Take me out

to the ball game that is.

Our son, Mike, treated Kathy and I to a Diamondback's game in Phoenix last night, complete with excellent seats just a few rows up from the home team's dugout.  Best seats I have ever had for a ball game.

Our team lost by more than a few runs, but the game was still a lot of fun.  Here are a few pictures from the game.

Matt Williams - DB retired veteran, now a third base coach

Ken Burns: The Dust Bowl

This TV mini series chronicles the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history, when a frenzied wheat boom on the southern Plains --  followed by a decade-long drought during the 1930s -- nearly swept away the breadbasket of the nation.

Kathy and I  recently watched the two episodes of The Dust Bowl, a film by Ken Burns.  Oh, my God. If you have not seen this, it is really worth it.  We streamed it from Netflix, but it is also available from Amazon.  If you haven't seen it, give it a try.

The Dirty Thirties ended just 13 years before my first birthday.  As I watched this documentary, I felt glad I missed this period of American history.  Between the economic depression, and this horrible environmental disaster, I am not sure how times could have been tougher for folks living then. 

I read a book about the Dust Bowl period just before I left the DC area, but this Ken Burns film really brings it home. The scary thing is, it could, and probably will, happen again.

The book I read a couple of years back

(worth a read)

Here are a few pictures I pulled from the internet...

Home Again, Home Again

Today, with windmills at our backs, we drove out of California, into Arizona, and home to Tucson.  

Our trip to the Northwest was a fun trip, and we learned a few things.  1) Maybe 30 days non stop in a little RV is a bit much for us.  2) Maybe best to stay clear of Northwest beaches in the summer...  too much fog.  3) Staying longer in one spot is better than seeing many spots in a short time.

Thinking back now....  we saw quite a few things, and visited many places.  Some of the best times were seeing friends and family along the way.  Would we do it all over again?  Well, I can tell you, it is sure good to be home.  Really good... if that tells you anything.  :-)

Visiting in Riverside

We departed early from Morro Bay in light rain and mud.  Heading toward Riverside, we traveled what seemed to be a large sample of different freeway systems in the LA metropolitan area.  It was pretty much five hours of straight multi-lane, heavily trafficked, driving.  It was less than fun.

After arriving at our RV park in Riverside, we picked up our son, Dan, and enjoyed an afternoon of nice visiting.  Later, we had a fun a dinner out.  The day turned out great. 

Tomorrow, we make an early departure to return to Tucson.  It will be sad to end our trip, but the thought of a real, (non RV), bed sounds pretty darn good right now.    :-)

Visiting with Dan in Riverside

Grape fields and Morro Bay

We're winding down to the end of our 30 day RV trip.  We are both looking forward to seeing our son in the Riverside area tomorrow, and then the last leg of the journey, the trip back to Tucson the next day.

Today, while driving south of the San Francisco area, we passed, literally, thousands of acres of grapes.  It struck me that this was more of a landscape than a vineyard.  It was amazing. 

As we turned westward to the coast and Morro Bay, it again turned to fog and chill.  Morro Rock, a mountain sized rock protruding out into the Pacific, was often totally obscured.  The Morro Bay harbor was fun to walk along.  Here are a few shots from the day's travels.

Point Reyes

It is not Sanibel.  It is cold and foggy, Pt. Reyes National Seashore.  Visited first by Sir Francis Drake, and now by herds of 21st century vacationers.  The beach is beautiful if you can get a glimpse past the crowds.

Today we visited a recreation of a Coast Miwok village, complete with displays and interpreters.  Descendants of the original inhabitants were there, on this original site.

Above, Kathy trys a whirl of a bull roarer used by many cultures in relation to various ceremonies.

We also visited the Pt. Reyes vineyard and winery.  All in all, a nice day.

Lookin for Sun on Hwy 101

We drove south on US Highway 101 today, and for the first 60 miles, we were socked in with cold, damp, sea fog.  Yuck!  As our drive continued, we eventually broke into warm sunshine.  It was a pleasant change from the dark and foggy woods. 

By lunch we were well into the blonde rolling hills of interior California, bright and warm.  For our late lunch we pulled off on a side road and picnicked in our little trailer alongside acres of merlot grapes.  It was nice. 

We got to our reserved park, just outside Pt. Reyes National Seashore.  The park was recommended by our community friends, Phyllis and Ron T.  It seems to be a good tip.  We are recouping from our drive now, with some adult beverages.  Tomorrow, we will track down a few local wineries and visit the National Seashore.

Here are a few shots from our lunch site.

In case you are looking for a good deal on a used travel trailer, we saw this on the side of the road today.  The sign says..."Free to good hippy".  Ah, California.  :-)

At Olema Campground

Surf and Turf

Ran errands today, and visited more groves of giant coastal redwoods, as well as a couple of other sections of shoreline.  Heading further south tomorrow.  Here are a few scenes from our travels today.

Visiting the very old

Today Kathy and I visited a real seniors' community.  We were hardly even infants compared to the residents there.  I felt small and young. 

Walking through groves of coastal redwoods, some of which towered over 350 ft into the fog, absolutely made you feel small.  With some of their ages topping the two thousand year mark, pretty much everything else around was young. 

Redwood National Park is partly these old giants, but also quite a long and beautiful stretch of Pacific coastline.  Both terrains were great, and we spent most of the day going in and out of each.  Here are a few pics from the adventure...

The Klamath River

We are staying at a park on the beautiful Klamath River for the next 3 nights.  The park is just a couple miles from where the river empties into the sea. 

For 263 miles the Klamath flows southwest through Oregon and Northern California.  After setting up camp today, Kathy and I explored the river's mouth, and some of the rocky coastline.  It turned out to be the second cloudy day of our trip, but the lower temps were welcome.  Here are a few pictures.

View of the Klamath from our camp

The mouth of the Klamath

Rocky Pacific coast 

Oh the blue

It has been 39 years since Kathy and I visited Crater Lake.  I was just out of the Navy and we were moving from California, back East via a cross country road trip.  I remember the lake being unbelievable.  Today... it is still unbelievable. 

7,700 years ago, the top of Mt. Mazama collapsed down into a huge underground cavern of lava.  It swallowed up the entire top of the mountain.  The eruption that spurred this collapse was 100 times that of the Mt. St. Helen eruption of 1980.  This left a massive cauldron that over the years filled with rain and snow melt.  The result is the present day Crater Lake.  It is the deepest lake in the US, and it has the purest water of any lake in the world.  In case you are wondering, the depth drops to 1,940 ft.  The water is so pure because there are no rivers feeding the lake.  It is all rain and snow melt.  

We drove the 33 mile rim road, stopping at many of the dozens of overlooks, always being stunned.

It was difficult to choose, from the 80 or so photos I took today, the photos to drop into the blog.  Anyway, here are a few.