ROAD TRIP! Aug 13

Saturday Aug. 13th, Lorelei and I hit the road. Cody was on the annual Bike Trip with the youth group and we realized that Lorelei and I had not had a vacation together for more than (1) night by ourselves in (19) years!

So we loaded up the car and headed south. We only had a couple of goals in mind and the rest of the (4) days we were going to "wing it". What an awesome time we had.

Our destination and home base for Saturday and Sunday was to be Mt. Shasta. We had a nice drive down I-5, taking the scenic route off of the freeway whenever the chance arose. I got to see several of the roads that we always pass by and I always say "I wonder where that road goes".

We got to the hotel Saturday afternoon, checked in and then headed to The Black Bear Diner for dinner....yum. After dinner we still had some daylight left so we turned on the GPS and headed for Siskyou Lake.  Below is one of Lorelei's shots that she got near the lake. As usual she finds the cool stuff! As always click on the picture to enlarge.

                                                                       Lorelei's find:

                                               We watched the sun set over the lake:

On Sunday we got up and headed for Shasta Dam. Now I didn't realize that Shasta Dam was about 50 miles from the town of Mt. Shasta! So about half way there we just decided to turn off the highway and see other sights. We wound up down by the river and had these views all to ourselves. I think this is the Sacramento River.
                     Again, Lorelei's handiwork:

Below: Long story on this shot, but the short story is, Lorelei got it! I have been planning this shot in my mind for years, but she beat me to it!(Of course it was that highly skilled photography tour guide that got her in the right position at the right time correct?) 

Ok.....so the rest of the story about the above photograph. We are standing near the bridge and I was hoping a train would come by. I hear one, but I realize it's coming from the wrong direction to get the engine coming across the bridge. So I stand and watch as the train goes by us and then onto the bridge. As the end of the train goes by, I see that there is an engine on the end of the train too! I frantically start fiddling with the settings on my camera as Lorelei calmly steps up and gets the shot of the engine going away from us, perfectly centered on the bridge......ARRRRRGGGG.

So we had a great time hiking around by the river. We picked blackberries and ate a snack and then we were back on the road. We continued on north and stopped in the town of Dunsmuir for lunch at a great little burger joint. Then again we needed to decide what to do? We had passed the turn to Castle Crags State Park a few miles back, so we decided to go check it out.

At the booth of the ranger station we began talking to the nice gentleman who asked if we were going to go for a hike? No says we, we were just passing by and we wanted to take some pictures. Well says he, if you go into the park I have to charge you eight dollars (as I begin reaching for my wallet) but he continues, I can tell you where you can get some better pictures, outside the park. So the adventuresome, do it yourself , wanting to go and find my own pictures, side of me keeps reaching for my wallet. Finally the guy gives me this look that said "I know what I'm talking about, just keep your money and listen to me please". Okay, so we drive out of the park and onto this narrow mountain road. 3-1/2 miles up and turn around and WOW the guy did know what he was talking about.
We got out the camera gear and Lorelei and I had a BLAST for about an hour. We talked about exposure, depth of field and HDR (high dynamic range). Below are a couple of shots that we came away with. You can find more on SmugMug.

By now it was getting to be late afternoon, so we headed back to Mt. Shasta. A quick stop by the hotel room and we took off walking to town. It was approaching 5:00 p.m. and most of the shops were closing up, but we strolled up and down main street and then back to a pizza place near the hotel. We had a great salad and pizza and by the time we were done recapping the great day we just had, it was approaching 8:00!

On Monday one of our goals for the trip was to ride the jet boats in Grants Pass. After breakfast a quick call to the jet boat company assured us a spot on the 2:00 trip.
We had a leisurely 100 mile drive to Grants Pass, so we took a couple of side trips along the way.
The jet boat trip was awesome! We got soaked and it was a challenge keeping the camera dry.

We left the jet boats and headed across to the coast (ok it was kind of down and over, there is no easy way to the coast from Grants Pass). After about an hour I made some reference to California, and Lorelei says we aren't in CA. Hmmm......says I, then what about that sign right there???? We were getting hungry because we had only snacked since breakfast but we still had some miles to make, so we pressed on through the redwoods (although I REALLY wanted to stop) and on into Brookings OR where we found a Subway.

Back on the road we nearly flattened a skateboarder who decided jumping the stairs at the local Holiday Inn out onto Hwy 101 would be kind of cool!

We continued north, our destination for the night was Gold Beach, however it wasn't long until another road leading to the ocean was calling our name. We had this beach nearly all to ourselves and we spent the evening walking and exploring the tide pools.

The sun was setting and we still had more miles to make, so back on the road. We ended up pulling into Gold Beach around 9:00 in the evening. We got a great room overlooking the ocean where we could hear the surf.

                                                     Below: our view from the room.

Tuesday the 16th was our last day of this trip and we still had about 250 miles of sight seeing to do. We stopped in Port Orford which has a very interesting "port". Seems that they decided to build this giant flat area on the leeward side of some rocks out in the ocean and then just lift the boats in and out of the water as needed. So it's about 40 feet down to the water and all the boats are dry docked until they need go fishing. So Lorelei is over on the seawall getting the picture below:

And I say to her "Hun, you need to see this" she says "I'm busy", I say "no hun you REALLY need to see this" so she walks my way and says "OH MY is that safe?"

We spent the rest of the day casually driving north along the coast. We stopped for dinner at our favorite fish and chips place in Lincoln City and then home around 7:30 in the evening. It was one of the most relaxing vacations we have taken. Great weather, greater scenery and even greater company.

Trip stats:

Total Miles- 968

Moving Avg-48.2 MPH

Moving Time- 20.06 Hrs

Max. Speed 84.3 MPH (?? the GPS must have malfunctioned) 

You can see all the pictures from the trip  HERE

Some of you have expressed interest in the pictures we take. The best results in obtaining the high resolution files, is to go to SmugMug and open the picture. Down at the bottom of the page you can select the picture size. If you haven't already, choose "O" for Original. The picture will open full size, you can then "right click" and "save as" there you have it, a full size copy of the file.

That's about all for now!

Glynn Jr.

Been a while......

I thought I better do a post since it's been a while. A couple of weeks ago we headed over to the coast. Adam and Pam made it from Portland and Jon and Corina had the day off from work, so we all took the day and spent it together on the Salmon River! We caught a few crabs and the kids cooked them on the beach. We boated and flew kites and just had a great time! Enjoy the pictures.

Below, Cody with kite. Click on pictures to view larger.

Jon, Adam and Pam picking over the crab.

                                                               Adam, Pam and Corina

The kids built a shelter on the beach


The kids out checking the crab traps.

4th of July trip to Nevada......

Over the 4^th of July weekend I had a few days off from my new job so we decided to head for Nevada and visit my mom and family.  Thursday afternoon, June 30^th Lorelei and Cody came by and picked me up from work and we pointed the car south down Interstate 5.

We had a good jump on the weekend traffic but there were still plenty of people on the road as we made our way through Salem. Our destination the first night was the town of Medford about 200 plus miles away. We got to the hotel around 8:00 p.m. Lorelei had made sandwiches that we ate along the way. After settling into our room, Lorelei and I went for a short walk while Cody hung out in the room.

Friday morning we were up early (ok Cody and I were up) and we hit the breakfast room at the Best Western. We ate our fill and brought some coffee back to Lorelei. We made good time getting up and out and headed for Lassen National Park.

The miles rolled by as we made our way through southern Oregon and into northern California.
Below is one of Lorelei's shots in Northern CA along I5

At Weed CA we turned onto hwy 98 and skirted around Mt. Shasta. I saw an interesting looking side road so we made a side trip in hopes of getting some good pictures of the mountain. I got a pretty good shot but as you can see some tourists were in the way.

We made Lassen about lunch time and we were disappointed to find that although the park was open, we could not drive all the way through because of snow! We pulled into the park and pulled over near Manzanita lake. Lorelei pulled food from the ice chest and made us some great sandwiches. We decided to do the 2 mile hike around the lake. We all grabbed our camera gear, the temperature was around 70 degrees and blue skies overhead. What an awesome hike! We saw fish, ducks and ducklings, geese, and beautiful mountain vistas. We snapped several hundred pictures.

Lorelei and Cody are turning into very good photographers. Below are two more from Lorelei. Click on the image to view larger.

In the afternoon we headed for our next nights destination, Susanville. Cody and I were excited because this Best Western had a pool! After a great pizza dinner at the local Round Table, Cody and I got into our swim trunks. The air temp had warmed considerably  to about 90 degrees, as we were now in the high desert on the edge of the mountains. It was strange that no one else was at the pool??? Cody always gets into the water slowly……Me the dad, I need to show him how it’s done…..”Cody” says I, “this is the way to do it” as I dove into the deep end of the pool. As I entered the water, I feel the breath being sucked out of me as I realize why no one else was in the pool…….the water was freezing! It took about 10 seconds after I surfaced to casually utter the words “it’s not too bad”. We still swam for about a half hour until Cody’s teeth were chattering. By the time we got back to the room and cleaned up it was time to hit the hay.

On Saturday it was time to make haste to Hawthorne NV to see Mom, Floyd and family. We were cruising through Reno and getting low on gas. Lorelei was going to make sandwiches for lunch when off to the side of the freeway I see a IN AND OUT!  I announced “no sandwiches for us”.

As we headed out from Reno the temperature was in the mid 90’s. As we headed out across the desert it began to climb, 95, 98, 100……then 102! Yikes, we left 75 degree weather for this? We rolled into Hawthorn NV around 3:00. We hadn’t seen my mom or Floyd in about 10 years! We sat and visited, my sister Kelli and her husband Chris came by along with my nephew Kyle and his girlfriend Candy, also my  niece Beth. Wow it was great to get caught up on all that everyone was doing.

Mom and Lorelei looking over old pictures.

Cody wanted to play Pinochle, clockwise from bottom: Me, Kyle, Candy, Cody, Beth, Kelli (Mom in back)

Kelli and Chris

Floyd asked what we wanted to do the next day and we said something about wanting to go to a ghost town. Immediately everyone said “Bodie”. So Sunday morning we got up and headed out. Floyd drove his big Ford truck and along with my mom, Cody, Lorelei and myself, we headed out for the hour drive. The more you study Bodie the more fascinating it becomes. At it’s height some 10,000 people lived out in the middle of nowhere at 8,000 foot elevation in some of the harshest weather in the upper 48. It boasted 65 saloons! Most of the town has burned down more than once but enough remains for a wonderful look back in time.

Lorelei's picture of the Caine's House

Below another one of Lorelei's  pics

And below are a couple of mine from Bodie

Below the intrepid adventurers, Me, Lorelei, Floyd and Cody

On Monday morning we headed back towards Oregon. We stopped in Susanville so Lorelei could meet up with an old friend. 

 Lorelei and Carolyn

Wow....what a fun trip, the last night (4th of July) we stayed in Mt. Shasta, had a great dinner at the Black Bear Diner . Cody and I swam in the INDOOR HEATED pool at the Best Western while Lorele was working out in the Fitness Center. We finished up the drive home on Tuesday the 5th. Awesome scenery, great weather, wonderful company with family and friends.

Glynn Jr.

Random stuff.....

Been a while since the last post, thought I had better give an update. The new job is going ok, lots to learn. On Memorial weekend Adam and Pam drove out to the homestead on Sunday night and stayed over for a fun day on Monday. We didnt' do much but just hang out. We barbecued and played some horseshoes.

A week or so ago Cody and Lorelei were driving up the gravel road on their way to school and work. A doe walked into the road followed by a just born fawn. The car spooked the mother and she took off running, the fawn wobbled around and then promptly fell down and would not get up. Cody jumped out of the car and walked right up to it and put his hand on it's back. The fawn proceeded to let out a YAAAAHHHHH (or something like that). The mother was just standing off watching. Finally Lorelei and Cody needed to get on down the hill. As they drove off the fawn just laid there. They called our neighbor down the road and she said she would drive up and take a look. Apparently by the time she got there, the little guy had got up and was on his way, hopefully under the care and supervision of his mother.

In other news Cody entered a writing contest hosted by the local Lions Club and he won 1st place in the 7th grade division for his essay on  what makes Amity Middle School great! Cody is an awesome writer with an incredible vocabulary and an imagination to go along with it.

Cody and I attended a circus a couple of Friday's ago, yes an actual circus big top came to our little town! Complete with a lion and two tigers. Cody and I liked the juggler the best.

On Friday the 10th, Cody and I drove up to Seattle and picked Jon up from college. It was interesting to see 100's of young men scrambling to clean out a school years worth of accumulation in their dorm rooms. Couches and other furniture, clothes and tons of other stuff littered the hallways as we made our way to Jon's room. We were able to fit all of Jon's stuff into the car with room to spare and we were on our way. We hit lots of traffic on the way home so it was a long day. It's good to have Jon home for the summer!

Lorelei is done working for this school year and it was hard for her to leave her kids. She has a heart for helping these kids and she is truly upset that the school year is over. With budget cuts it's unsure of how much opportunity she will have next year.

In other news around the place, we have been working on retaining walls and walkways around the back of the house. I have been hauling wall blocks and rock almost every weekend. It is finally starting to shape up. I will post some pictures when it's all done.

We saw our first clutch of baby quail yesterday the 18th! The mother quail had 15 little ones. She brought them right up to the feeder while dad watched for danger. At one point they needed warming up so all 15 scooted under her wings and stayed for about 5 minutes to up their body temperature.

The new chickens are about full grown and we are slowly introducing the older chickens to them. We are already getting plenty of eggs, so when the new ones start laying we will have too many!

That's about all for now.


Glynn Jr.