The Fires in San Diego County

Thanks to all of you for your concern. We have heard from many friends and relatives who view the news and wonder or worry about us. We are well!

We arrived in Santee on Sunday and were told "don't get too comfortable" by our neighbor who was packing away the outside things. Since we had driven through sand storms and then smoke on our way down the 15, his comments did not settle the nerves. Over the next two days, we experienced ash on the car and saw or breathed in more smoke than one of Bobbi's campfires. But we seem to be in a fairly safe area. Our neighbors on both sides have been evacuated from their homes and were lucky enough to have access to an RV. I talked with a gal this morning who is due to deliver her second child in two weeks; amazingly enough, she was in good spirits - at that point in time, her home had been spared, but they could not go home because it was still too dangerous.

For three days, the television stations broadcast all day and night with news of spreading fires and mandatory evacuations. Tonight, there is finally "real" shows on in the evening with scrolling updates on the bottom of the screen. All schools are closed in the entire county until Monday and the universities in the area have been closed as well. We are told to limit cell phone use and electrical use due to demand and shortages.

This has been, and continues to be, an amazing experience - one we could have lived without, actually, but interesting and very sad. More people have been evacuated then in Katrina with over 1400 homes destroyed. At the Chargers stadium, over 11,000 people "live" surrounded by their pets and horses. At the mall where we go to work on Saturday, part of the parking lot has been given over to people and their evacuated horses - a strange site in the middle of a large metropolitan area.

No pictures today; perhaps in the future. Bottom line: We are well!

Kernville, California

When we left the Owens Valley, we headed south and slightly west to Kernville, the home of Dan and Sue. These are our "California Friends" that Mike met 5-6 years ago at Indy and that have visited us in Minnesota - we also spend some time with them in January at Quartzite. But, we had never been to there home before and the road there was very interesting.
After a couple of days of sightseeing with Dan at the wheel, we realize that these corner signs really have no meaning (and I realized that I can get car sick...)

Somewhere "up and over" is the small town of Kernville - and waiting for us there was "Dan the Pace Pickup Driver".

It is a good thing he was waiting, as we never would have navigated our home around the curves and up the hills without his encouraging arm waves telling us it was OK.

The next day, we went over a few hills and around a few curves and ended up at this wonderful place.

Mike and I are dwarfed by this giant redwood tree; this was the first time either of us had seen one of these famed trees and we were very impressed.

The small tree on the left was one we could not put our arms around so you can imagine the size of the "big one".

These three mammoth trees were joined at the base; Mike climbed up on the trunk to give you an idea of the size.

Do you see the angel off to the left? - Being amid these giant redwood trees was definitely a spiritual experience.

These are pics taken on our way back to Kernville.

Thanks, Dan and Sue, for this wonderful experience and for your hospitality - way too much food, but wonderful as usual! We are enjoying the chocolates from Dewars (a delicious old time joint in Bakersfield) and Mike dreams about the banana split.

The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range

This was the view from the rear of our motorhome at Brown's Town Campground.

Our stay in Bishop just served to whet our appetite; it is an area in which we will spend more time. Here are some more pictures from "south of town".

So, Becky, can you see the face in this rock...

We saw more of the magnificent rocks that served as backdrops for many westerns and early TV shows. But, you know, you can only take so many pictures of rocks...

This is Mount Whitney in the distance - at 14,495 feet, it is the tallest point in the lower 48 states. We got up to 10,000 feet before turning back.

This mule deer (we think) decided we were worth a look as we drove along "horseshoe meadows".


Who knew that sage brush bloomed at this time of the year...

There will definitely be more from the Bishop area in the next year - we are going to try to make it back in spring - We may even have to skip Indy to do it...

The Sierra Mountains

We spent 2 days in Bishop, California which is nestled in the Eastern Sierra Mountains and is a part of Owens Valley. It seems that many years ago, this land was purchased by the city of Los Angeles to be its source of water. The water runs down out of the mountains, into many different reservoirs and eventually makes its way 200 miles down to LA. The area has spectacular scenary and the season helps to make it more beautiful.

Yesterday we went "up north" to June Lake and The Mammoth Lakes Ski Area.

At one point, we were about 8000 feet above sea level and it started to snow ... it did not take us long to reverse the route!

This little fellow gave us a look on the way down.

The Loneliest Road in America

Yep, folks, we were on it this past week! Get out your atlas and check out the path that Route 6 takes from Provo, Utah (just south of Salt Lake City) to Bishop, CA. National Geographic called this the "Loneliest Road in America" so, of course, we needed to take it. At one point there is a sign that says "No services for the next 80 miles" and frequently there were no services for 40 or 50 miles. I will let the pictures talk for themselves.

And Yes, it was open range much of the time so we needed to be alert for cattle on the roadway.

It was definitely up and down and a bit curvy in spots...

We were warned there were wild horses...

There was some very interesting scenery and the roadway was smooth; what more can you ask for when heading west!

BIG SKY COUNTRY

If you have never been to Montana - plan a trip tomorrow! What a beautiful state and this is a great time of the year to visit. The drive out through North Dakota was rather uneventful; ND really doesn't have a whole lot to offer (in my humble opinion).

Our first stop in Montana was "Pompey's Pillar". This is a rock structure along the Yellowstone River . On the rock, Wm. Clark (of Lewis and Clark) signed his name - amazingly enough, it is still visible.

He called it Pompey's Pillar after his Indian guide's child that he called "Pomp". At this stop, we learned that the Yellowstone River is 650 miles long and is the only undammed river in the lower 48 states. In the days to come, we saw a lot of this rivef.

We spent the night in Billings - this is one to skip as it is a dirty city with overpriced campgrounds (the world's first KOA) and it is hard to get around - If you want to hear a story, ask Mike someday about his experiences in this town.

From there we went to Galatin Gateway, a small village south of Bozeman where we stayed three days with Maggie and Rocky, North Branch friends. That is such a sterile sentence but the experience was truly remarkable. They had a vision and built a ranch at the base of a mountain. With their 2 horses, 4 mules, 1 dog, and at least 4 cats, they enjoy a good life on this little piece of heaven. This is a sunrise picture of the entrance to their home. (Yes, those are snow capped mountains in the distance.)

And these fellows greeted us each morning. (You can see their home up the hill in the background.)
The first night, we were told to "keep the windows open and listen for the elk" after we had the opportunity to see them coming down out of the hills at dusk. And listen we did - Elk bugle! Oh my gosh, it is such an unusual sound that Mike and I actually laid in bed and giggled at the commotion. We could hear them knocking horns together and "talking". We heard this every night, but not to the extend of that first night - what an experience.

Maggie planned a day trip for us to Yellowstone Park so Mike and I headed out by 8:30 one morning to explore the northeast part of the park. About 2 hours into it, we decided that this is a place to which we need to devote at least a week in the near future. Within a few miles of the entrance, we spotted these guys.

We were north of Old Faithful, but had plenty of opportunity to see geysers in more natural settings.

Did you know there is a Grand Canyon and HUGE waterfall in Yellowstone?

There were some beautiful views...

The same components that cause the geysers create some very unique structures.

Near the end of our day, we had an escort out of the park...


Once we left the park (I could share 157 more photos, but have chosen not to...), we headed back toward Gallatin Gateway and saw this daddy and baby Rocky Mountain BigHorn Sheep along the road.

WHAT A DAY!

On another day, we visited Big Sky sky area and home to the rich and famous - since a gate was open, we took a drive to see some of those homes up close and personal - WOW. Once again, I took a hundred or so pictures, but this one of our evening campfire is my favorite. It shows our host and hostess, in front of their home, looking to the mountains for the ever present elk.

Thanks, Maggie and Rocky, for sharing your part of Montana with us.

Northern Minnesota and Cousin's Weekend

Mike and I moved to Leech Lake last Wednesday. We enjoyed a boat trip on "Winnie" with Bobbi and David.

(The Plug Hat Point Landing)
(The sky was amazing that day.)
(We spent some time watching these two eagles)

We also walked in their woods enjoying the fall colors and spotting deer tracks.

Then I moved to a resort near Walker to spend the weekend with "Sadie's Ladies". Mike spent the weekend enjoying our friends' company (I hear he was superior at cribbage).

This was the 9th year that the cousins (and second cousins) have met to enjoy each other's company and shopping and conversation and cards and lunches and dice games and dinners and shopping and snacks and ... well you get the idea.

Here we enjoy a wonderful German lunch in Park Rapids.

And here we all are nestled in Paul Bunyan's hand - now that is one big dude!

This is the "cabin" in which we stayed - could sleep 24 comfortably - I felt like I was in a mansion after having lived in the motorhome.

It was a wonderful setting for our annual outing - next year - New Ulm and the Octoberfest will be our destination... Yes, I am already looking forward to it! But, there are many miles between then and now. I have been writing this entry in Dickinson, North Dakota - next stop is Maggie and Rocky's place near Bozeman, Montana.