David & Ann overlooking Crater Lake National Park in Oregon.

We split the remainder of our drive home from Conord into two days. I had a few plans to meet folks, but had to give up on them as we simply didn’t have much time on our return trip (Ann had a doc appt on Tuesday morning).

Our total mileage came in at just over 2000 miles, so it wasn’t too long of trip by our standards. We drove through four states, into three national parks, by two ordnance depots (Hawthorne, NV, and Concord, CA), and picked up one hood (thanks again Chuck). Best of all, we got to hang with my daughter Kasia! All-in-all a fine, if quick, trip.

I wish I could report on a thousand adventures from California to Washington, but apart from driving (without anything hitting us while driving), our only two adventures worth noting on our return home was our visit to the Harry and David store in Medford and our stop at Crater Lake National Park.

On Sunday we went out to breakfast with Kasia, then began our trek north. When we reached Medford, we were surprised to find out that there was a Harry and David Store right around the corner from our hotel. If you’ve never ordered food from Harry and David (they ship all over the word), you are missing out, especially with their pears. As my son put it, BEST PEARS EVER! Even a couple pears we bought from their store were excellent!

Naturally, we didn’t stop at pears. We also bought some cheese, some crackers and some unusual sausages made from ham and cheese (delicious). I can’t find them online, but they are really good. We munched on our food haul for dinner Sunday night.

On Monday morning, we left early, heading east for Crater Lake National Park. I’d never been there and Ann couldn’t remember being there, so it was a new experience for us both. The morning was beautiful and we made good time driving, until we ran up behind a couple school buses. After that, the going was slow, but the tree-lined two-land road was very relaxing none-the-less.

Our first stop at the National Park was the visitor’s center, where we learned there were three separate entrances to the park (we can in on the west side). We also learned we could circumvent Crater Lake using a national park road that had several beautiful vistas of the lake.

Soon, we were driving around the lake (while snacking on Harry & David food).

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Me, Ann, and Kasia at the Jelly Belly Factory tour in Fairfield, California.

On Friday we drove through two National Parks, then headed for Concord, California. On Saturday, we let Roadside America be our guide.

Friday’s trip from Tulare to Clayton, California.

Late Thursday night we had planned to stay in Exeter, but the lower prices in Tulare (plus my sudden realization that I was tired) convinced us to find a close motel after our visit with Chuck. The downside of this plan meant that we had to wake up at 5am if we wanted to reach Sequoia National Park at a reasonable time.

Thus, before the sun broke over the Sierra’s on Friday, we left for a 90 minute trip to see the largest organism (by volume), the mighty General Sherman Tree (a Sequoia). By the time we reached the park’s entrance, we had enough light to take a photo:

From that point, we climbed 7,000 ft on a tight, twisting road that never got over 35 mph. It’s a slow grind uphill that even caused our jeep to get slightly warm; yet it’s also a very pretty drive and, better, there were no vehicles in front of us. By the time we reached the top of the hill, the temperature had dropped to 39 degrees, which was chilly for two people dressed for 80 degree weather.

But, no matter the temperature, we were going to see that tree! So, we put on a couple layers and began a short walk to the tree. Part of the trail went through a fallen Sequoia. As you can see, they are pretty thick!

Finally, we reached the General Sherman Tree. I’ve seen taller Redwoods, but this tree was quite thick and stubby all the way up it.  Continue reading →

Thanks to Chuck for giving me this Bobcat hood, which has NEVER been mounted. It was purchased and then hung in a California barn. So now I have my very own ‘Brand New-like’ Bobcat Hood!

Over the last two days Ann and I have been driving down to California. This has kept us very busy and mostly out of service, so only a couple posts today.

Our first goal was to drive down the center of Oregon, something neither of us had done. So, on Wednesday we got up early and headed south. When we reached Pendleton, Oregon, we turned onto Highway 395 south and worked our way down to Burns. We didn’t stop during our drive or take any photos, mostly due to the driving rains that shadowed us through most of Oregon.

After Burns, we turned onto highway 205, which took us passed the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which isn’t well known for anything at this point other than the Bundy family’s odd decision to take it over in February of 2016. Again, due to the rain, we drove past the refuge.

I had hoped we would have a good view of the Steen Mountain in southern Oregon, but the rain didn’t let up for a good view of it. I am hoping to return sometime to do the mountain loop tour, which begins and ends on 205, but that will have to be saved for next summer.

Steen Mountain web photo (It’s all one giant mountain).

Eventually, Highway 205 ended at US-95, which we followed into Winnemucca (with the rain still pouring down). After checking the weather, we decided to drive southwest to Fallon, hoping that we would leave the rain behind. That plan actually worked! So, we spent the night at Super-8 and Bonanza Casino, which also provided free drinks for the attached Bonanza casino.

Super-8 and Bonanza Casino in Fallon, Nevada. This may be a web photo, but it is exactly the way it looked when were there.

We don’t gamble a whole lot, but we did spend about an hour playing 5-cent video poker. We ended up losing $10 total, but got three free drinks out of the deal. I can live with that!

Yesterday (Thursday) morning, we left for Tulare via US 95, which took us through Hawthorne, Nevada, home of the world’s largest ordnance depot, where they both manufacture and store ordnance (and I’m sure they do much more).

Our first stop in Hawthorne was at the local park, where they have several wind machines made out of bombs. Ann was thrilled!

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