Western USA - 1989

Last Chapter

Friday, July 14, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 64908.1; @ End of Day: 64919.4

    It was an overcast day, and not a good one for sightseeing, so we just relaxed around the trailer doing odd jobs.  Drove into Olympia for the mail and went to the hardware store.  An exciting day!

    We had a surprise visit in the evening from Bob and Flo Black.  They are the ones who recruited us into WBCCI back in 1980 in Perry, Georgia.  They have both served terms as president of Tampa Bay Unit, and Bob is now a Vice President of Region 3.  They have been full timers now for the past 7 years and love it.  Their legal residence is in Florida at Travelers Rest.

Saturday, July 15, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 64919.4; @ End of Day: 65101.1

    The Bergs and the Ransones went to Mt. Rainier National Park today, stopping along the way at Northwest Trek, a park dedicated to the freedom and preservation of certain animals found in the Northwest United States.  At the Trek, several hundred acres of hill and mountainside were inhabited by elk, deer, antelope, buffalo, caribou, moose, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, wild turkey, and birds of many descriptions. A tram ride took visitors through on a narrow road.  We were fortunate to see some of most of the species.  Only the moose were in hiding.  Once a month they hold a salmon bake and take visitors through the park in the late evening when the animals are feeding.  That event was sold out, so we didn't

get to go, but it really sounded good.  Maybe if there is a next time in this area, we can make reservations in advance.

    Mount Rainier National Park is another unique place.  Mt. Rainier itself is a dormant volcano, 14,410 feet in hgt. It is next to the highest point in the contiguous states.  Only Mt.Denali in Alaska is taller in all the U.S.  We drove up to a Visitor Center and Lodge at Paradise from the Nisqually entrance.  Mt. Rainier was shrouded by clouds, but the surrounding mountain peaks were spectacular with much snow in the crevices.  We had lunch at the lodge, hoping that the cloud cover would blow over.  It seemed to hang only over the big mountain.  After lunch, while the others walked over to the Visitor Center, I walked a trail up toward the mountain.  Not far along the trail the path was buried in snow.  There were many other people around trudging through the snow, so I decided to plunge ahead as well.  Imagine trudging through snow on July 15th!  I climbed about 2,000 feet above the 5,000 foot high Visitor Center to a point where the panoramic view was gorgeous.  By then I had wet feet and decided that I'd had enough, so I headed back down. Met some backpackers who had been up to the 10,000 feet, still nowhere near the top.  The mountain was still invisible in the clouds.  Back in the parking lot, I changed shoes and looked up the others.  They had been watching a movie in the Visitor Center.  We decided not to wait any longer

for the mountain to clear, so headed back down the road.  Just before reaching the park entrance we reached a clearing and lo and behold the mountain was clearly visible against a brilliant blue sky.  Wow!  At that point we were probably at a level of 2,000 feet, and were looking up at 14,000 foot mountain, an awesome sight!  That must have been the mountain's only appearance of the day.  The clouds

soon came back and hid it from view.

    This park was declared a national park in 1899 by President McKinley.  Besides the beautiful mountain scenery, the huge trees were also a sight to behold as were the many waterfalls.  Next time, I'd like to come in from the east, and maybe camp at Ohanapecosh Campground.  We were told that this is a beautiful campground and that the approach from there is quite different.  Also the mountain is less often

covered by clouds on that side.

    There is so much to see in Washington State, we are reluctant to leave.  We haven't seen North Cascades Nat'l Park, Mount St. Helens, the Indian suicide rides at Omak, nor have we seen the San Juan Islands or any of the Pacific coastline.  I am sure that there is much more to see that we aren't aware of.  I'd like to do some salmon fishing sometime, too.  So, I hope that there is a next time.

Sunday, July 16, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 65101.1; @ End of Day: 65129.3

    Today is Ann's birthday.  She became a senior citizen quietly.  It rained lightly all night long and was cloudy most of today, so it was a good day to rest and read.  We went to church at the First Baptist Church of Olympia this morning.  They did not have a regular worship service, but instead had a program by and for the Vacation Bible School children.  It was a small church with but a few people attending.

    The Ransones moved to the parking lot of the Chevrolet dealer in Olympia today so they could be there first thing in the morning.  He thinks that he has a broken manifold.  It looks to me like the biggest problem with that is getting access to the engine in his motorhome.  Hope they don't get held up too long.  They have standby space on a military airplane going to Alaska next week.

    This completes week eleven and all is well.  We will leave Washington tomorrow and drive down to Portland, Oregon.

WEEK 12: Monday, July 17, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 65129.3; @ End of Day: 65254.5

    We moved this morning from Olympia, Washington to Portland, Oregon, stopping at the Jantzen Beach RV Park.  At the Visitor Info Center we learned that there was a Japanese Garden and rose garden west of the city, so we promptly got lost hunting for it.  This city is laced with the weirdest expressway system I have ever seen.  Winding, twisting bridges that go back and to across the Columbia River defy description except to say that this is the ultimate in spaghetti junctions.  We wound up in downtown Portland, which

is a very large busy city.  Finally, we found the park up on a hill to the west of the city where the gardens were.  The Japanese Garden cost $7 and was not much.  The rose garden was free and was really nice, over 10,000 plants blooming profusely.  The view of the city from atop the hill is impressive too.  On a clear day, Mt. Hood is supposed to be visible beyond the skyline of the city, but today was not one of those.

Tuesday, July 18, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 65254.5; @ End of Day: 65495.6

    Mt. Hood is another imposing volcano mountain.  From Portland, it took us about 2 hours to drive to Timberline Lodge, 3.6 miles from the summit.  Mt. Hood is 11,235 feet in height and is a popular skiing mountain year around.  When we arrived, the top of the mountain was in the clouds and invisible, but it dramatically cleared while we were there and presented itself as a beautiful snowy spire against a

deep blue sky.  The last major eruption of the volcano occurred in 1800, just prior to the Lewis and Clark

Expedition into this area.

    We met up with Flo and Bob Black again at the lodge, then had our lunch there.  The lodge itself is an interesting place.  It was built in 1936 during the depth of the Great Depression by about 500 WPA workers.  The stone and heavy timbers that went into the construction were gathered from the mountain itself.  The carpets were made from wornout clothes of the workers.  All of the furniture was also handmade by the WPA craftsmen.

    Mt. Hood is on the route of a loop road that circles around through the mountains, then goes back to Portland through the Columbia River Gorge.  Between the mountain and the gorge lies a fertile valley where apples, pears, blueberries, raspberry and cherries are grown in quantity.  We bought some cherries and raspberries at a roadside stand.  We entered the gorge at Hood River, which is noted for the

hundreds of windsurfers that crowd in there to do their thing on the Columbia.  Tim Tyler would like it here.  The wind blows constantly from west to east through the gorge, which is a mile or two wide.

    There are many waterfalls coming over the cliffs that line the gorge, the largest and tallest of which is Multnomah Falls.  There, the water drops noisily some 620 feet into a deep rock lined pool.  Crown Point is a lookout point built in 1917 and provides an exceptional view of the Columbia River Gorge from an outcropping of rock 733 feet above the river.  It is claimed that you can see 30 miles up and down

the river from there on a clear day.  The Columbia River Gorge was the last segment of the Oregon Trail made famous by the western migration of people in the 1840's and 50's.  It was also the last segment of the famous Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804 - 1806.

Wednesday, July 19, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 65495.6; @ End of Day: 65668.2

    Today we saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time.  We are camped at the northeast corner of Oregon, near the city of Astoria, in Fort Stevens State Park.  The spot where we stood on the coast was not far from where Meriwether Lewis and William Clark first saw the Pacific in 1805.  It took Lewis and Clark 19 months to get here from St.Louis, Missouri.  It took Lewis and Berg 80 days to get here from Brandon, Florida.

    The ride over here from Portland was through some pretty rugged mountains.  At one point a cow elk appeared ready to jump in front of the car, but then thought better of it and disappeared into the woods.  The mountains in western Oregon come right to the oceanfront at many spots.  Fort Stevens State Park encompasses an old army fort by that name which protected the harbor at the mouth of the Columbia River from Civil War days through the Second World War.

    About 8 miles away is Fort Clatsop (named by Meriwether Lewis for a friendly Indian tribe), which is now a National Memorial to the Lewis and Clark expedition.  The original fort, which was built and served as home to the expedition crew while they were here, is long gone, but it has been rebuilt according to plans found in the L&C journals.  The rangers are dressed in buckskins and do a good job of bringing the history to life.  After their long and tough journey exploring the territory added to the U.S. by the

Louisiana Purchase, the expedition crew stayed at Fort Clatsop during the winter of 1805-1806 reoutfitting

themselves in preparation for the trip back east and their report to President Thomas Jefferson.

    On the beach near Fort Stevens are the remains of an old English sailing ship, the Peter Iredale, which foundered there in a storm in 1906.  There is not much left, but it is amazing that anything remains after 83 years of being pounded by the surf.  The beach sand is a gray color, not at all like our Florida beaches.  This doesn't discourage the sunbathers, volley ball players, surfers, and kitefliers, however, as they were on the beach in large numbers.

    Thirteen miles to the south is the little town of Seaside, where we bought tickets for tomorrow night to an outdoor drama called, Journey to the Pacific, depicting the expedition of Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery.

Thursday, July 20, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 65668.2; @ End of Day: 65694.6

    I spent much of the day editing video tape, finishing one 2 hour segment.  After supper we went down to Seaside and shopped for a while while waiting for time to go to the outdoor drama.  We also walked about a mile down the beachside promenade to the spot where salt was obtained from seawater by three of the L&C crew.  They spent 2 months obtaining two barrels of salt for use in their return trip.

    The drama was well done, although it was evident that they are operating on a shoestring trying to get started. This is their second year of operation.  They are using space in a city park on the bank of river which lends itself well to the script.  Bleachers were set up that hold about 300 people.  The drama, which uses a cast of 26, covers the journey west from St Louis to the Pacific, and does it in a way that is consistent with the accounts in the L&C journals.  It lasted about 2 hours.  It was enjoyable but we wished we had taken a blanket.

    We're poised at the northernmost point on the coast of Oregon to begin our descent southward.  This part of the Pacific coast is pictured as being extremely rugged.  Hwy 101 follows the coastline tightly.

    The weather continues to be cool.  When the sun is out it is warm, but when the clouds come, it is cool.  We are still sleeping under blankets.

Friday, July 21, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 65694.6; @ End of Day: 65825.5

    We drove south along Hwy 101 for 125 miles today.  The scenery was not what I had imagined.  There were only a couple of places where the Pacific could be seen from the road, and at only one of those was there anything really special to see.  For most of the trip, the road was typical of many mountain roads - up and down and curvy - as it passed through numerous little towns.  The one overlook where the view was special was about 25 miles south of point of beginning, at Cannon Beach.  The waves here were crashing

against huge rocks along the beach.  The road was so high above the beach level that people on the beach looked like little ants.  But, for most of distance, there was not much to see.  Maybe it will get better further south.

    Our destination was Depoe Bay, at which a particularly good campground had been recommended to us.  We found that CG filled, however, and proceeded about 8 miles further to Newport.  There we found Pacific Shores RV Park, which is brand new and has the most complete modern facilities of any

we've been in.  Our site is within walking distance of the beach.  We walked down and stuck a toe in the Pacific Ocean.

    Along the way this morning we stopped at a cheese factory near Tillamook.  They had a large picture window which showed the cheese making in progress.  They also had a company store where they were giving samples and selling packaged goods.

Saturday, July 22, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 65825.5; @ End of Day: 65878.2

    Slow day today.  Did some of the mundane things it takes to get along, like laundry and grocery shopping and getting a lube job on the car.  We did go back up the road to Depoe Bay, stopping along the way at several overlooks.  The rocky areas along the coast are really unusual.  We got a glimpse

of both a whale and a sea lion, but both were too far away to get a picture.  At Depoe Bay, they claim to have the world's smallest harbor.  We watched a Coast Guard vessel towing in a small boat through a very narrow pass through the rocks.

Sunday, July 23, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 65878.2; @ End of Day: 66034.0

    We left Newport early today, hoping to beat some of the crowds on the road, but it was still busy.  The summer tourist season has arrived.  The scenery along the thirty mile section of Hwy 101 south of Yahacts (Ya-hots') makes up for any lack of views back to the north.  Here the mountains come right to the ocean.  The road clings to the side of the mountain up 300 to 500 feet above the water, and the views are terrific.  The rock formations with the waves breaking up against them are an "out of this world" sight.  Next is 50 or

60 miles of wide open beach backed up with massive sand dunes.  We only got glimpses of the water along here since  the road was on the land side of the dunes.

    We stopped for the night at Bullard Beach State Park just north of a little town called Bandon.  Bandon is an old lumbering town and port city.  We toured another cheese factory, then took a scenic beach route that passed a number of overlooks.  Here, there was a wide beach, but all along the beach were huge boulders, about the height of a 15 story building.  The backside of the beach is littered with large

chunks of driftwood.  The wind must have been blowing 40 to 50 mph coming off the ocean, and it was chilly.  Several people were riding horses along the beach.

    Tomorrow, we will be leaving Oregon, again without seeing everything.  Crater Lake National Park is one of the things that we decided to save until next time.  We're getting anxious to get to California.

WEEK 13: Monday, July 24, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 66034.0; @ End of Day: 66162.5

    We made it to California today!  We're camped in the Redwood National Park just south of Crescent City amidst some of the biggest trees I've ever seen.  Yet, the stumps of older trees are even bigger.  There's one outside our door that is a good 10 feet in diameter.

    About 25 miles north of the Oregon/California border, we ran into sea fog that continued for the next 50 miles.  So we missed seeing some of the interesting sounding places like Arch Rock, Thunder Rock, Natural Bridge, House Rock, etc.  We crossed a bridge where the sign said it was the highest bridge in Oregon, but we could just barely see the road.

    Prior to running into the fog, however, there was some really unusual scenery.  The beaches are wide and empty of people for the most part, and have these mammoth rocks all about.  Some of the rocks have tunnels through them, and the waves break over the outside surfaces with a tremendous roar.

    As we entered the national park and climbed up into the mountains, we rose above the fog into bright sunshine.  After setting up in the campground, we drove back into Crescent City to pick up our mail from home (forwarded from Olympia, Washington), and the fog was still there.  I understand that it is like this all summer, and that is part of the reason the redwoods grow so well, but it is rather depressing in town.

    For some reason it took over a week for our mail to reach Olympia.  We waited an extra day there for it, but to no avail, so left a forwarding address to Crescent City, and it was there waiting on us.  It was nice to hear from Barbara and Dian.

    While walking down a short trail through the redwoods after supper we saw a pair of blacktail deer coming down to the creek for water.  The little buck had a 6 point rack.  We walked within 6 feet of them and didn't see them, then Ann spotted the buck.  I wished for the camera that was back in the car when they both came out into the open and posed.

Tuesday, July 25, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 66162.5; @ End of Day: 66276.3

    The fog this morning was just as thick as yesterday.  In spots so thick it was hard to see the road.  In some of the literature about the area, it said that the fog was the life sustaining medium for these big trees, that it produces the equivalent of 90 inches of rainfall each year.  I'm glad that it does some good, because it really makes for a gloomy day and tough driving.  According to the map the road was again clinging to the cliffs along the coast, but we couldn't see enough to tell.

    Near Kalmath we stopped at Paul Bunyan's Trees of Mystery, a place that has made a tourist attraction out of a portion of virgin redwood forest, but in surprisingly good taste.  There were some very unusual things that we would not have seen otherwise.  One of these was what Al Weathers told about.  A huge tree that had been laying on the ground for at least 3,000 years, determined by the size of several other

trees that were growing on top of it.  The tree on the ground was 320 feet long and about 15 feet in diameter at the base.  The trees growing on top looked to be about the same size.  One tree along the trail was 18 feet in diameter.

    We learned that these are coastal redwoods and are a different species from the giant redwoods found further inland.  These grow taller and faster, but not as big around.  The tallest known tree is 367 feet tall.  Some of the giant redwoods inland are 35 feet in diameter at the base, but only about 250 feet tall.  The trees are named after the Cherokee Indiana, Sequoia, who was the first Indian to develop a written language for his people.

    The fog lifted and the sun came out about 2:00pm.  Everything looks better.  These trees are really awesome.  Tall and straight, the branches don't start until about 2/3 the way up.  No way to ever really describe them or even to take a good picture of them.  Just south of Eureka, California, we entered the "Avenue of Giants", a stretch of highway that runs for about 30 miles through several virgin stands of the redwoods.  In the thickest areas, it is very dark, so little sun was filtering through.  The road is one

where speed is impossible.  To save as many trees as possible, the pavement comes right to the base of the trees without a shoulder.

    We had planned to stay at another State Park in the redwoods, but this time we were too long.  They had a limit of 24 feet.  So we drove on to Myers Flats and found a Good Sam Park that was still in the redwood forest and along a river bank.  So we have hookups tonight for a change.

    Surprise of surprises!  About 5:00pm who should knock on the door but the Ransones!  After registering they had just happened to see us over here.  There had been absolutely no plans to meet here.  It was coincidence enough to even be in the same vicinity, but to come on the same evening to the same campground in California that neither of us knew existed before today is incredible.  It turns out that they did not go to Alaska after all.  The military flight they were booked on was cancelled, so they have just been taking their time coming down the coast.  After some story swapping we all drove to nearby tree and paid a dollar for the privilege of driving through it, then drove together for a few miles through the Avenue of Giants.

Wednesday, July 26, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 66276.3; @ End of Day: 66487.7

    The Avenue of Giants continued for another 20 miles south of Myers Flats, then changed rather abruptly to a very different terrain, very dry looking brown grass, yet with many scattered green trees.  We are still in the mountains but relatively low ones.  We are camped about 50 miles inland and about 100 miles north of San Francisco in a little town named Lucerne on the north shore of Clear Lake.  I thought of borrowing a fishing pole until I walked down to the water and found it heavy with algae bloom.  The climate here is really different.  It is dry and dusty and hot.  This campground deserves a one (the bottom) on a one to ten scale.  We have finally found the summer heat, and I'm ready to retreat back to the cooler mountains.  The traffic was noisy all night to make for more discomfort.

Thursday, July 27, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 66487.7; @ End of Day: 66589.7

    We got up early and left Lucerne with no regrets.  We entered the Napa Valley at Calistoga after maneuvering a steep winding road through some very arid looking mountains.  There is no question that the chief activity in the valley is growing grapes.  There are acres and acres of vineyards.  There are over seventy wineries located in the valley.

    There were no RV parks anywhere.  We were told at a visitor info center that there was some space for trailers at the Veterans Home near Yountville, so we headed there and found the story to be true.  This is quite an interesting place.  Along with the RV park, they have a baseball park, a golf driving range, a swimming pool, beautiful gardens, as well as the veteran's dormitories.  After getting set up, we

drove on down to the town of Napa and got some additional information about what to do and see.

    We toured the Inglenook Winery, which was built in 1890, and were treated to a very good lesson on how to taste wine.  This is one of the smaller wineries in the valley, but one of the oldest and best.  We learned that red wine improves with age and is stored in oaken barrels during the aging process,

while most white wine is stored in stainless steel vats and loses its quality over time.  So when the date of production is recorded on a white wine label, it should be a recent year.  With red wine the older the better.  Something called tannin which is in the composition of oak wood enhances the flavor of red wine until the wood gets so saturated that it no longer works.  Then the barrels are discarded and new ones used.  A lot of things affect the quality of wine, including the amount of rain during the growing season, the

temperature, the length of time the grapes stay on the vine, etc.  Also the ventnor's decisions on how to mix the varieties of grapes enters in.  For those reasons, it is rare for two bottles of the same label to taste the same unless they were from the same batch.

    From Inglenook we drove up to Spring Mountain where the house pictured in Falcon Crest is located.  The Falcon Crest label is used on the wines produced at the Spring Mountain Winery.  They, as do all of the wineries, have quite a layout.  Each seems to be trying to outdo the other in the lavishness of their complexes, and the owners' homes are all mansions.  There is obvious prosperity everywhere in the

valley, but it is a strange place in a unique sort of way.  The soil is dry and dusty, and doesn't look particularly rich.  The grass on the hillsides is all brown, yet the trees are a rich green and the vineyards are a deep green.  Most of the vineyards are on the flat bottom of the valley, but there are a few on the hillsides.  It is nothing like the ancient vineyards we saw along the Rhine River in Germany, which are

all on steep mountainsides that catch the sun only a part of each day.  We saw sprinkler systems in some of the vineyards, but most are irrigated by drip systems.  A small tube or hose is suspended just above the ground from the posts which support the trellis wires.  After the plants are 3 to 4 years old the irrigation is removed.  They then have a sufficient root system to get to natural water.  There is no rainfall in

the valley all summer long, so there is no variety of agriculture, only grapes.  California's fruits and vegetables must be grown somewhere else.

    I hit a few golf balls at the driving range this evening, and whoo, am I rusty!  I'm going to have to learn

the game all over again.  But, there has simply been too much to see and do to think about playing golf.

Friday, July 28, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 66589.7; @ End of Day: 66680.8

    We read in some of the literature that there was a farmers market in Sonoma, about 20 miles west of here.  We found it to be an open air, parking lot type market for individual backyard farmers to sell their products.  We bought some redflame grapes, some peaches, a pie, and some homemade bread.  I have still seen no evidence of any wide scale farming other than the grapes for the wineries.

    We went back to Spring Mountain for a tour of the grounds at the Falcon Crest house.  The house was built in 1885 by a wealthy Italian who lived in it for 15 years.  It was then abandoned and lay unoccupied for about 80 years until 1979 when the present owners bought it and refurbished it.  The TV show people picked it because it was away from the hustle bustle near the highway, and it was they who named

it Falcon Crest.  They spend about 5 days a year there taping segments for the show.  Other scenes for the show are taped at Inglenook and other places in the valley.  There are six tours every day all summer.  Our group was a small one of 20 or so people, each of whom paid $4 for the privilege.  That adds up to a lot of bucks to the owners as a side benefit.

    From "Falcon Crest" we drove up to Calistoga at the upper end of the valley for lunch.  There are geysers there, and a petrified forest, but we elected to pass on them.  After Old Faithful in Yellowstone, anything else would be anticlimactic.  We drove back to Yountville on the Silverado Trail through more fields of grapes.  None of the grapes are ripe yet.  They don't begin to harvest them until late September.

Saturday, July 29, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 66680.8; @ End of Day: 66720.5

    We toured Beringer Brothers Winery today.  They have been in continuous production longer than any of the wineries, producing wine for altar use during prohibition years when the other places were closed.  The Beringer brothers came from the wine producing area of Germany in the mid 1800's.  Jacob Beringer worked several years as a winemaker for other wineries in New York and Napa Valley for several years.  Then in 1885, he found a ranch for sale, and with the financial help of his brother, Frederick, from New

York, invested $25,000 in a ranch house and 300 acres of land.  Vineyard land in the valley today sells for $33,000 per acre.  Together they built a small winery and storage cellar.  The business quickly grew, and to expand their aging capacity they employed Chinese laborers to tunnel back into the mountainside to obtain cool consistent temperature storage space.  The storage room tunnels extend 200 feet back

into the mountain.

    Frederick Beringer moved to Napa Valley in 1887 and built a beautiful mansion, employing an architect to spend a year in Germany duplicating the plans of the Beringer ancestral home.  All of the wood in the house is oak imported from Germany after being milled over there.  Transportation took 10 months aboard a sailing vessel that had to come around the South American cape to San Francisco.  Much of the

wainscoating is hand carved with floral patterns.  The floor has inlaid patterns of light and dark varieties of oak. Every room but the kitchen has beautiful stained glass windows.  The total cost when it was finished in 1889 was $30,000.  This house is now the centerpiece of gorgeously landscaped grounds surrounding the winery.

    A tourist could spend weeks here and not be able to see and tour all of the wineries.  We tried to see the ones that are better known and have the prettiest grounds.  All of these tours are free and are accompanied by a wine tasting session which is also free in most cases.  The valley produces about 100,000 tons of grapes a year, so it is big business.

    The weather is warm compared to where we have been, but to the local people it is a mild summer.  Daytime temperatures are in the low 90's, and in the low 60's at night.  We've started using our airconditioner for the first time in the warm afternoons, but it is still blanket weather at night.  The days are all bright and sunny.  They don't expect any rain until next winter.

    I watched an American Legion baseball game this afternoon at the Veteran's ball field.  They have first class facilities for the boys.  The tournament to determine the Legion champions of California starts next week.

Sunday, July 30, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 66720.5; @ End of Day: 66861.1

    San Francisco, here we come!  Leaving Yountville, we passed through Napa, Vallejo, Oakland, and then across an 8 1/2 mile suspension bridge into the big city.  We found the S.F. RV Park without any trouble, and located the Ransones who arrived on Thursday.  They had already seen some of the sights, so were able to give us some helpful hints.

    We found the crookedest street in the world, Lombard Street, between Hyde and Leavenworth.  To get to it, we drove around and negotiated an extremely steep hill in bumper to bumper traffic.  The crookedest street twists its way down the hill through a magnificent flower garden.  Then, we found the road over to the Golden Gate Bridge.  The weather today is beautiful.  I understand that the bridge is often shrouded

with fog, but today it was clear.  Ann was disappointed that it was not a golden color.  Instead it appears to be painted with red rustoleum.  It has the distinction of having the longest suspended span in the world.  San Francisco Bay was chock-a-block full of sail boats.  We sat in the Burger-King near the bridge and watched the sailboats on the bay.  We drove through Chinatown and found wall-to-wall people there

and at Golden Gate Park, so we decided to call it a day and came back to the trailer.  Tomorrow, we will try out the cable cars.

    Today completes our 3rd month on the road.  It would be very easy to adopt this way of life full time.  Maybe, someday....

Week 14: Monday, July 31, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 66861.1; @End of Day: 66861.1

Today, we left the campground on foot for the sights of San Francisco.  We only had to walk a block to catch a bus to the point where the cable cars load.  At eleven o'clock the line to get on the cable cars was 3 blocks long.  After some debate, we decided to wait it out, and an hour later we hopped aboard.  People were jammed on like sardines.  These cars have no engines aboard, and are propelled by a device that grabs an underground cable through a narrow slot in the pavement.  The cable then pulls the car along its track for several miles uphill and down.  We chose the car that went to Fisherman's Wharf on the bay.  It was really unbelievable how great the crowds of people were everywhere. 

It was lunchtime by the time we arrived on the wharf, so we dined at the Franciscan Restaurant overlooking the bay, then strolled around the shops on the piers.  The most unusual was Pier 39, which had been turned into a tourist mecca.  There were fruit stands, show people, a merry-go-round, boat rides, kite flying expos, and all kinds of shops and places to eat. 

A modern day rickshaw is a three-wheel bicycle with a cushioned seat for two in the back.  These are all over the place seeking riders.  There is an oriental flavor to most everything, and lots of people of Asian ancestry around.  After a couple of hours, we boarded the cable car again and went back to the center of town, then caught a bus back to the RV park.

There are lots of weird people around.  Standing in line at the General Delivery window at the post office was like standing in line at a soup kitchen on skid row.  The bums (male and female), bag ladies, winos, and hippies were all getting their mail there - probably welfare checks.  On the streets it is not uncommon to see derelicts with their tin cups laying around behind their "Homeless and Hungry" signs.  There are girls with outrageous green hairdos, arm in arm gays, strangely dressed men making balloon figures, singers in full voice, and more foreign languages in evidence than English.  Yet, with all of that, the city has charm.  It is in a unique location on the bay, and they have made the hills, cable cars, bridges, Chinatown, and sourdough bread, trademarks of that charm.  It is certainly booming with tourists.

The weather is very cool, probably in the mid-60s, and very windy.  But the sky is cloudless clear blue, which brightens both the physical and mental environment.  We understand that days like this are a rarity, that more often the city is fogged in for most of the day. 

We were excited by all the cards and letters.  It is really a good feeling to hear from family and our good friends back home.  We had our share of bills too.

Tuesday, August 1, 1989

Mileage @ Start:66861.1; End of Day: 66861.1

This begins our fourth and last planned month on the road.  There is so much to see in California that we are wondering if we can get it in.  Yosemite National Park was on our must list, but after checking the map and seeing how far out of the way it is, we had almost decided to pass it up.  Then I saw a flyer advertising a Grey Line tour which involved an Amtrak train and a tour bus going and returning to San Francisco the same day at a reasonable price.  So, that is what we did today. 

We left SF early via a shuttle bus to Oakland where we caught the Amtrak train.  From there we traveled east through Stockton and the center of the San Jaoquin valley to Merced.  At Merced a Grey Line tour bus and guide were waiting to take us into Yosemite.  We spent 3 hours in the park, saw all of the main features of Yosemite Valley, and had a sumptuous lunch at the Ahwanee Hotel (included with tour).  We stood at the foot of El Capitan, the 3,000 foot precipitous granite face which was climbed a week ago by a paraplegic using only his arms.  That was an incredible feat.  It seems an impossible task for a whole man.  We saw the Half Dome and Yosemite Falls, although at this time of year there was very little water.  The celebrated pictures of those falls are taken in the spring when the snow is melting.  The Merced River which is fed by the falls is claimed to be the fastest moving river in the country, reaching 50 to 60 mph as it plunges down the mountain.  No one tries to go down it in a raft.

This is the most visited park in the national park system.  During July and August there are 25,000 people in the park every day.  Usually on weekends they have to turn people away because the facilities will not handle any more.  It is easy to see why with all of the natural beauty around.  It is impossible to compare Yosemite with any other place.  Yosemite Valley is but a small part of the park.  There is very little access to most of it except by foot trails. 

We arrived home about 10:30pm after a long day.  The train ride was fun, and it was nice to leave the driving to others for a change. 

Wednesday, August 2, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 66861.1 @ End of Day: 67050.3

We moved down to the Monterey area today, to an RV park on the beach at a little town called Marina.  In San Jose, we stopped at the house of another one of California's strange characters, Sarah Winchester.  In 1884 Sarah moved to San Jose after inheriting a fortune from her husband, the developer of the Winchester rifle.  She allegedly was directed to the area by a New England medium who told her that the only way to appease the spirits of all of those victims of her husband's rifle was to build a large house to the spirits' specifications.  She spent the next 38 years doing just that.  She hired full time construction crews who worked around the clock for that entire period.  At one point the house was 7 stories tall, but was damaged heavily in 1906 by an earthquake and is now only 4 stories at its highest point.  The house has 160 rooms connected by narrow hallways and stairways.  There are doors and stairways leading to nowhere, and many unfinished areas.  She had storerooms of materials for work in progress when she died in 1922.  It is billed as the most bazaar house in the world, and that is an understatement.  With all of that space, she never entertained or had guests.  Theodore Roosevelt once called on her, but was rebuffed and turned away.

Thursday, August 3, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 67050.3; @ End of Day: 67080.4

The Monterey peninsula extends out from the southern end of Monterey Bay and includes some of the most spectacular oceanfront in California.  We took a 17 mile loop road which skirted the coastline.  Along the way were 8 golf courses, all crowded.  There were several overlooks to pull off and watch the birds and seals on the rocks.  At the end of the loop is the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course with its fairways right along the rocky beach.

We then drove into Carmel.  This is a little, high quality, high priced shopping village - also crowded with tourists.  Clint Eastwood was once the mayor of this little town.

Back in Monterey we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Cannery Row.  It was nice, but too crowded to really enjoy.  The most interesting thing was the sea otters which are fairly rare.  The sea otter was slaughtered almost to extinction in the 19th century because of its luxurious pelt.  Its coat has over 600,000 hairs per square inch.  Don't know who counted them.

Friday, August 4, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 67080.4; @ End of Day: 67208.0

The road from Monterey to San Simeon through the Big Sur is supposed to be the most scenic and most rugged along the California coast.  All we can attest to is that it is hilly, curvy and foggy.  There was too much fog to see much beyond the front of the car.  Occasionally the road would dip down to sea level and we could see the water crashing over the rocks, but that was rare.  At one point we did see a sea lion drying himself on the rocks.  The 90 miles took over 3 hours to drive. 

At San Simeon is the Hearst Castle.  It sits back from the road a couple of miles on a hilltop.  The tour guide told us that the reason for building on the hilltop was to get above the perpetual fog.  The "castle" was in bright sunshine when we arrived.  William Randolph Hearst built this mansion over a period of 28 years beginning in 1922 on family owned land.  He expanded his inherited fortune primarily as a newspaper publisher in San Francisco.  He had a modest income of $15,000,000.00 per year during the twenties.  When he died in 1951 building ceased.  His family gave the building complex to the State of California in 1957, and it has become a popular tourist attraction.

The complex consists of a large central house and several guest houses.  It contains Mr. Hearst's extensive art collection, and all of the houses are furnished with extremely rare antiques.  Most of the walls are covered with antique hand woven tapestries from Europe.  During Mr. Hearst's stays at the "ranch" as he called it, he entertained constantly.  The guest houses were always filled with movie stars, politicians, business associates, foreign dignitaries, and friends.  They only saw him at the evening meal and were free to enjoy the facilities as they pleased.  The tennis courts, swimming pools, game rooms, libraries, zoo, riding stables, gardens, etc. were there for the pleasure of his guests.  The state has done an excellent job in preserving the place and organizing escorted tours through it.  There is a tour every 10 minutes. 

After our tour of the castle we left the coast and drove inland to Paso Robles for the night.

Saturday, August 5, 1989

Mileage @ Start; 67208.0; @ End of Day: 67355.8

To get to Sequoia National Park, we drove eastward through barren hilly countryside, no trees, and brown grass everywhere, then through several miles of flat farmland to Lemon Cove, where we set up for a couple of days.  We are about 15 miles from the park entrance and will go up there tomorrow. 

The heat of summer has finally arrived!!  The temperature is over 100 degrees.  We have the air conditioning on for the 2d time, this time without much effect.  I guess it is something to sleep under blankets until August 5th, but not tonight.

Sunday, August 6, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 67355.8; @ End of Day: 67449.2

After 30 some miles of narrow, winding, cliff hanging, rough road, we arrived this morning at the Giant Forest of the Sequoia National Park, a forest of giant redwood trees that are incredibly huge.  The relatively small groups of these trees are called groves.  We strolled around several of the groves in awe of the immense and stately trees.  The largest known is called the General Sherman.  It is 36.5 feet in diameter at the base.  Even 180 feet up it is still 14 feet in diameter.  It is 275 feet tall, not the tallest, but the largest in sheer bulk of any other living thing on earth.  The park service estimates that it is between 2300 and 2700 years old.  These trees are located only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California.  Ann was here in 1953, and she recognized many of the things that she saw then with the Schumakers.

Following the road through the park about 25 miles to the northwest brought us to another giant, the General Grant in the Grant grove in King Canyon National Park.  These two national parks appear on the map to be adjacent to each other, but according to road signs they are separated by a mile or two.  We left the park at Grant Grove via the road to Fresno.  This would be a much easier way to come in than the way we came.  There are several nice campgrounds near the Grant Grove entrance, the nicest appearing to be Sunset Campground.  We learned that the way we came in was the original access, built by the CCC in the 1930s. 

Checking the map, it looks like our next stop will be Las Vegas.  All's well after our 14th week on the road.  Our routine is pretty much set now.  I could keep this up for a year or two anyway.  The reports we get from home sound like everything is under control there, thanks to our good neighbor, Buck Yost. 

WEEK 15: Monday, August 7, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 67449.2 @ End of Day: 67690.4

We moved on to Barstow, California today, crossing the Sierra Nevada mountains just east of Bakersfield and then the Mojave Desert.  On the eastern slopes of the mountains is an array of windmill electric generators that is impressive.  There must be over a thousand windmills on steel and concrete towers, each with a three blade propeller.  There was very little wind today, but under normal conditions it must be pretty windy to support all those windmills.

The Mojave Desert is a dry flat expanse of nothing but a few clumps of sage and a few Joshua trees scattered about.  And it is hot!  Probably about 105 degrees!  We passed Edwards Air Force Base and saw from a distance where the space shuttle lands.  We drove over some of the roughest roads of the trip between Edwards and Barstow.

Tuesday, August 8, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 67690.4; @ End of Day: 67975.9

We left Barstow early to try to beat the highway heat which was close to being unbearable yesterday afternoon.  Crossing the desert on the way to Las Vegas was a bit depressing with the murky air, the heat, and the barren landscape.  We arrived in Las Vegas before noon and found the Circusland RV Park, a part of the Circus Circus Hotel complex.  After getting set up in the midst of some 400 other Rvs, we went up to the hotel to see what was going on.

The hotel has many bright flashing lights, thousands of slot machines, blackjack tables, horse race betting tables, baseball scoreboard betting, several dining rooms, a free circus that goes non-stop 13 hours a day, and 1,000s of people, including a lot of children.  Many of the chancy games are designed for the kids.  A monorail system connects the various hotel buildings.  We arranged for tickets to a show at the Tropicana for this evening, then left for a ride around town.  This is a gaudy place to say the least.  Even the grocery stores have slot machines over in one corner. 

We really picked a good time to come to Vegas.  The musicians went on strike last week so none of the shows have live music, and the name entertainers slated for appearances have stayed away in sympathy.  To add to that a thunderstorm knocked out all the power at the Tropicana just as the show was scheduled to start.  So we came home and played cards, just the two of us, while the rest of the Vegas tourists were in the casinos losing their money.  We heard later that winds had reached 99 mph and had done considerable damage around town. 

Wednesday, August 9, 1989

Mileage@ Start: 67975.9; @ End of Day: 67979.7

We walked down Las Vegas Boulevard this morning from Circus Circus to Caesar's Palace.  To say that the environment here is gaudy is a true understatement.  Caesars is a multimillion dollar extravagantly built complex with an ancient Roman Empire theme.  There is a lot of new construction underway.  Each seems to be making an effort to outdo the rest in an allout drive to get people to come in and lose their money.  With the money being spent, they are obviously succeeding.

With the weather looking better, we went back to the Tropicana for the dinner and show that we missed last night.  The show was a Parisian extravaganza called La Follies Bergere.  Lots of fancy costumes, bright lights, loud music, a few bare breasts, acrobatic dancing, a magician, a comedian, some singing, overall pretty good. 

Thursday, August 10, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 67979.7; @ End of Day: 68040.6

Moved to Boulder City today (just 30 miles).  This is one of the prettiest little towns we've seen for awhile, with nice homes, wide clean streets, lots of green grass, trees, and shrubs.  Boulder City is about 7 miles from the Hoover Dam which created the 110 mile long Lake Mead.  The crowds of people touring the dam were unbelievable.  We elected not to wait in the long line for the tour to the bottom.  The views from above were really nice.

Hoover Dam was built in the 1930s primarily to control the annual flooding of the Colorado River.  Its secondary purpose was to provide water storage for farm irrigation and electricity which has produced enough revenues to pay of the investment.  Still another benefit is the huge recreation area created by the waters of Lake Mead.  Exploring these red canyons by boat would be fun.  The lake is stocked with a wide variety of fish.  The water is a deep green color and very clear.  Scuba diving is also popular. 

The statistics about the dam are impressive.  It is 726.4 feet high.  The top which is spanned by a highway is 1244 feet long.  At the top it is 45 feet thick, and at the bottom it is 660 feet thick.  It contains 3 1/4 million cubic yards of concrete.  The 17 hydroelect4ric generators are rated at 1600 megawatts.  Lake Mead covers 157,900 acres and is 500 feet deep at its deepest point.  It took several years for the lake to fill to capacity. 

We found that Boulder Campground on the lakeshore would be a good place to camp on any future trip.  No hookups, but very nice surroundings.

Friday, August 11, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 68040.6; @ End of Day: 68255.6

Thunderstorms started about 5:00am and created some concern.  These things don't usually happen around here.  The radio was warning everyone against getting on the highways because of the danger of flash floods.  A neighbor saw me hooking up in preparation to leave and came running over to warn us not to go.  We secured things and waited until 10:00am to leave and had no trouble.  This unusual rain has broken the hot weather pattern.  It is now getting to the low 90s in the afternoon instead of 105 or 106 degrees. 

We drove across Hoover Dam, still called Boulder Dam by the locals, and headed south through some of the most barren rocky mountain country ever.  The rocks were a deep red and black with absolutely nothing growing on them.   It was stark looking, but with a certain beauty.  Then, as we progressed southward, some green things began to appear - several forms of cactus and other desert plants.  Around Kingman, Arizona we began to see some Joshua trees and saguaro cactus.  By the time we arrived at Wickenburg, where we stopped for the night, the landscape was almost solid green, with what appeared to be piles of boulders scattered about.  Tomorrow, we will move on to Tucson. 

Saturday, August 12, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 68255.6; @ End of Day: 68456.3

We drove south to Tucson, Arizona then camped at an RV Park with over 1,000 spaces.  In the winter they are full, but in the heat of summer, most of the sites were empty.

I called my cousin, Walter Fathauer, and made a date to meet him at his home at 5:30pm.  Walter's mother(Maria Jox) and my grandmother (Augusta Jox) were sister.  He insisted on taking us to dinner at his Country Club.  So over a steak dinner we shared some family news and learned quite a bit about him and his wife Isabel.  She was born in Arizona back when it was still a territory.  Her father was a rancher, banker, and held interests in several mines.  It was this tie to Arizona that brought them to Tucson from Chicago in 1943.  Prior to that Walter was an engineer in the Xray Division of General Electric.  He got his degree from M.I.T.  They immediately bought a rambling suburban house (5 bedrooms, 5 fireplaces, + servant's quarter), and 7 acres on a hill overlooking the city.  He bought this from author Irskine Caldwell for $30,000 and lived there ever since.  He has a registered herd of Hereford cattle on two ranches outside of town.  He is 86 years old; she's 80.  She is just finishing a full length book about the father and the old west.  They have two daughters, Mari and Deedee - and 4 grandchildren.  He was quite interested in what we had learned about the family in Logansport and in Germany.

Sunday, August 13, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 68456.3; @ End of Day: 68500.3

We went to church this morning at the First Baptist Church of Tucson.  It is by far the friendliest church we've attended on the road.  Before the service started we were greeted by at least a dozen people. 

Went swimming this pm in the RV park's pool.  It is hot and that felt good.  This park has tennis courts, volley ball courts, carpet golf, driving tees, 3 swimming pools, plus all the other usual things.  But there is hardly anyone here.  Apparently, the tourist really desert Tucson in the summer.  The is a dry heat, no humidity, and it cools off nicely at night.

We'll be leaving Tucson in the morning after picking up our mail, probably making it to Las Cruces, New Mexico.

WEEK 16: Monday, August 14, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 68500.3; @ End of Day: 68525.9

After noticing an extra noise coming from the trailer wheels, I decided to have it checked before proceeding.  It turned out to be nothing serious, but while into the wheels, I had them all repacked with new grease and seals, and had the brakes checked.  Our home-on-wheels has rolled 10,000 miles with a lot of it on steep downgrades.  By the time all of that was done, it was afternoon and too hot to get out on the road.  So we went back for another night at the Voyager RV Park and jumped in the swimming pool.

Tucson is a growing city of about 250,000 permanent residents.  That number swells to double that in the winter when the snowbirds come.  The downtown area has many new tall buildings - much like Tampa.  It had grown so much since I was last here 15 years ago, that I didn't recognize much.  Every city has to have something to brag about - either the largest or the tallest or the deepest or the most of something.  Tucson is the largest city in the U.S. which draws all of its water from wells.  There is no natural body of water within 100 miles.  Their rivers are nothing but dried up ditches with weeds growing in them, at least at this time of year.  Most of the homes don't even try to have lawns, although there are a few which really stand out.  Most yards are decorated with all the various forms of cactus - and rocks.  I suppose the kids learn very young to respect the thorns. 

We picked up our mail this morning and were happy to hear from the Shaffers, the Bradleys, the Schumakers, the DeGuenthers, and the Ransones.  The Shaffers are looking forward to their trip across Canada on the train; the Bradleys are busily getting ready for their trip to Alaska; the Shoes were camped out at Brush Creek in North Carolina; the Deguenthers were somewhere in Nova Scotia.  Lots of folks on the move.  Ann talked with the Cockrells yesterday and got all the local news, including the sad news that Jesse Jaques had died.  We also had nots from Barbara, Cathy and Lydia.  It's great to be out here traveling, but is good to hear from home. 

Ann reminded me that I didn't say anything last week about an incident that occurred on the road between Boulder Dam and Wickenburg.  That road goes through very interesting terrain - low mountains with the ground covered by many forms of cactus, including Arizona's famous saguaros.  The road is narrow and curvy and the traffic tends to back up in long lines behind any slower vehicle.  All along the road are little groups of crosses put in the ground to mark the sit of a fatal accident.  One man comment over the CB that he had counted 87 of these crosses.  Signs on the road suggest driving with lights on to remind other drivers of safety.  Apparently drivers tend to get impatient in these long lineups and pull out to pass and can't get back in time to avoid headon collisions.  We were mulling all of this when up ahead we saw that the traffic had come to a complete stop.  There was a plume of smoke indicating a vehicle on fire.  It turned out to be a truck that had caught fire and been abandoned.  The police wouldn't let traffic through until the gas tanks blew.  The whole thing delayed us for about an hour.  It was all a good reminder to be thankful for our own safe travel so far. 

This heat is so intense that it takes all of the pleasure out of sightseeing.  We are going to start doing our driving in the early morning, leaving at 5:00am for 4 or 5 hours.  We are also going to bypass some of the things we would have otherwise stopped for and head back north to I-40 for the trip east.   It was 105 degrees today.  So there will probably not be much to write about for awhile. 

Tuesday, August 15, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 68525.9; @ End of Day: 68932.9

We are camped in Elephant Butte Lake State Park about 5 miles north of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.  What sort of image does all of that conjure up?  Elephant Butte Lake is the result of a dam in the Rio Grande River that was built in 1916.  A former mountain sticks up in the middle of the lake which somebody thought looked like an elephant raising its head out of the water - thus the name.  The little desert town used to be Hot Springs, but changed its name to Truth or Consequences in response to the offer by Ralph Edwards to give publicity to any town in the country that would change its name thusly.  He lived up to his word and still comes once a year to do a promotion.  But it is still not much more than a little desert town.  The lake is a beautiful green color and is much used by boaters.  They are having a bass tournament here next week. 

Wednesday, August 16, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 68932.9; @ End of Day: 69223.5

We're now camped at Santa Rosa Lake State Park near Santa Rosa, New Mexico - about 80 miles east of Albuquerque.  The scenery has changed a bit.  It is no longer as barren looking.  The hills are covered with green grass, although there are still no trees, just low bushes and no cactus.  We saw some jackrabbits this morning.  These are long legged, long eared little animals - much larger than our rabbits at home and extremely fast.  They walk around on all four legs rather than hopping.  Two of them were playing and bouncing over each other in the campground.  We were almost alone in the park.  Two other trailers and a couple of tent campers are in an area designed for 75.  It has cooled off with a nice breeze.  For the first time in  a week we don't need the A/C.  Ann has caught a cold from the wide swing in temperature.

Thursday, August 17, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 69223.5; @ End of Day: 69547.7

It is nice to be out of the desert.  After leaving Santa Rosa, we soon reached the Texas border and encountered wide open flat pasture land stretching to the horizon in all directions.  We came through Amarillo, and then east to Oklahoma where we are camped in a little campground in Elk City.  It's trying to rain.  We could use some to wash off the desert dust.  Except for having to contend with the big trucks, I-40 is a good road for making time. 

Oklahoma became a part of the US as a part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.  It was originally set aside for the resettlement of Indian tribes and called simply the Indian Territory.  By 1860 60 tribes had been moved to the reservation.  But the pressure was building to open the area to white settlement.  Inevitably the white man went back on his word and moved in on the Indians.  Some of the confusion in the status of the Indian treaties came as a result of the Civil War.  The area was opened to homesteading in a unique way.  April 22, 1889 was declared to be the date of the first land run.  Two million acres were readied for homesteading in parcels of 160 acres each.  Soldiers were stationed along the border to keep impatient settlers from coming before the appointed hour of noon.  When the hour came the people were turned loose and a made rush ensued.  The early arrivals however found that they had been beaten by others who had managed to sneak by the guards.  These folks, having arrived on the scene sooner, became known as the Sooners.  Arguments erupted, fights broke out, and lawsuits were filed to contest the titles of the Sooners.  In most instances the Sooners prevailed.  Thus, Oklahoma became known as the Sooner state.  The territory attained statehood in 1907. 

Friday, August 18, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 69547.7; @ End of Day: 69800.1

Continuing on I-40 we passed through Oklahoma City and eastern Oklahoma where the land became more hilly and fertile looking.  In places the bright red clay was the equal to that in Georgia.  I-40 in Oklahoma leaves a lot to be desired in the road surface.  I don't recall any Interstate surface as bad.  There would be 10 miles of bad concrete, then a few miles of asphalt which was okay, then more rough concrete.  One traveler's opinion: Forget concrete as a paving material!

Saturday, August 19, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 69800.1;@ End of Day: 70015.2

Eureka Spring, Arkansas, in the heart of the Ozark Mountains, is perched on the side near the top of one of the mountains.  It has an old downtown area that should not be traveled in anything larger than a small compact car.  I made a wrong turn and drove through with truck and 34 foot trailer.  We came into town on Highway 62, which runs along the mountain ridge.  Suddenly were on 62B, the business route which drops sharply into town.  If anyone reading this has been there you'll appreciate the problem we faced.  Once committed there was no turning back - no place to back up or turn around.  So all 53 feet of us drove right through the center of town.  The streets are narrow, winding, with sharp turns.  Cars were parked along one side.  There was heavy and wall-to-wall people staring at the fool who would bring such a rig into a place like this.  The route was a 3 or 4 mile loop through the downtown area, built 100 years ago before cars were invented.  With a prayer and some good fortune we made it through without incident, but this little episode takes the cake over all previous scary adventures. 

After the ordeal we found a campground, went back to town to see what it was all about, and decided to stay awhile.  Eureka Springs has been a resort town for over 100 years, beginning as the place to come to get magical health cures from the springs in the area.  Early Indian legends give credit to the healing powers of the springs.  Today it is another touristy shopping area in a unique setting.  There are several country music halls, amusement parks, hotels and motels.  It is the home of Christ of the Ozarks, a huge statue of Christ on top of a nearby mountain.  An outdoor passion play is claimed to be the finest in outdoor entertainment anywhere.  They have a trolley system which moves people around to all motels, campgrounds and attractions. 

We strolled around town for awhile, bought tickets for tonight's show at the Pine Mountain Jamboree, then came back to the trailer when it started to rain.  The show was excellent, much like the show we saw in Hiawassee only more professionally done.  It was country music mostly with gospel, western, and a little jazz and rock ‘n roll thrown in.  Hargus, the comedian, lost his job at the canning plant when he put the beans in the can upside down.  Customers got the hickups.

Sunday, August 20, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 70015.2; @ End of Day: 70025.0

The rain continued all night and is still at it with occasional thunder resounding through the mountains.  It puts a damper on activities, but is highly referable to the heat of the desert.  So, we're spending a lazy day in the trailer catching up on our reading.  I've just finished Michener's new book, Journey, and have started Tom Clancey's new one - Clear and Present Danger.  We'll probably stay in Arkansas for a few more days, then move on to western Tennessee.

WEEK 17: Monday, August 21, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 70025.0; @ End of Day: 70150.0

Last night we took in another musical show at the Ozark Mountain Hoedown in Eureka Springs.  The music was of a greater variety than an Pine Mountain.  The fiddle player and the piano player were better.  The variety included a little country, some blue grass, gospel, and some old 20s, 30s, and 40s music - even some from the 1890s.  I think the best number was the piano rendition of Amazing Grace.  There was much costume changing.  It always amazes how some musicians can be so good on so many different instruments.  They all seem able to play anything.  The fiddle player also played a trombone, saxaphone. clarinet, accordion, and a harmonica.

The sun was out bright and pretty this morning.  The rain cleared all the haze from the air.  We moved to a campground near Dogpatch, about 7 miles south of Harrison, Arkansas and visited a theme park based on Al Capp's Li'l Abner comic strip.  The little town of Dogpatch is down in a "holler" reached by special cable car.  There are shops, amusement rides, game concessions, places to eat, periodic shows, and a train ride through the mountains.  The Dogpatch characters are all around.  Some of the buildings are authentic old mountain cabins.  The park, however, does not seem to be doing too well.  There were not so many people there for a summer afternoon.  Everything had a sort of rundown appearance.  Even so, it was an interesting change of pace. 

The Ozarks are comparatively low mountains, not nearly as imposing as the Smokies.  They are green though and have there own charm.  It's nice to be back where Southern is spoken. 

Tuesday, August 22, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 70150.0; @ End of Day: 70195.7

Arkansas Highway 7 south of Harrison is billed as being one of the nation's most scenic roads.  We found it to be very nice, but not really as exciting as that claim would lead one to think.  The first interesting thing was the Buffalo River - designated as a national river.  Just west of the bridge there is a sheer rock cliff, probably 200 feet high.  Kids were swimming and playing in the clear water.  Canoeing on the river is a popular activity.  The entire length of the river is under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service which insures that the pristine beauty will not be spoiled by commercial development.

The little town of Jasper lies a short distance south of the river, and has some interesting old buildings constructed of river rock.  Jasper does not have a prosperous look.  We stopped at a log cabin down the road from Jasper that advertised genuine Ozark crafts - quite different from most of the gift shops around that all have the same junk, apparently imported via the same catalog.  This little cabin itself dated back to 1840. They had interesting quilts, carvings, and other things made by the local folks. 

From there, the road climbed up to the top of the mountain and followed the ridge for several miles.  There were occasional overlooks with good views.  While the sun was out, the air had become hazy again.  The area must be very pretty in the fall when the leaves change.  There were lots of hardwoods in the surrounding forests. 

Thursday, August 24, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 70195.7; @ End of Day: 70425.6

From Harrison we drove east on Hwy 62 through Mountain Home, then Hwy 63 through Jonesboro, then I-55 south to Memphis, Tennessee - good road all the way.  Our short visit to the Ozarks was just enough to gain the desire to return and see more.  Next time, Hot Springs will be on the list, and Degray State Park.  Branson also sounds like an interesting place just across the line in Missouri.

Friday, August 25, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 70425.6; @ End of Day: 70770.9

After an uneventful but beautiful drive through Tennessee, from Memphis and through Nashville, we stopped at Cumberland Mountain State Park near Crossville.  Judging from the lushness of the green grass and trees, there has been plenty of rain in the mountains this summer.

We've been looking forward to the state parks of Tennessee, remembering some pleasant times in the past.  This one is no exception.  It is very nice and has a well developed campground.  The park was built back in the years of the Great Depression by the CCC and has some unique buildings, including a bridge and dam made entirely of native stone. 

Closeby is the village of Homestead, which had its beginning as an experiment during the depression to put people to work when there was no work available elsewhere.  Land was secured and some 250 families were chosen out of thousands of applicants to homestead the property.  They were furnished land, tools and plans, but had to use materials found on the land for construction of their homes.  Many of those little native rock homes are still standing.  Maybe I'll learn more about it tomorrow.

Saturday, August 26, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 70770.9; @ End of Day: 70830.8

The Cumberland Homesteads was a product of the Roosevelt administration's New Deal.  Of many such projects started during the depression, this one was the most successful.  Many of the families that moved here then still live here - or their descendants do.  Tennessee was among the hardest hit.  Unemployment was widespread.  To get things started the government furnished cleared land, tools, seed and livestock, and some building materials to 256 carefully selected families.  The size of the homesteads varied according to the size of the family.  The largest were about 40 acres. 

To be considered for the opportunity the family had to be hardworking and honest, sober, unemployed, and without other property.  They also had to be willing to help their neighbors.  They received credits against their mortgage for any work they did off their own place.  Most the homesteaders eventually gained title to their land, though not without considerable effort and trouble.  

From a community point of view, the project was successful, but the homesteads were not large enough to be completely self-sustaining.  There was not enough industry around to provide the homesteaders with extra income.  Many of the men had to work in far off places to obtain the extra income they needed to supply the bare necessities for their families.  So, economically, the project was not so successful. 

Most of the little houses are similar in design, made from local stone called crab orchard stone.  Someone in the group was skilled in masonry and could teach the craft, as the stonework in the houses is uniquely attractive.  The roofs are steeply pitched to make room for a large water tank in the attic.  This tank had to be filled by hand pumps, but once filled provided running water in the kitchen and bathroom.  Later, in 1939, a tower was built that housed a community water tank.  By then electricity was available too. 

The project became known as the "Showcase of the New Deal" and was one of Eleanor Roosevelt's pet interests.  She made at least one appearance on the site during construction.  It's a shame that few people have ever heard of the community. 

Another interesting thing nearby is the Cumberland General Store.  They specialize in newly produced things that were used in the past - old bathtubs, coffee grinders, tools, graniteware, iron pots, herbs, spices and flavorings, country ham and bacon, old style musical instruments, lamps, livestock gear, and on and on.  Their ½" thick catalog is about as interesting as the store itself.  We spent an hour there looking around.

It rained all afternoon which made for some good nap time and a little reading.  In the evening we went to see "The Musicman," a musical play put on at the Cumberland County Playhouse in Crossville.  We had been told earlier that they were sold out, but that we could be put on a waiting list.  As it turned out we couldn't have had better seats - center section, 5 rows from the stage.  The performance was by mostly local talent - very good.  The musicman was a traveling salesman in River City, Iowa in 1912.  Knowing nothing about music, he nevertheless came to town selling band instruments and uniforms.  He planned to leave town just as the instruments arrived.  His plan fell apart when he fell in love with the town librarian.  It all worked out okay though.  She helped the town realize that they had become a happier community because of the musicman. 

Sunday, August 27, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 70830.8; @ End of Day: 71030.8

We moved up to Kingsport, Tennessee to Warrior's Path State Park where we stayed once before.  We remembered it as being one of the best parks ever, but not it does not appear as nice as Cumberland.  Still, it is all right and it has a golf course that we might try out.  Learned today that Tennessee's state parks now recognize the Golden Age passport for a 50% discount.  That would make the campground fee $4.50 per night.

We are on our way to Richmond, Virginia for a short visit with son John, Barbara and the grandchildren before we head home.  Present plan is to get home around the 10th of September.

WEEK 18: Monday, August 28, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 71030.8; @ End of Day: 71050.0

Kingsport, Tennessee - Warrior's Path State Park - 11:00 tee time.  We played a little golf this morning for the first time since early June.  The course was nicely laid out on steep hillsides.  The heat go to us a bit before it was over, bout it was not the disaster it might have been.  Remembered most of the 21 things you have to think about before swinging at the ball.  The course was real handy within walking distance from our campsite. 

Tuesday, August 29, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 71050.0; @ End of Day: 71297.8

We moved to Virginia today, stopping at Appomattox where Lee surrendered to Grant to end the Civil War.  A high pressure system has piled up polluted air and it is hot.  Hope it clears up soon.

Wednesday, August 30, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 71297.8; @ End of Day: 71397.2

We stopped at Appomattox Courthouse National Historical Park on the way out of town.  The entire village which has the full name of Appomattox Courthouse is now preserved as a park.  It's maintained in the fashion that it was in the 1860s.  Located about 90 miles west of Richmond, it just happened to be where the Union and Confederate armies were when it became obvious that the North had won the war.  General Grant sent a message to General Lee asking for surrender.  Lee sent an aide into the nearest town to find a suitable place for him to meet with Grant.  The aide went to Appomattox Courthouse, found a gentleman named Wilmer McLean who reluctantly offered his home for a meeting place.  On April 9, 1865 the meeting took place and the terms of surrender were agreed to ending the four year war.  A ceremony of laying down arms was held on April 12th, and papers called paroles were printed and given to the soldiers who were then released to find their way home.  Two days later President Lincoln was assassinated. 

The court house itself had nothing to do with the surrender.  It is now the Visitor Center for the park.  Slide shows at the VC tell the story.  Signs depict the park as the place "where our nation was reunited." 

We drove on to Petersburg, another place of significance in the Civil War and found a campsite for the night.  It was when Petersburg fell that the war was really lost for the South.  A cold front has chased all the air pollution away with its westerly winds, making for a brighter outlook all around.

Thursday, August 31, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 71397.2; @ End of Day: 71425.1

We found John, Barbara and the grandkids doing fine and spent evening visiting with them in their home in Chester, Virginia.  The kids are getting ready to start to school next Tuesday.  John will start the 2d grade and Bonnie will start kindergarten.  Barbara has obtained a part time job to keep her busy while the kids are in school. 

Friday, September 1, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 71425.1; @ End of Day: 71425.1

John and I enjoyed a round of golf this morning at Prince George G&CC near Hopewell while the girls went shopping.  We picked up some chicken at the Midlothian KFC for supper at the beautiful new home of Tim and Cathy Tyler.  They are still in the process of moving in.  Julie and Debra are excited about getting separate bedrooms for the 1st time. 

Saturday, September 2, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 71425.1; @ End of Day: 71456.1

Saw a strange sight today.  When the predicted bad weather failed to materialize, John decided it would be a good to go out in the boat.  He and I and John, Jr. put in at Surrey on the south bank of the James River, crossed the river to Jamestown where the first English settlers came nearly 400 years ago, then cruised down the river about 20 miles to where the Navy keeps its mothballed fleet of old warships.  There were hundreds of them of all varieties chained together and anchored in the middle of the James.  Some looked old enough to predate WW2.  Others looked fairly modern.  I know that it probably makes economic sense to abandon them this way, rather than keep them crewed and maintained, but it still looks like an enormous waste. 

While we were out in the boat, Ann, Barbara and Bonnie went into Richmond to the fairgrounds to take in a craft show.  They walked around and bought a few things. 

Sunday, September 3, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 71456.1; @ End of Day: 71456.1

We went to church this morning with the JBs at the Colonial Heights Baptist Church, then went to a very special restaurant called the Half Way House on the Petersburg Turnpike.  Built in 1760, the restaurant has served such notables as George Washington, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Robert E. Lee, U.S. Grant, and many others.  The kitchen is in a little separate building that was used as the kitchen even in the early days.  The dining area is in a low ceiling basement where the rooms are very small and furnished with many authentic antiques.  The meal was expensive, but very good.

This will be the last entry to this travelog.  To sum it up, we have had a super time.  We've spend 18 weeks on the road thoroughly enjoying the freedom of it all.  We have driven through 24 states over some 14,000 miles, gone into Canada at Vancouver Island at our furthest outward point, enjoyed 8 national parks and an uncounted number of state parks.  We attended the Airstream International Rally in Bozeman, Montana.  We stayed in 57 different campgrounds, trudged through snow at Mt. Rainier, walked in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark in northwest Oregon, driven down the rugged Oregon coast, marveled at the California redwood trees, sweltered in the desert in the southwest, enjoyed a short stay in the Ozark Mountains, seen many varieties of wildlife, encountered some very interesting people of the past, including Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, Theodore Roosevelt, Sarah Winchester, William Randolph Hearst, and met some very interesting present day folks along the way.  Yet, with all of that, the trip has but served underscore the fact that we have hardly scratched the surface in terms of really seeing this country.  There are some places we'd like to revisit, and some others that once was enough.  Someone asked what was the most remarkable thing we'd seen.  That was tough to answer.  Ann said it was Buchart Gardens.  I'd say it was the coastal redwoods in northern California. 

Now it's time to get back home and into the routines of normal living again.  That is going to be the toughest part.  There will be more traveling though, the Lord willing.  I cannot think of a better way to do it than with our Airstream travel trailer, proceeding at about the pace we did it this time or maybe a little slower.  Keeping this log has helped to remember details that might otherwise be forgotten.  I hope that it has also served to share some of our experiences with our friends although I may have bored you with parts of it. 

WEEK 19: Monday, September 4, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 71456.1; @ End of Day: 71456.1

We're still parked in the street in front of John's house in Chester, operating on power generated by our solar panels.  Yesterday was a cloudy day however, and the batteries did not get charged up as well as usual, so we heard the voltage alarm beeping off and on during the night.  It beeps when the batteries get down to 10 volts.  Printing up last week's travelog and watching TV at the same time was more of a drain on the system than I expected.  It looks like a bright sunny day outside today, so the system should recover.  A day of full sun usually brings the voltage up to 12.6 to 12.8 volts.  We need two more batteries to take full advantage of the solar system. 

John and I played 9 holes of golf in the afternoon at the Bermuda Course near Hopewell.

Tuesday, September 5, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 71456.1 @ End of day: 71630.2

We watched the kids off to school on their first day.  It was quite a production to see all of the neighborhood kids go down to the bus stop in their new clothes.  It was almost as interesting watching all the parents with their cameras and camcorders recording the event for posterity.  Bonnie jumped right on the bust with no hesitation.

We left Chester about 9am and hit the road again, taking I-95 south to Smithfield, North Carolina.

Thursday, September 7, 1989

Mileage @ Start: 72008.0; @ End of Day: 72208.4

The last day of the trip found us driving leisurely southward on I-95, then switching to I-75 at Ocala, Florida.  We stopped there for lunch at Morrisons, then drove on home, arriving in the early afternoon.  The arrival home was with considerable mixed feelings.  We were glad to get home, but the next few days are going to be busy ones getting unpacked and then cleaning up the house and yard. 

We found a large computerized "Welcome Home" sign from the Schumakers and a note from Frances announcing a welcome home party for Saturday night.  Buck Yost met us at the door with the news of the neighborhood.  He had done a good job of looking after the place while we were away and had kept the yard mowed. 

The pasture grass is high, with some weeds along the fence over 6 feet tall.  And in the garden it looks like weeds have taken over.  But it will clean up with a little work.  Whatever it takes will be worth it for the good trip that we have had. 

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