RV There Yet?

Radiator Springs

This past Saturday, Barbara, Ellie, and I traveled to Seligman, Arizona. Seligman is advertised as the birthplace of famous Route 66 and Radiator Springs, from the movie Cars. While there we saw The Roadkill Café and some of the Cars movie characters. There isn’t much else there, but it was fun to see. We would have stayed longer, but it was extremely windy on Saturday so we cut our visit short. On the way back to our trailer I asked Barbara if she would like to visit the south rim of the Grand Canyon? We were only 60 miles away. She said, “I’d love to, but with the wind, we’d likely get blown over the edge.” So, we continued on back to our trailer. It was a fun day, with a lot of beautiful scenery.

A terrible likeness of Lightning McQueen.

Red Rock State Park

A few weeks ago, Barbara, Ellie, and I traveled to Red Rock State Park near Sedona, Arizona. We enjoyed the view of the red rocks that surround the park, Owl Creek, that flows through the park, and some wildlife, deer. A few days later, we drove through Owl Creek Canyon where Owl Creek originates. A couple of days later, I showed Barbara a photo of highway 89A, from the air, which goes through Owl Creek Canyon. Barbara said, “Hell no,” because the highway has a lot of switchbacks. I then pointed out that we drove that road just a few days ago. It’s a beautiful area, so if you’re ever in the Sedona area, take some time to take a look around.

The View from Verde Valley

As some of you may have noticed, for several months now, I have not been able to get out and do any serious hiking, take many photos or post to my blog. I have spent most of my time making repairs to the trailer, the weather hasn’t cooperated, and Barbara recently had eye surgery. However, now that we are in Arizona, most of the repairs have been made on the trailer, and Barbara can see clearly again, so I have been able to get out and stretch my legs a little.

We are currently staying at an RV park in Cottonwood, AZ and the temperatures have been below freezing most night but warm up to a comfortable 65 to 70 degrees during the day. So, this past week I have taken three hikes of 3 miles or more. Boy, can I feel the difference already. At the park where we are staying, there are numerous hiking trails on elevated and rocky terrain. It’s nice to be someplace where I can push myself, just a little, and go to bed knowing that I got some good exercise and my steps in during the day. Below are a few photos of the park and the surrounding area.

I’m hoping to be able to go explore the red rocks near Sedona, AZ next week so stay tuned.

The southern edge of the Colorado Plateau with the tops of the San Francisco Peaks, covered in snow.

Bullards Bar

Late last year, while we were still in California, we visited some friends that we have not seen in a while. While we were visiting Ember and Neal, they told us about Bullards Bar in Sutter County, California. Neal works part time at the reservoir, mostly during the spring, summer, and fall. Bullards Bar is a reservoir that was built on the Yuba River back in the 1950’s. The dam is a gravity arch dam just like Hoover dam. However, Bullards Bar dam is wider while Hoover dam is approximately 80 feet higher. So, Barbara, Ellie and I took a drive up to see Bullards Bar. The reservoir was a little low while we were there, but I understand the recent rains in the area have filled it up. A lot of people have houseboats here and it looks like a great place for boating, fishing, and other water sports like paddle boarding and swimming. It is a beautiful area at the elevation where the oaks of the Sierra Nevada foothills give way to the conifer forest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Take a look!

Lake Minden Sunset

Last evening, there were some white, wispy cirrus clouds floating overhead, so just before the sunset, I hiked down to the lake to see if I could capture the clouds and colors of the evening sunset. I used two cameras, with different settings to see how they would turn out. I set the first camera on a tripod and used a wireless remote and I handheld the second camera. The first five photos are with the tripod held camera while the last five photos are with the handheld camera. Honestly, I don’t see a significant difference in the two. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Lake of the Springs

Over the past few months Barbara and I have been having repairs made to our trailer as well as myself making additional repairs that the manufacturer didn’t do or happened later. It has been a frustrating and difficult time for us and due to this I have not been able to do any hiking and or photography. But last week, Barbara, Ellie and I spent a week at Lake of the Springs in Oregon House, CA. One day while there, I took a long hike from our RV spot to the dam on Lake Mildred and then most of the way around the lake. We have camped there many times, and until now, I didn’t know there was a trail that went around the lake. It was a nice, quiet hike as I was the only person on the trail that day. This time of year the trees are turning colors and this added to the beauty of the scenery I enjoyed that day. This area is a transition zone where the oaks of the California foothills start to give way to the conifers of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The winds were light on this day allowing for some nice reflections off of the lake surface. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Indiana Dunes National Park

Last week, Barbara, Ellie and I traveled west to visit the Indiana Dunes National Park. This is a pretty park that is, surprisingly, surrounded by several steel mills. On this day the temperature hovered around 91 degrees with 80% humidity so we didn’t stay around for long. In fact, the last thing we did was Barbara bought some ice cream bars and we headed back to Elkhart.

Mt. Hood Railroad

A few weeks ago we took a ride on the Mt. Hood Railroad. The scenery along the way was not as scenic as we had anticipated, but the ride was very enjoyable. The train cars were very comfortable and we enjoyed the relaxing ride in the company of our friends Keith and Janice. At the midway point of our trip we stopped at a vineyard where we relaxed some more and I took some photos of the train and the surrounding area. At the end of our train ride, we visited a nearby shop, picked up Ellie and some goodies, and headed back to Mt. Hood Village. All in all a great day.

Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum

While staying in Mt. Hood Village, one Saturday, Barbara and I along with our friends Keith and Janice took another drive to the town of Hood River to see the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum (WAAAM). On this day they were also having a car show and we could vote on our favorite cars from those on display. You can also take car rides in the vintage cars and a flight over the Columbia River in a biplane. While Keith and Janice to a ride in a biplane, Barbara and I checked out the vintage aeroplanes. This is a fun place to spend an afternoon enjoying a wonderful vintage collection of planes and cars while learning a little history.

Early aeroplane frame. They’re not that much different today, just the materials used.

Wasn’t this car in the TV show Happy Days?

Trillium Lake Trail

The day after we took the Mt. Hood Scenic Drive, I returned to Trillium Lake to hike the Trillium Lake Trail. Trillium Lake is one of my favorite places in the state of Oregon. I tried to hike this trail a couple of years ago, but at that time the trail was closed, a third of the way around, for repairs. I can understand this because a good portion of the trail is a boardwalk because otherwise the trail would be underwater most of the year. The trail is mostly flat and at only two miles long it makes for an easy hike. On this day there were a lot of other people on the trail so I stopped frequently to let others pass, take a break to eat some fruit, and drink some water. It was a great day for a hike with the temperature hovering around 75 degrees with a lite breeze. Perfect conditions for hiking. If you’re ever in the Mt. Hood area, be sure to check out Trillium Lake, you won’t be disappointed.