Rain, rain, go away...

 I know, I know, the west needs all the rain it can get.   But these sudden, intense rainstorms are tough to take, especially for my lizards!

The rainstorms do bring about some beautiful skies in the morning and at sunset.  We appreciate them, we really do.

great capture Dave!

But the wash around the house runs and washes the road out.

just beginning to trickle

And the rain makes the patio very wet for you-know-who's very delicate and sensitive little (ahem) paws.....

It's wet even in the weak sunshine, it seems to him..... On the plus side though, the wet outside has taught us just how long Taos can "hold it"!

While it's not nice to be outside, I've been doing a bit of planning for next summer's trip, reading and experimenting with some new recipes (some better than others!)  and Dave has been keeping busy with inside projects.      Beluga has gotten new slide toppers and a new rubber roof on the big slide, new LED clearance lights, antenna wire update, she's been washed and waxed, wheels polished, received a new table, etc. etc.    The Jeep has received care also.

yes, I know I could use the laptop 
but I prefer pencil, eraser, paper!

fabricating more user-friendly handles, Taos supervises

changing the heat/air-conditioning blend door activator!

Taos has kept "busy" staying warm and relaxed.    He's very good at both.

Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit.....we have had some nice, sunny. warm days in between the rain.    We take advantage of them as much as possible.

Dave moved his wood shop out to the driveway to soak up a little sun.   He made a new top for the little table we just bought for Beluga.

On one of his walks up the hillside behind the house, he discovered a rare Queen of the Night cactus (Peniocereus greggi) growing, incognito, under a scrubby bush.   We only noticed her because of the 3 bright red fruit she was displaying.    Probably not too exciting for anyone else, except maybe ML, but we were thrilled.

beautiful, isn't she?

We have a little resident (actual) lizard that takes full advantage of the warming sun wherever he (she?) can find it.....this day it was lounging on the patio cabinet.

what ya lookin at?

That's all for now......Here's Annie!

 

Home again, home again, jiggety jig!

We're home!     

 Albeit a little earlier than planned, but our plans are always written in pencil. 

   When I left you, we were in Susanville, CA.  We stayed there a couple days, watching weather and fires to the east, before moving on.

 

one of our morning visitors

The big fires along our planned route through Reno, NV were finally under control, so we felt safe to move on.    

Our next stop was at Cold Springs RV "resort" about halfway through the 400-mile stretch of route 50 "the Loneliest Road in America".    

The road is aptly named.    We drove and drove and drove along, up over one mountain range, down into a huge, flat, completely empty valley, then did it again and again.   Nowhere to stop, save the few very small towns along the way.

Cold Springs RV Resort was the only game in town and worked well enough for us but....no cell, no tv, etc.    It had a restaurant (closed the day we were there), a tiny motel (3 rooms), and two EV charging stations.   The sky was beautiful and dark and the landscape was silent.   One night stop was enough.   There were places I would have liked to explore but.....it was ungodly hot and to get to any of those spots would involve driving miles and miles on - the loneliest road - and back again, so off we went in the morning.

whose seat is this?

Next planned stop was Ely, NV.   The KOA there is very pleasant and well situated without all the usual hoop la that KOA's are known for.   Perfect for us.   It's a stop we use often on our way to and from Spokane, so we'd only planned a two-night stopover but.....      

 Beluga was using a little more oil than Dave was comfortable with on this trip.    She's an old girl, (she prefers we use the word "vintage" to describe her) and Dave is very gentle and careful with her.   There were no flashing dashboard lights, no huffing and puffing, no imminent break downs looming, he was just feeling like he didn't want to push her over the mountains to Santa Fe this time.    Ely was the perfect spot to end our trip and on an easy and familiar route home where he could address the situation before it became a problem.    No one wants an on the road breakdown! 

To avoid driving on the Labor Day weekend we extended our stay at the KOA, relaxed, formulated a plan moving forward and enjoyed exploring the area a bit more, at our leisure.

excursion train from Ely station

view of Ruth Copper Mine from Garnet Hill (where we found no garnets...)

alfresco lunch spot on Timber Creek

Wheeler Peak from 10,000 ft. overlook

Glacial Cirque below Wheeler Peak in Great Basin National Park

sunset view through my windshield  at the KOA

beautiful day for a hike

We stopped for a quick visit with Pam and John, in Boulder City, NV before arriving home a couple weeks ago.      

The summer Monsoons had shoved a few roof tiles back (a great neighbor took care of that before we got home!) and tore our birdfeeder holder ocotillo down but otherwise we found the house in good shape and waiting for us.

Mr. David's Ocotillo Reconstruction Specialist at work 

Taos was happy to find a duplicate of one of his very favorite toys waiting for him here.

shake

squeeeeeze and squeak!

The skies have been stunning, although the rain and storms they're hiding have eluded us here.

   

layers of color

Wednesday night we enjoyed an anniversary celebration for the Lowes outside on our patio.   The weather was lovely, but we watched another storm brewing.   Sorry, no people pictures - I need to get better at that....

  

Hmmmmm

Later that night we were awakened by the most ferocious thunder and lightning storm we'd ever experienced here.     Glad it waited til dinner was over!

So, that's it for now.   Dave is busy doing some things to Beluga, I'm settling back into static living and planning the next trip!

Here's Annie!

 

Eugene and Ashland and onward......

 We always enjoy our stays in Eugene.    Jesse and Erin went to school there some years ago, so we consequently spent lots of time in that area, got to know it pretty well.   Once again, we made Armitage County Park our home.    

This visit was a short one, mainly a stop between the coast and the rest of our inland adventures.    We couldn't pass by and not stop, could we?

As you've come to expect, we ate well, drank a little wine, explored a bit and relaxed before heading on to Ashland.  

gougères and caprese

wines?  mediocre but the location and company were perfect!

doesn't everybody eat thistles?

We managed to hit the Tuesday Lane County Farmer's Market and, while it isn't nearly as big as the famous Saturday market, we came home with lots of goodies.

humongous Kouign Amann - size isn't everything...

Squinting without sunglasses

Ashland, Oregon was our next destination.     We always stay at Emigrant Lake County Park, a quiet and peaceful spot above Emigrant Lake.    The views are lovely and it's filled with birds.  

site 10

 Beautiful sunsets each evening.   We even got to watch the spectacular lunar eclipse!    My phone just couldn't believe what it was seeing so it refused to try to photograph it....grrrr.

 We just ignore it's downside, the nasty stickers all over the ground.   Taos managed to sidestep them carefully, but we still remember our old Sasha having a fit when she encountered them.  

  As we drove in this time, however, we were reminded how tenuous life can be.    First off, the lake levels were so very low.   This is a reservoir and the water is used throughout the season, we know that, but this year we were surprised.

And....we saw something no rv'r wants to think about or actually see in a site in another loop.

We never found out what happened here, and upon our return from a day's exploration it was completely removed and the site cleaned.   Except for the burned trees and grass outline.....

We left Emigrant Lake yesterday morning and drove through the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in California to our next quick stop in Susanville.  

mt. Shasta

Most of the way our route took us through beautiful deep pine forest (no pictures of course....) but we did move through plenty of evidence of fire activity, past and recent.

We've been here at the Susanville RV Park many times, it's very nice and green and convenient to what we need to restock for the next portion of our drive, along  "the loneliest road in America".....    Stay tuned!

Here's Annie! or shall I say, Annie the Angry?