March 30, 2008 Travel thru Oregon into Washington

Our travels today took us thru the mountains, the valleys, the mountains again, the mountain plateau (or another high desert) and the valleys again. Route 97 thru Oregon has some incredible scenery and the WOW factor continues:

We crossed over the Columbia River and into Washington:

And are staying at the Legends Casino in Toppenish. For signing up for their Players Card, we received free buffet meals - how wonderful. We played the slots for a while but lost all our money - total of $6.00 (I know, we are the last of the big spenders - LOL)

Tomorrow we should reach Sandy and Mikes and we will be there until after Easter when we head to Alaska.

Miles Traveled: 362 miles
Routes Traveled:
CA: SR-139
OR: SR-139; US-97

March 28 - 29, 2009 - Lava Beds National Park

We traveled a total of 43 miles today to Tule Lake, California. The main reason is that the route we were going to take north is anticipating snow, ice, etc. So we decided to stay in this area until Monday. We are camped at the Tule Lake - Butte Valley Fairgrounds - full hookups at a good price. Our only neighbor left this morning and we are the only ones here.


First the stats:
Miles Traveled: 43 miles
Routes Traveled:
CA: US-97; SR-161; SR-139


Once we arrived, Andy charged the Tracker battery - it was dead this morning. Since we have been traveling, we kept the key in the ignition and the braking system on - bad move. So we will not be doing that again.

This afternoon, we took a drive to Lava Beds National Monument. Our first stop was Petroglyph Point:

From there we took a leisurely ride to the Visitor’s Center stopping at a few places along the way:

As we were leaving the park, we saw four mule deer. This little one didn’t move except to blink her eyes:

The wind started to pick up late afternoon and stayed that way all night - 35 MPH gusts so the MH was rocking and rolling.

We woke Sunday to 26 degrees (brrr), lots of wind, and just plain cold. We made our trip to Lava Beds and checked out the Mushpot Lava Tube:

This is how the tubes are formed (yes I copied): “Lava is about 1800 F when it pours from the volcano. The outer edges and surface of the flow cool rapidly and begin to harden. This outside shell acts as insulating material while the rest of the flow beneath it remains hot and fast-moving. The flow continues on. When the eruption stops and the river of lava drains, a tunnel or tube - the outer shell - is left.”

Mushpot is the only tube that is lit and has interpretive panels. We did not check any other ones out because we were TOO COLD!! So we are hoping to come back and do some more exploring and hiking on our way back down.

With the wind blowing, it has picked up a lot of dust from the fields. So we are seeing dust all over (and all over the inside and outside of the motor home - Yikees!!)

Late afternoon and evening, we just tried to stay warm. The last picture of the day:

Until tomorrow!

Oh! One more thing - I checked the amount of hits that my blog has had and I am now over 10,000 - How about that!!

March 27, 2008 - Another Scenic Day in CA

We left Yuba City and headed north. We went from the valley:



Passed by Shasta Lake:

And Mount Shasta:

Mount Shasta is one of the mountains on the Ring of Fire - just like Mount Redoubt in Alaska that is still an active volcano.

We are camped at the Butte Valley Wildlife Area near Macdoel, CA. Can you believe this:

Can you find our RV in the above picture?

I continue the WOW factor and the thankfulness to the Lord above to be able to do this and see this!

Miles Traveled: 228 miles
Routes Traveled:
CA: US-99; I-5; US-97

March 26, 2009 - Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday, dear Diane
Happy Birthday to me!!!

And many more!!!

Yes, today is my birthday. We left Hawthorne, Nevada under low clouds:

Passed by Walker Lake:

Through the High Desert:

To the mountains around Reno:

From there we went thru Donners Pass (a lot of history in this pass and many movies made about it):

How about that snow and mountains!

To the valley around Lincoln and Yuba City:

We are staying at a Wal-Mart in Yuba City and we celebrated my birthday at a local restaurant.

Tomorrow we continue to head north.

Miles Traveled: 284 miles
Routes Traveled:
NV: US-95; US-50; I-80
CA: I-80; SR-65; SR-70; SR-20

March 25, 2009 - The High Desert in Nevada

We continued our travels today on US-95 in Nevada. This route takes us through the high desert and the WOW factor continues:

The different colors/layers of the mountains:


The snow on the mountains:

The little places in the middle of nowhere:

And the road that goes on and on:

And even more incredible sights:

Oh my! Oh my! Oh my!

God’s colors - so intense!

We had lunch here:

In the past few months we have been in various parts of the desert and each one is so different. Not all cactus grow in the same places; some areas only have scrub brush; some areas have tree-type brush; some areas are rocky; some areas are sandy; some area are graveling; and most are dusty. There are flat areas and dunes and large and small mountains and large and small buttes. There are areas where the small mountains look like a big pile of dirt! The sunrises; the sunsets; and the stars! I have fallen in love with this place!

I belong to a Days End/Boondocking Group and we made a few stops to verify some listings plus to check out the places for us to stay in the future.

We are camped at the El Capitan Casino in Hawthorne, Nevada - a great little place. For free, we are able to camp, dump, get water, and we even got a free buffet dinner. Andy and I gambled a bit and came out even - how nice. Hawthorne is a small town located right next to the snow covered mountains - how beautiful!

Stats:
Miles Traveled: 311 miles

Routes Traveled:
Nevada: US-95

I will leave you with one last picture:

Until tomorrow!