We spent two mind blowing days exploring the John Day area with its painted hills and fossil beds. The river is called John Day River but it turns out that John Day never even came to this precise area. He was an early hunter who in 1811 was robbed near Read more…
We followed some road signs for a lava cast forest and found ourselves exploring the Newberry National Volcanic Monument for a couple of days. We saw volcanic flows that have surrounded trees and when the trees burned away left casts in the volcanic rock.We cycled two miles up and down Read more…
We had never heard of Ashland but ended up spending a few days there. We found a idyllic campground at Emigrant Lake with showers and a lovely lake to swim in which was only $20 a night. While there we decided to replace Fred’s oil and brake pads. The oil Read more…
After leaving Shasta Lake we were treated to spectacular views of Mount Shasta which is over 14,000ft and very impressive covered in snow. We headed West down the Klamath River and pitched up for the night in the shade, desperately trying to cool our little van for the evening. It Read more…
We headed North out of Quincy with its railroad history – train spotters would love it here!A little lunch stop at the lakeside in Chester was beautiful as we watched rainstorms moving all around us.Our destination was Lassen National Park which is a volcanic area with still lots of geothermal Read more…
So we thought we were done with skiing but then woke up to this ….. Down at the village level there had been about 5cm of fresh snow overnight and more forecast throughout the morning. Out came our ski gear once again and we drove back down the road to Read more…
So just when we were breaking out our shorts and flip flops, heading to Lake Tahoe to kayak on the lake, mother nature decided to send snow this way instead. No worries – let’s get out the skis (as we both still have dodgy ankles from snowboard crashes) and go Read more…
Some days we have had an amazing time at the beach or in a park or mountain biking in a forest. We get back to the van and cook our dinner and it would be lovely to just kick back and stay right there for the night. Only we are Read more…
So we had planned to dash off from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe to go kayaking and SUPing on the lake, only with the crazy rainstorms we were experiencig on the coast, Lake Tahoe was getting fresh snow! And lots of it!So a little re-planning was required. We decided some Read more…
I’m pretty sure Chicago owns the title of “The Windy City” so flip – it must be windy there if it beats San Francisco!!!! We knew our arrival was coinciding with rain storms so our first day we checked into a hotel in San Bruno (near the airport) and waited Read more…
So we may have just discovered a new favourite animal – the sea otter. They are so cute, playful and then they just wrap themselves in kelp to stop them drifting and chill while keeping their head and front paws dry. We had seen them around Morro to Bay and Read more…
To quote the Lego movie (maybe not a mid-forties person’s best reference material ) “Everything is awesome”! ! P.S. This is Pete’s first Blog !!Two bucket list goals ticked off this last week – are cycling Laguna Seca racetrack, and mostly the Rossi v Stoner corkscrew section, AND riding a Read more…
We decided to see a bit more of Monterey and Carmel, so first we visited the Carmel Mission and Basilica (well I did while Pete had an afternoon snooze) to see how the town was first lived in by the Spanish. I’m amazed how many baptisms they performed in the Read more…
Next we headed to Monterey to meet up with a special friend from the Isle of Man, who now lives and works in the USA. She was going to be working at Leguna Seca and Pete was very excited to be given the opportunity to see the famous race track Read more…
After leaving the Getty Villa, we had lunch in our fold out chairs overlooking Malibu Beach while watching the surfers battle it out for a fairly small set of waves. Then we drove to Santa Barbara. Derived from a Spanish mission, Santa Barbara has a real Spanish / Moorish style Read more…
From the serenity of the forest to the craziness of LA in a day. It was a bit of a shock. The first clue was the manic driving on the freeway and the Google Maps diversions to avoid the remnants of car crashes. But it was exciting to visit somewhere Read more…
After Yosemite National Park we were on a roll so, after a short cycle in the forest near where we camped, we decided to go to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. We drove in through Sequoia National Forest (where you are allowed to wild camp) and instantly saw that, Read more…
So one minute we are on the coast, enjoying the sunshine but needing to grab the jackets to protect from the cold North Westerly wind, the next we are an hour inland and the heat is fierce. Wow! The difference is crazy! After Eureka we drove the Avenue of the Read more…
With no set itinerary, we are now pootling down the West Coast towards San Francisco. This gives us the opportunity of stopping when we see something nice or asking locals where we should go. Yesterday we got both these chances. We had just decided not to pay the entrance fee Read more…
Upon leaving Stout Grove, just down the road we came across Crescent City a sprawly town with a lovely promenade, parks and lighthouse. First we did a visit to Wal-Mart, which is always a cultural experience. This time we saw a truck with a garden shed built in the back Read more…
After one last gym visit and swim we checked out of our hotel in Cannon Beach and said goodbye to the cute bunny rabbits.We stopped briefly to see the residents of the Haystack – the tufted puffins. Through the binoculars we could watch them flying about and heading into their Read more…
Heading South from Seattle we stopped in the “capitol” of Washington State, Olympia. Here we came across a mini White House which is used as the state legislative building. It was pretty fancy pants inside too, with the largest collection of Tiffany chandaliers. We found a great farmer’s market and Read more…
Having left Whistler, we got excited in the Vancouver supermarket to see so much nice fruit and veg. We did some shopping as it has been a bit lacking or very expensive in the mountains. We headed to the Canada / US border – what a pretty place. Unfortunately the Read more…
Before leaving Kamloops, we visited the wildlife sanctuary as we’d heard the grizzly bears were awake for the spring. It was lovely to see them playing together but I wouldn’t want to have a play wrestle with them!There were lots of other orphaned or injured animals (usually hit by cars) Read more…
After an unsuccesful attempt for a US seasonal work visa to work at Lake Superior, we decided to take to the road and explore Canada and Northern USA instead. We purchased a 2007 Ford E150 which has been fitted out with a bed, a small kitchen space, shelving and under Read more…