Day 76 Downey, CA to Las Vegas, NV

Posted on by September 9, 2015
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Day 76 7/13/15
We left Downey with mixed emotions – sad to be leaving our family and our friends but happy to be heading East toward more adventures and in a couple more thousand miles, home.
Solar Furnace

The road to Las Vegas from the Los Angeles area is straight, wide and fast.  While we delighted in the desert and mountains and Joshua trees, the most interesting sight along the way was three huge towers with what appeared to be searchlights on top of them. We learned that these are a massive solarfurnace generating 400MW.
About 4pm, we checked I at the Hitching Post RV park near Nellis AFB just NE of Las Vegas.
Odometer: 85199 Miles Today: 299 Total Miles: 7910

Day 72-75 Buellton, CA to Downey, CA area

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Day 72-75 7/9-12/15

Thursday: We dumped tanks and took on water in preparation for several days of driveway living then got on the road about 9:30 for an uneventful day of driving in Southern California traffic.  Lunch in Thousand Oaks and arrived at Lee and Gary’s place around 2:30.  All I can say is that we were alive.

Many hugs, kisses and a great Mexican dinned (with adult beverages to soothe the nerves) rounded out the evening.

Friday: We drove to the old stomping grounds in Torrance and all around the South Bay area then drove to Cypress to visit long lost friends Tim & Paula.  The three of us had been best friends when younger but had lost touch almost 40 years ago and I admit to more than a little anxiety seeing them after so long.  Fears were unnecessary and after a few minutes we began catching up on old times.

Evening and dinner with Lee and Gary – chili!  (Gary is going to make us fat.) Lots of catching up on family – children, grandchildren old folks gone and new ones arriving.

Saturday: Morning with Lee and Gary then we went back to spend the afternoon and evening with Tim & Paula.  We talked for hours and they prepared a fantastic dinner.  More catching up and it was time to say goodbye.  We are going to meet them on their countrywide trip this Fall.

Sunday: Lee and I spent the morning working with the family tree and then in the afternoon, the whole family showed up for a cookout and catching up on lives, loves and family.
Odometer: 84900 Miles This Post: 265 Total Miles: 7611

Day 71 King City, CA to Buellton, CA

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Day  71 7/8/2015
 

Paso Robles, CA

If we had driven a full day today, we would have arrived in Los Angeles during the afternoon rush hour so we opted for a short day.  The driver got a haircut  and the drivee did it. 
We got on the road around 11:25 and continued South on 101.  We stopped in Paso Robles, CA for lunch and wine.  Lunch at the Odyssey World Café accompanied by an excellent Zinfandel.

We stopped at about 4:30pm at the Flying Flags RV Resort in Buellton where we spent the rest of the afternoon doing the laundry and cleaning up the Pleasure Way.
Odometer: 84635 Miles Today: 150 Total Miles: 7346

Day 70 Salt Point State Park, CA to King City, CA

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Day 70 7/7/2015

We continued along Route 1 to Bodega Bay and Stinson Beach before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge a little before noon.

We decided that since we had already driven the entire Route 1 South of San Francisco, we would skip the slower coastal route and take 101 through the Salinas Valley.  Different scenery and excellent progress.

Our destination for today was the Regional Park in King City.  The park was a bit run down but the drought has hit this area hard and the main feature of this park was the Salinas River (now dry). 

The pond and turtles made Mary happy and we had a relaxing evening here.  (Note: I made the mistake of driving into the low covered side of a gas station yesterday and snapped off our TV antenna – was able to climb up top today and remove the broken head so it wouldn’t cause more damage.  I’ll replace it when I get home.)
Odometer: 84485  Miles Today: 270  Total Miles: 7296

Day 69 Crescent City, CA to Salt Point State Park, CA

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Day 69 7/6/2015
 

Sunset at Salt Point

We left Mills Creek at about 8:39 and earlier than usual because we had been here for 5 days and felt the need to get on with our trip.
We left 101 and got onto “The Highway of the Giants:” near Scotia, CA but by Shively, we were ready to return to 101 and make some progress.

At Leggett, we left 101 again to follow Hwy 1 along the coast.  However, after 25 miles od the twistiest road so far this trip, we began to regret this decision.  In our first two hours on Hwy 1, we had covered only 35 miles!
 

View from our campsite.

Toughing it out, we managed to get all the way to Salt Point State Park near Stewarts Point, CA.

The regular campground was full but we opted for the overflow area and were treated to a beautiful view of  the sunset.  We received news of the death of our good friend Dick Witham and decided to accelerate our return to the Village for his memorial on the 23rdof July.
Odometer: 84225 Miles Today: 293 Total Miles: 7026

Day 65-68 Mill Creek Campground, Crescent City, CA

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Day 65-68 7/2-5/2015
 

Our home among the Redwoods

Thursday began with a lazy start – we are getting better at lazy as the trip progresses.  After lunch, we headed to Point St. George and Castle Rock.  At the point, we walked down to the beach and strolled along to the North for a mile or so then we decided to climb the hill above the beach and walk back to the parking lot via whatever trail we might find up there. 
OOPS!, No trail.  We could see the van but the more we tried to head for it, the more the vegetation and ravines seemed to oppose out effort.  At one point, we found ourselves walking through thick chest high grass and brambles.
An exhausting hour later, we arrived at the van swearing to stick to known trails in the future.  On the way back to camp, we spotted several likely places to visit tomorrow.
Friday, off to the cliff drive in Crescent City.  This road is sandwiched between beautiful homes and spectacular rock formations in the sea.  We stopped at several turnouts and at one descended to beach level and walked the shore – returning by the same path.  We visited a few local woodcarving shops and some local craft makers but with our space limited we settles for some driftwood and rocks picked up on the beach.

Grilled brats and added a Caesar Salad for our yummy supper then watched a movie and crashed.
Saturday the 4th: The campground was nearly empty as everyone seemed to be off for the numerous parades, fireworks shows and beach parties.  We seniors, however, took a long trail walk along Mill Creek and through the giant Redwoods.  While most of the trees in this area are 2nd growth and only 4-6 feet in diameter, there are hundreds of old growth stumps and a few trees that are 10-15 feet or more in diameter. 

We loafed around the campground enjoying the peace and quiet and reflecting on how fortunate we are to be able to take a trip like this. 
Mary got a case of clean and organizitis today and passed some along to me.  We cleaned cabinets, organized storage, installed a cooling fan on the refrigerator and cleaned out the basements (we have 2!)

Sunday: We dumped our tanks and refilled the fresh water in preparation for our departure tomorrow then headed to town for supplies – groceries, paper towels, RV tank pellets and a few odds and ends. 

Returning to camp, we discovered 5 tents on the adjoining campsite, a couple of kids per tent and no adults in site.  The rangers pulled up and questioned the kids and went to find the adults.  It is as yet unclear how that will shake out but the group next door will certainly make us less reluctant to leave in the morning.

It is looking overcast like it might rain so we decided to pack up this evening.  I am not fond of stowing wet gear on a rainy morning.

Odometer: 83931 Miles Today: 33 Total Miles: 6733

Day 64 O’Brian, OR to Crescent City, CA

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Day 64 7/1/2015
On the road at 10am again (this just seem to be out time) and crossed into California about 20 minutes later.  The inspection was short and painless and by 11:30 we were at the Redwoods NP visitor center begging for a place to camp for the weekend (no way did we want to be on the road over the 4th).
We pulled into a “Botanical Trail” and stopped for a little exercise and education.  The most spectacular thing here was a pond just jammed full of pitcher plants (the carnivorous plants that trap bugs in their flower and them force then to continue down into a fluid that digests them).

The ranger pointed us to the Mill Creek Campground and told us to be there at 12 when they would open up first-come one-night sites for the day but not to hold our breath over longer term sites as the holiday weekend was likely booked.

On the way to Mill Creek, we drove through a large grove of very large Coastal Redwoods, beautiful giants tall and stately but not as thick as I remember the Sequoias.
Pulling to the gate at 12:05, I sheepishly asked it there might be a site available through the weekend and, wonder of wonders, there was one available so we booked it at $17/day with our senior pass, hung out reserved sign on the site and headed to town for lunch!

Mary was suffering Mexican Food withdrawals so we headed to a likely place she noticed on the way through town this morning.  After lunch, we picked up supplies at the Safeway and headed back to the campground to get organized and to grill some burgers and asparagus.

Off to sleep among the giants.
Odometer: 83898  Miles Today: 111 Total Miles: 6700

Day 63 Toketee Lake Campground to O’Brien, OR

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Day 63 6/30/2015

Ran refrigerator on Propane last night – worked ok.  Left camp right at 10am and headed up the mountain to Diamond Lake (a large collapsed caldera with a beautiful deep lake and brilliant blue color).

We continued into Crater Lake NP at the North entrance – our first look at the lake was breathtaking – incredible deep blue color, Wizard Island off toward the West and volcanic mountains in every direction.

We headed East on Rim Drive and stopped at a dozen or more pullouts with each offering a very different view of the lake.

Late lunch in a park in Shady Cove, Or then back on the road to Grants Pass to pick up Mary’s prescriptions that I had called in last week. We left Grants Pass on US199 heading SW towards California and Redwoods, NP.

We continued to O’Brian, OR and the Lone Mountain RV Resort.  Excellent RV park with first class facilities, level sites, well landscaped grounds and obviously cared for by its owners. We took advantage of the facilities and did our laundry, dumped and filled and prepared for the California Ag inspection bt demolishing the last of our fresh fruits.
Odometer: 83789 Miles Today: 200 Total Miles: 6589

Day 62 Washburn SP, Oregon to Toketee Lake NFS Campground, OR

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Day 62 6/29/2015

On the roar at 9:00 am with our first stop for groceries in Florence – we have been told to watch the fresh fruits & veggies at the California border so we are purchasing only enough for 3 days.

We drove to the Oregon dunes at the Suislaw Jetty in Florence. Impressive seashore with lots of driftwood and the dunes beginning to encroach on the 30 year old jetty.

We headed inland at Hwy 30 and followed the Umpqua River East.  We missed the junction for Hwy 138 at Elkton, OR and had to backtrack to head down 138 to join I 5 at Sutherlin, OR and head South to Roseburg, OR where we left the interstate and headed up the mountains on 138 now following the North Umpqua River.  It was very hot along I5 and didn’t begin to cool off until we passed Steamboat Springs around 2000ft.

We kept climbing past 2500ft and decided to camp for the night at Toketee Lake NFS Campground.  No services but nice and quiet along a creek.  We shared the campground for 50+ with only 1 other rig (a couple from the Oregon Coast with their two grandchildren).

NFS camping is only $5.00 with the Federal Senior Pass so with the propane fridge now working, we’ll make more use of them during the remainder of our trip.

Odometer: 83589 Miles Today: 179 Total Miles: 6389

Day 61 Jetty Fishery RV Park to Carl G. Washburn SP, Oregon

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Day 61 6/28/2015  

While much of Washington, Oregon and California are suffering under a massive heat wave,  we awoke to light rain and a 59 degree morning.  We watched CBS Sunday Morning then began packing for today’s run. We were unenthusiastic about leaving as the lure of the crab shack called us to another day but by 10am, we were packed and back on the road again.

Our first stop was the Tilamook Cheese factory at 10:30.  We joined the other 10,000 early risers this morning.  I didn’t know there were this many people on the Oregon Coast.  We joined the fray and enjoyed the visit.

As we continued down 101, we were struck by the awesome beauty of this coast.  We passed through Beaver, Hebo, Colverdale and Lincoln City.  From massive vertical rock formations to beautiful sandy beaches and the flat topped lava beds of Cape Perpetua, they all are beautiful.

The one scene we didn’t enjoy was the traffic – in every town, there was a near gridlock condition as masses of Portland dwellers flocked to the sea to beat the heat.  We had planned to make our turn toward Crater Lake at Coos Bay before settling in for the night but the traffic had slowed our progress and we were tiring fast so when we saw that Carl G. Washburn State Park (just North of Florence) had some available spots, we stopped for the night.
We’ll regroup in the morning and choose our route inland.
Odometer: 83410  Miles Today:125  Total Miles:6210