The End Sunday 17- Wednesday 20

Ed and Judi have invited us back to their house in Nevada City for a few days.  So Sunday morning we were up and hooked up for the last time in this trip and drove over the Sierras to Nevada City.  We will spend a few days here sleeping and getting back into the swing of things.  We have already done our laundry and taken a shower (this is very important). 

We will take lazy walks along the river and photograph wild flowers.  Sleep a little and then we will head home on Wednesday July 20, 2011 and into our regular schedule. 

For those of you that have been following along, we hope that it has been an interesting journey.  We want to thank all of the people who we have visited and been hosted by along the way.  This has been a truly memorable journey.  We have learned a lot about our country and the people who live in it.  We have visions of thunder storms, flat land, green hills, and amazing lakes.  Serendipity has been a real player in this trip.  We experienced great campgrounds, delicious food, helpful neighbors, lighting bugs, cicadas and odd detours around the Mississippi river floods.  We did not experience tornados, catastrophic failure of our equipment, or anything other than helpful, caring people who made our trip exceptional. 

Friday – Saturday July 15-16, 2011

While we were having breakfast a wild turkey came to visit our campsite and hung around to comment on our hooking up and leaving (look carefully and you can see the turkey).  We came down from 7,000 to the desert floor to follow Interstate 80 to Tahoe.  This is truly the last two days of our trip.  We have lived in California all of our lives and neither one of us has been to Lake Tahoe.  Much of the day was spent traveling through the desert and getting to the Sierras.  We got off of I 80 at Truckee and drove down to Tahoe City to the William Kent Campground (run by the BLM).  It was a nice campground nestled in-between condominiums.  It was a little weird, after spending so many nights in campgrounds that are secluded to be around so many people.   

Yvonne and I were up in the morning and went down to South Lake Tahoe.  Along the way we stopped to see Emerald Bay, the Tallac Historical Museum and several vista points for photo opportunities.  This lake is truly spectacular. 

Around 2:00 Ed and Judi Moncrief joined us to celebrate Ed’s first day of retirement.  We went up to Squaw Valley Village where an Arts, Wine, and Classical Guitar festival was taking place.  We found all the things that we like best.  We sat out in the square and watched people and drank wine.  What more can you ask for?  We went to a Thai restaurant in Tahoe City to continue celebrating and then back to the campground where we built a campfire and sat around singing and telling stories. 

Wednesday – Thursday July 13-14, 2011

Tuesday night we witnessed an amazing thunder storm.  Rain came crashing down on the trailer with thunder and lightning that woke us.  Wednesday morning found the Mackintosh kids tumbling out of bed.  We shared breakfast and then they headed out to work and school and we headed out to go through the Rockies.  In an hour and a half we arrived in Denver and then pulled up into the mountains.   The sun was shining and the sky was blue and last night’s display was nowhere to be seen. 

The truck did its job, though slowly, and we pulled up through 11,000 ft passes at Copper Mountain and Vail.  We pulled off into a vista point and ate our lunch on the tailgate of the truck under the impressive spires of the Rockies.  We followed the Colorado River downhill (the evening storms were apparent here also as the river was very high and muddy) into Grand Junction and then on to Highline Lake State Park Campground (outside of Loma) for the night.  Once again we were blessed with a wonderful campground nestled into the Grand Junction valley.  Today’s drive was challenging and exhausting.   We have learned that the next time we do a trip like this we will not schedule such long days and we will stay two nights at each camp site.  There is just too much to see.

Thursday dawned bright and clear.  We were leaving the high mountains, green forests, and cool nights (we thought) for the desert again.  We stopped at several vista points and remarked at the amount of land out here that is inhabited.    The land in Kansas and Eastern Colorado was all farmed and fenced but out here there was not a soul to be seen (except on the highway).  Yvonne drove through the Wasatch Mountains.  She is really getting good at making this rig work.  We dropped into the Salt Lake basin in time for lunch and once again asked Rosemary where to eat.  She led us to a little restaurant in downtown Pleasant Grove, “Simply Splendid” where we had some simply splendid sandwiches outside in the front lawn. 

We climbed back into the truck and headed out of Salt Lake  past the Great Salt Lake, salt mines, the Bonneville speed way, and miles of salt flats. 

We were headed for Wells Nevada and an odd campsite that Stan had found at Angle Creek.  Now what would you think a campsite in the desert near Wells Nevada would look like.  We were a little afraid but….  We got off the freeway and turned into the Ruby Mountains and began to climb into snow studded high mountains that jutted straight out of the desert. 

We climbed to about 7,000 ft and found our camp ground in a little grove of quaking aspen.  Because of the angle of the site we had to unhook the truck so we could level the trailer.  So we hopped back into the truck and drove up to Angel Lake.  We were told that it was a beautiful glacier filled lake.  What an understatement!  It was such an unexpected gift considering that we chose the campground based on miles and not on environment.   The lake was at 8,400 ft tucked among towering 11,000 ft peaks covered in glaciers filled by a waterfall.  It was amazing. 

We watched a full moon rise over the high desert, had a cold night and a little bit of rain.  Tomorrow we leave for Tahoe.

Monday-Tuesday July 11-12

Leaving the Serdahl’s on Monday morning we had a bit of excitement as the truck would not start.  Dennis jumped us and we were off.  (We must have left a door open or something as the battery was completely drained.  We did not have any other problems with the battery for the rest of the day.) We headed back to Missouri through the rolling wooded hills of the Ozarks.   Skirted around Springfield Missouri on Interstate 44 and on into Kansas.  Do you know that Kansas is really, really, really flat!!!  Turning the page of the atlas to Kansas, Yvonne noticed that the map of Kansas looked different from the other states through which we have driven.  All of the roads on the Kansas map are directly North-South and East-West with only a couple of curves here and there.  So to get across Kansas in a Northwesterly direction it requires you to stair step your way from highway to highway.  The patchwork quilt of corn, wheat, alfalfa is similar to the agricultural valleys that we are familiar with but there are no mountains to frame the horizon.   It creates an uneasy experience of driving without moving.  

 Eight hours later we arrived in Marion Kansas and Hillsboro Cove campground.  This campground was well appointed and we were parked right on the water.  We watched some large catfish cruise through the shallows just a few feet from the water’s edge.  Once again we had no wifi but sat outside and wrote one of the blogs in Word.  Then it was off to bed so we could get up early in the morning and drive to Sterling Colorado and visit with Adam and Rachel Mackintosh. 

Tuesday we were up and out.  Do you know that Eastern Colorado is just as flat as Kansas but you are constantly and subtly climbing toward the Rockies.  Throughout Kansas and Colorado, because it was sooooooo boring, we began to listen to an audio book.  It really helped the time go by.  To help break up the day we stopped at the Fort Hays Kansas Natural history Museum.  We were surprised to find out just how many fossil sites had been discovered in Kansas.  The bulk of the collection in this museum was from a local archeologist who went on to become a professor at the University of Fort Hays.  It was an interesting interlude and then we were back on the road.   

Late in the day we arrived at Adam and Rachel’s home and were greeted by Kayleigh, Josiah, Zachery and Chip (a great Yellow Lab).  We had a wonderful evening with them.  Adam is the eldest son of our dear college friends, Doug and Jane Mackintosh, who live in Half Moon Bay.  Adam and his brothers and sister have been raised with our children and there are many fond memories that bind us together.  Adam left California to pursue his medical education, marry a Colorado girl and now he is one of a few doctors in Sterling Co.  We have not seen him for a number of years and it was great to see him as Dr., husband, father, and a grown young man.  Their children we a joy to be with and reminded us of our grandchildren that we will soon see again. They showed us the extensive remodeling work that they were doing on their house.  (If I did that to Yvonne I would be sleeping with Chip but Adam is used to the Mackintosh tradition of house remodeling).    As usual with this kind of visit the talking went well into the night.  There just was not enough time to get all the talking done and  Adam had to go to work in the morning and Rachel had to take Kayleigh to “Prairie School.”

Sunday July 10, 2011

About Dennis and Margot Serdahl,  Dennis was the Episcopal priest at St. Pauls when Yvonne and I first came to Salinas.  Dennis hired Yvonne and for 10 years they worked together developing creative liturgy.  The Serdahls left St. Pauls and after several years retired in Mountain Home Arkansas.  We see them periodically when they come to visit their kids in CA.   We have never been on the other side of the Rockies let alone Arkansas.  So we are pleased to be able to visit with them, tell stories of the Green River Wyoming canoe trip and liturgies gone badly. 

Today is Sunday so we attended St. Andrews Mountain Home Episcopal Church with Dennis and Margot.  Dennis was the rector here before he retired.  It was nice to see where they worshiped and meet their friends.  (It is hot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! here today)

After church our lunch was and Dennis Serdahl original receipt of fresh caught walleye sandwiches with tomatoes from the garden and the great Vidalia Onion dressing from the Outer Banks.  Yum!! then it was time for a nap because the late afternoon was going to be on the lake. 

About 5:00 we left for the lake with our picnic dinner and bathing suits.   Dennis and Margot have a pontoon boat at the lake.   We took our picnic dinner headed out to the middle of the lake to watch the sun set and cool off in the water.  Dennis spent some time fishing but no luck (maybe because Yvonne was “driving” the boat”.)  We put the boat away and went for DQ fudge sundaes, more late night conversation and off to bed. 

Saturday July 9, 2011

We decided on an early start and so we left our camp at 7:02 am.  (For those of you who know Yvonne you know what a sacrifice this was.)

Today’s drive took us on the Western Kentucky Drive Way (I64 still) through stunningly beautiful green pasture lands.  We suddenly realized that this was the land of the thorough bred race horses.  The houses and stables proved that there was some money in this project.  The parkway winds its way through Kentucky farmland and soon we found ourselves ready to cross the Mississippi River for the second time.  Rosemary’s directions told us to turn left to follow highway 60 into Missouri.  After we crossed the river there were large barricades blocking our entrance into Missouri and looking ahead we saw the highway descend into the farmlands that the Mississippi had flooded.  Instead we turned right and followed interstate 57 and were surprised to find ourselves driving through Cairo Illinois.  We were in this state for a whole 10 minutes but we get to count it as one of the states that we visited on this trip. 

We got back on Highway 60 when it reemerged from the flood lands and continued to Poplar Bluff where we succumbed to freeway food and ate at Applebee’s.  We stuttered a bit when asked for smoking or nonsmoking because we were so surprised by the question. 

Leaving Poplar Bluff we continued along the southern edge of Missouri on a country highway that would double as a roller coaster pasting farms and corn fields.  Missouri’s county roads are designated by letters (A – ZZ) that are not sequential but we did find road J (with Rosemary’s help) and turned south into Arkansas. 

We arrived at Dennis and Margot Serdahl’s in Mountain Home Arkansas.  It was hot, again, but they were waiting with their wonderful air-conditioned house.

This was a long day on the road.  There were definitely sights that we should have stopped at.  For Stanley it was the tour of the Bourbon Distilleries and for Yvonne it was Lincoln’s home.  Next time (if there is a next time) we will not have these long days just to get to the next campground. 

Friday July 8, 2011

Following the advice of our camping neighbors, we headed out today by way of the outflow of the Summersville dam.  It is pretty impressive even though the power plant was not in operation.  The Gauley River is really beautiful.  This was one of the points where the river rafters and boaters could enter the river and ride the rapids down stream.  This is an impressive waterway.  By the way, there is a humorous story about the naming of this dam.  It seems that most dams are named after the closest town (which is not Summersville [about 5 miles away]).  The closest town, now covered by the lake, was a very small mining and lumbering town by the name of Gad.  The powers that be decided they did not want to name the dam Gad Dam.  (Say it aloud and you’ll realize why they named the dam Summersville Dam.)

Our next stop was a little bit of backtracking back to the overlook of the single span bridge over the New River Gorge.  We took the short trail from the visitor’s center to view the bridge, a mighty construction, and to marvel at the engineering feat.  We chose not to climb the steep 600 step stairway down the cliff to view the bridge from the bottom.  Not because it wouldn’t have been a great picture, but because we didn’t want to climb back up the 600 steps to the top.

We drove back up to the turn off for Hwy 60.  Our neighbors warned us that this was a very twisty mountain road, but as we drove through the small villages we found it to be a very pleasant country road and were relieved to be off the interstate for a while.  We were told about the very picturesque Gauley Falls and were encouraged to stop for photos.  Once again having some local guides helped us to enjoy our trip.  The Falls are indeed picturesque and we took quite a few pictures.

After our many stops so soon on today’s trip, we needed to just drive or we wouldn’t make it to our Cub Run Campground on Nolin Lake in Kentucky.   We did stop for lunch, though.  Once again we asked Rosemary for a lunch spot.  She suggested CJ Maggie’s American Grill.  With that interesting name, we programmed in the address and proceeded to follow Rosemary’s directions not knowing that to get there we would have to drive over the Big Sandy River into Ohio and then over the river again and back into Ashland Kentucky.  We laughed as we added another state to our trip.  CJ Maggie’s was an award winning restaurant that specialized in American cuisine and the stop was worth it. Across from CJ Maggie's was an Episcopal church that Yvonne just hand to get into and see.  It was quite pretty.

Then it was back on the road to Cub Run.  This was a long day on the road.  There were definitely sights that we should have stopped at.  For Stanley it was the tour of the Bourbon Distilleries and for Yvonne it was Lincoln’s home.  Next time (if there is a next time) we will not have these long days just to get to the next campground. 

We arrived at Cub Run around 5:00, set up, and got ready for another long day’s drive to the Serdahl’s home in Mountain Home, Arkansas.