Pleasant Pleasanton, California

The highway view is getting more pleasant now that we’ve made it to California. 

Our “Tour de Russel” took us for a two-day stop in a cute little city aptly named Pleasanton, outside of San Francisco. We got to see friends we had met when we were living in England. Seven years ago when they moved back home to California we exchanged the familiar “Hope our paths cross again”. Well they did! It was great catching up with John and Amy. We made a toast to our daughters, Lexi and Maggie, whose friendship actually brought us together.

Our dogs, Jack and Gracie, got to go on a fantastic hike together on a ridge overlooking the valley.

We had a delicious lunch at a restaurant called “Experience Burma” with food similar to Thai food. We tried the Tea Leaf Salad with fermented tea leaves: different but very good. We shared pumpkin pork stew, mango chicken, and chili beef, all over coconut rice. So good.

Hiking, lunch, what’s next? We’re in California so wine tasting of course.

McGrail vineyards in Livermore:

Our pleasant day was topped off with a great dinner at John and Amy’s followed by a trip to the cute Main Street where we had just missed the free weekly outdoor concert but we finished up with an ice cream treat at a place called Icicles where they roll out ice cream with your toppings mixed in and then make little roll ups. Neat idea.

The campground we stayed at was mostly a dirt parking lot but it was the best WiFi we’ve had on this trip. And the roses outside the restroom were a nice surprise.

We can now add the California sticker to our map of visited states that hangs on our RV.

Lonely Highway to Cool California

We spent the first day of Week 2 of our trip crossing Nevada. We went straight across the middle of the state from east to west. Chris had been commenting on how boring the highway was. Sure enough, we saw a sign labeling US Highway 50 as the “Loneliest Road in America”. Haha, yes pretty lonely indeed.   

We had spent one night in Ely, Nevada which was a stop on the Pony Express Trail on which horseback riders would deliver mail between Missouri and Sacramento, keeping the East connected to the West.

The days of the Pony Express are over but today these cute baby goats live at the KOA Campground in Ely, Nevada:

We spent three pleasant nights outside of Reno at the Gold Ranch Casino and RV Resort. We were back in the land of green with shade trees around us and a patch of soft grass at our campsite. Jack got out of the RV and right away started rolling around in the grass; I’m sure it felt good after all the gravel and dirt patches we’d been in.

We visited the cute town of Truckee, just across the border in California, where the Donner Party pioneers got snowed in and spent the winter of 1846-47 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada. The survivors resorted to cannibalism of the dead. Today, Donner Lake is named in their memory and Donner Pass Road is the main street of Truckee.

We had drinks at a bar called Cottonwood that overlooks the town. The bar and restaurant is at the site of one of the nation’s oldest ski lodges. You can still see the remains of the old ski lift.

Lake Tahoe was beautiful with clear blue water surrounded by snow-capped mountains. We watched the England versus Croatia World Cup game in a bar across the street from the lake at a place called Kings Beach. The beautiful sandy beach made it feel like we were at the ocean instead of at a lake. Brown sand instead of white, and no waves told me otherwise. The nearby fresh-smelling pine trees were another clue.

We hiked around Emerald Bay and saw huge redwood trees.

Being at a high elevation made the hike from the lake back up to the parking lot a challenge but we appreciated the dry weather that makes 90 degrees more bearable than in the Houston humidity. 

We’re glad to be out of the desert and making progress on our journey up to the Pacific Northwest.

Nevada with New Tires

Day 7 

Heading west from Moab, Utah to Ely, Nevada

This was not the most pleasant day as far as driving goes. But we now have six new tires.

Most of the driving was on a two-lane highway with service areas few and far between. Chris prefers four-lane roads where he doesn’t feel hemmed in.

We drove through hot desert land, rain, up down and around mountains, and we saw a dust devil.

There was a little anxiety about running out of fuel when Chris passed a gas station, opting for a further station and then saw a sign that there were no services for the next 100 miles. Luckily, we made it with with several gallons to spare.

As we gassed up, a guy from a nearby tire shop noticed there were chunks of tread missing from our front tire. It definitely needed replacing. Our tires are about five years old and that’s about as long as they last. So rather than worrying about the remaining tires, Chris decided to get all six tires replaced. We have two in the front and four on the rear. Chris knew we’d be needing new tires; he just didn’t know this would be the day to get them. But the shop very conveniently was able to replace them right then while we lunched at the nearby Dairy Queen. It only took one hour and a bunch of money. These tires are not cheap.

So we were lucky we didn’t have a tire blowout. And we did see some amazing scenery today in western Utah. And we got to eat yummy DQ sundaes!

But what’s that in the corner of the giant windshield? A new crack just showed up. Aaarrgh!

What was supposed to be a 7 hour drive today turned into a 9 hour day but we gained an hour passing into Pacific Time so camp was all set up by 4:30 pm. Time enough for chips and salsa with our Moscow mules before dinner.

Arches National Park - Moab

Day 6

We’ve traveled from Texas to New Mexico, then through the corner of Colorado and into Utah. So much for escaping the Texas heat, it is currently 103 degrees here in Moab, Utah. But at least we have escaped the Houston humidity. 

Day 3 of our trip was the Fourth of July. We spent the day driving through the various terrains of northern New Mexico: desert lands and arid plains surrounded by mesas and mountains. I decided that taking in some of the country’s scenery was not a bad way to spend our nation’s birthday. 

That evening we, actually I, (Chris was a little pre-occupied with the Astros game) watched the fireworks in Washington DC and New York City on my phone as there were none in the little town of Bloomfield, New Mexico where we had stopped for the night.

We are spending three nights in Moab. After three consecutive one-night stops, it’s nice to stay awhile in one place and explore. Arches National Park is located here. We’ve made three visits to the park over two days. Yesterday morning we hiked up to see the iconic Delicate Arch. It was a fairly strenuous hike with an elevation change of 480 feet. Well worth the climb. We got in line with the other hikers taking turns to snap photos under the arch.

After the hike my cheeks had traces of white salt where I had sweated under my sunglasses. I realized I am not used to dry hot weather that evaporates my sweat leaving a salt residue; in Houston the sweat just stays on my skin.

In the evening, we went back to the park to view the night sky full of stars.

This morning, we made it to the park in time to see the sunrise at 6 am.

Early morning was a great time to hike before the weather got hot and before the crowds showed up. We saw four arches.

Landscape Arch is the longest arch in North America. Makes you wonder if there’s a longer arch on another continent.

 

We sat awhile at Pine Tree Arch in silence except for the singing of birds and a cool breeze blowing. So pleasant.

This is Tunnel Arch:

 

 And Skyline Arch:

Later in the morning, Jack got to go swimming in the Colorado River. He’s been napping ever since.

Tonight we had dinner at a restaurant on a mountain overlooking the town. It’s called Sunset Grill. It was formerly the home of a Texan named Charlie Steen who discovered uranium in Moab in 1952 and became a millionaire. He built his dream home atop a mountain. Now it is a restaurant highlighting the “million dollar view” he created.

Tomorrow we head to Nevada. The journey continues.

Day 2 - Goodbye Texas (Heat)

So Long Texas -  Hello New Mexico

Last night after an indoor dinner (too hot to eat outside), we ventured out once the weather “cooled” down to the 80’s. Chris did a quick visual inspection of Thor and noticed some trim out of place. We pulled the slide in and an entire strip of trim had come loose and was hanging along the side. It’s always something! 

Chris went on the roof to start pushing it back in place. Then he remembered he carries a ladder for cleaning the huge windshield. Using the ladder was easier than reaching over from the roof. Well done Maintenance Man / Captain Chris!  

Our stopping point tonight is Santa Rosa, New Mexico. We’ll stop at the same RV park we camped at two years ago. But this time we’re taking two days to get there, last time we drove all that way in one day.

I keep thinking back to that first trip and comparing it to this time. We only had the radio to listen to and out here in west Texas the stations are spotty. Now we plug in our phones or iPods to play music. Really helps on the boring straight flat drive. Also, it’s so nice to have unlimited data on our phones now. Two years ago we worried about using up all our data.

Filling up with gas isn’t quite the ordeal anymore as we now have a credit card to Pilot/ Flying J so we can use the high speed diesel pumps alongside the 18-wheelers. Our first trip out, the pump would only allow a certain dollar amount before shutting off so we would have to make multiple transactions. This bad boy sports a 100-gallon gas tank so you can imagine.

One thing that hasn’t changed is Chris still manages to find those rumble strips on the shoulder of the road. 😬

We made it to Santa Rosa, New Mexico and discovered the maintenance issue of the day. One of the slide covers that roll up when not in use must’ve caught a gust of wind and then rerolled on itself. When we opened the slide it tore about an inch. Time for more duct tape. 

Speaking of gusts of wind, there were some major gusty moments on the highway today, like moving-our-RV strong! No match for Chris’s strong arms on the steering wheel, luckily.  

So today we leave Texas for three months. I’ll miss it... but not the heat!!

PS: It’s still friggin’ hot in New Mexico!!

Day 1 of 3-Month RV Trip - What a Scorcher!

This is Day One of our summer RV trip to the Pacific Northwest. The plan is to escape the Houston heat and humidity. We are also getting in position for the upcoming birth of our first grandchild, due in August in Seattle. So exciting! We’ll be setting a new record with our longest RV trip yet: 3 months. By the time we return from this trip, I’ll be a grandma.
  

Today’s 6–hour journey was a hot one. We have stopped for the night at a spot called A Plus RV Park in Alvord, Texas, just northwest of Fort Worth. If the grade is given for simplicity and proximity to the highway, they earn the A+. 

             

Two years ago we made this same trek in our newly purchased motor home we dubbed Thor. That was a learning experience. We feel like old pros now. Instead of driving grueling 12-hour days, we stop now after about 5-hours, which is much more pleasant.

This morning, we didn’t hook up our “toad” vehicle, (the Jeep that we tow) until about an hour north of Houston where we stopped for gas in Huntsville. It was easier for Chris to maneuver Thor out of Houston and through the Pilot/Flying-J Big Rig gas lane without the toad. So my First Mate duties called for me to drive the “dinghy” until the hook-up. Phew, after that one-hour of driving the Jeep, I was ready to connect it to Thor and kick back in my co-pilot’s chair and leave the driving to Captain Chris. When I told him I was tired from driving a whole hour, his raised eyebrows said it all!  
   
As we neared Fort Worth, I noticed we were driving over a nice smooth new stretch of road. I remembered our last trip being plagued with construction woes in this same area. Just as I was thinking how nice it was for the construction to be complete, we came across more of the dreaded road work. Silly me, it never ends, much less in two years! 

Traversing through all the twisting temporary lanes, we almost took an exit but that didn’t look right so we stayed on the main road. I laughed, saying that was close, we almost went to Denton. The next thing you know our GPS is taking us into downtown Fort Worth, heading towards the Historic District Stockyards. Our 38-foot motor home was definitely out of place amidst the skyscrapers. We must have missed an exit somewhere. The GPS helped us to wiggle our way back on track onto the freeway which turned out to be the road to Denton! So that was the right way after all. 

Downtown Fort Worth

I watched the thermostat in the back part of our RV creep up from 91 to 94 degrees over the day. Here is a screenshot comparing the 90 degree heat in Texas to the 67 degrees of our destination. I can’t wait! 

Walking

I like going for walks.

I enjoy walking for the same reason I enjoy doing yoga: it nourishes my mind, body, and spirit... as my yoga instructor would say.

There is a jogging trail near our house, making it so easy to tie on my sneakers and sneak out the front door and I'm on my way.

As I walk along I encounter other walkers. Some walk because they choose to, like me. Some are getting paid to walk behind a lawn mower or to deliver mail. Others are walking dogs or pushing strollers.

Sadly, I occasionally pass a walker who isn't walking for pleasure or exercise like me, but because they are homeless and must walk to move along to who knows where. Gratitude washes over me that when I complete my walk I will be returning to my home.

When we first moved into this neighborhood after living in England, I was so wide-eyed during my walks, taking in my new surroundings and studying each house I passed. Over time, the newness has worn off and now I get lost in my thoughts as I walk along. I take the same route each time, freeing my mind from focusing on where I'm going. I once got lost on a walk in England. I was talking to a friend on my cell phone and not paying attention and I got so turned around on those winding streets that I had to ask someone for help. Embarrassing! So a set route seems to work best for me.

I find when I walk with others, the time passes by faster, which is nice. But when I walk alone, I get a lot of thinking done. I've written some cool blog posts in my head on these walks. Most never got formally written down, but in my mind, they were quite good and that was good enough for me. 

Sometimes my walks turn into a walk down memory lane. I might be listening to music and a song takes me back to another time, a friend from the past, an event, a memory. As you can guess, I have a lot of oldies on my iPod.

Even just seeing a passerby that looks like someone I know or knew can spark a memory. A mom pushing a stroller takes me back to the 1990s when that mom was me. Joggers bring me back to the present as I think of my kids now.

I recently discovered a phone app that turns the miles you walk into a charitable donation. It's called CharityMiles. The app tracks your distance as you walk and then makes a donation to a charity you select from a list. It also works for cycling and running. Check it out: http://charitymiles.org

While I'm plugging products, I find a product called a FlipBelt works well to carry my phone with me when I walk. I tuck my phone in it and slip it around my waist and flip it over to hold my phone securely. It fits any size phone.

As I wrap this up, can you guess where I was when I dreamed up the idea for this blog post?

Happy Trails!