Heading up the Highway 101 coast

Sonoma County Bike Rides

We managed to avoid avalanches and rockslides leaving Colorado along with the Snow cyclone. And then, made some changes in our plans to avoid the 50 mile per hour wind gusts across the Mojave Desert. I am not sure why we drove through Oakland but managed unscathed once we paid our $21 toll to cross a bridge. It has been a long trip but finally got a chance to get our bikes out and enjoy Sonoma County.

Spring has sprung in Sonoma County.

 We visited Cloverdale three years ago and enjoyed riding between the vineyards and olive farms but vowed that we would not stay at the Thousand Trails RV Park in Cloverdale ever again after our first visit. The RV Park in Healdsburg was closed after the Russian River flooded last month. This left the KOA way upon the hill. The bridge was out in Asti which meant we had to drive through Cloverdale 4 miles down steep, winding country roads.

 

 

We were tired on our arrival and wondered if it was worth it to drive back and forth from this campground to ride our bikes. When we are tired and want to throw in the towel, we give it a day and good night's sleep before making a decision. The next day, we were happy with our place in the hills and didn't mind the drive to town. In fact, we were enjoying ourselves so much, we added another day even if it was $71/ night, bought some firewood and settled in.

 

 

It is the off season so we didn't realize how large the place was until we walked around and watched the kids fishing in the little pond in the mornings and evenings.

 

After not riding our bikes in a month, it felt strange to be back in the saddle again, so the song goes. Our first day was through the flat country roads near Geyserville. The next day had lots of hills to remind us of the month that we had been off the bikes.

Alaska Airline has a deal for wine drinkers that every bag that is checked with a bottle of wine on a returning flight is free. One winery we stopped in had a bottle of chardonnay for $145. I would think twice about putting it in a bag to be checked. I have seen how they throw bags on the luggage carts.

 

 

At the end of the ride, we stopped in the Dry Creek General Store for lunch. At the counter we gave them our order, the girl at the cash register told us to go get our drinks and then rang us up. She called our number when it was ready so we could get it and take it to our table. When I paid with a charge card, there was a place for a tip. I wasn't sure what I was tipping for since I basically served myself and thought that I should get the tip myself since I bused by own table when we were done. Am I missing something?  It is just too confusing sometimes.  She did have a nice smile. 

 

Avenue of the Giants

The small logging town of Scotia on Highway 101 in California was a 250 mile drive, putting us at the northern entry to Avenue of the Giants.   A 31-mile portion of old Highway 101 parallels Freeway 101 with its 51,222 acres of redwood groves is surrounded by the Humboldt Redwoods State Park which has the largest remaining stand of virgin redwoods in the world.

You have got to love a tree house in the redwoods with room for four.

Dryerville Giant

 The giant Dryerville Giant redwood once stood 362 ft. tall and was considered the tallest tree in the park before its fall in 1991. The redwood’s crash to the ground moved the earth so much that it registered on a seismograph 10 miles away. One local, who heard the impact from half a mile away, thought a train had crashed.   362 ft. in height 17 ft. diameter 52 ft. circumference Possibly 2,000 years old

 

Harris Beach State Park, Oregon

 As we headed up the 101 in California, parts of the highway had been washed out by mudslides, making a one lane road in several places.

 

 

We made it to Oregon! Last spring we had stayed in Southern Oregon at Harris Beach State Park and enjoyed it very much. We stopped again for a few days to stock up on groceries at the great Fred Myers and just walk the beach. The grocery stores in small towns along the ocean can get pretty expensive.

What a difference a day makes. We were glad to enjoy the sunshine before the rain.

You can't keep us inside...





It was so funny to watch the black oystercatchers marching on the beach.

Whale Watching

Whale-watching enthusiasts from all over the world head to the Oregon coast for Spring Whale Watch Week as 20,000 grey whales migrate from Mexico to Alaska.

Each year, the Whale Watching Spoken Here program places volunteers at 24 locations spread out on the coast during spring break week, beginning March 23.We had hoped to volunteer for the week but weren't able to attend the training in December.

 

Volunteers document gray whale habits and traits as the mammals make their migration north past Oregon to Alaska during warmer months with whale watching sites from Astoria to Brookings. Volunteers are on-site from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every day during the week.

During the Whale Watch Week, it’s estimated that about 10 whales per hour are passing any given location on the Oregon Coast. On a perfect day — very beautiful, calm ocean and nice blue skies — you could see a half a dozen or more whales in a very short period of time.  We managed to see whales even though the surf was rough our first evening after a rainy day.

 

Skiing in the Big mountains of Colorado

Back in Colorado!

Returning to Colorado after being at elevations under 2000 feet for most of the past year takes some adjustments and time to reacclimate.  We always enjoy the crisp mountain air and views that words cannot describe. This year there was lots of snow falling and avalanches in many mountain passes but made for great skiing conditions and tired legs. As difficult as it is to admit, I found myself moving slower in the ski boots and breathing harder along with a few more rest days. I like to think it is an altitude thing but it probably has as much to do with all of the birthdays I have been fortunate enough to have or maybe, the boots just got heavier...

 Burton was sponsoring its US Open Snowboarding Championship.

We were fortunate to spend a day skiing with family. Tyler and Kyle are growing too fast and have become quite the skiers. Mike gave Tyler a few pointers and then they were joined at the hip as he  followed Mike ahead of us.



Kyle heading into Game Creek Bowl.

After riding the lift into the clouds.

 Tourism in the US accounts for 10% of our GDP. In the past couple of years, the number of people visiting from other countries has dropped by 1% even though tourism in the world has grown by 7% according to the US board of tourism. We are seeing the downward trend in Vail like we did after 9/11 and we could walk into a restaurant without a reservation and get a table, unlike recent past years. People are choosing to go to other countries rather than a place they feel to be hostile and unwelcoming to people from other countries.



Such determination.



 We hear a lot less foreign languages in town, around the condo or on the lifts than in the past. When people visit our country and feel welcome, they find out what a great place it is as they spend their money. The loss of visitors is considered to be costing the US 1 million jobs in the tourism industry.

Ice skating rink in Lionshead and Arrabelle.

We usually hike in the backcountry on our days off from skiing. This year we stayed on the intown trails due to the huge snowpack. I was afraid of sinking up to my waist in a drift and trying to crawl out with snow over my head.

Our walks along Gore Creek on our rest days were crisp and peaceful.

 Vail Resorts is committed to becoming sustainable and protecting the environment. It made me happy to see no plastic bags in the grocery stores and reusable glasses at water stations. We carry our own recycled cloth bags when we shop and are glad to see Colorado passing laws limiting plastic straws unless they are requested. We find ourselves requesting no straw in our drinks. Besides, those straws cause wrinkles around the mouth, wink.

We stayed in six hotels and two condos on our three week journey. We found 40% of those places are doing away with the small shampoo and lotion bottles and opting for large refillable to keep so many little bottles out of the landfills. I walk into my own bathroom and see a mountain of plastic and am not sure what I can do to cut down other than the plastic bags and straws. It's a start.

 It is good to see the business world doing good rather than just making money while taking care of our earth. I don't mean to sound preachy about taking care of our earth but hate to think about how it would be without these fabulous places to enjoy. I figure erring on the side of protecting the earth and being wrong isn't a bad thing. Our grandkids  would likely think we were pretty smart and kind.




Looking thirsty while waiting for a beer at the end of the day. No waiting for a table here or anywhere else.

A walk through Vail Village.

The views never disappoint, no matter which direction we look.

This has been a strange ski season for us. On one of our first days, it was so warm as we got off the shuttle at Lionshead that we had to take off our fleece top layer and put them in a locker for the day, wearing only our long john top under our coats. By the end of the second week, it was raining on top of the recent feet of snow on the mountain.

I'm not sure who put a step there. I was only drinking water.

Happy Anniversary!



Back in Blue Sky Basin



Two Elks Lodge



Now that's how to end a day in the snow.

It was a great two weeks in the mountains. We had planned to drop off our ski equipment off in Denver at Krista and Luke's before heading back to Arizona to pick up our trailer. But after four avalanches closing Interstate 70 for up to 9 hours, a change in plans were in order.

Moving On

Friends for the moment, season or lifetime

So the old Norwegian saying goes. Those friends fill us up in different ways as we travel through this life. Each person is unique and gives us new insight, ideas or just joy.

We have spent the past five winters in Mesa. I just wasn't ready to give up a job with that much flexibility and great pay. The trade off was that we often found ourselves leaving places and rushing through others to get back there in the required timeframe. Sometimes you just realize it is time to move on. Bike riding and hiking made those last 3 months pass quickly. In no time and we were packing up to leave.



Our 30 mile ride to Tempe Towne Lake

A favorite place for mountain biking

Lunch after a ride.



Pulling your home around on the back of your truck over bumpy roads can cause damage. Fortunately, Mike keeps an eye out for potential problems. We needed a place to leave our trailer while we returned to Colorado for a ski holiday that we had planned sometime ago. Leaving the trailer at the repair shop for three weeks worked out great for us, even if we have to drive back to Arizona before starting out again. It was also easier than pulling it through snow.

Vail Resorts has been buying up multiple resorts and the pass prices have been going up. Who would pay over $200 for a day of skiing? It is a good way for Vail to promote their season pass, keeping skiers in their network. Our last season pass was $1000 each. This year they offered a pass for veterans and spouses a pass for $500 each, upon verifying their honorable discharge. Mike spent four years in the Air Force so we took them up on it and booked a condo for our stay.



Monument Valley Tribal Park

We left Arizona a day early to avoid the record setting snow storm that was in the forecast. Staying in Kayenta an extra day allowed for us to explore Monument Valley which isn't really near anyplace but only 22 miles from our hotel. There isn't much available for restaurants so we made due with Subway and McDonalds since it is the off season.

Monument Valley Tribal Park

There is a $20 fee to enter the park. But most of the facilities were closed and no one to pay. There are several tour companies and the lady that I had spoken to said we wouldn't need a reservation. The tour guides would be in the parking lot. The prices had doubled when we asked how much at the little shed. As we walked away to "think about it" another man offered to take us on the tour at a cheaper price.

As we took a walk to decide if we wanted to take the drive, the storm rolled in. The tour sounds like a good time with stories about all of the movies that had been filmed in the area. We could have driven the 17 mile route ourselves but the dirt roads looked pretty iffy.

Goulding, Arizona

A couple of miles from the Park in the opposite direction was the town of Goulding.

Goulding, AZ



Goulding has a great museum with a lot of movie memorabilia and stories about the Gouldings that founded the town. John Wayne's cabin below was used for a prop that he walked out of in a movie. The cabin was named John Wayne's because it sounded more interesting than the potato shed that it really was.



Mike found a hiking trail but it got slick pretty quickly.



Arches National Park

It had been several years since our last visit to Arches. The off season was much more pleasant without the crowds. 

The snow crunching under our feet was the only sound we heard as we walked in the falling snow.



My contracts as a traveling nurse were for 13-20 weeks, giving us time to become part of each community and explore it more thoroughly. Using Arizona as a base for six months and traveling the other six, we found ourselves rushed in order to be back in Arizona within my six month return date. We want to spend more time in places rather than being tourists passing though. For the next year, our plans are to volunteer in state parks allowing us to spend at least a month in each location.

We look forward to the places and adventures ahead of us, along with new friends whether they are for the moment, season or lifetime.