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FOR SIGNS SIGNS, hosted by Lesley
Conversation when traveling along State Highway 20 in California a couple of weeks ago.
"It'll be Nice in 10 miles."
"Oh isn't this Nice?"
"Wait a minute, was that Nice?"
So maybe it was more Nice (Nicer?) off the highway somewhere. The only thing we saw in Nice was this advertisement for a bed and breakfast.
One time years ago when we were camping in Baja, we were told that the Mexican name for the ROADRUNNER is "paisano." Which loosely translates to "comrade" or "fellow-traveler." So it is no surprise that we have an affinity for this this icon of the American Southwest. We always enjoy catching sight of our friend, whether we're staying or just traveling through ourselves as we were on this roadtrip.
(For those following our current roadtrip route, we traveled through part of Arizona and Texas where the roadrunners live. We are now in New Orleans.)
IN OUR WORLD, it's not always balloons and rainbows without rain. Nope, sometimes.... a roadtrip is just a roadtrip.
Sometimes there are dangerous curves to negotiate.
Sometimes you hit a temporary roadblock.
Sometimes you feel like you're going along between a rock and a hard place.
Sometimes the road seems endless.
But the company is good. We think about where we've been and we know the road is leading us to where we want to be.
Yes, sometimes a roadtrip is just....
a lot like life.
I hope to link this post to MELLOW YELLOW MONDAY and RUBY TUESDAY, assuming we have a good Internet connection wherever we are on those days. For those following our roadtrip, we spent Thursday and Friday in charming Fredericksburg Texas and we're now outside of Houston on our way toward Louisiana. This post is a look-back to last weekend, when we were in Yuma Arizona.
When we first started RVing in 1999, we stayed for a week or so in Yuma. Last weekend was the first time since then that we've stayed there. Yuma's one of the main destination for snowbirds from the Pacific Northwest (where we used to live). It's fairly close and warm and sunny, without the Northwest's rainy winters. There are dozens and dozens of RV Parks. The City's population of 194,000 is augmented during the winter by 85,000 snowbirds. Yuma is 7 miles north of Los Algodones Mexico and quite a few snowbirds get their prescription drugs and dental and optical work done in Mexico at lower prices. (Buses will pick people up at the border.) We prefer to keep our regular doctors and dentists and pharmacists, and when we were here before -- back in the last century -- we didn't find a lot to do in Yuma, so it didn't really call our name.
This time, we stopped only because we needed to do laundry and buy some groceries -- and it was the weekend, and that's always a good time to get off the road. It was complete serendipity that Bill saw a mention of the Colorado River Crossing Balloon Festival in a shopper paper he picked up.
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For a buck each, we entered the County Fairgrounds for the Balloon Lighting Festival. It was still daytime when we got there. Kids in the area had built balloons as a school project and volunteers were filling them witih hot air. This might have been my favorite part -- the kids were so happy and excited to see their balloons soar. This one was brought to the volunteer by two little girls who had pink ribbons on their pigtails and pink running shoes. All girl -- but they knew their balloon science -- so adorable!
We got to watch the big, professional, real balloons brought out to the field and watch how the crew took them out and prepared to "fire them up." Each one took quite a few people.
The main purpose of the event was to see all of the balloons lighted up at once -- after dark (as in the picture at the top of the post). It was lovely to see -- and fun to hear the crowd so excited.
The balloons were to go up the next morning -- and we could probably have seen them from our RV Park which was quite close to the Fairgrounds. But our bodies were still on Pacific Time -- and when we woke up it was well past the hour when they were to go up.
So we still want to see a Balloon Festival again someday to see them all soar at once. And someday, maybe we will even ride in one. (Tethered rides were offered at the Fairgrounds, but we got there a little too late to do that.) This balloon -- one of those offering rides -- came from McMinnville, pretty close to where we stay when we're in Oregon.
FOR SKYWATCH FRIDAY. Thank you to the hosts. We stumbled upon a balloon festival while we were in Yuma last weekend.
May your spirit soar this Holiday Season.
FOR SIGNS SIGNS CREATED AND HOSTED BY LESLEY. Thank you! This roadtrip post is almost current -- We stayed in Ajo Monday night on our way to Texas via Deming, New Mexico.
This is actually a mural of a (fake) sign at the RV Park where we stayed in Ajo Arizona. Nestled in the desert foothills 100 miles west of Tucson (with nothing much in between) it's true that this little town is a bit out of the way.
But maybe not really further away than the end of the world!
FOR WORLD BIRD WEDNESDAY, these pictures from The Arcata Marsh, where we spent a couple of days last week. It is in Northern California. This Marsh is not only one of the coolest birding places ever, it is simply one of the coolest PLACES ever.
We have visited it several times in the past, because the Humbolt Bay area of Northern California was always one of our favorite long-weekend destinations when we lived in Oregon (in our other life, when we worked and owned a home in Springfield).
The reason this place delights me every time I think of it is that this whole wonderful 300 plus acre wetlands area was created to serve as part of the City of Arcata's wastewater treatment system. Nearly all of it is accessible to the public on trails. The Sanctuary includes freshwater ponds, tidal mudflats, saltwater marshes and an interpretive center. The Marsh once was the site of a landfill and several lumber mills and some remnants of train tracks and loading areas remain.
The former leach pond is now a brackish water pond known as Klopp Lake, where thousands of shorebirds visit annually.
You can read more about the MARSH by clicking this link. Or better yet, go visit it. You won't be disappointed.
FOR THAT'S OUR WORLD. First of all I apologize to all of you who are getting whiplash from my back-and-forth postings as we virtually wander back and forth along the route of our roadtrip. We are currently in Arizona; moving along in our unhurried way in real life. (And when it comes to blogging, we are obviously moving even more slowly.)
In contrast to our travels along the Washington/Oregon coast, we didn't stop for every picture opportunity in California -- and, in fact, we got off the beautiful coast highway and drove the dopy freeway part of the way. Not our favorite way to travel, but, believe it or not, we do want to get to Florida before it's time to turn around and come back!
And because we love it so much and because we saw some wonderful birds there, I have another post about it for tomorrow.
________________ After we left the coast and got on the freeway, we stayed one night in Bakersfield. This is sort of the beginning of Southern California, in my mind anyway, because it is here that the LA smog starts showing up. (I guess it's really Bakersfield smog, because there is a lot of industry and industrial agriculture and oil wells there.) We stayed a couple of days in Arcata on Humbolt Bay, one of our long-time favorite places.
So it's not the most wonderful city in the world, but Orange Grove RV Park is great -- and one where we've stayed many times over the years. This picture is from a previous trip -- the oranges that grow in each spot weren't quite ready for picking yet. Even though we live in Florida part of the year and see a lot of orange trees now, I still think it's a huge bonus to have fresh free oranges at your RV spot. And we still enjoy seeing people excited about taking pictures of the trees -- people with Canadian, Oregon, Washington licenses. We felt the same way when we first started stopping here!
This picture is from a few years ago -- she still looks the same ... I look older! Next, we visited my Aunt and cousins in Long Beach. At 103, my Aunt still keeps up with politics and current events. And she also loves to tell stories about the amazing history she has lived through. A visit is always a delight.
I wish I were better at taking pictures of people. Here, as in Oregon and Washington, when we're with family and friends, I am so busy talking (and hopefully listening) and eating and playing games, that pictures are the last thing on my mind. As a result, there are way too many wonderful people whom we spent wonderful time with who are completely missing in photo albums and the blog. Next time I vow to do better.
And so that was our world last week as we journeyed on through Southern California and into Arizona, where we spent a long weekend in Yuma -- just because it was the weekend and we needed a few days to recoup and, last but not least, do the laundry and clean the inside and outside of our little home on wheels.
In real life on our roadtrip we are now in Arizona. But virtually, FullTime-Life is still catching up and all these pictures are from Oregon. (This post is linked to SUNDAY BRIDGES. Thank you Louis.)
We drove Highway 101 all the way along the Oregon Coast.... from the giant Columbia River on the North Coast to the Smith River almost at the California border. Quite a few rivers, quite a few bridges. Here are drive-by shots of some of them.
THIS POST IS LINKED TO SIGNS SIGNS hosted by Lesley at Thanks! For those following our roadtrip, we are now in Southern California. We stopped at Cape Foulweather Oregon for lunch one day last week.
From Dismal Nitch to Cape Foulweather, the last couple of "sign posts" make the Oregon Coast sound like an uninviting place to be. But in reality, when we traveled along it last week, the weather was beautiful and skies were blue. Everybody should visit!
FOR WEEKEND REFLECTIONS (thank you James) and MONDAY'S NATURES FOOTSTEPS, WATERS.
Beautiful Autumn colors were reflected in Willapa Bay, near the little town of Raymond Washington. We stopped here Wednesday for a picnic lunch on our way south.
The Willapa Bay watershed covers an area the size of Rhode Island and includes forested hills, fresh and salt waters, and towns along the rivers.
Four different rivers flow into the Bay. Average rainfall here varies from 65 inches along the coast to 140 inches in the hills. (So that is why we are heading South.)
This example of driveby shooting is linked to SKYWATCH FRIDAY.
Passing the appropriately-named RAINBOW VALLEY on I-5 just south of Tacoma Washington. (And for those following our roadtrip, this one is out of sync; it was taken on the way to Washington State last week.)
FOR WORLD BIRD WEDNESDAY (a flashback to an earlier trip).
We are on a roadtrip and now we actually ARE heading south. (Our first stop was in Washington State -- North from our summer stay in Oregon). Now, like the geese, we are finally heading the right direction.
This is an old picture (from way before World Bird Wednesday). It was taken at Bosque Del Apache in New Mexico. Here's a link to ourTypepad photo album of that great spot. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. This is definitely a spot we would recommend for birding.
http://travelingrainvilles.typepad.com/photos/bird_watching/index.html
FOR: OUR WORLD. We took a wrong turn on purpose and we're in Washington State (and yes, that is North of Oregon). Silly us -- even the geese know to fly SOUTH this time of year!
But we are here to visit family and for that we are grateful. So it is a little chilly and and a little damp, but definitely worth it!
This is beautiful Mt Ranier in the distance last Thursday evening, just as we turned into the RV Park where we're staying.
Because who could get tired of Autumn's vibrant reds, here is a look back to our last week at Fern Ridge Shores while pictures and posting catch up to where we are now. Shared with RUBY TUESDAY. Thank you Mary for hosting.
Three views of the same tree on Jeans Road.
Beautiful --
Especially since we don't have to worry about raking them up!