SNOW--What's up with that!

January 11, 2011

We got back Tues. the 10th  at 2:30 pm. Spent the rest of the day unloading.  You load gradually so you don't realize how much stuff you have.  I have it down pretty good, except  for clothes. Still take way to many. The bad thing about having a lot of storage is that you have a tenancy to fill it. Our closets are almost as big as we have at our house.

The evening we got home it went down to 29 degrees. Way to cold for us. Last night the  snow started around six and didn't stop until just before  we went to bed.   At least it is now raining. A good thing.  It is quite a coincidence ( we think) that we left the day before it snowed and got back the day before it snowed.

One thing I have to say about Los Angeles. We noticed it last year and it is still the same. The  TV weather and traffic ladies wear their clothes a little too short, a little too tight and a little too revealing. Not really very professional. The anchor women dress nicely. If there is a  TV traffic guy or weatherman, they dress in suits. Very professional.  We saw a lot of  TV people we recognised from Seattle in both Ca.and Oregon. Also on the national weather channel. Going up in the world, I guess.

I don't know why, but, we seem to sleep better on the road. No matter how tired I am, it takes forever for me to get to sleep. On the road, I go to sleep right away.  Denny goes to sleep right away, but wakes up anyway from 3-4:30 am, 5 if he is lucky. On the road, he sleeps in later.  I don't know if it is because we are more relaxed or what.

 This will be my last posting until  we leave again next fall/winter. We spent  $1250 on diesel.  We traveled only 3500 miles. Of course, we were only gone 7 weeks. Last year we were gone 5 months and traveled 12,000 miles.  What a difference. I just found out that it is suppose to be 80 degrees in Palm Springs this weekend. Seems wrong to me!

I'll  send another email out when we start traveling later this year. Take care

BRRRRRR..........

January 8, 2011

Can't believe how the weather turned since we left Palm Springs. It was suppose to be 65 degrees the day we left. Today, 68.  Made it to Patterson, Ca.  Woke up this morning to 39 degrees out.  I know we haven't had real warm weather since we left, but 39 was a tad cold for us.  Had to put on our jackets. Made it today to Phoenix, Or. We hadn't planned on going this far, but the weather was so good for the Siskiyou's.  It has been cloudy for 2 days. Just before we got to Weed, our first destination, the skies cleared and it was 53 degrees.  Amazing for January.  Decided to go for it. By the time we got to the Summit, it was 29 degrees and cloudy, but no snow.  We were so lucky. In Phoenix it is 32.  Not liking this. We knew we had to be concerned about the Siskiyou's, but never thought about Seattle. The Times said it could snow on Sunday or later on in the week, 6 to 12".  NOT LIKING THAT AT ALL!

Going Home

January 6, 2011

 These are views from the entrance of the park.  Taken around 4:00pm.When we left in the morning, there was not a clud in the sky.

Tomorrow we are heading home.  My dad isn't doing well at all. He has health issues,  but when we left he was doing as fine as he could.  A few days later, he took a turn for the worse. He is 92 and my mom is 89 next month. I talk to them everyday, but it isn't the same. Ray and Mary, my brother and his wife, went over for Thanksgiving and have never left.  They are living there 99.9 % of the time. My Dad needs so much more care than he did when we left. Ray is doing an excellent job, but I feel I should be there to help.  We have many years to go traveling.

The park has now got all the electrical problems fixed except for a small area. They turned off the power in the entire park for 2 hours to get it done. We are so lucky to have been in a full power site. A lot of people were in the pool and hot tub to keep warm. We went twice just because we like it.  Park models don't have propane, so they  lost all  of  their freezer and frig food.

We really  like Palm Springs. The weather was 65 degrees today. We went to old Palm Springs today to get a pair of sunglasses. Last year, I bought a pair of bifocal reader sunglasses. I use them all the time.  I bought it in 3 different areas, but liked the ones at Palm Springs the best. They broke a few weeks ago. Surprisingly, even tho it had been a year, we went straight to the shop. Unfortunately, they were out. Won't get a new shipment in for 2 weeks. My luck! Oh well, there is always next year. We will definitely be back.

It will take us 5 days and 4 nights to get back. Hopefully the Siskiyou Mountains will be okay. They are between Oregon and California. They are the reason we like to leave early to get across them before snow.

One of the Mysteries of Life -- Solved

January 4, 2011

We make our coffee up the night before so all we have do to is push the start button in the morning. I don't program it because we never know when we'll get up. We have a Grind and Brew Cuisinart.  Ever since we started out, there has been a little clear water on the counter.  Couldn't figure it out. Last week when we got up in the morning, there was no water in the reservoir. I  have such a terrible memory that I just thought I forgot to fill it the night before.  On the 4th morning, I distinctly remembered filling it the night before, but it was empty. After further investigation, I discovered the cupboard beneath our stove was on all wet.  I guess there is a crack in the coffee pot and by morning it was all leaked out.  At least I wasn't forgetting. Time for a new coffeepot.

That solved one of the Mysteries of Life, but the one  from last year I never have figured out. How come my bathing suit and other clothes srunk in the drawers over the winter?   That didn't happen to Denny. I'll never figure that one out.

OH NO, I weigh 365 lbs!

December  28, 2010

I'm catching up on some posts because at Wilderness Lakes, it took forever to upload pictures so sometimes  I gave up

When we went to the museum at Diamond Lake Reservoir, they had a temporary space exhibit. I put in a quarter and found out how much I weighed on different planets. On Jupiter, I weighed 365 lbs. YIKES! What's up with that? I don't think I'll ever move there.  On another planet, I can't remember which one, I weighed 9.9 lbs. That is a little on the thin side. There was a coke can that you lift and it showed the weight on different planets. We could hardly lift it from Jupiter.  On the last blog of last year, I wrote my first goal was to lose the weight that I gained. Well, let me tell you, that never happened. Putting it into perspective, I'm happy with what I weigh. At least, I don't live on Jupiter.

 This is the longest 5th wheel we have ever seen. It was in the storage yard. When we got back there to take a picture, another RV had pulled in on the other side so I couldn't really get a good picture. It is 45' long and has 4 axle's.

 We see a few women traveling alone, but not very many. They usually have small motorhomes. This lady pulled in beside us. Only have seen one other lady pull something this big. She had been a trucker and was pulling a 40' motorhome.  This lady is in her 50's ( we think).  Notice the little doggy door to the left of the big door. She has 4 little yippy dogs. You can't tell by the picture, but the ramp goes into a wire pen. I don't really think I would travel by myself.

I had never seen an RV such as this. Notice the tent like structure sticking out the back on the right side.  These are what the pop up trailers have. Never seen it on a regular RV.

We need a new navigator

January 5, 2011

I failed as the navigator yesterday. I'm the one that figures out which  roads to take wherever we are going. Most of the time (99.9%) I do a pretty good job. Well, not yesterday. We left Wilderness Lakes at Menifee, Ca. and traveled to Palm Springs.  The  1st freeway looked way out of our way, so I chose a different road.  It looked good on the map without many towns along the way.  WRONG!  It was like Highway 99 in Seattle. Stoplights almost every block.  It took us over an hour just to get to the 2nd freeway to Palm Springs. The maps really didn't match the streets so I got us lost in Hemut TWICE!  I had Denny turn when we should have gone straight. It is a little tough to find places to turn around with the Monster.  Then we were almost to the freeway and I missed the on ramp. This little connecting freeway wasn't even on the map. At least, not that I could tell.  That was a tough one to turn around, but Denny did it.  Because of my bad judgement, it took us over 2 hours to go 67 miles.  Never made 3 mistakes before.
Bad Girl!

When we finally got to the park, over half of the sites didn't have electricity.  The people at the gate didn't tell us which ones, only that some had it, some didn't.  We found a spot and we were backing in. We almost got done when the next door lady came over and said that the site didn't have power. If they didn't get it fixed tomorrow, they couldn't fix it for 4-6 weeks ( had to order a part). They were going to a motel because he needed oxygen at night. They were in a park model, so they couldn't change sites. They were pretty upset.  Denny has a meter but didn't think to check it.  We decided to go to another site. A guy who was also moving  had a map of the good sites. They had given it to him at the gate. Not us, what's up with that.?  Anyway we went to a good site that we liked even better. Denny checked the power before we backed in. It was good. The problem is all the parks were built many years ago. RVs weren't as big as they are now and there is much more electrical stuff in them (computers, air conditioners etc). They haven't upgraded. It isn't just this park, but all of them.  Then got the dish set up for TV. It was one of the best  receptions we have had. I was watching it and all of the sudden we lost the signal.  The guy next to us had pulled his motorhone in so deep that it blocked our line of sight. That took another hour to find a good signal. All total, it took us 3 hours from the time we got there until we finally were done. It usually takes 20 minutes.  Very frustrating after getting lost.

Today is beautiful. We have the door open. We just back from our first hot tub for the season. They have mineral hot springs here so all the water comes out of their own well.  The well is 186' deep.  Water flows thru it and pumps it daily so it changes completely several times an hour. Not sure I understand it all. It was very  nice, around 103 degrees.

Finally wearing my flip flops and capri's again,  YEA! The weather this week is suppose to be 65-68 degrees.  Cooler than usual, but wonderful to us.

Every site in our area is surrounded by a 7' hedge. RV's are taller, but at least it gives you some privacy. Not many people taller than 7'. 

Diamond Valley Lake

December 27, 2010

On Wednesday it was a beautiful day, so we decided to go for a little sightseeing. First we went to the Winchester Cheese Factory.  All it makes is Gouda Cheese, but it is excellent. The owner came over from Holland and makes it like the old country. We bought 2 varieties. SO good on crackers. YUMM

Next we went to the Diamond Valley Lake Reservoir. It is the largest fresh water reservoir in Southern California. It is 4 1/2 miles long and 2 miles wide. It covers 4500 acres and holds 260 billion gallons of water. It is huge. They also stock it with fish, but your body can't touch the water. This lake can deliver water to all of Southern California.

When they were digging out the lake, they found thousands of fossils and bones from the Ice Age.

 This is the head of Zena, a 16,000 year old mammoth who had not reached full adult size.  Isn't it huge!  Elephants are the descendants of mammoths.

This is the head of Max, the largest mastodon found in the US.  They are a little smaller than mammoths, but still are big. Look at how big the head is compared to Denny.

The dam on the left is the northern boundary of the reservoir.

The mountain on the left is Mt. San Jacinto. It is 10,533'  high. You can see by the white lines how low the reservoir

The dam is 2000' wide and 280' high. It is the western end of the reservoir and its deepest point. As you can see by the sky, it was a beautiful day.

It is amazing how fast it warms up here. It can be 34 degrees when we get up, but in just a few hours, it is over 50 and climbing. Most of our days now are between 60 and 65 degrees. One day it was 70. I know you are jealous.

Stinky, Stinky

December 28,2010

Denny decided we needed new tires so off we went to Costco.  After we got home, we went for our daily walk.  I smelled what I thought were sewers backed up because of all the flooding.  It wasn't too bad, but definitely not a fresh smell. Later we were watching TV.  I smelled something even inside the RV.  I looked at our sinks, nothing there.  I opened the door and, let me tell you, I closed it as fast as I could. The smell was overwhelming.  I finally was experiencing what I had heard about.  There is a dairy farm north of us. I have heard that when the wind is just right, the smell is overpowering. Well, it certainly was.  It was the most potent smell I had ever smelled.  PHEW!  Now that I know what it was, I have smelled it before, just not too bad.  I opened the door, very slowly,  before we went to bed. No smell.  Once the flooding went down, this is a very nice park.  At least it was before the big smell!  It still is, but I could do without the smell. At least it is only once in a while.  We like it enough that we would come again.  On the other side of the dairy farm is a very exclusive gated community.  The front gates face the farm. If we smell it, I'm sure they can. They are just as close. I would think anybody that could afford those homes, wouldn't like the smell. Can't imagine why people would buy there.

This is the view from the back of our RV. There are canals going thru the park

I took this from inside the RV. You can see the glare. This is the view from the other side. The geese slept like this for quite a while

Once they woke up, they walked right in front of me. I took this standing on the steps.  They wander all over the park like they own it.



Denny bought me the flowers. What a surprise. I think I'll keep him

When Denny went to Bank Of America to get quarters for the laundry,  he noticed something a little strange. The tellers are all behind 1 and 1/2" Plexiglas.  They do all the work below the glass in a pass thru at the bottom. Never seen that before.

For  parking at the Rose Bowl Parade and Game, the local golf course opens the greens for cars to park on. I have never heard of that. Golf courses groom the greens so much that I would think the weight of cars would do a lot of damage. There is room for 2000 cars.  We thought it was a little weird.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

January 1, 2011

We really missed seeing any fireworks. We get the LA and New York  feeds on Direct TV.  LA doesn't do anything. I guess they put in all the effort for the Rose Bowl Parade and Game.  New York has the ball drop and a couple of fireworks, not much.  Seattle usually has some spectacular fireworks. Saw a few pictures of it in the Seattle Times. Looked really nice. Speaking of the ball drop in New York, we never saw the ball actually drop. We saw it twice and it was lit up and they had the countdown.  No actual dropping of the ball. What's up with that?

We had done a little wine tasting the day before. One of the places we went to had a sparking syrah. We bought that for our toast. It was a beautiful red color.  And tasted mighty good.

Such a rich ruby red color

The wine tastings around here are quite expensive. $12 to 15. for 5 tastings. We went  to one place and couldn't even get to the counter.  The next one was busy but we got to the counter. We were talking to the couple next to us. She is the one that suggested the Ruby Curvee. She also gave us an extra ticket for 5 more tastings. That was very nice of her.

The next one we went to because it is the only woman owned winery in California. Unfortunately we really didn't like the wine, except for one, which also turned out to the the most expensive. Her wines were more expensive than any of the other wineries.

We decided to go to the next one because of the history. It is called the Cougar Winery.  It is named after Cougar Mountain in Issaquah.  Small World. The couple lived in Bellevue before moving here and opening up a winery. The logo has cougar prints on it.  We got the glasses as part of the tasting. It was very good and reasonable.

Tomorrow we are going to a Sunday Brunch at the Country Club. We haven't done a brunch in years, but we thought it would be fun. I called on the dress code because we didn't really bring anything real dressy. No suit or dress. It is casual. There are 2 golf courses. They look good, but I know nothing about golf.

Happy New Year to Everybody

Calm, Dry and 65 degrees-YEA!

December 24, 2010

Yesterday was the first nice day we have had in a long time.  It was wonderful to have a good nights sleep with no rain and wind. Felt so nice to be out and about without it raining.  Haven't really slept good for several days because, in an RV, you hear so much more of the rain and wind.  We took a walk in the morning and couldn't believe the difference in water levels.

Today it is suppose to be 66 degrees, but it is only 11:30 and it is already 65.  It is still below normal, but we think it is wonderful. The sun is shining and all is well in Southern Ca, at least here. The damages are the in the billions of dollars in other parts.  The worst day was Wednesday, the day after we got here. Some places had 3" per hour.  It is suppose to be nice for a few days, then a little rain, but nothing like before.

Wednesday  morning we couldn't even get to the Family Center on foot.   We wanted to sign up for the Christmas potluck.They had even closed the park. Good thing we came the day before. Not sure what we of done if we couldn't have gotten in.

This is a nice park, once the water went down. There are canals running thru the park. We are backed up on a canal.  You can fish in the canals. Not us.

I took this same picture yesterday and everything was underwater up to the bottom of the deck.

This happened right after the rain stopped. What a sight. This was taken out the back of the Monster.

I took this yesterday morning. In my last post, I showed this same road completely under water.  The field next to the road is very low, with no drainage. It goes over the road and into the park. I am in the exact same spot as the picture before. The man is Denny.

These geese didn't like us walking near them. They were in the water when we first got there. We never stopped walking. They certainly didn't like us. They were making alot of noise for us to get out of their territory.

We just back from our 2nd walk around the park. We were able to go to areas that we couldn't before today. When I first started this posting, I said it was going  to get to 66 degrees. It is now 71 and we changed into T shirts.  Haven't had those on for a while.  Also have the door open and I am barefoot. Finally!

Have a Merry Christmas everyone. We miss and love  you all

WE MADE IT, BUT IT WAS SCARRY

December 22, 2010

We got to our new campground in Menifee Ca. yesterday.  It had rained all afternoon and evening of the 20th. We were on top of a  hill at the park. We had  to  cross a bridge to get to the entrance of the park. The bridge was washed out. That was our first  indication that it wouldn't be an easy trip.  We had to go out the emergency exit at the back. We decided to stick to the freeways as much as possible because  a lot of the side roads are flooded.  We even had to go through  water just to get to the freeway.  We did okay for awhile but then had to get off the freeway to get where we were going.  The road that I thought would be the best was closed because of flooding. YIKES!  The road we had to go on had A LOT of water over the road. At times the visibility was down to 1/4 mile.  Very stressful. Then we had to get back on another freeway. We were going 5 miles an hour because they had closed 3 lanes to  fill potholes. We had to bypass completely our next freeway because of mudslides onto the road. We certainly had to take a roundabout way. Our easy 2 hour trip turned into a stressful 4 hours. Denny is such an excellent driver in all conditions. I think I'll keep him.

We were so glad to get here, only to find that a majority of sites were under water. We were lucky to find a site on a little higher ground. We went for a walk after we got here to check everything out. Couldn't believe all the water. We just got back from taking another walk and couldn't believe how much more water there is than yesterday.

 We have to dry out our shoes and socks every time we go out. I discovered  I  have a hole in my shoes!

Denny ready to go for a walk. You can see how wet the ground is

 My O My!  This is the road in front of the park that we came on yesterday

OOPS! Somebody didn't realize where the ditch was

I know you have all heard about the wind and rain in California. Well, it is worse than you can ever imagine. We are right in the middle of it. It is worse than I have ever seen in Seattle. California roads and houses are not built with rain in mind, that's why it is so much worse when it happens. So many houses have been destroyed from the mud. LA had almost 7" in 5 days. The whole town of Laguna Beach is under water.

We came for warm, dry weather.  When is that going to start?  Didn't know we should have brought knee high rubber boots.  We have been gone over a month and had 2 days of nice weather. We could have stayed home. Hopefully Palm Springs is better.

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY

December 20, 2010

AND COME BACK ANOTHER DAY!

Except for the one day we went sightseeing, there has  been heavy winds and rain for over a week..  California hasn't had this much rain for decades. Just our luck! There are mud slides everywhere.  The wind and rain  hasn't stopped for over 24 hours.  We are leaving tomorrow for Menifee. It is southeast of LA and close to Palm Springs. I'm a little nervous about leaving because there is rain over parts of the roads. The roads are not built to have a lot of rain.  We went today to fill up on gas and  had to go through quite a bit of water. Not sure if it will be better down south.  I hope so, but it is happening all over Southern California.  Palm Springs is even  a lot cooler than usual.

We will probably take a different  route than we were going to. We were going on some side roads but I think we'll stick to more freeways.  The side roads have more of a chance of  having water over the road.

Wish us Luck

 

La Brea Tar Pits

December 16, 2010

Last Thursday was the best day to go sightseeing.  It was sunny and clear.  The days before and since have had pouring rain. We  decided to buck the traffic in LA and go see the La Brea Tar Pits.  Very surprising to see them  in the middle of expensive Beverly Hills.   Of course, they were there long before Beverly Hills.  They were first discovered around 1905.  In just 5 years they unearthed over 1 million bones of prehistoric animals.  The animals went down to get water and got stuck in the tar and couldn't get out. Then the predators came and couldn't get out either.  The tar is a thick sludge. In the museum there are tubes to try and lift out. No way.  We saw young guys who  couldn't even do it.  To get there we went on Wilshire Blvd, thru  Beverly Hills and onto Rodeo Drive. It is the most expensive 3-4 block shopping area in the United States. Amazing to see how the "other people"  shop.  On our way out we went thru the not so good areas of LA and Hollywood. Quite a difference. The traffic in LA is crazy, crazy. Cars pass you on the shoulder to get past the back ups.

 The colored flags are where they have located bones of the prehistoric animals. If you look closely, you can see the shape of the bones.  The dark areas are tar, not water. This is Pit 91, where they have found the most animals

This is a lake at the front of the property. The small dark areas in the lake are tar bubbling up to the surface.

These are crates full of tar they found when they were digging for a parking garage at the County Museum next door. Each 5 x 5 crate weighs 3 tons.  The bigger ones are 12.  They are filled with tar and bones.

We had seen the real touristy sights many years before and had no desire to fight traffic another day.

Sweatshirts Again

December 18, 2010

The weather has taken a turn for the worse. They are expecting more rain here than they have had in several years. Just our luck.  I  have gone from sweatshirts to tank tops and sandals back to sweatshirts. Starting yesterday, it is suppose to rain everyday until we leave. In fact, all the way thru Christmas. Our high was 72 degrees, now we are at 55, with a steady rain. Last year, I didn't bring enough warm weather clothes. This year I didn't bring many cold weather clothes. Sure wish I had some warm boots.  Of course, it is nowhere near the temperatures  in Seattle. It is kind of funny to see the reporters in warm hats and gloves and it is 55 degrees.  They act like is freezing. 

Christmas finally came to the Monster. I don't bring very many decorations because I don't want to take up a lot of room for something that is only out a few weeks. 

We were quite surprised to find a very good  grocery store here in a town of 400. It has everything I wanted. It  has a meat counter with a butcher. No meat in plastic trays here. The bacon is the best I've ever had. They even had fresh salsa made right in the store. I will really miss it when we leave next week. Most of the time, the small town stores have much to be desired. At our last campground, the closest store was 18 miles. 

When we came home yesterday afternoon, we saw some canopies going up in an area that is empty. We wondered what was going on. This morning there were a lot  more canopies,  trucks, RV's and a lot of people milling around.  If you want to know anything you go to the country store. Off I went.  It is a film crew.  They even bought $200  worth of props at the country store the night before. Can't imagine what they bought for props. The country store has some very basic food, drinks and a few tourist things like sunglasses, hats, swimwear, DVD's and such.  The man next to us said that there is alot of filming in the area at various times.  Curious minds want to know more.

In and Out

December 9, 2010

We went to Fullerton, Ca. to get a part for the truck that Denny wanted. We took I-5, but you still go thru downtown LA. Lots of traffic, but not as bad as last year when we went thru pulling our RV. Yikes!   Last year we were there  during morning traffic.  Denny bought a transmission oil pan that cools it better and holds more fluid.  Also bought a differential cover for the rear axle to help with cooling. This is truck speak for all the guys out there reading this.  It is very bad for the truck to have the fluids heat up too much.  I just sat in the truck and read a book.

I have always heard about  In and Out burgers. I had told Denny that if we ever saw one, we had to eat there.  There was one very close to the place we went for the parts.  In all the surveys I've seen, In and Out is always rated the best, with Five Guys 2nd.  There aren't any In and Out's in Washington, so I had to try one here.  I've had Five Guys and they are the best  ever. We just got  one in Washington at the Renton Landing.   Well, I have to tell you, Five Guys is still the best in my book. In and Out was good, but not better. 

On our way back, I found a super secret way to get thru LA without going downtown. It was a breeze. I wish I'd know about it on the way down, but not being from around here, I wasn't sure where we were going.

At our last campground, because of the way we parked, we had sunrises.  Now, the way we are parked, we see the sunsets. Beautiful.

We've never seen such a tiny stop sign.  Saw this on one of our daily walks

We've never seen such a tiny 5th wheel. We had a 25' and this is much smaller.



Flip Flops--Finally

December 7, 2010



We got to Soledad Canyon Tues. It was only 294 miles but it took us 7  1/2 hours because the first 100 miles were very curvy with lots of ups and downs.  We have finally  gotten to some hot weather. It was 75 degrees yesterday.  I finally got to put on my flip flops. I know I will really age myself, but back in my younger days (way back), we called them zorrie's or thongs. You say that now and the younger generation doesn't know what you are talking about.

This is our site. We think it is the best site of all in the area.

  We had our first barbecue yesterday.  It is only 10:30 am today   and it is already 70 degrees.  This is what going south for  the winter  is all about.  We have been hearing about all the rain, wind and lightening you are all having up there.  Don't be too jealous.  Ha!  I put shorts on today.YEA!

We are getting back into our usual groove. After we get set up, we usually walk around the park to check things out.  We hadn't been doing that because of Denny's cold. He is better so our routine is setting in. Every afternoon we walk to get some exercise and explore.

View from outside our trailer.

Goodbye to the Central Coast

December, 6, 2010

The area we are in is called the Central Coast. It's because it's between Northern and Southern California. We have certainly seen a lot of varied landscapes from the Redwoods to Oceans to Forests of the Big Sur to the bare rolling hills.

We are leaving tomorrow for Soledad Canyon. It is just a little north of Los Angeles. Since Denny wasn't feeling very good, we didn't do very much exploring. There is quite a bit to see and do in the area. We like to go to different campgrounds, but we might go back next year to see what we didn't see. That is what's nice about retirement. No set schedule to get back to.

In our wanderings around the area we saw alot of different wildlife. We saw wild turkeys, buffalo, deer and peacocks.  This park is full of birds. I sat and looked out our window in the morning and saw the birds going wild, flying between the trees. I wish I knew what they were. Dark blue, black and white ones, light blue and white ones and some so  tiny you could barely see them. 

We took a walk along the nature trail here today. Every so often they had a station to do exercises. We looked at each one but that is about as far as we got about doing them. We said we'd do them tomorrow, but we are leaving in the morning. Oh well, so much for excerize.  I mentioned before  that the the trees here are very old and huge. Some parts of the trail were a bit spooky. Reminded me of the area of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  Glad I wasn't there at night. Some of the branches are so large and heavy that they are on the ground. Can't see how they bend over without breaking and they are still growing.. 

We are in the middle of wine country. There are a lots of wineries around here. We never got to them, but maybe another time.  There are miles and miles of grape vines, as far as you can see.

These wild turkeys were at Pinnacles National Monument. Denny said it was the largest group of wild turkeys he has ever seen. He saw some at our park, but I never did.

This is a huge tree that is actually 3 trees growing together

Lots of deer in the park. Certainly not afraid of people

Nature Trail around the perimeter of the Park

Today was a beautiful day. It got up to 65 degrees with beautiful blue sky. Hoping to get even warmer further south.  It's not warm enough until I can  put sandals on.



Ocean Views--Absolutly Beautiful

December 3, 2010

Denny finally felt good enough to go for a drive, so off we went.  We drove Highway 1 to Monterey Bay, 17 Mile Drive,  Pebble Beach,  Carmel by the Sea,  and down to Big Sur.   The views, even before you get to Monterey, are beautiful. Highway 1  follows the coastline.  After passing thru  Monterey, we went on 17 Mile Drive. It costs $9.50 per vehicle, but well worth it.  You pass by several golf courses right on the ocean.  There are many mega mansions along the drive.  WOW!  Seeing how the other half  live is amazing. I took a ton of pictures, but I'll only post a few. You will thank me when I tell you I took 50. Pebble Beach is where they hold the U.S Open.  After getting back on Highway 1 after Carmel on the Sea, the coastline changes even more. Very tall jagged hills, straight down to the ocean. Roads are very curvy with lots of ups and downs.

 I picked this guy up along the way. Seems to know a lot about RV's. Think I'll keep him around.



This  is bird/seal rock.  It is so far away that you can't see the seals with your naked eye. You could only hear them and they were quite LOUD. I was quite shocked that I was able to see them with my zoom. Love my camera!

The green/brownish plant is a ground cover that has been planted all over the coastline to protect it from erosion.  The leaves are thick and spiky. Seems like a cactus, but is probably in the sedum family. Makes the coastline very colorful

This is a cedar that is 250 years old. Most of the time they grow in clumps, but this one is all by itself.  Hard to see in the picture but they have put rock and bricks around it to save it for another 50-100 years.

I finally did it

Dec. 1, 2010

I know most people will laugh at me, but, I  did something I have been a little afraid of.  I finally drove our truck. We have had it for 5 years, but I have never driven it. It is a little intimidating to me. It is 22' long. I am used to my van or the caddy.  I never drove it last year on our trip.  I drove it to the laundry building yesterday. There is a lot of wide open spaces and figured I wouldn't hit anything.  I  have lived to tell you about it. Okay, now stop laughing!

Since Denny is still under the weather, I went for a walk today. I was looking for bobcats or deers. The man across from us saw a bobcat yesterday while walking his dogs.  We had already seen alot of deer but not a bobcat.  I had just read that there were bobcats in the park. YIKES! I heard some loud noises coming from a big clump of trees, but I wasn't about to go into them to investigate further.  If I see one out in the open, that's fine, but I'm not going to go into some trees. They are wild animals.

This is a nice park with some huge trees. It is 200 acres on what used to be an old ranch. Some of the trees are over 100 years old. I can certainly tell by how huge they are and how gnarly the bark is.

 There are alot of birds in the tree next to us. Every time I try to take a picture, off they fly. They are a pretty shade of light blue and white.

 You can see how gnarly the bark is on some of the trees

 There are alot of trees even bigger than these

 I take a lot of pictures of sunsets and sunrises.  This is a sunrise, taken right outside of our RV

On my walk I didn't get any pics of a bobcat, but found this girl  peacock. The boys are a lot prettier. I have also seen a lot of deer.

We had a heat wave today. Actually got up to 60 degrees. FINALLY!  It gets very cold at night but warms up during the day. I don't really feel like I have gotten to the warm winters until I get to wear sandals.  Not there yet, but getting close. For 2 days in a row, I have worn slip on shoes without socks. That is a huge leap for me.