Aug 4th & 5th - driving north from Chabot campground

We reluctantly said our goodbyes to Laura, Dave, Joslyn and Bowen on Friday evening, and hit the road Saturday morning. Our plan is to drive north  to Mt Rainier National Park, then on to North Cascades National Park. Our route took us north on I-5, through Redding, California.

There have been a number of fires burning in the western US, and one big one just outside of Redding. There was visible smoke in the air for 150 miles south and north of Redding, but no road closures and no problems.

We drove 440 miles on Saturday. Our stop for the night was Diamond Lake, just north of Crater Lake NP. We couldn’t get a reservation for a campsite at Crater Lake and, having visited Crater Lake before, we decided to just make a stop over nearby.

Though our campsite was not right on the lake, we got out for an afternoon walk to enjoy the beauty.

No hook-ups at our campsite, but a nice area. We awoke this morning to 49 degrees!

Our theme for this part of our trip is ‘scenic drives’. As we map our route, we plan to try to avoid the interstate and choose a less traveled and more scenic drive whenever possible. On Sunday, our route took us north from Diamond Lake on Hwy 97 into Washington, then over on Hwy 12 to Mt Rainier. It was VERY scenic!

Part of the fun of traveling is stumbling upon sights and attractions by accident. We pulled off at this rest area overlook in Oregon and the signs warned of a 300 foot cliff ahead. Who could resist checking it out?  

An amazing gorge and the Crooked River! 

And on the High. Bridge, an outfit was setting up for bungee jumping! No thanks!!

Company at Lake Chabot

We have been staying in our camper at Anthony Chabot Regional Park. We have stayed here a number of times and find it pretty convenient. It is hard to believe that such a large park with a lake and hiking trail and a nice campground can be located just 35 minutes outside of Oakland.

On Saturday, Laura and Dave and the kids joined us for the night. They pitched a tent at our campsite and settled in for the evening.





Sweet Bowen - Kind of hard to keep up with a 16 month old toddler!

We enjoyed a campfire and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows. It’s fun to have company out! Most of the time we don’t take the time to enjoy the campsite and a campfire.

Joslyn gets a few tips on roasting hotdogs from Grandpa -

Then shows her skill at doing it “by herself!”

Joslyn  also brought her bike to ride around the campground. She has gotten pretty good at this camping business!

Visiting in Oakland, California- Busy times with little ones!

We arrived in Oakland on Friday July 20th. After setting up the camper at Chabot campground, we headed straight over to Laura’s - visiting the grandkids being a top priority!

Joslyn- 3 1/2 (which she is quick to point out makes her a big girl!) shows off her skill on her scooter. This picture shows off the outdoor area of Swans Place co-housing in downtown Old Oakland, where they live. They are so lucky to have such nice outdoor areas for the kids to play.

Bowen- 16 months- loves music and dancing and is mostly happy and easy going.

Enjoying a book with Grandpa-

We spent Friday night in their guest room so that we could enjoy morning time with the kids.



And so the days of our visit go - lots of floor time......

Playing in the common house playroom......



Braiding hair before dance class.....



Little girls in tights and leotards....sure brings back memories!

And lots of time playing at the China Town playground that is walking distance from their house.

Day 3 - more driving......and more heat!

July 19, 2018 - Drove 580 miles on I 40 West - from  New Mexico, through Arizon, and into California. Destination for tonight, Barstow, California.

Passing through Flagstaff, we resisted the urge to stop by the Grand Canyon ( too hot!) but fondly remembered the many good times that we have had ithere.

The Mohave desert - our peak outside temp 110 degrees! 

Shady Lane  RV park - not very pretty, but there isn’t much available along this route. We will stay in private campgrounds such as this when we are just looking for a convenient stop over for a night. 

Another HOT afternoon- 103 degrees in the camper when we set up! AC on full blast!  Hoping it cools down....

Day 2 - Heading to California

 July 18, 2018 - Day 2 of our drive was another 550 miles and 10 or so hours on the road. It is a LONG way to California! Today saw higher elevations and cooler overall temperatures. Our stop for the night, Bluewater Lake State Park, New Mexico (between Albuquerque and Gallup) - elevation 7400 ft and 74 degrees when we arrived.

We like to stop at State Parks whenever we can. We have found most parks to be well maintained, with electrical hook-ups, and much nicer sites than the private campgrounds that are just off the highway. We took advantage of the cooler weather to take a nice afternoon walk!



We walked out to this dam overlook. Impressive dam! This particular trail turned out to be just a ‘social trail’ and a little sketchy, so we didn’t go much further.

Shish kebabs on the grill for dinner! We didn’t even need the AC! 

We slept well in the cool - 61 degrees this morning! We got out for a morning walk , knowing that tonight would probably not be a s cool, nor as nice of a campground. 

Heading to California day 1

July 17th, 2018

We are hitting the road, heading to California to visit Laura. We decided to take the camper and, after our visit, meander our way home. We plan to go north from Oakland, in search of cooler temps.

550 miles and 9.5 hours of driving- first night at Copper Breaks State Park. It was HOT! 105 in the camper when we stopped! The camper AC finally cooled us off enough by nighttime, but it was a pretty uncomfortable first night. The state park was pretty, I just wish that it had been cool enough to enjoy exploring.

Day 6–Saying Goodbye

Saturday Sept 5th- This was to be our last day on the river. We would raft just over 5 miles in the morning, then have lunch and get to our takeout point - the confluence of the Middle Fork with the Main Salmon-  by 1 pm. Fred joined me, again today, in the oared raft with Koni.

Knowing that these would be our last few hours on the river, we took a bit of time to just soak up the experience. Rafting trips are a unique combination of easy, luxury camping, combined with the realities of outdoor living – coping with weather, lack of toilets, limited clothing changes, no running water, etc. You encounter remoteness, though you experience it with a group. Skilled guides take you down a river  that you lack the skills to navigate on your own.You are thrust into an association with people who start out as strangers and quickly become friends. 

There is beauty, and wildlife, and nature…….and real danger. And it is amazing!

But, this was not going to be just a lazy float on our last morning. We had some real whitewater left to navigate! There was Rubber Rapids and Hancock Rapids, and the ominous sounding Devil’s Tooth Rapid- where it seemed that every raft but ours got stuck going through. Finally, House Rocks Rapid with huge boulders to maneuver around and through.

With that last bit of excitement behind us, we stopped at Goat Creek Camp for lunch. The weather had continued to be chilly today, and by lunchtime, we were all seeking what little sun and warmth that we could find. We enjoyed a final lunch, and then the guides popped open a bottle of champagne and we all made a final toast to new friends, a wonderful experience…..and to the river.

With just over a mile left to go, we took one last look back at  ‘Impassable Canyon’.

At the confluence, we were met by the bus from ROW, and loaded up our personal gear and settled in for a 2 hour drive over some very bumpy gravel roads to the town of Salmon and the Stage Coach Inn. Our guides would take the rafts out a bit further downriver, unload the gear and pack up the rafts, then meet us for a farewell dinner at 7 pm.

As we approached the town of Salmon, we were surprised to see snow on the mountaintops. The weather report had said that the nighttime low temperature in Salmon was down to 39 degrees. No wonder we had been so chilly on the river!

We arrived at the Stagecoach Inn, where we had left our camper a week before, and to where our truck was being shuttled. Everything was there waiting for us – including a hot shower, clean clothes, and a hotel room!We met our group and the guides for supper at the Last Chance Pizza House where we said our final goodbyes over an all you could eat pizza party!

The next morning, we would hitch up our camper and start the drive home.