Wild West Territory

Friday, September, 2nd, 2011

After a long day through the remainder of Washington, past Cour d’Alene in Idaho and over the continental divide, our band of merry Bama travelers ended up in southeastern Montana within sight of the Little Big Horn battlefield. We were very fortunate to find a ranch that kept 50 immaculate RV pads in their pasture with the best shower facilities to date. We arrived in time to enjoy another spectacular sunset as we grilled our dinner.

Saturday, September 3rd, 2011

Early Saturday morning, we toured the battlefield and Custer’s Last stand.

Panorama of Battlefield looking toward Indian village along Little Big Horn River

Custer was no hero – closer to a military idiot. Reviewing the topography and the size of the Indian village, he should have least performed reconnaissance before separating his forces into three groups and charging into an attack. He got what he deserved and the brave men that followed him to massacre are the true heroes. After a couple hours at the battlefield and an extremely interesting audio auto tour, we decided not to get on the highway again. Instead, we took the Warrior Parkway across open Montana and Wyoming prairie. We were rewarded with the gem of the return trip to date, a close up view of the Devil’s Tower – the alien hot spot as depicted in ET - the Movie, and most recently in the movie Paul.

Devil's Tower, Wyoming - AWESOME!

After communing with the spirits at Devil’s Tower, we meandered across the Wyoming line into the famous old western city of Deadwood. All three enjoyed a walk down Main Street past mostly casinos, but with enough unique shops to make the visit worthwhile as Susie fancied herself a biker chick and found the Harley Davidson shop to her liking.

Brayden in Deadwood, South Dakota

From Deadwood, we had a short drive through the Black Hills to our campground just 8 miles from Mt. Rushmore. No sunset this evening, but we did have an excellent campfire, grilled ribeye steaks and stuffed baked potatoes before turning in.

Sunday, September 4^th, 2011

After sleeping in, we meandered over to the Mt. Rushmore National Monument. As warned, the sculpture is underwhelming. I actually think the sculpture at Stone Mountain northeast of Atlanta is more impressive. Knowing we had a long day of driving ahead of us, we decided to take a hike around the monument on the Presidential Trail. The weather was perfect –as it has been for almost the entire trip – so we had a pleasant walk and then started the big push of 1,400 miles back to Birmingham.

Mount Rushmore National Monument, Black Hills, South Dakota

Susie finally took her first go at the steering wheel as we reached eastern South Dakota and took us into Iowa and towards Omaha, Nebraska where we called it a day and located a quiet camp for rest before another long day of driving on Labor Day. There are very few pictures of the South Dakota leg as only one picture will tell the story of the entire state. Once you get out of the Black Hills, the most exciting Brayden and I did was to play a game of “I can see a tree on my side of the road” I doubt we will be getting back to this part of the country anytime soon.

Making good time, we decided to push on until we ran into flooded out Intersate highway from the big Missouri River overflow this spring. The diversion prevented us from stopping at a campground otside of Omaha, Nebraska as we learned the campground was still under water. We headed east and eventually found a cozy campground in extreme southern Iowa, near the Missouri border. After looking at the map over dinner, we think we might be able to make Birmingham by late tomorrow night. The motivation is very high to sleep in our own beds after a long trip. We'll see.....

Csacade National Park on first day

Thursday started early as we were all anxious to begin the journey home to Alabama.  After successfully navigating the Canadian Border, we were on our way to view some of the most beautiful places America has to offer.  We drove right through the Cascade Mountains and stopped every chance we had to view the natural wonders; lakes, waterfalls and majestic mountain ranges.

Cascade Mountains, Washington state

Susie and Mike in Cascades

Panorama of Cascades

We pushed on to Coulee Dam, as Mike says, 'a big, honking dam' and started to look for a place to camp for the night. 

Grand Coulee Dam on Columbia River

I requested a campsite on the water, which is exactly what Mike found for us.  Upon arrival, the looks of the place did not impress and we decided to move further up the road toward Spokane.  I am so glad we did as just 2 miles up the road we came upon a state park entrance with camping facilities.  The winding road took us to a spot just above Coulee Dam with views of the water, dam and mountain ranges.

 
                     Campsite over Coulee Dam

The sunset was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.


            Sunset in Washington State

We did not have water or electric hook-up and Brayden and Mike were both looking at me apprehensively wondering if I was actually going to handle 'roughing it.'  Truth be told, I was not too happy about the lack of a hot shower in the morning, but I was determined to prove that, yes, Susie Margotta can do without the creature comforts!  We all rose to the occasion, cooked a fabulous dinner and enjoyed sitting around our first campfire.  Thank you, Mark, for the lantern!  Of course, I was not without the necessities, the Pinot Grigio was cold and delicious!  I even got to take a very cold, brief shower at the beach facilities overlooking the serene blue waters.  Not too shabby!  We look forward to our second day on the road.

Changing of the Guard

M&M Sightseeing has now ended with the successful delivery of Mason to UBC.  Brayden and I flew into Vancouver and successfully maneuvered Vancouver mass transit to arrive at UBC campus mid afternoon on Wednesday.  We disembarked from the bus in what seemed like the middle of nowhere and lo and behold; a few steps up the road was the 'Rent Me' Dandy RV parked on the street!  Minutes later Mason's smiling face was walking toward us looking refreshed, tanned and excited.

Brayden and I got the tour of UBC campus under clear blue skies and crisp, fresh mountain air.  Such a beautiful setting with flowers everywhere, sparkling water and majestic snow capped mountains in the distance. 

Mason and proud Mama at UBC Rose Garden

The Bro's at UBC

Mason's dorm room is ideal (girls on one side of the hall and boys on the other!).  He is nicely settled in on the seventh floor and has a sunset view of the sound.  The dorm is brand new as are all the international students piling in!

We concluded the day with a sushi dinner at Miku (a restaurant Mason and I found on our last visit to Vancouver) on the outside patio.  Tearful goodbyes (ok, I was the only one that cried) on the bus; we left Mason to continue on to his new home and Mike, Brayden and I to our new 'home' on the 'Rent Me' Dandy RV.

The day concluded at the BCRV Campground with Brayden and I moved in and ready to start the final phase of the RV adventure.

Oregon to Vancouver

After visiting the redwoods, we returned to the coast to locate a campground before dark - without real success. We ended up in the marina area of Brookings, OR. While the location was promising, we learned that all the stores, shops, restaurants and pubs closed at 8:00 p.m. Since it was about that time when we pulled into our RV spot, we were fortunate to find a small cafe that served a delicious clam chowder, fried clams, and oyster sandwiches.

Brookings, OR

After a long day of traveling the California coastline, walking amongst the redwoods, and hiking about Brookings looking for dinner, we slept in and slowly headed our way north along the Oregon coastline. The coast was very majestic and the weather cooperated (unlike most of California) so we had terrrific views.

Oregon coast

Along the coast, we stopped at one of the world's finest golf resorts, Bandon Dunes. Mark and Mason camped out and made a picnic in the RV park while I visited the clubhouse, course and pro shop. After collecting some mementos and a score card, I climbed a high dune and took pictures of the clubhouse and course.

Bandon Dunes clubhouse and course

Following the picnic in Bandon Dunes, we continued up the coast to the very quaint fishing village of Florence where we bought some Dungeness crab and fresh oysters. Since the prior evening's accommondations did  not meet our previous standard, and because it was our last night along the coast, we searched early for a small, very secluded and beautiful camp spot. We were rewarded with a 15 space campground in an Oregon state park along Rock Creek, less than a half mile from the ocean. Our campground spot was the most beautiful of our trip. It was the last spot on a straight line into the woods and the nearest available camping spot was over 100 yards away.

Rock Creek, Oregon coast

The following day was the informal mid way point for our trip. We left camp reluctantly and left the coast for Mark's home in Vancouver, WA. The majority of the day was spent cleaning the RV, our clothes, and re-stocking with groceries and supplies so we were ready for Susie and Brayden's arrival.
Mason and I had a very plesant evening with Mark, Gina, Tony, his girlfriend Kathy, Jennie, Mark's 4 year old grandson, Zakari and some local firends.

Tuesday morning, Mark cooked us an excellent breakfast and sent us on our way for the other Vancouver. The trip was uneventful until we reached the border. While getting Mason's student visa posed no problems, apparently a personal transgression in 1980 (when I was about Mason's age) sparked the interest of the Canadian Border Patrol. After some discussion and an extra $200, they deemed me safe enought to allow me to enter their country.

After our excitement at the border, we cruised the final 30 minutes to our RV site in Burnaby, left the RV and set out for the University of British Columbia (UBC). It took us an hour of train and bus, but we finally arrived on the spctacular campus of UBC. Mason was able to get his check-in completed and we went to see his new dorm room. He will be staying in a brand new dorm this year, with a view of the ocean and the mountains from his top floor room - very nice!

We explored the campus all afternoon, took care of logistics and then headed for Granville Island for some seafood and beverages. We ended the first day in Canada with a few hours of live blues. The Vancouver music scene is spectacular. Mason is going to love it here and I hope I can come back often to visit.

Napa Valley, August 26

This entry on the blog is Mark's...from our campsite at the RV park on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge, we drove to the Napa Valley. We had to do a little plumbing repair on the RV in Napa, while we waited to meet my sister, Monica, her husband Bill, and my niece, Jessica. We met up at Lake Hennessey, just east of Napa and performed a memorial service for our late father. The spot we laid our father's ashes is very beautiful.
After the service, we all had lunch in Napa and Monica, Bill, and Jessica left for tourist time in San Fran.
Mike, Mason and I drove straight to the coast on a very narrow and windy road, but finally we reached HWY 1 on the coast and drove north until we found a campsite at Casper Beach. This was the best RV camp site so far while I have been on the road with these guys. We had a great night there, cooked steaks on the grill, told tall tales, and played board games until midnight. Next morning I left Mike and Mason sleeping in and went for a hike around the campground, beach ( cool cove ), and some of the hills surrounding the campground. We left camp around 11AM and headed north for the Redwood National forest and Oregon.
 We stopped in Crescent City, CA and Mike and Mason had a close encounter with some sea lions. Just north of this area we stopped for a hike through some massive redwoods and sequoias. Then the road led us farther north into Oregon and we found campsite in Brookings, OR about 8PM and hoped to find a good pub to have dinner and a beer. Unfortunately, this town rolls up the carpet at 8 o'clock and we ended up settling for some seafood take out and eating in the RV ( the clam chowder was very good ). Right now we are all sitting back, catching up on e-mails, the blog, listening to some news, and I think Mike is actually trying to work. More tomorrow.

Casper Beach Campsite

Mike and Mason in the drive through tree

Mike making new friends. Crescent City, CA

Mike and Mark, Redwoods National Park

Where's Mark, Redwoods Nat Park, CA

Mike cannot believe the size of this downed redwood.

Well that was an interesting night...

So, last night as Mike was finishing up our blog post there came a rapping at the door. We open it up to discover three police officers shining there flashlights in our faces. They informed us that we were not able to spend the night where we were and that we were going to have to move. This was at one o'clock in the morning, but the fine officers of the San Francisco police department were quite insistent. Luckily we were able to find an RV park just north of San Francisco that didn't have a gate and sneak in, which is where I am now. It actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we were able to take nice hot showers and do some laundry this morning.

Now to bring everybody back up to speed. Yesterday was actually a great day in spite of the trouble with our parking place. We slept in at Kirk Creek campground and woke up to the Pacific ocean in our back yard. Once we got moving we decided we should stop and get some breakfast. In the heart of Big Sur there is a little inn called Deetjins tucked in to the mountainside surrounded by sequoia trees. The little cafe located there had an amazing breakfast (even if the service was a little slow) and we got back on the road full and happy. From there we decided to try to find somewhere to go for a little hike, so we stopped by a ranger station and got a few suggestions from the ranger.  He told us to go to Andrew Molera Park because they had a nice easy one mile walk down to the beach. We took his suggestion and it turned out to be a great one. The next stop on our little journey was Carmel so that we could go to this cool little pub that Mike remembered called the Hog's Breath. We stopped in and had a drink and some delicious crab dip then headed up to the Seventeen Mile Drive. The Seventeen Mile Drive is a road through Pebble Beach that runs right along the ocean and some of the world's best golf courses. It is also home to the Monterrey cypress tree which is only found here. We took our time and took in the sites along the drive and then headed north. The drive up to San Francisco was pretty cool because we got to see all the farm land where our raspberries, strawberries, and other fruits and vegetables come from. When we did get to San Francisco I caught up with Mr. K (my high school biology teacher) and then got some delicious Thai food for dinner. That brings us back to the beginning of my post. We will try to make these post's more regular from here on. We had some issues with cell reception in Big Sur but hopefully that won't be a problem any more.

Andrew Molera State park beach

The creek we had to cross to get to the trail. It was freezing

We ran into a couple of coues deer on the way back from the beach

 

A very "happy" friend took this for us at the Hog's Breath

Mike at the lone cypress tree on the Seventeen Mile Drive

An outlook post on our way into California.


        

Wednesday morning we left the luxury of a full service RV park right on Pismo Beach and headed north along Highway 1 towards the scenic Big Sur area.

                                                                Drive to Big Sur
We were fortunate to arrive early in the day and claim a coveted beachside camping spot at the Kirk Creek campground just into the Ventana National Forest at the southern edge of the Big Sur area.

                                                                        Kirk Creek Campsite

 Since we arrived early, we decided to take a hike into the mountains, a very ambitious endeavour. Two and half mile , mostly, what felt like straight up as we went to near sea level to 1800 feet above sea level. The good news is it took less than half the time to return to camp.

We were there

View from the hike

Mason "in" a tree

Mason

Having a little fun from the top

View from the hike

Wildflower - Does anyone know what type it is?

After a short trip to the ocean to checkout the beach, we had a large dinner over the grill, played a game of Catan ( Mark won) and slept like the dead.

Mike and Mason on beach

Mason on beach

Mark wins Catan game

Thursday to come. The police just stopped by to tell us that the parking spot Mason's high school teacher told us would be Ok - isn't. Explain in next blog, but have to sign off now. We'll get to Thursday's activities ASAP.