Ahhhh...Home Sweet Home!

        "One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things"

-- Henry Miller

It's been a while since our last blog, and our public has been clamoring for closure. (Celebrity can be so demanding.) So here it is!

Our circumnavigation of America

We have been quite busy since we drove across that Oregon state line after 10 months on the road:

Wednesday, April 23: We left lovely Canyonville and made the short drive north to Eugene. (Go Ducks!) After dropping Irv-the-fifth-wheel at the campground, we visited Kendall Toyota-Eugene, where we had bought and sold our last few cars. (We highly recommend them.) We arranged a great deal to trade Bessie (our F-150) for a new Prius. But the actual deal will not consummate until after Irv is back in Portland and we no longer needed a truck.

When we first headed out on our trip, one of the most painful adjustments was going from our 50 mpg Prius to a truck that would get between 8-12 mpg depending on whether or not we were towing, going up or downhill, and whether we had a headwind or tailwind. Depending on distances, it wasn't hard to pump $100 a day into our truck, decidedly the biggest single expense of this whole trip. Switching back to a Prius certainly fixes that!

Thursday, April 24: From Eugene we came back to Portland. Since our wonderful renters, the Hernandez family, had not yet moved out, we parked Irv at a campground up on the Columbia River... and right next to the Portland Airport. Luckily, flights in and out are stopped between 11 pm and 6 am.

Friday, April 25: The storage pods were delivered to our driveway. These contained the pieces of our belongings and furniture that we hadn't either sold or given away before we left. Much of our furniture had predated our 2010 marriage, so we decided that this was the perfect opportunity to make a fresh start. We kept what we loved, and found homes for the rest.

The pods!!

Saturday, April 26: As our house was being vacated, we parked Irv on the street in front. (Thanks to all our neighbors for their patience.) Our neighbors, Sonia and Robin, treated us to dinner, which was much appreciated.

Irv after his bath

Sunday, April 27: While our house was being deep cleaned, we washed and detailed our home of the previous 10 months, inside and out. That took an entire day, and we were amazed at how little wear and tear he suffered. We slept that night in the trailer, one last time.

Monday, April 28: We began moving back into our house. We found our mattress, so at least we could sleep in our house...on the floor. It was sort of strange not to have wheels under us.

Jack-the-Cat was pretty happy to see us, and have HIS house back, too. Our renters and our community of neighbors had cared for Jack. But due to allergies he had to stay outside and in
the garage for the previous year. He was a bit skinny, but appeared none the worse for wear. He was very happy to return to the peace, quiet and warmth of the house.

Ahhhh!!!

Tuesday, April 29: Stacy had a job interview (keep your fingers crossed). We listed Irv on Craigslist, ands delivered him to his storage place. We assembled a dresser and bed, and continued emptying boxes.

Today was also Jack-the-human's 68th birthday, which he happens to share with our good friend Marsha Graham. So we had a lovely dinner out with Marsha and her hubby Peter Stansill to celebrate both birthdays.

Wednesday, April 30: Jack drove Bessie back to Eugene and came home with our brand new charcoal grey Prius. Stacy continued emptying boxes.

Bye bye, Bessie! She was a good truck!

Thursday, May 1: Got a call from a gentleman expressing interest in buying Irv.

Friday, May 2: Second Kaiser Permanente job interview for Stacy.

Saturday, May 3: The boxes are unpacked, crushed, and ready for pick up

Sunday, May 4:  Starting to see some organization in the house. Found a great car for Evan to buy. We had bought her Scion Xb (aka "The Toaster") as a commuter for Stacy, and a "hauler" for us.

Monday: May 5: Stacy interviewed with another company.  Picked up Evan's new car.

Which brings us to today. Perhaps you can see why the blog has not been updated. :)

Back in Oregon!

On Sunday we had an absolutely gorgeous, sunny drive from Burney Falls through the Siskiyou Mountains as we crossed into Oregon. Spring is popping here, and it is hard to believe just how green everything is right now. But all the rivers are very low, even in Oregon. Rainfall for the year is just a couple of inches below normal, but there is precious little snowpack in the mountains.

We have stayed the last couple of nights in a little town called Canyonville, Oregon. There is an Indian casino here, and across the highway one of the very nicest RV parks we have stayed in anywhere. Not a bad place to kill a little time while we wait for our house.

Seven Feathers RV Resort

Also welcoming us back to Oregon this morning was the weather. We've had glorious sunny weather for at least a couple of weeks, but this morning we knew we were back in Oregon. Cloudy, drizzly, and cool. Looks like it will be the same for the next few days.

Sigh.

Burney Falls and beyond......

We left Reno yesterday, driving north on Hwy 395. But before we left, we got these sweet visitors.

The funny thing was, the mommy and babies got through the chain link fence, leaving Daddy outside. He moaned, and bobbed, and ran back and forth, obviously very distressed to be separated from his family. For about 10 minutes, he fretted, finally realizing he could fly, and easily lifted himself over the fence to reunite with his group. ("Silly as a goose" comes to mind)

This is pretty unfamiliar territory, especially to me (Stacy). Directly out of Reno is wide open Nevada wastelands... dry, brown, scrub, with abrupt hills and deep "washes" through the desert landscape.  The lakes (Silver Lake, White Lake, even really big Honey Lake) that were supposed to be along this road are no longer here, lost in another in a long series of drought years.

We climbed over the mountains (slowly) into California, winding through what became high prairie forests.... tall, spare Ponderosa Pines and cedar, with very little undergrowth. It smelled so clean and fresh!

We drove through Susanville, past Mount Lassen and on to Burney Falls.  It was beautiful terrain.

Mt Lassen

We stayed at an RV park about a mile from Burney Falls State Park.  Once we got settled, we went up to the Park. We walked the 1.3 mile "Falls Loop Trail" which took us through a vista point at the top of the 129-foot Falls, down to the base of the Falls, and along the Burney River, then up again.  It was perfect weather, the water was clear and cold (48 degrees). Fishing season doesn't open until the 26th, so at least the trout were safe.

Burney Falls

Burney Falls

Over one million gallons of water goes over these falls daily. The falls themselves are made up of multiple "spouts" arranged around a semi-circular series of cliffs. Really impressive.

We drove from Burney this morning toward Oregon, passing by Mount Shasta and its surrounding cinder cones.

Mount Shasta

Cinder cone

Yes, we are on our last leg home after an incredible 10-month adventure.  Both of us are a bit road-weary, but a little sad that this is coming to an end.

Almost home....

Planes, trains and automobiles!

Well, we are still in Reno (leaving this morning), but in the week since our last blog quite a bit has happened. Well, maybe not all that much, which could explain why we haven't exactly been burning up the pages of this blog.

We settled in at the RV "resort" at the Grand Sierra Casino... the closest casino to the Reno Airport...and boy! don't we know it! It actually is a pretty busy RV park, and we get to use all the amenities of the Casino (airport shuttle, business office, etc). But it is lacking a bit of "ambience"

Last week we took a drive up to Lake Tahoe. We drove the Mt. Rose Highway from Reno up to Incline Village at the lake. Turns out it is a spectacular drive, going past Reno's "local" ski area and with fantastic views of the valley. The snow is rapidly melting in the Sierras, but it has been such a light snow year that flow in the rivers and streams, normally gushing at this time of year, looks like August. Some die-hard skiers were still skiing at the top of the mountain.

Last Tuesday Stacy flew to Seattle for a quick visit with Evan. She had a great visit, while Jack stayed in Reno nursing a cold...and eating! (Is it "feed a cold, starve a fever"?)

Our "VIP Suite" at the Grand Sierra Resort

Today we are heading north to Burney Falls, California.

Reno, Nevada

We drove from Mammoth Lakes, thinking we would stop at Bridgeport, CA for the night. Bridgeport is near Bodie, the most "complete" ghost town in the West.  But we found out that the road to Bodie was still covered with snow, and Bodie was only accessible if we drove 50 miles out of the way. We decided not to go.

We drove the June Lakes loop, passed through Lee Vining and Bridgeport, drove by Topaz Lake,

Topaz Lake

And entered Nevada.

We are staying at an RV park at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno. We are "lakeside"... but the lake is a cement pond, not very picturesque. And Reno is, well, Reno.

We went into downtown Reno today. This weekend, Reno is hosting a girl's volleyball tournament and the National Bowling Championships.

The Bowling Hall of Fame

Bowling, every family's favorite recreation

It has a beautifully developed River Walk along the Truckee River, and it was a bright, sunny day.

The Reno River Walk

Mammoth Lakes, CA (4/7/14 -4/11/14)

In the early 1970's, after driving the 350 miles from Orange County to Mammoth and back each week, and skiing as much as he could, Jack decided to live in Mammoth Lakes for a season... keeping his advertising career on life support.

We hit Mammoth Lakes around noon on the 7th, and settled into a peaceful, uncrowded, wooded camp site.

Our "Irv" in his cozy wooded spots

The weather was clear, sunny and brisk. The mountains still were coated with snow. There was a 60 inch base at the top of the mountain, where it was 16 degrees.  People were skiing and boarding, and having a great time.

Mammoth Mountain

View from the gondola

We took the gondola to the top of Mammoth Mountain, about 11,000 feet. Jack gave me a "guided tour" of the different runs that he used to conquer (or vice versa).

Mammoth is also home to several hot springs. A large geothermal energy plant has been built here, providing enough geothermal energy to power 220,000 LOS ANGELES homes. People in this area are not fond of Los Angeles, which over the years, has drained Owens Lake and Mono Lake, and that now use the energy generated by Mammoth's hot springs.

Hot Creek, passing by the bubbling hot springs

These hot springs were steaming and bubbling and, as you can see, turquoise blue

The Sierras down here surround high desert grasslands, rounded rock piles, and the skies go on forever.

 We decided to take a day and go fly fishing on the Lower Owens River.  This river meanders through a beautiful grassy meadow, bordered by beautiful rock formations, and groves of cottonwood. Jack got a few bites and caught one beautiful brown trout. Stacy got nothing except a peaceful day in a gorgeous place. Not a bad day :)

Jack, along the Upper Owens River

Lone Pine and Death Valley CA

After picking up our traveling home from storage in Banning, we headed north up the east side of the Sierras along Highway 395. This is high desert territory, and dramatic in its austerity, and arid beauty.  The wildflowers were starting their bloom, and we were treated with carpets of yellow, dotted with burnt orange and purple.

Carpets of little yellow flowers...

We "landed" in Lone Pine, CA, a small community between the highest point in the continental USA (14,000 foot Mt. Whitney) to the west, and the lowest point in the continental USA (Death Valley, 279 feet below sea level) to the east.  A land of contrasts.

Mt. Whitney, 14,505 feet

Death Valley, 279 feet below sea level

Coincidentally, Stacy's brother and sister-in-law, Jeff and Kristen, were also in Death Valley, just starting another RV trip of their own. If  you recall, we met with Jeff and Kristen in Mount Rushmore, South Dakota last August. We both had plans to be in Stovepipe Wells yesterday. We actually passed them on the road into Death Valley, not realizing who it was. This is what happens when one has a family of nomads. We shared a beer and a great hamburger. Fun to see them again. (Forgot to get out the camera yet again. Sigh)

We took a hike up Mosaic Canyon, close to Stovepipe Wells. The geologic variety was amazing!

Yep, it's pretty darned BIG

Swirling sandstone walls

The walls are like polished marble...

This part of Death Valley receives about 2 inches of rain per year, and gets well above 100 degrees Farenheit ...but some plants find areas of fertility...

Beautiful yellow flowers nestled inside a sandstone crevice

Us....on top of the world

A week in SoCal....

We have been traveling up the coast from San Diego, stopping here and there to visit friends and family, and to fill in the blanks in our "Magical History Tour." Since Jack and I have been married, we have been sharing our old stomping grounds with one another. That has taken us to Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia, New Jersey, and California. Oh, Oregon too.

We left San Diego on Monday 3/31 to wander up the coast to San Clemente.  Jack has a wonderful friend, Ken, who he has known since they were both young twenty-somethings in Newport Beach.
We spent some time with Ken, which we always enjoy. We also visited Mission San Juan Capistrano (which I had not visited since 4th grade), and walked out to Trestles, one of Jack's old surfing haunts.

Mission San Juan Capistrano. Beautiful!!!

The old bell wall

An interesting succulent (the one on the right!)

Surfers at Trestles

La Playa

From San Clemente, we drove up the coast to Newport Beach. Stacy lived here until she was 10 years old, and Jack lived and surfed here in his teens and twenties.  We stayed in the old Balboa Inn, which is on the ocean front, and two blocks from the Balboa Island Ferry. We took the ferry over to the island, and had a chocolate covered frozen banana.

We drove around Costa Mesa and tried to find the house that Stacy lived in when she was three years old. And we drove by the house in Tustin where Jack lived when he was in high school. Stacy enjoyed a glass of wine with her friend, Diane. They were in third grade together, so you can figure out how long they've been friends.We also found the gravesides of all four of Stacy's grandparents, something she has been wanting to do for a while.

The Balboa Bay Pavilion

After that, we drove up to Los Angeles to visit Stacy's sister and brother-in-law, Dana and Rob, and her 10 year old nephew, Nathaniel. Between the Watson's birthday parties and tennis and just being busy, we got to visit and catch up a bit. We also visited Stacy's oldest nephew, Grant, and his lovely family in Thousand Oaks. I am chagrined to report that we did not get any photographs.  But believe me when I say, they all looked great.

San Diego

From Twenty Nine Palms, we drove west to the Pacific Ocean. We decided to do this leg of our trip without Irv. He doesn't travel well in congested urban areas, and there was no good place for us to park and camp in San Diego, so he gets to spend the week in storage at a KOA in Banning, CA. He deserves a break.

As we drove deeper into Southern California, we saw wind farms, and avocado trees...

and trucks full of fresh oranges.

We stayed at a Holiday Inn right down by Shelter Island, close to the Bay. It was warm and sunny, and we truly felt like we were in San Diego.

The first morning, we had breakfast at the ever popular Old Town Mexican Cafe...

before meandering up the beautiful, sunny coast...

Famous Windansea beach

We went to the Gliderport at Torrey Pines, where dozens of people were sailing through the air.

San Diego is such a magical place. I (Stacy) met up with my friend, Carol Smith, for lunch, then  Jack and I took a long, sunny walk along the Bay.