What Desert?

It’s hard to believe you’re in the desert when everything around you is lush with green grass, flowers and running water, like it is at Outdoor Resorts Indio in Indio, California.

It’s quite pricey, but it’s a nice place to stay. We were in town to visit mom and dad, so we thought we’d do it just this once. The RV lots are owned, but some owners rent them out. The lots are quite large compared to most places we’ve been and very comfortable. Most of them are decked out with gazebos and outdoor kitchens that include a sink, an oven, a refrigerator, and lots of counter space!

They have a beautiful 18 hole, Par 3 golf course throughout the park. It took us awhile to get up the nerve to golf there, because neither one of us golf and the course is surrounded by RVs upwards of a million dollars. If our ball were to hit any one of those rigs, we would be responsible for the damage. Come on now, if you’re going to park your million dollar rig on the golf course, don’t you think…??? I probably shouldn’t get started on that topic.
We used whiffle balls at first, but after some instruction from my dad, we got the courage to use real balls. And I discovered golf is fun! I kind of want to do it all the time!
I’m a little upset about my 9th grade gym class where I got my first introduction to golf. I could not hit the ball! There was no one on one instruction; no one showed us what we were doing wrong, so I decided then and there, that golf was not for me. I’m now regretting all the years I’ve missed out on this game due to the rash decision I made when I was young.

We finished this year’s West Coast exploration by heading over the mountains and into San Diego one weekend. We had a nice time there, visiting Little Italy, Cabrillo National Monument, Hotel del Coronado, Safari Wild Animal Park and a cute little shopping area called Seaport Village.
Little Italy is mostly restaurants with amazing aromas coming from each one. Believe it or not, we weren’t hungry when we walked through there, so we didn’t eat there.

Cabrillo National Monument was fun. We enjoyed the views of San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean, visited the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, saw some Coastal defense relics and checked out the big statue of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. The lighthouse was cool, and we both liked the winding staircase inside.



Hotel del Coronado was pretty. They filmed a movie called SOME LIKE IT HOT there. It’d be fun to stay there sometime. The place is rich with history, shopping (window) and a gorgeous view out back.

Safari Wild Animal Park is huge, allowing for nice long walks, with several tram ride choices available for animal viewing. These were quite expensive, so we chose the one included in admission.

Seaport Village was cool as well. Lots of nice shops. I especially liked the Tile Shop, because it was filled with beautiful Mexican tiles. I’m thinking it’d be nice to redo the floors in the RV!
We really enjoyed spending time with my parents. Thanks Mom and Dad for teaching us to golf, showing us wine country, introducing us to your friends out at their beautiful ranch, celebrating our birthdays at the country club, taking me along with you, Mom to the Women’s Retreat, letting us teach you how to play HAND AND FOOT and for hanging out with us at the RV resort.

It’s always difficult to leave my folks, but it was time to head out to meet up with Gordon and Christy or “G & C” as we like to call them (they don’t know that yet). Well I guess they do now! We were able to visit with other friends in Yuma as well, before hitting the road with “G & C” to caravan to Texas. We’ve been having a blast traveling with them! Looking forward to telling you about it later. Take care y’all!
Love, Trevor & Roni

Surprise!

Winding up in Surprise, Arizona was quite the surprise to us! It wasn’t a part of our original plan to see the West Coast, but with it being so cold and wet on the northern end of our travels, we really needed a place to dry out. What better place than the desert?

We’ve spent the past two months at Sunflower RV Resort; a place I wrote about in a previous post. We had so much fun with our wonderful neighbors there. We learned how to play a new card game, ”Hand and Foot”, enjoyed visits at each other’s RV’s, and shared in the excitement as one couple got a new 5th wheel and another got a new puppy. Trevor enjoyed the local Italian Pastry Shop with the guys now and then, I was able to do two important interviews as research for my book, and we both spent many hours poring over scriptures with a dear Pastor and his wife who live in the park.

We were blessed when Gordon and Christy came for a visit, staying in a park model at Sunflower for the weekend. It was great to see them and to get some dog time with their sweet little dog, Duncan. I always have trouble with the 10th commandment whenever I’m around Duncan. There’s something about that dog. I think everyone covets him. You can visit Christy’s blog at chuckwagonadventure.blogspot.com. She writes about Duncan’s popularity in a 2011 post entitled, “Desert Dwellers”.

It’s not hard to keep yourself busy in a place like Sunflower. For a small fee, Trevor joined Woodshop, where they have every woodworking tool you can imagine. I was able to learn some things at Computer Club, attend two informative bible studies, and play Bocce Ball with some very fun people, many of them from our home state. With the help of the dear ladies in Pottery Club, Trevor and I learned techniques that enabled us to make items we needed around the house. With the skills we acquired this year, I’m sure we’ll be able to make the same items even better next time!

We did a lot outside the park as well. We hung out at White Tank Mountain Regional Park where we found a cactus I named Treehugger, and where we hiked the Mesquite Trail; a pretty good climb, with nice views.
We visited with friends in town who taught us another fun card game, “Pony Tail”, and we went to Tucson for a weekend to see my bff from grade school and meet her new hubby. They took us to San Xavier del Bac Mission one morning. What a beautiful building! I cannot believe I forgot to bring my camera that weekend!

We took a day trip to visit Payson, Arizona and some of its surrounding areas. For the most part, Payson was shut down for the season, so there’s not much to do there this time of year. A little north of Payson we found Tonto Natural Bridge Sate Park where we enjoyed a steep hike down to the bottom of the bridge. On the way back up, I was glad I’d been doing Tae Bo the previous months! It’s really improved the strength in my legs. Many thanks to Billy Blanks!
From the state park, we headed further north to the edge of the Colorado Plateau. I wasn’t expecting to see snow beneath my feet this winter, but it was fun and it was great to see all the parents out there sliding with their children.

Since we’ve accomplished our mission to dry out, we’ve moved on to a new place, lush with green grass
and beautiful flowers blooming everywhere. And there’s a lot of golf going on here! We’re not golfers yet, but we bought starter clubs at a garage sale in Surprise. Between the greens right here in the park, and my parents nearby willing to teach us, we’re bound to learn something. Can’t wait to tell you all about it next time! Take care. We love you and miss you lots!
-Trevor and Roni

The California Coast

When the winds, rain and falling temperatures moved into Winchester Bay, Oregon, it was time for Trevor to take some vacation time so we could move out. We did enjoy our stay there at Winchester Bay RV Resort. We loved the front and backyard of our temporary home, the excitement of watching the Coast Guard practice their rescue maneuvers out back, and the many opportunities to view sea life, lighthouses, elk, and beautiful coastline as we hiked along the ocean’s edges.

They called us chickens on the day we left, because they’d all heard it was to be extremely cold that night. I call it being smart, like the rest of the campers who bailed out as well. There were only eight rigs left in the park when we left. Unlike many RV parks in the area, Winchester Bay RV Resort is open all year, so if you’re in the area, this is a very nice place to stay.

The skies seemed to clear somewhat as we drove down highway 101 toward California. I can’t tell you enough how beautiful the scenery is along the way.

If you’re into lighthouses, there are two I particularly liked; Coquille River Lighthouse in Bandon, OR and Cape Blanco at Port Orford. There’s a very nice state park at Cape Blanco. A lot of these lighthouses are closed to the public this time of year, including the Cape Blanco lighthouse. Some of the camping areas within the park were closed as well, but not all. There may still be some camping there now, but I’d call ahead if you’re planning to stay there. I have to say, I was really impressed by the fortitude of the tent campers in this park!

The drive down 101 is a photographer’s dream, but it’s amazing how there won’t be a view point in some of the most amazing scenic areas, and then you get to some that are ho- hum in comparison. Sadly, I had to pass up a lot of awesome photo-ops just to keep my driver’s sanity intact. Seriously, you could stop about every five seconds for photos.

Ever since I learned about them in grade school, I’ve yearned to see the giant Redwoods in California. I never thought I’d get to see them, so you can imagine what an awesome experience it was when we got to spend the night on Avenue of the Giants near Redcrest, CA. This is a long, narrow road, lined on both sides by these awesome giants. You really have to watch the road if you’re driving an RV, as there seems to be only inches between you and the big trees.

When we arrived in the area, we checked into Ancient Redwoods RV Park-very nice place and very nice owners. This park was closing for the season in three days after we left so if you’re thinking about staying there this time of year, that won’t work. This RV Park does have a store there that’s open year round, filled with all kinds of beautiful things made from Redwoods. I think they also have a little restaurant there as well; we didn’t wander into that part of the building, so we’re not sure what they serve there. We dropped the RV off in the campground and took the car along Avenue of the Giants. It was so cool to hang out amongst these awesome trees! Since it was near dark when we arrived there, we had to pass up the many hiking opportunities in the area. But we did hear of some cool things to see along the trails. One, was about a grandfather tree so big around, 17 people could hold hands around the circumference of it.

I love how the landscape changed so much along highway 101. We went from beautiful coastal waters, to giant redwood trees, then into Napa, CA, with foothills covered in the fall foliage of their famous vineyards.

While in Napa, we stayed at Skyline Wilderness Park; an interesting park that’d be nice to see in the summer when everything’s nice and green. We took a day trip from there to San Francisco, drove across the Golden Gate Bridge just for fun, got a great view of Alcatraz, and had a picnic lunch at one of the many old forts in the area. It rained a bit during the day, but as I photographed the Golden Gate Bridge, the sun made an appearance, producing a beautiful rainbow into San Francisco Bay. At one point during this display, the rainbow’s end appeared to land right onto the deck of a sailboat tooling around the bay. I tried to get a shot of it, but just missed that perfect shot!

Our next stop was Monterey, CA, where we stayed at the Monterey County Fairgrounds. You can usually stay in a fairground for around 20 to 30 dollars per night, but this one was 40. It’s difficult to get into this place because you need to go through a narrow gate that has a big dip in front of it. The dip tossed a few more dishes out of the cabinets even though they were taped shut (new dishes, yea!!!). It is also located on the edge of a golf course, so you stay there at your own risk of being nailed by a stray golf ball, and having to sign a piece of paper stating as much. But the camp host there is very nice and very helpful.

Once parked, we visited the nearby Cannery Row, the area made famous by John Steinbeck’s novel of the same name. The street was originally called Ocean View Avenue, but was renamed because of Steinbeck’s book. There are a lot of shops, restaurants and people in this cute little area. We had a nice evening there and explored the town of Carmel the next day, with more beautiful beaches and we were able to catch a glimpse of the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course.

Out of Carmel, we got on US 1 to continue down the coast toward Morro Bay. US 1 is a long, windy, narrow road, along California’s beautiful coast. If you have to decide between taking this road or 101, take this one at least once. The route is difficult because it’s slow going in the RV, taking many turns at 25 and 35 miles per hour. Since you’re slower than the rest of traffic, people tend to be less than thrilled with you in the lead, so you need to use a lot of turnouts, slowing you down even more. This gets to be annoying for you, but the drivers behind you are grateful.

It does get to be tiring, because you’re doing slow turn, after slow turn, and sometimes it seems like you’re right on the edge of the high cliffs along the ocean and one wrong move….But believe me, it’s worth it! You’ll be so relieved by the time you’re done, but so happy you didn’t pass up the chance to see what there is to see there.

About the time you finally reach a straight, flat, wide road, you get to pull off on a beach near Hearst Castle that’s loaded with Elephant Seals. If you’ve been in areas with lots of seals, you’d think this place would smell pretty bad, but it doesn’t smell at all. We visited this place three times while in the Morro Bay area. You just can’t get free entertainment like this in many places. We heard sounds there, neither one of us had heard before, and saw the cutest things, like these babies all nestled and snug on the beach, while visions of ratfish danced through their heads.

We were so blessed when we arrived at Morro Dunes RV Park. We were told on the phone we’d have a back-in site (not preferred) with no sewer and no TV. I don’t feel human without a daily shower, I had laundry that needed to be done, and I didn’t want to miss the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade…rofl.

We were so blessed upon arrival when we were told about a cancelation, freeing up a pull-thru site with sewer and cable for us! I keep telling you, God is good!

We left Morro Bay on Black Friday and with the help of the holiday and friends on the RVforum.net, we had smooth sailing through Los Angeles. We spent the night in a lush, green, oasis in the desert, called Emerald Desert RV Resort. It was a bit pricey for the night, but we had to check some things out in the area the next morning, so it worked fine as a one-time deal.

We spent the next night in the Quartzsite desert. This is an awesome place to be if you like solitude and free rent. You can stay in short-term areas for free up to 14 days. Now and then we talk about staying here for long periods, but I’d have to get over my daily shower addiction and we might need to add some solar panels to the rig.

Vacation's over, it’s back to work now, so we’re going to stay put in the desert for a while. It’s a sharp contrast to the coastal waters we’ve recently enjoyed, but the desert does have it owns beauty.
We love you and miss you all!
Love,
Trevor & Roni

The Pacific Coast Highway

What can I say about the Pacific Coast Highway? You’ve seen one highway, you’ve seen them all. Just kidding! There’s so much beauty to behold here. But you judge for yourself.
Love, Trevor & Roni

Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, OR

Seagull Playing With A Dog Cannon Beach, OR

Outside the Tidal Raves Restaurant, Depoe Bay, OR

Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Newport, OR

Heceta Head Lighthouse, 15 Miles South Of Yachats, OR

Cooks Chasm, Lincoln County, OR

Cape Perpetua, 2 Miles South Of Yachats, OR

Sunset At Cape Perpetua

Coos Bay, OR

Umpqua River Lighthouse, Winchester Bay, OR

The Views Outside Our Window

As we continue to travel across the country, we are more and more convinced that we ARE NOT the result of a cosmic accident and that the words of the apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans were divinely inspired: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” Romans 1:20 New American Standard Version.

I would love to show you the views outside our window as Trevor drove our home through the winding mountain roads between Montana and Washington, but I’ll spare you the gory bug guts.

We are constantly amazed however, at the sights we see as we explore the areas around us; in Glacier National Park they seem to be never ending. My camera was in overdrive as I snapped pictures along the 1.5 mile hike up Hidden Lake Trail. The trail begins behind the visitor center at Logan’s Pass that lies atop the Continental Divide. Abundant wildflowers, streams of melting snow, big horn sheep, and mountain goats were a few of the things we enjoyed along the way. The mountain views, and the views down into the valleys were nice as well, but Hidden Lake is truly a gem. Many find the climb a bit difficult and are tempted to give up before they reach their destination. If you go there, allow yourself plenty of time and take a lot of rests along the way if you need to. Finishing the hike is well worth it! Once you get to the top, you have the option of hiking down to the lake as well. Due to grizzly activity, that trail down was closed the day we were there.

Another gorgeous trail there is Avalanche Trail. This trail is about 2 miles up, about 500 feet, through deep forest, with mountains and a beautiful stream that runs along the side of the trail. There’s a sign posted at the beginning of the trail warning that this is grizzly country, but we never saw any. Many find this trail difficult as well, so note the above, and finish the trail. At the end, there’s beautiful mountain scene containing 3 waterfalls and a gorgeous lake.
Needless to say, the park is awesome. There was a lot of road construction going on, so by next year, the Going To The Sun Road should be an even better drive up to Logan’s Pass. We didn’t mind being stuck in traffic though as I was able to take a lot of photos and Trev got to do some Bouldering (not really, this is a fake-out picture).

On our way to see Eureka, MT one day, we came across a lookout road leading to the top of Mt Marston. Thinking it’d be fun to check it out, we soon discovered it to be a very rough, dirt, rock- (or should I say boulder) strewn, fire lookout road. It was very rough on the car, and with it being a one lane road with two way traffic and no guardrails on a road climbing 4,000 feet, it was a little rough on our nerves as well. But the view from the top was amazing! It was well worth the trip with views of both Montana and Canadian mountains. You would think the air at the top of Mt. Marston, although a little thin, would be really fresh, wouldn’t you? We wouldn’t know, because our mouths, noses, tongues and lungs were so full of that dirt road, it was about all would could taste and smell the rest of the day.

We weren’t too excited about the view when we arrived at our spot in Washington, because although there’s an awesome view of Mount Baker from the park, you have to look through the local oil refinery to see it.
We did get a little excited though when sirens started going off at the refinery and we heard what sounded like an evacuation announcement coming over the loudspeaker. Turned out it was only a drill, but it seemed like they had a lot of drills!

Upon further exploration of the area, it turned out to be a nice place to visit after all.

Washington Park has a 2.2 mile loop road we liked to hike as often as we could. The loop takes you up high and down low (nothing like at Glacier, but still a good hike), through deep forest, and along waters with plenty of big rocks and sea life. We enjoyed watching a sea lion wrestle with a freshly caught fish and watching ferries haul cars and people through the bay with views of the San Juan Islands and the Olympic mountains. We took a ferry to San Juan Island on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

We enjoyed the sights of Roache Harbor, conversation with another couple visiting the area, and the sight of a big grey fox, something neither one of us had seen before.

While in Washington, we got to visit Seattle on two occasions where we enjoyed visits with family and coworkers and enjoyed local attractions as well.
We’re on into Oregon now. I’ve got some awesome pictures I plan to share with you next time.
We love and miss you all! Take care.
Love,
Trevor and Roni