OCTOBER 2008
USA-Oregon-Cave Junction
Wednesday
1st we
carried on in a southerly direction to O’Brien to look for a minor road
to the coast. We didn’t find it. To get to Crescent City we
passed through a forest of giant Redwood Trees and then we went south
to Klamath where we camped on the banks of the Klamath River. On Thursday we had a rainy day
on which to do our washing, fortunately most of the laundrettes had
tumble dryers. The rain stopped after lunch. Friday we set off to find a
Visitors Centre and had to drive to the south end of the park.
There were three deer outside the Visitors Centre when we left.
The weather forecast was unfavourable so we set off to another camp.Saturday 4th it was still raining, so we took another rest day. We had heavy rain for most of
the day. Sunday there was no rain
and a brighter day although it was still cloudy. The day on which
we drove through the Redwood National & State Parks and walked
through the redwoods. Our camp was further south in Scotia, still
on Highway 101. Monday
morning opened with low, misty clouds. We drove south to the
Humboldt State Park and drove along The Avenue Of Giants, some very
impressive Redwoods. It looked like very good riding
country. We then left the misty coast and drove into a fine sunny
day. Leaving 101 we turned east to Clear Lake to camp on the
waterfront at Nice. Tuesday
another fine sunny day, it seemed strange after the recent heavy rain
and cloud. Today was another boring day on which we drove through
golden hills of dried grass and the orchards of the Sacramento
Valley. We ended up at San Andreas to take one of the last two
available sites. On Wednesday there was not a
lot to report, we had a clear blue sky and we climbed from less than a
thousand feet to over six thousand feet on a very twisty, steep
road. Near the end of the drive, before we entered Yosemite we
saw a fox which crossed the road a hundred yards in front of us.
The Crane Flat campground was among tall Pine trees, very picturesque
in the sun. Thursday we drove through the park, west to east and
climbed up to ten thousand feet in the east. Most of the scenery
was viewed through trees. Friday we drove into
Yosemite Village, at four thousand feet, and took the shuttle bus tour,
again the trees interfered with the views. In the back streets of
the village we saw a Stag in the road.
Saturday 11th we returned to Yosemite Village to take the road to Fresno at a height of five hundred feet, the road climbed to over six thousand feet on the way out. Just before we left the park we saw two Stags in a roadside field. All the roads in Yosemite were narrow and very winding. We went on to Kingsburg to camp beside the freeway, near the railway line. Sunday we visited Kings Canyon National Park and Giant Sequoia National Park. We arrived later than planed because Howard chose a very, very twisty route where the average speed was 15mph, we did see a Coyote on the way. Once there, at seven thousand feet, we drove south to photograph The General Sherman Tree, and then back north (the exit road south would not allow us out), to photograph The General Grant Tree. On leaving the Parks we travelled west towards Fresno and stopped to camp at Centreville. Monday we drove into Fresno to shop (do they have any large food stores?) and then northwest to Chowchilla. We experienced some trouble finding Freeway 99, Howard is convinced that the map didn’t agree with the roads. After the cold in the high altitudes it is nice to be in a hot region again. Tuesday as we had wi-fi we made a late start after tea break. We travelled north west on 99, we called into Thermo King in Turlock as our air heater high altitude kit was not working, they diagnosed a faulty pump but didn’t have a replacement. We know the fault now we have to cure it!!! Our next camp was at Caswell State Park, four miles west of Manteca. It has been another fine, sunny day. In the early evening we were visited by an American who had left his Blue Siamese Kitten behind that morning. He offered a $500.00 reward if we found it and phoned him. Wednesday we left the camp without having found the kitten. We arrived at Rio Vista to camp before tea break. The office was shut, pay tomorrow. Thursday we decided on a rest day, we will be too early in Oakland, to visit Eve. Today we had fine , sunny weather, very pleasant. Friday another short trip, to the Anthony Chabot State Park to camp, it is OK for tonight but full for the next two nights. On the way we saw a Blue Bird, and in the evening five Turkeys strolled past the caravan. Several phone calls later we booked into the camp
at Vallejo. This means a ferry trip to
Oakland where Eve, who we met in Yosemite, will collect us.Saturday 18th we made an early start to Vallejo, but the road was like a scenic railway and it took a long time to join the freeway. Once on the freeway we were soon at the Vallejo camp. We took a tea break while we sorted out the journey details. A taxi took us to the ferry, we missed the 1130 ferry, but this gave us time for lunch in the local restaurant, it was excellent. We caught the next ferry easily and when we arrived decided to take the BART train as it was earlier and quicker than the other ferry. We phoned Eve and arranged a meeting place, but we took the wrong exit from the station and a second phone call brought Eve to us. Eve spent all afternoon trying to get some of our monthly diary on to the web page using two FTP programmes. Mervyn spent the afternoon chatting to Norman. We were unable to publish the diary to the net. We went out to dinner in a Cambodian restaurant, it was excellent, then Norman drove us back to the caravan. Sunday we made an earlier start from the camp and caught the 1000 ferry. Norman collected us from the BART station, and soon Eve was working on the uploading to the web. She tried, unmercifully, to get Howard to write the programme for the links having inserted a picture, with no spaces in the text. It appeared on the web with an amended address. In the early afternoon Norman and Eve took us on a tour of San Francisco. We had already seen the Golden Gate and Alcatraz from the ferry. We had more views of Alcatraz as we drove down the “crookedest street in the world” and then up and down the very steep streets (50%) with horizontal cross streets, and finished up at a Chinese restaurant, in Chinatown for a meal. before Norman again drove us home, via the Golden Gate. Monday when we left the camp we went a short distance north before circling east round the city. We left the area and the smog behind and had a fine day. The scenic (railway) coast road was slow going and just before our camp there was a helicopter taking “buckets” of water from the sea and dropping the water on a forest fire. Tuesday another day on which drove southeast, to stop at Hearst Castle for a visit. It was suggested that Howard (using his cane didn’t take the tour). Mervyn booked a tour and Howard had lunch in the restaurant. After leaving Hearst Castle we saw a herd of Zebras in the castle grounds. We camped at Morrow Dunes RV Park, our second choice, at Morrow Bay. Wednesday started with a stop at the barbers for Mervyn, and Albertsons for food, this delayed the start. We arrived at Santa Barbara to visit Susan Shields from Wanstead High School at 1400. Howard had no idea that he knew her brother, when he was teaching at Wanstead, and her father at Ilford Wanderers RFC. Susan left to teach at 1520 and we returned to the caravan. Thursday was a full day. Howard was having blurred vision in his left eye, Susan phoned and booked an appointment for 1200. There was a thorough exam and a recommendation to see a specialist. The optician phoned and arranged an appointment for 1400. We had lunch in the shopping centre and continued on to the second appointment. Another thorough exam diagnosed blocked glands in the left eyelid causing pressure on and distortion of the left eyeball. An injection into the eyelid was given together with a proscription for ointment, not available in the local chemist. We returned to Susan’s where she had to leave for her evening classes. Friday a mid morning start for Los Angeles where we arrived just after lunch. We drove to visit Steve one of Howard’s sailing pupils from Wanstead who had said we could leave the van in his garden for our trip to Hawaii. The local laws said no caravans in the front garden and it was not possible to enter the back garden. We went out to eat, and then returned to the camp.
Saturday 25th we stayed in the camp for the day. Sunday we shifted camp to a beach park looking out over the Pacific. The park had a beautiful setting but was next to and under the runway of Los Angeles Airport. Monday we did our washing and then went out to shop for a few days, still hoping to find parking for our RV. There was a nail care shop next to the super market so Howard went in to have his toe nails cut. It was very good and very cheap. We went back to camp for the rest of the day. Tuesday we drove to Marina Del Rey to book our RV storage at $170 a month. We looked at a site, OK and then went to pay. It was $170 a month with a minimum stay of three months $510!!! Susan gave us a phone number for storage in Santa Barbara but all we got was the answer phone on both numbers. Plan B visit Hawaii while shipping the van to New Zealand. Wednesday afternoon we started looking for a way to ship the van to South America. After many phone calls it was suggested we asked at the Harbour Department. Trips on two free shuttle buses took us to The Queen Mary, quite a sight. We walked to the Harbour Department and after a couple of conversations on the internal phone, a promise of information was to be e-mailed to Mervyn. We returned to the caravan for dinner. Thursday we left Los Angeles to go north towards Death Valley. We camped at Mojave in the early afternoon. Friday was a continuation on the route to Death Valley. We arrived in Death Valley just after lunch and drove alongside terracotta cliffs with layers of purple and orange, we booked in to Panamint Springs Resort. The sky was covered by light cloud with the sun shining through occasionally. The temperature was in the low thirties, not too hot.
USA-California-Death Valley