JANUARY 2018 - MARCH 2018

TRAVEL TO QUARTZSITE, AZ - then returning through CA, OR and WA

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TRAVELOGUE # 5 - Northern CA to Ashland and Florence in OR then north thru WA and home

Thursday February 15, 2018 - Tuesday March 6, 2018

Published June 25, 2018**

**NOTE: Today,, June 25, would have been my mom's 110th birthday. Born Virginia, she was always known as Ginny. She always loved to travel and had fun adventures traveling around the US and in Europe on her summers off when she was a teacher. She and my dad were married in 1942 and soon had a family. We took family trips up and down the east coast to visit relatives. Dad died in 1968 when she was only 59. After a year or two, she resumed traveling and went all over the country and the world - Europe, Russia, China, even to Australia so she could see Haley's Comet. Her trip to China with 3 other Lopez ladies in their 80's was epic! She passed away 30 years after my dad, on the same date, April 16, just shy of her 90th birthday. I'm sure it is from her that I got my wanderlust! Thanks, Mom!

Sorry, it has taken me so long to get this published. I had total knee replacement surgery on April 10, and recovery has taken most of my energy for the past several months. I'm happy to say that I'm now operating pretty much normally, and able to do some hikes as long as I don't overdo it. This of course is accompanied by a backlog of projects for clients and around home. Sunna is SOOOO happy to have her mom back and going fun places again!

Back to February 15: Heading north again on back roads to Redding. I got onto I-5 briefly but didn't want to be on the freeway, so I headed west on Rt. 299 to Lewiston and ended up spending several days driving up to Trinity Dam and through the area around the Trinity Alps. Folks at my first RV park talked me out of going over Route 3 - saying it was narrow, winding, had lots of logging trucks, and there was probably snow on the road. Reluctantly, I decided to heed their warnings, so we went the long way around. Almost no traffic and a really lovely drive along the Klamath River. We ended up back on I-5 just north of Yreka. Headed north on I-5, over the Siskiyou Pass, and on to Ashland OR. Stopped at Emigrant Lake Recreation Area. Picked a spot on a hilltop with a great view.

Next morning it was snowing and the winds had picked up. My beautiful hilltop spot was really exposed - but I didn't want to move so we managed to make it thru the next few days as it got colder, windier, and more snow! Being in Ashland, I thought it would be great to go to a play or something, but the only thing I found was "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" in Talent OR a bit to the north. We made the trip, did some sight seeing, took some walks, and it was a very good play. By Monday night it was supposed to go down to 16F. Rpods are not really meant for winter camping. The windows are single pane, so I stuffed towels in all the windows behind the shades and ran both electric and propane heaters. Sunna and I were snug in extra blankets and extra clothing, but in the morning the water lines were frozen. Thankfully they thawed up by mid morning and there was no damage. I was worried that I was short on propane, but it turned out that my meter was very inaccurate in the cold, so when I filled it it only took about half! Left Ashland and headed north - next stop Roseburg. After Roseburg, we headed toward the coast on Rt. 42. Spent the night at Sunset State Park on the ocean. Great place for walks, although the camping area was pretty far from the beach. Then we headed north to meet Joanne Kilgore in Florence. I ended up staying there 4 nights in order to avoid some winds and storms before hitting the road again. We had a great visit, explored all around in my truck. Had some great dinners! I continued north and stopped at Netarts - it's a little west of Tillamook. Tried to take some walks but it was so windy we stayed off the beach. Again, we stayed several nights because of high winds forecast. It was raining hard, cold, and windy. Second day we drove out to the end of peninsula to Cape Meares Lighthouse. When I opened the truck door to get out, it almost blew the door off! OMG! So I moved to a more sheltered spot and instead of walking out to the lighthouse, we went up a path to a huge old spruce tree and an overlook at the top of the hill. I have never heard wind "scream" like that! Again, I stayed way back from the edge! Rain, rain, and more rain.

Next day the winds had died down so we headed out again, stopped in Astoria for a walk and lunch (oysters - yum!) and then headed up 101 and into Washington to Long Beach. We were quite a way from the beach, but had a good walk up and onto the dunes. Next day, we drove to the beach and took a walk there. Then we headed east toward Olympia. Stayed at the Land Yacht Harbor RV park and met up with Carol Ortiz, a fellow LOW member, for dinner. Next day, I made it to the NorWest LOWS winter lunch at Johnnie's Restaurant in Fife (I don't usually make it because it's too far to go for lunch from Lopez!). This was really the final day of my trip. After lunch, I headed north to Bellingham. I parked in an RV park near Kelley and Casey and we got together several different times for walks, and dinner, and just hanging out. I got to get a glimpse of the new house they are buying soon and got to see them. A wonderful ending to a fun trip. On Tuesday March 6, I left the RV park, drove to my storage place in Anacortes, loaded up everything I could into the truck so I could park the trailer there. Took me hours to get it all organized, the truck was packed to the gills. I stopped for some lunch to take on the ferry, went to the dog park, then to ferry. Got home about 4:30 and it was almost dark. Unloaded everything, went to bed early, exhausted. Glad to be home. But...already missing being on the road (I'm listening to Willie Nelson singing On the Road Again as I write this!!) It was a fun trip.

Happy Trails to everyone!
Ann

First stop in Lewiston, CA (above and below)

Trinity Dam

I got glimpses of the Trinity Alps as we drove along the Klamath River

I was trying to capture the height of the road above the river...

Sasquatch! The photos below are taken from my hilltop campsite in Ashland, OR.

First morning - snow and rain.

By afternoon, it was warm and sunny.

Next morning - even colder than the day before - and more snow

Then sunny again in the afternoon.

This is only 8 months after I purchased the truck and Rpod!

Thought you might like some interior photos for a change. I love the big kitchen counter in my RPod. When we are parked, it's not quite so clean - this is ready to travel. Below is the closet. I used a shoe holder and roll up my shirts. It holds a surprising amount of clothes - enough for months on the road! And there are 3 large drawers underneath.

RV park in Tri-City, OR. Below, nice park for a lunch break.

Above: Sunset Bay, OR, on the coast just west of Coos Bay. Below, in the Oregon Dunes around Florence. Sunna always has loved to run in the dunes!

Sunna has always loved the Oregon Dunes, so I make it a point to walk there.

Exploring around Florence with Joanne Kilgore and Sunna ...

Sunna met some new playmates.Note the dog below - a German Shorthair Pointer. Sunna has always had affinity to GSPs. Makes me believe that her mom was a GSP and her dad the Dalmatian.

Heceta Head Lighthouse and view to the south.

Darlingtonia (above) not really in their prime. Below, one blooming skunk cabbage (sorry it's fuzzy).

On the water in Florence with Joanne Kilgore.

Heceta Head Lighthouse again, sunnier this time.

On the beach at Netarts.

Loon.

Photos don't really catch the wind!

This was called the Octopus Spruce (although I only count 7 arms!). What you can't "see" is the screaming of the wind - I was scared to go up to the lookout!

I didn't even try to walk out to the lighthouse. This is where the truck's door almost blew off!!

Back in Netarts. Happy Camp is a neighborhood.

Here we are in Astoria.

Crossing into WA.

On the dunes in Long Beach, WA.

Below - a series of photos of waves in high winds. It's hard to capture the awesome power of wind and water!

This one, above, is my favorite!

Last beach stop - Long Beach - before heading toward Olympia, Bellingham, and home!

Getting home in early March meant it was still winter - cold camping as we got into Oregon and Washington.
I would have liked to delay heading north, but had to get ready for my knee surgery on April 10.
Still, a lovely trip even if shorter than usual for me :)