RV Date 280699
Finally we are going on our long planned adventure. This trip to Alaska is the one we both said we wanted to go on when we bought the RV!
We are leaving Denver in our new 99 Ford F350 7.3L Power Stroke V-8 diesel. It's a silver club cab with gray interior. It has all the bells and whistles including a CD player as well as a tape player. We have added a trailer brake as well as a Pac Brake (think of a Jake Brake for pickups) since some of the grades we'll be going over are in excess of 10%. After just one day we can tell it pulls better and rides MUCH smoother than the Dodge ever did. And it's so quiet we can actually talk to each other. This may turn out to be a problem later.
The 35' 5th wheel with super slideout hasn't changed much since we did a total remodel about a year ago including new carpet, window coverings, countertops and furniture. We have settled on a regular king sized pillow top mattress after many fiascoes with air beds. Since we have lived in it for over 3 years now, she is very much our home.
Besides ourselves we travel with our cat, Connie, who is a calico somewhere around 14 years old - and very cranky! She was in the hospital with a urinary tract infection the day before we left but is feeling much better now. Of course, she is not too crazy about all the pills and medicines we have to poke down her throat twice a day, but she'll adjust.
The sky was a beautiful azure blue that only happens in Colorado when we left. The weather was warm and dry and couldn't be more perfect. We cruised up I-25 to Cheyenne where we headed west on I-80. We had just crossed the Wyoming line when we saw our first wild life - a herd of antelope. That part of Wyoming is gently rolling and we both commented about how green everything still is this late in the summer. It is really pretty. We talked about how it looked a hundred years or more ago when it was a sea of buffalo.
The further west we go, the more it looks like the Western Slope of Colorado with the towering buttes and mesas. Our imaginations spot Indian smoke signals on every table top. Wyoming is so wide open and empty it feels like nothing much has changed since the Plains Indians left.
Tonight we made it as far as Rock Springs - about 350 miles for the first day. We were more than ready to quit and get in the hot tub at the campground. Tomorrow on to Utah and maybe Idaho.
RV Date 290699
Another beautiful day. Winding through Weaver Canyon east of Salt Lake we remarked how proud everyone is going to be to show off this area when the Olympics come in 2002. We decided to skip Salt Lake City and head north on I-84.
We stopped in the town of Pleasant View, a northern suburb of Ogden to play 9 holes of golf. Mack started out par, par and ended up birdie. In between we decided he "warmed up". Better to play cold I guess. A nice little course with spectacular views of the Wasatch range.
We continued on up I-84 and stopped at an RV park in Declo, Idaho. Our space is right next to the Snake River plus there is a fishing pond owned by the park. Mack caught two rainbows for our dinner which we cooked over the grill along with potatoes and slaw. Then off to the hot tub to end the evening.
Mack is in his 7th heaven - golf, fishing and hot tubs all in the same day. Our first triple!
RV Date 010799
From Declo we traveled west to Oregon where we finally got off the interstate and continued west on US Hwy 20. Frankly, southwest Idaho and eastern Oregon are semi-arid desert which look a lot like the ugly parts of western Colorado. Not too much to see or do except get across it. We kept seeing these huge, snow capped mountains on the horizon and thinking, do we have to go over those?
About noon today we went through Bend, Oregon which is where the Cascade Mountains start. Bend is a pretty town of about 30,000. Just a few miles down the road is Sisters, Oregon which reminds us a lot of Estes Park. The radio said it was supposed to get down to 20 in Bend tonight (Eek!) Once we get through Sisters we are in the Deschutes and Willamette National Forests. We actually did go over those mountains and passed Mt. Washington on the south. It is a gorgeous sight.
The Ponderosa pines touch the sky here. They give way to giant fir trees. At times it felt like we were driving through a tunnel of Christmas trees. It is a spectacular sight. We don't know anything about forestry but it appears to us that these trees must be old growth forest to be so huge. There was lots of places along the roads where the snow was still standing (EEK!). And this is 4th of July weekend. Andi swears she saw a moose in the forest. Mack thinks it was another statue. He'll never believe until he sees it himself. All in all we decided this was an area of the country we should come back and spend more time in.
We were still headed for the ocean through the mountains. Went past huge Detroit Lake and continued down Rock Creek. Finally we reached Lincoln City on the beautiful Oregon coast and headed for the campground on the Siletz River - about 3 miles from the beach. Took two walks on the beach before and after a memorable dinner at Dory Cove. We are very grateful for the heavy coats Mom and Dad brought from Phoenix - and we're only in Oregon!
Tomorrow we head north again.
RV Date 020799
Got a late start this morning as it rained off and on. Only made a little over 100 miles today, but we were on Highway 101 right up the beautiful Oregon coast. Just another in the many scenic byways we have been on since we left the interstate.
The Oregon coast is rugged and wild. Very different from any other coastline we have been on before. In many places the forest and cliffs come right down to the sea, making for great pictures. We hope at least some of ours turn out.
We also stopped at a farmer's market and got fresh, well, everything. Tonight's feast will include fresh green beans, fresh asparagus, fresh new potatoes, fresh corn on the cob as well as REAL strawberries and maybe a cherry pie out of the fresh cherries.
Now we are parked at a campground about 50 feet from the ocean in Long Beach, Washington which is just over the Columbia River from Oregon.
Tomorrow we continue north to Seattle so Mack can see the fireworks from the Space Needle.