Happy Holidays to all!

OK, here's a test for those of you that read this blog:

Which one is the real picture of where we're parked for Christmas?


















OK, I know, that was too easy. Anybody that know us also knows that we think snow is a 4 letter word.

The snow picture was given to me by our neighbor Doug Spriggs. He specializes in such photos, as he and his wife usually work a T-shirt booth at car shows, where they photoshop pictures of peoples cars into nice backgrounds and print them up on transfers and put them on T-shirts. I've seen some of his work, and it's very nice.

So we're parked in Yuma, AZ, where it never (never say never) snows. More likely is a weather event such as we had yesterday, 40-50 mph winds laden with sand and dust, blowing up almost instantly as a cold front passes across the desert. Awnings were flapping, loose objects like do0r mats and wash buckets were blowing around the park, and any whirlygigs were zooming along or scurrying along the desert between the RV sites. Waves splashed in the swimming pool, and we nearly got out our surfboards!

But today it has calmed down, temp at 8:00 AM is a cool 46, and the sun is coming up over my right shoulder. Time for us to get our last minute stuff done for Christmas. Only one package remains to be shipped east, one that includes some sewing, probably won't make it out until next week.

We got volunteered to decorate the table for Christmas dinner here in the RV park. Consulo has been exercising her creative muscles, and we found some pretty cheap markdowns yesterday to do the job. I'm making photo place cards with pictures of folks RVs to put on the table, and those are nearly done. We still have some cooking to do, as the park is providing ham and turkey, and the rest is pot luck. I'll be making a cherry pie, Consuleo is making flan.

We've been busy since my last post. We got ourselves organized to show photos and slippers at a couple craft shows/flea markets here. I think our display looked pretty god, but we only sold 2 pair of slippers. We're booked for one more show in January so far.

I also offered to coordinate a "Computer Club" in the park, basically a get together to chat about problems and issues around computers. We've solved a couple problems for people, and we'll continue that into January. I've also volunteered to do a photo club in January, as many of the computer issues surround photo topics.

I got word yesterday that an article & photos I submitted to Escapees Magazine have been accepted into their publication mix for 2010.

On Monday 12/28 we're going to Apache Junction, AZ, some 4 hours away, by car (only) to visit my brother for a few days. We're also scheduled to have lunch with Andrea Mackie and Denny Robertson on Wednesday, as we return.

On to Yuma

I know, I know, it seem like we fell of the earth after my last post in November. We're still out here somewhere. We have settled into a long term stay in Yuma, Arizona, and have been catching up on all those things that we knew would be easier done when we stopped for at least a couple weeks. We're getting caught up on those, so I'm now inspired to write again.

BLM parking north of Lake Havasu

First, a short update on our travels to Yuma. We left Coarsegold and drove to Barstow, CA. We stayed overnight there in a the front lot of a Flying J. We were awakened there by the noise of half a dozen police cars and several ambulances and firetrucks, all bound for the truck parking lot. We never knew what happened at the time, but have since found out that a 27 year old drove his ATV off the top of a 40 foot embankment into the top of a trailer truck, and was killed at the scene.

Leaving Barstow, we crossed the Sierra Nevadas and roamed down to Lake Havasu, AZ, current home of the London Bridge. We would have spent the night in a Walmart, but the city has so much open space that it has had to ban overnight RV parking in anything but a campground. We found a BLM site just north of town where we could dry camp for 2 nights for free.

Hot air balloons laid out for inflating in Yuma

We did some driving around town, including crossing the London Bridge. I thought it was rather bland. In fact, we missed the fact that it was the London Bridge the first time we drove by it. Other points of interest that we found included the waterfront, a large sandy place with nothing there. My guess is that it serves as a flood plain. The rest of the city seemed fairly ordinary. We did discover that the Casino on the far side of the lake, in California, has a passenger ferry that runs back and forth to the city. If we had known that, we might have stayed there.

Leaving Lake Havasu, we followed Arizona 95 into the desert, where we saw our first saguaro cacti north of Quartzsite. We stopped in Quartzsite for lunch, then passed the Yuma Proving Grounds on our way to Yuma. We checked in here at The Palms RV Resort, a new upscale park between the city and the Foothills on the east side of town.

The Palms has nice amenities, but we miss the friendship we get in an Escapees park. They seem to be working hard here to generate fun, but many of the activities have a fee, so things tend to be more business like than sharing an adventure. We came here because we'll have friends here after Christmas.

Up, up and away in Yuma

Part of our winter plan included finding outlets for our arts and crafts. Consuelo has been busy knitting slippers, and sold a couple pairs here. But there is no bulletin board, no advertising on site, no vending, so we're looking elsewhere to carry on. Yesterday we found an inexpensive flea market nearby, and agreed to buy a table for next weekend. This week we're doing finishing touches, framing photos, making slipper tags, etc. We'll see if we can recoup the cost of the table next weekend.

Getting repairs done has been the other activity. The car needed an oil change, and the brakes needed looking into. Parts have been ordered for that. Our thermostat failed on our furnace when we arrived, having been balky for a couple months. We found and ordered one of those and installed it. We've given parts of our motorhome a good cleaning, like the leather in the sofa and captain's chairs. Changing the drinking water filter, which should have been a 10 minute job turned into 5 trips to the RV parts store and one to Lowe's, as a tiny leak developed which challenged my patience.

One of the street urchins in Los Algodones

Consuelo finished proof reading the book we did for our Alaska trip and we got that ordered and it has arrived. We think it turned out pretty good, and we'll be sure to show it to you when we see you.

The plan to print calendars on our new printer turned out to be too expensive, given the costs for ink. I did print up a few copies as Christmas presents, and they came out pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. I've been printing other photos to sell.

In reviewing all the great spots we got to since we left Maine just about a year ago now, we both feel really blessed to have had the opportunity. North America is really a wonderful place, notwithstanding some of the less attractive spots. We got into a dozen National Parks in the US and Canada on our travels, plus a number of state parks and historic locations. In our view, they all live up to the hype. We encourage you to visit them, too.

Brother Bill saying "NO!" for the 1000th time

Having said that, Yuma is not a national park. I've not been inspired to search for many photogenic opportunities here. One event that I found was the Colorado River Crossing Balloon Festival, which provided some good shots. You have to be up early to see hot air balloon liftoffs, which means before sunrise here at this time of year.

My brother Bill and his wife Pat came to visit from Apache Junction for a couple days. We had fun with them, both sharing our travels and photos from the last year. We found one of the few historic sites in Yuma, the Territorial Prison which held all the outlaws in the late 1800s and early 1900s. That place made me glad I didn't go to jail there.

Perusing the purses in Los Algodones

We also tripped down to Los Algodones, Mexico, just a skip and a jump from Yuma. Los Algodones offers Mexican pricing on things like pharmaceuticals, eyeglasses, dental work and liquor. They also sell all kinds of junk like purses, pottery, ballcaps and wall art. Sellers accost the tourists on the the sidewalk, nearly forcing their stuff on you. Its a great game, if you're into it, and when you leave, you can say you did some international shopping.

We'll be here until the end of January. Don't expect too many blog posts before then.

Coarsegold and Yosemite

We've moved on to Coarsegold, California, about 30 miles north of Fresno and 30 miles south of Yosemite National Park. Our reason to be here was to visit Yosemite. We could have stayed closer, but we were attracted by the Escapees RV park here, called Park of the Sierras, or POS for short.

A view of Park of the Sierras

This is the 12th Escapees park that we've visited. Each one has it's own flavor, and POS is no exception. Like its sister park called Jojoba Hills in southern California, near Temecula, it was built from scratch as a coop under the Escapees umbrella. Also like Jojoba Hills, POS is built in the rolling foothills so common in California. The RV sites are scattered around the rolling humps and bumps. Going for a walk here turns into real exercise as no street is level. One advantage to this is that most sites have a view of something.

Likewise with Escapees parks, POS is run by a minimal paid staff of only 2. The bulk of the maintenance is handled by volunteers in the park, who do everything from replacing 4" gate valves in the water lines to repaving the interior roads. This keeps the costs associated with the park at a minimum.

Pothole rocks in Coarsegold Creek in POS

A constant challenge for the crew is keeping brush under control. Considerable effort has been paid to fire prevention and protection. There is a 100 foot fire break around the outside perimeter. In some areas, the park has obtained permission from adjacent landowners to remove brush next to the park fences. In the interior, the bulk of the greenery is live oak and manzanita. The manzanita contains oil which makes these beautiful bushes highly flammable. All of them are carefully pruned.

As a coop, the 250 sites are all owned by Escapee members. About 15 sites per year are being resold by members, against a waiting list of 75 who would like to buy them. If a member leaves for an extended period, they can make their site available for rental. Enough members are usually out to make space for travelers like us who only want to stay a few days.

The Gateway into Yosemite

On Monday, we tripped up to Yosemite. We got an early start for us, leaving POS at around 9:30. The signs said that Yosemite was only 22 miles from here. They failed to say that the valley itself was another 30 miles after the entrance, and that the roads were hilly, windy, curvy roads that kept maximum speed at 35 and average speed much lower. It took us 2 hours to get to the Gateway.

Yosemite is indeed a magnificent piece of land. The valley floor is a meadow surrounding the Merced River, the valley walls curve up to the base of 4000' cliffs rising nearly vertical from the floor. The landmark cliffs have names, such as El Capitan, Two Brothers and Half Dome. Spectacular waterfalls drop thousands of feet into the valley from above. Even though the dry summer conditions sometime stop the falls altogether, we were lucky to see some falling water.

Bridal Veil Falls in Yosemite

We stopped for lunch at the deli in Yosemite Village, in the heart of the park. It was expensive, as we expected, and since we were nearly into winter, many other places that cater to the summer visitors were closed. I stopped in the visitor center, and also checked out the Ansel Adams Gallery next door. Adams made many wonderful photos of Yosemite, as well as other California sites. A few Adams prints were on sale for $18,500 each. I only had $18,000 in my pockets, so I had to pass. But they were beautiful and inspiring.

When we left, we exited through the western side of the park, as Consuelo had requested yarn to be sent to El Portal, a tiny blip on the map just outside the park entrance. Following the river down the hills was a beautiful trip, too, not quite as spectacular as the core of the park. We made our way to Mariposa, then turned east and found our way back to Coarsegold.

It's getting chilly here, though, up at our 1700 foot elevation, and we had enough warmth in Petaluma to want lots more. As soon as our mail arrives, we'll move on south.

More images of Yosemite can be viewed in my gallery.

Warmth!

We're parked in Petaluma, California for a few days, and it reached 80 degrees here yesterday. We haven't seen such warmth since we were in Fairbanks in June. It's a pleasant change from the cool fall weather, often rainy, that we've had over the last few months.

Coastal Redwoods, the tallest trees on earth

We had planned to stop at Mount Rainier and Crater Lake National Parks as we left the Northwest. But it was raining in Yakima, our jumping off point, and there was no relief in the forecast. So we hustled out of the area. Snow was reported after we left in the mountainous areas.

Our next planned stop was Redwood National Park in northern California, between Crescent City and Orick. We found an RV park in Klamath, CA, and settled in for a few days. The first day was sunny and clear, unusual for that area. A significant percentage of the water consumed by the redwoods comes in the form of fog, much more common. I got out to the Pacific Coast and took some pictures of the rugged, rocky shore and the incredible surf pounding the rocks. A surprising discovery was on old WWII radar station hugging the coast. My imagination created a vision of a big dish pointing out over the ocean. The actual site was far less dramatic. It was constructed to appear as a farm along the shore, a small farmhouse and barn like structure, quite innocuous in appearance. Up close, it was obvious that both buildings were constructed of cement block, covered with wood and cedar shingles on the roof. I guess it was successful, since it's still there.

Mahlon and Thumper on the pier

The second day of our stay, rain did arrive, and we used the weather to trip into Crescent City to see the National Park Visitor Center and check out the town. The Visitor Center was small, but informative. They suggested a several places in town to visit, which we did. One was the coastal scenic drive, another great view of the rocky California shoreline. We were surprised that the real estate along the shore was fairly modest, compared to coastal homes most anywhere else in the country. I would have loved to be at some of the scenic viewpoints here on a clear day with the sun going dow. I'm sure the sunset would have been spectacular.

Battery Point Lighthouse

We walked the city pier, which gave great views of Battery Point Lighthouse, a very picturesque structure at the end of town. The breakwater provided storage for dozens of cement beach blockade anchors, likely left from WWII. On this rainy day, the foghorn and bell buoys warned mariners, but got on our nerves after a while.

The final attraction in Crescent City was the seal dock, where we did indeed find a dozen harbor seals resting their hulks and barking at each other.

Seals in Crescent City

The next day I tripped into the National Park. The sun was out, but the fog was thick. I have always been amazed by the magnificent redwoods, huge trees towering over anything else in the forest. 5 of the 10 tallest trees in the world are in this park, and many huge specimens are along the road, some so close that vehicles have hit them, or they are growing into guard rails. Walking a short distance from the road, groves of these huge trees can be seen growing together. Often they are shoots from an older central tree which has died and disappeared, absorbed back into the forest. Four foot diameter limbs high in the canopy collect airborne soil, and plant life takes up residence high off the forest floor.

The forest floor is equally interesting. Ferns cover much of the forest floor, one of the few plants that can thrive in the near permanent shade provided by the giants.

RV in the fog

Later that day we pulled up camp and traveled the length of the Newton B. Drury Scenic Highway which travels through the heart of the park. Every inch of this trip revealed magnificent views of the forest, until we reached the Elk Prairie at the south end of the road. A large herd of Roosevelt Elk roam this area, but our travel at mid-day was the least likely to reveal them, and we did not see any.

Rejoining US 101, we continued south to the Orick Visitors Center, which is right on the coast, but the fog was too thick for us to glimpse the ocean in this location. We did stop in and chat with the rangers, and took in the 12 minute movie about the park.

We continued south through Eureka, entered the Humboldt State Park, another glorious redwood forest. Some section of 101 are 4 lane California freeway, but small chunks meander through the big trees in narrow two lane stretches. More glorious scenery.

We stopped overnight in Redcrest, staying in Redcrest Resort, a facility which disrespects its name. The sites were goofy, utilities strange, wifi not working, staff unhelpful. One of the low lights of our trip. The next day we traveled here to Petaluma, and found a nice place to stay at the Elks Lodge, which has one of the best RV facilities we've seen at an Elks Club... 18 full hookup RV sites, and it was full when we arrived. We stayed one night in the parking lot without hookups.

The weather here is gorgeous. I'm planning to take advantage of it to get some good pictures in Point Reyes National Seashore.

Central Washington State

We've been parked in Quincy, Washington for a few days. We're at Crescent Bar Resort, a big sandbar in the Columbia River, on a lake formed by a power dam. This place must really rock in the summer, but now we're the only campers, paying winter rates. We've got electric and water service, so we're happy.

Bluffs along the Columbia River

Besides the campground on the Bar, there's a Thousand Trails RV ownership park, several condo developments, and a huge trailer/RV park. There's a 9 hole golf course, and a 9 ho;e executive course. Docks and hundreds of mooring buoys attest to the summer boating scene. Two public beaches provide swimming and sunning. Swimsuit and quick food shops fill out the venue. All of this closed for the season, except that the golf course has an honor box on the first tee and several golfers were out enjoying the sun on Saturday.

Blue Heron

We stopped out here to visit Wayne and Mary Jo Lohrman, RV friends we've bumped into several times around the US. We both saw some of Canada this summer, so we compared notes on that. We also showed them our scenes of Alaska, since they're headed up that way next year. Wayne has been picking apples here, just about done with that.

The Columbia ha carved a fairly deep canyon through this part of the country, which leaves a fairly high bluff alongside the Bar. Across the river the land tapers down to the water. The land above is high desert, full of scrub and devoid of trees. The exception is the orchards, vineyards and farms that irrigate with river water. Quincy has several large fruit shippers, along with beans and grapes.

Foliage behind Crescent Bar

About 35 miles north of us are the burgs of Wenatchee and East Wenatchee, straddling the river. Consuelo visited a knitting supplier in East Wenatchee to check supplies and get ideas.

Twenty miles east of the Wenatchees on the edge of the Cascade Mountains is the faux German Alpine village of Leavenworth. We took a ride up there with the Lohrmans to shop the town and have some lunch.

Leavenworth has sculpted itself in alpine motif, picked Bavarian designs and names, and filled its shops with Deutchland-like wares. You can buy steins, liederhosen, and european crystal. The food features wursts, German style potato salad, and lots of beer. We enjoyed a good lunch, then visited the stores.

Winter comes here, and it's coming soon. We're out of here later today.

It's Raining... what a surprise!

We've been parked in Hoquiem, WA for 3 nights. It's on the southwest corner of the Olympic Peninsula. I surmise that wood products and/or paper are the major industries here. Hoquiem and her larger sister Aberdeen sit at the inland end of Gray's Harbor, one of the few bumps in the Pacific coastline providing safe shelter for boats. So there's a fishing fleet here, too.

We've been parked in Hoquiem RV Park, a nice campground with good amenities and friendly staff. They have a very good wifi, as campground wifi's go, and I've downloaded some Windows upgrades and checked out some video tutorials on the Adobe site.

Ocean City Beach

It's been raining since before we arrived. Such is the reputation of the Northwest Coast in the US. Right now, the weather forecast has no sun in it for the foreseeable future. The sun came out for a few minutes Wednesday night, so I took off to Ocean City beach, about 20 miles NW of where we're parked. By the time I arrived, the overcast had arrived again. I walked out onto the beach, which I shared with one lonely seagull. IF it had been summer, and IF the sun had been out and IF I got there at noon then it would have been a really great day at a beautiful beach. Only IF.

Consuelo has been busy knitting slippers, preparing to sell a few pair at a flea market in Yuma when we get there. She's had a little trouble with yarn deliveries, as we've been on the move since we left Chimacum. It turned out that the last box she expected arrived the day we left Chimacum, and was returned to the vendor.

I've been busy working on 2010 photo calendars, also to sell in Yuma and online. I've started a web site here for them. I expect to add 3 or 4 more before I finish. I've ordered a new printer from Office Depot to print them, but Office Depot has thoroughly screwed up my order, and may cause me delays before I can deliver. We'll see. I've asked them to refund my money, but I expect a gnat has a better chance of devouring an elephant.

I've also been working on my commercial photo website. Photoshelter offered up a 30 day trial of their custom websites, which I've had up for a couple weeks now. It's a lot nicer than the regular site, but until I sell some photos, I can't really justify the extra cost for style points.

Hoh! Hoh! Hoh!

Hoh Rain Forest

Curt Kraft and I stomped through a section of untouched forest 15 years ago in the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota. Actually, we most likely were in the adjacent Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario. It was hard work, as the trees had died and toppled every which way, stacking themselves 3 and 4 trunks high. The trunks were two to four feet in diameter. We picked a route, set off to follow it, hoping not to get lost. In some places we clambered over them, in other crawled under them. After we tired ourselves out, probably not going more than 1/4 mile, we turned back and returned by a slightly different route. Neither of us had ever tried to negotiate such a place before. It gave us an insight into the difficulties that the pioneers had negotiating forested areas when they tried to move west.

Maples and Spruce

Yesterday, Consuelo and I trudged through a section of the Hoh Rain Forest, part of the Olympic National Park near Forks, WA. We had no such difficulties in this forest. While there were many downed trees, the nice forest rangers had cleared a trail among them, even cutting slots in some for the trail to follow. Recalling my Minnesota experience, I realized how easy we had it.

The Hoh is one of the sections of temperate rain forest in Olympic. Because the forest is backed by the Olympic mountains, water laden clouds arriving from the Pacific Ocean are forced up and drop their rain before passing over the mountains, 140 to 167" of rain annually. There is a rain shadow behind the mountains, which get on average, 17" of rain, a mere 40 miles away.

Ferns

My vision of a rain forest was quite different from what I saw there. I think my visions were generated by movies of the Amazon Jungle, rubber trees hundreds of feet high growing in a closed canopy, blocking out the sun, and the forest floor choked with tropical plants and shrubs, making passage virtually impossible.

The Hoh rain forest is dominated by Sitka Spruce and Western Hemlock, which grow up to 300 feet high. Coastal Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, Big Leaf Maple, and Red Alder are also prevalent. In mid October, the maples are turning, a few red, but most bright yellow. Since there has been no frost here yet, the colors are not turning uniformly. May maples are still green, while others have lost their leaves.

Clear stream with green bottom

Most of the trees are adorned with mosses and lichens. Consuelo didn't think they were as pretty as the Spanish Moss we see at Jekyll Island, but then she leans toward Spanish things. There was certainly a wide variety of them in the Hoh, along with ferns that covered the forest floor.

We also noted a stream running in the park, nearly full of bright green water plants that looked like the weeds that grew in the lake where I grew up. But unlike other places where we see lots of green vegetation in the water, the water in this stream was crystal clear.

Roosevelt Elk

We took a drive through the campground on our way out, and found several Roosevelt Elk grazing on the mown grass around the campsites, all males, all decked out with big racks. They seemed undisturbed by cars driving by them, but there were warnings on the board that several visitors had been charged by the elk recently, so we kept our distance.

Readers of this blog are reminded that my photos can be purchased on my Photoshelter site. You can get prints, mugs, mouse pads, etc.