A little issue on the way home.

This post is a little late but.... just had to post it.





This is the result of a tire exploding at 55mph. We were 25 miles North of Redding, Ca on our way home. I was able to stop the truck and trailer safely and change the tire. As you can see, the tire is almost gone and we rode on the rim for a little ways. luckily, we were on a straight stretch of road and we stopped without incident. The truck sustained body damage to the tune of $2000 and is now in the shop being repaired.













When I got the wheel off this is what it looked like. I put on four new tires and the trailer is in the yard. The trunk is being fixed and so we're all set to head to Arizona in February.

Oysters on the BBQ

We're enjoying Grayland Beach State Park as we always do. This morning the sky is grey and it's sprinkling a little but that hasn't dampened our spirits in the least.

Yesterday we stopped at Brady's Oyster farm and got a dozen Oysters for the grill.

This area is wonderful for seafood and fresh Oysters are just great here.
It's so easy to grill them ..... about 3 minutes to a side and then shuck them and.....







This is what you get...... Oysters cooked in the shell and delicious.
We'll  do this again before we head South on Friday. Today we'll walk on the beach and have lunch in Westport.

It's great just relaxing at the beach and this is one of our favorite spots.







Just thought I'd add a picture of our campsite at
Grayland State Park. It's really a great park with lots of space, full hookups and the beach is close.
Love it here.

Washington State

We spent a couple of great days farming with the Omlin family near Quincy, Washington. A great time as usual with cousin Ginny and family. We left with all of Arnie's produce.... watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers, tomatoes, corn and onions. They have nothing left in the garden. Thanks again Ginny and Arnie!

We then moved on to Issaquah near Seattle to visit Kris.
Saturday we drove up to Evert to tour the Boeing factory. It was worth the drive up there to see the large aircraft on the assembly line.

At the end of the tour you can have your picture taken in front of a blue screen and then choose your background. So we did the tourist thing.

Sunday we took a walk on Tiger mountain and were rewarded with great scenes of the woods. I had to take a picture of this fungus on a dead tree stump. Lots of pretty things in the woods.

Scenes like this were everywhere we looked.
About 4 miles brought us back to the car and a relaxing Sunday afternoon.





We are now in Grayland state park on the beach.
We'll relax here for three days and then off to Woodburn, Oregon to see family.

September in the Pacific Northwest

It's September and the kids are back in school and we're in Oregon. All is well with the world.
We drove to Sisters, Oregon last Thursday (a long day for us) and have spent the last three days doing fun things in the area.

We spent a day at the Newbury National Volcano Monument. The Newbury Volcano erupted here some 7,000 years ago and it's impact is still readily apparent. Here the lava flow is dramatic when viewed from the top of the butte formed by the eruption.





From the top of the butte we looked West  and were treated to this view of the lava flow and the Cascade mountains in the distance. Mt Bachelor is on the left and the three Sisters are on the right. The Cascades are part of the pacific ring of fire and run from the California border to Canada.






We hiked the lava flow and got up close with the Basalt lava rocks. Lots of volcanic cinders all around. I thought about Ella and if she were with us we could have had a "cinder-Ella" Sorry about that Ella. This is really amazing place and something we have never experienced before.






We left the lava flow and hiked the Deschutes river for a couple of miles. The scenery was wonderful and we enjoyed the hike. Back at the trailer we relaxed and sat in the spa for a while and got a good nights rest.








Today, Sunday, we hiked the trail along Whychus Creek. It's a rugged hike and we did just 2.5 miles of the entire hike. Then we headed back to Sisters for another 4 miles of hike and then back to the trailer for lunch and a relaxed afternoon. Off to central Washington and Arnie's acres RV park for two days.
Great to be back in the Pacific Northwest again.

On the road home

After nearly 6 months traveling these great United States of America ( we hit 28 states and 5 Canadian Provinces) we are now on our way home. We spent Thanksgiving with my cousin, Jane and her husband Fred, in Houston. The weather was lousy but the company great so we had a good time except for a little flu bug but it was still great.

Just so you all can see that we are still in one piece here is what we look like in Gila Bend, Arizona. We are planning to be home in two days and then the fun starts. It'll take us a few days to get settled again and get things running smoothly again.





To all who have followed us on this incredible journey we'd like to say "thank you" for taking a interest in what we were doing. It has been a truly remarkable journey and one we will relive many times. This is a wonderful land we inhabit and we were blessed to see so much of it.
Merry Christmas and have a Happy 2014!
 

Lake Charles, Louisiana

We've spent the last two days in Lake Charles, Louisiana just looking around and relaxing.

Yesterday we drove about 35 miles South to the Gulf of Mexico to visit the beach one more time. The beaches were clean and deserted so we had the place to ourselves. We found no evidence of the oil spill from Deep Water Horizon but we did find lots of shells.

Today we drove up to Sam Houston Jones State Park just North of Lake Charles to do some hiking. It's a really pretty area of 1000 acres with great trails and the river is just beautiful. The day was cool, clear and crisp so it feels like fall now.












Homes across the river were spectacular. What a great place to live.
For those who follow this blog I just want to wish you all a "Happy Thanksgiving". We head to Kingwood,Texas near Houston tomorrow for ten days and the blog will get neglected so don't expect more for a while. We'll spend the holiday with my Cousin (AKA sis) and  her husband there and then will head for San Antonio on Saturday the 30th. So.... till then, have a great holiday.

Louisiania Bayou

We spent one last day in the New Orleans area taking a boat ride on the Bayou. So..... here's some pictures of the Bayou.

The Bayou is a unique place and those folks who live there are definitely unique. There is water everywhere but it's not dirty or smelly.










The Cajun folks are a breed apart from others. Our boat captain  was a Cajun and it was a lot like having Willie Robertson from Duck Dynasty in the boat. He was funny and informative at the same time.

Alligators were everywhere. In the water and on the shore. We ate some Alligator sausage and it was really tasty. We're going to try to get some to take home.

We got to meet a Alligator up close and personal. I think that's all the Alligators for this trip. It seems that we've seen them all over and so we have. We saw our first in South Carolina and continued to see them from there to here.
A couple of days here (Lake Charles, La) and then off to Houston for Thanksgiving.