BIG Adventure. . . Special Edition #3

FYI:
 

You may not know it but in 1951 the state of Oregon passed a law that states only 'trained fueling operators' are allowed to pump gas into motor vehicles.  The first time we filled up in Oregon a young man ran to the truck as Steve was removing the nozzle and made him stop.  It is called the No-Self-Serve Law and you can be fined up to $500.00 for pumping your own gas.  If you google

'pumping gas in Oregon' you can find a website that lists several reasons why the state of Oregon thinks this is a good law.  But there is at least one person who does not.  Check this out: 

http://www.lewrockwell.com/englund/englund33.html

It has been a bit annoying because we have had to wait for the 'trained fueling operator' to get to us and on one occasion the 'trained fueling operator' was in such a hurry he didn't completely fill the tank.  Oh well, we will be out of Oregon on July 11.  By the way, New Jersey has a similar law! 

Of course there are those morons who insist on smoking while pumping gas, so maybe it isn't such a bad idea!!

BIG Adventure. . . Chapter 11

Thursday, July 7

Yes I know. . . it has been a while.  I am finding it difficult to find the time to blog these days and our computer ended up with a nasty virus.  JD of the Orem Utah Geek Squad fixed it up for us and we are back on-line!!


Steve and I have been very busy lately.  We are currently at the Eagles Hot Lake RV Park in La Grande, Oregon!  We will only be here one night and then on to Portland.  "What have we been doing?" you ask. . . .

We arrived at Deer Creek State Park near my brother Todd's house in Midway, Utah on June 30th.  Todd was our tour guide during the time we were there.  We visited Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City, spent some time browsing at Cabela's and we toured the plant where he works.  Steve was in heaven watching all of the equipment!  We also spent some time at Park City Utah and enjoyed a nice steak dinner at Todd's place while we watched the Midway Fourth of July fireworks high above the town from Todd and Mauna's back deck!

                                                                                      

             Our new four-legged friends:  Taz, Libby, and Snookie!!!!!


SITES FROM the MORMON TEMPLE SQUARE

The Temple



Assembly Hall, home of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

 The organ inside Assembly Hall

The view from our campsite at Deer Creek State Park!!

Just a little fun at the driving range!

 

The Egyptian Theatre at Park City, Utah



We had a little extra time while the computer was getting fixed so we stopped by Bridal Falls and took a drive up to Sundance.  Sorry to say I did not see Robert Redford and just being there is as close as I will get!!!

The next leg of our trip was leading us toward Portland Oregon but we had a one night layover in Twin Falls Idaho.  We knew there was a bridge crossing the Snake River Gorge that we wanted to see and that it is a favorite for BASE jumpers.  We have had a bit of bad luck on this trip . . . you remember. . . the air conditioner. . . but we have also had a bit of GOOD luck every once in a while. 

Evil Knievel attempted to jump this gorge in some type of rocket powered craft but his parachute deployed prematurely and he did not make it.  He survived with minor injuries.

Here is our good luck picture. . . BASE jumpers arrived at the same time we did!

We made our way  out of town to look at a couple of different water falls, it was Twin FALLS after all!  We also noticed on the map an attraction called Balanced Rock but we could not find any information on it so we headed southwest of town.  We drove and drove and drove and I recall saying to Steve that the countryside looked like Indiana but low and behold it is simply amazing what can be found around the corner, literally! The view went from an Indiana farmland appearance to this. . .

And just around a couple more corners there it was. . . Balanced Rock!!!!

How is this for a close up view!!

Simply Amazing!!

see Steve sitting about half way up!

  Well that is about it for now. 

A special thanks to my brother Todd and his wife Mauna for being such gracious hosts while we were in Utah!  Thanks for the great margaritas, great fun, and great sightseeing! 

A special HELLO to everyone back at the Wornick Foods from Steve and Kim!!

And a BIG thanks to Aaron for taking care of the yard, plants, and mail for us while we are 'out of town'  !!!

STAY TUNED. . . . . .

BIG Adventure. . . Chapter 10

Monday, June 27

We are currently hanging out at the Winnemucca RV Park in Winnemucca, Nevada.  This is a one night lay over as we make our way to Deer Creek State Park near Midway, Utah, the home of my brother Todd and his wife Mauna.  "What is in Winnemucca?" you ask.  Casinos, restaurants, casinos, gas stations, casinos, bars, casinos, Walmart, and casinos.  Even the gas stations have slot machines!!  We passed copper mines on the way here and there are workers mining for gold up north.   We drove around looking for the 'Wild West Saloon' but we couldn't find it, not even with the GPS! . . . . . Uh Oh. . . Steve just found it advertised in a magazine . . . and it is more than just a saloon, if you know what I mean!  We won't be going!!!

Wednesday, June 29

HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY TO

CADE COSTELLO!!!!!

We arrived at the Iron Horse RV Resort in Elko, Nevada on the 28th.  Once we got settled in we took a drive to Lamiolle Canyon.  It was late in the day and I was having pizza withdrawal symptoms so we headed back to town, ordered a pizza for supper and were in for the evening.  There have been times in the past when we did not have cable TV access and it was at those times that we got somewhat hooked on 'The Voice' because that was all we could find.  So we spent the evening eating pizza and watching the show.  The show is just a little cheesy, OK maybe alot.  Steve likes CeeLo Green but the only thing that keeps my interest is Adam Levine from Maroon 5.   :)  We are heading back to the canyon this morning for a closer look (after Steve finishes watching some history program about the Greeks and the Persians) and we are going to the end of the road.  Hopefully we can find our way back!!!  You can bet that I am taking my snake boots since on our drive out yesterday evening we passed two snakes making their way across the road.  YIKES!!  I will have pictures up in the near future. . . .

Friday, July 1

This canyon trip ranks right near the top of our favorite visited sites on our BIG Adventure.

There was one road into the canyon and the same road out.  Of course, we went to the end of the road and you can see the elevation we reached at the end of the road.  There were a variety of different trails that lead up into the higher elevations but we decided to pass!  Besides, most of these trails were snow covered. 



Note the elevation!!!!
What do you do at almost 8800 feet?
Throw snow balls of course!!



An Avalanche Chute

There were some hard working beavers in the canyon!!!

On our way out of the canyon we noticed a storm brewing over the mountains so we decided to call it a day!

We are currently at Deer Creek State Park south of Salt Lake City, Utah.  My brother Todd lives about 7 miles from the park in Midway, Utah.  He was our tour guide today as we visited downtown Salt Lake City. 

Stay Tuned!!! . . .

BIG Adventure. . . Chapter 9

HELLO from RENO, NEVADA

I bet your wondering how we got to Reno after all of the issues with the truck's air conditioner and a slight issue with the brakes on the trailer but we finally got out of Modesto, CA and we are back 'on the road again'!  The air conditioner is blowing out 50 degree air, but when we get 7000 feet above sea level air conditioning is not necessary!!  It was so hot in Texas and New Mexico that we are appreciating the 70 and 80 degree temperatures and the nice breeze from the ocean that blows through the mountains. 

Where have we been over the past week or so?  Well, we have not been just sitting around.  We have been to the Sequoia National Park, Yosemite, and San Francisco.  At the moment we are sitting in the trailer at the Chism RV Park, in Reno, just hangin' out because we are somewhat exhausted!!!  We plan to go to the Circus Circus casino tonight and lose a little money.   So today is catch up day:  a little blog work, a little laundry, and little bill paying because life goes on back home in Ohio!  So here is a little sampling of what we have seen over the past week or so:

Sequoia National Park

If you have not been here put it on your list of places to see.   Words and pictures will not do it justice! 



Yes, that's me standing below McKinley tree
which is on the left behind the pine tree.

Yosemite



       Bridal Falls, where Steve walked to the base

 and got soaked!! I didn't go quite as far!

Lower Falls
We got soaked at its base also!!!!



On to SAN FRANCISCO

What a city!!!

We entered the city by crossing the Bay Bridge

and left by crossing the Golden Gate Bridge.

We made our way to downtown San Francisco to the Visitor Center and quickly decided to go to Chinatown.  Downtown was very busy with not only people but also street cars, cable cars, and buses and each of them had a designated driving lane which was very confusing to us newbies!  It was great to see and be a part of but we prefer the simpler life!!

A zigzag section of Lombardi Street.

Chinatown

We had lunch at Kan's. 
Steve had the Fish with Black Bean Sauce
and I had the Sweet and Sour Chicken
but that was after we each had three egg rolls. 
We were very hungry!!!!

 Fisherman's Wharf

A view of Alcatraz

Some of the locals along Pier 39!

The view from Pier 41.

The Golden Gate Bridge

Check out the traffic! 

On to the Pacific Ocean

We just had to drive along the coastline up highway 1 but we didn't realize how mountainous it would be.  Nevertheless we made it back down to Muir Beach!

From here we made our way across the Sierra Nevada Mountains on I-80 to Reno, Nevada.  It was a beautiful drive.  The Truckee River was rapidly flowing with water from the snow melt and it just so happens that this river flows right behind out rv park and through the center of Reno!

Surfin' the River ? !! ?

As Steve always says. . . "A fool and his (or her) money are soon parted."

He lost $5 and I lost $40.  But Steve considers it gambling and I consider it entertainment!!

A Special HELLO to Bob and Nancy.

Have a great time on your cruise!!

Also a BIG HELLO to:

Emma, Dalen, Benjamin, and Ethan Matthews

Jack, Trey, Chase, and Tess Daugherty

Cade, Jace, and Beck Costello

and

Mia Flora Cain

We Love You and miss you ALL!!

Stay tuned. . . .