Tuesday, July 20, 2010 Redding, CA

We moved from a wonderful temperate region of Grants Pass, once again to Redding, CA and its baking heat of 104 degrees F. We immediately unhooked the trailer and got the air conditioning on. We were going to just travel to West Sacramento tomorrow but we want to get the dogs and return to Santa Cruz with its temperate climate. Therefore, we are going to depart early tomorrow and push for the entire distance of about 320 miles. The thought of spending a night in hot West Sacramento just is not appealing.

I must say, despite a great vacation, I will be happy to return home. I have a rock band gig on Friday evening and need to practice a few of the songs and perhaps get in a short round of golf.

My brother leaves on Sunday so we don't have much more time to play!

-Lee, Earline, and David

Monday, 7/19/2010 Grants Pass, OR

Well today was just spectacular with the jet boat trip through Hells Canyon. The scenery was wonderful, and we saw a bald eagle catch a fish from the river in front of our boat, about 25 yards away.

There were only a few rapids to traverse but the ride was wild and the boat operator made the 2 hour trip fun. He would splash the group with sudden turns and decelerations.

The cost was only about $32/person for a 2 hour trip of about 36 miles. The longer trips provide a lunch or a dinner but it is the same trip.

I would highly recommend this excursion to anyone who comes to the Grants Pass area.

Tomorrow we start towards home and will need to stop in the Redding, CA area because the distance is too great to travel in less time. This has been a wonderful vacation! I highly recommend the RV lifestyle.

Sunday, July 18, 2010 - Grant's Pass, OR

We moved our travel trailer from Darling's Marina in Florence, OR to GRant's Pass in an easy drive of about 168 miles through scenic lands.

We decided not to call ahead for reservations and decided to just take a chance on finding a place. We chose a place called River Place RV Park, located along the Rogue River. We were fortunate to get a space for two days that was located right on the bank of the river under the shade of trees.

The kayakers drifted along the current just below some class 1 rapids.

We booker a jet boat excursion through Hellsgate rapids for tomorrow afternoon and Earline wanted to go to the Rogue Creamery, a cheese factory known for its blue cheese. This was located in Certerpoint, OR, about 28 miles from Grant's Pass. We then returned to sip margaritas on the banks of the Rogue River.

Life doesn't get much better than this!

Saturday 7/16/10 - Darling's Marina, Florence, OR

We arrived at an unexpected pleasure of nature...Darling's Marina which is located about 5 miles south of Florence, OR. It is a small RV park and we got a spot next to the water which is crystalline blue and very serene. It seems that this spot is protected from the summer winds of the Oregon Coast. Our campsite neighbors are natives of the area and wondered how we found this spot as it is not well known. I told him I found it on the Internet.

After setting up camp, we took off to explore the area of Florence and points northward. We stopped at a place called Seal Cave, but this proved to be a rip-off. They wanted $12 per person to ride an elevator down to a spot that had seals in a cave. We declined and drove north to see the Heceta lighthouse. It has a fresnel lens made in France in the 1901 that has 10 faces on it, each face flashing a light every 10 seconds and can be seen at sea for 23 miles. The original lighthouse keepers had to refill the kerosene for the lamp every 4 house (six gallons) and wind the clock mechanism that rotated the beam, every 6 hours. They worked 8 hour shifts to avoid falling asleep. All parts for the lighthouse were brought in my ship and a road had to be constructed to the top of the hill to bring the materials to the construction site. Two houses were built to house the lighthouse keepers and one remains as a bed and breakfast.

The construction of the lighthouse is by two layers of brick, an inner cylindrical core and a tapered external shape which leaves an air space between the layers. Originally, the inner and outer layers were whitewashed but as the lighthouse keepers were phased out, the government decided to paint the surfaces. This sealed the brick and trapped moisture inside which cause the iron beams to rust. They then sand blasted the paint off and this ruined the look of the brick.

The lens is now turned by motor and the lamp is electric and the structure, which still functional, is only a back-up to GPS navigation. The Oregon coast has about 9 lighthouses, each with a unique light signature of flashes and colors. This enables the sailor to locate his position provided he had a map of the lighthouse signatures.

After the lighthouse tour, we returned to Old Town FLorence for a seafood dinner at Mo's, which is right on the waterfront.

A great day!

Friday 7/16/2010 - Off to Coos Bay!

We made an easy travel leg from Crescent, OR to Eugene. OR yesterday. It was only about 86 miles and traversed some beautiful scenery, crossing Diamond Peak, which is a ski resort in the winter. Along the way, we stopped to visit Salt Creek Falls, a dramatic sight with water falling over a shear cliff 286 feet high. The falls were formed as glaciers eroded basalt, cracking a section and moving it downstream. The remaining basalt cliff is resistant to water erosion and provides a stunning backdrop to the gushing water. We took a hike 2/3 or the way down to the base of the falls, but could not reach the bottom as the trail was blocked for safety reasons.

We arrived at Deerpark RV park where we off-loaded the trailer and went in to Eugener to explore microbreweries. This made Earline happy as she just loves dark beers. We visited the High Street Microbrewery and Brewpub and took a tour of the brewery with the brewmaster. It is amazing that they can create such good tasting beer in such a humble basement facility.

We then visited Ninkasi Brewpub. This brewery has had amazing growth in volume and has won many awards. Unfortunately, they only make one dark stout beer.

Following this, we moved to the Rogue Brewpub for Earline to sample a plethora of dark beers and to eat dinner before heading back to Deerpark.

Based on this experience of beer tasting, Earline deemed this trip a 10 on a scale of 10. I am glad this made her happy!

Deerpark, while a comfortable park, is just too close to the highway to rate it for a return visit. In addition, for a luxury park, to have the rest rooms run out of TP is not fine.

-----Off to Coos Bay, OR.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Today we visited Crater Lake. the sixth National Park to come into existence. It was formed my the collapse of the magma under the volcanic cone, forming a caldera that gradually filled with water from snow melt and rains. There is no stream feeding this lake and the water is a deep blue color and is considered the cleanest large water body in the world.

One advantage of getting to be a senior is that you can get a lifetime pass to the national parks for only $10. Such a deal!

The mosquitoes were vicious at this time of the year as the snow melts into puddles. I would highly advise you to take bug spray with you should you ever venture to the park in summer.

Following the trip to the lake, we still had some time to explore other areas and we decided to visit the Lava River Park that has a lava tube over a mile long. These tubes are formed by the molten lava cooling on the outside while the liquid center continues to flow. This leaves a hollow tube that snakes like water running down a mountain.

Earline though this was going to be like a ride where she could slide down the lava tube for about a mile. I think she was a little disappointed to walk in this huge cavernous tube using a lantern for over a mile. Still, it is a worthwhile experience. This is the second time I have done this and I doubt I shall ever enter another lava tube. :)

Tuesday, July 12

We left Redding, CA at about 9:30 am and had a long drive to Crescent, Oregon (240 miles). Route % was a nice drive north of Reddind and included great vistas of Lake Shasta and the snow covered Mount Shasta, the source of water for the Sacramento River.

We stopped in Klamath Falls for a lunch of Chinese food and eventually found our RV park called Big Pines RV Park. It is a nice clean park with level, gravel pads. The only real problem is the main shower/bathroom has only one toilet and one shower.

We decided to venture to Bend, Oregon to seek out the Deschuttes Microbrewery. This brewery produces some of the finest dark beers we have tasted. Earline had one that had 11% ETOH content while I settled for an Obsidian Dark.

http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/brewery/brew-pubs/bend-pub/bend-whats-on-tap/default.aspx

After dinner, we went back to the campground which was nice and cool. We watched a DVD called RV that featured Robbin Williams and seem suitable for our road trip.

The evening was VERY cold and in the morning, we needed to start the heater.