On our way to Oregon, we made a few stops, the first one being Woodward Reservoir, a little northeast of Modesto and just south of Eugene, CA. It was a beautiful setting with LOTS of geese. Geese are big birds that leave big bird poops that look more like a cat’s or small dog’s than a bird’s poop. It was everywhere. Fortunately for you, I did not take pictures of the poop. There were also a lot of feral cats at the campground. Not quite the wildlife viewing we have been looking for but, we took what we could get. We did enjoy our stay there. Aaron even made a few friends.
On our way up to Oregon we got to drive over Mt. Shasta. It was a beautiful drive and a cold one. We stopped for the night at a Harvest Host location. Mt. Shasta Brewing Company. The food was excellent, as was the stout I had with dinner and the IPA Aaron had with his dinner. It was nice to be able to park, enjoy dinner and a beer and get a good night’s sleep.
After our night at the brewery, it was on into Oregon. Oregon is beautiful and diverse with mountains, high desert, forests and the Pacific coastline. This trip, we didn’t get to drive the coastline, but we did hit mountains and high desert. It was my introduction to the Columbia River. We made it to Boardman, OR and stayed in a campground on the shore of the river. It is a beautiful river and for the next month we saw the Columbia River and crossed that river more times than I can count.
One good thing about being there is that Aaron’s company has an office there. So, we were able to have our kids send us our mail and, we were also able to get things we wanted to order from Amazon shipped to the office. That was great. As Aaron was finishing up his work in Oregon, he got another call. It was time go further north into Washington. Our plan, originally, was to wander California in the colder months and then head north into Oregon and Washington in the warmer months. But, needs must and plans change. So, off to Wenatchee, Washington we went.
The drive to Freemont was beautiful. The crazy winter in California was melting, the hills and mountains were turning green, the wild flowers and almond trees were in bloom and I was soaking it all in. There were beautiful green rolling hills that Aaron said were normally barron and brown. I am so glad I was able to see them covered in green. We could see that the lakes, rivers, and reservoirs were filling more than they had in years. It was fantastic to witness.
We made it to Freemont, home to Tesla, part of Silicon Valley and the location of Aaron’s company’s west coast home office. We stayed at Coyote Lake just outside of Freemont. Poor Aaron had to commute to work…he hasn’t had to do that very often in a very long time. We were close to San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge and lots of beautiful scenery. We parked our home and settled in.
Aaron and I hadn’t done laundry since Louisiana so, it was time. The next morning we grabbed our laundry bags, I dropped Aaron off at the office and headed to the laundromat. It felt good to be driving without the house behind me. The advantage of using a laundromat is that what would have taken all day at a house only took an hour. Multiple washers and dryers make things go a lot faster. After that lovely hour I had the rest of the day to explore.
My goal was to drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. My route took me right through downtown San Francisco, which was challenging in the F-250, but I did it like a champ. The city is beautiful, artistic, and full of money and homelessness. I drove the Golden Gate and once across the bridge I decided to check out the town of Sausalito. I thought driving the truck in San Francisco was challenging. It was nothing compared Sausalito. It was a charming town with small, windy roads and an incredible view of the San Francisco Bay. I got myself into a few tight spots, but was able to get out of them with no harm to the truck (or so I thought). I made it back over the bridge and decided it was time for lunch.
I went to my first In-N-Out. It was really good for fast food. Then I decided I wanted to drive the Bay Bridge. I crossed the bay again, drove through Oakland, and headed back to Freemont to pick Aaron up from work. On our way back to the house on wheels, we both heard a weird noise from the tires. We thought that maybe there was a rock stuck in one of them. Boy, were we wrong. During my day of driving all over, I picked up a really big bolt.
Luckily, Aaron was able to get the tire repaired and we didn’t have to buy a replacement. But, that was a reminder that things can and will happen. We were fortunate that the damage wasn’t much, there was no blowout, and we were safe.
We put away our laundry, fixed dinner, and settled in for the night. I had birds to watch, walks to take, and cameras to learn how to use. It felt good to know we were going to be here for a little while.
After saying goodbye to our loved ones in Tulsa, we headed out. We did need to get to California by a certain date so Aaron could work in an actual office for a few days. This part of our trip was a bit of a challenge for him. We planned to drive about 4-5 hours a day, he would work in the morning, then we would drive, stop for lunch, he would work a bit more, drive some more, set up camp for the night, he would catch up on more work and start it all over again the next day. I would plan out where we were to stop, locate truck stops for gas, and make sure he actually listened to what Google Maps told him to do. I think I had the much easier job on this leg of the trip.
We spent a second night in Sayre, OK at a local town owned park. Considering it was only $12 for the site, it was the perfect place for a 1 night pit stop.
Then, it was time to travel the top, short part of Texas. We were very close to Route 66 and spent some time on and off of 66. When it was time for lunch we stopped at The Big Texan. A Route 66 legendary steakhouse, The Big Texan is home of the free 72 oz steak challenge. We decided not to accept that challenge a cowboy who wandered the restaurant with his guitar and sang for the diners. The food was great, and probably not the best idea for lunch. We each chose a ribeye, baked potato and maybe a vegetable. it felt more like nap time after that than travel time. We cowboyed up and got back on the highway.
We made it through Texas and on into New Mexico. Finally, a state I had never been to before!! It felt like the adventure was really getting under way. New Mexico was a beautiful drive and we plan on going back to explore as much of it as we can in the winter months when we do not want to be in the northern parts of the USA. We spent the night at Santa Rosa Lake State Park for the night. The campground was set above the Santa Rosa Lake, which is a reservoir in a desert like setting. Aaron loves the desert, I love the water, so this was an ideal spot for us both to recharge for the night. And I learned another valuable lesson, do more research when booking a campsite. Some of the spots had water and electric hookups, some of them did not. Of course, ours did not. But, we had our batteries fully charged, our propane tanks full and fresh water in the water tank. So not a big deal, but it could have been if we did not travel prepared for such a situation. The solar panels that Aaron added have given us more freedom in the destinations we can choose.
On to and through Arizona. Now, Arizona’s roads are not for the faint of heart. There were potholes big enough to swallow our truck and camper. Interstate 40 shook, shimmied, and bounced our poor Airstream across the entire state. Once again, I did not follow my checklist completely before we departed that morning, and the other cute dog shaped planter was not taken down from its shelf. He lost 3 legs, and left a sizeable dent on our dining table. I was so mad at myself for doing it AGAIN! Hopefully I learned my lesson this time around. And poor Aaron is all out of cute little dog plant holders. He was able to save on of the air plants, and now lives with the only surviving (so far) plant. I still love Arizona, even with the camper rattling roads, and can not wait until we go spend quality time wandering the state.
I had to find a photo online since I didn’t take one before they were both destroyed. The second photo is the survivor.
We spent the night at Homolovi State Park, which has an archeological site with ancient pueblos. It was another beautiful state park with the added bonus of horses (not sure if they were wild or rescues) some donkeys ( I wasn’t able to get a photo of those jackasses) and beautiful views. Seeing the ancestral Hopi village ruins from the 1200s to late 1300s was a humbling experience.
The next morning, Aaron did some work and I went thoroughly through my checklist. He went through his checklist and then it was time to get back on the road. The Mojave Desert was calling to us and it was time to head further west into California.
Wandering Cindi 