Happy Birthday USA!
We have one more day left before we head to the east side of the Rockies. This post will wrap up our stay at the famcamp and our time visiting some of our old haunts in the Salt Lake City area.
More specifically, we are at the famcamp at Joint Base Hill … still referred to by most people as Hill Air Force Base … just as it was back in the 1980s when Mui was stationed here for a couple of years.
Seattle welcomed us back from our Alaska cruise (post here) with ever-brightening light that led to blue skies, sunshine, and comfy temps … quite a bit different from our send off a week ago. The nice weather confirmed our tentative plans to do a bit of sightseeing in Seattle before heading home to the Phaeton … patiently waiting for us in Gig Harbor.
Elliott Bay Marina from our veranda … it looks so much
better with bright light and the promise of blue skies.
Just got back from Alaska. But it wasn’t a road trip. Rather, we took a quickie cruise from which we disembarked earlier today. We still have a few days in Gig Harbor, but we’ll be busy with preparations to depart Washington for the continuation of our road trip … the return leg back to Houston … following a different route. We’ll probably do some walks in and around Gig Harbor, but unless we do something exciting, I won’t be writing about those days.
In the meantime, this will be a really short post to catch up on the days since I last wrote.
Our destination today was the Museum of Flight in Tukwila, which borders Seattle to the north. We had a date to visit with friends in the afternoon, so we left home early. The plan was to be at the museum when the doors opened at 9:00a to maximize our time. Luckily, the Sunday traffic was manageable and we did not have any delays to contend with.
We were going to do today’s outing yesterday, but the forecast for Eatonville was showing a high probability of rain. Not optimum for wildlife viewing. So we postponed our plans to today. Thus, we began the new month with a day trip that took us to see some of the animals native to the Pacific Northwest in a second growth forest setting.
It behooves no one to dismiss any novel idea
with the statement that “it can’t be done.”
~ Bill Boeing ~
After spending the Memorial Day long weekend at home, we were ready for another outing. This time, our destination was 25 miles (40 km) north of Seattle … meaning we had to plan around the rush hour traffic that clogs pretty much every road leading north from Gig Harbor … especially on weekday mornings. I don’t know if hopping on I-405N at the first opportunity helped or not, but at least we were able to use the HOV2+ and the Express Lane to ease our way north with minimum difficulty … and that was after delaying our departure for the 71-mile (114 km) drive until after 9:30a.
The Fishing Seasons
Fish for salmon in summer and fall,
Gather sardines when winter winds call.
Anchovies school off warm winter coasts,
Pull Dungeness crab with January boats.
Turn on your night lights and go seining for squid,
All through the year, they wiggle and jig.
The most elusive of all are down in the deeps,
Where the halibut roam and the black cod sleeps.
~ Anonymous ~
Friday was to have been our day for sightseeing. But we had to jiggle our plans when the replacement of the CR-V’s rear brakes took a little longer than expected and the work lagged from Thursday through the end of the day on Friday.
Of all the fire-mountains, which, like beacons, once blazed along
the Pacific Coast, Mount Rainier is the noblest in form.
~ John Muir … conservationist … 1906 ~
With the forecast calling for a glorious blue-sky day all across the state, today we headed to Mount Rainier National Park (MRNP) … the fifth national park of the nation … and home to the 14,411-foot (4,392 m) tall mountain for which the park is named.
We have a plan! It calls for alternating sightseeing with other stuff — such as checking out our options for ‘future livability’ … daily errands and chores … and just chillin’ on the patio. Another part of our plan is to stay home on the weekends … leaving those days to be enjoyed by people who have a work week to consider in their plans. We explore locally, of course, but don’t necessarily do anything blog-worthy. It’s because of our plan that I’m able to skip three days to write about today ;-)
Skipping a day in the blog as we did nothing noteworthy yesterday. Moving on to today’s fun times.
We’d heard horror stories about the traffic going in and out of Seattle, but were hoping that they were exaggerated. Turns out they aren’t … and it’s made worse by the ongoing construction. The bottomline for anyone coming to the area — you have to plan around rush hour traffic … otherwise, you’re going to be miserable. Staying in Gig Harbor, which is south of the Seattle hub-bub, that means delaying our departure to mid-morning if we’re heading north. Which is what we did today.
Have been settled in at Gig Harbor for three days now. We took the first two days at our home base easy — the adrenaline rush that was keeping us going since leaving Houston just under a month ago fizzled out I think … we just felt weary. The weather cooperated with blue skies and sunshine, though. We took advantage of that to enjoy our patio … and also strolled into and around Gig Harbor.
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Colorful blooms are in the gardens all around Gig Harbor.
We changed states today. Nothing new in that, really … we’ve been doing so since we left Houston over three weeks ago. The difference is that we’ll be staying in this state for a while. The other thing we did today was to cross the 45th parallel — which is half way between the Equator and the North Pole. There was a road sign that marks the crossing, but it came up much too fast for me to take a photo of it ;-)
Technically, a very long 409-mile (650 km) drive would have allowed us to skip this overnight stop, but we don’t drive long days like that anymore … unless absolutely unavoidable. So, we programmed the GPS for Jefferson, Oregon — about halfway between Eugene and Salem — and set off from Valley of the Rogue State Park shortly after 9:00a.
This was to be our easy day … resting up after two days of sightseeing … preparing for the next two days of driving. That’s not to say that we did nothing … no sirreee!
The original plan Sue and Mo had made for today was to take us for a drive through the Applegate Valley. Maybe taste some wine … have a picnic at one of the wineries … see a covered bridge or two along the way. That changed with an email from Sue this morning. The new proposal was to skip the Applegate Valley since none of us are big wine drinkers, and go to the Oregon Coast instead. Yay … beach time!
Woke up at 6:00a … feeling refreshed after a good night’s sleep that recharged our batteries. Despite the proximity of the park and campground to I-5, we didn’t hear any traffic noise … it was very quiet indeed. Today was one of the two days of sightseeing Sue had planned for us. Mo was unable to join us as she had a prior commitment, so it was just the three of us that went off gallivanting at 9:30a.
It was a crisp 43F (6C) when I woke up at 5:30a … brrr. But we were cozy in the Phaeton as we went about preparing for another driving day. We left the casino campground at shortly after 8:00a, made the turn onto US-395N, and within two minutes were in California.
I woke up from a restful night’s sleep at 5:00a to Mui cranking on the generator. The batteries had done well overnight, but they were just under the 12 volts Mui likes to see on the controller. I debated going back to sleep. Nah … better to get up and enjoy the peaceful desert setting.
We’re two days out of Prescott now. We stopped over at a military campground in Las Vegas last night. Tonight we’re at a boondocking site off of US-95 just west of Tonopah. Nothing really exciting about either day, so this will be a round-up post to make the blog whole.
I love doing counted cross-stitch … the smaller the stitch the better … and no pre-printed patterns. But when my eyesight started to get bad, I gave it up and picked up other hobbies … such as photography and blogging. But I missed my embroidery.
Cold morning … only 36F (2C) when I got up at 6:00a. But, unlike yesterday, sunrise led to blue skies and the warm rays of the sun streamed in through the windshield to keep us toasty. There was little in the way of wind … which made all the difference in the world.
Brrrr … cold morning … cold-ish day. Had a bit of blue sky first thing, but overcast with on-and-off drizzle was the rule of the day. So, we stayed home to take care of chores. Just because we’re on a road trip, the routines of “life” don’t stop for fulltimers like us. This was a good day to take care of such things while we waited for the sun to peek out and the day to dry out so we could go for a walk.
Mui goes on the roof to get the rainwater off the slide toppers … and while he’s at it, he takes a rooftop panorama. Those solar panels will help us to boondock for a night next week.
Woke up to 47F (8C) @ 6:00a. It warmed up a bit as the day progressed — especially once the overcast lifted and the sun came out. But a crisp breeze won the battle … the day remained a bit nippy … and drizzly.
Our initial plan was to pack our breakfast and leave early to hike the Watson Lake Loop Trail. When we woke up to a 50F (10C) temp at 6:00a, we changed our plans. We ate breakfast at home, packed snacks to nibble on later, and left for our hike at 8:30a after the morning had warmed up a bit.
After a good night’s sleep snuggled under our winter-weight comforter, I woke up at 6:00a. I like that I can keep my window shade open here since there is no street light streaming inside. Nothing like waking up naturally to daylight. The 55F (13C) temp outside rose quickly enough to 65F (18C) … very, very comfy … but a little too nippy for an al fresco breakfast.
Woke up at 6:00a to a crisp 55F (13C) and the sun rising in a blue sky. The cool air felt great. Could have bundled up and eaten breakfast on the patio probably, but decided to leave that for another day. Shortly after 8:00a, we left for a walk down to Watson Lake, which is accessed by a trail that starts down the loop a bit from our site.
We’re starting a weeklong stop over in Prescott, Arizona. That means hiking and sightseeing activities will be taking precedence over writing, so I’m going to practice ‘short blogging’ with this post. Who knows if I will succeed … but at least I’ll be trying.
We were both up again at 4:30a! What’s up with that? In my defense, I actually thought it was 5:30a ... obviously can’t see the clock well without my glasses! Going to bed at 8:30p last night probably had something to do with the early wake up this morning ;-)
We were both up shortly after 4:30a. Why? Who knows! Certainly I had no plans to get up that early even with a planned 7:30a departure from Fort Bliss. No going back to sleep, so we dallied over our morning reading and breakfast, and took care of the few remaining camp-departure chores at a more relaxed pace. By 7:15a, we were on the road … the temp a cool 59F (15C).
With the slides pulled in and our loose furniture secured, we’re ready to drive.
We did much better today and got on the road at 8:00a. To do so, we had to scrap our plans for an early morning walk. Normally, we would not have done so, but the military RV park at Fort Bliss does not take reservations, so it behooved us to get on the road sooner rather than later.
Even though we were up at our usual early hour, the morning got away from us somehow — probably because we squeezed in a walk before we left the famcamp. It was 9:15a by the time we pulled out. We should be able to do better on our 1- and 2-night stands, which tend to be more minimalistic.
“… it is more important to occupy this Post than I imagined
when I last saw you — It is the key to Texas …”
~ William B Travis ~
Blue skies and sunshine … made all the difference in the world. So did feeling less achy after Friday’s tumble. Even my right pinky finger was no longer as black and blue as it was yesterday. So, after breakfast off we went to see The Alamo.
Overcast … drizzly. That’s the weather we woke up to. The yucky day and my slightly achy body made the decision to stay home easy. Mui went off to run errands before Petroleum Drive was closed down for an hour at 8:30a. My aches easily managed with a couple of Ibuprofen, I checked in with my family, did a couple of loads of laundry, and worked on some overseas travel plans. Before I knew it, the morning was gone … the afternoon half over.
Woke up to overcast skies and cool temps. But the weather guy had promised sunshine, so we planned accordingly. After breakfast, we set off for JBSA [Joint Base San Antonio] Lackland to pick up prescriptions before continuing with our sightseeing plans. Surely the sun would make an appearance by the time we finished our errands.
Your ability for accomplishment will follow with success.
~ Tonight’s Fortune Cookie ~
A decent night’s rest at the “Cummins Parking Lot Campground” — only slightly bothered by the occasional train going by, tooting its horn … and a rhythmic beeping that turned out to be from the failing smoke detector in the neighboring coach. Nonetheless, we were up at 6:30a … keys turned into the service desk at Cummins Coach Care shortly after 7:30a.
Monday … Mui had his three-month check-up with his cardiologist … first an echo … then an in-person consult to review the cardiac rehab results. We got the two thumbs up from Dr Reyes … no changes to the meds. Next check-up scheduled for January … in conjunction with Mui’s annual physical.
We actually had the doctor’s blessing to travel back in February. But Mui wanted to do a couple of months of the recommended cardiac rehab before we got on the road. I agreed that was smart and we extended our Houston stay through his scheduled 3-month check-up. Thus, the thumbs up was expected. Nonetheless, it’s good to have Mui’s recovery confirmed before getting on the road for a couple of months.
Tuesday … prep day to get the Phaeton and the toad road-ready. It was a very windy day, with some strong gusts in the 28 mph (45 kph) range. But at least the sun was shining, mitigating the wind-chill. And there was no wet stuff falling from the sky to hinder us from doing our chores.
We stepped back into 19th and 20th century sailing history today. But before I tell that story, allow me to step back to more recent history and reminisce a bit.
Another great day in San Antonio, Texas. It’s mid-afternoon now and we’re on I-10E, heading back to Houston. We have a 206-mile (330 km) drive ahead of us. The best way I know to while away the three hours or so it will take for us to get home is writing. So, let’s get started on today’s story.
Our second day in San Antonio, we hoped, would include a checkmark in the errands column … a checkmark in the reunion birthday celebration column … and a checkmark in the sightseeing column.
Brrrrrr ... woke up to a cold day in Houston. The front from the north had obviously put in an appearance. No matter. The day was going to warm up nicely and we’d have plenty of sunshine on the road. We made quick work of breakfast and off we went. Although our destination today was San Antonio, Texas, the day started at the cardiac rehab clinic Mui frequents thrice weekly in Pearland. No sense missing two sessions when a one-hour delay getting on the road would allow him to complete today’s workout.
Except for going to the Houston RV Show in early February, our plans for sightseeing around the area did not gel … until today. The weather is partly to blame … but so is downright laziness. Actually the latter is not really fair. We’ve been keeping busy at home working on the routing for our spring/summer road trip and our subsequent travels overseas. Then there is the fact that we’re giving Mui a chance to regain his strength without overdoing things.
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul,
and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all.
~ Emily Dickinson ~
Some of you are already aware that our immediate travel plans to visit Africa and Asia have been disrupted by health concerns. For others, the news will come as a surprise. I debated posting about this on the blog, but this is part of our full timing life, so I decided a quickie blurb was appropriate.
