Over The Mountains and through the Woods

July 25-August 12

This next leg of our road trip around the USA will take us from Yellowstone National Park in Montana to Las Vegas, Nevada. The long way around. You can actually drive from Yellowstone to Las Vegas in 11 hours or 794 miles, if you just drive south. We, however are, driving further west into Washington,where we will see Mt. Rainier, follow the coast down through Oregon, The Redwoods, stop in and see the kids and grandkids in Los Angeles, California and then head north again to Las Vegas. That is a a total of 2,250 miles or 35 hours of driving time. Definitely the long way around. 😂

We left the magical place where the buffalo roam in Yellowstone and ventured west to our first stop in Clinton , Montana. An uneventful drive, where, again, we get to witness the beautiful hills which are dotted with homes that you’d think could never withstand the harsh winters they must have here. I can always picture what this land must look like when it’s covered in snow. There are signs on the interstate that proclaim “turn around - road closed ahead when lights flashing”, which means the whole interstate, at least for awhile, has so much snow on it that you can’t proceed. Interesting facts. Not sure I could ever live in these places. The snow and the cold is not for me.

We are getting our fair share of the learning curve I talked about in my first blog. We are in mountain country! The roads take you up and they take you down. They take you through winding, hair pin turns that make you hold on for dear life, especially in a 32 foot RV that you are pulling a car behind. Jim is an excellent driver. I’ve asked him many times “are you scared”? His answer is always “no”, as I shake in my boots.

We arrived after a long day to Beavertail Hill State Park in Clinton, Montana, which would be our overnight stop. I explore our surroundings and picked up many river rocks to paint on the banks of the Clark Fork River.

We found a place that you can buy a USED cow if you are at all interested!

Our next stop was the Grant County Fairgrounds in Moses Lake, Washington. We drove through the tip top of Idaho which I was so glad about because I got to put the sticker on our map! This was a 6 hour drive which turned out to be a very long day. Somewhere along the line we picked up a sharp object which penetrated our front tire. We had pulled into a rest stop in Sprauge, Washington, about an hour from our destination so Jim could get out and stretch. As we started to drive back out to the interstate a loud “bang” was heard. Jim stopped abruptly because it sounded like we hit something. I jumped out, proceeded to look under both vehicles, saw nothing and returned to the passenger door where I saw a flat front tire. Ugh! I was so grateful we were at this rest stop and not out on the interstate or on one of those winding road in the middle of nowhere. We were 30 miles west of Spokane, Washington, and we were for the most part safe.

Before we left on this adventure, Jim purchased a RV roadside assistance package called Coachnet. It is impossible for people like us to change a tire on a RV. I called them up and asked for help. It took almost 4 hours for them to get to us. Again, so grateful we were safe in a rest stop area. The boys came and swapped the tire for the spare which luckily we had. It was an old spare tire. We had no idea how old it was or what condition it was in, but we had one. It would have to be replaced at our earliest convenience, which would be the following day.

Once up and going we drove the hour to our stop for the night Grant County Fairgrounds. This was a creepy place. It looked abandoned. There was no one there! The Rv sites were alongside the horse barns, which were empty. It obviously wasn’t fair season. We could not find our assigned site, so after driving around for 10 minutes we just pulled into, anywhere we wanted! What were they gonna do? Tow us away? 😂

In the “you can’t make this shit up” category, as we got situated, after a very long and stressful day, Jim added water to our fresh water tank. Water began pouring out from underneath the Rv where the fresh water tank is located. Our tank was full and the over flow valves were releasing the excess water. After diagnosing the problem, Jim decided our fresh water pump was toast. Yep! You can’t make this shit up!

Now, I realize we are on a very, very long adventure. We are basically half way through. But, c’mon! In just 5000 miles we have had a broken tooth, a broken air conditioner, a trip to the emergency room, a flat tire and now a fried water pump!

If you are ever going to attempt a road trip like this one, I hope you are with a person like Jim, who,can make a stressful situation manageable, and make you believe that everything is going to be alright. He gets things done.

On our arising at the fairgrounds, we found a tire center, drove there, and a nice boy named Caleb removed the flat tire from underneath the Rv, got the spare off the front and put the flat tire in the dunk tank. There, he found a small rod of metal stuck into the tire which had obviously flattened it. It was easily patched and repaired, which I can guarantee you saved the guy in Florida who we bought $2000.00 worth of new tires from a week before we left a butt reaming! Jim purchased a new spare tire to replace the old one and we were on our way.

This little piece of whatever it is, was the flat tire culprit!

We headed towards our next stop, Alder Lake Park in the Mt. Rainier National Park. It was a stunning drive. Lots of hills, lined with 100 foot trees which will take your breath away. We traveled by the Columbia River. It is really amazing to see a river flowing right through a mountain range, and that is exactly what the Columbia River does in the Columbia River Gorge. The Cascade Mountains run from Canada, then south through Washington and into Oregon. The roughly 90 mile long canyon cuts east to west right through the Cascade Mountains, forming the border between Washington and Oregon, and in some places is 4,000 feet deep. How does a river cut through a mountain range? The answer is that the Columbia River was here first. Starting about 17 million years ago, there was a general uplift in the earth's crust that created the Cascade Mountains. This uplift continued for about 15 million years, and it was slow enough so that the Columbia River could keep eroding away the mountains without becoming blocked.

As we left the river we entered in to the White Pass Scenic byway. Huge rock walls on either side of you make you feel very small. There are barriers made of small rocks bound in fencing to ward of rock avalanches. If big rocks break off their faces, and tumble down, there are these barriers which hopefully will keep them from rolling onto the road and stop you dead in your tracks, literally.

The White Pass Scenic Byway travels along US-12 from I-5 (between Chehalis and Castle Rock) to Naches exploring the majestic Cascade Mountains and central Washington. The road travels to an elevation of 4,500 feet, revealing expansive mountain views, some tree-covered, some jagged rock and some snow-capped. Add in lush forest, sparkling lakes and streams and you have a picture perfect drive.

When you see a grouping of cars pulled off the side of a road, you know there is a beautiful photo opportunity. This one didn’t disappoint. As we pulled into the overlook, this is what we saw! It was sensory overload! Even though Mt. Rainier was many miles away, it felt so close you could touch it.

We continued on the drive, moving towards our campsite in Eatonville, Washington. The roads became small and not very well paved. We wound our way around Skate Creek, which is a tributary of the Nisqually River. With its fast moving current in some places, it all but created small waterfalls, as the water ran over the beautiful rocks. Now y’all know I paint rocks for fun. I was so upset I couldn’t hike down to the waters edge to swoop some of the beauties up. The bank was too high and I am too clumsy.

This beautiful drive brought us into some small towns. General stores, coffee shops and lavender growing on the side of the street. Try to imagine what this smells like. Cool air, the smell of trees, coffee and lavender as you breathe in each breath. Throw in a campfire here and there and you know you are in the mountains.

As we arrived at the campground and drove to our site, I was flabbergasted that someone was occupying our site! I had Jim stop and I exited the rv and asked the lady “nicely” what the hell she was doing in our site. She of course said “this is my site”. I was befuddled. Come to find out, I was wrong. Imagine that. Human. I looked at my paperwork and found that we were in a totally different campground within Alder Lake Park. I flagged down a ranger, asked him where we were supposed to be and he directed us up the road and down the hill to our campground. Actually, this place was way better, and I then remembered picking this spot in my planning stages because it faced the lake. I don’t know where or why I thought we were in the other park, but here we were.

Alder Lake

ELK POINT CAMPGROUND ⛺️ Eatonville, Washington

Mt. Rainier

Mount Rainier National Park is located in Southwest Washington state.
Mount Rainier became a National Park in 1899 and is the United State's fifth National Park.
The mountain is 14,410 feet tall.
Mount Rainier is an active volcano that last erupted about 1,000 years ago.
Mount Rainier has 25 major glaciers.
The park is 369 square miles

We drove to Paradise, literally, which is one of 4 entrance points of Mt. Rainier National Park. It’s a 30 mile drive up to the summit which is the visitor center.

I cannot begin to express all of the beauty and all of the magic and serenity this place has to offer. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen or experienced. We obviously drove the Mini Cooper with the roof down. We played loud classical and jazz music as we climbed upward towards the summit. I’ve talked about, how, if you see a large group of people pulled over to the side of the road, there is always a amazing sight to behold. Our first pull out was a waterfall. I’ve been chasing waterfalls and this one was spectacular! Jim even joined me, which made me so happy. I’m so glad he got to see this!

Living the Dream

In order to see this fabulous waterfall, I had to hike downhill a half mile. I didn’t want to. I knew I’d have to do the hike back uphill when and if I made it. I thought if I just walked down a bit I’d get the view. Nope. I had to go all the way. Ugh. I’m not a hiker and I’m lazy by nature. But, I’m chasing waterfalls, so I pressed on. For my efforts, I was so blessed to see this.

Our adventures in Mt.Rainier are something I will never, ever forget. Paradise is a very good name for a very unforgettable place.

Our next National Park destination is The Redwoods in California. We need to make one stop in Eugene, Oregon before we get there. A four hour drive finds us back on Interstate 5. This highway runs from Canada to Mexico, and will deliver us to our destinations in the Redwoods and eventually to the kids and grandkids in Los Angeles.

Oregon is pretty. It’s cool weather and beautiful tree lined highway made for a nice drive. I got to put my Oregon map sticker on which makes me smile. We have now traveled to and through 20 states on this journey. Amazing, right!

We arrived at our campsite for the night, Armitage Park in Eugene. I did laundry and Jim went to the market.

My friend Grace, who I met on my Women’s Zoom meeting 3 years ago, and who is a part of my tribe, lives here in Eugene. It was a joy to be able to meet up with her and give her a hug. We shared a tea together and I think both of us were a bit overwhelmed. It’s interesting to have a relationship with someone you’ve never met in person. It doesn’t happen very often, at least in my life, so this was quite special. Grace is a poet and has recently published a book. It’s called “Break up Hair” and she graciously gave me a copy with a nice note inscribed. I read some of it last night. She’s quite talented. Thank you Grace. Keep coming back. With love ♥️

As we continue on our way to Los Angeles, our next stop will be the Redwood National Park in Klamath, California. It was a 5 hour drive to reach the foggy coastline of the Pacific Ocean. We have now driven from the Gulfstream waters, to the Atlantic Ocean, and now to the Pacific. Over 5000 miles! What a great adventure.

We settled ourselves at Klamath River RV Park, where we will relax and rest for the next 3 days. Our campsite faces the Klamath River which is a tributary river that feeds right into the ocean. The beautiful redwood trees are situated high above us, and I can just tell that our drive through the redwoods will be spectacular. We had a quiet night and our plan was to drive through the park the following morning, which is what we did.

Some of the tallest and oldest trees on Earth are in Redwood National Park and State Parks, managed jointly by National Park Service and California State Parks.

Established in 1968, Redwood National Park is located in northernmost coastal California, and is home to old-growth coast redwoods. These magnificent trees can live to be 2,000 years old and grow to over 300 feet tall. Spruce, hemlock, Douglas-fir, berry bushes, and sword ferns create a multiple-canopied understory. Redwood Park’s mosaic of habitats includes prairie and oak woodlands, mighty rivers and streams, and 37 miles of pristine Pacific coastline.

It is easy to feel small here.

The 20 mile drive was absolutely breathtaking. As we got closer to the Visitor Center, which by the way, I have made Jim stop at them all to get my National Park book stamped, we started seeing signs to be on the lookout for the Wild Elk that live in these parts of the woods. I, of course, kept my eyes peeled. There was a huge open meadow where I was sure we would see some grazing, but nope. We decided they probably come out in the early morning or at dusk, so I resolved myself to believe that.

But, just as I got into acceptance, there they were. Resting under a tree on the side of the road. Just like when my God dropped the Buffalo in our path in Yellowstone, it happened again, and we got to stop and enjoy the small herd of Wild Elk. Beautiful creatures. Calm and quiet. We watched them from the car, because all signs indicated that you should never approach them.

Satisfied, we drove back to the campground for lunch and then took a drive around the Klamath River on a scenic road which, unpaved and dusty brought us to this Vista overlooking the Pacific.

I often think to myself, “are you kidding me right now” thoughts. It is hard for me to grasp and internalize the visual overload I get to witness on this adventure. Jim and I have seen, felt and had jaw dropping emotions almost every day. I’m going to have to buy more napkins soon. Our smiles have to keep getting wiped from our faces, and I know, that as we continue forward, there will be many more smiles to be had.

On Monday the 31st of July we drove back up north a bit to Crescent City. I want to go to this town to see if I could find driftwood on the beaches. I was thinking of making some mobiles out of the driftwood. I have childhood memories of my mom and dad dragging us kids to these beaches for driftwood picking expeditions. My father made beautiful collages made of driftwood which adorned our home. I remember collecting boxes and boxes of driftwood . I can’t remember if this was a fun event, but nonetheless, we did it. There were miles and miles of driftwood ladened beaches back in those days. Beautiful pieces. Big and small. So polished and soft from the ocean tides bringing them forward to the shore and planting them there for folks like us to pick and choose from

I was saddened that my experience was not like that of my childhood. The beaches were empty of the driftwood picking I was hoping for. Jim and I laughed as we determined that those days were long gone. The world has changed. Globally. And, after all, my memories are a half a century old😂

I wandered the beaches and found a few noteworthy pieces. I picked them up and I talked to my Daddy. “look what I’m doing daddy”, with a smile on my face and an ache in my heart, for times gone by.

With Love to Mom and Daddy 🤍

Thanks for the memories.

I don’t think I’ll be making many mobiles.

That evening we packed it all up and the following morning departed for our 2 day trip to Los Angeles, where we will be able to see the kids and grandkids. On a brighter note, although I did not find much driftwood, I have found and collected many rocks along this journey. From Georgia, to New York, from the banks of Lake Michigan, from many a river and stream, from a hospital parking lot, from state lines, and sides of mountains, from campgrounds and fairgrounds, my rock collection is abundant. It will be fun to pull them all out with my grandchildren and let them express themselves, while painting these rocks from all over the United States.

I’m looking forward to that experience. To share with them my passion. For maybe one day, when I am long gone, they will have a memory of their grandma, and say fondly, “look what I’m doing grandma”, as they paint rocks with their children. ❤️

This two day leg will take us to Cloverdale Citrus Fairgrounds for one night and then on to Santa Nella, California, home of the famous Anderson’s Split Pea Soup restaurant, before we make our final descent into San Dimas, California where we will stay for a week.

The fairgrounds stop was nothing to write home about. We were placed behind a building with not much of a view of anything. It was good enough for the night and for $25.00, it was safe.

Off to a Santa Nella, we drive through areas we have been before, many times. From the beautiful Redwood Highway or Interstate 101, we will be going inland, driving through the farmlands of Petaluma and Santa Rosa, the wine country, which is Sonoma, across the Richmond bridge near San Fransisco, to Oakland and Berkeley, where both Jim and I have spent many days in our pasts, as both of our boys, Robert and Peter attended college there. We will connect to interstate 5, which is a very long, arduous, stretch of Highway. Not much to see. Desert like and boring.

With Andersons Split Pea Soup Restaurant in my future, I’m looking forward to this stop.

Jim and I can’t pass this area up without stopping in for a bowl of Andersons famous split pea soup. It’s a tradition.

You either like split pea soup or you don’t. Jim does not. Something about it being the wrong color. Does not surprise me a bit. He doesn’t like most anything that is green in color. I enjoyed the traveler’s special. A bowl of soup and a salad. It was definitely worth the stop. 😊

With a 6 hour drive ahead of us, we pulled out pretty early. Driving into Los Angeles, we know, can be a big fat drag because of traffic. As we got closer and headed over the Grapevine, which is a steep mountain Highway that connects Bakersfield to San Gabriel, we about came to a standstill. It took a few hours to go 67 miles. I don’t miss Southern California traffic at all!

We arrived at Bonelli Bluffs RV Park around 4:00. I had a bit of a meltdown when I checked in and found that some packages we had sent here had been rejected and returned to senders after being told in an email that they would happily accept these packages and hold them for us. Very poor customer service. We had to jump through many hoops during our stay here to find our lost packages, which, ultimately we did, but only retrieved one out of three. I had to practice acceptance, I had to make amends to some people for losing my shit on them, and I did get to write a stellar email to the San Dimas Postmaster about an employee, DeAnte, who went above and beyond to help us find our package.

Our week here started off slow, and gained speed as all the kids started to show up to see us. We visited with the friends we have at Social Model Recovery Systems, where Jim retired from. It was so good to see everybody there. They are amazing people, who continue to do amazing work, even without Jim at the helm. Jim made Social Model what it is today, and because of his vision they continue to offer help to the sick and suffering, helping to turn their lives around and offer second, third and sometimes,( if they are lucky,) fourth chances on a life beyond their wildest dreams. Thank you Social Model for continuing Jim’s legacy.

Jim visited with his son Peter, who is now living here in California. My boy Michael brought the girls over and as I stated earlier, they did want to paint rocks with their grandma! Andreya(17), Arianna (16), and Aliessa (12) are quite talented artists!

Michael helped Jim fix our water pump, one of the packages we did retrieve from UPS, so now we can use our water when we are driving. We had a nice day and I was very happy to see them all.

Over the course of the rest of our time here, daughters Veronica and Aimee and all the rest of the grandchildren, Bella Rose, Audrey, Grace and Zeke, along with my sister Cameron, and my Jennifer made their appearances to see Jim and I. Living in Florida and so far away, makes our time together very special. We had lots of good food, lots of laughs and lots of “I love you’s” and hugs. Everyone painted rocks and just enjoyed our surroundings overlooking the lake.