24TheRoad

The end of the trip had extra worries and location restrictions. The problems began as we were heading to Crescent City, California and the temperature gauge indicated that the RV was overheated. We were on the winding 2 lane coast road with no immediate place to pull over. It was downhill at that point and we made it to the first road we could turn onto. Fortunately it wasn't very far to Crescent City. We unhooked the car and added some antifreeze. At the first campground we discussed our situation with the manager and made several phone calls to see who could work on our RV. The repair shop that was highly recommended couldn’t see us for 10 days, but he did give us the name of another shop. We made an appointment for the next ... read more

Sacramento would not have been on my list of places to visit while in California. Visiting with my cousin is what has brought us here, but Sacramento has been a pleasant surprise. The weather has been rainy most days, so it has limited our outdoor activities. The weather is unusual for the amount of rain at this time of year. We had planned a shorter amount of time here, but this is also a place where we are picking up mail and packages. There was a delay with one item and we needed to wait for it before moving on, so we settled in and waited. I’ve discovered how much I enjoy spending time in an area and just being there for a while. Rushing and seeing things is a different way to travel and certainly ... read more

We saw so much beautiful scenery in this area that I am going to let the pictures speak for our time here. ... read more

We all have images and beliefs about an area before we visit. It’s fun to go somewhere and discover the truth and learn enough so that it has more dimension and truth. If we had driven thru Death Valley, my view probably wouldn’t have changed very much, but by staying for 5 nights and visiting various areas and attending ranger talks, my view is very different from when we arrived. We drove in from the south end of the park to Furnace Creek and the view and plants were what I was expecting. It’s a desert with the small shrubby plants growing, but there were hints of something more as we passed some areas. Furnace Creek had greenery and palms and a green golf course and I wondered where the water came from and how wasteful ... read more

Life is full of surprises. Some good, some bad. Joshua Tree National Park was a good surprise. We had planned to spend two or three nights, but ended up staying eight nights. There are two distinct areas, as the park includes both the Colorado Desert and the Mojave Desert. We spent half our time camped in each. The Mojave section of the park is where the Joshua Trees are located. They are strange and other worldly. They are fascinating to look at, as each one is different. I tried to imagine traveling in this area before roads, compasses, GPS and road signs. Giving directions would be different with needing to rely on distinctive rocks, mountains, plants, etc. In other climates a fun thing to do is to see objects in the shape of the clouds. Here ... read more