 |
Welcome to Our Photo Gallery & Travelblog
|
|||||||||
|
|
28 July 2005: Refrigerator is definitely broken and will be replaced. Eating out of a cooler is not good. Ruby had her 30,000 mile servicing and two recalls repaired yesterday. Our preparations have been made for our German guest, Henning. We will fetch him mid-day from LAX. Temperatures are near 90, better than over 100! Harry doesn't like this concrete yard with nightly fireworks. He's sleeping on a piece of cardboard between my computer monitors. He has communicated that he is sad and wants a better yard. In a few weeks ... 25 July 2005: The freeway became bumpier and trashier as we headed into LA today. We hit the LA freeways mid-day and only had to stop once for traffic delays because of a small accident. We waved to Jay Leno as we drove by the exit to Burbank. Our concrete campground is in the city of Anaheim so we can walk to many places. Disneyland is only one mile away and we can see their nightly closing fireworks from our campsite. Tom and I were snoozing away when the boom boom boom of those fireworks woke us up tonight. We chose this park because it offers a shuttle bus to and from Disneyland and the park office staff arranges many other day tours with bus pick-ups. We want to drive as little as possible in the LA traffic. Refrigerator repairman will come tomorrow and we do hope that he can fix our frig! We just can't keep milk and meats cold enough safely in an ice chest. Temperatures did not reach 100 F today. Temperature was near 90 with a slight breeze, tolerable. Tomorrow we will set-up the tent for Henning and go food shopping IF the frig is repaired. 24 July 2005: Tom woke me up with good news and bad news. The good news is that I don't need to defrost the refrigerator; the bad news is this is because it's kaput. We had to throw everything perishable out and we're using coolers with ice to keep milk and water cold. We'll call someone tomorrow when we settle in Anaheim to come out to repair or replace it. Tom thinks we've just worked it too hard traveling through the desert a few times and now in this heat wave. Ruby's thermometer reached 116 today. It is dangerously hot. We drove I-5 further south toward LA today. We passed vineyards and rice fields watered by the California Aqueduct in this desert region. We also saw acres and acres of scorched earth burned by fire lit by careless commuters' cigarette butts or Mother Nature's bolts of lightning. We're less than 200 miles from LA stopping for an overnight break in an RV park in the middle of apricot orchards and fields of tomatoes and canteloupes. When Tom checked us in, he was given a free canteloupe picked today from the field and it is delicious. Truck loads of Morning Star tomatoes are headed north for packing and processing. We also passed a huge feed lot that smelled bad for miles and miles in this heat. I'm always taken aback by those nasty feed lots knowing that I do love my filet mignon. It's hard to believe that our delicious steaks come from that mess. Tom commented that the livestock here is slow-roasting on their hooves in this summer heat. This RV park in the fruit, nut, and vegetable fields is near a prison and hospital for the criminally insane and the epicenter for the recent earthquakes in CA. We'll lock our doors and hope to be safe from "nuts and quakes". 23 July 2005: Ruby's thermometer reached 108 as we drove from Del Loma near Weaverville to Dunnigan near Sacramento. Snow-covered Mt. Shasta grew smaller in our rear view mirrors as we drove south through thirsty olive, almond, and peach orchards. Some fields were full of corn, millet, rye grass, and other feed for cattle. Fields of sunflowers were drying in the hot summer sun. We continue south toward LA tomorrow. 22 July 2005: Spent most of today doing the outside work to prepare for our departure tomorrow. We will be on the road for three days heading to LA. 19 July 2005: Rattler! Yesterday as I was walking up to the office to get quarters to do laundry, two old gents were staring at the ground. I asked them if they were looking at a snake. Yes! It was a diamond back rattlesnake. One wanted to kill it because it's poisonous, the other didn't. So, one of them caught it with a stick and threw it into the woods. Hope the cats don't find it and play with it. I have seen Harry play with small snakes in the driftwood on the beach. This one could make him deathly sick. Still hot! Too hot... Official temperature was 103, but our thermometer read 114. 15 July 2005: Ruby's thermometer read as high as 109 in the shade today. Too hot! Both air conditioners are keeping us cool by running continuously. There are only a few patches of snow remaining on the tallest mountains here in the Trinity Alps and the river is running low and clear. We have been here for almost three weeks and we have only had a few sprinkles of rain. Danger of forest fires is high. Today, I took a few photos of the Taoist Temple and the Joss House, a California State Park honoring the Chinese heritage of Weaverville. Chinese immigrants came in search of gold. When the gold ran out, most of them left to build the railroads. We ate lunch at the local Chinese restaurant. The food wasn't very good, but there was a very interesting wall mural depicting Chinese immigrants on the streets of this old gold mining town. Photos have been uploaded to our Trinity Alps CA gallery. 09 July 2005: Our overnight trip to Brookings, OR, was a real treat. It felt good to see familiar places and faces. We enjoyed the ocean view and good seafood. Tom checked on our storage unit and said hello to our stuff which is in good condition. I had a long visit with my friend Jeanine. Temperature changes were ongoing cooling as we drove west and warming up as we drove east, a difference of about 20 degrees. Harry and Sadie must have missed us because they can't get enough hugs and petting. This morning, Tom installed my new computer; it will take some getting used to, as do all new things. 05 July 2005: Tom spent the day in Weaverville waiting for Ruby to get her new windshield installed. He went to see War of the Worlds and commented that it was a good movie. I cat-sat. We have accepted our roles as servants to Harry and Sadie. I also photographed birds. Steller's jays and grosbeaks will eat as much seed and popcorn as I put out. A few tiny blackbirds and a western scrub-jay have been visiting the feeding area. A tiny yellow and gray bird is playing hide-n-seek with me in the madrone bushes. I can see it with my binoculars, but not with the camera lens. Several photos of hummers and a western scrub-jay were added to our Trinity Alps Gallery. Tomorrow, we prepare for our overnight visit to Brookings. We will put some books and other items in our storage unit, eat some seafood, and watch the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. The cats will be without their servants during this overnight stay.
Happy 229th birthday, USA! 03 July 2005: Yesterday, we took a long drive on CA 299 E to Arcata-Eureka. The temperature dropped 20 degrees as we headed toward the ocean. When we stopped at one of the mountain top vistas, we noticed the crisp, saline air. The plants look so much healthier when they get enough moisture. The grass is greener and the colors of the flowers are so much richer. Weaverville is having a huge parade today to celebrate Independence Day. We've elected to stay out of the crowds. |
|||||||||
To view more of our photos or to purchase prints and gifts,
|
