USA April 2011

Photos are Skagit Valley tulips, mudslide on route 101 north of Garberville and the view from my campsite of Mount Konocti on Clear Lake California.

29 April 2011 Friday (Bellingham WA to Juneau AK)
Travels on the Alaska Marine Highway (ferry) for journey from Fairhaven WA to Juneau AK via Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg arriving Juneau early Monday morning.

28 April 2011 Thursday (Bellingham WA)
Campground is offering free lunch today then off for new front brakes this afternoon.

27 April 2011 Wednesday (Bellingham WA area)
My van just turned 122000! I bought it two years ago at 85000 so have driven 37000 miles in the past two years. Decided to visit Les Schwab to have the brakes checked (limited service and expensive in Juneau) and looks like they do need new disk pads on the front (drum rear) so will return tomorrow when the parts arrive! It rained heaps today!

26 April 2011 Tuesday (Bellingham WA area)
Morning visit to the Peace Arch in Blaine at the border of USA and Canada.
Errand day before I get on the ferry on Friday! Stocking up at Fred Meyers and Trader Joes and getting my hairs cut and repairing my spectacles and fill with propane (only $2.14 per gallon) and fill with water and empty black and grey tanks and wash the van and hopefully a nice hike between the raindrops!

25 April 2011 Monday (Concrete to Blaine WA)
The rains have returned in full force! Crossed the Skagit River and followed it west on the south side for return to Sedro Woolley then north on the very scenic Chuckanut Road to Fairhaven/Bellingham to get my tickets for ferry then north to camp at Blaine/Birch Bay.

24 April 2011 Sunday(Anacortes to Concrete WA)
Happy Easter!
Explored more of Skagit County.....the tulips are in full bloom for the month long Tulip Festival....and walked the streets of La Conner before heading east to the North Cascades mountains.....cannot go very far because the roads are closed due to snow! Overnighted near the town of Concrete.

23 April 2011 Saturday (Anacortes WA)
Stayed another day in Anacortes and walked the Tommy Thompson trail (about three miles) to town along the waterfront with views of Mt Baker (and the two oil refineries of Tesoro and Shell).

22 April 2011 Friday (Orcas to Anacortes WA)
Happy Good Friday.....return ferry to Anacortes via Shaw and Lopez Islands...another clear sunny day with views of the snow capped mountains.

21 April 2011 Thursday (Anacortes to Orcas WA)
Ferry to Orcas Island. Visits to top of Mt Constitution (2409 feet) with great views of the San Juan Islands on such a clear day, the Rosario Resort/Moran Mansion Museum (home of Robert Moran in early 1900's), Obstruction Pass State Park. Camped at Moran State Park....not many places to camp on this island, especially this time of year with most areas of the state campground closed.

20 April 2011 Wednesday (Whidbey to Fidalgo Island WA)
More exploration of Whidbey Island (Fort Casey lighthouse and gun placements, Coupeville, Greenbank Farm, Rhody Park, Oak Harbor) then crossed Deception Pass bridge to Anacortes...camping on Fidalgo Bay with great walk on the boardwalk across the waterway with heaps of birds.

19 April 2011 Tuesday (Black Diamond to Whidbey Island WA)
Another beautiful full moon setting this morning. I rode the Kitsap ferry to Whidbey Island from Mukilteo to Clinton (20 minutes) and tried to find the gravesite of my great great grandfather at the Langley Woodmen Cemetery but with no luck! I spoke with the folks at City Hall and found the location but I could find no headstone....it appears that eight gravesites for Weber are at that location and one is occupied...I will have to visit again with some gardening tools to clean out the shrubbery! Whidbey Island is absolutely wonderful.....small villages, peaceful farms, rolling hills, beautiful coastline....camped at Fort Ebey State Park with hike along the bluff trail to the gun battery!

18 April 2011 Monday (Silver Creek to Black Diamond WA)
Just gorgeous full moon set on the water (an orange ball!) this morning. Then beautiful drive east of Seattle on the backroads, hoping for views of Mt Rainier but just a peek now and then and not the full mountain! Camping on Lake Sawyer.

17 April 2011 Sunday (Longview to Silver Creek WA 90 miles)
Awoke to gorgeous sunny sky with no clouds.....and they expect this dry weather for the next five days!!! Backroads out of Longview to Castle Rock then nature walk at the Mt
St Helens Visitor Center....but no view of the mountain today even though sunny...also visited Seaquest State Park across the street. Lunch with Judy (friend from Juneau who now lives here) in Winlock WA then camped at Ike Kwinsa State Park on Cowlitz River.

16 April 2011 Saturday (Wilsonville OR to Longview WA)
First stopped to visit another Roadtrek owner in Woodland WA (he normally lives in Lower Lake CA but is now staying with his son until his health improves). Then to visit another one of my father's cousins. She and her husband have owned a logging company since 1967 and have a beautiful home in the hills above Longview WA.

15 April 2011 Friday (Aumsville to Wilsonville OR)
Exploring area around Portland!

14 April 2011 Thursday (Aumsville Oregon)
Decided to stay parked another day in the driveway of Marcia's friends and she and I drove to Damascus to visit the Fiber Arts group there. We then joined Janice and her Beta Sigma Phi sorority group for a meeting with ice cream cake for dessert. Another day of pouring down rain

13 April 2011 Wednesday (Silverton to Aumsville Oregon)
The rains have returned, off and on with hail! Errand day today.....my heater fan stopped working again. I had this fixed in Florida with a new blower resistor so found a Dodge dealer in Salem and they fixed at no charge because the part was under warranty. Hanging out with Marcia and her friends Janice and LaRoy in the Willamette Valley.

12 April 2011 Tuesday (Silver Falls State Park to Silverton Oregon)
Morning nature hike and walk to Upper North Falls before driving to Silverton to walk the historic downtown enjoy the colorful outdoor murals telling tales from the past.

11 April 2011 Monday (Silver Falls State Park, Oregon)
Early morning rain then sunshine so spent most of day hiking the Trail of Ten Falls (about nine miles) and the water is really flowing. You can walk right under several of the falls.....what fun! But it is a bit colder at 1500'!

10 April 2011 Sunday (Salem to Silver Falls State Park, Oregon)
Camped at Silver Falls State Park and afternoon hike to South Falls.

9 April 2011 Saturday (Salem Oregon)
Clouds have returned with threat of rain later today! Duane is playing golf and Dawn took one of her kitties to the vet....initially appeared to be asthma problem yesterday but today it looks like it may be a heart problem so Duane took the kittie to Portland for more tests and Dawn and I walked the river walk in downtown Salem. We also enjoyed watching the kids on the old world style carousel, totally hand carved by volunteers over a period of five years.

8 April 2011 (Florence to Salem Oregon)
Visiting Dawn and Duane in Salem....gorgeous day in Oregon! I drove route 126 from the coast inland with a photo stop to visit one of the many covered bridges in Oregon (Wild Cat Bridge on the Siuslaw River).

7 April 2011 (Coos Bay to Florence Oregon 75 miles)
Early morning rain and then sunshine.... explored the Cape Arago area and more lighthouses and the Oregon Sand Dunes National Park. Camping on the Siuslaw River with afternoon walk of the town of Florence.

6 April 2011 (Crescent City CA to Coos Bay Oregon 131 miles)
The rain has returned but the coastline is still beautiful! Plus the price of petrol has dropped about 50 cents!!!!

5 April 2011 (Klamath to Crescent City CA 51 miles)
Drove the coastal drive (narrow and very scenic) along the Klamath River where it empties into the Pacific Ocean. There is a WWII radar station that looks like a farmhouse and a barn because that was its disguise in the 1940s. Continued on to Crescent City with many photo stops along the coast (could not visit overlook at Requa due to another mudslide) and very lucky that there was a low tide so that I could walk out to the Battle Point Lighthouse....then drove the Howland Hill Road (also very narrow, unpaved and full of ruts but very scenic) through Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park (old growth redwood trees) with hike in Stout Grove.....this nine mile drive took over an hour! Overnighting at campground in the redwood forest. Rain last eve but today is gorgeous and clear.

4 April 2011 Monday (Redway to Klamath CA 139 miles)
Here is hoping that the queue is not long for the one way route around the mudslide to the Avenue of the Giants (Redwoods)....and, they had opened the road at 230 am this morning so when I arrived at 530 am, I was on the road through.....now trying to fix hacked email accounts in both hotmail and gmail. Great drive through the giant redwood trees with several nature walks. Camping on the Klamath River in Northern California....the proprietor gave me half dozen fresh (green) eggs from their chickens!

3 April 2011 Sunday (Clear Lake to Redway CA 109 miles)
I was not sure if route 101 north was open yet so decided to just drive north and see....beautiful drive through Mendocino into Humboldt with clear skies. There were very few signs to indicate if there was a closure so drove north of Garberville where 101 is still closed....but spoke to the folks there and the plan is to reopen tomorrow at 6am with one way traffic....and found lovely campground right on the Eel River.

2 April 2011 Saturday (Clear Lake to Nice CA 62 miles)
I am now not sure of my route since there was a huge mudslide on route 101 north of Garberville and I cannot find a status of its reopening! And this library in Clear Lake will not edit properly so that everything in my blog runs together! oh well.....finally at a campsite with internet and cable tv! The latest word is that the road may partially open on Monday. Afternoon walk to visit a great b&b nearby that is made up of refurbished railroad cabooses with featherbeds (www.featherbedrailroad.com).

1 April 2011 Friday (Geyserville to Clear Lake CA 56 miles)
Happy April Fools Day!!!
On the road to Clear Lake today....hot and sunny days here in California. Overnighted at Clear Lake State Park with wonderful hike on the trails with views of the lake and surrounding vineyards. Another couple in a camper and I camped in the parking lot because the campground is totally flooded....the lake is at its highest since 1998!