Kit and Carol on the Road

Arrived this afternoon at our Tucson place. It is way too much work moving in and we will likely be at it all weekend. Transitions are always hard.
Had breakfast this morning with cousin Virginia and Bob in Prescott and then drove and drove on boring freeways. This will be the end of blog news for awhile unless something exciting happens here.

Carol Harma--from my iPad

This is the waterline shown crossing Hoover Dam. We had to do a big security check to get into the dam and then the RV parking was a mile up the hill so we didn't hike down to visit the visitor center. We did stop at the one at Lake Mead.

This lake is a 10 minute walk from our campground near Prescott. Arrived today at 4. Lots of trails If we were staying longer. Tucson calls.

Stopped very near here last night. (Near Las Vegas ) No cell phone or internet. BLM Campground.

Last time we were here people were canoeing in Badwater Basin and the valley was literally yellow with wildflowers. So we thought to see it in a drier time. Alas a thunderstorm passed through a few days ago and almost all the roads are closed. Rivers are running down them seeking the lowest spot in Badwater basin.

Sent from my iPhone

Of all the ways we have taken south to Tucson this has been the mellowest and most fun. But then the weather has been good too. Tomorrow we leave the lovely 395 and go to Death Valley.

Carol Harma--from my iPad

This cold cold morning we wanted to go to Devil's Posthole National Monument but the road was closed. Instead we decided to take a short 1 mi hike to a lake. Started at 9000 feet and went up. i wore the wrong shoes and forgot to take water. Nice outing though. Afternoon we came down to a warmer place. I was excited to visit Manzanar, the Japanese Internment camp. It is one of those places that needs a whole day to explore and only had a few hours.

Few rain showers today but not bad travel weather. Weren't sure how far we would go today but ended up almost to Reno--just over the border into Nevada. Another no photo day. What else can I say. Tomorrow we (and 395) take a detour though Nevada and then head up into some serious altitudes.


Carol Harma--from my iPad

We had a long drive today from west of John Day to west of Lakeview. In the canyon leading out of John Day we saw much evidence of wildfire --with burned buildings and burned trees stacked by the road. I just read that this fire occurred in August of this year. 395 through Eastern Oregon passes by forests and lovely streams and also through sage and grass high country. Not to mention several large very dry lakes. I found a fabric store in Burns and we also stopped there for a few groceries. Our destination was Juniper Reservoir near Lakeview. This is the first private RV park we ever stayed in--Kit says it was 16 years ago. We were greeted by lots of cows. I failed at a photo--but maybe on the way out. The RV park is quite far off the highway in the middle of a working ranch. I would like to have gone for a walk but there was laundry to do and it took forever to get all the clothes dry--putting in quarters every 10 minutes. Otherwise it is quiet and pleasant here and the predicted rain hasn't arrived though the clouds portend a change in weather.

Carol Harma--from my iPad

No P's and confusing pricing. $24 our cheapest camp so far.

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Another 100 mile day. Kit wanted to stop here and I thought it was too early(1:30). Luckily I agreed. Clyde Holliday State Park is pretty special. Our campsite has room for 16 tents --if that were legal--and the John Day river is just behind us with a nice walking trail. True we are just off Hwy 26 to John Day but highway noise only a minor irritant. Weather is perfect. Sun and shade. Tomorrow we have to double it to make Lakeview.

Love the juxtaposition between the tepees and the brand new casino hotel in back. We are just wandering through tribal territory and staying in RV land.

Today we made only 98 miles. Up very early for our early appointment with the mechanic (see Ida in the Sky). Finally on our way to Walla Walla. Finally found a place to park. Decided to have lunch in town. Ended up choosing Pho at a Sushi Restaurant. Not a good idea. Walked around town some. Lots of wine tasting rooms --about half closed. We skipped that bit and walked the outskirts where the old houses were. My knee was bugging me so I was going slow but then I tripped on a street curb and really messed up my knee--and ripped the pants Kit just washed the bike grease out of. (bad grammar--bad knee) I will be stiff in the morning. But stopped at a couple wineries on the way out of town--real wineries in the middle of grapes. Got some expensive wine at the Z winery--and some stemless glasses which we hope will travel better than the others. Came at the end of the day to the Wild Horse Casino Resort RV park outside of Pendleton. Cheapest camp yet.

Carol Harma--from my iPad

I was intrigued by this cave into the hillside at Zebra winery. Not a root cellar but storage for cases of wine.

We spent 2 hours in the Mercedes dealership in Kennewick. The mechanic could not find anything wrong. They not only did not charge us but washed the motorhome. Kudos for Mercedes. We do have to live with the shudder and assume we'll make it to Tucson.

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Despite all the omens this turned out to be a pretty good day. Alas I have not been taking photos. Yesterday we came over White Pass on Hwy 12 which was very scenic although the main reservoir along the route was basically dry. They let the water out to fill the river for the salmon. Alas, we had to go over a 4000 foot pass. Ida does this shuddering thing when we are going uphill at certain speeds. It was supposed to have been fixed at the last shop visit. So Kit is freaked out. There are only 2 sprinter repair shops on our route to Tucson. Kit called for an appointment in Kennewick. We take her in at 8 tomorrow morning.

So we had virtually a day to kill. The state park where we were stopped did have the advantage of some nice hiking trails near the river. So we had a good morning walk. (Did I mention we were in Yakima to visit our friends Denny and Karen and had dinner with them last night). Anyway it was 11 by the time we finished walking and shortly after that we got on the road. Our plan was to stop in Toppenish to visit the American Museum of Hops. Yesterday I couldn't find the hours anywhere but today we found out they closed on Sept. 30. So instead we went to the Yakama Cultural Center and Museum. (after lunch in their parking lot). The museum is quite new and really awesome so we spent some pleasant time there. I tried a photo but the sun was bad. It's not a mistake that the Yakama nation is spelled differently than Yakima the town.

After our visit we headed south to locate the Mercedes dealer in Kennewick and on the way we spotted a brand new RV park. This is the very far away place we are now ensconced. It is very far away from home in that there are no mountains, no evergreen trees, warm warm weather and the hills are barren brown. It is also only 7 minutes from the repair shop where we are due at 8 in the am. I don't mind paying premium prices for very nice private RV parks. Esp. when I get wifi AND TV.

Carol Harma--from my iPad

We are in our 2nd state park in 4 nights. The only plus side is there is usually nice nature and plenty of room to walk. Maybe it is worth the outrageous cost but I am not so sure. It was bad enough when they started this silly extra charge for extra cars. You can't have guests unless they have this Discover Pass ;(. They clean the bathrooms at inconvenient times in the morning. But now there is the new tiered system so you can't even figure out how much you owe. Price of campsite is based on "popularity". They have to hire an extra ranger to sit at the gate and assign a spot and tell you how much to pay. At Bayview we were in PB and in Yakima we are in FB. Go figure. I fear this new greed will have spread to Oregon. I am hoping they will soon think of my dream surcharge-- $5 per dog.

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Here are a few of the boats at the rowing club to which Kirsten belongs.

Today was beautiful and sunny. We went on a short walk and ended up on the beach. Kit and Kirsten are looking at saltbush near the site of an old wigwam burner.

While in Port Townsend we made a stop at the Eaglemount Winery tasting room. On the counter there is a small bowl of the quince which we picked and which go into the quince cider they make. We got a bottle to take to AZ and tried a couple of the other ciders. With a trip to Walla Walla planned our rV may be filled with booze :)

Carol Harma--from my iPad

It was a windy rainy dark day but we had "front row seats" on the ferry to Port Towndsend. Picture of whitecaps didn't work. Here we are landing. First off. Despite the weather it was a pleasant trip down 101 along Hood Canal. Almost no traffic. What a different experience than i5.

Fall is finally here--chillier, foggier, rainier.. This is not the only reason we are preparing to head south tomorrow. Two weeks without a car ferry are enough for us and there are still 2 more weeks of repair outage. We left the motorhome on "the other side" before the ferry departed. We packed a lot before we took it over. Now it's all the last minute "stuff". We took a load today. Tomorrow morn I will take more on my way to a dentist appointment. Our second trip tomorrow will be with the bikes. We were going to ride to the ferry but rain is in the forecast so we plan to take them on the shuttle bus (with a bike rack) which is on the island during the outage. We have reservations tomorrow night at a nearby state park--Saturday we head south.

Carol Harma--from my iPad