Monday, July 20th, Vancouver

Greetings!

Today's post catches up on two days of traveling - partly because yesterday we drove all day and took only three photos, and partly because the wifi reception was poor at the campground last night.

Today, we spent all day with Peter Oechsler, our friend from our recent Argentina/Chile tour who lives in Deep Cove, North Vancouver. Peter was our host today, and we ate and drove our way around his favorite haunts in the North Vancouver area. We had lunch at a coveside cafe whose Persian owner served us delicious sandwiches and omlette. Dinner found us at a Korean restaurant which Peter thought was still its Chinese predecessor.

Two photos which barely escaped us were of the bald eagle we saw over the Trans Canadian Highway, and the black bear which crossed in front of our car in a mountain residential neighborhood. Vancouver is a beautiful city, and one in which we could easily live.

To view the rest of the photos for today, click on:
July 20th

Saturday, July 18, Oregon High Desert and Lava

Greetings!

We drove a few miles south of Bend and visited the High Desert Museum and several park locations in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument (Paulina Peak, Big Obsidian Flow, Lava Lands Butte, and Paulina Falls). The drives and walks brought back some ancient memories, as visiting some of them was an early trip together. Thank you Oregon, for making the trails and paths easier to climb, and to the High Desert Museum for being created since we were here.

For dinner, we found a Peruvian restaurant where we started off by devourng the chips in a great cilantro, lime, cerro chile, olive oil and garlic sauce - and then went barely had room to finish two Peruvian specials.

Tomorrow, we're making a beeline for Seattle to prepare to connect with Peter in Vancouver on Monday if he's back from his trip.

To see the remainder of the photos, click on:

July 18th Photos

July 17, Bend, Oregon

Greetngs!

We drove up to Crater Lake today, and then on to Bend, Oregon. The photos we took are of the Lake, and represent a combination of those taken on my and Pat's camera. Her's has a better telephoto, using a digital enhancement. Mine views better (SLR), but has more limited features.

When we got to Bend, we wanted to pick up some food we found missing. There's a Costco in town, so we headed there. Not finding it, we stopped at a Safeway, and then learned the Costco was in the same area. Shopping at both, we found the pesto, bread, lettuce, hamburger meat, bacon, and sausage. Pat was disappointed she left the pesto at home, so we're now ready to have it tomorrow night. Tonight, tacos will fill the bill.

On the way back to the RV camp, we beat the heat by parking downtown and walking along the riverfront. Bend has done an outstanding job of re-vitalizing the area along the Deschutes River, and blending in housing and upscale commercial development. Because it's Friday night, hundreds of residents were floating down the river on surfboards, rafts, inner tubes, and kayaks beside the restaurants and other businesses.

To see the remaining photos, click on:
July 17th Photos

Day One, Thurs, July 16th

Greetings!

Happy birthday, Bro Ken. Yesterday, we've made it to Mt Shasta, and the famous little town of Weed. Mostly a shot straight up Hwy 5, we're glad to be done with that Hwy for a while. Today, we're heading northeast up Hwy 97 through the Cascades. We've going to be stopping at Crater Lake, and expect to be staying tonight and tomorrow night in Bend, Oregon.

Vancouver, Canada

Greetings!

On Thursday, July 16th, we'll take our Airstream (Matilda) north to Vancouver for a month. Heading up Hwy 5 to Weed, we'll drive the parallel Hwy 59 through the Cascades in Oregon. Don't know where we'll be stopping, but that's partly what's fun of camper traveling (if you can call such a beautiful and fully-outfitted accomodation - camping).

We'll post as often as we can, and promise to respond to comments if you have questions or suggestions on where to stop.

Gregory

California Coastal Trail

Greetings!

I've created a video for use to help Coastwalk gain broader understanding of their efforts to develop the California Coastal Trail:



Gregory

Signing the California Coastal Trail

Greetings!

Coastwalk is beginning to adapt its information on the California Coastal Trail for use in Google Earth. Here is a link to a Google Earth Tour of the signing of the Kortum Trail.

Google Earth Coastwalk Kortum Trail Signs

Gregory