this trailer through 230 miles
of narrow, steep, winding switchback up and down mountain roads of Hwy. 299 and
try not to knock down any trees growing right out of the edges of Hwy. 101 North
up the coast. Stunningly beautiful road on the Harley as you just roll the bike through
curve after beautiful curve but a little unnerving when you must constantly watch your
trailer position and on coming traffic. Lunch at the FOREST CAFE in Klamath, CA.
with interesting decor as looking up at the ceiling is like viewing a lake from the
bottom. REDWOODS RV RESORT is set in a small meadow surrounded by the
redwood forest. Fortunately management knew we were from Arizona and we have
one of the few sunny spaces to help keep the trailer somewhat warm at least during
the day. Sit outside enjoying the beautiful meadow until the sun goes down and it
becomes frigid COLD in a hurry! Hustle inside for dinner in front of the WARM
fireplace and relax my somewhat frayed nerves with one of my all time favorite
movies "INKHART".
DAYS # 58 & 59 - 05/30 & 31/14 - REDDING, CA.
5,400 WEEKEND IN REDDING , CA
This is our second stay in Redding with the same mixed feelings as from our previous
visit. Will start with the POSITIVE aspects. The weather was warmer than Lassen
and the 85 - 90 degree days gave us a chance to thaw out. Because there is not much
to do unless you are a boater or fisherman we caught up on movies and viewed the
new X-MEN movie (excellent must see) and MALEFICENT (very different and
interesting spin on an old fairy tale). Wonderful pizza dinner at MARY'S PIZZA
SHACK and a pure pleasure to have Bernadette from San Jose wait on us and help
brighten up our downer Saturday evening. The band MARCH OF BUFFALO whose
folksy bluegrass and fiddle player entertained us at VINTNER'S CELLAR where the
cute blonde waitress Alison convinced JoAnn into a $22.00 bottle of 2012 Voga
Moscato. Quiet evenings sitting on the banks of the Sacramento River by our camp
watching tubbers, fishermen, & families of ducks floating by at sunset.
THE NEGATIVES: The complete disaster this town calls a road system, even the
BEST GPS system will not help you from point A to point B. Forget trying to figure
the one way streets which change direction or dead end every couple blocks!! Just
get close to your destination if you are lucky and WALK there.
NOTE TO SHASTA RACEWAY PARK: If you are going to cancel your scheduled
sprint car races on a perfectly beautiful Saturday night PLEASE post it on your web
site instead of on your face book page. I could have chosen several other races to
attend with a little information but that seems to be the normal way of doing things
around here.
NOTE TO CINEMARK MOVIE THEATERS: You do not need to compete with
Lassen Park on how COLD you can keep your theaters. Squeaky vinyl seats are not
comfortable. PLEASE do not show previews to EVERY SINGLE MOVIE you will
play over the next two years!!
NOTE TO THE DRIVERS IN REDDING: Is there a requirement you must get on
the freeway at 35 miles an hour? Do you pay any attention to the fuel prices as prices
will vary 30 to 40 cents a gallon even at stations across from each other.
NOTE TO THE BAND "LEFT HOOK": You are not a classic rock band as
advertised. You are a JAZZ band so I suggest you you stick to JAZZ. To the
dancers, this was NOT Metallica playing so I suggest you stick to dancing to JAZZ.
Then again I guess that is how things are done around here.
DAY # 57 - THURSDAY 05/28/14 - LASSEN to REDDING, CA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
5,295 SACRAMENTO RIVER RV PARK, REDDING, CA 1:00 pm / 88 / Beautiful
Slightly warmer 32 degree morning but the weak battery drained out power around
midnight turning our trailer into a $60,000 tent. Once again use the truck as a generator
to power up the trailer. Our planned hike to Bumpass Hell is canceled because the area
has been closed so we contemplate plan B, SOMEWHERE WARM. Walk to the pay
phone (can anyone remember the last time they used a pay phone?) and discover our
site in Redding is available today. Good-by Arctic weather and noisy 6th graders and
hello summer. Leave Lassen it's 38 degrees and two hours later roll into Redding at a
WONDERFUL 86 degrees. Spend rest of the day thawing out and catching up on
everything electronic, phone messages, E-Mails, Blog posts, & recharging batteries,
all things required upon our return to "civilization". We notice a Popeye's driving in
and fulfill our second requirement of "civilization" spicy, greasy fast food. Enjoy an
evening walk along the fast flowing Sacramento River as tubbers, fishermen, and
ducks go floating by.
DAY # 56 - WEDNESDAY 05/27/14 - LASSEN VOLCANIC N.P.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
5,148 MANZANITA LAKE CAMPGROUND 7:00 am / 29 / DAMN COLD
Wake up shivering to discover it's 29 degrees outside and 35 degrees inside the trailer.
attempt to start the heater and nothing. Trailer battery is completely dead and we used
nothing except the pump motor to flush the toilet. Decide to use the truck alternator as
a generator only to discover the truck batteries would barely start the engine. Finally have
the batteries charged enough to connect to the trailer and run the heater. Discover the
batteries are dead in all the clocks, watches, cell phones (which we are unable to use
anyway), the nook, I-Pods, camera, electric lantern and even the walkie-talkies. Drive
34 miles into Shingletown for fuel and to charge the truck batteries and everything we
managed to plug into chargers running off the cigarette lighter. Amazed the truck
electrical system held up to all that. Return to the trailer at 10:30 am and the temperature
has warmed up to a balmy 38 degrees. We were not prepared for this! Talk to the other
campers and they are all experiencing the same battery problems hence the official day
designation.
5,212 LASSEN PEAK (10,457 ft.) 11:45 am / 41 / Sunny & Windy
Have dreamed about climbing this peak since we rode the Harley through this park back
in July of 2002. Still a lot of snow but I may not have have many more opportunities to
visit this obscure park. The lady ranger told me there were patches of snow but it should
still be climbable. Arrive at the trail head 11:45 am with hopes the late start will have given
any ice from the cold night a chance to soften and make the trail passable for this desert
hiker with NO snow or ice equipment. Deep snow right from the start and 50 yards I meet
a hiker returning from the top. He promptly informs me that without crampons I will never
make it to the top. I tell him I will climb until I feel unsafe and promise to turn around. I
soon discover that what the ranger meant to tell me was instead of patches of snow there
would be PATCHES OF TRAIL on first 2/3 of the climb and half trail and half deep, steep
snow crossings on the final 1/3. Fortunately the long snow crossings are marked with red
flags and I just follow in the foot steps of hikers before me. The bright sun reflecting off the
snow has me wishing I owned a pair of sun glasses and the wind is already chaffing my skin.
At the .9 mile from the top marker I am suffering from the altitude and tired of slogging
through snow bank after snow bank when I meet a young kid from Michigan hiking in
regular hiking tennis shoes and soaked to the knees blue jeans. Climbing to the top was
one of the biggest adventures in his young life and that was all the encouragement I needed.
Once again I learn it is better to be naive and strive for adventure than to listen to know it
alls and stay home. Wind blown, cold and wet I reach the top at 1:30 pm and spend an
hour taking pictures, playing, and enjoying the spectacular view. Ominous clouds begin
blowing in from Mt. Shasta so I reluctantly begin the return climb. Climbing down has
become more treacherous as the snow is now softer and slipperier. The footprints which
held me solid climbing are breaking apart and causing me to slip and slide more often than
I am comfortable with and I try not to think how far down I could slide if I don't catch
myself when I fall. The veteran climber also informed me I would need trekking poles but
I am much more secure catching myself with my trusting hands and yes this time I am wearing
heavy leather work gloves. First sight of the parking lot and my truck is the only vehicle there.
Very sobering thought that you are up here all alone but that is just the way I like it.
DAY # 55 - TUESDAY 05/27/14 - LASSEN VOLCANIC N.P.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
5,136 SUMMIT LAKE, UPPER/LOWER TWIN LAKES, GRASSY SWALE LOOP HIKE
Beautiful 11 mile hike through high alpine meadows with pristine lakes and tantalizing views
of snow covered Lassen Peak which I hope to conquer tomorrow. At 7,000 to 7,800 ft.
altitude this hike kept you breathing hard uphill, downhill, or on the sporadic level trail. The
level trail was usually through a mucky muddy bog / meadow which some had nice walkways
across and others left you with a ton of gunky mud on your boots. The lakes are picturesque
so I will let the pictures do the talking. Met only 6 other hikers all day and they were back-
packing, which at the end of our strenuous 8 hour day we discovered why not many dayhike
this trail. The oddity of this hike were the bridges. The small creek crossings had nice heavy
duty bridges but the swifter flowing creeks you were left to rock hopping (which were placed
for the Jolly Green Giant not for us normal humans) and walking logs which were mostly
UNDER the water instead of OVER it. The last crossing had three sections of logs with
rocks in between and half the last log under swift rushing water and slick as ice. I barely
made it across without taking a swim and the look of terror in JoAnn's eyes at my shaky
crossing I knew we were in for a rough time. Sure enough she went down in the swiftest
flowing section of the creek and in her twisting fall I did manage to grab one wrist and
her hiking stick and by some miracle keep myself balanced on the slippery log. Now to
get her untwisted, out of the freezing snow melt water, and back onto the log! She kept
yelling for me to let go and she would pull herself up but we were so precariously
balanced I was afraid we both would be swimming if I let go. Somehow we managed
the crossing without swimming and JoAnn only suffering a badly bruised and scraped
right lower leg. Back at camp with LOTS of beer and fireball we figured this was just
another OK adventure of the trip.
DAY # 54 - MONDAY 05/26/14 - CHICO, CA. to LASSEN N.P.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
5,124 LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK, CA 2:00 pm / 55 / Sunny
( LOST & STUCK ADVENTURES OF TRAILER TOWING)
Easy relaxing drive for a tow day and we manage the I-5 interchange to Hwy. 44 with
no problems. OOOPS!! Sorry I spoke to early as everything went smooth UNTIL we
reach the Manzanita Lake Campground. First we miss the campground turn off and now
we are driving up the NARROW Lassen Park road toward snow covered mountains
praying there is a turn around before we get into a seriously bad situation. Eight miles
later with both of us sweating bullets we find the closed Crags Campground entrance
which THANK GOODNESS the construction workers forgot to lock the gate behind
them and were staring at us with questionable looks as we quickly turned this big rig
around. Pull into Manzanita Campground with very frayed nerves only to discover
our assigned assumed easy pull-thru site (A03) will not fit our trailer. Of course I only
discover this after the trailer tires are wedged against a tree stump, A/C units on top
tearing through tree limbs and front tire of the truck is wedged against a boulder. With
adrenalin and angry frustration I move the 1,000 pound boulder from the truck tire
under the weary and watchful eye of the campground host/ranger. At least she was
smart enough not to say anything! Next with every hand, arm, and body motions
imaginable with a few expressions of terror from JoAnn I manage to back & forth,
back & forth, back & forth, back & forth until we were able to slip out that site and
begin a search for a new one. I later learn other campers were taking bets on weather
I could get out of that situation. Twist and turn through the entire campground and find
another pull-thru (B36) next to the bathrooms (which later turned into a benefit) which
was so small & tight I still had to back the trailer into it. Long, long walk and lots of
beer around the campfire to relieve the stress of today.
DAY # 53 - SUNDAY 05/25/14 - CHICO, CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
4,975 SILVER DOLLAR SPEEDWAY, CHICO, CA 5:00 pm / 92 / Sunny
Spend ALL morning catching up on this blog site, paying bills, laundry, catching snippets
of the Indy 500 and Charlotte NASCAR race between periods of napping before driving
out to SILVER DOLLAR SPEEDWAY for the California Civil War Sprint Car Races.
Races are run in conjunction with their big fair and $9.00 gets you into the fair AND the
race track. The stands are already packed two hours before racing starts and once again
the fans are VERY PROUD of their favorite home grown hero KYLE LARSON and they
show it off every chance they get. The track is a tight slightly banked 1/4 mile which the
winged sprinters must turn in 12 seconds or they don't make the feature. They furrow the
track and if the drivers don't set their car exactly correct to follow the deep grooves thru
the turns they are in BIG trouble. Cars were flipping on their qualifying laps!!! This track
definitely TEACHES you how to DRIVE a race car. The track has no outer walls but if
you hit the HEAVY clay cushion wrong, same result as hitting the wall. 48 cars show to
qualify for 22 feature starting spots so the heat and semi races were fast, aggressive, and
very competitive. SHANE GOLOBIC redeemed his second place finish last night to
pass local favorite Jonathan Allard in an exciting finish for ME as I was probably the only
person in our section of very friendly and knowledgeable fans to pick him.
DAY # 52 - SATURDAY 05/24/14 - CHICO, CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
4,831 CHICO, CA 9:00 am / 82 / Sunny
Day of relaxation to recover from the strenuous previous week. YEA RIGHT! Visit
and walk downtown for JoAnn's Starbucks Coffee fix and lunch at Popeye's to cure her
spicy chicken craving. Checking the map I spot Bidwell Park on the map a couple
blocks away as a nice place to walk off lunch. JoAnn plops under a huge shade tree
next to a swimming hole to read her book and I take off for a long walk around this
beautiful family friendly park along Big Chico Creek. Miles of well groomed hiking
and biking paths with side trails to private swimming holes, beaches, and picnic tables.
4,844 SIERRA NEVADA BREWING COMPANY
1075 E. 20th Street , Chico, CA.
The tour and history of this brewery is FANTASTIC and a must if you are ever in this
area. This is a hands on tour as you FEEL the different hops, SMELL the different odors
in each process room, SENSE the temperature changes, and best of all TASTE all the
brews that I didn't even know Sierra Nevada made. Also SPENT $65.00 on specialty
beer and shirts. Did not plan to spend three hours here or sample that much beer so we
quickly get ready for the 55 mile drive to Marysville for the sprint car races.
4,904 MARYSVILLE RACEWAY , Marysville, CA 6:00 pm / 97 / Hot &Sunny
Smooth drive down Hwy. 99 and newly refurbished Hwy. 70. Mexican food dinner at
CASA CARLOS RESTAURANT (413 6th Street, Marysville, CA.) before driving out
to the racetrack. Nice tight high banked 1/4 mile black clay with fast qualifier John Michael
Bunch turning a 12.981 second lap in his winged sprinter. Very surprised to see the packed
grandstand in this small town with the professional rodeo also in town. Front row of the
stands is literally 15 feet from the racing groove and I was brave enough to watch ONE
race down there before moving back up to the top! Found out half way through the feature
it wasn't any safer up high as a rather hefty spectator sitting behind us took a five pound rock
off his left shoulder! Big guy was proud of his souvenir as he passed it around and showed off
his huge black bruise. No sanity amongst us race fans! Electricity failure on the midway and
in the bathrooms had vendors and race fans using ingenuity for lighting. Try using your cell
phone light and taking care of business in a skanky race track bathroom. The ladies had it
worse as their entrance faced turn one and the racers were slinging mud all the way into the
bathroom. Entertaining to watch them gauge their exit to miss being coated in tire slinging
black clay. The racing was fast, furious and rough on the tacky but extremely rough clay
surface. Four racers took nasty tumbles and one driver even jumped the turn 4 wall,
bounced of the catch fence, landed back on the track and kept going! D.J. Netto won
the 30 lap feature with smooth easy driving style as the early leaders flipped or crashed
each other. Shane Golobic and Cody Lamar battled each other the entire race for 2nd
and 3rd. Pulled into our park at midnight pumped by the exciting racing.
DAY # 51 - FRIDAY 05/23/14 - YOSEMITE to CHICO, CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
4,825 ALMOND TREE RV PARK, CHICO, CA 5:45 pm / 96 / Sunny
Big struggle to pack the trailer, hook up and drive 230 miles both mentally and physically
as we are both extremely tired from yesterday and not ready to leave this beautiful park.
JoAnn a little nervous about the steep downgrade outside of Moccasin but the rig handles
it just fine. Reach civilization once again and spend two hours in a rest stop catching up
on phone messages as we have been without ANY cell phone service and very spotty and
weak wi-fi. Play 200 questions with a very serious no sense of humor phone operator
on our application for long term health insurance. Must have upset her that it took us two
weeks to get back with her. Sorry about that. How do we survive without phones &
internet. Traffic very heavy and we pull into the park with 15 minutes to spare before the
6:00 pm closing time. Take an evening walk around downtown to stretch my leg muscles.
Very nice town, lots of big trees, old and immaculately restored houses from the early
1900's, concert in the park, I could like this town.
DAY # 50 - THURSDAY 05/22/14 - YOSEMITE N.P.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
4,398 HALF DOME (8,836 ft.) 2:00 pm / 61 / Windy
Awake at 4:30 am full of anticipation for the day ahead of us as this hike is the dream
accomplishment of every hiker. We were extremely lucky to bypass the normal
lottery for hiking permits as the warm weather and low winter snows allowed the
trail to open two weeks early and all we needed was to apply for two of the 225
permits available for today. Quiet 50 minute drive to Yosemite as each of us was
deep in thought of the grueling (for us old folks anyway) hike / climb ahead of us.
Catch the 7:30 am shuttle and one could instantly sense the difference between the
talkative park visitors and the quiet deep in thought hikers headed for the Half Dome
Trail head. Once on the trail the youngsters take off and we are relegated to our own
pace in the back and enjoy the peace, quite, and solitude. Elect to hike the MIST
TRAIL and soon we are hiking through the heavy swirling wet mist and rainbows
of VERNAL FALL and up the GIANT staircase designed for people with LONG legs.
Wet and cold we pick up the pace for warmth but soon the altitude (5,200 ft.) and dreaded switchbacks slow our pace. We reach the top of NEVADA FALL when JoAnn discovers her camel packed has leaked all its water and she is freaking out!
I calm her down as there is water flowing EVERYWHERE and that problem is the LEAST
of our worries at the moment. We have another 5 miles and 2,800 ft. elevation gain in front of us.
In LITTLE YOSEMITE VALLEY we sight our first views of the very intimidating HALF DOME.
We switchback our way up to a saddle at 7,020 ft. and the high altitude now has JoAnn
trudging slowly up the trail. We pass younger hikers who started an hour before us and
I am hoping this will motivate JoAnn to pick up the pace as time is becoming a factor.
Reach Quarter Dome and stare in quite awe at the 900 ft. of PURE INTIMIDATION
in front of us, steep switchbacks and climbers struggling up the cables to Half Dome.
I know JoAnn has already pushed beyond her limits but she is determined to conquer
this climb so we grab heavy gloves and UP we go. Half way up the near vertical
climb with the slick rock becoming very slippery I feel her tense up and her arm
strength just give out. With her FEAR of heights this is far more than I ever expected
from JoAnn but now the challenge is to get her back DOWN. I support her as much
as possible and crossing other climbers going up is a real challenge as you must let go
one hand and cross it to other side cable to let them by all the while hanging in a near
vertical position. We make it down and JoAnn is TOTALLY spent both mentally and
physically but we still have 8 long steep miles to hike back out. I give her time to rest
and make my ascent to the top which has my arm & leg muscles quivering by the time
I walk over the dome to a spectacular and rewarding accomplishment! THIS CLIMB
IS A MUST FOR EVERYONE WHO LOVES HIKING AND CHALLENGES!
Definitely put this one on your BUCKET LIST.
It is 3:00 pm we have been on the trail for 7 hours and our ONLY objective at this point
is to somehow motivate our tired bodies to walk back before dark and catch the shuttle
bus back to our vehicle. The shadows are long when we reach top of NEVADA FALL
and we elect the extra mile distance of JOHN MUIR TRAIL over the steep steps down
the Mist Trail. Meet a group from Britain and have fun with their accents, naivety on
hiking, and teach them about boot shots.
Three long and getting longer miles until we are done with this magnificent and
challenging hike. The last mile and we are speed walking on adrenaline as the
shadows are dark in this deep valley and we NEED to catch that 8:00 pm shuttle.
We make it by TWO MINUTES!!! Even after the short shuttle bus ride it is a
struggle walking across the parking lot to our truck. All the restaurants are closed,
we drive back to the trailer in weary silence. We scrounge leftovers from the fridge
and I never remember crawling into bed. 12 hours on the hiking trail will do that to
you.
DAY # 49 - WEDNESDAY 05/21/14 - YOSEMITE N.P.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
4,343 HETCH HETCHY RESERVOIR 9:00 am / 41 / Cloudy
Was not in the mood for all the visitors in Yosemite Valley so we decided on a less well
known area of Yosemite Natl. Park, HETCH HETCHY RESERVOIR. Cold, dreary,
cloudy, misty morning made driving through the burn area of last years fire seem like a
surreal ghost forest. Most of this area is closed but we were fortunate Hetch Hetchy is
open and is interesting to see the huge timber operation removing the burned trees.
Enter the park as visitor #1 and JoAnn enjoyed talking to the ranger with soft southern
drawl and also an auto race fan. Disappointed the trail to Rancheria Falls was closed
due to a rock slide but this is a beautiful and little used canyon and we will make the best
of it. Begin our hike to WAPAMA FALLS at O'Shaughnessy Dam which supplies
water & electricity to San Francisco.
The hike begins at the far end of the dam through a very DARK & WET tunnel and we
emerge to our first two critters of the day, unbashful deer and a cute Sierra Newt.
Spectacular scenery hiking to the falls and as you can tell by the newly fallen snow
on the distant peaks and the bundled up desert hikers it is COLD this morning. The
heavy swirling mist from the roaring falls did nothing to warm us up.
We decide to add to our short 5.4 mile loop hike by taking the steep switch backed Laurel
Lake trail up to the first high ridge for lunch with a view and as training for tomorrow's BIG
HIKE to Half Dome. JoAnn does MUCH better on this climb than she did to Yosemite
Falls. We meet a friendly young couple from Ohio who just graduated college and were
backpacking into Laurel. Sure did remind us of our younger carefree days. Quick lunch
as it begins to rain once again and weather seems colder.
DAY # 48 - TUESDAY 05/20/14 - YOSEMITE N.P.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
4,315 JAMESTOWN / PINECREST / GRAFFITI BRIDGE 10:00 am / 51 / Rain
Woke up to heavy rain pelting the trailer and decided this dreary, wet, miserable cold
(temperature drop of 20 deg. from yesterday) day was perfect for a ROAD TRIP.
Visit Jamestown first, just not the same in the cold drizzle in a truck as it was on the
motorcycle in blazing hot 95 degree sunny day we last rode through here. Stop in
Sonora for some shopping (I broke a boot lace racing up Yosemite Falls) and lunch
of piping hot soup at the Safeway which was befitting of the day. Take a drive up
Highway 108 to check the sights but heavy storm clouds & rain was only view.
I knew there was a backway into Groveland from this side of the mountain so we
detour into Tuolumne, switch on the GPS and let the lady do the talking. If
interested in a very adventurous drive not for the faint of heart take WARDS FERRY
ROAD out of Tuolumne for 9 miles of narrow (EXACT width of a 2013 GMC truck)
broken asphalt road with NO guardrails and SHEER drop offs as it switchbacks thru
TUOLUMNE RIVER CANYON. Sorta like Fish Creek Hill on the Apache Trail only
narrower if you can believe that! I was nervous with the sheer drop on my side and after
the first switchback JoAnn had the drop view from her side I instantly received the
panicked instructions to move closer to the rock wall which I was already one layer of
paint away from to begin with! Finally we reach the bridge and discover it is completely
covered in graffiti, not the sight we expected after the arduous drive down here.
Now we begin our trek up out of the canyon which is MUCH easier as the road is at
at least ONE FOOT wider. That is until we meet two vans driving down to pick up
rafters. Since there were two of them and I was closer to the NARROW pull-out I
elected to back down. BOY, did that maneuver get JoAnn talking to me!!! Finally
we reach Groveland and discover we are now on DEER FLAT ROAD, don't ask me
how that happened ask the GPS lady or the California Highway Dept. SOOO, if you
want to save 60 miles of driving but take FOUR YEARS off your life in the process
this is a GREAT shortcut.
DAY # 47 - MONDAY 05/19/14 - YOSEMITE N.P.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
4,237 LOWER & UPPER YOSEMITE FALLS 11:30 am / 77 / Sunny
Spend a hectic morning trying to figure out the confusing road systems, parking, shuttle
buses, and a futile attempt to purchase permits for Half Dome (you must buy them over
the internet). Late start for Yosemite Falls already has JoAnn psyched out and she
struggles up the steeped and stepped switchbacks. We make Columbia Rock for
lunch at 1:00 pm and she decides to turn around giving me one hour to hike before I
must turn around. Race past Lower Yosemite Fall (which is actually the bottom of the
falls), challenge the next series of switchbacks in full stride and reach the top at 2:12 pm.
Quick "boot shot" from the edge and I figure since I'm already on top and over due on
turn around time maybe I can climb over the edge for a quick top of the falls picture.
Walking a narrow 6 inch misty wet ledge for that picture I hear people scream and
quickly turn around to see someone crazier than me TIGHT ROPE WALKING
across top of the falls. Made ME nervous enough it was difficult to snap her picture.
Speed walking back down all the while thinking up excuses for JoAnn why I am so
late I must have passed 100 hikers which is very unusual for me on DOWNGRADES.
Miss the 4:00 pm shuttle bus by 30 seconds watching it drive away as me and several
other hikers are sprinting (well at least they were) toward the stop. JoAnn wasn't too
angry with me so this turned out to be an excellent training hike for Half Dome.
POLL QUESTION OF THE DAY, WHICH PERSON IS CRAZIER THE LADY ON
THE TIGHT ROPE 100 ft. ABOVE YOSEMITE FALLS OR THE UN-NAMED
PERSON SLIDING ON A DOWNWARD SLOPING MISTY WET GRANITE ROCK
FOR THEIR FAMOUS BOOT SHOT. NOTE: The section of trail seen just to the right
of boots is the only non-switchback section on the entire 3.7 mile trail.
DAY # 46 - SUNDAY 05/18/14 - TULARE to YOSEMITE N.P.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
4,187 GROVELAND, CA / YOSEMITE PINES RV RESORT 3:30 pm / 72 / Sunny
Quick grocery shopping trip before leaving for Yosemite. Closest store was VALLARTA
SUPERMARKETS (1111 N. Cherry St., Tulare) and if you ever have the chance to shop
one of these stores PLEASE DO!! This is an all Hispanic food store and the selection of
different than you are accustomed to products is simply AMAZING. I wondered around
the store three times in total awe of the different sounds, sights, colors, and products offered
in this gigantic supermarket. JoAnn had to finally DRAG me out of there. Needless to say
we were off to a late start and did the usual SHAKE, RATTLE, BOUNCE, & ROLL trip
North up Highway 99. Every 20 miles or so we would see a "Slow For Construction" sign
and 5 miles later a "End of Road Construction" sign but absolutely no change in the rough
road surface. Finally we took a chance on an unmarked short cut road out of Turlock to
Oakdale which albeit narrow was much smoother. Pulled the long steep grade on Hwy.
120 between Chinese Camp & Big Oak Flat with the turbo kicked in fully to maintain
55 mph. After a quick set up we treat ourselves to dinner at the IRON DOOR
SALOON in downtown Groveland which is the oldest (since 1835) continuously
operating bar in California.
DAY # 45 - SATURDAY 05/17/14 - SEQUOIA N.P. to TULARE, CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
3,962 TULARE / THUNDERBOWL RACEWAY, CA 11:00 am / 97 / Sunny
Very difficult to leave Sequoia N.P. and this beautiful campground at Sequoia RV Park,
linger, talk with friendly neighbors Dave & Carol, linger some more then finally hit the
road at 11:00 am. Short drive into Tulare but a very long day ahead of us. Attempt a
short cut down Hwy. 63 to avoid the extra distance and extremely rough conditions on
Hwy. 99, BIG MISTAKE. Hwy. 63 takes you through heart of Visalia and the 63
means 63 traffic lights of which 60 you will catch red. Finally set up in the SUN & FUN
RV PARK and time for quick lunch at the recommended & excellent authentic mexican
restaurant VEJARS (1293 South K St.). Four loads of laundry, housekeeping chores,
quick nap and it was time for the sprint car races at THUNDERBOWL RACEWAY.
Very fast 1/3 mile black gumbo clay track with LONG straights and tight high banked
turns which the winged sprints lap in 13 seconds! This race is the CHRIS & BRIAN
FARIA MEMORIAL race for King Of TheWest 410 Winged Sprint Cars, USAC 360
Non-wing sprint cars and IMCA Modifieds. My FAVORITE race lineup with one
small glitch, the race track has no programs to tell me who the drivers are. I know
some from previous races so I will update winners (who I am not familiar) at later
date on the race track page. This is the race track where NASCAR rookie
challenger KYLE LARSON got his start in sprint cars and won this race in 2009.
He is VERY popular as EVERYONE was wearing one of his T-shirts. The races
were fast, furious, competitive, and exciting as the fast way around this track is on
the high cushion bouncing your car off the wall to line your car up at wide open throttle
for the long straights! I like this race track!
DAY # 44 - FRIDAY 05/16/14 - SEQUOIA NATL. PARK
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
3,862 SEQUOIA NATL. PARK / HEATHER LAKE SIERRA BACK COUNTRY
Trail head begins at the WOLVERTON parking lot, easy to find and well marked.
The trail ascends 1,900 ft. in 4.1 miles from 6,700 ft. to 8,600 ft. at Heather Lake.
First 4 miles is ALL steep uphill through thick pine forest and "false summit" feeling
as you continually view the skyline 100 yards in front of you. Deer are people tame
as one slowly walked within 10 feet of me feeding on the grasses. I was afraid I
might spook her if I reached for the camera so I was content to just watch her munch
breakfast. Once you crest you walk into a totally different and amazing world, vast
canyons of gray granite, huge snow banks, sparse trees, and grand views. WOW,
the change in scenery will take your breath away.
FROM THIS VIEW
The climb down to HEATHER LAKE was more challenging than I had anticipated
as the long crossings of soft, COLD, mushy COLD, wet COLD, deep trail hiding
snow banks became a huge hindrance to this desert hiker. I would sink ankle to
thigh deep and trudging through this downhill at high altitude became a chore, I did
not even want to imagine what uphill was going to be like. Heather Lake was well
worth the now wet & frozen hands and feet as it was half frozen just like ME but
much more spectacular. The water is a COLD emerald green and is difficult to
view in pictures because the surrounding mountains reflect so clearly you cannot
see the water! Long lunch to enjoy the absolute solitude, noisy cascades flowing
into the lake, and the dead calm of everything around me.
Still early so I decide to hike into the next canyon to Twin Lakes. Snow crossings
became longer and I was sinking deeper into the ever softening snow until once
I sank quickly to my waist with the sound of running water below me I decided
it was smart to turn around. A couple quick pictures of the lake and canyon and
I head for home.
Hiking back once I am out of all the treacherous snow and strolling easily down
hill my somewhat oxygen deprived brain decides to make a loop hike over Panther
Gap adding another 4 miles and 800 ft. elevation gain to the hike. The Alta Peak
Trail is steeper and much more arduous than the Lakes Trail I hiked in on. I did
not see any panthers on the trail even though the bright yellow triangle trail markers
have a cute black panther painted on them. Must remind myself to ask the rangers
which basketball player they used to place those markers 20 ft. high on the trees!
Finish the wonderful day with 12.5 glorious miles of high altitude hiking and 862
more arm twisting turns driving down the Generals Highway one last time for this
trip. Back home to a HOT shower, pizza disappearing trick at Pizza Factory
(altitude gives you an appetite), nice campfire with a couple beers as Kaweah
Creek bubbles by and I decide it will be VERY difficult to leave in the morning.
DAY # 43 - THURSDAY 05/15/14 - SEQUOIA NATL. PARK
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
3,802 SEQUOIA NATL. PARK / TOKOPAH FALLS
Stop by the park museum for some suggestions on where to hike with limited number
of tourists. Ranger suggested the Muir Grove of Redwoods in Dorst Creek. Maps
show the trail head at back of the Dorst Creek Campground which was still closed
so we had to walk one mile in from the locked gate. We found the amphitheater
where one map showed the trail head, no luck so we wandered around for the next
hour and found great campsites, fat Marmots, deer trails, every color of mushroom
imaginable, coerced JoAnn to cross a rickety log bridge across Dorst Creek but
NO trail, NO trail signs, NO nothing. I have been accused (and rightfully so) of
losing the trail but not being able to FIND the start is bothersome. Meet two other
hikers with a totally different map and trail head location but by this time we were
ready for lunch and to try something different. Lunch in a meadow looking for the
bear which EVERYBODY but us saw earlier in the day. Our triple decker ham
and pepper jack cheese sandwiches didn't attract him. We give up and move on.
Drive to TOKOPAH FALLS which we manage to find with proper signage and
a friendly ranger. Half mile into the hike JoAnn discovers she forgot her hiking
poles and I run back to the truck to retrieve (no comment). Easy 1.7 mile hike
to the roaring cascade which they deem to be a "waterfall". Just for those at
G.M. this is how I take my naps in retirement.
Hiking back we have our first bear encounter with a yearling who is aggressively
tearing apart a log for the juicy morsels inside. We still have not learned to post
videos on this not so user friendly blog site so please refer to JoAnn's face book
for the exceptional video she shot. Rest of the hike out was uneventful except for
the lady who twisted her ankle and konked her head on a rock. I think the rock
won that battle.
miles of steep, curvy, twisting, hairpin turns down the GENERALS HIGHWAY
back to our campground in Three Rivers. Just another run of the mill boring day
in retirement!!
DAY # 42 - WEDNESDAY 05/14/14 - SEQUOIA NATL. PARK
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
3,690 KINGS CANYON NATL. PARK / GRANT TREE 1:00 pm / 78 / Perfect
After two hard hiking days JoAnn earned a ROAD TRIP day off to explore several
different routes to Kings Canyon National Park that we have yet to drive in all our
trips here. Choose Highway 245 for the drive north and DRY CREEK ROAD
(Hwy. J21) for the return drive. Use Hwy. 216 as a shortcut to Hwy. 245 and run
into problems right from the start. How can a three stop sign town like Woodlake
have such confusing detours and NO highway signs marking Hwy. 245. Lost 20
minutes in the confusion. Hwy. 245 is a FARM road which means a 90 degree turn
at end boundary of EVERY farm. Scenery is beautiful rolling hills of cattle ranch
country until it rises into the heavy trees of the Sierra Nevada foothills. Quick change
of scenery and drastic drop in temperatures. Another radical change after two days
of hiking solitude came when we pull into the GRANT GROVE parking lot full of
tour buses and THOUSANDS of tourists. Walk shoulder to shoulder big city style
on the Grant Tree Loop and discover we are the only people in this speck of the
world who speak ENGLISH! Foreigners just have an altogether different way of
enjoying outdoor solitude. Twenty minutes was enough and we take off into Kings
Canyon, find a scenic pull off and eat lunch in peace and quite. Driving back through
the quaint semi-deserted town of BADGER we stop at the MOUNTAIN HOUSE
DINER & SALOON at the junction of Hwy.'s 245 and Dry Creek Road which we
passed on the way up and were intrigued by it's remoteness and huge patio overlooking
the valley below. We split a green chili double cheese burger which was spectacular!!
Now I understand how this place survives in this location. I bet all the bikers cruising
these perfect bike roads LOVE this place. Highly recommend a stop here if in the area.
Second benefit was sitting on the patio enjoying the view and listening to the locals tell
TALL tales in ENGLISH , even if it was in a slow Texas twang. Received a bag of fresh
apricots & nectarines from one as we left and learned EVERY barbecuing technique
while we ate. Dry Creek Road is a lane and a half strip of winding rough asphalt
through horse ranch country but is 30 minute shorter driving time than Hwy. 245.
DAY # 41 - TUESDAY 05/13/14 - SEQUOIA NATL. PARK
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
3,595 SOUTH FORK / GARFIELD GROVE 9:00 am / 71 / Perfect
We wanted an out of the way hike and the rangers suggested this one. It is 14 miles
from our RV park down South Fork Road (turn South off Hwy. 198 at the fire
station in Three Rivers) which follows along the South Fork Kaweah River.
Beautiful drive along the roaring creek with very nice summer cabins / ranches.
Somewhat paved road is 1&1/2 lanes wide and turns to graded dirt 3 miles from
South Fork Trailhead. Park all the way up narrow road past campground in the
shade instead of in the sun by bathrooms as I did. Plenty of room to turn around.
Trail begins UPHILL right from the start as you climb from 3,500 ft. to 6,800 in
the 3.7 miles to SNOWSLIDE CANYON in the GARFIELD GROVE of Sequoias.
Beautiful green meadows of colorful blooming flowers, overhanging oak and spruce
trees and finally at mile 2.9 you begin viewing younger Sequoia trees. Smaller than
the HUGE Ponderosa pines with a grayish hue in their bark which at first we thought
they might be redwood trees but upon closer inspection the bark was obviously red.
Once past Snowslide the Sequoias are bigger and more of them but not near the size
or amount you see higher in the park. What makes these trees SPECTACULAR is
we had them all to OURSELVES as we did not see another hiker ALL DAY!!!
How special is that? We did not find out just how steep the trail really was until we
turned around to hike back down, took me forever and an extra day. Extra treat for
JoAnn to reward her extraordinary effort today was a homemade chocolate almond
joy coconut ice cream cone at REIMERS CANDIES & ICE CREAM in Three
Rivers. Perfect day in every way!
DAY # 40 - MONDAY 05/12/14 - SEQUOIA NATL. PARK
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
3,560 MORO ROCK 11:00 am / 68 / Beautiful
Later than we wanted start but we have a beautiful site right on the creek and this
morning was so perfect we just sat around after breakfast and enjoyed it. Best thing
about retirement you are able to SLOW life down a bit and relax. OK, enough
relaxation and off we go up the winding, curvy Generals Highway (Hwy. 198) into
Sequoia National Park to enjoy the BIG trees. First challenge was coercing JoAnn
up the 30 stories of narrow steep stairs to the top of 6,725 ft. Moro Rock. She was
exceptional in her conquest of the fear of heights as many other hikers were turning
around after one look over the edge. Leisure lunch on top to enjoy the views and
listen to stories of horror from other hikers about their climb and after quick pictures
watch them scamper back down. DID NOT turn down the request of a cute brunette
sweetie with a soft Scandinavian accent to take our picture after she witnessed our
futile attempt at taking a "selfie". There are times it pays to be a klutz!!
3,562 CRESCENT MEADOW 1:30 pm / 74 / Beautiful
I much prefer this hiking route to view the big trees of the GIANT FOREST as the
steep climbs keep through this area keep a majority of the touristy hikers away.
Fun challenge for JoAnn to "walk the log" even though it was a giant fallen Sequoia
laying flat on the ground and about 900 ft. wide (well almost). I have been to this
park a half dozen times and I am still in awe of just how magnificent these Sequoia
trees are. Feel truly blessed for the opportunity to move from huge whales to huge
trees in one week. The last time I walked through this area was on our motorcycle
trip in September 2006 and the trees were still smoking, smoldering & HOT from a
recent fire. I am still amazed the normally restrictive park service let us walk through
the area under those conditions and am amazed how well the area has recovered in
8 years. Perfect way to spend a perfect afternoon just wandering through huge red
trees and beautiful green meadows. JoAnn spooked up a noisy Marmot who
promptly let us know we were in HIS territory with an obnoxious high pitch whistle.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
3,534 THREE RIVERS, CA
Wake up call at 5:30 am was extremely difficult but we have a long drive through
Los Angeles ahead of us and even though it is Sunday I don't know what to expect
traffic wise. Am very glad we decided not to party at The Alley last night as we
usually do or we would be running on three hours sleep instead of seven which was
still not enough after the activities of the last three days. Pull onto I-5 North at
6:45 am and this was the quickest we have loaded and hooked the trailer ever.
Much to our amazement there was NO traffic in L.A. at all. Approaching
downtown the freeway was so clear of vehicles I began to wonder if it was closed
and I had somehow missed the signs. A little over two hours from Oceanside to
Santa Clarita towing a 34 ft. Fifth Wheel is a feat I will never duplicate ever again!
I knew things were going way to smoothly for me and sure enough we get to Visalia,
CA. and I need to fuel up. Finding a station with diesel was damn near impossible
and when I pulled into one without managing to hit anything, guess what? The only
way to access the freeway was flipping a U-turn across a heavy traffic highway.
No way I could accomplish that feat with this rig and the fact that 90% of all vehicles
in Visalia were on this road at this very instant. 45 minutes and three wrong turns and
with the help of a small miracle I managed to find Highway 198 East.
At check in was told no pull-thru spaces as I had requested were available but space
#50 right on North Fork Kaweah Creek was an easy back in. Yea right! After three
miserable attempts I had campers all around me moving their vehicles out of danger and
was informed by one of them that smaller trailers than mine had failed to fit in this space.
Just the confidence builder I needed to hear!! Finally with the guidance and help of other
campers I did manage to get backed in around rocks, trees, bushes, fire pit, & electrical
box into my normal perfect crooked park position. Remember the quick exit theory of
mine. Quick set-up and it was off to hopefully find a place in this small village for dinner
on Mothers Day. RIVERVIEW RESTAURANT & LOUNGE was open and we
managed a table on the patio overlooking the roaring creek below us. Finally manage
to relax with the help of a good 4 piece bluegrass band play for the crowd.
DAY # 38 - SATURDAY 05/10/14 - OCEANSIDE, CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
3,177 GATOR BY THE BAY ZYDECO and BLUES FESTIVAL 10:00 am / 62 / Cloudy
Spanish Landing, San Diego , CA
NOTE: PLEASE CHECK OUT THE MUSIC SCENE PAGE FOR BAND DETAILS.
This music festival is how JoAnn and I have spent our anniversary weekend for the last 10
years or so. Once again many lasting memories from the 8 fantastic bands out of 26
performers we had the opportunity to enjoy this year. Seems like we are always lucky
enough to be at the right stage at the right time for the most memorable shows. This is
our only opportunity every year to enjoy Zydeco music so we hope when traveling
to Louisiana & the South later this year we are able to catch some of these fine bands on
their home turf. After NINE hours of high energy music, dancing, walking miles & miles
between the four stages, and eating spicy Cajun cooking we were both more than ready
for the drive back to Oceanside and SLEEP. Quick stop at the GRAND AVENUE BAR
and GRILL in Carlsbad for some "normal" food, pick our way through detours, fill up the
truck and we were in bed by 10:00 pm which is very unusual for us on a Saturday night!
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY: Meeting Tony & Kathy Castro our friends from Yuma
in this huge crowd of people. The opportunity to watch music legend Nick Gravenites
perform with Johnny Vernazza, Mark Hummel & Deanna Bogart. Sharing a lunch table
with two gentlemen from Louisiana and listening to their wonderful Cajun accents. Talking
with all the friendly San Diegans while waiting in shuttle bus lines, entrance lines, and waiting
for the shows to begin. Marvel at how much the people of San Diego LOVE TO PARTY
AND HAVE A GOOD TIME dancing and actively supporting the music and bands.
DAY # 37 - FRIDAY 05/09/14 - OCEANSIDE, CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
3,101 DANA POINT, CA 10:00 am / 64 / Sunny
Two beautiful sunny mornings in a row is a genuine rarity for us on the coast in "sunny"
Southern California. Driving to Dana Point every morning is almost like driving to
work every day. Yea, right! Arrive early and walk the dock to pass time and catch a
look at our whale watching tour catamaran, MANUTE'A, and first impression is the
small size compared to yesterday's boat. Must be our lucky day as we spot a female
Gray Whale and a baby with a dolphin escort at the breakwater soon as we exit the
harbor. The six dolphins would surface for air 3 - 4 times for every whale surface so
it was fairly easy to keep track of the whale travel location. One time they surfaced
within 20 yards of a small two person sail boat to the shrieks and screams of the lady
passenger. Much more fun to watch the the skipper frantically try to navigate the heck
outta there than watch the whales. Even more fun for our passengers was watching me
try to navigate myself around this constantly bouncing, rolling, moving catamaran as I
have discovered the more I move the less queasy I feel. I was NOT born to be on a
boat, give me a mountain to climb on ANY day. Once out in the middle of ocean nowhere
we did run into a Minke whale who let us get very close to him. Nickname is "Stinky"
whale and the joke was on us for getting so close as his breath smelled worse than some
rendering plants I have been around. This whale watching tour was scheduled for two
hours but three hours later we glide back into Dana Point Harbor thrilled by these
majestic creatures in their natural habitat but even more thrilled to be back on OUR
natural habitat, DRY LAND.
DAY # 36 - THURSDAY 05/08/14 - OCEANSIDE, CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
3,039 DANA POINT, CA 9:00 am / 61 / Sunny
Perfect morning with both of us anxious enough to be up at 5:30 am with anticipation
of a trip we have been talking about for too many years finally becoming a reality.
Arrive way too early and discover just how lucky we were to miss the boat yesterday
as bad weather canceled the afternoon return trip and everybody was forced to spend
the night in Avalon. Paid off to be early as the $12.00 all day reserved parking was
1/2 mile away. You'd think for 12 bucks one would have a little more privileged
parking, but than again this is California. JoAnn wanted to be first on the boat to get
a window seat. One small problem with that scenario is you spend the next 30 minutes
slowly bobbing UP and DOWN. I explore every inch of the boat and discover that
movement keeps the stomach steady. Finally the Catalina Express is underway and
5 minutes into the 1 & 1/2 hour trip the baby sitting behind us starts crying and throwing
up. OH BOY! I quickly ascertain that standing on the back right side (whatever that
location is in nautical terminology) of the boat watching it plow through the waves
worked wonders for the stomach especially after 2 minutes when the entire body is
frozen from the misty wind. Back inside to warm up and JoAnn has me walk, stumble,
double step flat footed, and weave my way up to the snack bar for a bag of potato chips.
Four more trips to that unknown nautical location of the boat, almost perfecting how to
walk on a moving boat we arrive at Avalon on Santa Catalina Island.
3,039 AVALON , SANTA CATALINA ISLAND, CA 11:30 am / 61 / Sunny
HAPPY 38th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY to JoAnn as this is where she wanted to
spend it. Soon as we stumble on steady land with our wobbly sea legs I discover a
strange contradiction, how can two hours of queasy stomach make you so HUNGRY?
Walk the small downtown touristy area of Avalon in search of a restaurant. Definitely
make the perfect decision in choosing ANTONIO'S CABARET (230 Crescent Ave.)
as they serve HUGE portions compared to the minuscule servings we saw customers
eating in the other establishments. I had a sausage calzone & JoAnn the sausage
sandwich and we just could not resist the three cheese sourdough garlic bread which
instead of an appetizer was large pizza in size and twice as thick. We ate & ate & ate
and finally worked the left over portion down to a to go box which would fit into our
daypack. Made a futile attempt to walk off that scrumptious meal in the hour before
our bus tour was to leave. We took the two hour SKYLINE DRIVE tour in an old
restored 50's - 60's bus and the tour guide knew EVERYTHING about the island
including ALL the local gossip. I was more concerned in the moaning and groaning
chassis and brakes of the bus as we wound UP and DOWN the narrow, steep,
pot hole road to the Airport-In-The-Sky. Foxes, Bison, Black Crows munching
lunch and 5 pound tourist fed Squirrels were the critters of the tour. Most amazing
of all to me was how BIG this island actually is. Make it back to the harbor with
15 minutes to spare (to much gossip I think) until the departure of the last boat.
Uneventful choppy white capped wave jumping ride back as I was sound asleep in
about 5 minutes and woke up to a spectacular sunset over Dana Point harbor just
as we were cruising in. THIS IS HOW YOU SPEND A DAY IN PARADISE!!
DAY # 35 - WEDNESDAY 05/07/14 - OCEANSIDE, CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
2,977 DANA POINT, CA 9:00 am / 56 / Cloudy
First thoughts for daily activities were boat trip to Catalina Island or a whale
watching tour but the heavy overcast morning had both of us moving at low, slow
speed this morning. Followed GPS directions right up to the Dana Point Harbor
when a right turn should have been a left and suddenly we are viewing the harbor
from bluffs high above as we take the scenic routes through the clouds until I
figure a way back down and start all over again. Arrive about 5 minutes too late
for the whale watching tour so plan B is breakfast at THE BRIG (34461 Golden
Lantern St.). At this restaurant when you order blueberry pancakes you get a plate
of blueberries with a little pancake mix thrown in! JoAnn's green chili omelet had
more green chili than eggs. All that excellent food still didn't supply much extra
energy as we attempt to walk it off admiring the million dollar boats parked(?) in
the harbor. Find the cruise to Catalina and once again we are 5 minutes too late.
Dreary, cold, windy day anyway so we are not disappointed and reserve tickets
for tomorrow's trip. At least we are semi confident we can find our way back here.
Rest of day spent relaxing, attempting repairs on storage compartment door latch,
walking the Oceanside Beach & downtown.
DAY # 34 - TUESDAY 05/06/14 - OCEANSIDE, CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
2,935 ENCINITAS, CA 11:00 am / 61 / Very Windy
Our first plan for the day was walking the beach but the heavy dreary dark clouds
and trailer shaking winds forced us to plan B. Drive the Pacific Coast Highway down
to Encinitas for lunch at one of our favorites, BEACHSIDE BAR & GRILL (806 S.
Coast Highway). ALWAYS excellent food, very friendly servers, and lively customers.
Sit on the front patio and leisurely watch the world drift by as we savor our Southwest
Chicken Salads. High winds have subsided to stiff breeze so we stroll downtown
window shopping and JoAnn purchases a nice pair of Birkenstock sandals she has had
her eye on since visiting last year.
Walk the 2 miles of beach from the RV Park to downtown Carlsbad and because of
high tide tightrope that fine edge of soft dry sand and hardpack wet sand. JoAnn
didn't jump quick enough on one big wave and is now mushing along in wet shoes
and socks. Once we finally reach Carlsbad after what seemed like HOURS of
trudging through the soft sand & high winds we stop in local favorite hangout
MAS FINA CANTINA (2780 State Street) for a couple brewski's and wonderful
Spinach Artichoke Dip. Truly enjoyed people watching the locals & their "colorful"
bar stories. People sure know how to have a good time around here. Forgo the
LONG walk back to Oceanside for a short and warmer bus ride as the setting sun
brings glacial temperatures to us"Zonies".
DAY # 33 - MONDAY 05/05/14 - OCEANSIDE, CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
2,925 DISCOUNT TIRE STORE - 1037 S. Coast Hwy., Oceanside, CA 8:00 am / 58 / Sunny
Fortunate this place is one mile from our park and I am the first one at the door this
morning and for $890 I order four B.F. Goodrich TRUCK tires as I already have
accumulated enough worries already and I need GOOD tires on this trailer. We walk
the beach to Oceanside Pier for lunch at Ruby's Diner since the tries won't be in until
tomorrow. Usually a long walk on the beach calms me down but my frustration level
with myself and past events does not subside much. Nice ocean view from restaurant
at end of the pier with perfect timing as it is also sea bird feeding time. Especially enjoyed
watching the huge pelicans CRASH DIVE into the ocean for their lunch. Walking off
lunch window shopping downtown when we get a call from Discount they have our tires
and can mount them today. We speed walk back and quickly hook-up the trailer so we
don't have to waste tomorrow in the tire shop. One look at the car packed narrow shop
driveway and I let salesman Duran back the trailer into the service area. Too late to cook
dinner once we get back and set up so I drive over to DIEGO'S MEXICAN FOOD
which smelled heavenly while we were waiting on the tires. Just discovered another
favorite "dive" restaurant with wonderful food and HUGE portions to boot.
DAY # 32 - SUNDAY 05/04/14 - MESA, AZ to OCEANSIDE, CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
2,682 QUARTZSITE, AZ / COACHELLA, CALIFORNIA 11:30 am / 94 / Sunny
Later than we wanted (8:30 am) start for the long drive which turned the day in a LONG
series of misadventures which almost pushed me to past my stress limits. Pull into the
PILOT TRUCK STOP in Quartzsite to top off the tank before California diesel prices.
WARNING: DO NOT STOP HERE EVER!!! They do not accept credit cards at
the pump so you must see the cashier and ESTIMATE how much your fuel bill will be.
Yea right, like I was close but not close enough to fully top the tank. Drive 10 miles
farther West on I-10 to the Texaco Station and fuel is 15 cents a gallon cheaper.
Pull into the Loves Truck Stop in Coachella with a very tight pump entrance and
between garbage bins, heavy car traffic, and low looking roof I can't watch everything
at once and ding the side of the trailer on the nerf bars protecting the pumps. Of course
it would have to be right at the storage door latch area and leave a bright yellow ROOKIE
driver stripe on my brand new trailer. I am in the worst temperament ever imaginable and
once again I must GUESS at how much fuel I need. Believe it or not this day gets worse.
2,889 VISTA / OCEANSIDE, CA 4:00 pm / 91 / Sunny
Highway 78 in Vista just 11 miles from our destination and boom I have flat tire #2 on
the trailer at a duel freeway entrance, worst possible place ever as if it would have
happened 100 yards earlier I could have hit the exit. For those of you who have never
driven (RACED) on Highway 78 it is the Daytona 500 traffic of Southern California. I
loved the thrill a second ride on the Harley but viewing the lane swerving 20 mph over
speed limit plus the crazies entering this mess just feet away as you try to change a tire
(freeway side of course!!) was more than my already stressed nerves could handle. Two
options, use Good Sam assistance and wait two hours for help or just change the damn
tire ourselves. Between the two of us we had the spare mounted and on our way in under
30 minutes.
2,900 PARADISE BY THE SEA RV RESORT, Oceanside, CA. 4:45 pm / 79 / Sunny
Enough is enough as my reserved pull thru site has been given to an earlier arrival and I am
now assigned a narrow corner back in site. After EVERYTHING that has happened
already today there is NO WAY I am attempting that without another disaster. Fortunately
one of the staff promised to help and he was a real pro and guided me in with only two turns.
WOW, sure wish JoAnn could direct me like that. Both of were completely wore out by
now and after a quick set up decided on dinner at the SIZZLER we past in Vista. Perfect as
JoAnn's Tyrannosaurs Rex appetite was craving steak and my flip flopping nervous stomach
telling me the soup & salad bar was the best way to go. Long, long walk after dinner kicking
myself the entire way for being such a klutz, when I have a BAD day I make sure it is a
GOOD one. Even a couple beers in some dive bar I passed did nothing to settle me down.
DAY # 31 - SATURDAY 05/03/14 - MESA, AZLater than we wanted (8:30 am) start for the long drive which turned the day in a LONG
series of misadventures which almost pushed me to past my stress limits. Pull into the
PILOT TRUCK STOP in Quartzsite to top off the tank before California diesel prices.
WARNING: DO NOT STOP HERE EVER!!! They do not accept credit cards at
the pump so you must see the cashier and ESTIMATE how much your fuel bill will be.
Yea right, like I was close but not close enough to fully top the tank. Drive 10 miles
farther West on I-10 to the Texaco Station and fuel is 15 cents a gallon cheaper.
Pull into the Loves Truck Stop in Coachella with a very tight pump entrance and
between garbage bins, heavy car traffic, and low looking roof I can't watch everything
at once and ding the side of the trailer on the nerf bars protecting the pumps. Of course
it would have to be right at the storage door latch area and leave a bright yellow ROOKIE
driver stripe on my brand new trailer. I am in the worst temperament ever imaginable and
once again I must GUESS at how much fuel I need. Believe it or not this day gets worse.
2,889 VISTA / OCEANSIDE, CA 4:00 pm / 91 / Sunny
Highway 78 in Vista just 11 miles from our destination and boom I have flat tire #2 on
the trailer at a duel freeway entrance, worst possible place ever as if it would have
happened 100 yards earlier I could have hit the exit. For those of you who have never
driven (RACED) on Highway 78 it is the Daytona 500 traffic of Southern California. I
loved the thrill a second ride on the Harley but viewing the lane swerving 20 mph over
speed limit plus the crazies entering this mess just feet away as you try to change a tire
(freeway side of course!!) was more than my already stressed nerves could handle. Two
options, use Good Sam assistance and wait two hours for help or just change the damn
tire ourselves. Between the two of us we had the spare mounted and on our way in under
30 minutes.
2,900 PARADISE BY THE SEA RV RESORT, Oceanside, CA. 4:45 pm / 79 / Sunny
Enough is enough as my reserved pull thru site has been given to an earlier arrival and I am
now assigned a narrow corner back in site. After EVERYTHING that has happened
already today there is NO WAY I am attempting that without another disaster. Fortunately
one of the staff promised to help and he was a real pro and guided me in with only two turns.
WOW, sure wish JoAnn could direct me like that. Both of were completely wore out by
now and after a quick set up decided on dinner at the SIZZLER we past in Vista. Perfect as
JoAnn's Tyrannosaurs Rex appetite was craving steak and my flip flopping nervous stomach
telling me the soup & salad bar was the best way to go. Long, long walk after dinner kicking
myself the entire way for being such a klutz, when I have a BAD day I make sure it is a
GOOD one. Even a couple beers in some dive bar I passed did nothing to settle me down.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
2,432 PHOENIX, AZ 9:00 am / 88 / Sunny
left of it, sure has changed from the last time I was here. Everyone (JoAnn, Pat, Kristy,
Paxton, & Kiernan) have done this trip several times so I received the grand tour on how
this system operates. Had to kill an hour before the ARIZONA SCIENCE CENTER
was scheduled to open so we walked downtown Phoenix which is TOTALLY DEAD
at 9:00 Saturday morning! Cost me $40.00 at Urban Outfitters for a pair of shoes
Paxton "just had to have" and JoAnn "just had to buy". Had too much fun at the Science
Center discovering I had very little "brain" power, my heart beat the drum demonstration
slowly, and both Kiernan & Paxton beat me in the wheel chair energy race. Kiernan ate
a horned beetle bug which won us free tickets to the I-Max Stars show but the time was
too late for our schedule. Felt bad for Kiernan but very proud he had the fortitude to
munch & crunch that big black bug. Late lunch at PIZZERIA BIANCO and for $18.00
JoAnn and I had the honor of a 12" thin burnt crust sausage pizza with no tomato sauce.
I sure can't figure where the restaurant critics have eaten pizza but this was DEFINITELY
NOT one of the finest pizza establishments in the world as they claim. I guarantee they
have not eaten at my 5 WORST pizza places because this is where I rate this place!
2,447 ARIZONA SPEEDWAY - Queen Creek, AZ 7:00 pm / 85 / Beautiful
Happy to see Kristy join us (Joann & Kiernan) at the auto races as it has been 12 or more
years since she has watched a race with the family. Every car Kiernan or I picked would
crash of break. JoAnn picked winners in the I.M.C.A. Modifieds, X-Mods, & Dwarf Car
features with Kristy choosing Michael Brigner in the Bomber feature who won but was
penalized to third for rough driving. Guess you can figure whose pick ended up winning
that race also. Exciting auto racing to end a perfect FAMILY day. Will be our last as we
are on the road tomorrow.
DAY # 30 - FRIDAY 05/02/14 - MESA, AZ
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
2,409 AHWATUKEE, AZ 12:30 pm / 88 / Sunny
around park, shopping at REI and HONEYVILLE FARMS then off to lunch with friend
DAGMARA OCHAL at Sweet Tomatoes (4723 E. Ray Road). Long slow lunch and
discuss everything from past hikes, future hikes to kids. Once again back to the trailer,
walk to the pool, swim laps, sit in Jacuzzi, listen to band on the patio. I can understand
how easily people will slip into that same ol' same ol' routine. I was really hoping to mix
things up catch our long, long time favorite blues band The Rocket 88's playing at Warsaw
Wally's (now Biker John's) tonight. No such luck as "Family Things" come first and we
spend the evening with Kristy and the Grandkids doing laundry and watching the movie
"City Slickers". Tomorrow I promise to make up for all the non-events of this week.
DAY # 29 - THURSDAY 05/01/14 - MESA, AZ
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
2,310 MESA , AZ 10:00 am / 79 / Sunny
Another "feel at home not really on retirement vacation" day as we sleep late, struggle
through chores and drive down Main Street to marvel at the changes and the have not
changed at all. This section from Mesa Drive to Power Road should be named "Play
Avenue" as it is all RV Sales & Stores, Off-Road Accessory stores, and aging motels.
Sad to see that BUCKHORN BATHS is finally closed down, this place has been here
FOREVER. Lunch at CARBAJAL'S MEXICAN FOOD (7302 E. Main Street, Mesa)
for our favorite New Mexico Mexican food. Pass the afternoon at Harkins Superstition
Springs Theater for the movie "CAPTAIN AMERICA, THE WINTER SOLDIER".
Perfect action flick for the type of mood we are in. Back to the trailer and while JoAnn
naps I swim laps at the pool, have a cold beer and listen to the band playing on the patio.
I know this is the "Normal" retirement life but I am definitely ready for "My Kinda Action
Every Second" type of retirement. Meet best friends Rick & Tracy Lambrecht for
dinner at Streets of New York on Signal Butte. Long and pleasant visit.
DAY # 28 - WEDNESDAY 04/30/14 - MESA, AZ
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
2,291 MESA , AZ 9:00 am / 79 / High Winds
We brought the Yuma winds with us as we had to jump out of bed in middle of the
night to roll in the awning, fold up lawn chairs and retrieve garbage cans. Winds
kept blowing ALL day which is unusual for Mesa. The old saying "you can't go back
home" sure rang with lots of truth today as we both felt at "home" so we just felt like
accomplishing the same old normal every day things people do at "home". This is NOT
our objective for retirement. Lazy morning eases into shopping trips until lunch at
BILL JOHNSON'S BIG APPLE RESTAURANT (950 E. Main Street, Mesa) where
we reminisce the glory days of downtown Mesa in mid 70's to mid 80's. Reminded of
sawdust on the floors and six-shooters on the waitress's hips. The stories we would tell
the kids to encourage them to eat (it works EXTREMELY well). Only reason for the
sawdust was to dry up blood from the kids whom the waitresses would shoot with the
six-shooters if they didn't eat all their food. Afternoon brings call of Grandparents duty
as we rush over to Wilson Elementary to pick up Kiernan on early release then a mad 5
minute dash to Highland Junior High for Paxton. Missed the normal pick-up entrance as
Kiernan is hesitantly giving me directions, JoAnn attempting to remember Pat's instructions
and I am dodging hyper kids running every which way and their harried parents driving
every which OTHER way. Ended up stopping in Guadalupe as Paxton jumped a block
wall and ran to the truck toting her heavy book bag AND violin. How did we survive
this routine EVERY day as parents!? Back to the trailer park for another round of
extreme ping pong (don't stop play just because the ball is off the table, return it off the
floor, walls, card tables, just keep it in motion). Once again today I am reminded of the
second oldest saying, "YOUTH IS EVERYTHING". Change from the OLD age game
of ping pong to the NEW age way of ordering pizza to go online. Between the two kids
I think this is how it went down. One medium pizza with garlic crust, half pepperoni
with light cheese and NO sauce, half sausage with extra cheese and tomato sauce. I
forced Kiernan to ride with me to Hungry Howie's and make sure the Pizza we pick up
is what they ordered due to the six mind changes before they came up with this order.
And there are people who think hiking 24 miles a day on the Pacific Crest Trail is
difficult!!! Man, am I ever ready to be back in the mountains.
DAY # 27 - TUESDAY 04/29/14 - MESA, AZ
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
2,257 MESA ARTS CENTER - One East Main St., Mesa, AZ 6:30 pm / 72 / Breezy
Spend the ENTIRE morning at the Allstate office inquiring about life insurance, long term
care insurance and creating one huge headache. Pick up Kiernan Nichols for the
afternoon as Pat & Kristy are helping Paxton prepare for her concert tonight. His choice
of restaurants is OLD COUNTRY BUFFET for dinner. We know he is becoming a
teenager as his choice of drinks is three flavors of icee in one glass with Dr. Pepper in a
second glass which he would drink simultaneously through two straws! Wow, and we
thought our "suicide" mix of soda flavors was cool when we were kids. Back to our RV
park and Kiernan and I pass time until the concert with a ferocious game of ping pong.
Think we both ran at least 5 miles chasing down that errant ball in the huge rec hall. Has
been 10-12 years since I've played this game so I was quite rusty and Kiernan even tried
playing with two paddles to improve his game. Off to the METROPOLITAN (Mesa)
YOUTH SYMPHONY for Paxton's last concert of the season. As usual every road
around the Mesa Arts Center is under construction. Hunt down Pat & Robert, find our
seats in the third floor balcony and are pleasantly entertained by the fiddlers group. Nice
to see these kids cut loose on their fiddles then quickly adapt to playing violin in a concert.
Highlights of the evening. Paxton's Division III playing The Fab Four Beatles medley. The
"One-Bow Concerto" in Division II which had a violin, viola, & cello in front of the
orchestra playing the concerto with only ONE bow being passed around between the
three of them! Tune up beginning in Division I the lead violin played an A note, flute A note,
clarinet A note, then a well tuned baby in the audience let out a perfect A note scream.
PERSONAL NOTE: The audience only views the conductor from behind but JoAnn and
I have had the honor of sitting IN with the orchestra during several rehearsals and
from that perspective we know exactly what AMY BENNETT is conducting
and expressing to the kids. Adds a totally new dimension to the concert for me.
DAY # 26 - MONDAY 04/28/14 - YUMA to MESA, AZ
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
1,990 YUMA to MESA 7:00 am / 60 / Sunny
Wake up earlier than expected just to be at FISHER CHEVROLET when the service
department opens to determine why Blue Def fluid is spilling from the reservoir which
they topped off Thursday during service. After two hours of waiting the technician
concludes the tank MAY be cracked and since it will take a week to order a new one
I determine they probably just overfilled which they will never admit and the fluid is
leaking through the vent. I just wish for ONCE when I pay good money for someone
to do a job they do it CORRECTLY. Just ONE more thing I now have to worry about
with this truck & trailer when I travel. Now I'm running late and I really don't want to hit
rush hour traffic in Phoenix. Once again all the high pressure air hoses at FLYING J
Truck Stop are broken. Damn, with my luck on keeping air pressures in my tires maybe
I should just buy my own pump. Fortunately the customer next to me had an air tank and
I managed 80 psi in the trailer tires before leaving Yuma at 11:45 a.m. and I am really,
really behind schedule. Knowing that I have had one tire failure already on these BRAND
NEW trailer tires I wish for luck and push the 65 mph speed rating on them by just a
LITTLE bit. Very quick lunch stop in Gila Bend and keeping up with traffic on Dead
Cow Road I pull into the Val Vista RV Park in Mesa at exactly 4:00 pm.
2,170 VAL VISTA RV RESORT - 233 N. Val Vista Dr. , Mesa, AZ 4:00 pm / 89 / Sunny
Everything goes smoothly for a change until we are following the park guide to our pull
thru site. He is directing me to where he thinks I should park, JoAnn is shouting me her
directional ideas and I'm watching where all the hook-ups are lining up and next thing I
know is I must be the only person in the entire WORLD who can jack knife a rig driving
into a pull-thru site!!! At least we are at our NORMAL angled for a quick get away
position and that makes us feel right at home. Quick set-up and we are off to the Happy
Hour bar at the swimming pool. Duo band GUILTY PLEASURES was playing and
surprise to me I was impressed. I usually don't prefer two person bands but very
impressed with Kristin Rouse's vocals and their knack of selecting music to fit what
the audience wanted to hear and dance too.
2,180 WILDFLOWER BREAD COMPANY -3425 E. Baseline, Gilbert, AZ 6:45 pm / 78 / Sunset
Meet Pat, Kristy, Paxton, & Kiernan at their favorite breakfast, lunch, or dinner
establishment. I must admit their Roast Beef Gorgonzola Blu Cheese sandwich is good
enough to eat everyday. Glad they know us here as we sit and talk well past their
closing time at 8:00 pm.
DAY # 25 - SUNDAY 04/27/14 - YUMA, AZ
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
1,955 TELEGRAPH PASS - East end of I-8 North frontage Rd. 9:00 am / 68 / Sunny
Late start due to phone call from CITI Mastercard informing us that someone had once
again stolen our credit card number. Second time this year as we were caught up in the
Target Store computer hack fiasco. Spend an hour of frenzied searching of our recent
card usage to confirm that yes those were fraudulent charges. I will admit that CITI is
extremely quick and efficient in catching these scammers as the three charges were still
pending when we received the phone call. Absolutely beautiful morning for a hike and I
am off on my favorite training hike, Telegraph Pass. Only two laps to the top as I need to
begin packing up the trailer for our exit from Yuma tomorrow. Resting on top by the first
tower (fellow hiker once told me you weren't OFFICIALLY on top unless you touch a
tower) I had to reminisce just a few memories of 5 years hiking this mountain.
#1 - Being shanghaied into the Yuma Outdoor Adventures by hikers (who will remain
anonymous to protect the guilty) I met here. Thank you for all the wonderful memories.
#2 - Hiking three laps to the top with my grandson Kiernan Nichols when he was only
9 years old. Later that year he kicked my butt hiking the Bright Angel Trail out of
Grand Canyon so I have forbidden him to hike here again.
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#3 - My first 5 laps to the top Mike O. Boot Camp training session with added degree of
difficulty from two shapely hikers who kept tying their shoe laces in front of us on that
fifth lap. No need to ask WHY we were walking behind them!
#4 - Mike O's wonder around lost (he learned that from me) 11 Peak ridge climb to the top
and clinic on how to remove Cholla Cactus needles.
#5 - That first evening sunset climb (run) with the Yuma Outdoor Adventures when I set my
record time of 42 minutes and Nicole Durfee still beat me by 12 minutes. I knew right
then she would become quite the hiker.
#6 - This is my friend and co-worker for MANY years GAIL PETERSON'S unique
version of Telegraph Pass. For those familiar with the hike you can chuckle now
and for those who have never done this hike you will miss the entire point of the
picture.
#7 - My first 4 laps to the top on an 85 deg. day with EXTRA incentive from Desiree who
I was extremely happy did not climb it 5 times that day.
#8 - The first annual Mike O. Telegraph to Jester's adventure hike on which Mike taught me
techniques & rationalizations I never dreamed of on how to "wonder around hike".
DAY # 24 - SATURDAY 04/26/14 - YUMA, AZ
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
1,886 YUMA, ARIZONA 8:00 am / 64 / Cloudy/Windy
Wake up to the trailer rockin' and rollin' in 35 to 40 mph winds. Not very enthusiastic about
hiking in this swirling, dusty mess on a dreary, cold, & cloudy morning. Staying in my
warm bed seemed much more appropriate. Bummed at this nasty weather after I have
spent the last two perfect weather days shopping and taking care of chores. Hopefully this
weather front will blow through before the auto races tonight. Perfect day for a movie and
the sci-fi film "Transcendence" seemed the perfect way to pass the afternoon. I had to
think WAY to hard in attempting to figure out and stay on top of the story line of this very
slow paced movie. I love science fiction but this movie's slow developing story line and
multi-layered plot just did not do much to entertain me.
1,930 COCOPAH SPEEDWAY - Somerton, AZ 7:00 pm / 68 / Breezy
Winds have died down to a 15 - 20 mph "breeze" so I take a chance on the races but JoAnn
elects the comforts of home to finish watching the NASCAR Richmond race. Sparse crowd
and lower than normal car count due to the weather but was soon joined by DERON BLAKE
from G.M. Thank you Deron as I enjoyed the company and racing banter tonight. Heat races
all four divisions run off without any yellow flags, intermission before 8:00 pm is unbelievable!
Usually that is NOT a good omen and I fret while eating my usual half time Indian Fry Bread
snack. Sure enough in the first feature race for the I.M.C.A. Hobby Stock class the throttle
sticks wide open on the # 48 car of LEONARD MANOS down the backstretch and he
roars air born over turn three bank through pit gate and into the pits. I was afraid someone
in the pits may have been hit but Leonard had plowed head on into one of the concrete
barriers with the impact completely shearing off front of the car and catching fire. Amazing
he was only badly shaken up and more amazing was the speed pictures of the crash appeared
on cell phones. Modern technology and a BIG sigh of relief that everyone was OK. Street
Stock feature and I never know what will happen in this very competitive class. MANNY
BALDIVIEZ used his normal scare the hell out me banzai charge into turn one on the start
and when ADOLFO NORIEGA made one small mistake and slid high Manny took full
advantage for his third straight feature win. Noriega pressed him hard & tight the entire race
but Manny was flawless in holding his bottom grove line. Awesome to watch Manny now that
he has managed to set up the car to match his exciting driving style. I can remember many a
night closing my eyes as he would throw the car sideways half way down the backstretch,
miss the protruding concrete wall of the pit exit by inches, in an instant he is slinging a ton of
dust in the air scattering track personnel and dodging light poles in the infield as he roars back
onto the front straight. Took years off my life for sure! Second scare of the night came when
JIMMY DAVY lost his driveshaft on the front straight and it was promptly run over by another
racer. Had visions of it being flung into the grandstand. The I.M.C.A. Modified feature once
again proved that smooth is faster than just driving fast. KENT ROSEVEAR jumped from his
pole position into the lead and proceeded to overdrive the car to the max. Exciting to watch
but the results are inevitable. Sure enough a smooth and very fast RICKY THORNTON Jr.
raced Kent side by side for several exciting laps before pulling away for the win. Nice to see
an unusually patient BOBBY HORTON race into second but just couldn't catch Ricky. Very
delightful end to the evening talking with Manny and his very funny wife ANDREA in victory
lane after the races. THANK YOU BOTH.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
1,855 YUMA, ARIZONA 8:30 am / 79 / Sunny
Another day of chores, doctor & chiropractor visit for JoAnn, have electricity turned off,
MORE shopping, check with Realtor on selling our park model, kill time between
appointments with breakfast at Coco's Bakery & Restaurant. Amazing just how SLOW
a day can pass sitting in office chairs, walking through stores & standing in long lines.
1,857 CRAZY EARL'S - 11274 S. Fortuna Road , Yuma, AZ 9:00 pm / 68 / Windy
Our favorite place just to hang out, meet people and listen to music in Yuma. DOWNTIME
playing country covers and we reminisce just how far this band has progressed over the last
four years. I remember the early years when Paul Escalante had different musicians backing
him every show to now with the professional quality of his present band. Nice chance to
talk with Don about retirement & traveling. Notice thicker dust clouds outside whenever
the front door opened when JoAnn suddenly remembered she left the top vents on the trailer
open. Figure we better head home before we would have to shovel out sand dunes in order
to walk in the trailer.
DAY # 22 - THURSDAY 04/24/14 - YUMA, AZ
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
1,825 YUMA, ARIZONA 8:00 am / 79 / Sunny
Back to the mundane everyday life we all live in order to survive. I can manage two hours
of this and I'm more than ready to be back on the road. First stop Fisher Chevrolet to have
the truck serviced. TV screen in the waiting room shows the service bay on right half and
G.M. promo ads on the left. Wow, there's my boss Chris Hengesh talking about the Eco
Car Challenge held at the D.P.G. last summer. DAMN!! If I didn't fall out of my chair when
I (yes I watched it TWICE to make sure it was ME) pop on the screen hitching up the
instrument trailer and driving (all night of which I have many great stories) around the
circular track. Congrats to Chris as we are now certified MOVIE STARS!! I held my
breath and covered my eyes when the tech lifted my truck on the hoist, another LONG story
for those unfamiliar with this situation! OK, so the first hour of my morning wasn't exactly so
mundane. Adams Insurance Agency where I made the mistake of sitting close to the
computer causing it slow to a snails pace taking 45 minutes to figure our bill for 2014. On
to the epitome of mundane, shopping at Wal-Mart. Why does one hour in Wal-Mart wear
wear you out more than climbing Mt. Whitney? County Assessor's office where we are
passed around to several offices to pay taxes & change address, more shopping, even
MORE shopping, Chase Bank to attempt a change of mailing address for second time,
grocery shopping and FINALLY back home at 4:00 pm. How in the world do we find
time for all this when we work? High lite of my day was finding hiking friend Michelle
Hockenbury's E-Mail address (NO everybody is wrong, it was JoAnn who miss filed it)
so I can finally obtain information on her thru hike of the Arizona Trail this month. Feel
really bad that I was unable to contact her about Michael Enroth's problems on that trail
last month. Very nice feeling knowing that I have friends who are capable of attempting
such ambitious adventures.
DAY # 21 - WEDNESDAY 04/23/14 - JULIAN, CA to YUMA, AZ
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
1,793 YUMA, ARIZONA 3:00 pm / 87 / Sunny
Woke up this morning to 41 deg. in Julian and watching 87 - 88 deg. on the temperature
signs in Yuma one quickly realizes the drastic differences between desert and mountains.
Four hours to travel 170 miles tells me I will have some trouble with my planned 400 -
500 mile days in the future. Did not help that it took us 45 minutes to try and back into
our site. I got so frustrated that JoAnn jumped in and tried her hand at backing this rig
with pretty much the same results. I was IMPRESSED with her initiative as we are
only 3 ft. off our parking mark. At least it is parked for a quick exit if need be. We both
had mixed feelings driving into Yuma as the last three weeks have been a constant series
of changing adventures and scenery not only for us but our friends. Just might be nice to
come "home" for a little normal and relaxing change from the never knowing what will
happen next frantic pace we have been living.
DAY # 20 - TUESDAY 04/22/14 - JULIAN, CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
1,592 PACIFIC CREST TRAIL - Warner Springs to Eagle Rock 9:15 am / 54 / Windy
After quick breakfast and more blister popping episodes we drive Alan & Nicole back to
Barrel Spring. Beautiful drive off the mountain on Hwy. 79 from Julian into a valley of
quickly flowing cloud banks into Santa Ysabel. Drop Alan & Nicole, hopefully in better
condition than we picked them up in last night and we drive to the community center in
Warner Springs and hike the Pacific Crest Trail back to meet them at Eagle Rock.
Delightful walk up huge oak tree lined canyon along gurgling creek through wind blown
meadows of sage grass. Stop and talk with many of the P.C.T. thru hikers we have met
earlier this week including the two ladies from Germany. We all reach Eagle Rock at the
same time for snack break, nap, and more blister popping episodes. Pleasantly surprised
to see JoAnn take the initiative to climb Eagle Rock up to the head! I had to climb up and
help her down, but hey, it's great to see her rock climb on her own. Quiet hike back to
Warner Springs, say farewells as this may be the last chance we have to see them on their
big adventure.
1,618 WYNOLA PIZZA EXPRESS - 4355 Hwy. 78, Wynola, CA 1:45 pm / 69 / Windy
The pizza we picked up for Alan & Nicole last night smelled SO GOOD and the employees
were considerate enough to stay open past closing that we had no options but to eat lunch
here. WHAT A TREAT!! One of the BEST thin crust wood fired pizza's I have ever had!
We will definitely be eating here again when in the area. Even JoAnn was eating slowly and
savoring every bite. Drive home and take a LONG nap dreaming of hiking & pizza.
DAY # 19 - MONDAY 04/21/14 - LAKE JENNINGS to JULIAN, CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
1,500 PINEZANITA RV PARK - 4446 Hwy. 79, Julian, CA 12:45 pm / 71 / Sunny
First chance to haul this 5th Wheel up a steep, narrow, tight curved road. Have been up
Highway 79 many times on the Harley and with the truck but the "NO VEHICLE OVER
40 ft." warning signs have me a little concerned as truck & trailer are well over 50 ft. long.
No problems with this rig even though the trailer fenders got a little close for comfort to
the rock walls & a couple trees several times. The steep downhill sharp turn into this park
did have the hitch moaning and grinding louder than I would like. Very lucky to procure a
narrow but nice tree lined pull thru site, as I would not enjoy the task of backing in on these
steep & narrow park roads. Quick set up and we head to Julian for lunch.
1,504 JULIAN, CA 1:30 pm / 74 / Beautiful
Lunch on the patio of CARMEN'S PLACE (2018 Main Street) for some hot green chili
Mexican food. Lazy afternoon watching bikers, P.C.T. hikers, and tourists doing their thing
on main street. We do our own strolling to walk off that HUGE meal when JoAnn's radar
pings on a wine tasting at the BLUE DOOR WINERY (2608 B Street) and we share a
tasting with the friendly couple who also ate lunch at Carmen's. Six wine tastings at 4,500 ft.
altitude and I thought I would have to carry JoAnn back to the truck. We bought a $40.00
bottle of Sangiovese Red Italian Wine and headed home.
1,532 BARREL SPRING - Junction of Hwy. S2, S22, & Pacific Crest Trail 7:30 pm
Receive a text from Alan Underkofler (NOMAD) that he and Nicloe (BUTTERFLY)
are ten miles from Barrel Spring and if we are close and bring them beer they will make it
a LONG 24 mile day to meet us there. Heck, it's only 28 miles of my favorite mountain
roads for us and when we arrive at Barrel Spring we find two EXTREMELY TIRED &
GRUNGY hikers crumpled under a tree forlornly looking at huge blisters on their feet.
What could we do? Mean Ol Joe would have left them in their misery WITHOUT any
beer BUT JoAnn had different ideas and we pile them into the truck and take them home
with us. Stop at WYNOLA PIZZA EXPRESS in Julian just as they closing and they
were more than KIND enough to stay open and fix a wonderful wood fired pizza for Alan
& Nicole. Who says that my high speed tire squealing mountain curvy road driving doesn't
have SOME benefits. Hot food, hot shower, glasses of JoAnn's $40.00 wine, an hour of
needle & thread popping blisters, more wine and they didn't even look close to human so
we sent them off to bed.
DAY # 18 - SUNDAY 04/20/14 - LAKE JENNINGS PK. (Lakeside) , CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
1,425 IRON MOUNTAIN TRAIL - Jct. Hwy. 67 & S4, Poway, CA 10:00 am / 75 / Sunny
Nice touch the canopy of trees marking beginning of 5.8 mile round trip trail to the top of
2,696 ft. Iron Mountain. Popular hike for families, first timers, or training for harder hikes.
Very similar to Telegraph Pass in Yuma or Camelback Mtn. in Phoenix. Took the 1/2 mi.
Ramona Lake View side trail, must say it was a very LONG 1/2 mi. and I failed to see the
lake. Nice view from the top albeit hazy with heavy clouds over the ocean. No, I did not
climb it three times like I do Telegraph. Was dreaming of a Blu cheese and avocado burger
at Janets of Montana in Alpine so I headed home. Quick shower and we head for Alpine
only to discover we were 20 min. late as Janets closes at 2:00 pm on Sundays. Bummer!
DAY # 17 - SATURDAY 04/19/14 -LAKE JENNINGS PK. (Lakeside), CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
1,357 EL CAPITAN LAKE / SANTEE LAKES REC. AREA 11:30 am / 78 / Sunny
Our explore the area day. Drive up beautiful El Monte Canyon through horse farms and
county parks to EL CAPITAN LAKE. Drive over to view the RV Park at SANTEE LAKES
RECREATION AREA without the map I left on kitchen counter. After multiple wrong turns,
wrong RV park, misdirecting signage, and a frustrated navigator we did manage to arrive at
our destination. I would never "wing it" like this in Los Angeles but I have always been
comfortable driving around San Diego. Huge pre Easter party, crowds of people and a
packed campground make us glad we chose Lake Jennings which is central to everywhere
we needed to be this week and NO CROWDS.
1,379 DIRKS NITE CLUB - 7664 Broadway, Lemon Grove, CA 9:00 pm / 65 / Perfect
Expected a wild night with our favorite band FX5 playing in our favorite blue collar dive bar
but the combination of a Halloween II costume party, a swingers club party, and the band
delivering red hot rock & roll and it turned into one of those crazy once in a lifetime nights to
remember. Don't know if it was the costumes creating inhibitions, normal flirtations of the
swingers or the hard driving music from a very animated FX5 band but we had one heck of a
night people watching, dancing our ass off, and enjoying the band. It became a game with us
attempting to figure out who came with who, which one would wind up with whomever, and
which couple we should tell to get a room at the hooker hotel down the street. Sue and lead
guitar player John Brengle always give superb performances but I can't ever remember Chris
Nolan playing keyboards & guitar this well. A new sit-in drummer was perfect match for the
band. Enjoyed talking with Sue and catching up with all the dramas in her life. Thank you
FX5, Dirks, and the swingers for one exciting night!
DAY # 16 - FRIDAY 04/18/14 -LAKE JENNINGS PK. (Lakeside) , CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
1,273 PACIFIC CREST TRAIL / Desert View Picnic Area 7:45 am / 44 / Cloudy/Windy
Help Alan repack his new Gregory test pack with hopes it will carry better for him. Good luckas I have carried my Gregory for 16 years with the same uncomfortable lumbar back fit he is
experiencing. Alan croons along with Frank Sinatra on "Fly Me To The Moon" to liven up the
early morning drive and we spend rest of ride choosing I-Pod songs which are fitting for their
epic adventure. JoAnn drops us at Desert View Picnic Area and she will drive truck to El
Prado Campground to hike in to meet us. I don't feel bad about bundling up as the biting
cold wind has both Alan & Nicole layering up in warm clothes. Hustle along this 6 mile
section of the P.C.T. in tall pine & oak trees while enjoying the desert views of Anza-Borrego far below us. Stark difference in landscape when we hike into the newly
burned Penny Pines area. Devastating in one sense but the new growth blooming flowers
were vibrant colors against black ash soil and ghostly tree & brush limbs. Meet JoAnn in middle of burn area and hike up to Foster Point. Just about to the truck on Highway S1
when we hear some noisy fool yelling at us. Wow, it's Bryon Green. Must say these
Yumans sure have a strange way of finding each other in the middle of nowhere!
1,281 PINE HOUSE CAFE & BAR - 9849 Sunrise Hwy., Mt. Laguna 2:00 pm / 68 / Sunny
After the complicated task of choosing campsites in El Prado Campground we drive on over to
the Pine House for lunch. There are now seven of us as Steve and Kaysha have found us. Alan
& Nicole invite every thru hiker they know walking by the cafe to join us, now we have changed
tables and are up to twelve including two from Germany who enjoy speaking German with
Kaysha. The flow of hiking tales for the next two hours was PHENOMENAL!!! I will ALWAYS believe that hikers & auto racing fans are the most INCREDIBLE people in the
world to have as friends and most comfortable for me to be around.
1,287 EL PRADO CAMPGROUND - Mt. Laguna, CA 4:30 pm / 60 / Sunny
Back at the campsite to wait for rest of arrivals, and wait, and wait. I get bored and take a long
hike through Big Laguna Meadow. The upper lake is completely dry, don't know what the
situation will be this summer. Many mountain bikers cruising this trail so I decide to bushwack
through woods and over a couple saddles and follow a string of summer cabins back to the
campground. Discover a downed Oak tree and drag a nice haul of firewood for camp. More
campers from Yuma have arrived along with many invited uninvited P.C.T. thru hikers. Uh oh,
I think we have passed the 8 campers per site limit for our two sites. Sure enough around
drives the campground host happy to bust this outlaw group of hikers. We got busted for too
many people, a log improperly placed in the campfire, and Karla's ferocious puppy wasn't on
a leash keeping the fearful host from approaching our camp. OK. I have passed my limit of
putting up with authority figures for this week, time for us to head back to "home".
DAY # 15 - THURSDAY 04/17/14 -LAKE JENNINGS PK. (Lakeside) , CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
1,177 CIBBETS FLAT CAMPGROUND 9:00 am / 52 / Sunny
Check Alan & Nicole's spot check to determine they spent the night at Cibbets Flat C.G. so
we decide to drive there via KITCHEN CREEK ROAD and continue to Mt. Laguna up this
interesting road we have seen & talked about for years driving by on I-8. Beautiful drive until
one mile past the campground and the road is blocked by a heavy locked metal gate. Drive
back and talk to the campground host only to discover Kitchen Creek Rd. and Fred Canyon
Road have been closed down by the Border Patrol because this area is deemed a major
smuggling route. Thank you Border Patrol for two strikes in three days.
1,212 MT. LAGUNA - LAGUNA RECREATION AREA 11:30 am / 67 / Sunny
Drive to Mt. Laguna our normal route up the Sunrise Highway and discover the Pacific Crest
Trail crosses Thing Valley Road so we bump & creep down this two track dirt road to the trail
crossing only to discover from passing hikers that "Nomad" & "Butterfly" had already passed.
Drive up to Burnt Rancheria C.G. to discover it is closed. WOW! Is anything open anymore?
Drive to Desert View Picnic Area and backtrack down the P.C.T. all the while hoping we
haven't missed Alan & Nicole. Finally, things go right and we meet them on the trail. Drive
them to the PINE HOUSE for lunch & beer and talk them (did not take much convincing)
into spending night with us for hot showers & home cooking. Barbecue dinner after hot
showers made them human once again and they eagerly help JoAnn drink most of the wine
she purchased in Temecula. Wonderful evening listening to their hiking stories & sitting
around the campfire.
DAY # 14 - WEDNESDAY 04/16/14 -LAKE JENNINGS PK. (Lakeside) , CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
1,102 BELMONT PARK MISSION BAY - San Diego, CA. 1:00 pm / 68 / Sunny
Stop by the San Diego REI Store for some shopping on our way to the beach. We each
bought all the rain gear, gaiters, & long underwear we will need for the cold & rainy country
ahead in our travels. Finally used all the money from the gift cards at my retirement party.
A very BIG THANK YOU to all the fine folks at the G.M. Desert Proving Ground who's
generosity helped to get JoAnn and I on the road to chase our dreams. My first purchase with
the gift cards was the GPS unit which continually gives me flashbacks to Chris H. & Brenda S.
instructing me ALL day long. As usual I only listen to half the traffic directions the kind lady
tells me and as USUAL I am right at least 95 percent of the time. NO comments allowed on
this post! OK, on to Belmont Park. Boy did I have fun parking this big truck in those little
parking spaces. Found one in the far corner by the storage bins and with JoAnn's help I
backed in. Big disappointment to discover our favorite restaurant, Canes Bar & Grill, is being
remodeled into a sushi restaurant. Yea right, like we don't already have 5 trillion sushi places
to eat at now. Took a big chance and ate lunch at the Wave House Restaurant next to one
of the Flow Boarding Wave machines. What GREAT entertainment watching the look of
terror of the newbies and the fancy tricks of the experienced wave riders. Once they wipe out
they are INSTANTLY washed back into the catch pool arms & legs flailing. We laughed our
ass off but I give them immeasurable credit, especially the adults, for attempting to ride that
wave machine. Biggest surprise was how good the food was here. Just sandwich fare but
huge portions and everything freshly made with friendly & excellent servers. Ate more than we
planned on so I had to walk extra laps down the beach to check the ---, I mean walk off all
the food.
DAY # 13 - TUESDAY 04/15/14 - LAKE JENNINGS PARK (Lakeside) , CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
974 PACIFIC CREST TRAIL TRAILHEAD (Campo, CA) 7:40 am / 50 / Sunny
Very special occasion for both JoAnn and I to be with ALAN UNDERKOFLER and
NICOLE DURFEE when they begin their amazing & challenging 2,600 mile journey of
hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada! It is wonderful to see that so many
of our friends are entering new and exciting phases of their lives this year. 2014 will be a year
for GREAT ADVENTURE stories from everyone! We arrived early and it was quite interesting
to watch the different reactions & emotions of all the other hikers on the beginning of what will
probably be the biggest challenge of their lives. Quickly became perturbed with the border
patrol agents who continually drove by and wanted to what was happening as everyone is
standing around the 8 foot tall Pacific Crest Trail Marker with heavily loaded backpacks.
WOW! Somebody give these officers an extra cup of coffee in the morning briefing as this has
been a ritual every April for the last thirty years.
996 MT. LAGUNA / SUNSET TRAIL 10:15 am / 62 / Sunny
After bidding farewell to Alan & Nicole we decide on mountain drive up to Julian. Much too
beautiful of morning to not stop and take a quick hike on the Sunset Trail into Big Laguna Basin
and lake. Lake is pretty low for this time of year but everything green and beautiful. Huge oak
tree down about 50 yards from truck and on hike out I haul wood for the fire pit. Quick lunch in
the El Pardo Campground and we were very disappointed a new fire had burned through and
devastated the Penny Pines Trailhead area. I am truly afraid that ALL out favorite hiking &
camping areas will eventually burn up if this drought doesn't end soon.
DAY # 12-MONDAY 04/14/14 -HEMET, CA. to LAKE JENNINGS PARK, CA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
812 DENNY'S RESTAURANT 8:45 am / 59 / Sunny
2675 W. FLORIDA AVE. , HEMET, CA
Breakfast with old friend Billy and her new friend Mack. Talk about a perfect couple!
Nice to see Billy has found someone she is comfortable with and both share so much in
common. Good for BOTH of them!! JoAnn and I both liked Mack the second we met him.
Appreciate their effort to drive in from Sun City to meet us in Hemet and Mack still bought.
Hope we will cross paths more often in our travels.
903 LAKE JENNINGS PARK CAMPGROUND 1:10 pm / 87 / Sunny
10108 Bass Rd. Lakeside, CA, - Even though we drove in on Harritt & Bass Drive.
Really don't understand how this GPS gadget chooses routes but it was really off on this one.
Went against my better judgement and listened to the lady so we took the scenic extra hilly
route through Poway. At least that Allison transmission got a good work out. Campground
is on a steep twisting one and a half lane wide road which follows a narrow ridge between
Lake Jennings to the East & Lakeside far below to the West. Signs were scarce, road kept
getting more narrow, speed limit dropped to 10 mph, GPS lady was silent and I began to get
just a little worried. I definitely did NOT want to turn this rig around up here! Finally, the
campground entrance and we drove straight to our campsite despite the hesitant directions from
the camp host. Set up went smoothly until I connected electricity and discovered it was 30
amp instead of 50 amp. OH WELL. Guess it's time to discover if the adapter cord works.
DAY # 11 - SUNDAY 04/13/14 - HEMET , CA2675 W. FLORIDA AVE. , HEMET, CA
Breakfast with old friend Billy and her new friend Mack. Talk about a perfect couple!
Nice to see Billy has found someone she is comfortable with and both share so much in
common. Good for BOTH of them!! JoAnn and I both liked Mack the second we met him.
Appreciate their effort to drive in from Sun City to meet us in Hemet and Mack still bought.
Hope we will cross paths more often in our travels.
903 LAKE JENNINGS PARK CAMPGROUND 1:10 pm / 87 / Sunny
10108 Bass Rd. Lakeside, CA, - Even though we drove in on Harritt & Bass Drive.
Really don't understand how this GPS gadget chooses routes but it was really off on this one.
Went against my better judgement and listened to the lady so we took the scenic extra hilly
route through Poway. At least that Allison transmission got a good work out. Campground
is on a steep twisting one and a half lane wide road which follows a narrow ridge between
Lake Jennings to the East & Lakeside far below to the West. Signs were scarce, road kept
getting more narrow, speed limit dropped to 10 mph, GPS lady was silent and I began to get
just a little worried. I definitely did NOT want to turn this rig around up here! Finally, the
campground entrance and we drove straight to our campsite despite the hesitant directions from
the camp host. Set up went smoothly until I connected electricity and discovered it was 30
amp instead of 50 amp. OH WELL. Guess it's time to discover if the adapter cord works.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
784 MT. SAN JACINTO - HUMBER PARK TRAILHEAD 9:00 am / 42 / Cold
Leave Hemet under heavy, dreary dark clouds with second thoughts about hiking today.
Already bad omens when I tried to buy fuel. My credit card would not work at the pump and
the clerk wanted TWO credit cards AND my drivers license to keep while I pumped fuel.
Yea right, I may have been half asleep but that was NOT going to happen, there are other gas
stations. This is one strange town. At the 3,000 ft. level on the drive up to Idyllwild left the cloud
bank into clear blue skies. WOW, that was a drastic change! Hiked the 2.5 miles of steep
switchback DEVIL'S SLIDE TRAIL to Saddle Junction looking down on a sea of thick
fluffy white clouds. Hiked about 1/2 mile farther and JoAnn began feeling effects of the
8,200 ft. elevation so we decided to turn around. We did meet two P.C.T. thru hikers
and received information which we hope will help Alan & Nicole.
786 JOANNE'S RESTAURANT & BAR 1:45 pm / 64 / Sunny
25070 Village Center Drive, Idyllwild, CA.
Restaurant was full of bikers out for a nice ride. I have done this ride many times on my Harley
and it is one of our favorite. I know for sure that JoAnn is not feeling good as she wanted to go
straight home after lunch instead of shopping. After a leisurely drive down the mountain we
spent remainder of afternoon lounging in the Jacuzzi and heated swimming pool.
812 SWEET BABY JANE'S BBQ - 124 S. Harvard St., Hemet, CA 6:00 pm / 69 / Cold
Musicians jam on Sunday's from 6:00 to 8:00 pm hosted by ROCKY ZHARP in the small
bar section of this Louisiana style BBQ joint. THIS is the place to come sample the local people
and listen in on their stories of what is happening in their small town lives. I was the ONLY
person who did not know EVERYONE else in that bar. The music jam was very entertaining
as I am always amazed at how well musicians play on songs they don't know with other musicians
they don't normally play with. The hostess Kimberly even sang several songs as she promised me
when I was in here Friday looking for live music. Her duet of "Jackson" with Rocky was classic.
DAY # 10 - SATURDAY 04/12/14 - HEMET , CA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
715 CASA DEL SOL RV PARK, HEMET, CA 9:00 am / 65 / Windy
Morning of domestic bliss, house cleaning, laundry, and shopping. The clothes dryers at thispark will FRY your clothes! Eat lunch , watch a movie and take naps in expectation of late nite.
715 POLLY'S PIES BAKERY - 2204 W. Florida Ave., Hemet, CA 4:00 pm / 71 / Windy
Stop in for dessert before driving over to Perris Speedway. I was really disappointed they
did not have sugar free peach pie so I settled for nothing but JoAnn reported the chocolate
cream pie was heavenly.
735 PERRIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY 5:10 pm / 51 / Windy
Exciting racing program on tap tonight, World of Outlaw winged sprint cars and USAC-CRA
non-wing sprint cars on the same racing program! Once again $8.00 to park and $45.00
admission price on top of the $9.00 beer. Things are not cheap in California. Thanks to some
friendly local race fans we were able to figure out the confusing reserved and general admission
seating arrangements. Enjoyed talking racing with them to help pass the two hours until race time.
Made frequent trips to the beer bar to sneak a peek at the NASCAR Darlington race broadcast
on their TV sets. C.R.A 30 lap feature was won by DAMION GARDNER in a classic pass
them high, pass them low driving clinic from his 6th starting position to lead by lap four. The next
26 laps was a fierce battle with Mike Spencer to the checker flag. The biggest scare of the night
came in the PAS Senior (drivers over 45) sprint car race. In turn three of the first lap a sprinter
broke it's front axle sending the car into a series of vicious cartwheels and barrel rolls on top of the
concrete wall with the front axle assembly flying OVER the high turn 4 catch fence toward the
grandstand. By some miracle the shock absorber caught the very top wire and stopped the axle
from landing in the seats!!! Lucky angel was looking over Perris Speedway, the turn 4 fans, and
that driver who walked away from his mangled car. JOEY SALDANA won the World of
Outlaws feature from his pole position starting spot but not after a spirited duel with Daryn
Pittman. Even though the winged sprinters are 2 -3 seconds a lap quicker I would much rather
watch the drivers manhandle & finesse a seemingly out of control non-wing sprinter around a rough dirt track. Another exciting night of racing at Perris Speedway!!
DAY # 9 - FRIDAY 04/11/14 - LAKE SKINNER to HEMET, CA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
677 CASA DEL SOL RV PARK, HEMET, CA 12:30 pm / 91 / Sunny
Had a difficult time parking this large trailer into the small tight spaces in this park. Even using
the empty spot behind behind E-15 as a pull thru didn't help as we were unable to fully extend
the slides. Major frustrations from both of us. Lunch at local hangout, Steve's Burgers on
East Florida Ave. Oops, must learn the neighborhoods in Hemet as no one spoke English and
transients were sleeping at the outside tables. I walk the 3 miles (city hiking) to downtown in
search of night clubs which have live music. The four clubs all have bands on Saturday not
tonight. Dropped into a music store (Alaythia Music on Harvard St.) and talked with several
friendly musicians who collectively with the owner could not come up with any local bands
playing tonight. Walked next door to the After Five bar with several of the musicians for some
refreshments and band talk before the long hot walk back to the trailer. I think JoAnn and I
are wishing we were back in Temecula. The people here are extremely friendly & helpful but
developing a "good" feel for Hemet just isn't happening for either of us. HOPEFULLY things
will get better!
693 PONDEROSA BAR & GRILL - 27126 Shadel Rd., Menifee, CA 8:30 pm / 61 / Cold
It's a little drive (16 miles) but once you learn the back roads an easy 20 minutes and I knew
this establishment would have a band. The band "ENTOURAJ" was good once they figured
out their sound system. I never quite figured out why they set up so the lead guitar player who
worked the sound was on opposite side of stage from the sound board. Almost comical to
watch him set down the guitar, step off stage, walk across dance floor, twist knobs on the board,
step out front, listen, re-adjust, walk back to guitar all the while rest of the band is attempting to
keep up the song without a lead guitar. Just when you think you have seen everything! I don't
remember the crowd being this OLD! There were three patron's walking around dragging oxygen
tanks. I miss Billy and her friends being here to liven this dead crowd up. Temperature was set
to 42 degrees below zero and I left after two sets because I couldn't warm up. HOPEFULLY
things will get better.
Had a difficult time parking this large trailer into the small tight spaces in this park. Even using
the empty spot behind behind E-15 as a pull thru didn't help as we were unable to fully extend
the slides. Major frustrations from both of us. Lunch at local hangout, Steve's Burgers on
East Florida Ave. Oops, must learn the neighborhoods in Hemet as no one spoke English and
transients were sleeping at the outside tables. I walk the 3 miles (city hiking) to downtown in
search of night clubs which have live music. The four clubs all have bands on Saturday not
tonight. Dropped into a music store (Alaythia Music on Harvard St.) and talked with several
friendly musicians who collectively with the owner could not come up with any local bands
playing tonight. Walked next door to the After Five bar with several of the musicians for some
refreshments and band talk before the long hot walk back to the trailer. I think JoAnn and I
are wishing we were back in Temecula. The people here are extremely friendly & helpful but
developing a "good" feel for Hemet just isn't happening for either of us. HOPEFULLY things
will get better!
693 PONDEROSA BAR & GRILL - 27126 Shadel Rd., Menifee, CA 8:30 pm / 61 / Cold
It's a little drive (16 miles) but once you learn the back roads an easy 20 minutes and I knew
this establishment would have a band. The band "ENTOURAJ" was good once they figured
out their sound system. I never quite figured out why they set up so the lead guitar player who
worked the sound was on opposite side of stage from the sound board. Almost comical to
watch him set down the guitar, step off stage, walk across dance floor, twist knobs on the board,
step out front, listen, re-adjust, walk back to guitar all the while rest of the band is attempting to
keep up the song without a lead guitar. Just when you think you have seen everything! I don't
remember the crowd being this OLD! There were three patron's walking around dragging oxygen
tanks. I miss Billy and her friends being here to liven this dead crowd up. Temperature was set
to 42 degrees below zero and I left after two sets because I couldn't warm up. HOPEFULLY
things will get better.
DAY # 8 - THURSDAY 04/10/14 - LAKE SKINNER REC. AREA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
562 LAKE SKINNER REC AREA 8:00 am / 71 / Sunny
Text message from Tracy Lambrecht about our friend Michael Enroth who is hiking the
Arizona Trail and is six days overdue to one of his meet points has JoAnn in a panic and
the rest of us a little worried. Spend most of the morning checking with his contacts in an
attempt to figure out his exact location. Searched for other thru hikers web sites which may
give us some indication of the difficulties he may be facing. I know when we dropped him
back on the trail in Camp Grant Wash on March 23rd he had already run short of water once
and needed assistance. I figured since Mike is hiking the Southern section of the trail backwards
(Superior to Mexico) against the flow of regular thru hikers someone should be around to assist
him. Sure enough with a huge sigh of relief we got word later this afternoon he is alright!!!
610 BAUTISTA CANYON ROAD / COTTONWOOD CANYON 12:30 pm / 88 / Sunny
From Lake Skinner take E. Benton Rd. (try to keep JoAnn from looking at all the beautiful
houses she wants) to Sage Rd. (R3) South to Hwy. 79 East to Hwy 371 North to small town
of Anza look for Bautista Canyon Rd. and hang a left. Road turns to dirt as it winds it's way
North through desert canyons to Hemet. Stop in a secluded Cottonwood tree filled canyon for
lunch and to collect firewood. In normal vacation mode I would never explore offbeat areas
such as this instead head for the spectacular big name destinations. This is kinda fun just too
wander wherever. Had JoAnn navigate me through Hemet and back to Hwy. R3 and I'll be
darned if she did a pretty fair job of it! Except for missing Stetson Ave. and running through
23 four way stop signs we did make it back to Lake Skinner. WELL ALMOST.
647 DOFFO WINERY 3:30 pm / 91 / Sunny
TWO miles from the entrance to Lake Skinner and JoAnn requires ANOTHER wine
tasting. Eight sample glasses later and her favorite wine is only $68.00 a bottle. Guess that
is a whole lot cheaper than all those houses on a hill with big front porches she wants me to buy
her. Whew! I got off easy this time as she purchased a $20.00 a bottle of Paulina Sparkling
white. I don't have a clue where we will store all this wine but if JoAnn keeps this up it will be
big time party on the Pacific Crest Trail in a couple weeks.
651 LAKE SKINNER CAMPSITE C-315 8:00 pm / 72 / Perfect
JoAnn & I had just returned from our after dinner watch the sunset over Lake Skinner &
stroll through campground walk when the tent camper's critter dog beside us started barking
like crazy. Oh boy ! So much for a peaceful evening sitting around the campfire when we here
the dreaded "oh my god it's a rattle snake in camp"! Sure enough a beautiful baby Diamondback
with one small rattle slithered under their picnic table while they were eating dinner. I grabbed
my camp bucket into which Dad & I managed to slip the hyper scared snake and release it
outside the campground. I fully expected the two little girls (age 6 & 8 and still in flip-flops)
to really be freaked out but to the contrary they were both fascinated & walked with us to
release it. Very happy the Dad was more interested in saving the critter instead of killing it
as 95% of other people would do.
DAY # 7 - WEDNESDAY 04/09/14 - LAKE SKINNER REC. AREA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
546 ROSA'S CANTINA 12:30 pm / 92 / Sunny
28636 Old Front Street, Temecula, CA. - Order at counter and choose your own table ala
fast food restaurant. Very good food and LARGE portions @ $20.78 for two lunches, you
can't beat that. Just a little secret between us, JoAnn and I both prefer THE BANK
MEXICAN RESTAURANT across the street.
546 OLD TOWN FRONT STREET - TEMECULA 12:15 pm / 92 / Sunny
Easy 15 mile trip from campsite to Main Street via Rancho California Road. OK, I will
admit the GPS lady chose the better route for me to take, 8 miles shorter than using Hwy. 79.
Shopping day for JoAnn in the quaint novelty and antique shops along Old Town Front Street.
Just drive around Temecula getting a feel for the town, surrounding area & people. Except for
the OUTRAGEOUS California cost of living Temecula has everything we look for. Warm climate, excellent live music scene, great playhouse venue for plays, top flight auto and motorcycle racing at Perris Speedway, one hour away from San Diego beaches or mountain
hiking. Definitely top 5 on my list if I manage to win the 100 million dollar lottery.
Easy 15 mile trip from campsite to Main Street via Rancho California Road. OK, I will
admit the GPS lady chose the better route for me to take, 8 miles shorter than using Hwy. 79.
Shopping day for JoAnn in the quaint novelty and antique shops along Old Town Front Street.
Just drive around Temecula getting a feel for the town, surrounding area & people. Except for
the OUTRAGEOUS California cost of living Temecula has everything we look for. Warm climate, excellent live music scene, great playhouse venue for plays, top flight auto and motorcycle racing at Perris Speedway, one hour away from San Diego beaches or mountain
hiking. Definitely top 5 on my list if I manage to win the 100 million dollar lottery.
DAY # 6 - TUESDAY 04/08/14 - LAKE SKINNER REC. AREA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
500 DIAMOND VALLEY LAKE 12:30 pm / 82 / Sunny
Working very hard to remind myself that I am in retirement mode so I don't have to plan
20 things to do every day in order to explore EVERYTHING before going back to work.
JoAnn & I take a long leisurely morning walk through the campground, by the lake and
around the water park. Meet another retired couple in Section A (John & Gail from San
Diego) and we are invited to happy hour this evening. Wow! Am I turning into Mr.
Sociable or what? Maybe I might miss the Taco Tuesday at Mr. Fish with everyone.
Spend the afternoon driving back roads (E. Benton Rd., Hwy. R3, De Portola Rd.) thru
wine vineyards & olive groves to Diamond Valley Lake & Hemet. De Portola Road out
of Diamond Valley is rough dirt road with multi million dollar ranch homes. Wonder why one
would build a mansion in the middle of nowhere and not at least grade the road? Must not
want people around. JoAnn only saw like 15 houses she fell in love with and wanted me to
buy her. Yea right!
Working very hard to remind myself that I am in retirement mode so I don't have to plan
20 things to do every day in order to explore EVERYTHING before going back to work.
JoAnn & I take a long leisurely morning walk through the campground, by the lake and
around the water park. Meet another retired couple in Section A (John & Gail from San
Diego) and we are invited to happy hour this evening. Wow! Am I turning into Mr.
Sociable or what? Maybe I might miss the Taco Tuesday at Mr. Fish with everyone.
Spend the afternoon driving back roads (E. Benton Rd., Hwy. R3, De Portola Rd.) thru
wine vineyards & olive groves to Diamond Valley Lake & Hemet. De Portola Road out
of Diamond Valley is rough dirt road with multi million dollar ranch homes. Wonder why one
would build a mansion in the middle of nowhere and not at least grade the road? Must not
want people around. JoAnn only saw like 15 houses she fell in love with and wanted me to
buy her. Yea right!
DAY # 5 - MONDAY 04/07/14 -TEMECULA to LAKE SKINNER REC. AREA
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
475 LAKE SKINNER RECREATION AREA 12:30 pm / 89 / Sunny
Spend morning shopping before short 22 mile drive to the lake. There must be a different
route from the one I chose on the map as the kind lady voice on the GPS told me 26 times
I was going the wrong way before I told JoAnn to shut the damn thing off. Only I could make
that many wrong turns in 22 miles. Must drive just like I hike. If we have time I might drive
into town and let the nice lady direct me here when I'm not towing this big ol trailer. I figured
since it's middle of the week I wouldn't need reservations. Yea right, it's spring break this
week in California. Very nice lady at entrance gate did manage to find me a campsite (#C315)
Very nice tree shaded site which the next person won't have any trouble parking in as I
expertly trimmed the lower branches off the tree. Managed a short nap before the real tree
trimmers came in chain sawing and noisily grinding tree limbs. Decided its a great time to
explore the lake. Fantastic water park for the kids who were having too much fun splashing
through the fountains. Almost made me want to join in, can't believe it is 94 deg., when just
couple days ago I was freezing my butt off. JoAnn & I after dinner stroll down by the lake
to enjoy a beautiful sunset.
Spend morning shopping before short 22 mile drive to the lake. There must be a different
route from the one I chose on the map as the kind lady voice on the GPS told me 26 times
I was going the wrong way before I told JoAnn to shut the damn thing off. Only I could make
that many wrong turns in 22 miles. Must drive just like I hike. If we have time I might drive
into town and let the nice lady direct me here when I'm not towing this big ol trailer. I figured
since it's middle of the week I wouldn't need reservations. Yea right, it's spring break this
week in California. Very nice lady at entrance gate did manage to find me a campsite (#C315)
Very nice tree shaded site which the next person won't have any trouble parking in as I
expertly trimmed the lower branches off the tree. Managed a short nap before the real tree
trimmers came in chain sawing and noisily grinding tree limbs. Decided its a great time to
explore the lake. Fantastic water park for the kids who were having too much fun splashing
through the fountains. Almost made me want to join in, can't believe it is 94 deg., when just
couple days ago I was freezing my butt off. JoAnn & I after dinner stroll down by the lake
to enjoy a beautiful sunset.
DAY # 4 - SUNDAY 04/06/14 - TEMECULA, CA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
425 TOWN PLAZA DIGIPLEX THEATERS 11:20 am / 78 / Sunny
27531 Ynez Road - Day to relax, catch the movie "DIVERGENT". I give it a 9.5, great
science fiction story line and the acting very creditable. Planned to catch the NASCAR
race from Texas but rain again. I hope the rain jinx is over by the time we get back
South for the races. Spent beautiful warm (85 deg.) afternoon swimming and soaking
in the jacuzzi.
27531 Ynez Road - Day to relax, catch the movie "DIVERGENT". I give it a 9.5, great
science fiction story line and the acting very creditable. Planned to catch the NASCAR
race from Texas but rain again. I hope the rain jinx is over by the time we get back
South for the races. Spent beautiful warm (85 deg.) afternoon swimming and soaking
in the jacuzzi.
DAY # 3 - SATURDAY 04/05/14 - TEMECULA, CA.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
338 MAIN STREET TEMECULA 10:30 am / 70 / Sunny
Old Town Front Street - Beautiful morning to walk, people watch & shop. Farmers market
was fun to sample different produce and products. Must say that Hummus is way out of my
comfort zone but I just had to buy the Garlic Cilantro Jalapeno Majestic Sprouted Hummus.
Damn good stuff. Just had to stop in the OLD TOWN ROOT BEER store (28545 Old
Town Front Street) with more different brands of root beer that you could ever think of.
After half hour of searching every brand name imaginable JoAnn chose Crater Lake Root
Beer (because we've been there) and guess what! It tasted just like root beer!
349 THORNTON WINERY 1:00 pm / 71 / Sunny
32575 Rancho California Road - Our first wine tasting experience. Not quite like the movie
Sideways. JoAnn had quite the time sampling different wines and me the beer drinker only
had fun watching and listening to the other samplers. I still have trouble with chocolate and
grapes together in a wine glass. The hot fresh bread loaf with goat cheese spread was
excellent as I managed to eat a whole loaf myself but I did skip the $17.00 bowl of
Mac & Cheese, this place was very fancy and expensive. Give me the biker bar & beer
last night any day. JoAnn did buy a bottle of " A Kiss Of Strawberry" and "2012 Muscat
Canelli".
387 PERRIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY 6:00 pm / 57 / Windy
Local racers in the PASSCAR Series of Modifieds, Super Stock, Street Stock, Factory
Stock & Dwarf Car divisions racing on the fast 1/2 mile black clay track. This was first
race of the season and it showed as these crazy racers tore up a lot of equipment. The
Super Stock class eliminated half the field in turn one lap one and half the remaining cars
in turn three on lap 2! Best race of night was Dwarf Cars as the father-son cars of Angel
(dad) and Austin Figueroa bumped, banged, slide jobbed each other for 18 laps until a
patient Ron Williams slipped by both with 2 laps left when the banging got a little rough.
The IMCA style Modifieds were most exciting to watch on the lightning fast track running
three wide most of the race with veteran Alan Updyke moving to the front from his tenth
starting position. We are definitely spoiled in Yuma as it is $8.00 to park with $8.00 beer
here. A little disconcerting is the fact this track is located at the base of an earthen dam for
Lake Perris and you sit in the grandstand looking at this huge wall of dirt a couple miles away
trying not to imagine how much water and California earthquakes in the same thought process.
DAY # 2 - FRIDAY 04/04/14 - TEMECULA, CA.Stock & Dwarf Car divisions racing on the fast 1/2 mile black clay track. This was first
race of the season and it showed as these crazy racers tore up a lot of equipment. The
Super Stock class eliminated half the field in turn one lap one and half the remaining cars
in turn three on lap 2! Best race of night was Dwarf Cars as the father-son cars of Angel
(dad) and Austin Figueroa bumped, banged, slide jobbed each other for 18 laps until a
patient Ron Williams slipped by both with 2 laps left when the banging got a little rough.
The IMCA style Modifieds were most exciting to watch on the lightning fast track running
three wide most of the race with veteran Alan Updyke moving to the front from his tenth
starting position. We are definitely spoiled in Yuma as it is $8.00 to park with $8.00 beer
here. A little disconcerting is the fact this track is located at the base of an earthen dam for
Lake Perris and you sit in the grandstand looking at this huge wall of dirt a couple miles away
trying not to imagine how much water and California earthquakes in the same thought process.
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
236 TEMECULA 10:00 am / 46 / Cloudy
Late start due to the failure of the tire air pumps at gas stations here. Please BEWARE the
pumps REMOVE air from your tires! When I finally found a station with a good pump it
took 15 minutes of freezing my ass off in the chilly wind and $1.50 to manage 68 lbs. of air
in my tires.
249 PALA 10:20 am / 49 / Cloudy
Jct. Hwy. S16 & Hwy. 76 - Cloudy, dreary, windy, cold day perfect for a mountain drive.
256 NATE HARRISON GRADE ROAD 10:35 am / 50 / Cloudy
Somewhere off Hwy. 76 just East of Pauma Valley - If one can manage to find this jewel of
a road it is a wonderful drive to Palomar Mountain State Park. Very steep rough single lane
winding, switchbacking dirt road with excellent views into valley below if you can manage to
ignore the sheer drop-offs. JoAnn tried filming the drive on her cell phone. If you have vertigo
DO NOT WATCH IT! She kept flipping the phone to different angles so it looks like I am
constantly rolling the truck off the edge.
264 PALOMAR MOUNTAIN STATE PARK 11:55 am / 41 / Cloudy
Spend the afternoon hiking SILVERCREST & SCOTT'S CABIN TRAILS in blowing
fog banks. Huge Cedar trees, well marked trails, noisy birds, nice picnic areas, and best of all
we had this place all to ourselves. Scott's Cabin is just a pile of timbers & rusty hinges
scattered on the ground. The 400 year old Cedar trees are very impressive, even more so
with the fog blowing through their branches.
280 THE ROUNDUP BBQ GRILL 3:35 pm / 55 / Cloudy
Overlooking Lake Henshaw at Jct. of Hwy. 76 & 79. Excellent BBQ sandwiches, perfect
way to top off a drive & hike day. Note: Real life cowboys eat here with wore out hats, boots
with clanking rusty spurs and dirty blue jeans. Our waitress Alex on the other hand was
strictly new age with enough tattoos, piercings, and rings to make you stutter when ordering.
300 SUNSHINE SUMMIT (3,278 ft.) 4:35 pm / 54 / Sunny
Hwy. 79 - Cold, windy & dreary all day and the sun finally shows itself 15 minutes from home.
331 TEMECULA 5:10 am / 75 / Sunny
Still full from huge lunch, decide a nap sounds better than dinner. Gotta rest up for tonight.
335 TEMECULA BEER & WINE CELLAR 8:30 pm / 61 / Cold
28464 Old Town Front Street - Band BIG TRUTH - Outdoor patio, managed to park myself
under very warm heater. 5 piece band with two female lead singers had the crowd rocking.
Very surprised to hear the lead guitar player in from my hometown Huntsville, Alabama. He
actually knew who the Swampers from the song "Sweet Home Alabama" were.
under very warm heater. 5 piece band with two female lead singers had the crowd rocking.
Very surprised to hear the lead guitar player in from my hometown Huntsville, Alabama. He
actually knew who the Swampers from the song "Sweet Home Alabama" were.
DAY # 1 - THURSDAY 04/03/14 - Arizona to California
TRIP MILE LOCATION TIME / TEMP. (F)/ WEA.
0 RANCHO RIALTO RV PARK 9:15 am / 52 / Sunny
11322 S. Avenue 12E - Finally! One week late we are able to leave on our dream adventure.
14 COLORADO RIVER 9:35 am / 58 / Sunny
I-8 West - Exit Yuma & Arizona for California.
31 IMPERIAL SAND DUNES 10:00 am / 60 / Sunny
I-8 West - Already tired of 55 mph speed limit for towing trailers in California!!!
71 EL CENTRO 10:45 am / 66 / Sunny
I-8 West - Trailer won't fit our normal rest stop @ McDonalds, alternate plans must hang
for the Jamie Obeso Rest Area.
97 OCOTILLO 11:30 am / 71 / Windy
I-8 West - Begin Laguna Mtn. grade - First big pull for GMC truck.
127 CRESTWOOD SUMMIT (4,190 ft.) 12:00 pm / 55 / Windy
I-8 West - Truck and trailer handle steep mountain grade & high winds just fine.
137 BUCKMAN SPRINGS REST AREA 12:15 pm / 61 / Sunny
I-8 @ Buckman Springs Road Exit - Lunch break - Fix sandwiches in trailer.
180 SAN DIEGO 1:30 pm / 70 / Sunny
Jct. I-8 West & I-15 North
236 TEMECULA 2:45 pm / 75 / Sunny
Pechanga RV Resort - 45000 Pechanga Parkway - Space # G13. 5 1/2 hours to drive
236 miles, OK so I fudged the 55 mph speed limit a little. Nice pull-thru site well worth the
extra $4.00 a day, took me 30 seconds to park the trailer.
236 miles, OK so I fudged the 55 mph speed limit a little. Nice pull-thru site well worth the
extra $4.00 a day, took me 30 seconds to park the trailer.
236 THE CABARET - PECHANGA CASINO 8:30 pm / 69 / Cold
All female band COUGARZZ ROCKS - Great musicians & vocal harmonies, fun to watch.
Lead guitar player had more tattoo's than most guys, rare left handed player.
Lead guitar player had more tattoo's than most guys, rare left handed player.
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