19 May ‘07

Saturday

Last night we met a great couple and will look forward to staying in touch with them as we travel.  This morning we are once again underway.  Back onto Hwy 139 and heading towards Klamath Falls Oregon.  One thing that is nice about not having a schedule to keep, we were able to divert our first route and take another.  This one will take us off 139 and deep into the Lava Beds National Park.  We almost went passed the turn off, but Louise was quick to call my attention to it just in time.  The road off of 139 turned out to be much narrower and filled with a heck of a lot of pot holes.  None the less we were on our way (hell we couldn’t have turned around if we had wanted to…).  We traveled this “roadway” for about 15 miles and then, just out of nowhere, the road turned to a very nice and wide 2 lane.  As it turned out, this nice new and wide 2 lane was the “rear” entrance to the Lave Beds National Park…we had come in the back door.  After finding the Visitors Center, checking in to their campground, and having lunch, we were on our way to see some of the many sites they have here.  The first site was a 2 mile hike that took us up to Schonchin Butte.  The Butte was made of a lava push that extended up to 5302 feet or about 400 feet above the valley below and housed the fire lookout for the area.  From there we headed onto Black Crater (which also spurt lava over a huge area), and the Thomas-Wright Battlefield (this is a very important battle area between the Modoc Indians and the U.S.Army in 1872).  Next we were off to see the petroglyphs at Petroglyph Point.  We have been very fortunate in seeing some wonderful petroglyphs in Arizona so we were a little disappointed in these here in the Tule Lake area.  I guess I have to take into consideration that these petroglyphs date back much farther than any we have seen before.  These petroglyphs have been dated by “wave cut analysis back to a period between 2500 to 4500 years ago.    One thing that was unusual about these, they were scribed into the soft rock of a large and tall “island” that sat in the middle of a large lake (Tule Lake).  At that time Tule Lake was more than 5 time larger and deeper than it is today.  We were able to drive to the base of this “island” and observe the carvings high on the walls. 

18 May ‘07

Friday

9:15 this morning we had a visitor.  Lance from one of the satellite installation companies was out first thing to register our new satellite internet system and give me a brief description of how and what to do in setting it up.  I have been warned many times from just about everyone that has one of these systems that it just isn’t easy to set up   If you are lucky it will only take 20 to 30 minutes, but most often it is going to take much longer.  Lance got it set, running, and registered in just over 20 minutes, which was also my total instruction period.  I hope that God will be watching over me as I get into setting this system up and give me a little help.  Lance had no sooner left and we were pulling every thing down and putting it away for we had to check out before 11am.  We are continuing our drive north on 395 to Reno and then into California and onto Oregon.  Beyond Reno we are on “new” (to us…) roads.  When we hit Susanville (which was the alternate route taken by the pioneers instead of Donner Pass) we came out of Long Valley and started up a very steep and winding road for the next 4 miles.  It was one of those roads that gave us an unforgettable view of the valley below.  It was also one of those roads that is sooo narrow that on the passenger side it feels like you could almost go over the cliff at any moment.  Louise LOVED it….  A couple of hours later we were looking for a place to park for the night.  We have now gone from desert sage brush to large pine forests and just as we were thinking that we would have to go on for miles on miles for a campground, we found Modac National Forest and our next campsite.  As we pulled in it was obvious that we were the only camper there.  The gate was open so we set ourselves up.  A little later we did have company.  Jim and Kathy Kirby drove in with their motor home followed a little later by another camper in a tent.  Jim was out walking his dog and I asked him and Kathy if they would like to join us for a glass of wine after dinner, which they did.  We had a great chance to exchanging travels stories and we picked up a lot of interesting places we will have to visit soon. 

17 May ‘07

Thursday

I sure hope that we have experienced the last of this exhaust system problem.  Tuesday we were directed to this repair shop by our insurance company.  After we arrived we were told that to fix the burned “basement” compartment we would have to wait about 4 to 5 weeks for the parts to arrive.  In regards to the exhaust system they would have to “farm” it out to another company.  Well the wait was impossible so we decided to go directly to the muffler company and get that part fixed immediately.  Luckily enough we were able to get in that same afternoon.  Now to get all the paper work and pictures to the insurance company.  When we arrived back to the campground, we found that the systems to put our hydraulic jacks down and the system to extend our rooms didn’t work. 

This has been a day !!!  We decided to stay the night as we were, but in the morning we were back in the shop to see just what the heck happened.  They tried to find what could have happened but without any luck.  The next door neighbor happened to be a RV dealership so we went over there to see if they could help us.  Again we were lucky…  They could spend a couple of hours on it and if they were a little lucky I could leave with the jack and slide systems working.  Well it wasn’t 2 hours but 3, and after picking up the tab for $300 we were on our way again.  Now it is time to meet with Sandy and pick-up the internet satellite system.  It is good to see Sandy again.  Her new home here in Carson City is absolutely beautiful.  Tomorrow morning we will be meeting with the “installers” of this satellite system and then we will be heading north one more time, Amy’s graduation in Coeur d’Alene is getting closer.

It sometimes becomes a mess trying to keep up with our journal.  If we have internet access at our campgrounds, I am able to keep up but if we don’t and I don’t write each night…well let’s just say that sometimes I just miss writing about something that we really enjoyed.  While we were in Lee Vining we were within ¾ mile to the Tioga Pass turn off from 395.  Also, the morning that we arrived in Lee Vining was the morning that they opened Tioga Pass.  Tioga Pass is the pass that takes you across the Sierra Nevada Mountains and into Yosemite National Park.  We didn’t think we would be here when it opened but with the light snow pack they had this last winter, they were able to open a month early.  The scenery was just what you would expect…absolutely stunning.  Fortunately we were driving our “toad” as we traveled from as low as 200 feet above sea-level to as high as 13,014 when we went across the summit of Mount Lyell.  Yosemite is covered with Granite Domes that look as smooth as a bowling ball from the distance but when you stop and walk out onto them, you have a smooth surface.  Because of it being granite, you have great traction so we took advantage of it and tracked all over the sides of these huge mountain tops.  Our destination for the day was to cross the pass and then onto the visitor center at Yosemite Village, which was about 70 plus miles away and took us over 3 hours to get there.  The whole route was filled with beautiful scenery and look outs to even more, but when we arrived down at the village…WOW…  We had seen “Half Dome” from the distance, just after we crossed over Tioga Pass, but now we were right underneath it.  We also were right at the base of Bridal Vail Falls, Yosemite Falls, and El Capitan to name a few.  To think we saw it all…no possible way…but to say we had a great time and would come back…without a doubt. 

13 May ‘07

Sunday

Happy Mothers Day !!!

After breakfast of Sausage and Pancakes we were off to travel the June Lake Loop Road.  This loop took us a few miles up into the Lee Vining Canyon with snow and waterfalls on each side of the road.  On one side we passed 3 separate lakes including June Lake itself.  All of them were fed by small streams that wound their way through a mass of tall trees.  It was sure evident that fishing season was open.  Again as I had mentioned before, this must be a fishing Mecca.  On our drive along the “Loop” we were taken by the amount and size of the homes that surrounded June Lake.  It was just like we had seen at Whistler Mountain the last time we were there.  From there we went back to Mono Lake and visited the Visitor Center.  It sits high on a hill over looking the lake and the surrounding mountains.  About 5 miles south are two volcanic craters (Mono Crater) that stand out majestically from there as well.  We were going to hike up to the top of the Mono Crater but we advised not to because of the “no-see-ums” that have just hatched out.  Hiking up there now was out for now so we opted for a hike down to the river that feeds Mono Lake.  The big advantage for doing that hike was we passed an soft ice cream outlet.  Well tomorrow we are again going north…

Our second location was just off the shoreline of Mono Lake and right at the back door of Lee Vining.  Mono Lake has dozens of volcanic islands scattered across the southern end of the lake.  These “islands” or “tufa” are formed by hot springs and steam vents that slowly spout calcium carbonate.  When it is exposed as the lake’s water level drops over years, the tufa formations are developed.  90 percent of the California Sea Gulls migrate to Mono Lake each year.  They come to lay their eggs and start their families along with getting the “feast” of their season.  Each year a certain type of fly comes to Mono Lake and lays its eggs in these heavy alkaline waters.  As soon as Spring arrives the flies hatch and come to the surface and fly off to the delight of the gulls.  Over all the salt content of Mono Lake is 250 times the salt content of the Pacific Ocean, so to have something like this fly go under this “water’ and lay its eggs…Nature is wonderful isn’t it ???

11 May ‘07

Friday

One thing about traveling is that you see places that you had no idea existed and today we experienced two of them after checking into our new campground in Lee Vining.  Bodie State Historic Park was a bustling mining town with an estimated population of 10,000 and was second to none for its “wickedness”.  It was notorious for its saloons, brothels, gambling halls and opium dens, but after a major fire in the early 1900’s and gold almost completely vanishing from the hills...well the rest is history.  Today there are about 170 buildings that are preserved in a state of “arrested decay”.  They won’t be restored but are prevented from decaying further.  The drive out there was a joy in its self.  After a drive of 12 miles of winding road you continue another 4 miles on a graded dirt road.  Then out in front of you sitting on the side of a hill is Bodie… 

10 May ‘07

Thursday

After having a good nights sleep in Lone Pine we awoke to another sunny day to start the next leg or our journey to Carson City.  Driving along side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains has been an on-going beautiful site.  Those mountains run as high as 14000 feet, which are Mt Whitney and a lot of the others tower above us at 12000.  Between us and the Sierra Nevada Mountains are the light brown foot hills called the “Alabama Hills”.  All the towns that we pass through have an old time western story to tell.  The first people to inhabit this area were the Paiute and the Shoshone, but it wasn’t long before the settlers started to come in and start their search for all that gold. Well today the gold is not a thing that you find much of around here, but for a lot of years following the gold this area was real big in the western movies.  Today that big draw is Mammoth Mountain (Elev 8,000 ft.) and all that goes with it summer to winter.  Just a few days ago fishing season opened in California and the lakes and streams on this side of the mountains are seeing a lot of anglers catching a lot of fish.  The Diaz Lake we camped beside on Tuesday showed a lot of fishermen catching a lot of fish.  This morning Louise and I went for a 3 ½ mile hike around Convict Lake and the same was happening there. Convict Lake, which is at the base of Morrison Mountain (10,045 feet) got it’s name because of a team of 4 convicts broke out of a state prison and found their way to a cave in a mountain above a lake.  A State Marshal by the name of Morrison took 6 deputized men as a posse and went looking for these “convicts”.  Well they found them in that cave but in the process of taking them in to custody State Marshal Morrison was killed.  Now you see how the mountain got its name of Morrison Mountain and the lake at the bottom…Convict Lake.  Our second hike of 4 miles took us to Mary’s Lake that sat high up in Mammoth Mountain.  Then we had a third hike as well.  It wasn’t but a half mile and took us to see a series of hot springs that spilled into a small river.  These springs were so hot that they wouldn’t let you get closer than 75 yards to any one of them.  Up until last June it was possible to get right down to the river, but after a couple of deaths from being “Boiled Alive”, they shut it down to those 75 yards.  After 3 hikes we thought we would end the day with just one more…did I say “We” decided ???  Well I can’t let my little wifey go on a 4 mile hike alone in the big ole woods, even if I had already hiked about 8 miles with her, now can I ???  Just kidding, we did have another hike but it was another half mile hike in and out of the woods.  This time we explored a “fissure” that was as deep as 20 feet and as long as a mile or more.  You could see were one side of the fissure split away from the other and left almost identical markings on each.  If they were to come back together it would almost be a perfect fit all along the way.  Now our day isn’t over yet…Mammoth Mountain is a PRIME ski area so we went up to the slopes to watch some of the skiers.  Times have really changed on the hills because most (90 per cent) were snowboarders.  Mammoth has a huge jump for them as well as a long “half pipe”.  Both of these attractions were getting a ton of use.   We really enjoyed the show.  How do you cap off a day like this???  Louise gathered a couple of arm loads of wood and lots of Pine cones for a campfire so that we could roast hot dogs and treat ourselves to SMORES … that’s how you cap off a busy day of hiking and exploring. 

8 May ‘07

Tuesday

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We finally were able to make it to the final summit and then continue our way to our stop for the night.  Lone Pine, California.  Oh yes I forgot to mention, the first little town that we came into as we passed from Nevada to California was showing $4.14 a gallon for gas.  The station in the valley of Death Valley was showing $4.54 and all this is for Regular.  Here in Lone Pine and on Highway 395 we are looking at $3.68…this could be a tough summer for us “travelers”.  On the first corner coming into Lone Pine stands a “Visitors Center”.  We pulled into it to see just what might lay ahead of us on the route we have chosen along 395 to Reno.  The young man and another young lady that were there to help us did one of the best jobs of making sure we had what we wanted.  It’s not that we haven’t had wonderful people working in those positions that we’ve encountered all over Europe and here, it’s just that they really went the extra mile.  Tonight we are camped in Lone Pine and sitting at the edge of the water of Diaz Lake.  When we pulled in, we were the only RV here, but just as we were firing up the barbecue, another RVer pulled in beside us.  This is a state park without any hook-ups, but for tonight, it’s just great. 

8 May ‘07

Tuesday

Our last thing to do before leaving Pahrump was to fill both the coach and toad with gas.  Yesterday Louise went shopping at Smiths (one of the big chain grocery stores in this area) and when she checked out, she received a 15 cent a gallon discount for gas.  They are tied to the Kroger chain and have their own gas stations.  We were able to get gas from them for $2.92 a gallon.  It’s still high at that price but a heck of a lot cheaper than anywhere else around here.  Our route will take us back to Death Valley and then once we get there we will continue to cross it completely from east to west.  Death Valley still excites me with all its beauty.  I had no idea how absolutely beautiful it is here prior to this last October/November. Of course the difference between last winter and now is of course the temperature.  Back then we were enjoying low to mid 80’s but this afternoon we were in the high 90’s to just over the triple digit…otherwise it was HOT !   We had a long climb from Pahrump to Death Valley, but once there it was all down hill into the valley.  At one point on the way there, we were as high as 4,500 feet and then, as low as 120 feet below sea-level once we reached the valley floor.  It was just after noon when we reached Stove Pipe Wells so we decided to pull over and make some lunch for us.  The break was short but good, but then just as soon as we pulled away from our lunch spot we were heading up some mighty steep hills.  It was so steep, that we just couldn’t get up any speed.  I think the max that I was able to achieve was just over 30 mpg.  They had posted a sign that said “TURN OFF AIRCONDITIONING FOR THE NEXT 25 MILES”, but in this heat it could be really warm real quick. I was constantly watching the gages (I have 3 different heat gages) so that I would be aware of any problems as we climbed higher and higher.  I’m not sure but I think we passed 4 or 5 large barrels that were filled with radiator water before coming to the first summit.  Thank God we were just approaching one of those turn-off areas for the last “radiator water” when all of a sudden we both started to smell something very hot…  “Are we getting hot ???”  “ No, but I do smell something that smells very hot !!!”  I quickly turned into the turn off and stopped.  I had double checked my gages, but I wanted to make a walk around and see if I could see or smell anything out side.  I had no sooner made it back to the door and Louise said…”The smoke detector is sounding off !!!”  As I walked into the coach it was very obvious that we had a problem as the whole interior was filling with smoke.  I jumped back outside and looked under the coach and there it was…”FIRE”  “GRAB THE SECOND FIRE EXTINQUISHER (as I grabbed the first one)”  Fortunately the extinguisher did the trick, but we still had a problem.  The fire was started by the new exhaust pipe.  It was sitting too close to one of the storage areas under the coach.  The storage area floor is a heavy gage plastic material and with the very hot pipe (especially when it was under such an intense climb) sitting just below it, it started to melt.  Once it started to melt and come in contact with the extremely hot pipe, it burst into flames.  Of course we had other flammable things inside the storage area as well.  Some of that was paper…yep, it was on fire.  In one regard, you might say we were lucky…we got it out in time and we and the coach are still in good health.  A little scare, but still able to continue on.  We’ve emptied the storage area and now we even have the door to the storage tied open.  The floor and some of the back of the storage bin are gone.  We also had a LP gas line that was scorched as well…Yep, we were lucky.