TRIP OUT TO OREGON AND WASHINGTON WITH RON AND JANE. Part 2

7-2-2007 to 7-7-2007

Monday, July 2, had us heading to Panther Pass Campground

along Hwy 199 in the NW corner of California.

Tuesday had us taking a side trip to Jedediah Smith Redwood State

Park. There is a 10,000 acre tract of virgin redwoods. What a

wonderful area.

In the afternoon we went to a couple of interpretive trails. On one of them had an insect eating plant called The California Pitcher Plant (Darlingtonia) Seep).

                   

Plus some other plants and critters.

Happy 4^th of July. We are heading to Brookings, OR. Harris

Beach State Park. In the evening we walked down to the beach & took some pictures of the sunset.

Ron, Jane, Brea and Denver.

On Thursday the 5th we took a drive up the Samuel H Boardman

State Scenic Corridor. Lots of pull-offs & short hikes for picture taking.

Friday we drove up to Sunset Bay State Park.  

We stopped at the Cape Blanco Lighthouse. The first of many that
we will be stopping at along the coast.This is the most western part
of the contiguous USA. Was it windy there!!! It was interesting
how they used flue dampeners to regulate the flame when they used

kerosene.

We also stopped at the Coquille River Lighthouse but it was under

renovation.

Sunset Bay State Park. 

Jane, Sandy and I went on an adventure today. There is a lighthouse
(Cape Arago Lighthouse) that you have to bust a trail to get to it. At
times the trail was a bit close to the edge of a cliff for Sandy.
When we got there we found it was off limits to visitors. We took
pictures and busted a trail back. It was quit a 2 mile hike. 

In the afternoon we went to Simpson Reef & Shell Island look
out. There were Elephant & Harbor Stellar Seals there. 

From there we went to the Shore Acres State Park, which are

formal gardens of Roses, Azaleas, Rhododendrons & more with
a Japanese garden.

Until next time,

Dave and Sandy

TRIP OUT TO OREGON AND WASHINGTON WITH RON AND JANE. Part 1

6-20-2007 to 7-1-2007

We got a late start on Wednesday because of my dentist appointment at 8:10, so it was 11:00AM by the time we left the garage. We drove from Lakeville to La Pine, OR. where we met Ron and Jane. It took us 5 days to drive the 1,888 miles. 35 hours 53 minutes driving time.  Along the way we stopped at Aberdeen, SD., Yellowstone River RV Park and Campground in Billings, MT.

                        

A  free campground, Riverside County Park in Idaho Falls, ID.

                        

And at Vale, OR before arriving at La Pine, OR

While in La Pine, OR we saw the largest Ponderosa Pine in OR. 

                      

       

       

On Wednesday the 27th we  down by Crater Lake to Diamond

Lake Campground. We look out over the lake (40 feet away) and
on to Baily Mountain. The view out the back is the best possible. 

We went around the west side of Crater Lake (east side loop was
closed down because of snow). 

What a great view of the lake. It is such a deep blue. 

Sandy and Jane with Crater Lake in the back ground.We often
coordinate outfits, especially to match the scenery--Ha Ha!

It was sunny  with the temperature in the upper 60’s up there.

Denver and Brea played in the snow for the first time.

On Thursday the 28th we drove to Horseshoe Bend NFS

Campground on the bank of the North Umpqua River.                       

We were in the process of selling our house and got a phone call

on Thursday saying we would be getting an offer on Friday.

Because we had no cell phone reception at the campground we

left the RV there and drove to Roseburg to spend the night in a

motel for better cell and fax service. The house sold!!

We finally got the faxing done on the sale about 1:00PM on

Saturday and headed back to the campground to celebrate the

house sale, relax and fish.

Sunday we went to Toketee Waterfalls.

 After supper Ron and I tried a little trout fishing. I caught my first

trout on a fly rod. I did say "a little trout fishing", didn't I? It was

about 5-6 inches long.

             

Until next time,

Dave and Sandy

Disney World and the Trip Home.

 Today, March 14th, we are on the road again heading to Disney World after saying goodbye to Arlie, Mary Lou, Darrel, Fred, Dale and Mary. We arrived at Disney around midday and went to Animal Kingdom, coming back to the camp site around 8:30PM. It was a nice clear day in the mid 80’s. This is our fist experience camping at Disney World although we have been here 4-5 times in the past.

 This canal was behind our camp site We should have rented a canoe like these people.

 Here was our campsite at Disney.

 On March 15th we went to the MGM Studios for the day with temps in the 80’s and clear skies.
 
 On March 16th we went to Epcot. It was cloudy all day with some rain showers that seemed to come when we were doing something inside.

 March 17th had us going to Epcot again. Today it was sunny all day.

 We went the The Magic Kingdom & Epcot on the 18th.

 March 19th found us again at Epcot.

 March 20th was our last at Disney World.

 After breakfast on March 21, we checked out of Disney and started our way home. The first stop was at Ochlocknee, GA where we stayed at the Sugar Mill Plantation RV Resort.

 Our second night, March 22nd found us in Chattanooga, TN at the Best Holiday Travel.

 On March 23rd we stopped early at Hillman Ferry Campground that was in the Land Between The Lakes N.R.A., great place.  It is located between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. As we had stopped early we went for a walk and came across this cemetery.
 

 

 Our camp site over looked a bay of Kentucky Lake.

 On March 24th we made it to Bowling Green, MO where we camped at the Cozy C Campground.

 March 25th had us stopping in Charles City, IA at the R Campground. A tornado watch and 35-40 mph wind made us stop early for the night, other wise we would have made it home today.

 We got home on the 26th after 9 weeks and 2 days of traveling approximately 6900 miles. We got to visit with a lot of our friends this way, but I think in the future we will go to just one region for the winter, south west, south center or south east.

Until next time,

Dave and Sandy

Traveling from Mission to Ft. Myers, FL.

 The first day, 24th of February got us as far as Galveston Island State Park where we stayed overnight. The next morning we took a ferry across Galveston Bay. Sandy was pretty nervous about taking the ferry as wind were 25 mph with plenty of white caps. We made it OK and drove as far as Port Allen, LA where we got a camp site at the Cajun Country Campground.

 As we drove the next day we stopped at two plantations between Batin Rouge & New Orleans to tour the Nottoway Plantation & Houmas House. Both were well worth the time.

 The Houmas house.

 We ended up driving late and did not get to the Indian Point RV Resort in Gautier, MS until after dark. It was a good thing Sandy did not see this sign last night or she would not have stood out back and guided me into the camp site. We spent the next day grocery shopping and washing clothes.
 

 With a long was to go yet, the 27th found us on the road again leaving for Orange Beach, AL where we stayed at Gulf Shores State Park. We knew that Sandy’s cousin Roger and Mona were here so we met up with them and went out to supper.This is a real nice State Park, even with the damage from the hurricanes the previous year. Our camp site was on a lagoon that was easy walking distance to the ocean beach. We spent a short 4 days here, by short I mean we could have spent a month here and not get bored. The temperature was 70 degrees but we did have some rain, mostly at night and there were some tornados to the NW, N, & NE of us. Some within 60 miles, there was lots of damage with 11 people killed.

 Saturday 3-3-07 we were ready to hit the road for Ft Myers, FL. We have 4 days to travel 600 miles. We camped at the HO-HUM RV Park in Carrabella, FL. Our site on the beach backed up to the water.

 We came across the Yellow Jacket Campground quite by accident. It is located between Old Town and Suwannee, FL on the Suwannee River. While here we rented a boat and went up river to Manatee Springs State Park to observe the Manatee in the area.

 We even got in some relaxing.

 March 5th and we were on the road again stopping at Travelers Rest in Dade City, FL. where we had the worst sites for the overnighters. They were not even close for leveling. We finally found one that kind of worked, with lots of boards for build ups.
Finally, we are on the last leg, March 6th, to Ft. Myers where we are meeting up with friends Arlie & Mary and Dale & Mary. We stayed in the Orange Grove Home and RV Resort where Arlie and Mary Lou, who full time in their motorhome, were parked for the winter. They invited Dale, Mary and us over for supper. Interesting place to say the least. Even though it is gated the area around it is pretty rough and it was not uncommon to hear gunshots at night. Arlie said one year a bullet had come back down to earth and came through the ceiling of the motor home. He only noticed it later while sitting in a chair and saw light coming through the hole. After some scrounging around they found the bullet laying on a chair.

 The next day we went to Dale and Mary’s to get a tour of their site that they own in Cypress Woods RV Resort. Now this is much better, large landscaped sites, but then it cost more also.Dale and Mary invited Arlie, Mary Lou and us over to their place for supper. The high today was 85 degrees.

 Dale and Mary in front of their Newmar motorhome.

 This is looking towards the back to the lake behind them.

 

 

 

 While here Sandy and I drove down to Everglades City, FL & took the 10,000 Islands boat tour where we saw several Dolphins and Osprey in the area. They have a campground here that we are going to have to come back to and stay for a week or so.

A nother day Arlie, Mary Lou, Sandy and I went down to the Shark Valley observation tower in the Everglades. The tour guide informed us that an alligator’s sex is determined by what the egg temperature is at when it is hatched or incubated in the nest. We saw lots of alligators and birds as we toured the area.

 One day Sandy and I went to Satellite Beach to visit my cousin Bill and Cathy. It was the last time we saw Bill and Cathy before they both passed away.
March 13th and we heard first hand gun shots outside the resort this evening. 8-12 shots. Guess it’s getting time to leave.

Until next time,

Dave and Sandy