Redding, Lake Shasta, Brookings Oregon and the Rogue Riv

Photo from a hike in the Harris Beach Oregon State Park.

 The bark on a redwood tree is a foot thick.  They grow for 3,000 years because of this protection.  Could not get these two monsters in the frame.  

Doug's i phone got run over by the car behind us when we were riding through the redwoods.  It was still functioning!!

If you haven't ridden in a jet boat you can go to Gold Beach Oregon.  Truly a special experience.  Doug spotted a bear which Ruthie said, "It's just a rock!"  Our pilot Darrin reversed and we were surprised when the 'rock' dashed up the side of the mountain.  We also saw a couple of eagles, deer, osprey, and something special that thrilled the kid in front of us.  He kept saying...."I saw a squirrel!!"  He must have been from NYC.

We took turns cooking dinner with the Lutes'.  We did hobo packs one night and cowboy beans and hotdogs the other.  I am glad this was our last dinner!  Ruthie really went all the way! She made chicken parmigiana.  Well, I used a top brand of hot dogs at least.  

These Christmas Cookies were on the shelf at the RITE AID in Brookings , Oregon.  In the middle of September! It just isn't right.  

Bridge over the Rogue River. This is Doug the bear spotter.

It is now over three months on the road.  So far there has been no talk of settling down anywhere permanently.  We did get a satellite dish which has been GREAT!  I guess writing poetry by candlelight just isn't our thing.  Give us the NFL, Dancing with the stars and Sheldon Cooper!  It is nice to be able to watch TV where ever we are.
     But let me explain this photo.  This is the headstone of Bryan's grandparents.  He spent many happy summers with them in Redding along with his sisters Sue and Mary.  We made a trip around town seeing their old house and things like that.  We wanted to visit their grave but weren't sure where they were buried.  We went to the Shasta County hall of records and got a copy of his grandfather's death certificate.  On there was listed the cemetery-which we went over to right away.  We took these flowers and brushed the dust off of the marker.  We were feeling like pretty good detectives. They are buried not far from the In and Out burger that we have eaten at many times.  I wonder how often we are close to things like this and aren't aware?  It was nice.  Thank you for taking the time to read our blog.  We truly want to share the adventure and it helps us feel connected.  Sort of like the TV.  Love to all! Bryan and Mary

Real Angel's in the Sacramento Delta

Bryan's sister Mary is an actual Angel.  She married Bill Angel and they have two wonderful children. Add an awesome SIL Ed Diaz, and 3 beautiful, and intelligent grandchildren.  We played CODE NAMES, ate a lot of great food and laughed a lot.   They all live in the Bay area.

We got to visit our Burke-Angel-Diaz Family

Almost everything grows in the Delta!  There are grapes, pears, corn, tomatoes, figs, roses, watermelon, squash, and 3 or 4 crops that we had no idea what they were.  

Bryan fishing at Snug Harbor

Popeye was sighted on the deck of this boat.  It looks like it's been there for 75 years.

Locke, California.   THE oldest Chinese  town in the US.  Google it.  A classy older man told us this factoid.  The levees were built in the 1850's by the Chinese. Clint Eastwood  also filmed some scenes for his movie BYRD here.

We had another visitor named Ruthie.  This is when we were lost on a levee.  There are 1,100 miles of them here.  Ask Bryan about his 3 1/2 hour adventure in the motor home.  They  wouldn't let him on the ferry.  I was driving ahead to meet him at Snug Harbor.  When he hadn't shown up after an hour, I had to go find him.  Find a friend on the iPhone was critical to the rescue mission.

Foster's Big Horn Cafe in Rio Vista.  Peta people........never go there!!!

The ferry was FREE! We must have ridden it 40 times. I thought the ferry master was going to say, "Lady get your grocery list organized!"

The name of the ferry is THE REAL McCOY II

There is a real laid back vibe here.  It's a little bit like, Mississippi, Alabama and Hawaii combined.

Thank you Mary and Bill.  You two are THE BEST!!!!

3 Weeks mooching at the family compound.

 Guess it isn't technically 'mooching', but it's close.  Annie and Mark were very kind to let us stay at their ranch. It is 5 acres in the Sierra's that backs into national forest.  There are horses, goats, chickens and a group of dogs and cats that roam in paradise.

Steve got to fly in from Mexico and Ruthie came up from Sacramento. We had an impromptu reunion at mom's assisted living.  Mom is trying to figure out who the photographer is.  She knew Bryan just minutes before.  It is sad, but we decide to laugh some anyway. 

The view from our spot.  The stars at night are amazing.

 These are Annie and Mark's grandchildren.  They did well at the Plumas County fair.  They did all kinds of country things like raising sheep and showing horses.  We are learning a lot! Rowdy, Kanoa and Anela.

Excluding family (they are stuck with me anyway) and friends- I have had a lifelong talent for attracting weirdos! A new friend from the fair.

Annie and I on our way to Reno to see our mom and do some shopping.

We rode in to the Reno Airport to pick up Steve.  The motor home is the way to go!!!

Bestest friends since the 60's Julie and Marje.  It is impossible to believe that Marje is 90 years old! 

Ruthie's adorable granddaughter Jenna.  She is on the back of Annie's golf cart.

Annie goes EVERYWHERE in her golf cart.

Anela WON junior Queen at the Sierra Valley Jr. Rodeo! She does barrel racing and calf riding! She won 75 dollars riding a bucking calf.  She beat a bunch of boys even! We are proud of her.

If it's August then it's Pickle time!

 Diane Tracy and her daughter Sarah.  Diane is a friend we made in Vancouver.  Her daughter is awesome because she is going to be an L&D nurse! She bought 3 cases of cucumbers.  It was like I was the consultant. She ended up with 60 QUARTS of pickles!

 Eugene was easy! We only did up 40 pounds of produce.....it made 38 quarts.

 Leslie and her son Kyle.   We all worked together last summer.  So this year it went so much more quickly.  The Hansen's were supposed to be here too.  But their house sold too fast.  Kent we have a jar with your name on it!T

This is David, graduate of the Naval Academy and a retired commodore.  Because he's a newbie to the pickle world,  he had  menial kp duty! He realized this year that unless he gets some new recruits he'll be at the bottom  a long time!  Contact him if you want to join up.

So beautiful!

 The best people EVER!!!!!

T

See you next year David & Leslie!

We now have a load of booty in our rig.  Enough pickles to last until next year AND a few jars to give away!  Remember we are looking for free places to park!!! Love,  Mary and Bryan

A Trip to Bend and miscellaneous but hopefully interesting photos!

 An old wall in Jackson,WY.

Cool antique look of Old Faithful Inn from the 1930's

 Painting of Old Faithful in the dining room of the lodge.

A few miles west of Spokane is the oddly creepy slash interesting town of Sprague,WA. It is full of old vehicles. We went through this town on our way to an equally strange RV park.  Twilight Zone type stuff.

Sprague,WA

More trucks.

On the way to Avalanche Lake, Glacier NP

One of our best drivers!

One more truck.

Lance under Tumalo Falls in Bend, OR

Lance's place is like an art studio. We are in Eugene for a week.  Then we are going back to California and Nevada.  Thank you for reading our blog.