Eureka to Portland

Left the campground around 9am and headed north. We have done the coast hwy before going south and wanted to see the Elks again. Magnificent animals in their own environment so close to the hwy. Sure enough we have seen 3 close enough to take a few nice pictures. Spent at least a couple of hours watching them while my wife made lunch. We crossed the Oregon border at 3 pm, the weather is cooling down big time, no more short sleeves for a while. Spent a nice and quiet night in Brandon at Brandon RV Park. It's a Good Sam park but at 34.24 $ is a bit expensive for me even for a full hook up. Next day's highlight was Florence OR with it's riverside seafood restaurants. The town is famous for it's Dungeness crab and the all you can eat crab deals. We were lucky to meet a local fisherman catching crabs on the dock just under the restaurant. He was more than happy to answer all the questions the curious visitors had. We had a late lunch early dinner seafood plate and had to go. After a few miles we had to stop again at the Sea Lion Caves and take more pictures. After a fairly long day we made it to Portland, to Jantzen Beach RV park. It's a half RV half mobile home park, very nice and clean, right on the Columbia river.  26 $/night full hook up, 2 pools and close to downtown. On the next spot is a trailer from California, nice couple headed for Canada and asking us what kind of weather to expect? We told them it's going to be cool for our taste. They said: perfect, we are going to love it, we are escaping from the heat in California. The word Snowbirds has a new meaning!

 

Elk viewing up close north of Eureka CA

 

The Oregon coast is beautiful but cool in October.

 

Seafood Restaurant in Florence OR.

 

The dock in Florence with the restaurant above.

 

Local fisherman with his fresh catch.....

 

..................explaining why he has to throw it back. He can sell his catch to the restaurant right behind him.

 

Lunch right on the river, even the sun came out!

 

We drove by at McMinnville Air Field and just had to take a picture. A 747 on the roof!

 

Albion Flat to Eureka Ca.

We liked the place so much we did not leave the campground 'till noon. Be prepared for the coastal hwy, it will be slow because you stop often. After driving about 20 min. north we came to Big River State Park, another beautiful place. Wide sandy beaches, peaceful and quiet. We spent at least a couple of hours there watching a couple of painters working to capture the scenery. I think I repeat myself too often but we shortly had to stop again, the coast is so rugged and photogenic I had to burn a few mega bites off the memory card. Fort Bragg was only a few more miles we stocked up at Safeway and finally have seen a car wash with a bay outside and I washed the motor home. Not far north of Fort Bragg the hwy runs trough the Redwood Forest and comes back to the beach just south of Eureka. It was late in the afternoon, time to look for a place for the night. In Eureka Wal Mart is in a mall with a shared parking lot and security said no but recommended the county fairground with an Rv park only 2 miles east of down town. Nothing fancy but a nice and quiet park with full hook up and Wi Fi for 25$/night.  ( Redwood Acres Fairgrounds RV Park.)

 

White sandy beaches - Big River State Park

 

Painters at work.

 

Signs at the entrance of the park.

 

Be careful! It's Mountain Lion territory

 

The breathtaking shoreline

 

The breathtaking shoreline

 

The entrance to the fairground in Eureka....

 

.....with a nice and quiet RV park.

Bodega Bay to Albion Flat

We left Bodega Bay around 11am and headed north. The coast is so beautiful you want to stop and take a picture every mile. So we did stop often, went for a walk and checking out campgrounds for the night. Those on the beach were jam-packed even in the middle of the week. As we crossed the Albion river bridge and looking down we knew we found our place for the night. Drove down the road and  found another gem. It was the 1st of October, the campground is almost empty ( means very quiet ) but the weather still nice and sunny. Since the river goes through they have their own marina and a very nice sandy cove, a 2 minute walk from our site. After a short walk-around we paid for 2 nights and just loved it ! If interested there is a lot more , check it out at: http://www.albionrivercampground.com/

 

The coast hwy # 1 going north. You want to stop every mile and take a picture.

 

Sometimes it turns into a nice country road.

 

 

After the Albion River bridge is the entrance to the campground.

 

 

1st of October but still nice and warm.

 

 

Wildflowers still blooming around the campground.

 

They have their own Marina....

 

.....and a very nice cove with a sandy beach.

 

The campground from the bridge.

San Francisco Bay Area to Bodega Bay

Next day we wanted to go back to Golden Gate to see if the clouds were gone and yes, patience paid off, it was nice and sunny with a little haze in the air. After a lot of pictures we drove down to the west end of the bridge, there is so much to see the whole day would not be enough. The Bay Area Museum, Horseshoe bay, all the vistas, I wanted to stop every 50 yards and take a picture, good thing there is plenty of parking to pull over as we headed towards Sausalito. Later in the afternoon we drove north on Hwy 1 and I would like to warn everybody: with an RV longer than 22 feet, please avoid the stretch of hwy or you are going to hate it!  It is beautiful but not when you drive an RV, you should stay on the 101 and head to Bodega Bay from Petaluma. Once in Bodega Bay we've been looking for a place for the night. Checked out Doran Park just south of town just to find out it's full, not a single spot so we got back to town. Drove down to the Marina, a really nice place with an RV park and everything you can wish for. (including a very nice host) She said: pick your spot and I'll see you later. Waterfront dry camping, nice and sunny spot with a fire pit and table = 28$/night. Compared with the Golden Gate Trailer Park in San Rafael this is a million dollar jackpot, of course we picked a nice spot.

 

It was worth the wait, next day was nice and sunny with a bit of haze

 

Taking pictures of the bridge from the west end.

 

 

She always enjoys the sun.

 

The view from the coastal drive towards Sausalito, the little island on the right is Alcatraz.

 

At the end of the day we found a gem in Bodega Bay.

Crater Lake to the Bay Area

As I said earlier on this trip no plans were carved in stone. My wife wanted to go to Vegas, we checked the weather every day and Vegas had 34 C ( 93F ) . It's bit to hot in the concrete jungle on the crowded strip and all we wanted was to relax . After entering California we turned west towards the bay and San Francisco. As we were getting closer to the bay the temperature was rising all the time. When my wife turns on the AC it means hot outside! Listening to the radio we learned that an unexpected heat wave hit the area with forecast of  ( 38C ) 100F for the next day. Closer to San Rafael and the water the temperature was just perfect, were glad to come this way but it was getting dark and we had to find a place for the night. Have you ever been to the area you know it was a bad decision. Checked the map and found Golden Gate Trailer Park very close to Hwy 101. We pulled in and well, it doesn't look promising but it's dark so we stay for 45 bucks a night. (Shock) Second shock is: with our tiny little rig I spent almost an hour and could not level it. The owner was watching it for a while then gave us another spot just a bit better, leveling was only 35 minutes. Next day we did laundry in the morning before heading for the Golden Gate bridge. We have been here a few times and like to go to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area just before the bridge because of the view. You can see the city, Alcatraz and the whole area in good weather. Well, not today. The park was nice and sunny but the whole bay area was in very low clouds, all we could see was the top of the bridge. In the afternoon we crossed the bridge and drove to the fort at the bottom but the fog just didn't lift. What do you do in the ugly weather like that? I remembered a little but famous Hungarian cafe in Berkeley and went to check it out.( http://www.crixacakes.com/) Don't miss it if you are in the area, very nice place, very good cakes and they even have a few tables outside under a huge tree, beautiful. When we told the owner we came from Canada he gave us a little take out box with 2 slices and wished us a nice trip. It was a good way to end the day and since we did not want to spend another night in the trailer park we drove east out of  the city and spent the night in a rest area with a million dollar view overlooking the bay. More about it next time.

 

Up on the hill at Golden Gate the weather was beautiful.....

 

....but the view was just covered in fog. (happens often in the Bay Area)

 

Even under the bridge at the fort was very foggy.

 

A funny little vehicle you can rent at Fisherman's Wharf for sightseeing.

 

End of the day in Berkeley visiting the famous little Hungarian cafe Crixa.

Christmas Light Truck Parade 2012

A break in the travel posts because of the parade. It's been 8 years now that I have been  taking pictures of the event. This year the rain was falling horizontally but we got all the pictures. The parade is always a huge success, collecting donations for the local food bank. Here is some trucker "eye candy."

Mail from the North Pole.

Slinger Beauty

A Patriot at Christmas

That's how10,000 bulbs looks like.

Enjoying my new camera

Green Christmas.

Our local driving school's truck

On "normal" weekdays this rig is hauling lumber.

Leavenworth WA to Crater Lake OR

As we said before we were trying to avoid Interstate driving, it was easy by staying on Hwy 97 all the way south even after crossing into Oregon. I have been on this road many times and always wanted to see Crater Lake in Oregon but never had enough time. Just before Klamath Falls right on Hwy 138 and after 30 some miles you are in Crater Lake National Park. ( 10 $ entrance fee.) The park is at an elevation of 7-8000 feet and is open usually from June to late September because later there is too much snow. The lake was created by a volcano thousands of years ago and later it was filled with water from the average snowfall of 44 feet/year!!!  Later there was a smaller volcano inside the older one and the eruption created Wizard Island in the deepest lake of the US at 1943 feet. Average diameter of the lake is 4.5 to 6 miles and you can see everything from the 33 mile long Rim Drive. Smaller RV-s can handle it easily but bigger rigs should not even try. The Rim Drive has many pull outs, parking and picnic areas, it takes hours to do the circle, see everything, take pictures. If you are running out of time on the south side of the lake is a campground to spend the night or a few days there. Be prepared for tons of Chipmunks, they will show up at every parking lot and beg for food despite the sign: Don't feed wildlife!"

From Hwy 97 right on 138, it's about 30 miles to Crater Lake

 

Lot of parking and picnic areas.

 According to the sign the elevation is 7517. 51 feet.

The Rim Drive is OK for smaller RV-s

 

Crater Lake with Wizard Island on the left.

Another view point on Rim Drive where........ 

.....lot of little visitors come as soon as you stop.

Chipmunks obviously can't read the "Do not feed Wildlife!" sign.