Walmart Rosedale Highway Bakersfield, California

Mileage:

We were at the Sacramento Airport  at 6am.  Kyle and Allison were flying back to Baltimore today…so it it just us again.  It is already quieter.

The plan today is to travel south on 5.  We will see how far we get.   The road follows the mountains of the Diablo Range.

We want to take 40 east across the country.  We passed right by the exit for Yosemite National Park.  We just cannot see everything on this trip.  We will have to come back someday to see more of California.

Today was  a gorgeous driving day.  It was sunny with a gentle breeze.

We passed through the San Joaquin Valley, known for agriculture.

We saw grapes growing.  There were cattle farms and egg ranches.  The farmers were threshing some sort of grain.  We saw trucks brimming with tomatoes, it must be the end of the harvesting season.  We saw lots of tomatoes that had bounced from the trucks and they lay on the roadside.

We saw olive trees. We saw rice fields.  California produces 85% of the rice in the United States and even sells it to Asian countries.  Who knew???

We saw tree nuts including pistachios, almonds, and walnuts.  There are these little nut picking machines that they drive through the orchards after shaking the trees.  The nuts were heaped in great piles and then dumped  into tractor trailers with a loader.  The nuts are then taken to a hulling and processing plant.

We exited 5 for awhile and went down 33S.  We were hoping to find a produce stand for some fresh fruits and vegetables.  Once we were off the highway it was very evident that we were in a working area.  It was a nice diversion.  We saw lots that we otherwise would not have seen.

It is so very arid here, the earth so very parched.  Everything is brown except for the crops.  It looks like a desert.  The grass makes good tinder.  There were many places where maybe a cigarette and a truck fire had ignited the grass beside the highway.

The air alternately smells like dust, smoke, pesticides, or fertilizer.  We saw several dust devils swirling and twirling in the dry air.  Garbage being carried along in the current.

The fight over water is a major debate here.  There were lots of signs posted beside the road:

“No Water=No Jobs”

“Is Growing Food a Waste of Water?”

“Congress Created a Dust Bowl.”

“Food Grows Where Water Flows.”

Today was about getting some miles accomplished.  We are spending the night in a Walmart parking lot.  We needed supplies and we knew we wouldn’t enjoy a campground much this evening.

Yolo County Fairgrounds Woodland, California

Mileage:  50,961

Today was about getting close to Sacramento.  The kids have  a plane that leaves at 7am tomorrow.  We traveled down Eureka Highway 299.  This is a scenic road through the Shasta Trinity National Forest.  The views were very pretty.  Curving road on mountain ledges followed the Trinity River.  We crossed the Salmon and Trinity Mountains.

At Whiskeytown National Recreation Area we noticed lots of scorched earth and blackened trees.  There was a humongous fire, the Carr Fire, along 299 this summer.  39,000 of the park’s 42,000 acres were devastated.  In addition, we saw several homes that burned in the blaze.  The air still smells like smoke and the sky is hazy.

At Redding, we turned onto 5S.  This is a major freeway that passes through orchards, hay fields, and other agricultural areas.  We saw more than 10 double tractor trailer loads of tomatoes and 3 more of onions.

The hay bales were stacked in open fields.

In the haze, we could see mountains to our west and off to the east.

Our campground is at the Yolo County Fairgrounds.  It is 11 miles from Sacramento International Airport.

Dinner at Father Paddy’s Irish Pub.

Redwood Coast Cabins and RV Resort Eureka, California

Mileage:  50,674

We reached California and the Redwood Highway early this morning.  Our first redwood tree sightings were from the RV as we drove down the highway.  We parked the RV alongside the road and packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for our hike.   We walked into the rainforest and it was so quiet and still.  I felt like I should whisper.  I had such a powerful sense of connection to this place.  It was my church today.  The immense grandeur of these ancient beautiful trees takes your breath away.  Being immersed among them with the sunlight beaming through the canopy was an uplifting and spiritual experience.  The smell was earthy and organic.  The breeze was pleasant and mild.

We saw some Roosevelt Elk on our way to the Kuchel Visitor Center.

We watched a film “The Land of the Giants.”

We stayed at the Redwood Coast RV Resort in Eureka.  The kids went out to a winery this afternoon.

Kyle treated us to a delicious dinner at Humboldt Bay Bistro.

Harris Beach State Park Brookings, Oregon

Mileage:  50,569

Highway 101.

We stopped for a blueberry pancake brunch along the coast.  This was a perfect picnic spot!

The Prehistoric Gardens featured life-sized replicas of dinosaurs in a rain-forest.  Walking around this place is a reminder that we are just here for a speck in time…

Harris State Beach was our home for tonight.  It was really foggy out on the beach but we had fun playing on the rocks anyway.

We enjoyed appetizers and drinks at a local distillery and then more drinks at a brewery.

We finished the evening with grilled wild caught salmon and s’mores by the campfire.

Sunset Bay State Park Coos Bay, Oregon

Mileage:  50,464

The Oregon Coast is AMAZING!  We passed over lots of bridges on our drive down the 101 today.

Kyle and Allison followed in the Jeep today.

A lighthouse along the way.

We had made reservations at Sunset Bay State Park.  There was a half moon beach as we entered.

This sea lion was resting in the surf

This area had a lot for us to see.

Simpson Reef was a haven for hundreds of California and stellar sea lions, elephant and harbor seals.  We could hear their barking and bellowing no matter where we were.  It was one giant testosterone induced bachelor party!

We drove to Cape Arago where we watched gray whales spouting and arcing out of the water.  We were even able to glimpse flukes as they dove deeper to feed.  Too far away for pictures…but a highlight of our day!

All of us having fun together!

Shore Acres had incredible rock formations on the bluffs and more walking paths.  Kyle and Allison climbed around on the rocks.

We had grilled shrimp for our dinner and then went out to watch the sunset from the cape.

Hot chocolate laced with amaretto to warm us up and Uno until bedtime…another great day!

 

Sutton Campground Siuslaw National Forest Florence, Oregon

Mileage:  50,435

Happy Birthday Mom!!  We love you and we miss you!!!

Our ride today continued along highway 101 on the Oregon Coast.

The views were intermittently spectacular.  Much of the time we were traveling through small towns and communities and then all at once we were treated to views of the Pacific.

We stopped at Devil’s Churn to walk.  Here the waves crash violently.

Today was the first day that we had to try a couple of campgrounds to find a spot.   We are farther from the beach than we wanted to be but the weather is gorgeous and we are all together!

Allison and Kyle had to go to town so that she could get some schoolwork done.

When they returned, the hammocks went up and we started a fire.

Fish tacos and fresh corn on the cob for dinner.  A good time was had by all!

Beverly Beach State Park Newport, Oregon

Mileage:  50,351

We got all of us out and ready to roll early in the morning.  Our goal today was to get to the beach.  We were looking for a lunch spot along the way.  We saw the Erratic Rock Natural Site on the map.  We put it in the GPS.  Kyle was excited because an erratic rock is a boulder carried a distance by a glacier, eons ago…Kyle wanted to climb.  We arrived at the site and it was a little bike path back into the wilderness.  There was no place to stop and no place to park the RV.  We were all a little disappointed including Tim’s adage of “ That was it?!?  We ended up in the back of an antique store in their parking lot.  We did get to see this old truck and this old bus.

Our first glimpse of the coast was breathtaking. (Lots of ooohhs and ahhhs from Allison and Kyle)

Traveling on we found Beverly Beach State Recreation Area.  They had a path that led to the beach underneath of an intricate arched bridge which we have found to be typical here in Oregon.  We walked about a mile down the beach and then spent time just looking at the water while sitting on a bench.

Later we decided to go into the town of Newport for dinner.  We went to Clearwater Restaurant where we heard the food was good and there was great entertainment.

We were seated at a table with a view of the water.  There was a lot happening out in the harbor.  The pelicans were diving, fishing boats were coming and going. And the sea lions on the platforms below the restaurant were barking (arfing?).  We had so much fun watching it all.  The food and wine were good and the company was wonderful.

After dinner we went down to the dock to see the sea lions closer. There were about 6 platforms and almost 40 sea lions. We had learned at dinner that they were all males who were camping out north in Oregon after mating season down in California. It was amazing to see how their social circles worked with them snuggling so close. The older males would demand their own space and were fast to voice their displeasure at the younger buddies trying to hop on their platform.

We all agreed that this would be an evening to remember and that today was a very good day!

Guest Contributors: Allison and Kyle

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, work for tomorrow.” – Albert Einstein and Tim Pearce

 

Millersylvania State Park Olympia, Washington Day 2

Today I was excited and looking forward to Kyle and Allison arriving this evening.

We took a drive to the town of Olympia.  There is a harbor there right on Puget Sound.  They have a great little farmer’s market.  The vegetables, flowers and breads were all artfully arranges.  The apples and radishes all polished and perfect.  We got fresh corn, beets, zucchini and squash, and cinnamon bread.

We walked around the harbor in the intermittent rain without umbrellas.  There was a rainbow for most of the morning.

We had lunch there before heading back.  I spent the rest of the day getting ready.  The flight was delayed.  I left at 3:45 and got to SEA-TAC at 5:30.   The kids called at 6:00 and at last they were in the car and we were on our way back to the RV.

Tim had a fire ready.  We drank wine and had tapas, grilled brie, grilled sweet peppers with goat cheeses and honey, smoked salmon with cream cheese, and bruschetta.

Today was a very good day!

Millersylvania State Park Olympia, Washington

Mileage:  50,163

We decided to travel to Olympia so that we could get our errands done and so we wouldn’t be too far from SEA-TAC International Airport.  We were settled in by noon.  I worked on cleaning out the Jeep and Tim worked on the windows and wheels.

We took a break to walk in the woods.  We did the 3.8 mile perimeter trail.  The weather was mild and the trail was pretty flat.  It was a nice walk.

We saw this woodpecker.  He doesn’t look like any we have at home.  His head was a burgundy color.  I think maybe a red-breasted sapsucker!?!  I just learned that sapsuckers drill evenly spaced rows of holes in trees and then use the sap in the holes to attract insects.

It was nice to stroll along and really look at the details.  This leaf is bigger than Tim’s foot.  It comes from a bigleaf maple tree.  The leaves can be as large as a foot across.  The trees can grow 100 feet tall and the trunks can be 5 feet in diameter.

There were other large firs trees as well.  This tree was broken at the top but it was well over 120 feet tall.

 

We saw two of these garter snakes.

This squirrel likes pine cones.

Three kinds of tiny mushrooms.

Berries.

The rest of the day was spent getting groceries and cooking for company!!

Lake Sylvia State Park Montesano, Washington

Mileage:  50,114

Today started with a terrible grinding noise that turned out to be the motor to the steps.  Tim worked on trying to fix them while I did lots of laundry at the Speedy Wash Laundromat in Hoquiam.  The steps were not repairable.  We found a way for them to stop ejecting and headed to the Walmart for a new stepping stool.

After the Walmart, we headed for Lake Sylvia State Park.  Tim didn’t feel well so he rested this afternoon.  Later, he went for a walk around the lake and had to double back when the trail was flooded by a beaver dam.

While Tim was walking, I was cleaning.  We are having Kyle and Allison here on Saturday and I have lots to do to get ready.

While we were having dinner, I noticed big ripples in the water and I could hear noises coming from behind the bushes.  It was a river otter crunching on some shellfish.  We had fun watching him fish and eat.  He was the highlight of the day!

Our view from our campsite.

Our campfire.