One of the most plesant experiencies we have as RV'ers is meeting and talking with other folks. The same question is always asked, "where are you from"? I'm still trying to sort out a consistent response. I've given several different answers ranging from: 1) we're not from anywhere since we full time RV'ers. 2) we're from the southeastern US, wife-Florida, myself-Tennessee. 3) the last 16 years we had a home in the Kansas City area. I guess the best response would be to say we're RV'ers and let the conversation go from there.
People in the Pacific Northwest don't see many folks like us from the Southeastern US so one of the first coments we get is about our accents. Now I've not lived in Tennessee for 36 years however my accent is just as pronounced as it was the day I left. You would think that an accent would modify over time if you move to a different region but I don't guess that really happens. I get a kick out of some people who try to guess where we come from. I'm not amused when they guess Georgia or Florida. I've only had one person correctly guess where I was from. He was an old Paiute Indian we met in central Oregon and he just came right out and asked me if I were from Tennessee after I spoke a few sentences. He had never even been to Tennessee but he had been around other Indians from the south during inter-tribal gatherings. I enjoyed so much talking with him.
I had to take a photo of our cat this morning. He looks so comfortable, napping in the morning sun.

Another photo at an overlook just within Redwood Nat. Pk.

 

Just up from the RV is an area of many neat tidal pools.



The headquarters for Redwood National Park is in Crescent City. Yesterday morning I went by and obtained a pass for the Tall Trees Grove. Only a certain number of vehicles are allowed down a rough winding road to the trailhead. After locking the gate behind us and driving the 7 miles to the trailhead we walked 1 1/2 miles, descending 800 feet to the grove. It is an amazing place with reportedly the tallest tree on earth. It's not identified however due to the potential damage over time with people walking around the tree, compacting the earth around it. Many of the trees are in the 350' range, some taller. See if you can find Barbara in the first photo.

I can't think of another location in the country that has summertime weather as nice as the Pacific Northwest, especially along the coast. Today is a perfect example with sunny skies and a high temperature in the mid-60's. Last night's low was 53 degrees, perfect sleeping weather.

I spent a couple of hours early this morning at the pier again, fishing for crab. After another successful outing, I returned to the RV and prepared about 2 lbs. of crab meat. I've decided to freeze my catches for the next few days and enjoy them after heading back to Kansas City in late September.

Later in the day I drove into Redwood Nat. Park along the coast and found a beautiful overlook.

It was cool and foggy for most of the day...I mean really foggy. According to the weather guy, today was supposed to be sunny. We had planned to go on a couple of hikes in Redwood Nat. Park. Oh well, a good excuse to head to the pier for some more crab fishing. I caught 6 nice sized ones in about an hour and a half. A lot of people came by the pier despite the fog. Almost everyone wanted to know how I was doing and how you catch crab. One guy who had a very nice camera came by to talk for a while. I found out he was a professional photographer. He was very interested in the full time RV lifestyle. Before he left he gave me a business card and said he had an RV space at his home and that we'd be welcome anytime. One of the best things so far about RV travel is all the nice people you meet.

I love crab cakes.These were excellent!

 

The fog burned off around 3:00pm so we decided to take a walk on the jetty. It was a very long walk with some interesting shapes.

 

 

 

After walking on the jetty we decided to take a short drive up coast within the city. There were several pullouts along the way that overlooked the ocean. There were many developing tide pools below as the tide was going out.

 

 

The end of a good day!



We walked to Battery Point and took a photo looking back toward the harbor. While on a trip to Walmart for groceries I found a crab trap for 10 bucks. I've never crab fished in my life but after watching too many episodes of "The Deadliest Catch" I though I'd give it a go. This morning I went to the pier and...SUCESS! Within a couple of hours I caught 8 large crab.

We arrived in Crescent City, CA in the 18th after a short drive down from Port Orford, OR. We're going to settle down here for a month to relax and enjoy the scenery. Redwood Nat. Park, one of my favorites is right next door as well. I plan on taking a number of hikes on some neat trails. We're staying at Shoreline RV Park, 900 Sunset Circle in Crescent City. We were able to reserve one of their ocean front spaces for the month. I took some photos from on top of the RV to give you a sense of our view for the month. Not bad for $440 including all utilities is it?

Hwy. 101 running through downtown Port Orford. Population...around 1600. It was cloudy and cool (59 degrees) today.

We did a short drive this afternoon and took a few photos of the sea. Look closely for the seals sleeping on the rock below.

Part of the 8lbs of blueberries picked today

After picking blueberries in the morning we went by the Cape Blanco Lighthouse, the westernmost point in Oregon. The lighthouse was built in 1870 with a Fresnel (non-rotating) lens. The single thousand watt bulb can be seen 26 miles out to sea.

8 lbs. of blueberries picked in the morning = fresh blueberry muffins in the afternoon....mmm...good!

We spent a week at Diamond Lake RV Park, Oregon beginning on 8/8. The first photo is of the Diamond Lake Resort, a really cool place.

 Early morning on Diamond Lake.

I spent part of one day hiking up Mt. Bailey

At Crystal Crane Hot Springs Oregon. They had several RV spots, elect & water only. We spent two days here and had a great time. The water is around 100 degrees. They have bathrooms with showers and a small camp store/gift shop. It's about a 30 minute drive southeast of Burns.

In Vail Oregon, getting ready to head to Crystal Crane Hot Springs just outside of Burns.

Where to begin...a lot has happened since the last post. Most all good. I'll do a short review of the past few months, bringing things up to the present. I hope you find it interesting. I'm not a writer by trade but will do my best and hope to get better as I go along. I'm going to try to post at least a couple of times a week, hopefully more. Some of the areas we will be traveling to are remote so we may have to wait until we can find web access however.
The month of May was spent in the tri-city area of Tennessee, mostly in the Kingsport area. We spent a good deal of time working around my Mom's house, landscaping and getting things in good shape. Many visits were made to other friends and family. My Dad was a great help in getting some things done to the RV and truck. He provide and installed a tool box for the truck, a big help in organizing tools and misc. truck items. He also made a support for our king size bed to keep it from the possibility of sagging in the middle. At nearly 78 years old he's going strong. God's blessings are evident in his life. I love him and my Mom very much and am blessed to still have them around.
We traveled back to the Kansas City area in June to be with our boys and grandson Brody...boy, do I miss him. It was good to also attend our church and spend time with our friends there.
In July we began our trip to the west, stopping first for a 3 week stay in Saratoga, Wyoming. We love this place between two mountain ranges. Soaking each evening in the hot springs was especially nice.
In late July we headed further west, our ultimate aim being Crescent City, CA for a month. We are now just outside Burns, OR at Crane Hot Springs. I know, we have a thing for hot springs. This place is in the middle of nowhere but it is such a relaxing place to spend a couple of days after driving from Wyoming. Tomorrow we head to Diamond Lake, OR for a week. Diamond Lake RV Park is only a few miles north of Crater Lake Nat. Park, a beautiful area.