Homeward bound

We found a great campground on the East side of Yosemite called Aspen. Our campsite backs up to a creek, and has large trees. At $14 a night, it is a bargain, and only 10 miles from Yosemite. 

Aspen campground

We decided to stay here two nights to see Yosemite, and relax

Kind of desolate at Mono lake 12 miles east of Yosemite.

Yosemite

We took these rocks for granite. 

Short bluebonnets on a hike

Tall trees on our hike.

Purdy flowers

More purdy flowers 

Me under a sequoia with the famous half dome in the distance.

A twisted juniper with half dome in the distance.

Amazing views from the top of the mountain

I have always wanted to see Yosemite, and I can see why it is one of the most popular parks in America. The granite peaks, with the alpine lakes and streams are like no where else I have seen. 

It was super windy today, with gusts seeming like 50 mph.

On Tuesday, we went to Mammoth Lake to get a few chores done. We filled the propane tank, and bought a new tire for the Airstream spare. We stopped at the library for wifi, and checked to see if the world is still spinning. It was! We found out the insurance on the Airstream was cancelled because we forgot to pay them. We got that straightened out, but hopefully we won't need it. We spent a relaxing afternoon, and sat by the fire until dark. 

 Up with the sun on Wednesday, and through the the desert we go. It was 31 degrees when we left the camp, and 44 degrees in Lee Vining, only 5 miles away. Almost 9 hours later we stopped at desert View rv park in Needles, California. It was 91 degrees in Needles. A 60 degree rise today. As far as rv parks go, this one has been my favorite one on this trip. The sites are secluded, we swam in their pool, and did laundry here. The best part is we are across the Mohave desert. 

Desert view rv park

More driving today got us to Williams, Arizona in about 4 hours, including about 30 minutes of stop and go traffic on I40. We are camping at Kaibab Lake national forest campground. The lake is really low and muddy. The drought here is as bad as in Texas. The park is nice and wooded, with concrete parking pads, and $20 per night. We debated on going to the Grand Canyon, but decided we can come back on another trip. 

Our camp in Kaibab lake 

Interesting sandstone cliffs near the Arizona New Mexico border. Very colorful

One more day of driving got us to Albuquerque, and we decided to stop at Enchanted trail rv park. We had been here last May for the restoration rally, and knew what to expect in the park. The site was 27.50 and full hookups. I took a dip in the pool and hot tub to relax. 

Enchanted trail rv park

Mark and Laura's Shallowater rv park

We stopped in Shallowater, Texas to stay at Mark and Laura's rv park. They were in New Mexico, so we didn't get to visit. $25 per night full hookups, and very clean. 

We made it home on Sunday about 2:30, and the weather forecast called for flash flooding until about 3:15. It was sprinkling when we got home but quit soon after. I was thinking the rain had missed us again. The creek was dry, and the pond was down about 8 feet. About 3:30 it started raining, and pouring, and pouring more. About 3:45 we noticed about 6 to 8 inches of water going over the upper pond dam, so I put on rain gear to go watch. There is a stump in the lower pond that had almost 24" above water when I first walked down to the pond. Several minutes later the stump only had 4" above weather. Less than a minute later the stump was under water, which means there was over 50,000 cubic feet of water going through the creek. Wow! A few minutes later there was over a foot of water going over the spillway, and stayed that way for several hours. If we would have been two hours later getting home we would have missed that spectacle. It is good to be home. Now cleaning, mowing , weed eating, washing, fixing, resting. I need a vacation. 

We averaged 12.75 mpg on the trip, with the average price per gallon of $4.14. $2852 total

We averaged just under $19 per night camping for a total of $910

We stayed in rv parks 7 nights. State and provincial parks 27 nights. National forest camps 16 nights, and 1 night in a rest area.

The Pacific Northwest

We crossed the Columbia gorge into Oregon, and stopped at Melamoose State Park. We found a spot away from the road near the river thinking it would be quieter. Ha! The train tracks along the river apparently are the busiest in the nation. It seemed like 10 trains per hour went by us in the night. At least the sites were free. It seems that Oregon gives free camping to everyone on June 7. That was lucky, and the site was very pretty. 

The next morning, we drove a few miles to Wyeth national forest campground, and set up camp. It is a beautiful camp in tall pines. The camp is small, but the sites are paved, and only $10 per night. And did I mention it is beautiful here?

Again, the picture doesn't do justice. 

 We drove into Gresham, and met Randy and Nancy Alcorn. It was great to meet and visit with them. 

Nancy and Randy

Richard, Maggie, and Randy

Nancy and Randy in front of their house

On the way back to Wyeth, we drove the historic highway 30 to Multnomah falls.

Shelly at the viewpoint

The Columbia river gorge

 Shelly at Multnomah

 the falls were crowded, but still spectacular. 

Apparently Sunday afternoons are the day to visit the falls. Or maybe everyday is like this. The drive hugs the mountain, while overlooking the Columbia gorge, and has lush ferns growing under the huge trees. I would say everyone should see this, but after yesterday, I think everyone has. 

On Monday, we hiked on the trail going up the creek from our camp. 

Shelly on another bridge. "It's just another rock, dad"

She looked down on me for taking another picture

There's a lot of greenery here

In the afternoon, we took a drive to see mount Hood. 

Mount Hood

Me blocking scenery.

Shelly singing and dancing.

Interesting basalt rocks. "It's just another bridge, dad"

Tuesday morning and we're going west. To the Pacific to be specific. I just had to say it. We stopped at Cape Lookout just west of Tillamook, Oregon, and set up camp for a few days.

We met two other Airstreamers from Fort Collins, Colorado, and visited with them for a few hours, and walked on the beach.

Shelly and driftwood.

Looking for sand dollars

In the distance, you can see the arch rock sea stack 

We didn't find any whole sand dollars in the evening, so we decided to get up early to look. We were up at 5:15, and got on the beach early. We found 16 whole sand dollars.

Shelly went into Tillamook to do laundry and buy groceries, while I spent a lazy afternoon reading. We visited with our Airstream friends, and watched most of the movie "Independence Day". The DVD kept skipping and stopping, so I tried to clean it at the end. So, we saw all but the last 5 minutes of the movie. We can guess how it ended.

A reflection of Shelly reflecting on the trip.

A neat pattern in the sands of time

Tide pool

Driving south on Highway 101 is beautiful. We are still in the rain forest, and it was raining for some reason. The highway drives along the coast and is very curvy and hilly.

Waves!

Driftwood on the beach

A seagull posing in front of a lighthouse

Shelly posing in front of a lighthouse

The scenery is gorgeous, but after about 4 hours of driving and only getting about 100 miles down the coast, we decided to stop at Carter lake national forest campground.

Our camp

 The sites here are $20, and there are only a few other people in the park. There were some pine logs here that I was able to split for firewood. 

Tomahawk chop

I hiked about a mile to the beach through some dense underbrush. Getting a trail through here must have been a tough job. 

You can barely see the ocean in the background, and the trees and shrubs are very dense.

When I got back, Shelly had a fire going, so I got to rest after the hike.

Me waiting for the fire to burn down.

We drove inland to interstate 5, and made it to California. The scenery changed from the rain forest to a much drier landscape, but the terrain is about the same. We saw two old Franklin cars at a rest stop, and I thought of dad.

The one had a 1929 license plate, but I'm not sure if that was the year of the car. The driver said the front one was the only known model like it, and his was one of five known. Pretty rare.

We went East on hwy 89 through McCloud and stopped at the first national forest campground about 4 p. m. It was full, and we started thinking we might have to spend the night in a Walmart parking lot, since it is Friday the 13th, and a full moon. Luckily, the next camp, only had a few campers in it, and was just as pretty. It is Cattle camp national forest campground, and has lots of big pines, and very quiet. $15 per night

We got a great night's sleep in this quiet park, and made it through Friday the 13th with no bad luck. Leaving the camp, we found some huge pine cones, and had to collect some of them.

Shelly showing off her big cones!

We drove through Reno, Nevada, on our way to Lake Tahoe. The traffic was crazy, and there were people everywhere around Lake Tahoe. It was not looking good for finding a camp. The first three national forest camps we passed were all full. We stopped at Sugar pines State park about 3 P. M.  They had one site left, and we were almost glad to pay $35 for it. As we pulled in to the camp, Shelly noticed we had a flat tire on the camper.

The sidewall was ruined, so I guess I had been driving on it for a few miles.

Sadie checking out our camp.

The camp was nice, but not any better than the $15 site we were in last night. I guess that's Lake Tahoe.

Interesting flowers, while hiking down by the creek

Back to Nevada! The easiest way south, was to go north around Lake Tahoe then east into Nevada, and then back into California. 

Lake Tahoe

Tahoe again

The road disappears. There is a steep drop off on both sides and in front of us. We survived.

We stopped after driving only a few hours in Bootleg national forest campground. The only other person in the camp was the host when we set up camp. What a difference from Tahoe. It is a nice camp and only $20 with Walter and flush toilets. We're living high on the hog now. I hiked down to the river and tried panning for gold. After about 45 minutes I still haven't seen even a flake of gold. Either gold is rare, or I am not doing this right. Or maybe both.

Shelly at Bootleg camp

Me, celebrating Father's Day in style.

 We sat by the fire until almost dark, and then watched a movie. Really roughing it. So far, we have only had electric hookups 7 nights, and did not need electricity then. The solar panels have kept the batteries over 90%, even camping in shaded camps for several nights.