Travel Journal November 2006

Retriever) is a very friendly and easy-going dog but does not get along with other dogs

(male or female) in his house, so Lobo stayed in the truck. On subsequent visits we

alternated with Lobo and Nugget. When Lobo was in the house, Nugget stayed in the

bed

room. Serena, the cat, stayed out of sight for most of the time. We left at around

10 PM

to return on the following Monday. That was the day we moved the RV to Chico

and for

that evening Terry had promised a home-cooked meal which was bound to be

good!

The next two days were reserved for cleaning and maintenance on the RV. After this

was

accomplished, on Saturday we took a trip to Lake Tahoe over the

Donner Pass

(<- -

please

click) in the Sierra Nevada’s (see

photos). We also visited Squaw Valley where

the 1960

Winter Olympics were held. The

Olympics in 1960 must have been on a much

smaller scale

since Squaw Valley is a very

small village.

We spent Sunday getting ready for our departure from Beale to Chico and on Monday we

left, arriving in Chico with time to set up at the campground before supper with Terry

and

family. It was a soup and salad affair with a fantastic homemade soup. Terry is

vegetarian but “spiced up” the soup with beef cubes for the rest of us.

The following morning Terry picked us up at the RV Park, and we gave her the grand tour

of our home on wheels. She brought a beautiful bouquet of Marilyn Monroe roses from

her

garden (see photos). Since she is a hobby gardener with many varieties of roses,

Chuck

bought a nameless rose bush the following day, which

Renée

immediately g

ve the

name

“Chuck”.

After the tour of our home, Terry took us to the southern part of Chico’s Bidwell Park,

which happens to be the second largest

municipal

park in the USA (NYC’s Central Park is

the

largest). Lobo found this to be quite enjoyable since a cool stream flows through the

middle (see photos).

That evening we were invited to the

Sierra Nevada Brewery Restaurant

(<- - please

click). This is one of the best micro breweries

in the US and their large selection of brews

can satisfy even the person that prefers

German beer above all others. Chuck only had to

mention it and Terry made reservations

for the evening!

The following morning we pulled out all of the winter clothing from the “basement” and

sorted it out. Renée has lost so much weight that almost nothing fits any more, so it was

all

packed up for Terry to determine what she could use and the rest to be given to a

local

shelter. That evening we were again treated with Terry’s home cooking, including a

delicious homemade pecan pie.

Thursday, the ninth was a sunny day and we picked up Terry for a trip to the northern

part

of Bidwell Park. She had an appointment and had to leave us at the park but would

meet us

later for lunch. That end of the park is not wooded and there was no running

stream, so

Lobo wasn’t that interested in a long walk. We later met Terry at her house

and she took

us to the Kramore Inn for lunch, followed by a visit to a glass blowing

factory called

“

Orient and Flume

” (<- -

please click) where we could actually sit and watch the glass

blowers at work and watch a

video about the factory. This wasn’t just an observation

window but benches sitting near

the furnaces where you could actually interact with the

artists as they worked and

explained each step. The prices for their creations reflected

their skills, making an

impulse purchase out of the question.

Chico is also a farming area and has the merchants to serve it, including an antique feed,

seed and supply store that also specializes in a large variety of pet supplies. After the

glass factory we went there to impulse-buy for Lobo and Nugget. This store has many

things that we have never seen before in the US. That evening we had dinner again at

the

Herringer’s.

Friday was a holiday and Larry, Greg and Nick came to visit us at the RV Park for the RV

tour. We all then met Terry at a Thai restaurant for lunch, followed by a trip in the

mountains to a covered bridge (see photos). That evening we had invited every one to

their

choice of a restaurant. The Olive Garden was selected and as we met there, the

place was

so overcrowded that it would be over an hour before we would be seated. It

wasn’t this

restaurant alone, but that day happened to be the local version of Sadie

Hawkins day for

one of the high school

. Imagine that all of the teenagers were

formally dressed, making

us look “less than casually dressed”. Talk about a role reversal!

This was one of the few days that all of us could be together and so we all set out in

three

different cars, searching out all possibilities. After several failed attempts, we

finally

ended up at Tres Hombres, which would have been a perfect first choice, with an

excellent

variety on their menu. Renée found their fish tacos to be a real treat. We all

saved room

for dessert at the Herringer house, consisting of a Triple Lemon Cake baked

by Terry.

On Saturday Larry spent the day in his office grading student papers while we played

board games with the boys. Terry spent the day in the kitchen preparing a fare-well

supper of fresh salad, homemade lasagna and chocolate mousse. Renée says that if we

had

stayed any longer, she would have needed to get her old clothes back, or go shopping

for a

larger sized wardrobe!

On Sunday Terry, Larry and Greg came to the RV Park

with fare well presents and

observe the process of getting

an RV on the road. Then we said our goodbyes and hit the

road at 10:45 AM on Highway

99 toward Marysville and further south to Sacramento and

Manteca, turning onto Route

120 to Groveland, spending three nights at the Yosemite Pines

RV Park. From there it

was only a short drive to

Yosemite

National Park

(<- - please

click). We also did some sightseeing in the nearby town of

Groveland

(<- - please click)

which boasts of having the oldest, continuously operating saloon in

California

, the

Iron Door

Saloon

(<- - please click).

We had planned to continue on Route 120 over the Sierra Nevada’s to reach Route 395 to

Death Valley but discovered that Tioga Pass and the Sonora Pass on Route 108 were

closed

for the winter. So we had to modify our route by driving back

Highway 99

and on

Bakersfield and then travel eastward since no other mountain passes exist to the south.

We drove as far as Selma, CA and spent the night in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The

entire

trip to Bakersfield was flat land with fruit and nut trees, with the occasional

vineyard. The

dust and smog was so heavy that the Sierra Nevada’s in the distance were

not visible. This

finally began to change when, east of Bakersfield

we turned onto

Highway 58 to travel

over the mountains. Shortly before Mojave, the entire mountain

range was covered with

windmills (see photos). On the other side of the mountains, the

visibility improved

considerably. In Mojave, we turned onto Highway 14 to Rosemond

where we entered

Edwards Air Force Base, stocked up at the commissary and spent the

night at the Base

Fam Camp. The Air Force has a “Frequent Camper Program” which we

had earlier joined.

We “collect” Air Force Fam Camps where we have been and receive

free camping after

filling in the log book. So, when given the choice, we always stay at

one of their Fam Camps.

As we left Edwards the following morning, we saw the largest mirage we had ever seen,

complete with buildings, trees, etc. from several miles away being reflected in the

imaginary body of water in the desert. We had driven through the desert on the day

before and knew that no water existed there!

From Rosemond we headed toward Death Valley via Highway 14 back through Mojave and

further north, then Highway 178 past China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station to

Ridgecrest

and in a northerly direction to Highway 190 that would take us directly to

Death Valley

(<- - please click) going over

Towne Pass. This required a couple of rest stops on the way

up to avoid overheating (not

the engine but the transmission). As we made it over the top

and started downhill

(actually down-mountain) it was getting close to nightfall so we

stopped at the first

campground in the park. It was actually designed for tents but had

spots big enough for

the RV (and it was free!) The view of the valley was spectacular (see

photos). The

temperature is quite bearable in November. As we left the campground

the

next morning

at 10:30 AM, it

was 75°F and remained around that point for the rest of the

day. We drove through the

valley on Highway 190, often below sea level (see photos) and

in the village of Death

Valley Junction we took Highway 127 eastward to the Nevada state

line (see photos).

The first building in Nevada is, of course, a casino. In Amargosa Valley

we took US 96

for about 85 miles to Las Vegas. We spent two nights at the Desert Eagle

Fam Camp on

Nellis Air Force Base on the northeast side of Las Vegas. On Sunday, the

nineteenth,

we toured the Strip, spending three dollars in the slots at the Monte Carlo

(but the

parking was free). After several hours we returned to the parking lot, first

letting Lobo

out so he could stretch, sniff and pee. This was immediately forbidden by the

parking lot

attendant.

On Monday morning we left at 9:45, heading to Boulder City where we picked up Chuck’s

birthday present (delayed since August), which is a wireless camera and monitor to be

used as a rear view mirror for the RV. Boulder City is on the Nevada side of

Hoover Dam

(<- - please click). After driving over the dam

(see photos) we were again in Arizona. We

took US 93, then for a short while I-40 until

US 93 again headed southeast. At this point

it is called Joshua Forest Parkway, but

there wasn’t a single Joshua tree in sight. We

spent the night at Burro Creek

Campground (see photos) and the following day continued on

US 93. Very soon it became

apparent why it was called Joshua Forest Parkway (see

photos). We reached Phoenix in

the early afternoon and took I-10 to Tucson. Shortly

after 5 PM we were again at Davis-

Monthan Air Force Base where we had left 4 months

and 21 days before and had

traveled 14,358 miles since then.

We spent Wednesday settling in. In June we had been invited for Thanksgiving by Bea

and

Phil

Shapiro

. We arrived

at their house

early in the afternoon and tried to help getting

things ready for the

many friends and family (see photos).

On Friday and Saturday we stayed at home. Chuck had to repair the bed. Under the bed

a large storage area and it had to be unpacked and the bed taken completely apart to

reinforce the joints. On Sunday we invited the Shapiro’s for dinner. Since we aren’t

familiar with Tucson, they recommended “Mimi’s Cafe” which is a very nice local

restaurant,

not a cafe as the name implies. Bea, Phil and Isaac (their son) must have had

their fill

turkey because all three of them ordered large salads for

the meal. Danielle (their

daughter) could not join us because she had already returned to

Phoenix where she lives

and works.

On Tuesday we were finally able to get an appointment for December 7th with the RV

dealer in Huachuca City that had replaced the axles

on the RV

in June. Since then we have

noticed

that one of the four tires is wearing on the inside. We had spoken with them a few

months ago and were told to get an appointment when we were again in the area.

Therefore, we extended our stay in Tucson until December 6th.

Since we had plans to also go to Palomas, Mexico (across from Columbus, NM) to the

dentist so Chuck could have a crown replaced that he had recently broken, we decided to

leave the RV in Tucson, go to Columbus, spend the night at Pancho Villa State Park in our

tent (which we had never used), and go to the dentist the following day. When we left on

Wednesday, the weather began to change. When we arrived in Columbus, the wind had

kicked up and we had a lot of trouble holding on to the tent to get it put up. After

getting

it up, filling the air mattresses and putting the covers inside, it was almost dark.

The wind

finally stopped around midnight. That night it got down to 28°F. Fortunately, we

had been

smart enough to bring along a small electric ceramic heater that we hung from the

middle

of the tent. The following morning was crisp and beautiful (see photos).

After visiting the dentist and deciding to have not one, but two crowns replaced, we

returned to Tucson, ending our November travels.

To be continued in

Dece

mber

…