Rain, rain, cheese, and more rain

Since it has never really stopped raining in the 3 days that we’ve been in Oregon, we decided to take some of our adventures indoors.  On Tuesday, we drove around and explored the little town of Tillamook.  We found a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop with WiFi advertised on the window and decided to make a stop.  Upon entering, we quickly discerned that this was not your typical Starbucks coffee shop.  For one thing, there was no one there (including employees).  It looked more like a rundown antique shop than a coffeehouse; there were only two seats in the whole place (the rest was filled with clutter).  Some of the highlights: a giant trash bag full of aluminum cans in the middle of the entryway, one-year supply of eye drops on the table next to our chairs, a bill from the county hospital on the counter, a stack of about 5 years worth of daily newspapers, and a framed picture of 30 elderly women and one topless man wearing extremely short shorts.  We waited around until the man who seemed to be the owner walked in and took our orders.  The price of two lattes was only $3.50!  While we were sitting on the only two chairs and using the WiFi, the owner grumbled, “I’ve gotta go to the hardware store, I’ll be back” and left the shop in our hands.  Apparently this is a customary practice because while he was away at the hardware store, a drifter came in, fixed his own drink, left some coins on the counter, and walked out.  If only all coffee shops were this unique.  

We devoted Wednesday to exploring the beauty of the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  We took a brief self-tour of the cheese making and packaging process, sampled some cheese, and then splurged in the gift shop.

After eating too much cheese and ice cream, we decided to go for a hike despite the looming storm blowing in from the ocean.  A 4-mile hike in 40 degree temperatures and blowing wind, rain, and ice is just about as fun as it sounds.  After that, we retreated back to the camper to attempt to dry our gear, but we’ve found out that things don’t dry too well in this humid climate!  We warmed ourselves with hot cocoa, a spaghetti dinner, and another game of Skip-Bo.

Today we are en route to Olympic National Park, our furthest northwest destination before turning back south. 

Keep your fingers crossed for dry weather!

Drifters with Cash

Our time in Redwood can be summed up with the following: mammals, rain, and drifters.  The best part of the park was all the wildlife we saw.  There were herds of Roosevelt elk around our campsite as well as black-tailed deer, coyotes, bats feeding on insects, and sea lions!  We spent hours searching the coast for the majestic gray whale with our binoculars(supposedly they migrate back to Alaska from Mexico this time of year), however, the whales continue to elude us. 

 

                                   We caught him mid-chew

                      Sea Lions sun-bathing on the coast

We spent Easter morning hiking through the Lady Bird Johnson grove of giant Redwood trees.  We were amazed by the lush vegetation throughout the Redwood forest; it receives over 100 inches of rain throughout the year and everything is so green!  The Pacific Northwest is incredibly beautiful but the rain has gotten somewhat tiresome over the past few days.  It has rained every day since we’ve been here, and just when you think the sun has come out and the clouds have cleared, it rains 5 minutes later!  

One other thing we discovered about northern California is the abundance of what Jack likes to call “drifters” a.k.a. hitchhikers, hippies, or parolees.  We’re not sure what the attraction to northern California is for these people (seems like an awful rainy place to be walking on the side of the road all the time) but we’ve had a good time turning it into a game of Spot-the-Drifter.  But like Jack says, we’re really just drifters with a little bit of cash in our pockets.  

 Crescent Beach Overlook- one of the places we watched for gray whales

Today we headed out of California into the beautiful state of Oregon.  We followed highway 101 up the west coast and stopped for the night at a state park right on the beach.  The small town we’re in is apparently known for fresh crabs and seafood, so after getting some advice from an Oregonian, we headed out to a locals-only seafood joint and enjoyed some Oregon beer and clam chowder.  We mingled with some local folk and then took a short walk along the beach before retreating from the rain to continue our ongoing Skip-Bo feud.

Tomorrow we head to Tillamook, Oregon, home of the world-winning medium cheddar cheese. We hope to gorge ourselves on cheese, ice cream, and various other dairy products.  We will be there for two nights before heading north to our farthest Northwest destination: Olympic National Park in Washington. 

We hope everyone had a great Easter.  You are with us in our thoughts!

With Love,

Jack & Megan

Wannabe Grizzly Adams

We spent our last two days in Yosemite at Hodgdon Meadow Campground on the north side of the park at about 4900 feet elevation.  Little did we know, the campsite we reserved was at a steep angle downward.  The problem with this, as we found out, was that everything in an RV stops functioning when parked at an angle.  The bathtub stopped draining, so we had to hand-bail the water out of the tub after each shower.  In addition, the refrigerator and freezer decided to stop working; we discovered this only after we poured warm milk into our cereal bowls on Thursday morning.  We had to trash some good steaks and various dairy products, and we’re hoping the rest of the refrigerated items will make it at room temperature until we reach our next campsite.  Also, the temperature at 4900’ likes to drop below freezing at night, so we awoke this morning to a dead camper battery from the heater blowing all night long. 

On a brighter note, we had a great time exploring Yosemite.  On Wednesday, we took a short hike through deep snow to a grove of sequoia trees.  It rained for about 10 hours straight on Wednesday night, so we felt fortunate to be warm and dry in our camper (our tent-camping neighbors were not so lucky).  We spent the day on Thursday exploring some of our personal interests.  Jack went on a strenuous 8-mile hike to the top of Upper Yosemite Falls, gaining 2700 feet in elevation in just over 2 hours!  Meanwhile, Megan took a photography class called “Walking in the Footsteps of Ansel Adams.”  The class took her to the places that the famous photographer shot some of his legendary photos of Yosemite.  While she was shooting the iconic Upper Yosemite Falls, through a twist of irony and technology, Jack waved to Megan from the top of the Falls after some coordination of text messaging.  Of course, because of the elevation and distance between us, it was quite possible that we were waving to rocks and trees instead of each other (it’s impossible to make out cars, much less people, at that distance.)  We reunited at the bottom of the Falls later that evening to enjoy our first meal at a restaurant since leaving Texas.  

                                   Half Dome

                                        Upper Yosemite Falls

In other news, Jack has yet to shave his face and his attempts to look like a mountain man are starting to materialize. 

Today we are driving north through the beautiful wine country of California.  Our destination: Redwood National Park in northern California, where we will be for the next 5 days. 

We have been working on updating our Shutterfly website with more pictures of our adventures, so be sure to check up on those!

Wannabe Ansel Adams

Over the past two days, we’ve been hiking around Yosemite.  We arrived in Yosemite Valley this morning and have been enjoying the views all day.  Yosemite is very different from any of the parks we’ve been to so far; the Valley is very developed and there are people everywhere.  There are free shuttles that run through the park every 10-15 minutes and most of the hikes are paved roads.  A deer on the side of the road will create a traffic jam.  Nonetheless, the scenery has been amazing and the photo opportunities are endless.  We feel we can only describe Yosemite with the pictures we have taken; words cannot describe the natural beauty!

                                   Lower Yosemite Falls

                                  Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls

                                        Yosemite Valley

                                        Yosemite Valley

Hillbillies in the Mountains

 

 

Let me first start off by stating that this blog entry is written entirely by Jacky D in response to everyone assuming that Megan was the only one writing the first few entries.  Okay, now back to business.  We arrived at Sequoia National Park on Friday and  continued to have perfect weather.  This park immediately jumped to our new favorite as the campground was great and the views amazing.  We took the Generals Highway (windiest road ever) to a grove of Sequoia trees that the infamous "General Sherman" lives in.  General Sherman is the largest tree in mass in the world and after 2100 years he is still going strong.  

 

 

 

This might be a good time to mention....we are no longer in the desert!  When we started climbing in elevation the snow started to appear.  At first we were excited to see some left-over snow in the ditch, but soon found 8 feet of snow in many places and traffic signs completely buried.  The temperatures were not bad at all and I don't think we ever felt cold.  We got to see some mule deer, but the search for a bear continues. 

 

                               Overlooking King's Canyon

 

 

For a hike on Saturday we took an 8 mile climb that gained about 2000 feet of elevation and ended at a waterfall.  The hike was amazing and views were around every turn. 

 

 

 

Living in a travel trailer in the woods requires some creative laundry as can be seen in the pictures below.  With biodegradable soap and a bucket we were able to hand wash some clothes and hang them up on a clothesline.  Charging iPhones also requires some creative thinking and although a 4000 watt gasoline generator sounds like overkill, it makes perfect sense to me.  We looked like total white trash....but it was great.  After the hike and laundry we were exhausted and like every night ended up falling asleep around nine.....after some grilled cajun chicken on the campfire.  

 

 

                   Washing Jack's underwear by hand...you can tell Megan is not too thrilled

              Our ghetto-rigged clothesline off the bear box

 

 

Sunday morning we packed up and left early for Yosemite National Park- about a 2-3 hour drive.  We stopped on the way and bought some more groceries and camping supplies since we will be in Yosemite for five nights.  I'm going to break for a minute and mention that on this entire trip we have not spent a penny on anything but groceries and gasoline.....this simple life feels so good.  In our campsite in Yosemite we are about twenty yards from a roaring river and at an elevation of 4000 feet so there isn't really any snow.  Today we walked through another grove of giant sequoia trees and the snow was packed up about 3-4 feet along the trail.  With the sunny skies and mild temperatures you can be walking next to all this snow and wear a t-shirt and feel fine.  We were able to find a little neighborhood inside the park where employees live and found a unlocked internet connection so we were able to get a few emails out and soon this blog!  One year ago today, Megan and I went on our first date, so spending our 1 year anniversary in Yosemite seems to fit us perfectly.  I would never have guessed there was someone out there I could have so much fun with living in a camper....so in conclusion....Life is good! 

Jack of All Trades

We headed west toward California Thursday morning.  Luckily, we filled up with gas at the last Arizona exit for $3.69/gallon.  There were long lines at every pump and everyone had California license plates.  Two miles later, we came to the first gas station in California and were appalled that gas prices had jumped 64 cents to $4.33!!!  We knew it would be an expensive drive through California.  

We got into Joshua Tree National Park mid-afternoon on Thursday.  We were a little confused by the desolate, desert atmosphere and wondered why this place would earn a National Park title.  We soon discovered that the park is divided into two desert ecosystems and that we were in the desolate, dry half of the park.  To get to the Mojave Desert (the higher elevation, wetter half), we would have to have driven 2.5 more hours.  After a 7 hour drive to the park, we weren’t too excited at this prospect, so we decided to stay put for the night.  We camped at Cottonwood Campground on the southern end of the park, which actually had beautiful views of the surrounding hills and mountains.  Jack decided to go on a rock-climbing adventure with our expensive new camera but thankfully returned it in one piece.  Later that evening, we cooked a five-star campfire dinner: sea-salted baked potatoes, bacon-wrapped filet mignons, cold Shiner beer, and s’mores for dessert. 

                         The view from the top of the rocks

The downside of staying on the southern of the Park was that there were no Joshua Trees.  It was somewhat disappointing to visit a National Park without encountering the Park’s namesake, but we decided to sacrifice this for relaxation.  

                       The sunset from our campground

When you’re living in a camper and traveling thousands of miles cross-country, you’d better be prepared to deal with some problems!  Yesterday we replaced the hole in the roof of the camper with a new bathroom vent cover; we also replaced a broken tail-light, fixed a leak in our fresh water tank, and had to deal with a leaky tire on the pickup truck this morning.  All part of the adventure!

Today we braved the busy highways of Los Angeles, drove through the mountains of southern California, and we are currently about an hour’s drive from our next destination: King’s Canyon and Sequoia National Parks!  We will be there for the next two nights before heading to Yosemite. 

Until next time…

Jack & Megan

Telemundo in the Desert

 Well we arrived in Tucson yesterday evening fully expecting to be living in luxury for our stay here.  We’re camping at Tucson Mountain Park, which is just south of Saguaro National Park (the national park doesn’t have any campgrounds), which unlike all our other stops, has electric hookups.  We thought we would be able to watch TV while we were here but much to our dismay, all our antenna was able to pick up was six channels of Telemundo in various stages of static.  So we decided we would rather enjoy the peacefulness of the Arizona desert than watch Spanish soap operas all evening.

This morning we woke up bright and early and after a quick visit to the Saguaro National Park visitor center, we headed out on Bajada Loop Drive.  This is a 9-mile gravel loop that goes through the densest area of saguaros.  After standing next to these big giants, you really appreciate the size of them- they can grow up to 50 feet tall, but few ever make it that big before dying.  It’s also cool to see them in various stages of growth; they start out as little round nubs on the desert floor, grow vertically, and then grow arms only after years of vertical growth.  The desert landscape is absolutely beautiful!  It looks like it’s been landscaped; there is no grass but there are so many varieties of cacti and other water-conserving plants that sprinkle the desert floor.  We took a short hike off the road that led us through the desert to a panoramic view of the Tucson valley below.  Next we took a short hike up to Signal Hill, where Hohokam Indians drew petroglyphs on the rocks thousands of years ago. 

After eating some excellent BLT sandwiches made by Chef Jack at a picnic lunch in the desert, we quickly fell into a food coma.  We decided to spend a lazy afternoon reading, napping, and working on our tans under the hot Arizona sun.  After recovering, we drove up to Gates Pass for sunset, which is a mountain pass overlooking Tucson and the national park.  We were hoping for the perfect sunset picture of a saguaro silhouette in the sunset, but our photography skills continue to be substandard...luckily, we have 37 more days to perfect our skills!

In the morning, we’ll be California bound! 

With Love,

Jack & Megan

Headed West

Well if we’re having this much fun after our initial setbacks, this is going to be a great trip.  With the looming government shutdown and the chance of the national parks closing at midnight last Friday, we were unsure if we could even go through with our trip.  Luckily, the politicians got their stuff together at the last minute and our trip was back on!  Then, the night before we left Prosper, we were awoken at 12:30 am to golf ball-sized hail assaulting the house, pickup truck, and camper.   We assessed the damage the next morning before heading out at 6am and didn’t initially see anything significant, so we loaded up and headed west.  Once the sun came up, we realized that the truck and the camper had heavy hail damage, shattered tail lights, and a shattered sky light in the camper.   Even a window in the house had shattered overnight (one of our friendly neighbors called us and let us know).  Thankfully, Jack’s dad has a been a great help in getting claims filed through our insurance company.

We also learned that heavy Texas winds and the lack of gas stations in west Texas require some planning; Jack ran out of gas 5 miles east of Abilene (Megan didn’t let him live that one down!).  Luckily, he redeemed himself since he insisted on carrying 7 extra gallons of gas in a gas can.  So along IH-20, Jack refilled the gas tank enough to get us into Abilene.  Lesson learned. J

So after those initial setbacks, the trip has been going very smoothly.  We made great time on our way to west Texas and were able to make an extra unexpected stop in Carlsbad, New Mexico at Carlsbad Caverns National Park.   We were so glad we stopped…an elevator took us over 750 feet below the earth’s surface (75 stories deep) into the Big Room of the Cavern.  Here we went on a 1.3-mile trail around the cavern, exploring the limestone stalagmites and stalactites that were formed millions of years ago.   The size of the Big Room was absolutely amazing- it covers 8.2 acres!  It was also really nice that we visited on a Monday; there were very few people there and the cavern was very peaceful and intimate- we got a more natural experience.  

                                                                   Inside the Big Room

After spending about an hour and half in the Cavern, we headed further southwest to our stop for the night, Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  This park is at the southernmost end of the Guadalupe Mountain chain in the Chihuahuan Desert and contains the highest point in Texas, Guadalupe Peak (8,749 feet).  We camped in the Pine Springs campground which is in a valley between the mountain peaks and has awesome views of the surrounding peaks.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous- low 70s during the day and low 40s overnight…great camping weather!  We woke up this morning and did a short hike up the Guadalupe Peak trail.  We didn’t have to time to go to the peak (this is a 8-hour roundtrip hike) but gained a lot of elevation and saw some great views of the mountains and valleys.  

                            Our campsite at Guadalupe Mtns National Park

                                            Hiking up the Guadalupe Peak trail

We headed out of the park about 10:00 this morning and continued west.  Next stop: Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona.  Hopefully we’ll be able to replace the hole in the roof of the camper as well as the tail lights while we’re in Tucson. 

Until next time…

Jack & Megan