Our final destination of the six-week trip was Yosemite National Park — a trip Philip has dreamed of since he was a teenager and mooned over famous photographer Ansel Adams’ beautiful black and white photos of this gorgeous area. We had a full day to see a mere fraction of the park … but boy were we glad we got there when we did. Because...
Week Five: we left Redwoods and the coast, and headed inland to Redding in far-northern California. Redding is nothing to get excited about in and of itself, but the nearby Shasta-Trinity National Forest and Whiskeytown National Recreation Area make this location the perfect base for things that interest us: great biking trails, cool breezes, and the...
The fourth week of our 2014 Western Adventure had us heading for Redwoods National Forest, in the far northwestern tip of California. The redwoods have been around for 65 million years and are the tallest living things on earth. Can you say BIG BIG BIG? Of course, how could we feel anything but small, small, small! While in the area, we gleefully...
Halfway through the trip, we left Hood River, Oregon, and headed to the northernmost and westernmost point of our trip … Chinook, Washington. From there, Philip’s plan was to ride his bike all the way down the Oregon Coast over the course of seven days! Three weeks into our six-week adventure, and 1896 of 3718 miles have been “LOGGED” on...
On our way to Hood River, Oregon and the gorgeous Mt. Hood. Leaving West Yellowstone and driving west through Idaho and eastern Oregon was a real mind-blower. Either we had become spectacularly lost, or God had a bad case of ADHD when creating these areas. How could the topography change so dramatically every 30 minutes through just a few hundred...
As an Arizona native, Fourth of July in Phoenix has always been a non-event for me. The jello salad melts immediately, the potato salad’s always at high risk for salmonella poisoning, friends look weird when viewed through a wavy heat haze. Everything is just **too darn hot**!! That’s why we were so excited at the prospect of a full-scale, old...
Ahhh, Yellowstone … the mythical, magical, iconic National Park and (most notably) the inspiration for Yogi Bear’s Jellystone. Who hasn’t spent many a Saturday morning in their jammies on the fold-out couch eating Froot Loops and watching Yogi Bear antagonize Mr. Park Ranger Smith? Most importantly, we wanted to see some wildlife, dammit! Cute...
The journey continues. From Zion in Utah, we proceed to the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. “Grand Teton” apparently means “large teat” in French (and really, who doesn’t love a great boob pun?) but Philip swears that it means “we didn’t pack warm enough clothes” in English. Dorothy, we’re not in...
Leaving Page, AZ, our next destination was Zion National Park on the southern edge of Utah. Steep cliffs, narrow canyons, and a park that has remained over 85% wilderness (according to our expert source: the front of a t-shirt in the gift shop) had us excited to get to see this park up close and personal! Sheer cliff drops of 3000 feet or more! People die while...
After months and months of planning for our 3,718-mile Summer 2014 Adventure Tour, the departure day finally arrived! Packing an RV for a six-week trip is no easy task. Here is the fridge/freezer — not a square inch to spare! Individually portioned/pre-marinated meats in the freezer make cooking easy. Our first two days were spent in Page, AZ, 270...