Alaska Trip- Day 1

A little late getting out of town, but only had to drive to Dripping Springs as son and family live near. We will enjoy visiting the grandkiddos for a few days. Visited with daughter and oldest grandchild before leaving. Just didn't get to visit with other daughter, but hoping she and sister will visit us in Soldotna.

Day 2

A busy day. Larry decided maybe we should replace the engine batteries so we left at 7:00AM and drove back to San Antonio. Returned about 10:45. Graydon(9) had a baseball game and hit the ball over the fence for the 2nd time this year. I stayed home with the 2 little ones so Mom could watch the game.

Day 3

Graydon hit a grand slam at his baseball game this morning. I stayed home with the 2 year old so Mom could go. In the evening all (except the 2 little ones and me) went to Gurene to see/hear Brandon play drums with the Jim Halfpenny Band.
We all had a good time.

Day 4

Did get one good photo of the grandkids  before leaving.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also a good one of oldest grandson last Sunday

We left about 10:30am and  headed for friends who live near Stonewall
Had a great visit

Day 5

Drove from Stonewall to Ft. Stockton.  Temperature leaving was in upper 40’s and 83 upon arriving. 
Took a nap, vacuumed, gave Mikki a much needed bath

Day 6

Left Fort Stockton at 9:15 CST. Paid $3.86 for  diesel in Ft. Stockton.   Great travel day.  Lots of RVs on the road. About 95 miles east of the TX/NM border there is a truck inspection, but ALL vehicles were lined up for inspection.  We were westbound, but there were cameras and lights set up.  Mikki has gotten rested up from playing with Charlie and is ready to play with her toys.  So far so good with the new Verizon 4G air card…….3G speeds are good too.  Stopped in Vado, NM for the night.  Will be in Tucson tomorrow.

Day 7

Drove from Vado, NM to Tucson….297 miles.  Camped at Tra-Tel RV Park at the Prince Road exit on the northwest side of town.  Very clean and very full.  It is an Enjoy America park.  Stopped at Texas Canyon on the way.  The elevation is 4,499 ft.

Looking towards  Tucson from the parking area.  It was cool and breezy.

Day 9

View of Palm Springs area

Arrived at the Thousand Trails in Palm Springs, CA about 12:30pm.  Temperature was 100 degrees.  It should be cooler the next few days.

Day 12 Tram Ride

Our anniversary today.  We went on the Palm Springs Tramway.  We went late in the day to be able to see the lights after dark, but the mountains partially  shaded most of the photos.  The floor of the tram car rotates  so everyone gets a variety of views.   We are at a little over 100 feet in elevation at the RV park.  The parking lot for the tram is at 2,643 feet.  It was a steep climb.  The tram ride is 2 1/2 miles up to the Mountain Station at 8,516 feet.  Still snow on the ground.
There was an area of lots of wind generators as we got close to the ascent road.  They provide electricity for thousands of homes.

Day 13

We decided to stay in Palm Desert until the 17th or later as the weather farther north is still cold and rainy. There was a beautiful sunset today.............

Day 18

We have extended ended our stay through the 21st. We have been doing some repairs. After changing the filters in the reverse osmosis one of the lines that has always been too short started leaking after being in a bind for so long. Did find a line at a filter .com place. Lots of water leaked out on that one. The ice maker was over filling so Larry cleaned out something outside & defrosted it on the inside, turned up the thermostat to compensate for the low humidity here. Seems to be working fine now. We went to the palms oasis in the desert,....took some photos, but they are still on the camera.
Didn't know we could not take Mikki so we want to go back....early in the AM.
We were scheduled to leave on Sunday the 17th, but my computer does not like the computer battery I purchased before leaving. The store sells Dell products, but the battery does not say Dell. Yesterday I ordered one from Dell so have to wait for that to come.

We have changed our route again......decided not to go to Hearst Castle as we have been there before.
There is a great virtual tour online at  http://www.regal360.com/clients/hearst/hearstcastle/index.html
Now the tickets are $24 per person per tour. We wanted to go on at least 2 more. The closest RV park is 28 miles at at $44/night. It will cut of around 165 miles at 8 MPG and diesel with at $4.35 gal.

Day 22

Visited with neighbors and went to downtown Palm Springs in the evening as they have a street fair every Thursday evening.  Lots of vendors and food booths.  Found a pouch for Mikki……she is likes it.

Day 23–Coachella

We returned to the Coachella Preserve (without Mikki). It is an oasis caused by an earthquake on the San Andreas Fault over 1000 years ago. An underground river then came closer to the surface enabling the palm trees to grow. We went early, but it was still a hot day.

The hike to McCallum Oasis is about 2 miles round trip on a loose sandy trail, but worth is for the reflection photos.

Day 25

Downtown Palm Springs area.
When we went to the street fair in downtown Palm Springs, I did not take the camera, so I took it today as the church we have been visiting is not far from there.  I just took some drive by photos.....the area is so different from Texas.  It is all so beautiful and groomed.

Click on the lower right for a full screen show.

Day 27

Larry washed the RV in the AM.  After lunch we decided to check out the Idyllwilde preserve. We went  from the valley and there was a really nice viewpoint for photos. The road was very steep with switchbacks. The elevation at the RV park is about 150 ft, and the elevation in parts of the Idyllwild park is 7,000 ft.  We came back a different route that joined I-10 in Banning.  Lots of wind farms around there. Click on the lower right corner for a full screen view

Day 30

We left a very windy Coachella Valley (Palm Desert) at 8:30 AM. The winds as far as Bakersfield were around 30 mph. It took 20 lbs of boost to go 50 mph going uphill in the headwind. The scenery through the mountains was green. The highest pass was 5,000 ft. at the junction of Hwy 2 and Hwy 138. Then Tehachapi Summit at 4,064 ft on Hwy 58. California has many "wind farms" around Banning and Mojave. We went through a large area of Joshua trees.
Click the lower right corner for a full screen view and then esc to come back here…………

Day 34

left Thousand Trails Lake Minden at 7:40AM, and stopped in Corning, CA at the Olive Pit.  The drive trough the mountains was beautiful with many steep up and down grades – as much as 7% on some.   This time the view of Lake Shasta and Mt. Shasta was sunny.
Click the lower right corner for full screen, and esc to return
Just inside Oregon and finally over the mountain passes we arrived at Seven Feathers Casino. The RV park is on the opposide sie of the interstate than the casino. Just had to call for a shuttle. The RV park is truly worth the stop.

Day 36 Newport, OR

Traveled from Seven Feathers Casino RV in Canyonville, OR  to a little south of Newport, OR today. Fueled up at Seven Feathers – thrilled to get 8.75 mpg after all those mountain passes.   Camping at Leisure Time  Whalers Rest. We were at this park in 2005.  Large trees, indoor pool,  across the highway from the ocean.  We will be here a week so hope to get some good sunset photos.  It was a rainy and chilly travel day…..in the upper 40’s.  Lots of RV parks along I-5 in northern California and Oregon. Met many logging trucks along the way.  There is forest on both sides of State Road 20 from I-5 to Newport on the coast. It is  very curvy, but they are working on taking out a few kinks.  Looking forward to visiting 2 light houses from here.

Days 38 and 39 Beaches & Lighthouses

Drove up to Lincoln City and stopped for photos on the way back Click on the box in the lower right for a full screen.  Click on the triangle to start

Day 41 Heceta Head Lighthouse

Today we drove south of Portland around 20 miles to Heceta (He-see-ta) Head Lighthouse.  There were some beautiful viewpoints along the way. The currents are very strong at Devils Churn and Spouting Horn. When the tide comes in at Spouting Horn, it creates enough pressure to cause the "eruption" Heceta Head Lighthouse it at the top of the hill, a steep climb.