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Showing posts from April, 2008

Eureka, CA

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After leaving Oregon House, CA we traveled west to Eureka via Highway 299 through the hills and through Whiskeytown. Beautiful... we had a very pretty day for traveling and found hwy 299 to be winding too but not quite as bad as Highway 49 and very scenic. Wanted to stop and investigate some of the camping areas but we were on a mission so will have to make that a future stop... Headed over to Eureka for a few days visit with sister Sandra and husband Tom and of course had to see Jess and Pat while in the area and get caught up on all the Eureka doings. ha! No blood letting this time - it seems each time we come through there the blood mobile is out and we usually stop and give blood but this time it was not to be seen.

Visiting in Grass Valley, CA

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What is a year or two between friends.. try 30 years or more.. Earl worked with Bob back in the 1970's at Ford Motor Company and they had not seen each other since Earl had moved to Washington back in 1978. Wow! So we were finally able to connect and met for lunch at a cute little place in Grass Valley near where they are now living - I have to add with a fantastic view of the lake below. They have a charming house up in the hills with wild deer and turkeys and other little creatures that like to come visit once in a while (raccoons come to mind). Neat place and always good to catch up with old friends.

Lake of the Springs TTN, Oregon House, CA

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This spring we decided to 'check out' Lake of the Springs Thousand Trails camp just off highway 49 in California a little north of Hwy 80. Wow! What a pretty park. Hidden away on Lake Mildred (very small lake with dam) and in the hills. Wooded and rustic with all the trees ready to sprout their new leaves for the new season and many redbud bushes in bloom too which add a lot of color! This turned out to be a great park very close to Grass Valley and Nevada City which are quaint little towns that are still unique! Very pretty area that we both enjoyed and hope to see again some time. Trouble with this park is it is not on the way anywhere - it is off the beaten track which is great except for getting there. ha! Highway 49 is a buggar any way you look at it and although it offers some wonderful viewing and neat little gold rush towns it is a winding two lane road that goes up and down and in a motor home this can be a bit stressful even when not at the wheel... ha!

Family visiting - Sacramento

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Nothing like a fun day at the zoo! Son Earl and his special friend Carmelita drove over from the bay area to meet us in Sacramento for the day. What a day... met at the zoo along with Whitney and great-grandson Nathaniel (who is now 2) and her friend Ashley. We all tromped through the zoo and after seeing all there went across the street to a petting zoo for little people. Had a wonderful time seeing family again as usual and afterwards we all satisfied our appetite before parting ways again. So great to see everyone. Here is picture of Earl with Nate! Gotta love those photo ops!

Ponderosa TTN park, Placerville, CA

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Traveling from Yosemite Lake TTN which is off hwy 120 (north entrance to Yosemite Nat'l Park) to hwy 49 north in Califorinia to Ponderosa TTN which is just about 9 miles north of Placerville in the hills.. no verizon service - well, there is but on a hill near the street and we get about a 1/2 a bar. .. anyway, this is a lovely setting with our front view of the American river! Hills covered with wildflowers and new spring grass and horses wandering on their acres of grassland is quite a setting! Have to say the rig did great on these hills... Priest grade on Hwy 120 down towards hwy 49 is a "BUGGAR" but as long as you take it slow and go in low gear it is not too bad. Fortunately it is not too long either.. ha! Highway 49 offers some cute little towns, mostly sprouted up during the old gold rush days and still going today. Pretty drive in the spring however a little hair raising at times just because some of the turns are a bit tight but we handled fine and as long a

Yosemite National Park - hiking

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One of the best things about visiting National Parks is the hiking. We always seem to do more hiking in these parks then any other time and the fresh air and wild landscape are a combination we love. This trip we hiked up to Vernal Falls which was a little more than we had thought. The ranged had said a slight change in altitude but after that hike we decided to save the additional 1900' climb to Nevada falls for another time. This was quite a hike and we passed other waterfalls on the way there. Well worth the effort though and one we would like to do again only continue on to Nevada falls next time - depending on the time of year too. One thing that always surprises me is the number of people in these places. We try to pick off seasons and always seem to see quite a number of folks. On this day, we passed one girl who was barefooted and it was cool enough to have a jacket so not sure what the bare feet were all about but not sure that is appropriate hiking gear either. Maybe

Yosemite National Park - wildlife

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One of the best things about visiting a national park is the wildlife. We were thrilled to see this coyote coming through the trees towards us. Of course by the time we had the camera ready he was already well on his way away from us! Oh well, we followed him to meadow where he again took off at quite a pace. It wasn't long thereafter that a group of deer came running from that same direction. Suspect he picked up their scent and went to see what was for lunch and they then picked up his scent and decided to having nothing doing.. ha! anyway, we lucked out because they were only visable for a few short minutes before disappearing again into the woods.

Yosemite National Park

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We just never seem to tire of this beautiful National Park. I think spring is probably the best season because I love the spring colors. Flowers sprouting new and the trees all in bud with new dresses for the summer. The waterfalls are in abundance and the sprays from these falls are awesome. We have been here a number of times and this time we actually put in applications to do some work camping next year. Don't know if we'll get it but there are so many places we still want to explore and never seem to have the time and we hope by work camping it will give us that opportunity. One of our 1st stops inside the valley was beautiful Bridaleveil falls. The breeze was blowing just enough to send the spray out and give the falls a different look up close. This is an easy walk and we get a lot of different views from clear across the valley to either side of the creek below.... this is a must see.

Yosemite Lakes TTN, Groveland, CA

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Left Coarsegold this morning and made it to Yosemite Lakes Thousand Trails park. Lovely park on Touloumne river. No snow this year but cool. Saw several deer on way here. RV passed test on Hwy 49 which is a buggar if you are familiar with California mountain roads. The elevation only changed a few thousand feet but some of those turns are "tight" and it was a bit exciting. Earl does real well on them though and the rig did great. We are happy to be in our site and happy we can get wifi. No phone service here in park. Our stay here will be only a few days and plan to go into valley floor of Yosemite tomorrow for a bit of a hike. As many times as we have visited this park we have not yet hiked out to Vernal falls so that is a must this time. Not sure what the weather is going to do but am sure if we layer we'll be fine. Here is an older picture but one I think of when I think of this lovely park. Half dome is such a unique landmark and one that must rate one of the most ph