6/18/08

San Jose - Santa Cruz


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The girls wanted to check out the beach, I went to San Jose and experienced the one in only Computer Museum. This is were most of the Tech giants started (Silicon Valley), also went to the World head quarters of Apple computer, the campus was over 4-6 blocks , very clean.
It was very easy to punch in addresses in the GPS and get to places fast, it was like you had a friend or relative that lived in the area and could get you around fast and efficient.

6/17/08

Rogue River, Del Norte


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Made it to the mighty Rogue, wildlife abounds along its path. Took a Boat ride up the Rogue, Very exciting. specially when the boat does 360s on the way up and down. Ask Baylee… Stayed with the giants, the Redwood Giants in there National park. It was amazing to see how large this beautiful forest shows itself. Stayed on the Beach in Santa Cruz, the waves were crashing all night long, made you sleepy but aware.

6/15/08

Burney Falls, CA -Humbug, OR

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Tahoe was great, crisp and sunny and the town was empty, after a few days we headed North to a more remote area, Lassen Volcanic Park, located a 100 miles north of Tahoe, on the way to Lassen we stopped in Susanville to take Baylee to a Medi-center, while in Tahoe she was going through the forest and climbed on a tree, we figured she received a spider bite or multiple bites, she had a allergic reaction and her arm swelled up and she had trouble moving it, we thought it would be practical to check with professionals before we were hundreds of miles from any proficient help, they gave her some meds and she was okay after three days, we finally made it to Burney Falls, about 30 miles north of the Lassen Volcanic Park, it was amazing to see all the water seeping through the volcanic rock, The falls were remarkable, the next day we went to Lassen Volcano, the paved road went up to nearly 9000 ft., Beth & Baylee stayed at Base camp, I went to the top, it was very unique to deal with snow in June. After a 3 days we made it up to Oregon, we stayed at 2 remarkable state parks, Capo Blanco,& Humbug, the state parks are usually the most protected and prime land to stay at. Off to the mighty Rogue River today. Looking, to catch some fish

6/7/08

Trip to Tahoe

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Trip to Mammoth/Tahoe
Photo slideshow

Off to the north, looking forward to cooler weather. We took the 395 route on the eastside of the Sierra Nevada, boy was that a treat, the section close to Mt Whitney reminded me the Grand Tetons. The only challenge we had was the wind that picked up before we reached Bishop about 30-35 mph, this was not fun with a long trailer, and could of been dangerous. We started looking for a place to stay close to Mammoth area, My Dad recommended Twin lakes, but we missed the turn out, so we decided to keep moving and after the long steep climb, the Truck did very well, 35 mph and never heated up.
We arrived at June Lake around evening , and there was only a small amount of space to park a trailer, we keep moving around the Loop and to our surprise came up on a giant Bear, very healthy looking , walking across the road, he looked at us like why are you bothering me when I’m trying to find food. The next corner we arrived at a Lake called Silver lake, Baylee said they call this lake Silver because how the Snow on the mountains reflect off the water, I think she was right, It was a very beautiful lake, around 7-8 thousand feet above sea level.
The next day we rolled over to South Lake Tahoe, Found a nice campground and went biking and walking. When I reflect over the last few days, I think of how much the trip is costing due to the rising fuel cost, one place we passed the Reg. unleaded was 5.09, wow and Ouch, But when I think of being outdoors with the family and experience the most beautiful places on earth it is well worth the extra 700-900 expense, also the good news is that most of the parks are empty.
My navigation on this trip is somewhat easier than previous trips I borrowed a GPS street pilot from my dad, boy I’m hooked on this device, this instrument is truly amazing, it will tell you exactly where you at any time, but the feature I enjoyed the most is when hit the button to find gas stations it will show you list of all the stations in that area, just hit the GoTo button and it will instruct you how to get there. I will get one of these in the future; this is a must, no more going in circles when trying to find something, especially when you have a trailer behind you.