Trip to California

This is somewhere in Idaho. It was great to be on the road, off on an adventure! Yay!

Steven playing with the miniature Etch-a-sketch we bought for the trip! :)

We ate our meals in the uhaul. These are turkey and cheese sandwiches, washed down with chocolate milk!

We crossed Idaho to Spokane, then went SW and south across eastern Washington to the Oregon state line, where we turned west along the Columbia River. We were surprised how dry and brown it was, even along the river!

Here's a tugboat and some barges.

Near The Dalles we saw windsurfers out on the river. The water had to have been kind of cold, but they looked like they were having fun!

We reached the ocean late the next morning!

Oh my gosh, it's so beautiful!

"That's the sea. I'm a seafull. Get it?"

So very beautiful.

I couldn't get enough of seeing the ocean, and the beautiful coastline.

In southern Oregon we passed through Gold Beach, so we stopped at Backwoods Home Magazine's offices. Steven has written off and on for them for almost 20 years.

Steven and I with Ilene Duffy. All the folks at Backwoods Home are warm and friendly. It was a great visit.

Almost to the California border.

The evening shadows are lengthening.

Oh so beautiful!

And again so beautiful.

We spent the night at a wayside near Arcata in northern California.

Sunrise reflections of color.

A big tree at the wayside.

Looking through the trees to the ocean. We walked along a trail on the hilltop.

Same rock from another angle.

"Oh how I love the water!

And even long to be,

A bird, a boat, or anything

That dwells upon the sea!" -Eliza R. Cook

Odie and her reflection also loved the sea!

Pacific ocean

Just realized I never identified it!

Sigh... I was so happy along the ocean!

But alas, we had to head back to the uhaul and head inland, away from the sea.

I kept looking back!

The sand dunes were beautiful too!

Some dunes, some plants, and a bit of ocean!

Odie says "Let's go back and play!"

Along the road between Arcata and Redding, California

The Trinity River

A reservoir on the Trinity River just west of Redding, California

In southern California we saw a lot of wind turbines near the town of Mohave.

On the last stretch, crossing the desert south of "Four Corners" on Hwy. 395, north of the San Bernadino Mountains.

Magic Smog???

Um, yeah...California is a bit odd!

Silverwood Lake, north of San Bernadino.
This was our destination. The group camp site was about a mile from the lake.

The pictures and summary from the camp-out are on their own blog. If you don't have the link, let me know and I'll email it to you! It was a great time! The class we taught was well-received. At least people seemed interested and asked a lot of good questions! We learned a LOT from the other classes, and it was a great week!