Our trip in numbers…

Joy of a summer berry.

We have been on the road for 10 weeks in the US.

•   travelled 8457 miles, (13610 km)

•   northern most point of the road trip, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, 47 degrees 41' N

•   southern most point of the road trip, Salton Sea, California, 33 degrees 31' N

•   been in 6 US states – California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho

•   explored 9 National Parks - Joshua Tree, Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Yosemite, Golden Gate Alcatraz, Lassen Volcanic, Redwoods. Lava Beds, Crater Lake

•   visited 7 State Parks - Big Sur, Salton Sea, San Jacinto Mountain, Hearst Castle, Red Rock, Red Rock Canyon, Humboldt Redwoods

•   National Forests; 6 Sequoia, Sierra, Tahoe, Lassen, Fremont Winema. Mt Hood

•   slept in 20 beds; 6 hotels/inns, 6 motels and 7 timeshare units, 1 private home (make it 26 with Bahamas)

•   ate Ben & Jerry ice-cream, 11, Cherry Garcia; Chunky Monkey; Triple Caramel Chunk; New York Super Fudge Chunk; Americone Dream; Cheesecake Brownie; Everything but the….; Coffee. Coffee Buzz Buzz!; FroYo, Half Baked; Pistachio, Pistachio; That’s my Jam Core

•   added 51 birds to my US bird list which is now 215 and my world list is 1498, top bird Roadrunner

•   popped into 5 museums, Palm Springs Art, Cable Car (SF), De Young (SF), Maritime Museum (Lake Tahoe), Latimer Quilt and Textile

•   farmers markets, 3; Oakhurst, Ferry Building (SF), Portland

•   decaprio 3 movie catch-up, Aviator, Gatsby and Departed

•   Oscar 6 movie catch-up, Dallas Buyers Club; Nebraska; August: Osage County; Zero Dark Thirty; Charlie Wilson’s War; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

•   relished organic extra virgin olive oil, 3 farms 

•   walked 187 miles; beaches, mountain trails, coastal meadow, high altitude lakes, golf courses, climbing red rocks, canyon rim, valley trail, desert paths, Las Vegas Strip, mountain hikes, many city blocks

•   walking well ahead of schedule, 18 miles credit, (for each 50 miles driven we want to walk 1 mile)

•   longest hike 10 miles on Four Mile Trail with 3200’ climb on steep switchbacks

•   took a bike, cycled along the Truckee River for 16 miles, (26 km)

•   canoed 9 miles along the Upper Klamath Canoe Trail

•   watched 7 episodes of Game of Thrones, season 4

•   lowest driving elevation, 214’ below sea-level at Furnace Creek Golf Course, Death Valley

•   highest driving elevation, 9945’ Tioga Pass, Tioga Road, Yosemite

•   got cold at the lowest temperature below 40 degrees F in Tehachapi (3 degrees C)

•   was hot at the highest temperature of 115 degrees F while walking in Death Valley (46 degrees C). Car registered 125 degrees F at one point – over 50 degrees C

•   wine tasting, 2 at Tablas Winery, Paso Robles and Souza Family Vineyard

•   modes of transport, 11, helicopter over the Grand Canyon, ferry to Alcatraz, cable car, bus, metro, streetcar, bicycle, paddle boat on Tahoe, canoe, Big Pink Trolley in Portland, ski-lift at Timberline, Mt Hood

•   shows/events, 5, in Las Vegas, O Cirque du Soleil; in San Francisco, Beach Blanket Babylon, SF Giants baseball in San Francisco; in Reno Extreme Bull Riding, in Reno, Rodeo

What is the chance of finding a tree with eyebrows!

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho - our furtherest point north...

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho: 47º 41' N, 116º 47' W

Sunny day in Seattle

The Interstate 90, a long day on the road, to be almost nowhere.

We have driven from Oregon way across Washington, whizzing past Mt Rainier, stopping off in Seattle Downtown to drop off Shawni and Craig, picking up the obligatory Starbucks coffee, lunching somewhere in the middle of very little, a surprising bump into the Columbia River again, flying past vast open flat plains - potatoes, peas, wheat, alfalfa, sweet corn…

On these long stretches I entertain myself by marveling at the size of RV's and what they drag behind them, cars, boats, bikes, bicycles. 

And also the fabulous colors of the huge trucks on the road - pastels, bold primary colors, metallic sheens all spotless with gleaming chrome.

And here we are, in a new state, Idaho, in Coeur d'Alene and the most northerly point of our road trip, the sun will start to set in about an hour, near 9pm this evening and the temperature is still 29 degrees. 

These transition days are a quick stop in a motel off a highway. Like a Motel 6 or Super 8, functional, TV and wifi, uncluttered, familiar and unfamiliar, a bed and hopefully a good sleep.

Tomorrow we continue east into Montana heading to Big Sky for our last week of timeshare on the road. What was four months has become a few weeks….

Mt Hood: Sky Mile Ride

Travel can be tough.

A few days before we were due to move on to Seattle for a weekend together, Craig got an email canceling the accommodation they had already paid for and had spent so much time and effort on selecting.

So plans changed, we had another day in our 'backyard', Mt Hood, rode the ski-lift high into the snow line and watched all the winter sports being played in summer.

And took in more views of the Cascades from Timberline Lodge, so different from the formidable range of granite peaks and cliffs of the Sierra Nevada's.

Beauty of Mt Jefferson and the Cascade Range

Ski-lift up Mt Hood, Shawni had to shop for a winter top!

A view of the summit of Mt Hood in the heat of July.

We have driven Shawni and Craig to Seattle for the weekend and are now on the road east to get to Yellowstone National Park  for the week.