High on Zion

I stayed up past midnight trying to get the pics uploaded and the blog posted only to have the entire thing disappear. Ned was a real trooper and hung in there with me. We finally went to bed, but I got up before 6 and decided to just rewrite the whole thing and try again. (Not before firing off a nastygram to the developers grrr.) After writing this for a third time, it was once again removed. Here's the link if you want to see the Las Vegas crawdads feast. Click here for Las Vegas pics Patty was up early as well and together we rode our bikes to the visitor center in search of better wifi or 3G connection. The first pic of the day is Patty capturing me in early am blogging mode. (I do realize that I'm a sick techie junkie.) After I got the kinks worked out we all had breakfast together and wrote postcards. Our campsite was located on the Virgin River and it was so peaceful relaxing in the sun and listening to the rush of the river. We spent the rest of the morning at the Visitor's Center, the History Museum, shooting more pictures and visiting the Weeping Wall. Patty particularly loved the 4000 year old water seeping out of the sandstone walls. She was determined to drink it, but we talked her out of it. For those of you who know Patty you will appreciate this. Before we climbed out of the park we had a picnic lunch under a grove of cottonwood trees loaded with caterpillars. Well they sure loved us, especially Ned. At least 15 caterpillars dropped on him and were crawling down his shirt and up his pants. It was a pretty funny sight to see Mr. Mellow drop his pants in front of the children's museum to extract a particularly determined caterpillar that had crawled up to his knee. I'm still cracking up! I was so sure he was going to be arrested for indecent exposure. We hightailed it outta there pretty fast. Almost every year we travel thru Zion on our road trips. We consider this our annual pilgrimage and Zion has a special place in our heart. I don't think it's possible to take a bad picture in this park. Enjoy today's pics We had a 5 hour or so drive to the Grand Canyon and really had a blast stopping repeatedly to take pics and check out the Wild West scenery. It definitely felt like we were in a John Wayne movie. I kept expecting the Indians or Calvary to appear on top of the red mesas. After exploring the different views along the Grand Canyon rim we finally arrived at our campsite at about 7. We had a great time gathered around the fire telling stories and drinking wine. - Posted using BlogPress from my

Living it Up in Death Valley

Ned and I woke up early to clear bright skies. The only sound in the campground was the constant cooing of the doves nesting in the trees. We decided to do some exploring and check out the natural hot springs that are downstream from the private campground. We took our bikes for a spin down a dirt road. The temp was in the high 30s with a fairly brisk breeze. I was hoping to find something soon and I wasn't going to be too picky either, none of this girly stuff about the water being muddy or too many green icky things growing in it. About a 1/4 mile down the road we came across several pools of clear, steamy water. We stripped down to our bathing suits, which took an enormous amount of faith that we would soon be engulfed in warm water, and took the plunge. It was heaven. There was something magical about soaking in natural hot springs in the early morning with a backdrop of snow covered mountains. We ended up testing several pools before finding the perfect one. It was clear blue, deep enough to swim around and about 90 degrees. After our early morning jaunt and feeling refreshed we caught up with Patty and Alan, had coffee around the picnic table and planned the day. Well, actually I cop to planning the day while the others put up with my endless chattering. Patty and I took a walk thru the rock garden and thoroughly enjoyed the display of desert flora. Patty grew up in the desert so it was fun to hear her childhood memories of desert life. Before we headed out for the day the Cohens wanted to experience the natural pools, so one more soaking was in order. Most of our day was spent driving thru Death Valley, stopping at various places along the way for photo shoots and appreciating the diversity of the landscape. We had lunch next to a date grove, took in the visitor center and spent some time at Zabriskie Point taking photos or as Alan says pictures to die for! I have to admit that one of the highlights of the day for me was the thermometer reaching 90 degrees. Thank goodness summer has finally arrived! Once we drove across the state line into Nevada, a couple of things were apparent right away; one, the price of gas was well below $4 and $5 a gallon and two, the immediate availability of brothels. We got a chuckle out of the first gas station where we stopped. There were 3 buildings. The first was the "Brothel Art Museum, The Oldest Tourist Attraction in Southern Nevada." The second was showers for truckers, and the third was a brothel. I guess they get you worked up, cleaned up and ready for business. After a long day driving across the deserts of California and climbing, climbing, climbing 8500 feet to the top of Mt. Charleston, we finally arrived to our camping spot for the night. It was on the top of the world and freezing cold! Did I mention there was snow on the ground? Last night the Cohen's hosted us in The Cruiser. Tonight is our turn to host them in our humble abode. The menu is Moroccan lamb burgers and corn on the cob. Tomorrow, Vegas baby Vegas! Click here for today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Mt. Charleston, NV

Chilly Start and A Warm Finish

Finally, the clouds have parted, the sun is shining and the day has arrived! The nice thing about our long cold winters is that it gives you an opportunity to work on projects and plan things...like a road trip per se. The disadvantage of long cold winters, and especially this year, is that cabin fever sets in and you never quite believe the day will actually get here. We met up with Patty and Alan, our traveling buddies for the first week of the trip, and finally rolled out of town about mid-morning. As we climbed over the Donner summit and continued onto the Kingsbury Grade we were greeted with mother nature's last gasp of winter. I thought it looked like snow flurries, but Patty was convinced we were in the midst of a blizzard. The driving conditions didn't seem to bother me as much as the choice of clothing, or should I say lack thereof, that I had packed. Here I was feeling carefree and summery with Florida on my mind and 3 bikinis in my bag, and looking at snow. Mmm. Not one to be discouraged I stood my ground, on my firmly planted flip flops nonetheless, and remained optimistic. At least we have a soak in the hot springs in the near future! The Winniemobile and The Cruiser (aka the Cohen's wheels) continued to mosey on down 395 driving in and out of inclement weather. After a quick stop at Mono Lake, where it was a balmy 37 degrees, we stopped for lunch at Whoa Nellie Deli in the Mobile Gas Station. We had a rather late gourmet lunch of jumbalaya, fish tacos with pineapple and mango salsa, lobster toquitos and herb encrusted apricot pear pork chops. Yes, you can see where our priorities are headed this week. By the time we finally arrived at Keough Hot Springs we only had about an hour to enjoy " the cure" before closing time. Ahh, but what a wonderful hour it was. After swimming for the last several weeks in a chlorinated pool the mineral springs felt velvety smooth. The temperature in the soaking area was about 104 and the pool was approx. 95. Night time festivities include wine and hanging around the campfire with good friends. Seems like a pretty good first day and well worth the wait. This is my first time using the iPad to blog and link to pictures so I hope this works! Today's pics - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Keough Hot Springs, Bishop, CA

The End of the San Juan Coastal Tour - Home, 9/19

It rained all night – it rained hard all night. The first thing we saw when looking out the Winniemobile was that our campsite was flooded. Thank goodness we aren’t tent camping! The rain was still coming down this morning so we obviously scrapped the bike ride and decided to pack up and head home. Going over the coastal mountain range was windy (as in a lot of twists and turns), but so incredibly green. It was a shock when we hit the valley and saw how brown everything was. After being in rain forests for the last couple of weeks we got used to seeing every imaginable hue of green. The Pacific Northwest is a beautiful and magical part of our country. I can sure understand why Josh wants to live there. (Today’s pic is a shot of one of our favorite camping spots in the Olympic National Forest.) Once we drove past Clearlake, the weather completely cleared up and it was downright hot in the valley. As we pulled into the driveway three cords of wood were piled high. Ironically, soon after we arrived it began sprinkling here. Mmm – sounds like the wood arrived just in time. I love living on the road and am usually a little sad when the trip ends. But not this time! I received an early birthday present from Ned and on the way home we picked up my first ever sewing machine. I’m so excited to be home and start making quilts – my new passion. Next week we are heading off to Point Reyes for a three day trip, camping with some good friends. Here’s hoping we can eek out a bit more play time before the wet winter really rolls in.

Mendocino Mellow - MacKerricher State Park, Fort Bragg, CA 9/18

We left one of the best ever campgrounds early this morning and continued our drive down the Avenue of the Giants. The weather was threatening rain, but so far things remained dry and warm. We definitely got a kick out of all the tacky roadside attractions, but the best by far is definitely “The Legend of Big Foot.” We passed drive-thru trees, mystery trees, confusion trees and tree houses! It made us appreciate that if this area hadn’t been made into a National Park and a State Park what the rest of the forest would look like. We pulled into MacKerricher State Park in Fort Bragg around 11 and had several campsites to choose from. We think a lot of people were scared off by the weather – lucky us. After getting settled in, we headed for downtown Fort Bragg and ate at a so-so Japanese Restaurant. Next stop, one of my favorite places in the world – Mendocino! The sky turned blue and it was really pleasant and sunny. We took advantage of the situation and rode our bikes around town and out to the headlands. The sea was an amazing color of jade and turquoise and really mesmerizing to watch. Out over the horizon we could definitely see another storm front headed this way. It made for some dramatic cloud formations as the sky was almost cut in half with clear blue on one side and lens shaped clouds on the other. (See today’s pic). I just love the vibe of Mendocino with the beautiful gardens, seaside cottages, water towers jutting above the homes and the smell of the salt water in the air. Later in the afternoon we stopped for some mochas and Ned waited patiently as I continued my picture taking safari. We eventually made our way back to the campsite and had a rousing couple of hours playing games while drinking wine and munching on some local favorites (goat cheese, french bread, peppadews and figs). Would you say we are camping upscale Mendocino style? It’s about 9:30 at night and a soft rain has just begun. We decided that if it’s nice tomorrow we’ll ride our bikes into town for breakfast and then explore some of the local trails and if the rain continues – we’re heading home.

Here Comes The Sun – Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Weott, CA 9/17

Rain, rain, the sound of rain – that’s what we woke up to again this morning. We decided to get up early, hit the road and see if we could drive out of this storm. We had hoped to hike to the Heceta Lighthouse but it was raining so hard that wasn’t an option. Our plan B was to visit the Sea Lion Caves, however we got there before they opened so decided to just keep driving. Our original plan was to spend another night on the Oregon coast, but the rain was just coming down in sheets so we decided to stop for lunch, check on the weather pattern and figure out what to do next. About 3 years ago we had stopped in Gold Beach and hung out at a coffee shop/bookstore. We enjoyed it so much we decided to go back. The place was still great, but by the time we had arrived they were out of soup and only had pastries. They recommended another place, Barnacle Bistro, so we gave it a try. It was great! We not only had a yummy hot lunch, but we got an internet connection too. This was quite a storm and it looked like it was packing a punch down the entire coast of Oregon and parts of California too. Sigh. We thought about turning inland and catching a Shakespeare play in Ashland, but the storm was supposedly hitting that area too. We decided to just keep on driving south until we couldn’t drive anymore. (By we – I mean, Ned. He’s been the hero doing most of the driving). The coast drive was beautiful, despite the rain. (See today’s pic) We were able to see the ocean, the dunes and the rocky coast of Oregon with wisps of fog hovering around the trees. It was actually quite stunning in some places. Josh had given Ned a book for Christmas and we’ve been reading it to each other at night. After listening to some “Fresh Air” podcasts, we decided to continue reading the book. So, while Ned drove, I read aloud. It certainly helped pass the time! We did make a couple of stops during our long drive. The most interesting was the Redwood National Park visitor’s center. Once we ventured into California we enjoyed some of the tacky tourist attractions along the road such as Dinosaurland and a huge replica of Paul Bunyan with Babe. (It was not nearly as cool as the one in Bemidji, MN). By the time we arrived in Arcata the storm had broken up and we were blessed with sunshine! Ned started singing “California Here We Come” with gusto. The absolute highlight of the day was taking the scenic drive through The Avenue of the Giants. Our campground is actually situated along the Avenue amongst the Giant Redwoods. It’s gorgeous!! It’s so warm and dry here that we really enjoyed having dinner outside and playing cards until we couldn’t see anymore. We loved being outside so much (without getting wet), that we took a walk in the dark around the campground. Lovely. Here’s hoping the weather holds for a nice weekend in Mendocino

Rainy day on the Oregon Trail – Carl Washburne State Park, Florence, OR 9/16

It rained steadily all night and for most of the day. We weren’t able to ride bikes around the campground, so hit the road at about mid-morning. Even though we were hugging the coastline almost all day, the steady drizzle kept us from seeing too far out over the ocean. We still decided to take the slow route and pulled off of highway 101 to take some back roads and get a feel for the off-the-beaten path communities. Our favorite drive of the day was The Three Capes Drive. The cypress trees along the shore and the haystack rock formations in the ocean were beautiful nonetheless. (See today’s pic – as pathetically foggy it is). We did poke around a couple of local stores and had lunch at the Blue Heron Cheese Factory in Tillamook. Several years ago we had toured the Tillamook factory, so decided to visit the other cheese store this time. It was fun tasting the different cheeses, but they were out of their own Blue Heron brie – go figure! At several stops the locals were bemoaning the fact that they weren’t ready for the rains to begin. I think they haven’t had much of a summer this year. One fellow mentioned that in the last 18 hours his rain gauge showed 3 inches of rain – wowza! About mid-afternoon the rain finally stopped so by the time we pulled into the campground we were able to walk around without getting wet. We played game after game of Skip-bo and then at dusk decided to take our bikes for a spin and visit the beach. We had the place completely to ourselves and enjoyed the foggy stillness. We kept looking for Heceta Lighthouse, but couldn’t see it from the beach. If the weather holds and it isn’t too wet we might take the 6 mile hike to the lighthouse in the morning.