Month: June 2014

WELCOME TO OREGON

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imageAhhh!  Back in beautiful Oregon!  Clean, clear air, cool weather, and absolutely beautiful scenery.

imageCrater Lake.  1943 feet deep and the purest water on earth.  The ranger told us that this year they only had 22 feet of snow when the average is 44′.  The Rim Road was still closed so we enjoyed lunch at the lodge and a stroll along the south rim.

imageAfter Crater Lake we went to Bend.  The drive there is through high desert plateaus and lava fields.  I was tut-tutted for disliking the Mojave and Death Valley, so I will say I can appreciate the vast desolateness of those two places but as far as deserts are concerned, I prefer these  high deserts or the Southwestern red deserts.  Anyway.  We lived in Bend from 1979-1981 and although it has exploded in population, it is still one of our favorite places.  The pic above is of the Three Sisters as seen from the Lava Lands park.  Eileen is severely slowed down so we missed a lot of great things to see, but we still had fun.

 

imageSunday we went to Sisters and I was totally enchanted by finding Cinderella’s coach there!  Sisters is a fun little cowboy town and sadly we missed both the rodeo and quilt show.  A reason to come back!

imageContinuing Sunday we went to spectacular Smith Rocks and watched climbers crawl up the face of the vertical lava tubes  and also a group doing yoga on the summit as an homage to the Summer Solstice.

imageAnd finally, Mark has been on a beer binge since his heart surgery so we went to Deschutes Brewery for dinner and a few drinks.  The picture is a clever way of pointing us tourists to the restrooms!  Don’t you just love it?  More Oregon to come!!

 

 

CALIFORNIA

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imageWe are sitting Oceanside in Pacifica, California where about ten feet of the cliff fell off into the ocean.  Thrilling!  We have driven to Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, and Capitola where we had a delicious meal at the Stanford Bridge Grille.  Yum.  We also went into ‘ The City’ to Golden Gate Park and then to Union Square and Chinatown.  Boy, did my feet hurt!  But I did get in my 10,000 steps.  Best of all, I saw my buddy of 66 years, Suzan.  When we get together it’s like we’ve been apart for a day.  Good friends last forever!  Also met Bill and Eileen’s daughter Jenny, her husband Magnus, and their kids Sebastian and Sophia.  What fun!  And we ate at another great spot, the Top Notch in Alameda.  Tomorrow we shove off again for an intermediate stop in Redding before getting to Crater Lake, one of my favs!  After that to Bend for a few,days.  Oh!  Eileen fell at Yosemite  and broke her foot so we will also find an orthopaedist there who can make sure she is doing okay.  What fun is it if nothing ever happens?

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BIG TREES, BIG MOUNTAINS, BIG CANYONS

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Sequoias.  The largest trees in the world.  In a national park that also has Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the lower 48.  Kings Canyon National Park.  The largest wilderness area in the lower 48.  Theses words do not express the majesty of the area nor the beauty we encountered.   No mere words can do these parks justice.

imageThe giant sequoia called The Sentinal.  See Mark in the shadow?  Compare the tree to the flagpole!

imageParker’s Grove of seven huge trees.

imageHe Sierra Nevada in the background.  Mt. Whitney doesn’t show up here.

imageOverlook into King’s Canyon.

so, two national parks in one area, of course, too much to see entirely in one day, but we made a good effort.  Stay tuned for more adventure!

 

DEATH VALLEY

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imageI get my finger into lots of pics!image Still trying to figure out what Cat House souvenirs are.

imageYes it was damn hot!imageimageUbehebe Crater.  Not the lowest place, but the most interesting place we managed to see.  Must say I never want to come back here.

NEVADA (‘NUF SAID)

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imageOn to Nevada.  Two nights in Las Vegas and rejoined by Bill and Eileen.  Went to Red Rocks Canyon and The Strip.  What else can I say.

imageOn the way, in Arizona we hit something and creamed the dust catcher on the back of the bus.  Yeesh!

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UTAH. LIFE ELEVATED.

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That is the slogan on the license plate and boy!  Have we been there!  Literally and figuratively.

imageThis is Capitol Reef National Park which, at first, I thought was going to be a bust but as we turned corner after corner, it just wowed us.  We are struggling without good internet service but this place is worth the time it takes to download pictures for you to see.

image Here the rocks are so twisted, tortured, convoluted, crushed, and contorted it is unbelievable.  The vistas are enormous or crowded with formations in a rainbow of colors.  This valley was settled by Mormons in 1880 and the last family left in 1969.  Their homestead is still used as a museum and snack shop.  Here’ what we had!  I told mark that eating these great Utah pastries is what gave me such shapely hips!

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We watched a storm cross over the cliffs hitting the ground with lightening, we saw petroglyphs, smelled a dead deer, and marveled at the wonder of Mother Nature.  Eileen is suffering from altitude sickness as we are at 7000 feet.  The name derives from the fact at many of the formations are domed to mimic the Capitol dome and the bottoms are like an ocean reef which inhibits travel.

 

Our next location took us  Bryce Canyon.  What an awesome place this is!  We hiked the hoodoos and enjoyed going to all the scenic overlooks.  Bill and Eileen had to leave two days early to go to St. George to get their refrigerator fixed.  It was like withdrawal when they left, but we managed on our own.

imageWe hiked more hoodoos and marveled at the beauty of this place.  But, I forgot the most stirring event!  Here is the road we drove on from Capitol Reef to Bryce.  Hang on, the ride was terrifying!!

image imageHard to tell, but this was a ridgeback which dropped off into a mountain valley thousands of feet below.  What a ride!  Hang on.