...and the coyote

I forgot to mention that we saw a coyote on the way out of Zion the other day. We were the only ones on that stretch of road. It was around 6:30 or 7pm. As we were driving along, something ran across the road ahead of us. We slowed and noticed it was still standing on the other side of the road. It was a coyote! He just stood there, obviously as curious about us as we were about him. I could tell he was sniffing us. After a few minutes, he got bored and trotted off. We managed to get a photo and here it is. He almost blends in with the grass.

Zion National Park

Today is another "work" day so I thought I would catch up the blog.

Yesterday, we went to Zion National Park. It was really beautiful (I know...I need to think of some new adjectives) The canyon walls were a vibrant red and in the afternoon, with the sun hitting them, they have a rich gold sheen. Add to this the bright blue sky and green trees in the river valley and it made for spectacular scenery. In order to venture through the main canyon area, you have to ride a shuttle bus (that runs on propane). This is to keep the noise and traffic to a minimum. The rock in this photo has a tunnel running through it.

We took two short hikes while in the park. The riverside walk, which starts at the end of the shuttle service and will take you to the beginning of "the narrows", a place where the canyon narrows dramatically. You can hike up the narrows but you will be walking up the river and we didn't have the right shoes or the time that day. The park service recommends checking to see what the risk of flash flood is for the day before hiking the narrows because...let's see, you are hiking in a narrow canyon that is prone to flash flooding and to get stuck in there would really stink.

The other trail we took was the emerald pools trail. The rock formations around the emerald pools were pretty impressive but the pools themselves were just algae pools. Maybe it's better when there has been more rain. The pools fall from a stair step of sandstone. Can you see the people on the middle ledge in the middle of the photo?

This evening we drove to Arizona and had a drink at the bar. Arizona is only a few miles away. In Fredonia, AZ the town has set up a cop car with a mannequin in it to keep people from speeding through town. It sure is strange! We bought an Arizona lottery ticket so I may be a millionaire right now and not even know it. I can only hope.

Grand Canyon North Rim

Yesterday was mostly a work day so not much interesting to report. We did meet a few really nice folks in the park where we're staying and I put up the satellite dish, mostly by myself.

Today we set out for the north rim of the Grand Canyon. It took us a little while to get there because it was around 80 miles away. It was beautiful! We sat on the back patio of the lodge sipped a beverage while waiting for a ranger talk on geology to begin.

While we waited, two huge, endangered condors flew by relatively close overhead. It was awesome. They have wing spans up to 9 feet across. I think there are only around 60 in this area. Mike said he read that one chick was born last year but it died. Who knows how long these creatures will be around.

After the talk, we drove out to another area of the park called Cape Royal. The sun was getting low on the horizon and the colors were brilliant! There were a lot of photographers set up at this lookout and I can see why. There were a few clouds in the sky and it made for an awesome sunset!


The drive home was long and very dark. I have never seen so many deer and creatures on the sides of the road. At one point, something was sitting on the side of the road so I slowed down to see what it was, and as we pulled up we noticed it was an owl! It took off and flew through the light of the headlights. Too cool. We made it safely back to the RV.

Kanab, UT

Well...this morning I was really considering staying in Vegas another day if only to be able to sleep in longer and not have to get up to load up and drive. But we did get up after all and made it to Kanab, UT this afternoon. We decided to save some money and Mike needs to get some work done. The park we are staying at has free wireless. He tried to use the satellite internet but right now, he is not able to because of technical issues. Hopefully by the end of next week, he will be able to use the satellite and we will not be limited to parks with Wifi.

I have us staying here for about a week. We are positioned so that Zion N.P., Bryce N.P., the north rim of the Grand Canyon, and the Vermillion wilderness are not too far away. We have a picture of the Vermillion wilderness on our Rand McNally Atlas and it looks beautiful! With our arrival in Utah, we have also entered the Mountain time zone. Friends and family are only an hour ahead of us now and Mike's client on the east coast is only two hours ahead. The weather here is really nice. I'm looking forward to the week ahead.

Shopping

Most of today was spent shopping at the outlet malls. I managed to find a new dress to wear out tonight. Yeah! Yes, tonight we're going out again. Why not? it's Vegas and there are so many choices! We're trying to decide if we should stay another day and leave Sunday morning instead of Saturday morning. On one hand, we still have things we want to do here and on the other hand, they all cost money. I guess we will see how we feel in the morning.

The Atomic Testing Museum

I know it may sound strange but we heard about this little museum off the strip called The Atomic Testing Museum and since we had just driven through that area of Nevada, we decided to check it out. It was very interesting and kind of scary. They tested in the neighborhood of 800 atomic bombs out there in the desert, most of them below ground. I had no idea it was that many. On the way into Las Vegas, we drove past a town called Mercury and exit sign said there were no services, which I thought was strange. Why would a town not have a gas station? Because it was where all the people working on the atomic testing project used to work and be housed. I thought the museum and the exhibits were very good.

This is our first time to be in Las Vegas with a car and I have to say...I like it. It's really nice not to have to take a cab everywhere. Of course, our map software helps too.

That evening, we went down the strip to the MGM Grand for some dancing at Studio 54 and I hit a few slot machines on the way out. Mike was sweet and humored me as I flushed some money down the toilet. Around 2am we were getting hungry and went on a search for some cheap food. We ended up at Binion's in downtown Las Vegas. I lost a little more money there too but it was fun anyway. We drove around Vegas at night and managed to stay out of the dangerous areas. Back to the RV to sleep around 4am.

Las Vegas for the winter?

Recently, I have been trying to nail down a contract position for the winter months. About two weeks ago, I received an email, out of the blue, from a lady who staffs CRNAs for Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas. I have been in contact with her and things were looking pretty good so Mike and I decided to check out some RV parks were we could stay if I took the contract. We drove all over the place! Unfortunately, the only parks reasonably close to the base were in a kind of scary neighborhood and even though they had security gates, I don't think I would want to stay there for 4 months. The nicest park was too far away for Mike to be able to take me and pick me up from work. There were a few parks close to each other that seemed safe and a good community but the commute took 30 minutes in light traffic and hitting most of the lights when they were green. Too far if I have to be on call. Plus, I'm not sure Mike would have been able to get onto the base to pick me up because he wouldn't have a military ID. There were a few other issues so I guess it won't work out. It's too bad though because I think it would be so fun to live there for a few months. Maybe it's for the best because we probably wouldn't have been saving too much money. Anyway, the search continues.

After spending the afternoon in Las Vegas traffic, I treated myself to a manicure and pedicure and Mike waited for me at the bar across the way. They had Spaten Oktoberfest on draft. Yeah!

Later on we got spiffed up and went out on the town. We had a great time and rolled into bed around 3:30 in the morning.

Reno to Las Vegas

We left Reno around 11am and drove the 8+ hours to Las Vegas. At one point, Death Valley was 10 miles to our right and the Nevada Test Site was to our left. There's not much out there. The desert scenery was very nice with all the mountain ranges. It was pretty windy at times and we encountered some dust hazard warnings on the road. Since it was such a long drive, I drove for awhile. I think I'm becoming a little more comfortable with it. By the time we pulled into our RV park, it was after dark. Tomorrow we're going to scout around for RV parks that we could possibly stay in Nov-Jan. I have a possible contract in the area for that time. Hopefully all the details work out. I'm ready to know where we will be for the winter and make some plans.

Just another work day

Today is just another work day. Mike needed to be available to make updates on the work he did this weekend and I have been trying to make progress on my contract job search. It's mostly a lot of hurry up and wait. I call the agency, they call the hospital and I wait for them to call me back. Anyway, we have had to change our mailing address so I am trying to take care of that today also. I think we'll go sit by the pool for a while. I bought some Pina Colada mix and I can't wait to blend it up.

North Lake Tahoe

Michael completed most of his work by early afternoon so we took a drive out to north Lake Tahoe to look around. It was really pretty. Lots of cute little tourist towns and rental properties. We stopped at one beach and took our shoes off so we could wade in the water. It was very clear and kind of chilly, mostly a rocky bottom. During the rest of the day, I was able to sit outside and enjoyed the nice weather while Mike was mostly tied to his computer.

Reno, NV

This weekend will primarily be a working weekend for Michael so there won't be too much to report. During the morning, we took a drive around Reno to see if we could find the house Michael used to live in while he lived here in the 6th grade. This evening, we had a really good dinner at the casino where we are staying, plus it was buy one, get one free.

By the way, here is our view. It's really pretty when the sun sets and the sun's rays light up the mountain across the way.

Driving through snow!

We started out the day in Redding, CA. I think there was a forest fire near by. The whole area looks like it could burst into flame from a static spark it is so dry. Anyway, we could see the smoke in the air for the last few days. This morning you could smell it.

We took off around 9:30 so we could make it to our Camping World appt at 1pm. Mike was up late working so I drove and he slept in the passenger chair. Talk about trust. This was only the second time that I have driven on this trip and he was able to sleep through it. It was pretty easy driving on the interstate and I was comfortable enough that I may try it again someday...on the interstate. We switched drivers outside of Sacramento. Camping World agreed that the Even Brake was broken and exchanged it for a new one...so now we're on #4.

We decided to stay at a casino Rv park outside of Reno and on the way we drove over Donner Pass on I-80. It started to drizzle rain and then it turned to snow and it snowed pretty hard. I mean, it was accumulating on the windshield. How very strange! It was probably in the 80's when we left Sacramento, then an hour later, we're driving through snow. When we arrived in Verdi, 10 miles outside of Reno, the temp was in the 40's and it was 30mph winds.

Tonight we drove into Reno and checked out some of the casinos. It was pretty neat. Not Las Vegas, but I'd say the second best casinos I've been to. The bad news: I lost $15 on the slot machine. Good news: we had a huge dinner for only $12.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Mike and I drove to Lassen Volcanic National Park. It is a volcano in northern California that last erupted in 1914. There are still active geothermal areas in the park, which were similar to some of the features we saw in Yellowstone. We hiked out to an area called Bumpass Hell. Nice, huh? At one point, the explorer who found the area, Mr. Bumpass, was showing some people around and fell through an area of thin crust. His leg fell into a scalding mud pot and eventually he lost his leg. Yikes!

Anyway, many people climb to the summit of Lassen peak. It is a 5 mile round trip hike that gains 2000 feet elevation and takes 4-5 hours. If it was earlier in the day and we had warmer clothes on, I might have tried it. Lassen Peak in the background of the photo.

Today was the highest in elevation that we have been, I think. Mike said the second highest was in Yellowstone. We started out in Redding, CA where the elevation is around 100 feet (if memory serves from the population sign...somebody correct me if I'm wrong) and we ended up here...

Tomorrow we leave and head toward Lake Tahoe, NV. We will have to stop at a Camping World outside of Sacramento because our Even Brake has broken..again! This is the 3rd one! Anyway, we're not sure where we're staying yet so we'll have to figure it out in morning.

Outside of Redding, CA

Today seemed like a long drive. We drove from Crescent City, CA to just north of Redding, CA via Grant's Pass, OR. The highlight was that Mike got to stop at a Harbor Freight Tools and get a new "oogha" horn. The previous one died. We're at a nice little campground that has a pool. It feels like it's 100 degrees here so after setting up camp, we put on the swimsuits and sat out by the pool for awhile. We had it all to ourselves and it was pretty nice after a quick dip in the pool.
Tomorrow we're going to Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Redwoods

Today we drove through some of the groves that make up the Redwoods National Park and all the adjacent state parks. We are actually staying right next to one of the state parks and one of the better scenic drives is almost across the street. Here we are with some big trees. Can you spot me at the base of the tree?



Mike standing in front of the roots of a toppled giant.

We tried to drive down the coast to some of the scenic overlooks but the fog was thick and it made it difficult to see anything. It made for an interesting view. It reminded me of when you are flying in a plane and you are looking down on the clouds. We made the most out of it and relaxed on a picnic table. The sun was warm and the breeze was cool plus you could hear the ocean somewhere down below.

To Crescent City, CA

Drove to Crescent City. The road was pretty tight and winding in some spots but Mike handled it great. (Hwy 199 in CA) He has become quite the good RV driver. Good thing because driving still makes me nervous.

Waterfalls

Not too far from where we are staying are some waterfalls. Mike and I decided to hike out to see them. Mill Creek Falls is 173 feet and Barr Creek Falls didn't seem much smaller. It was really pretty and peaceful. We were the only ones there. Tomorrow we're driving south.

Flounce rock

Here are some other sites in the Crater Lake area. Mt. Thielsen is an old volcano. The pointy part is the hardened part where the lava came out. It was the hardest rock and has eroded the least, while all the outer rock has eroded away.

Here is the Rogue River Gorge viewpoint. Across the river, at the top of the rocks, the area that looks like a cave is actually a lava tube. As the lava flows, the outer layer hardens. The center lava flows out and leaves it hollow in the middle.

After the afternoon at Crater Lake, we drove up to Flounce Rock. I was told you could see the whole county from there. We took a 6 mile dirt road up to where the cell towers were. Flounce rock was a short walk away. It was AWESOME! Mike and I stayed up there and watched an absolutely beautiful sunset. These photos just couldn't capture it.

Crater Lake

Crater Lake was awesome. It was something I have always wanted to see and it turned out to be much larger than I thought it was. Approx. 6 miles across! Crater lake was actually Mt. Mazama, a volcano that collapsed on itself 7,000 years ago. Over thousands of years, it filled with water and is the deepest lake in the US, with a depth of over 1900 feet! There is actually a island in the lake that was an old lava dome. It's called Wizard island and you can buy a boat ride ticket out to the island. We didn't get a chance to do it but I think it would have been really interesting.


The day we were there, the view was somewhat hazy due to a lightning-caused fire close by in the park but it was still amazing.

We came across a strange looking area in the park. An area with almost no trees. This area of Oregon is covered with trees. It turns out it was a pumice desert. The pumice is so thick from the Mt. Mazama eruption that the trees cannot grow.

Prospect, OR

Today, we arrived in Prospect, OR, which is SE of Crater Lake National Park. After setting up camp, we parked ourselves outside for some wine and cheese. We opened one of the bottles we purchased in Port Angeles, WA. It was so nice outside!

When we checked in to the RV park, the camp host gave me a few different maps of the area that they had put together to show other areas of interest besides Crater Lake. We have a lot to see and may decide to stay an extra night in the area. The weather is supposed to be sunny with a temp in the low 80's. Sounds perfect to me.

The Spruce Goose

We left Astoria this morning and drove south with a stop for the night in Albany, OR. On the way, we stopped in McMinnville, OR to check out Howard Hughes giant wooden airplane, the Spruce Goose. It was pretty big. It took two photos to fit it in. Notice the lady on the landing area outside the doorway to the plane for scale.



This part of Oregon is known for it's wineries and we saw a ton of vineyards along the way. It was a beautiful area! After the stop at the Evergreen Aviation Museum, we relied on the Delorme software to get us back to I-5. At one point, it tried to take us over a ferry! Luckily, we changed course and didn't go too far out of the way. We stopped in Albany, OR for the night. That is just south of Salem. Neither of us felt like cooking so we ordered out chinese food and had the biggest egg roll I have ever seen. It looked more like a burrito, but...Yum, it was good! Anyway, next stop, Prospect, OR and Crater Lake. I'm so excited!

Taking it easy

We decided to stay another night at Kampers West so that today could be a work day. This evening, we had dinner at a local seafood place and it was great! This was the best seafood we have had since we arrived by the coast. Tomorrow we're back on the road for a short trip south. Along the way, we're going to stop and see Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose in McMinnville, OR and then end up somewhere around Salem, OR.

Labor day at Fort Stevens State Park

The other day when we were out, we stopped by the corner store/bait shop and asked about good places to fish with our poles and what to use. They told us about a fresh water lake in the State Park just down the road. So today, we bought out day fishing licenses and some bait and made out for the lake. We got a lot of bites and caught a few little trout. Honestly, we weren't going to eat them so I don't care if they were small. At least I caught a few, which is the fun of it. Here we are with the prize winning catch.


Fort Stevens State Park is on the tip of land where the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean meet. We drove along the beach and stopped to look at a really old wreck on the beach. It's called the Peter Iredale. Here is one end sticking out of the sand. (Strangers included for scale) The rest of it is pretty much buried except for a few pieces sticking out here and there.

Also at the state park is the name sake, Fort Stevens, which was in service from 1904-1944. You can tour the old Fort area and walk through a lot of old cement battlements from the WWII era. The guns have been removed but this fort was one of many guarding the Columbia river from enemy attack.

This last photo is of me looking down the river. I just wanted to show the fog over us and how across the river, it is sunny. Strange.

Astoria, OR

Today was a pretty full day. We started out going to the Astoria sunday market. This is an open air market held on 12th street during the summer months. They were selling all kinds of things from fresh fruit, flowers, baked goods, and craft items, to things for your pet. The food area boasted all kinds of local favorites.

Next, we drove to the Astoria Column. Here is the photo below.

It is situated on a hill overlooking the town of Astoria. The view from the top is awesome! While we were up there, the fog started to roll in. It was neat to watch from that vantage point.

We drove around some of the old neighborhoods here. Astoria is the oldest permanent settlement west of the Mississippi River. The streets were really steep heading up from the water way, like a mini San Franciso. Next, we drove past the Goonies house. :) It just wasn't the same as in the movie. This brought us back around the river area, where we saw some sea lions hanging out in a marina.



Down the street, we stopped at the Columbia River Maritime museum. I would highly recommend it. They had interesting displays about the coast guard, the river and it's traffic, and the local area. Plus, you could tour the lighthouse boat that they had docked outside. The day concluded by a trip a little bar we had seen near the campground. It was called Sipon'on and it had a sign outside with a big fish drinking a mug of beer as big as it was. Who could resist...we had to stop and get our Sipon'on. ;)

Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean

Today we arrived in the Astoria, OR area. It was a relatively short drive west from our campground near Mt. St. Helens. We stopped at a truck stop along the way that had a truck wash to rinse off the outside of the RV. The wash bay and equipment were so dirty that by the end of it, the outside of the RV was cleaner and we were dirtier. Oh well.

Originally, we had reservations at the KOA outside of Astoria. When I called over two weeks ago, they said this was the last full hookup spot that they had. After we checked in, we drove to the space and it was not going to work for us at all. The space was full of low tree limbs that we would have had to cut down or risk scraping up the paint job on the RV. Plus it was only a 30 amp site when we reserved a 50 amp. So there we were, on labor day weekend, in a full campground with a space that we could not fit in. Geez! I quickly called a campground down the road, and with my fingers crossed, asked if they had a space available....and they did. So Mike went up the office and got us a refund at the KOA.

We are now at Kampers West Kampground, which is definetly a fishermans campground. Boats everywhere! I have even seen a few of the campers here advertising guided fishing. Anyway, the spot only has 30 amp service but we're making it work and by switching campgrounds, we ended up saving almost $50. The neighbors are nice and I'm happy. Tomorrow is going to be a full day around Astoria and we'll probably do some fishing on Monday.

Mt. St. Helens

First of all, I have added some photos to the previous posts so scroll down if you want to see them.

We got out of our campground this morning around 9:30 and drove about an hour to the next campground near Mt. St. Helens. We plugged in the RV and hit the road to the visitors center, about 50 miles away.

The closer we got, the more we noticed a haze in the air. The plan was to take a helicopter tour around the crater but it was pretty windy and the haze was getting worse. As it turned out, the helicopters weren't flying due the wind and all the ash in the air. That's right, the haze was actually ash that had been stirred up from the riverbed and from the crater. When we arrived at the Johnston Ridge Observatory (named after a volcanologist who was doing research on the mountain at the time it erupted), the visitor center said the wind gust were 50-70mph! Just some freak weather as the day before they said it was crystal clear. Here they show a movie about the destruction that the eruption caused and then after the movie, the screen rises along with a curtain behind it and there you are, staring at the mountain that caused it all, only 5 miles away. The view was somewhat obscured due to the fine volcanic ash in the air but every now and then, through the binocular, you could see some steam rising from the crater and the new lava dome. Creepy!

(Check back for photos...Blogger difficulties)
Here are some photos of the mountain and the devastated valley below. The area below the mountain is landslide and ash deposit.

This shot shows the Toutle River Valley. Large mudflows went through here due to the landslide and the flooding caused by the glaciers melting from atop the volcano as it erupted. There are more trees in this area because it is owned by a logging company and they replanted it after the eruption.

On a good note, all the ash in the air made for a beautiful, vibrant sunset.