Valley Views

By Pacific Northwest standards there is not much breathtaking about these photos.  After all this is the middle of the Mojave Desert.  They were taken on a short day hike with our friend Larry when he and Linda were visiting us last week.  These are somewhat crudely "stitched" together photos of the view at the top of the hike and give a pretty good idea of the lay of the land on this west side of the Las Vegas valley.  If you download the panoramas  (right click on image and choose "save image as") you may be able to zoom in on them to get a better look.  Not sure you can do that within the blog.

Larry at the top.

About a 220 degree panorama of valley west side and "The Strip".

The Las Vegas Strip

BROWNIE R.I.P.

A week ago Monday, October 28th, was another sad day for us.  Our Emergency Backup Kitty, Brownie woke us up at 3 am crying loudly.  We found her on the floor with what appeared to be a paralyzed rear end.  She could not use her back legs.  We did what we could do for her at that hour and got her to a vet later in the day.  The vet determined that she had serious heart disease and that as a result she had thrown a blood clot that lodged in her spine and caused the paralysis.  She felt too much damage had been done to hope for any recovery of the use of her legs and it was also just a matter of time before she threw another clot.  Brownie was 72 in people years.  She had a good last few weeks but we really had no choice but to say goodbye to her.  We were with her until the end and it was just as hard as it was with Gizmo back in September.  We were unable to tell son Paul about this until yesterday so delayed posting.  At this point I think we will remain "catless" for a while, perhaps permanently.   Goodbye Brownie.

Better Days

"MOUNTAIN" HIKE

Not a lot to report blog-wise since we have arrived in Las Vegas.  Yesterday we revisited a local park that has a "Mountain" that you can climb.  It is a fairly steep hike up.  It is maybe a half mile.  Because the Las Vegas valley is so flat however, the view from the top is pretty good, for desert that is.  I took our medium point-and-shoot camera.   Here is a picture of downtown Las Vegas from the top of the trail.  The view from there is actually an unobstructed 360 view but the rest of it does not have much of interest photographically speaking.  There is a lot of history in the valley however and some interesting facts on various signage.

LAS VEGAS

Doesn't look very big but actually just right for us.

Arrived in Las Vegas at 1:30 yesterday after leaving Bakersfield about 9:30.  Made good time.  We just beat the predicted winds which kicked in about 5 pm here.  Blew pretty hard most of the night.  Comfortable but still breezy this morning.  Having Arlyene's Mom and Aunt and Uncle over for dinner tonight so lots of small chores today.  Coach and Jeep are still dirty and will have to stay that way for another couple of days.  I just won't look.

Brownie is already quite comfortable here.

GLITCH PART TWO

MR. GLITCH

Just got word from Larry that they are only half repaired.  Still waiting for another part and it is not likely to arrive until tomorrow.  That leaves us with little choice but to move forward on our own as we need to arrive in Las Vegas on Thursday.  Oh well, we will no doubt have other opportunities to hang out during the winter and spring.  Onward......

EUGENE -> RED BLUFF, A GLITCH, and BROWNIE

On our way to Red Bluff, while still in southern Oregon, Larry and Linda's motor home developed engine trouble causing them to seriously lose power on hills - and there are lots of them in southern Oregon.  We met up at a rest stop and the decision was that we would continue on to Red Bluff and they would stop in the Medford area and get the engine repaired on Monday.  So as I write this that is where we are respectively.  We are going to extend our stay here in Red Bluff by one more day hoping they can get their repair and back on the road Monday and catch up with us here.  Then we will continue together just one day behind schedule which is not a big deal.  The weather is supposed to clear and warm up starting Tuesday morning and stay that way all the rest of the trip.

For us the drive through the Siskiyous was better than usual.  Because it was Saturday the truck traffic was much lighter.  Much of the road construction going on there was shut down for the weekend and so there were only a few places where I-5 narrowed to one lane and since traffic was relatively light it did not cause a problem.  Still, it was little over a seven hour drive and because of the forecast weather conditions I chose to drive it all myself, about 350 miles.  That's about twice what we normally drive in a day.

Mt. Shasta 09/28/2013

So, here we sit in Red Bluff next to the Sacramento River hoping the Bergo's can make it here on Monday and that we can pick up the Seahawk game this morning on the park cable.  Norv is performing perfectly and Brownie (our Emergency Backup Cat) is doing just fine.  She is nocturnal so during the day she normally sleeps under the couch anyway.  Now it is just a little bumpier under there.  At night everything is good as far as she is concerned.  She has decided to grace us with her presence this morning as we watch the game so she took time out her busy schedule for a pose.

Brownie looking cool and calm (and sitting in my place!)

COBURG (EUGENE), OR TO RED BLUFF, CA

Got all the maintenance done on the condo (a.k.a motor home) yesterday.  Only unexpected item was one blinker bulb!  Larry and Linda are here and we will set off this morning for Red Bluff.  Going to be a long (348 miles) wet and windy drive today.  At least the first half.  That means slower speeds.  Still hope to be in Red Bluff mid to late afternoon.  Will order pizza delivered to the coach for dinner.

Our EMERGENCY BACKUP CAT, Brownie seems to be doing OK.  She hides all day but that has been her normal pattern.  When she does come out after we stop she seems relaxed and normal.  She grew up in the cab of Paul's 18 wheeler so being on the road is nothing new to her.  It has been a while however so she needs to adjust to it again but she seems to be doing that.  Maybe she will stay out long enough for a picture somewhere along the way.

Boring I know but that's my report for today.

A FOGGY MORNING IN TOUTLE

It is a little foggy in Toutle this morning.  Not enough to hinder our driving however.  Also does not have much effect on local spiders.

THE "SNOW BIRD" EXPERIMENT

Started the Snow Bird experiment today.  Gave up our spot at Lake Pleasant for the winter and we are headed for Las Vegas where we will spend several months while I work remotely and we spend time with family there.  If all goes to plan we will be there until early to mid May before we head back to the northwest.  We have another spot reserved at Lake Pleasant for June - September.  Today we at least got out of Seattle and are set up near the Toutle River and the exit off I-5 that goes to Mount St. Helens.  Too cloudy to see the mountain today.  Tomorrow we head through Portland to Coburg, OR which is just north of Eugene.  We will get some maintenance done there and join up with our traveling buddies Larry and Linda.  Saturday morning we will head for Red Bluff, CA for a couple of days.

We have Paul's cat Brownie with us.  I would post a picture but we have not seen much of her since starting up the engine.  At this point she is not the traveler that Gizmo was but maybe she will grow into the job.  The road surface through Seattle and Tacoma is some of the worst of this whole trip so maybe the worst is over for her.

FARWELL GIZMO

Today we said good-bye to the sweetest little kitty you would ever want to know and a great traveling budddy.  GIZMO lived with us for 2 years in our house, 12 years on sailboats and then 4 more in our motorhomes.  She had taken ill and nothing was working.  At 18 her time was up.  Her end was swift and painless but our hurt is real and deep.   We love you Gizmo and will miss you.

LAST POST FOR SPRING 2013 TRIP

We are back at Lake Pleasant in Bothell.  After spending a couple days with Larry and Linda at their home in Sagle we headed out Tuesday morning and made our way across the bulk of Washington stopping for the night in Ellensburg.  Seattle was only another 100 miles and we had plenty of time however, it was my choice not to hit Seattle traffic at the evening rush hour and also get back here late in the evening.  So we left Ellensburg at 9:30 this morning and arrived here at 11:30.  That gave us time to wash Norv who was very dirty.  We got him all washed up before we did anything else, including any set up.  Tomorrow we will wash the cars and other chores.

We had a great time and saw more of our country's wonders that we had not seen before.  We drove the coach 3,206 miles.  I don't know how many additional miles we drove in our Jeep or rode in Larry's truck but easily another 500 or so.  With no dents, scrapes or breakdowns I am going to call that a successful trip.  We are already looking forward to our next one and to returning to our lot in Las Vegas in late September after it starts cooling down.

One last look back, and.....

One last critter picture.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

While out touring around Lake Pend Oreille we encountered this sight near the entrance to an exclusive gated community of (presumably) rich people.  This is a piece of the Berlin Wall contrasted with one of several deer grazing in the area.

SAGLE, IDAHO

We arrived in Sagle, Idaho yesterday afternoon.  Sagle is one of those towns where if you blink you miss it.  It is on highway 95  about 5 miles from Sandpoint, ID.  It is primarily a Conoco Gas Station/Convenience Store with an RV park behind it and that is the RV park we are in now.  Spent the afternoon/evening with Larry and Linda at their house which is about 10 miles away.  Going to spend the day poking around the area with them.  No certain plan yet for tomorrow except dinner out.  We will be leaving here Tuesday morning headed for Ellensburg for one night and Bothell on Wednesday. 

JELLYSTONE PARK

We are spending the evening in Jellystone Park with Yogi and Bobo.  Partly cloudy but a nice evening.  The drive here from Dillon was pleasant through rolling hills of light and dark green and alongside rivers with fishing holes every half mile.  Jellystone (RV) Park is on the west end of Missoula.  Tomorrow we are headed for Sagle, Id - about 50 miles north of Coeur d'alene.  Will be spending a few days there at Larry and Linda's house before heading for Bothell, via Ellensburg.

DILLON, MT

Moved up from Idaho Falls to Dillon, MT today.  The campground manager here tells us it gets down to -35 degrees here in the winter with occasional wind gusts up to 95 mph.  Don't think we will be going this way in the winter!  Headed for Jellystone RV Park in Missoula tomorrow.

Rest Area near Lima, MT on our way to Dillon

GRAND TETONS SUMMARY

We are currently in Idaho Falls after driving down from Colter Bay in Grand Teton National Park.  The picture above was stitched together from three separate photos to give you a feel for the full view from the main Lodge.  The view about 100 yards from our campsite was almost as good.

We had a good time poking around but five days, including our side trip to Jackson,  was almost too much.  Glad to be back in the land of good internet.  Headed for Dillon, Montana tomorrow as we move towards Larry and Linda's home in Sagel, Idaho.

JACKSON, WY

Since we are able to get the occasional e-mail sent out I am updating the blog once again by e-mail message which means no pictures. 

Yesterday afternoon we drove down to a ranch outside Jackson, WY to a dinner show featuring ranch BBQ and singing cowboys.  Doesn’t sound like much but it was actually very good and we had front row seats.  We enjoyed it and had a good time.  The drive down (about 50 miles one way) was through some of the most beautiful landscape I have seen.  The drive back in the dark was something else but we made it.  (One would not stand a chance if you came upon a moose in the road going 45 or 50 mph.)  I was always glad to have another car to follow.

Today is our last day here.  Not sure what is on the agenda yet.  Weather has deteriorated somewhat but at least not currently raining.

UPDATE

A quick update.  We are in an RV park in the Grand Tetons.  Our cell/e-mail/internet coverage is very poor and very erratic so we have not been able to do any posts to the blog.  (Posting this via an e-mail feature in blogger)  Having a good time.  Leaving on Wednesday morning so should be able to post some pictures later that day.

YELLOWSTONE VIDEO

Arlyene has compiled a short video of highlights from our four day visits to Yellowstone.  Hope you can view.  It is a YouTube video and only 4 minutes and has sound.

YELLOWSTONE, MAY 2013

Enjoy, we sure did!

LAST FULL DAY IN YELLOWSTONE

Although we will be taking the motor home through the south part of Yellowstone to reach the Grand Tetons tomorrow, today was really our last day in the park for watching wildlife and taking pictures.  We were not disappointed as you will see in the following pictures.  Although we never did see a wolf we saw two different foxes so we figure they make up for the wolf.  We finally got to see some bison calves too.  There were a total of seven more bears and a heard of big horn sheep.  These pictures hardly do  justice to the magnificence of Yellowstone.  We will certainly need to come back here again.

Moms and kids early morning.

Big Boy!

Sow and two cubs.

Opps, too many people getting too close scaring the cubs and making mom shoo them higher up and away.

Lone Black Bear

Big Horn Sheep.  Males on full alert because of people too close.

This fox was stalking small prey and was completely oblivious to the people watching from the side of the road.

This second fox, at a different location, came out of nowhere and walk right through our group paying no attention to us.  Very Cool.  I was so surprised I barely got his picture but Arlyene got some excellent video.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Vistas from the valleys.

Part of Lamar Valley

Backup from Bison (see arrow) walking down the highway, taking their time, right in the middle of the road.  This is a common occurrence and part of the park experience.

YELLOWSTONE DAY THREE

Today it was mostly vistas and waterfalls.  More Bison too but I will spare you any more pictures of them.  Started out with a clear day but it clouded up soon after we left.  Still we didn't even have enough water drops to count.  Some of these pictures would have been better with good sunlight.

Taking Wednesday off to do some chores.  Thursday will be another long day with farther to travel.  We are going to an area where we hope to see Bison calves and some big horn sheep.  We'll be on the lookout for wolfs and more bear too.

It's a good thing we planned enough time here because this is a very big national park.

CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE AND IMPROVE QUALITY.

Lower Falls, Yellowstone River

Upper Falls.  If you click on this picture to enlarge you will see people standing on the brink observation area above the falls.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

There is always someone who does not follow the rules.......

These are common valley/mountain views throughout the park.

SECOND DAY IN YELLOWSTONE

Made our second trip into the park today for a total of about 7 hours of driving.  We made it up to Sylvan pass that was 8530 feet, our highest point of the day.  Today we actually saw real, live, wild bears.  Two of them in two different places.  These pictures are enlarged because the bears were both some distance away - which was a good thing.  So we can check off Deer, Bison and Bears now.  We still have to work on seeing some wolves and some elk.  Still have a couple more days to work on that.  In the mean time there were plenty of beautiful vistas as well as steaming vents and boiling mud.