Tumacacori National Historic Park

There’s a lot to see and do in southern Arizona – and, its finally cooling down enough to get out and do some exploring.  Last week we headed about 20 miles south along I-19 to Tumacacori.  Though it isn’t too far away, we most often go there with guests. But we haven’t been for a few years. So, after walking the dogs and grabbing a quick breakfast, off we went.

Leftovers

We had a great RV trip to the Pacific Northwest but are now back to the Southern Arizona Desert.  As I walked in the mornings in Sisters Oregon I was amazed at the changing landscape of new wildflowers appearing each day.  The interesting thing however is that I have the same feeling walking in my neighborhood in Arizona.  Each day in the spring brings new blooms on the cacti, succulents and wildflowers.   So I guess nature will provide

Back to the Fifties

In late July, on the return portion of our trip to OR and CA, we entered the Mojave Desert heat, and focused on driving with little time allotted for side trips.  However, I did want to see a bit of the old Route 66. So we stopped just east of Barstow, staying in a park on this famous route.  Unfortunately, Route 66, in that area, didn’t have many old buildings or museums for a “tourist” to visit. 

Devil’s Postpile National Monument (DPNM)

Traveling to Devil’s Postpile during the busy summer season, requires use of a shuttle bus system. The shuttles are a good idea – the road into this area is one lane and winding, going over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and down the western slope of the mountain range. 

Mammoth Lakes, CA

The town of Mammoth Lakes, located just east of Highway 395, on the eastern side of the Sierras, is a great stopover while traveling south on our way back towards Arizona.  This town is very much a tourist/resort destination. 

East Side of Yosemite NP

After arriving in the Mammoth Lakes area we decided to get a look at the eastern side of Yosemite National Park. Leaving Hwy 395, we traveled on Rt. 120 over Tioga Pass.  The road was very curvy with steep upward grades, plus there was some construction ongoing (quite a trip).  At the park entrance, the elevation was 9900+ feet.  This entrance put us into the high Sierra portion of the park.

Stopover in Alturas CA

From Crater Lake we overnighted in Alturas, CA.  It was a small park just off the highway, however getting directions from the park manager, who did not know street names, was an interesting exercise.  Complicating the matter was a festival in the city park which adjoined the RV park.  After many detours and tight squeezes we managed to get settled into a nice site.

Outside the Crater

Crater Lake NP extends well beyond the crater itself.  Depending on the season, various outdoor activities are available.  Being there in July was a great time to do some of the trails, check out waterfalls and some Mt. Mazama volcanic formations several miles from the crater.

Into the Crater

We had planned to do several easy to moderate hikes in the Crater Lake NP, but were drawn to going inside the crater.  There is only one trail, the Cleetwood  CoveTrail,  that goes down into the crater to the lake surface – and, it is rated as a strenuous hike.  The distance is 1.1 miles each way; how strenuous could that be?  Well, it involves a 700 foot elevation change and many switchbacks along the way.  But, it’s the only way to get there!

Crater Lake National Park

We spent the first few days of July at the Diamond Lake RV Park, chosen due to its’ proximity to Crater Lake NP.  We soon discovered that almost all of our time while there was spent exploring the park.  And, we also found that Verizon service in the park was nil, and in the RV park very limited and slow connections, so now we’re working to catch up a bit.

Goodbye to Sisters & Bend, Central OR

In the early planning for this RV trip, we decided to stay the month of June in central Oregon, near Bend, and do a bit of exploring. We were not disappointed. There was so much to see and do in this area.  Our priority usually involves the outdoors, and, boy oh boy, was this ever the location for enjoying activities in the fresh air and sunshine. We found lots of places to go: hikes, waterfalls, historical sites (recent and geological), and also the occasional microbrew establishment (which seems to be a core element in/around Bend).

Hunt for the Headwaters, Metolius River, Or

When our friends, Ric and Jan, visited us a few weeks ago, we drove to Camp Sherman, a community near the Metolius River in the Deschutes NF near Sisters, OR. Camp Sherman was first settled in the 1880s, growing into a small community over time.

Historic Fish Lake, McKenzie River

Driving along Route 126 west of Sisters, OR, we decided to stop at the Historic Fish Lake Site.  This location has been used by various peoples for many years and has historical records going back to the mid-1800s.

McKenzie Pass – Santiam Pass Scenic Byway

During centuries of exploration and discovery, man has searched for how to get from one location to another.  Traveling from the east side of the Cascades to the west, long before the advent of highways like we have today, was likely a treacherous adventure.

Benham Falls - Deschutes River in Bend, OR

Sometimes a walk to a waterfall is so much more. Perhaps, it was just the day (which was sunny and warm), or the gentle sounds of the water and the birds chirping in the reeds (before the roar of the falls). But, I think it was also special knowing that these falls are where they are because of LAVA. 

Newberry National Volcanic Monument (NNVM)

This national monument, located south of Bend, OR, is so extensive it took us two trips to really begin to understand its significance. Good friends from Seattle, Ric and Jan, came down when we first arrived in central OR to show us some of their favorite spots and this one was on the list.

Smith Rock State Park

We are currently staying in Crooked River RV Park, located on the rim of a deep canyon with the Crooked River flowing far below.  A few miles east this river flows around Smith Rock – a well-known rock-climbers paradise. 

Steelhead Falls

We took a short hike yesterday to Steelhead Falls, a small waterfall on the Deschutes River in the Crooked River Ranch area North of Redmond.  It was a short one-half mile walk along the river to the falls.  The river was beautiful, with several fly-fishermen trying their luck.  The trail was rather steep and we had to be careful of the loose gravel, etc.  But it was well worth the short hike.

Fires, Raptors, and Bulldogs

The Two Bulls fire began on Friday, June 6, near Bend, Oregon, threatened some housing areas and schools in Bend, but is now under control.  We could see the smoke cloud from our park just north of Sisters.

Portland II: Downtown, Japanese Garden and Mt. Hood

The Portland area is packed with choices to fill lots of days, whether your interests lie with out-of-doors activities or in-town museums, shops and galleries.

Portland I – Columbia River Gorge

We arrived in Portland for a week’s stay (our longest for this trip) near the end of May.  Our planned itinerary was a bit “sketchy”, leaving open time to relax and enjoy not being on the road.  Since Gary has been doing all the RV driving, I have made it my priority to drive us around town in the car, while we visit the Portland area. 

Arcane Cellars - Harvest Host in Willamette Valley, OR

We knew we were ready for another night at a winery, and chose this location based on several reviews by other RV Harvest Host members.   Located in the Salem, Oregon, vineyards famous for Pinot wines, we were not disappointed.  And the host, Jeffrey Silva, was ever so helpful and welcoming, as were his staff.

Animals in and around tide pools

While on the Oregon Coast we enjoyed visiting some excellent tide pools at Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Coquille Point - Bandon Beach and Yaquina Head Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area.  Abundant sea life uses these natural areas, both under water, and on the giant rock outcrops off shore (featured in an earlier post). Unfortunately both visits occurred on very overcast days, so the pictures are a little on the dark side.

Cape Blanco, the westernmost point in the lower 48

Visitors along the southern Oregon coast often travel west from Hwy 101 down onto Cape Blanco to see the lighthouse on its’ tip.  And that is an interesting destination.  However, the Cape’s story should include the history of the peoples who settled on, or used the lands of the cape. 

Cape Arago Highway

Since we were staying in Bullard Beach SP in Bandon, we chose to travel north to Coos Bay on the 101 and check out what was along that route.  We then entered the Cape Arago Hwy (Rt 540) at Coos Bay/North Bend and headed back south towards Bandon. In the little fishing village of Charleston, a wonderful seafood (fresh, of course) restaurant beckoned us to stop (which we did and had great views and a wonderful meal).   Leaving Charleston, we were ready for some outdoor exploring.

Bandon Beach, Oregon

I had a wonderful time taking pictures at Bandon Beach.

Traveling Tidbits

There are some short topics that I wanted to share with others – like us -  in the "early learning phase" of RV'ing.

Patrick's Point SP and the CA Coastal Redwoods

We stopped just north of Trinidad, CA, to begin our side trips into this land of the redwoods.

A Relaxing Sunday Drive with Jerry Jeff Walker in my Head

This post is about our drive a few days ago from Kings City to the Sonoma county park, just north of San Francisco.  Outlaw Country fans will understand the reference to Jerry Jeff Walker.   Although this drive was not in Los Angeles, I could not get the song lyrics out of my head. 

Pinnacles National Park, CA

In planning our trip we noticed that a former National Monument had become a National Park.   We decided we would plan a short stop on our way to Oregon.  This was a great stop, however, it was entirely different than we had expected.  For some reason we thought we saw photographs of large rugged rocks sticking out of a barren desert landscape.  It was much different.

Hearst Castle and More!

While in the Paso Robles area, there is more to see than vineyards.  So, we had planned a day to take one of the Hearst Castle tours - or as Gary would say - "another old house tour”!  However, he has admitted that this tour, and "house" was worth the time and effort to get there.

 

Rio Seco Vineyards - Our first Harvest Host experience!

If you are unfamiliar with the Harvest Hosts network, check out their website.  This network enables RV travelers to park and enjoy an overnight at a farm, vineyard or other agri-business location and learn a little while you are visiting.  One detail is that the site is usually “dry” camping  - a first for us, and I was a bit wary about trying no hookups. 

RV Park Review - Orange Grove RV Park, Bakersville, CA

Our one night stop in Bakersfield, CA, was planned to visit a dear 'ole friend.  I based the choice of Orange Grove RV Park on several positive RV review postings, and also a favorable blog posting by Wheelingit.  And, we found the park to be more than adequate, better than average, and just plain great!

High Winds and Burned Bridges

We are early risers, but not usually fast to  " break camp" and hit the road.  Today was an exception.  The local (LA) news last night was focused on the bridge under construction burning with I-15 underneath closed and traffic backed up for hours on this artery from LA to Vegas.  One route we were considering on our next leg would have been right through that mess.

More Rocks, Joshua Trees, and other Pictures

Thought I would share more pictures from our day at Joshua Tree National Park.   Hope you enjoy.

Joshua Tree NP - a Botanical Viewpoint

Living in the Sonoran Desert south of Tucson, AZ, for the past 7 years has provided quite an education to someone who has lived most of her life in the eastern US.  First, I now understand (TOTALLY) that globes portraying brown on the western part of the US and green on the Eastern, are based on reality.  Or, at least, so it would seem to many of us transplants. But, over time you find that vegetation, mostly of the "native plants" variety, can provide beautiful gardens and landscapes wherever you are.  The trick, if there is one, is to "go with the flow" and not try to fool Mother Nature!

Summer 2014 Trip to the Pacific NW and Beyond

 We are not full timers, but we are moving toward longer RV trips - this one planned to be around 3 months. Where we live in Green Valley, AZ, between Tucson and our border with Mexico, we recognize that summer comes early.  Temperatures begin to hover around 100 degrees F during May, so we consider May as summertime, a great time to visit more northern parts of the US.

Overview of our first extended RV trip from Arizona to Florida (2013)

Before we get started on our adventures to the Northwest this year, I will give a summary of our first major trip in our RV.  We left Arizona mid-December, 2012 and returned in late January, 2013.

We headed to visit friends and relatives in Florida.  After a forced march across Texas (including 2 days of unexpected driving by Leslie because my back went out after the second day on the road), we made it to Disney World's Wilderness Park for a week's stay with family ( Leslie's son, and grandkids from Atlanta, and sister-in-law from Boston).

Welcome to Next Horizon

Hi!  Welcome to our blog.   We are starting a trip from Arizona to the Great Northwest.   We hope you will follow along with us as we move from the Arizona warmth (some say dry heat - or just HEAT) into the moderate (we may say cold and wet) temperatures for the Northwest Summer. The pictures below are a little of what we are leaving behind.

Stay tuned to see what is over the Next Horizon.