Our Endeavor

It would be a bit of an understatement to write that we had an amazing experience today. It was one of those magical moments that just seem to happen when everything falls into place.
For the past few weeks much of the news in the L.A. area has focused on the final journey of the Space Shuttle Endeavor to its new home at the California Science Center. Of course we thought it would be pretty cool to see the shuttle on its journey, but never really thought about actually being able to see it. Yesterday we realized that we were in the area that it would pass over and we started to do some research.  The news said that one of the flight paths of the shuttle would include a low flyover at Vandenberg AFB which is about 30 miles from Lake Cachuma, where we are currently parked. A little more research turned up a suggestion for a good place to watch the shuttle. The clue was to find the corner of Stardust and Moonglow in Vandenberg Village. I don't know who figured it out, but it turned out to be the perfect spot!

 

When we arrived there were a few cars that evidently had the same information we had. We had a bit of a wait but really enjoyed talking to the other people who were waiting along with us. One woman had connections at Vandenberg and had a friend call her as soon as the shuttle appeared there so we would know to start looking. I can't begin to describe what is was like to see the shuttle headed our way, escorted by fighter jets. The spot we were in was unbelievable - the shuttle came right over us after making its pass on the base. Looking at Google Earth we figure they must have buzzed the Vandenberg runway and then started to climb while turning east. We were almost directly under the flight path as it flew out of Vandenberg. It was so close we could see the tiles, the windows and the entire setup. Words fail me when I try to describe what it was like to experience this. Absolutely a once in a lifetime, historic event and we were right there.

 

 

Here is a Google Earth screen shot of the Vandenberg runway with the yellow pushpin showing the Latitude Longitude where we were watching.

 

 

 

Here is almost the exact location we were standing near Stardust on Moonglow.

 

 

 

 

Here you can get some idea of where Vandenberg is. We were just north of Lompoc. Our camping site is by Cachuma Lake which is just under the G in Solvang on the map. Remember you can click any of these to see a larger shot.

Absolutely a great day.

Cruising Down the 101

We had a pretty interesting trip down the coast from Oregon to northern California and came across some totally unexpected things. The coast is beautiful with the steep cliffs, uplifted rocks and pounding surf.

I picked up a tourist guide which listed different things to see along Highway 101. One of them was the 'dolly dock' in Port Orford which is one of only two 'dolly docks' in the U.S. (the other one is in Los Angeles) - and only six in the world - where gigantic hoists lift the vessels in and out of the water each day. The harbor area is too shallow for safe mooring. When not on the ocean, the boats are parked in rows on the dock and cradled in custom-made trailers that are easily pulled around by pickup trucks. We didn't really think we would have an opportunity to see this process in action, but as we were driving through Port Orford we saw a road with the words 'Ocean View' printed on it and of course had to check it out. We were in luck as they were pulling a commercial fishing boat out a few minutes after we pulled in. Pretty amazing and very efficient.

We wanted to spend some time exploring the different parts of Redwood National Park, which also encompasses some of California's State Parks. We weren't sure what the best spot was to have as our home base, but decided on Klamath, California since it seemed to be more or less central to what we wanted to see. Good choice as it turned out. The redwoods were everything we expected and once again we were so happy to see another one of our treasured natural resources being protected.
The redwood trees are the world's tallest living trees. They grow from seeds the size of a tomato seed, weigh up to 500 tons and stand taller than the Statue of Liberty.

One of noteworthy natural features of Redwood National Park is its herd of Roosevelt Elk. They exist in significant numbers now but the Roosevelt Elk approached extinction at one point. In the early 20th century no more than a few dozen, maybe as few as 1 or 2, still existed in California. The only remaining herd made its stand in the area encompassed by Prairie Creek Redwood State Park and is now thriving. Herds of elk were visible in meadows, and some were even napping in one of the picnic areas. This guy had a pretty good rack on him and seemed to be enjoying snoozing in the sun.

The other great part about being in Klamath was the Salmon Festival. We just happened to be there at the right time and totally enjoyed it. The festival is sponsored by the Yurok tribe, which is California's largest Indian tribe. The festival was a celebration of their culture.
The parade was pretty unique, beginning with the flag-bearers who represented a varied group.

They were followed by the Humboldt State University Lumberjack Band, also known as the 'Banned.' According to their website the main requirement to being a member of the band is that you must be breathing, and if this is a problem there is help available. In addition, any 'marchable instrument' is allowed. They were great.

The parade also include several floats, entries from the classic car show, and the ever popular Roller Derby gals from Eureka. Sorry but I didn't get a picture.
The festival celebrated many native traditions including native dresses which were made by tribal members. Some of them have been passed from generation to generation. The woven hats were something we had never seen before as were the beading and natural materials used in the dresses.

We were able to watch a traditional game called the Stick Game. It was played on a large sandy field and began with the youngest kids playing the game first. This was followed by progressively increased age groups playing. The game was described to us as similar to Lacrosse. The game began with pairs of kids using their sticks (3 pairs), which had hook-like curves on the end, to try to move a pair of stringed balls down the court.

A twist in the game seemed to be that it was desirable to be able to tackle and wrestle one's opponent to keep them from gaining access to the stringed balls. Sounds crazy and hard to describe but it was definitely entertaining. I was really impressed by the sportsmanship and caring that all of the kids exhibited. The shirtless kids pictured are the players while the ones in shirts are their "mentors" who make sure they don't seriously hurt each other whilc coaching each player.

All in all, very informative and lots of fun.

The Northwest

We've been escaping the heat by spending time in the Northwest this summer. Our first stop was in eastern Washington where we visited some of the wineries. It's also a big hops area since the majority of the hops used in beer production can be found there. Hops plants which reached well above 15 feet were planted adjacent to vineyards, making an interesting contrast.

After leaving Prosser, our base in wine country, we headed for the coast via the White Pass Scenic Drive which runs between Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens. It's a gorgeous drive and we had many fantastic views, including this one of  Mt. Rainier.

Our friends Judy and Jim were camp hosting at Mystery Bay in the Puget Sound for 2 weeks, and there just happened to be an RV park one mile down the road so of course we joined them. They had a spot on the dock with an incredible view. The crabbing was great and we were treated to fresh crab in every form just about every day. Yum!

Judy and I resumed our lunch and shopping excursions which of course was lots of fun.

After leaving Judy and Jim we headed to Vancouver to visit with Roberta and Matt. We don't consider ourselves city people by any means but sure do love Vancouver (and Roberta and Matt too). Of course we had to sample from the myriad of cuisines - sushi, Ethiopian, seafood, and so on. Matt took us out to Granville Island which is always fun to visit with the markets, artisans, people, boats and scenery. Even Brian seems to enjoy the market there. 

We spent a day at one of Vancouver's beaches where Roberta and Matt did a long distance swim followed by some free diving. Both Brian and I felt like the old fogies hanging out on the beach, watching the kids, but it was fun and we enjoyed our BC beach day.

After Vancouver we began working our way south along the rugged coasts of Washington and Oregon. It's a beautiful and impressive coast with the rough surf and rocky shore. Even with the sun shining the fog is ever present, hanging just beyond the beach, waiting to work its way inland.

Roamin' through Wyomin'

We drove past Grand Teton National Park several years ago after leaving Yellowstone but didn't stop. This year we were able to spend a few days marveling at the beauty and majesty of the Tetons.

We were able to get a spot in the park which was within walking distance of  beautiful, tranquil  Jackson Lake.

While exploring one day we saw a female moose munching in the marsh,

and a bull moose beside a river.

We all enjoyed exploring this fabulous area.

The town of Jackson, also referred to as Jackson Hole, has several arches made of antlers that we thought were interesting.

On the day we left there fires in the area obscuring the Tetons with smoke. So sad to see so many of these fires out West.

We drove through Craters of the Moon National Monument which is actually in Idaho, not Wyoming but I'll include it here anyway. This is a huge area of lava rock which comes from deep fissures in the earth, not from one volcano. It's a pretty weird landscape.

Northern Colorado

We spent several weeks in the Boulder/Longmont/Lyons area which is where both Brian and I spent the majority of our adult lives. We had a great time catching up with friends, eating at our favorite restaurant Tortugas, and just enjoying Colorado once again.
We saw several interesting sights while in Lyons, which is where much of the sandstone seen throughout the U.S. comes from. There are numerous examples of sandstone in the area, including these sandstone eggs which are scattered around Lyons.

We were close enough to the terrible fire by Ft. Collins to experience some very smoky days. It was very surreal to drive into Denver or Boulder and not be able to see much beyond the smoke. On our way out of town we saw the origin of the fire and the smoke drifting over many miles.

There was a nest in the cliffs near where we had our Bus parked in Lyons that had two baby golden eagles. The babies poked their heads up occasionally but it was difficult to get a good picture from a distance.

No trip to Colorado is complete without a visit to Rocky Mountain National Park.

There was a noticeable lack of snow for this time of year, an indication of the dry conditions there. We were fortunate enough to see several elk who were happy to pose for us.

All in all, another great stop in the area we most closely associate with home.

Southern Colorado

We spent close to two weeks visiting with our friends Dan and Marlene who live in Beulah, a little  mountain town just west of Pueblo. We stay at an RV park in Colorado City which has a huge iris garden and a great view of the mountains. 
We take very scenic back roads up to Dan and Marlene's and see some pretty interesting animals along the way. We've seen wild turkeys, deer, pronghorn that love to pose for us,

gorgeous black and white spotted draft horses that look like they must be used for some type of shows,

and yes, even yaks! It took us a while to figure out what they were. At first we thought they might be some kind of a cross between a cow and a buffalo (beefalo?) because we weren't expecting to see any yaks. After doing a little research we found that they are, indeed, yaks.

We always enjoy relaxing up in the mountains and this year was no exception. Even though Dan and Marlene are busy with the addition they're putting on their house they managed to find time to relax with us. Dan and Brian enjoyed hanging out, watching the birds and even a little fox that came into the yard.

Marlene and I spent a few days shopping and hanging out as well. We were college roommates and 'partners in crime' as out mothers used to say, and have stayed close throughout the years. Nothing like being with a friend you've known for over 40 years!

Arizona to Santa Fe

Things were heating up in the Phoenix area with temperatures getting into the triple digits so we were happy to have our projects done and get back on the road. We had a lovely drive when we headed north, and were reminded of our travels in Mexico when we came across this cattle drive stopping traffic in both directions.

Santa Fe is rated very highly as one of the top U.S. destinations for many reasons and we always enjoy stopping to spend some time here.
The scenery and architecture are characteristic of the Southwest with adobe being the dominant style in this area.  Although it isn't adobe, we liked roofline of the Lensic Performing Art Center which reminded us of the churrigueresque detail we saw on the historic buildings in Zacatecas.

Santa Fe is well-known for its extensive art scene. I don't know exactly how many art galleries and musuems there are, but it would take months to visit them all. We got a nice sampling  while walking around town and particularly enjoyed learning about various potters while viewing their works. While most of the Native American pottery is well beyond our budget, it's still fun to marvel at the skill of the artisans.
The Museum of Contemporary Arts had some interesting outdoor exhibits.

The downtown Plaza has been the center of Santa Fe for over 400 years, and many historic buildings are nearby. On one side of the Plaza is the Palace of the Governors which is the oldest continuously occupied building in the U.S.
Native Americans showcase and sell their jewelry, beadwork, silver, pottery and sculptures under the portico in front of the Palace.