Ancient times

Ruidoso, NM  December 4 - 7, 2012

We chose Ruidoso because it is on the way to Palo Duro, TX.  I did not realize it is a ski area in the mountains.  We checked the weather and decided to risk it.  It is a very cute little town in the Sierra Blanca mountains.  We found a great RV park where we were on a creek, with woods all around and the only ones there.  The weather was beautiful, but we did have to learn how to winterize our stay.  At one point the thermostat said -3 degrees AAAAhhhhh.  We learned the next morning that the thermostat was accidentally switched to Celsius and it was really 28 degrees F.  Still cold.

We used the first day to drive to Lincoln where Billy the Kid made a name for himself.  The most authentic old west town remaining in the U.S. has many buildings from the era and is rich in history.  We learned a lot about the Lincoln County War 1878 - 1881 and we walked down the "most dangerous street in America" according to President Rutherford B Hays.

We then drove to Fort Stanton knowing that is was closed during the week, but thought we could at least take a look around the old buildings.  When we were peering through the windows into the museum a kind soul opened the door to let us know they were having their volunteer appreciation Christmas Party, but that we were more than welcome to come in.  They wouldn't take no for an answer!  The museum covered all of the different purposes of the fort.  It was first used by the military to protect settlers from the Apache Indians (1855 - 1896) then as an innovative hospital specializing in the treatment of TB patients (1899 - 1953) and also as a German internment camp during WWII (1941 - 1945).  The volunteers were so gracious and passionate about their museum it was easy to get carried away.

Before we begin this next section of our most recent adventure we have to give a Shout Out to Leslie Fairbairn.  She and my step father JT have friends in Florida who told them about this location and Mom emailed us the directions.  It wasn't even on our Radar and turned out to be one of the neatest things we have done.

We drove to the Three Rivers Petroglyphs where there are over 21,000 petroglyphs by the Jornada Mogollon Indians.  They were everywhere!  There was a great trail and we wandered around for a really long time pondering the meanings of all of the different pictures.  Often we felt like we were looking at clouds, meaning they could be whatever you wanted them to be.  For example, I think I saw a perfect depiction of a galazy, certainly the Milky Way! :0   Petroglyphs, literally means rock carvings, but this is a misconception.  The pictures were made with stone tools by removing the dark patina on the exterior of the rock.  The patina is formed through oxidation when oxygen in the air comes into contact with the minerals in the rock's surface.  Some of the pics were made by slacker Indians who simply scratched through the patina to the light inner layer of the rock.  Others were made by high achieving Indians who took their time and painstakingly "pecked" through the patina.  This was done with two rocks used like a hammer and chisel.  Over time, the exposed surfaces repatinate, making the glyphs less distinct.  We were most disappointed to learn that the dogs could not go with us on the trail because the acid in their pee reacts with the rock and could destroy the patina.  I love it when we ask a question and get a logical and real explanation.  In the car they stayed.  We have kept the Three Rivers Petroglyph Trail Guide as I'm sure all of you will want to read more upon our return.  Yeah right, the only one who is going to take us up on that is Martin Frey, he will of course have to wrestle C.P. Sterns to the ground to gain possession of the pamphlet!

One last note.... Please pray for Joe Moran as he was rushed back to the hospital and is in serious condition.  We are on our way now back to Austin to be with the kids. 

Austin Bound

Needles, CA    November 28 - 30, 2012

Our first stop on our beeline across California, Arizona and New Mexico is Needles, CA.  This is on the Colorado River near my old stomping grounds.  The Desert View RV Park was in a beautiful desert location with huge shrubs between the sites.  It was really just a place to take a break from the road and load up on supplies.  On our way out of Needles we drove by Lost Lake which is the place I used to go to on the river.  It looked a lot the same, but they have added a lot more mobile homes. 

View from Suni in Needles

Maricopa, AZ   November 30 – December 2, 2012

We stopped at the John Wayne RV resort for a two night stay in Maricopa, AZ.  When asked why the park was named for John Wayne we were told "no reason whatsoever".  The park was under renovation, but had really nice large sites and great people.  We just hung around and relaxed in the sun.  Much to our dismay this park also had a huge dairy farm down the street.  We are beginning to think it is a Passport America requirement!  At least there wasn’t a train.

                                                         Largest dairy farm in history

Deming, NM  December 2 – 4, 2012

We found the Hudson Bend of RV parks in Deming, New Mexico.  The drive in was interesting to say the least.  The directions said follow the gravel road until it dead ends at the Hidden Valley RV Park.  We drove for a while and thought we had been Chaco’d once again (lost in the desert), but rounded a mountain and there it was.  It was a great location truly hidden and surrounded by the mountainous desert terrain.  When we were checking in they told us about some random Petroglyphs that were just a short hike from the park.  So after we got all set up we hiked into the desert in search of the illusive petroglyphs.  We wandered around in the general direction we were told and low and behold we found them!  They were etched by the Membris Indians more than 1000 years ago.  Peg was so excited.  It is quite a feeling to be wandering in the desert and suddenly see something so unique and ancient.  We wonder in awe until dusk.  When we returned to the park, Shannon the owner asked if we wanted to see the old fluorite mine!  We said definitely and he offered to drive us to it the next day on his four-wheel ATV thing. 

Our second day we drove out to Rockhound State Park.  A park started by rock lovers with a great visitor center and hikes through the hills where they let you take any rocks you find.  The hike was beautiful, but a little disappointing in the specimen department.  I guess when they let you take all of the rocks you want there aren’t much left.  We then went back to the park and Shannon made good on his offer to take us to the fluorite mine.  It was a fabulous drive through the desert to the mine in the middle of nowhere!  We wanted to know what the indicator was to the miners that huge veins of fluorite could be found below the very generic looking rocks.  They blasted out 3 big rooms with dynamite and had ladders connecting the different chambers.  When Shannon put his flashlight on the walls and ceiling of the first (main) chamber it lit up like the 4^th of July.  Fluorite comes in many colors but looks like tinted quartz predominately in the purple and greens.  Both were present in this mine.  They must have taken a huge quantity out because it sure looked like a lot left.  It was so cool to see this mineral in its real habitat instead of in a sample box in an 8^th grade classroom.  They used the Fluorite to smelt different metals, making them more durable for use in WW II.  All done with horse, wagon and hand turned drill bits.  It must have been a very prosperous endeavor because it took a heck of a lot to get it out of there in the 1930’s.

 

Coming soon… Ruidoso, NM; Palo Duro Canyon and Glen Rose, TX          

What's In a Name

Sonoma, CA - November 24
Tulare, CA - November 25 - 28, 2012

We left the Redwoods and headed to the famous Pacific Coast Highway hoping to enjoy a beautiful drive down the California coastline.  There was a sign posted that trucks longer than 30' from kingpin to rear axle were prohibited, but we are only 27' so we forged ahead.  Peg did an amazing job driving, but it was 35 miles of nail biting turns with both of us paying strict attention to the rock wall on one side and the oncoming traffic on the other.  After an hour and half of the beautiful pacific coast we decided to cut back to 101 to continue our trek south.  We felt like we had a good sense of the drive and our nerves needed a break.  The drive was still gorgeous through the hills and vineyards - one of Peg's favorites.  The Sonoma Wine Country RV resort had confirmed space available via email, but when we arrived they didn't have any room at the inn.  The bad news was they informed me that the turns around their park were too tight for me to make so I needed to do a three point turn around to get out.  There wasn't even enough room for the three point turn, so I decided to back out the way we came in - about 100 yards back down the narrow entrance road.  We were suddenly happy they couldn't take us, but were also homeless for the night.  We found another "park" at the Sonoma Expo Center and Fairgrounds.  It did the job for one night, but wasn't anywhere near the beautiful Sonoma wine country so we just got up early and countinued our travels southeast.

We reached our next Passport America park called Sun and Fun RV park in Tulare, CA.  This has to be the low point for RV parks on our journey.  We drove to the spot that they assured us we would fit in.  I backed in between two big rigs with a couple of feet of grass between each space and trees on each side.  We tried to judge the spacing for the slide-outs, but after we unhooked and started to set-up we realized the top of the desk slide-out was going to hit a tree branch.  We hooked everything back up and I moved Suni over six inches which is a lot harder than it sounds.  When we were finishing up getting set up for the second time an older couple walking by said "wow you were able to get it in there huh?  I had to have one of the guys from here help me".  I was very proud.  The low point came a couple of hours later when we took the dogs out and were completely bowled over by the smell of cow manure at the same time a train rumbled by blowing it's whistle.  The trains were a regular fixture every couple of hours all through the night and the manure smell continued to make our eyes water throughout our three night stay.  Sun and Fun yeah right!

The upside is we were relatively close to the Sequoia National Park and Forest.  These are the second type of redwood tree found in the Northwest.  The sequoia tree is only found on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains and is very different from the coast redwoods we have already seen.  They are bigger in diameter, don't grow as tall and have a much redder bark.  They only grow at elevations between 5,000-7,000 feet so we made the drive through the beautiful foothills and up the mountains.  Again these trees are truly something to see.  Not as prolific as the coast redwoods, but are more majestic and easy to pick out.  We took one day to drive through the National Park stopping for the Big Tree Loop hike and a second day to drive through the National Forest stopping for the hike to the Stagg Tree.  Two completely different drives each uniquely beautiful.  Can I say again how thankful we are for this beautiful planet God has given us.  The Stagg tree is 3000 years old (the second largest tree in the world) another difference between the trees as the coast redwoods only live about 2000 years.  There are only 75 Sequoia groves left because 2.5 million years ago, Mother Earth started to dry out and these guys need lots of moisture.

                                                          1000 years older than Jesus!

Coming Soon... Needles, CA and Maricopa, AZ

Thanksgiving in the Redwoods

Garberville, CA  November 21 - 24, 2012

We drove down the coast of Northern California to the southern end of the Redwood National forest.  We chose the Richardson Grove RV park because it is part of a new organization we joined called Passport America.  It turns out the park was in the middle of the woods, with no wifi, no cell service and no cable.... Happy Thanksgiving!  It was fine except I was looking forward to talking to family and friends on this special day. 

We spent Thursday making the usual feast in all its glory for the two of us.  We were both impressed that it could all be done in our little kitchen, but we did it.  Peg also made turkey soup the next day.  Delicious.

The next day we drove the "Avenue of the Giants".  A 33 mile stretch in the redwoods with all kinds of hokie tourist spots.... the Eternal Tree House (a hollowed out tree); the Chimney Tree (a hollowed out tree); the Immortal Tree (hit by ax, flood, fire and lightning); the One Log House (a hollowed out tree) and three drive through trees.  The drive was worthy since it wound through the beautiful actual living trees which really are something to see.  The Humboldt State Park Visitor center was also fantastic.  It had a great science display on the area's geology:  plate tectonics, fossil formation, geologic time, earthquakes, igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.  It also had tons of animals from the area and tons of redwood information. 

Coming soon... Sonoma, Tulare, and Needles

Check Out the duck swimming at the top!

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Crescent Beach, CA    November 17 - 21 , 2012

Let me first say Happy Thanksgiving to our family and friends.  We are now in a spot without cell service and wifi.  So please know we are thinking of you one and all.  I also want to mention that Joe was admitted to the hospital on Sunday with a blood clot and is still being treated.  Please lift up prayers for a quick recovery.

The day we left Heceta Beach and headed to Crescent Beach, our first stop in the California redwoods, it rained the entire way.  This is the first time we had to pack up and set up in the rain.  Luckily we are pretty quick now so it wasn’t that big of a deal.  We decided on Hiouchi RV Resort (we call it hoochi mama resort) which was off the coast about 7 miles, set in the middle of the trees.  Their pull-through sites were different than we were used to.  We had to pull into a crescent shaped site almost like parallel parking.  We were set up on a large field of grass so it was great for the dogs to run and play.

We used our first day to take a drive through Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park.  A one lane gravel road winding through the magnificent Coast Redwood trees.  Thankfully there were lots of turn-outs since we are LARGE and not the only crazy people touring the northwest in the pouring rain.  The redwood trees are really something.  Their bark can be up to one foot thick which makes them impervious to disease and insects.  They also lack resin so they don’t easily burn which is why they can live for 2000+ years.  They are the tallest living trees in the world often more than 300 feet high.  We then drove into the town of Crescent City to see the beaches.  There was a high wind warning in affect for the entire area and they meant it!  We drove out to the Crescent Beach viewpoint and the wind about blew us off the point.  Zoe had her swerve on!  The ocean was crazy rough!  We then drove out on the coast guard jetty by the main harbor and the waves were crashing over the rocks and gave the BAT a nice salt water shower.  At this time we were so glad we had decided to stay in the trees instead of the coast!

 

 

The second day was still pouring and windy so we used it to get our shopping done.  Since we are completely addicted to Fred Meyer, we drove back to Oregon to get gas and do our shopping.  The gas prices are .35 higher in California than they are in Oregon!  We had a crazy stormy night.  There was about six inches of rain water in the bucket we had left outside overnight.

We decided to go to the Trees of Mystery on our last day.  They have a hiking trail with all sorts of fun redwood tree facts and then a seven minute gondola ride to the top.  The fun part is they allowed dogs everywhere including the gondola.  We saw the Cathedral Tree, Candelabra Tree, Brotherhood tree and many more.  Once you get to the top you can either take the Gondola back down – which everyone except us did; or hike one mile straight down!  OK I am exaggerating, but it is very steep and they have placed rope handrails to hold onto while climbing down.  We used them!  We had to check in with the attendant before heading down so he could make sure we had on the appropriate foot wear and he  gave us the go ahead with a “I hope you have good knees” comment.  We lied and continued on.  It was great fun.  When we returned to the visitor center at the bottom, we were rewarded with an impressed volunteer who gave us free fudge.  Delicious.  They have a tremendous Indian Artifact museum filled with so many items from many different tribes – very impressive.  We then drove back to Suni to get ready to have dinner with our friend John whom we met in Issaquah.  We had a delightful dinner down on the pier with yummy steamed clams, broiled prawns and really fresh fish n chips.  It was a great night filled with conversation and laughter.  Thanks John!  We will miss you and Romeo – Happy Trails.

 

 

Coming soon… Garberville, CA and the Avenue of the Giants

Bark or Roar

Florence, OR November 14 - 17, 2012

We left Cannon Beach on a beautiful sunny day and drove down the Scenic Oregon Coast Hwy 101 to Florence  - home of the largest sea cave in the world and to Stellar and California Sea Lions.  We arrived at Heceta Beach RV park just north of Florence.  The northwest coastline is known for high winds, rain and fog especially this time of year and the Heceta Beach RV park has these beautifully protected sites with bushes all around.  We were all alone in the back of the park - it was great.

The dogs were loving their freedom and the first night caught a scent of something and both went running and howling, chasing whatever it was.  I got them back and went trapsing into the woods with a flashlight to figure out what it was much to Peg's chagrin and I didn't even have the bear spray with me.  It didn't matter because whatever it was was long gone.

The first full day we drove to the Sea Lion Caves the major tourist attraction in the area.  It is privately owned and they have a walking path and elevator down to the caves where the Sea Lions make their home for parts of the year.  It was a gorgeous sunny day and we watched the sea lions frolic about inside and outside the cave for a couple of hours.  There are two very distinctive sea lions here:  Stellar that roar like a lion and are brown and California Sea Lions that bark like a dog and are black.  They do not like each other and have separate territories in and out of the caves.  It also had a beautiful view of the Heceta Head lighthouse - the most photographed lighthouse in the world.  One of the workers said they had seen a migrating whale the day before, but we didn't see any darn it.

We then drove to the Cape Perpetua visitor center to find out what hikes were available.  It was a really great visitor center and one of the volunteers told us we shouldn't miss the drive up to the top of Cape Perpetua - the highest point on the Oregon Coast.  There was a 2.5 mile hike to the top, but after we drove the very steep, winding road we decided the drive was good enough.  The view from the top was really beautiful.

 
We drove back to Suni to get the dogs for a walk on Heceta Beach around the corner from the RV park.  This part of the Oregon coast has completely different beaches covered wtih sand dunes.  It was a beautiful sunset walk to end a beautiful sunny day.

 

 We used our next day to take a great 3 mile hike through the dense forest along a ridge with a view of the ocean and then down to the beach.  It offered great views and was just strenuous enough.  We learned that mushrooms are a huge business in this part of Oregon picking them requires a permit and there are limits on how many you can collect.  Have I mentioned how much we love Oregon, this trail was so perfectly marked that even Peg and I couldn't get lost.  We then drove into the town of Florence to find the ever illusive liquor store which always seems to be next door to a gun store here in Oregon.  Doesn't really seem like a good combination.

 

 

I tried to take a picture of the trees that grow completely sideways from the high winds in this area.  It's crazy.  We are heading out tomorrow and there are high wind warnings for the next few days.  It should be an interesting drive.  Good-bye Oregon.

Coming soon... Crescent City and Garberville for the Redwoods.

Thanks Dana and Doug!

Cannon Beach, OR November 10 - 14, 2012

We arrived at the Cannon Beach RV park after lots of rain on the drive looking forward to some more beach time on the Oregon coast.  The park had several pull-through spots open so Peg picked the one she liked with a nice area for the dogs and April made the turn into the spot.  The ground was very muddy and slippery and there was a tree within inches of Suni.  The trailer brakes locked up and the Bat's tires were spinning like crazy.  April switched into four-wheel drive, but it didn't seem to help.    The emergency brake cord was caught on the hitch and pulled out, so the truck was trying to pull Suni through the grass and mud.  A kind gentleman passing by saw our predicament and said that sometimes the auto-lock on the wheels doesn't work.  So we re-attached the trailer brake cord and manually locked the front wheels into four-wheel.  It worked like a charm and we settled into our spot nicely without any damage for a change!

We drove into the town of Cannon Beach to the visitor center which is where we always start so we can decide how we are going to spend our days.  The town of Cannon Beach is a great little town with lots of shopping and restaurants and lots of places to watch the sunset.  Quite beautiful.

We spent our first very rainy day going to the Tillamook Cheese factory complete with free samples.  Yummy!  We then took a drive to the shortest lighthouse in Oregon and the Octopus tree.  The Octopus tree is 8 trees in one with no central trunk.  Totally cool.  They don't know how it was formed, but it was used as an Indian burial site.

On the way back home we stopped at our new favorite store Fred Meyer.  Think huge target / home depot / and heb all in one with great prices.  They also have the cheapest gas anywhere.  The next day we drove up to Fort Clatsop the winter home of Lewis and Clark.  What a great museum.  Neither Peg nor I realized what an amazing feat these two men accomplished.  We then took the dogs on a 3 mile hike through the forest.  We are back to our old hiking pairs... Peg and Calcite speed hiking and April and Zoe stopping to smell the mushrooms (no queso in Oregon).

On our last day we went to Hug Point to walk the beach and check out the caves.  Peg was fascinated by the geology of the caves and the dogs loved the beach.  We then drove to Cannon Beach to see the haystack rock formation and check out the tide pools.  They were full of life and April decided to touch a Sea Anenomea forgetting that their cute little tenacles are poisonous.  Luckily she only had a numb finger for a few minutes.  Calcite finally figured out how much fun it is to chase seagulls.  We had a ball watching her.

                                                Look Mom, this could be Edgartown.

Coming soon... Crescent City, CA and the redwoods

What's in a name?

Westport, WA November 7 - 10, 2012

Our drive from La Push, WA to Westport was along the coast which we thought was the safest way to go until we were driving through snow!  It was a beautiful sunny day in La Push - the best we had seen so we never dreamed we would run into weather.  The snow lasted about 5 miles and although nerve wracking, SuniBat handled great.   We did finally see a herd of elk along the road which was very exciting. We arrived safe and sound at the American Sunset RV park in Westport and fell asleep to the sound of the Sea Lions barking goodnight.

                                                        American Sunset RV Park

                                                                       Sea Lions

We finally were able to get our bikes out again and took a beautiful ride through forest down to the harbor and beach.  We saw a group of Sea Lions on the dock and when April wanted to pet them, Peg stopped her with her still healing wrist.  On the list of things to do in the area was "look for boats with your name on it"; we weren't able to find our names, but we found some of you..

                                                               You know who you are!

The harbor was filled with fishing boats and we were dying for some fresh local seafood.  We found a shop on the docks that was selling live Dungeness Crabs (found in WA) so we bought Hermie and put him in our backpack for the bike ride home.  We watched surfers on the beach and road through the sea grass back to Suni.  We were both hesitant to put poor Hermie in the boiling water, but Peg stepped up and he was delicious!

The next day we went to tour the tallest lighthouse in Washington after a nice hike with the dogs.  Zoe is finally able to hike with us again and it is so fun to watch her skip through the woods.  We were fascinated by the fresnel lense and the fantastic view from the top of the lighthouse which is now 300 yards from the water.  Peg's hand is healing nicely and she is back to her old self.

I forgot to post this picture of the largest Sitka Spruce tree which is just outside the Hoh Rainforest.  It is 12 feet in diameter, 270 feet tall and 500 years old.  Peg loved it!

Coming soon... Cannon Beach, OR; and Florence, OR