The final leg of a ten month journey, and an odometer showing we had put 26,900 miles on the truck, came to an end as we arrived home on Wednesday, April 28... Two days before Anne’s big day…
We left Sunnyside around 7:30 AM, and began our trek toward the Cascade Mountains…
This country (from Sunnyside to the Cascade foothills) is eye-pleasing, to say the least…
Valleys are filled with vineyards, berries and apple orchards, and farms of all sort and sizes… Small, quaint towns cluster the freeway here and there, but you also come across bigger cities, like Yakima and Ellensburg…
Hopefully, if you come for a visit, the skies will be clear, and the sun will be out, because the vistas are breathtaking, and you can almost see forever…
Talking about the sun… As we neared the mountains, the Big Orb began its hide and seek behind layers of clouds: At first, flimsy little wisps, but then, as we got closer to Snoqualmie Summit, they gathered strength and purpose, and, before we knew it, we were in a light mist…
Of course, that turned into rain as we began our descent toward Puget Sound…
Welcome to the Evergreen State!
Backtracking for a sec…
A couple of weeks ago, we ordered an electric “kromkake” iron (from “Scandinavian Specialties,” in Ballard - a suburb of Seattle) for Anne’s birthday…
Luanne’s sister (“Gede”) was kind enough to pick it up for us, so we didn’t have to take the trailer into Seattle proper, so, today, for our first stop in Western Washington, we stopped at her house (in Mountlake Terrace) to fetch the little goodie…
Thanks, “Gede” for doing us that favor… We really appreciate it!
The clouds began to part, as we headed North on I-5, and by the time we reached Mount Vernon, we could see Lummi Island (in the distance) having no cloud cover at all… Nice welcoming sign!
We‘re dependent on a fairly high tide to take the trailer onto our little ferry, and, since high tide was at 7:00 PM, we had a few hours to kill before driving to the ferry terminal… Hence, we headed over to Costco, where we picked up some needed food stuff, and then walked over to Billy McHale’s for dinner: Prawns for me, nachos for the missus…
That done, we headed to the ferry, and lucked out… The tide was up enough so we got on the 5 o’clock, which was totally awesome… Saved a couple of hours, and that’s always good…
Home, sweet home!
It was good to be back…
Of course, as you all know, there are always some tumultuous days after you get home, especially after such a long trip…
All kinds of things need be addressed… Hook up water; call the appropriate authorities about TV and garbage, and, of course, you have all that stuff to put away…
Luanne wanted everything done in a day, which was virtually impossible, so I reminded her she’s now officially retired, but she only slowed down a bit… It’ll take a while to get her mind set to retirement… It took me a couple of years…
Anyway, we’re glad we came home early, so we got some stuff done…
From one thing to another…
It was a good thing we talked to Anne on the phone on Thursday and Friday mornings, because it was a bit hard to keep a straight face when we lied about where we were… But, hey, the end (in this case) justified the goal…
Of course, on Friday, our “Little White Lies” were revealed…
We drove down to Burlington, where we entered SAKURA, a Japanese restaurant, a half hour ahead of the appointed time…
Had the camera out, and took pictures as Anne and Dan entered, but Anne spotted us right off the bat, and moved so fast that none of them turned out… She dashed around folks eating, cooks cooking, tables aflame, and waiters wondering where the fire was… Tears in her eyes… Huge Bear hugs… Laughter…
Ah, what a joyous occasion!
Took her completely by surprise!
Our ruse worked…
She had no idea…
Our “Little White Lies” paid off…
Happy ending….
And that brings me to the end of my Blog…
We’ve had an incredible journey… One which we wish every person in America (the entire world, actually) would have the opportunity to experience…
This country is vast and diverse, and when it comes to beauty… Well… There can’t be many places that can compare… This country has it all: From prairies to snowcapped peaks; from sun baked deserts to rugged shores… Farmland, stretched from horizon to horizon… Forests and Swamps… There’s enough to cover everyone’s taste…
We’ve walked beaches, strolled along famous (and infamous) buildings, streets, and parks…
We’ve gazed upon some of this country’s celebrated statues and sculptures, and immersed ourselves in the history that made this country (in my mind) the best country in the world to live in and be a part of…
We’ve met some amazing and remarkable people, and we’ve eaten everything from gastronomic wonders to hot dogs…
I could go on and on, but you get the idea…
So, in closing, I would like to convey to those of you who looked in on our trip, and wished us well along the way, our sincerest and warmest THANK YOU… We’re grateful - to no end - for your friendship, your encouraging words, and your love…
A special thanks to “Gede” and Terry, who crossed the country (horizontally and vertically) to be with us for just a few days here and there… How cool is that?
And, of course, our most heartfelt and sincerest thanks to our kids and grandkids, Stein & Tina (Reese, Hailey, and Hannah); Anne & Dan (Hunter, Morgan, and little Holly); and our bachelor son, Erik, and his dog (Samson?), who kept an eye and an ear on our trip at all time, and who welcomed us with open arms when we arrived… Love you guys!
THE END
Oh, yeah… Here’s the last picture show: http://cid-44d18849bf3983e9.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/SUNNYSIDE%20to%20LUMMI%20ISLAND%5EJ%20WA.%20%5E5APR.%2028%5EJ%202010%5E6%5EJ%20and%20a%20surprise%20visit%20for%20ANNE%e2%80%99s%20%20birthday%20%5E5April%2030%5EJ%202010%5E6
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
ELY to JACKPOT, NEVADA, and then on to SUNNYSIDE, WASHINGTON (APR. 26 & 27, 2010)
I have an apology to make to my Blog readers…
Our daughter’s birthday (Anne) is April 30, so about a month ago, as we were contemplating our return home (which we had tentatively set for may 1), we decided to surprise her, by trying to make it home on or before her day…
To that end, we contacted Dan (her husband), and asked him to include us in whatever he had planned for her birthday…
Anne’s been an avid follower of the Blog (of course), and over the ten months we’ve been away, we’ve kept contact every day by either Email, Facebook, phone, or through SKYPE…
So, in order to surprise her, we had to cover up our intentions, which, in turn, had us dishing out “Little White Lies” the last week of our trip…
Dan let us know he had reservations at the SAKURA Japanese Restaurant, in Burlington, WA. (on Friday, April 30), and we, in turn, kept telling Anne we were in the desert, and a long way from home; Sorry, no chance to get home before your birthday…
The troubles we had (the tire blow-out, and the breaking of the power chord receptacle) were real, but we embellished on the truth a bit, on the Blog, Facebook, and phone, so we could explain not coming home before her day… I actually fixed the power chord thing the day we got to Ely, but wrote that it would take a couple of days to get the part sent there…
Of course, we embellished the weather angle, as well…
We had pretty much decent weather all the way home, but told Anne (and you) that we were stuck in snow, or the wind was blowing too hard to go any further…
What it all boils down to is that all this nonsense provided the excuse we needed to keep Anne in the dark…
Tuesday was a very long driving day (from Ely all the way to Sunnyside, in Washington), and we took a lot of pictures (I split them into two Blogs - this one and the next)…
They’re taken in Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, and Southeastern Washington, and I believe I put enough captions in to give you an idea of where we are and what it looks like…
So that’s it for this Blog… Take a look at the pictures: http://cid-44d18849bf3983e9.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/ELY%20to%20JACKPOT%5EJ%20NEVADA%5EJ%20and%20then%20on%20to%20SUNNYSIDE%5EJ%20WASHINGTON%20%5E5APR.%2026%20%5E0%2027%5EJ%202010%5E6
Our daughter’s birthday (Anne) is April 30, so about a month ago, as we were contemplating our return home (which we had tentatively set for may 1), we decided to surprise her, by trying to make it home on or before her day…
To that end, we contacted Dan (her husband), and asked him to include us in whatever he had planned for her birthday…
Anne’s been an avid follower of the Blog (of course), and over the ten months we’ve been away, we’ve kept contact every day by either Email, Facebook, phone, or through SKYPE…
So, in order to surprise her, we had to cover up our intentions, which, in turn, had us dishing out “Little White Lies” the last week of our trip…
Dan let us know he had reservations at the SAKURA Japanese Restaurant, in Burlington, WA. (on Friday, April 30), and we, in turn, kept telling Anne we were in the desert, and a long way from home; Sorry, no chance to get home before your birthday…
The troubles we had (the tire blow-out, and the breaking of the power chord receptacle) were real, but we embellished on the truth a bit, on the Blog, Facebook, and phone, so we could explain not coming home before her day… I actually fixed the power chord thing the day we got to Ely, but wrote that it would take a couple of days to get the part sent there…
Of course, we embellished the weather angle, as well…
We had pretty much decent weather all the way home, but told Anne (and you) that we were stuck in snow, or the wind was blowing too hard to go any further…
What it all boils down to is that all this nonsense provided the excuse we needed to keep Anne in the dark…
Tuesday was a very long driving day (from Ely all the way to Sunnyside, in Washington), and we took a lot of pictures (I split them into two Blogs - this one and the next)…
They’re taken in Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, and Southeastern Washington, and I believe I put enough captions in to give you an idea of where we are and what it looks like…
So that’s it for this Blog… Take a look at the pictures: http://cid-44d18849bf3983e9.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/ELY%20to%20JACKPOT%5EJ%20NEVADA%5EJ%20and%20then%20on%20to%20SUNNYSIDE%5EJ%20WASHINGTON%20%5E5APR.%2026%20%5E0%2027%5EJ%202010%5E6
Monday, April 26, 2010
LAS VEGAS to ELY, NEVADA (APR. 25, 2010)
We were ready to leave “Sin City” at 7:30 today…
After a while you get tired of all the hustle and bustle, and you’re ready to leave it behind… Far behind…
Well, that was the plan, but it didn’t turn out that way…
Remember when I told you about the first horrible night we had, with all the highway construction right outside our door?
Well, when I moved the trailer the next day, I didn’t realize I ripped the “umbilical” (read: power) chord out of the trailer receptacle, and, in so doing, I broke the lid off the receptacle… That would not have been a problem if the umbilical chord would stay put, but the lid is spring loaded, and it has a little lip on it, which holds the chord in place while you’re driving… Without a lip to hold the chord, there’s no power to the trailer, and the turn signals, the power break, and other electrical “stuff” needed for a safe trip is out the window…
There’s nothing open at 7:30 on a Sunday morning, and we would have to wait until 10:00 (at least) to get a replacement receptacle, so I made the decision to take off… Thinking: Since we’re going to drive the GREAT BASIN Highway (as desolate and as empty a stretch of road you‘ll ever find), we wouldn’t encounter all that many vehicles, and we could pick up the part in Ely…
I jury-rigged the chord with a bungee, but it didn’t work… I left it in place anyway…
All went well for the first hour…
I decided to trust Jill (our GPS), who guided us Northeast onto Nellis Boulevard (which I’d never thought of taking before), and that turned out to be great… It took us away from all the freeway traffic in town, and hooked us up with I-15 East of Las Vegas International Speedway and Nellis Air Force Base…
We stopped to check the power chord situation, and, of course, nothing worked… As we did that, Lu noticed that the right rear tire on the trailer was showing a bit of steel belt… I looked at it… The area in question was on the edge of the tire, and it didn’t look like much of a deal… I thought we’d be OK until we got to a big town where we could replace it…. WRONG!
A mile after we got onto I-15, and about two miles before we would turn off this main artery, a truck passed and honked… Then a pick-up truck passed… The passenger had his window down and looked at me while pointing dramatically down toward Terra Firma… I got the message!
Funny, but there was no notice of the problem inside the cab… No vibration, no nothing… We slowed and pulled over to the shoulder, and as we did, Lu said she saw our tire take a detour into the desert… Benedict Arnold!
After coming to a full and legal stop, we found only the rim and a few remnants left of the tire…
Thank goodness, the rim was OK…
As I realized our early start had come to a screeching halt, I steamed for a bit, said a few cuss words (which I’m sure made Luanne blush), but collected myself nicely (Luanne was proud of me), and then called Good Sam Platinum Road Service… Within 1 1/2 hour we had a new tire, and were on our way again…
The road to Ely, as the pictures show, is long and lonesome, and located, for the most part, in the center of two mountain ranges (don’t feel like looking it up, so, don’t know their names), but this time (we’ve lost count of all the times we’ve driven this route), we were totally amazed (blown away) by how green everything is… Usually, when we’re here, it’s as brown as only a desert can be…
Anyway, we got to Ely, and we hooked up, and I went to the town’s main RV parts store to get a new receptacle… No go…
Had to ship it here by Pony Express, which might be here in a day or a month… Who knows?
We’re in High Heaven here (as you can see on the pictures)… I mean, we’re at an elevation somewhere between 6 and 7 thousand feet, and my oxygen intake has escalated to a wheezing 4,000 breaths a second, so the sooner we’re out of here, the happier my lungs are gonna feel, so… Let’s get the show on the road…
To celebrate my lack of breathable air (and after the wonderful news about the umbilical chord), we decided to head over to the Old Nevada Hotel (it has a colorful story, but look it up yourself… I‘m too tired to elaborate), where we bellied up to the bar for a celebratory drink, and found out that there was a free dinner buffet being served for people who might have popped in, or who had trouble breathing the thin air around here…
Wonderful food… Even though it was Mexican, and I couldn’t pronounce the names if I tried…
That was it for this magnificent day… Now the waiting for the Pony Express starts…
I’m afraid this will be my last Blogs until we get home… I’m taking a break, and I deserve it… Any questions, please write me at kjelljohnsen$@msn.com, or on my Facebook… Take care until then…
Oh, Anne, we’re trying to get home on the 1st, but they’re calling for snow, so it might be a few days after that… Love you all!
PICTURES: http://cid-44d18849bf3983e9.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/LAS%20VEGAS%20to%20ELY%5EJ%20NEVADA%20%5E5APR.%2025%5EJ%202010%5E6?nl=1&uc=72&isFromRichUpload=1
After a while you get tired of all the hustle and bustle, and you’re ready to leave it behind… Far behind…
Well, that was the plan, but it didn’t turn out that way…
Remember when I told you about the first horrible night we had, with all the highway construction right outside our door?
Well, when I moved the trailer the next day, I didn’t realize I ripped the “umbilical” (read: power) chord out of the trailer receptacle, and, in so doing, I broke the lid off the receptacle… That would not have been a problem if the umbilical chord would stay put, but the lid is spring loaded, and it has a little lip on it, which holds the chord in place while you’re driving… Without a lip to hold the chord, there’s no power to the trailer, and the turn signals, the power break, and other electrical “stuff” needed for a safe trip is out the window…
There’s nothing open at 7:30 on a Sunday morning, and we would have to wait until 10:00 (at least) to get a replacement receptacle, so I made the decision to take off… Thinking: Since we’re going to drive the GREAT BASIN Highway (as desolate and as empty a stretch of road you‘ll ever find), we wouldn’t encounter all that many vehicles, and we could pick up the part in Ely…
I jury-rigged the chord with a bungee, but it didn’t work… I left it in place anyway…
All went well for the first hour…
I decided to trust Jill (our GPS), who guided us Northeast onto Nellis Boulevard (which I’d never thought of taking before), and that turned out to be great… It took us away from all the freeway traffic in town, and hooked us up with I-15 East of Las Vegas International Speedway and Nellis Air Force Base…
We stopped to check the power chord situation, and, of course, nothing worked… As we did that, Lu noticed that the right rear tire on the trailer was showing a bit of steel belt… I looked at it… The area in question was on the edge of the tire, and it didn’t look like much of a deal… I thought we’d be OK until we got to a big town where we could replace it…. WRONG!
A mile after we got onto I-15, and about two miles before we would turn off this main artery, a truck passed and honked… Then a pick-up truck passed… The passenger had his window down and looked at me while pointing dramatically down toward Terra Firma… I got the message!
Funny, but there was no notice of the problem inside the cab… No vibration, no nothing… We slowed and pulled over to the shoulder, and as we did, Lu said she saw our tire take a detour into the desert… Benedict Arnold!
After coming to a full and legal stop, we found only the rim and a few remnants left of the tire…
Thank goodness, the rim was OK…
As I realized our early start had come to a screeching halt, I steamed for a bit, said a few cuss words (which I’m sure made Luanne blush), but collected myself nicely (Luanne was proud of me), and then called Good Sam Platinum Road Service… Within 1 1/2 hour we had a new tire, and were on our way again…
The road to Ely, as the pictures show, is long and lonesome, and located, for the most part, in the center of two mountain ranges (don’t feel like looking it up, so, don’t know their names), but this time (we’ve lost count of all the times we’ve driven this route), we were totally amazed (blown away) by how green everything is… Usually, when we’re here, it’s as brown as only a desert can be…
Anyway, we got to Ely, and we hooked up, and I went to the town’s main RV parts store to get a new receptacle… No go…
Had to ship it here by Pony Express, which might be here in a day or a month… Who knows?
We’re in High Heaven here (as you can see on the pictures)… I mean, we’re at an elevation somewhere between 6 and 7 thousand feet, and my oxygen intake has escalated to a wheezing 4,000 breaths a second, so the sooner we’re out of here, the happier my lungs are gonna feel, so… Let’s get the show on the road…
To celebrate my lack of breathable air (and after the wonderful news about the umbilical chord), we decided to head over to the Old Nevada Hotel (it has a colorful story, but look it up yourself… I‘m too tired to elaborate), where we bellied up to the bar for a celebratory drink, and found out that there was a free dinner buffet being served for people who might have popped in, or who had trouble breathing the thin air around here…
Wonderful food… Even though it was Mexican, and I couldn’t pronounce the names if I tried…
That was it for this magnificent day… Now the waiting for the Pony Express starts…
I’m afraid this will be my last Blogs until we get home… I’m taking a break, and I deserve it… Any questions, please write me at kjelljohnsen$@msn.com, or on my Facebook… Take care until then…
Oh, Anne, we’re trying to get home on the 1st, but they’re calling for snow, so it might be a few days after that… Love you all!
PICTURES: http://cid-44d18849bf3983e9.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/LAS%20VEGAS%20to%20ELY%5EJ%20NEVADA%20%5E5APR.%2025%5EJ%202010%5E6?nl=1&uc=72&isFromRichUpload=1
Saturday, April 24, 2010
LAS VEGAS - ALBUM 1 (APR. 23 - APR. 24, 2010)
Friday, Apr. 23...
If one picture tells a thousand words, then I have about 186,000 words to tell you, because we took about 260 pictures in Las Vegas over the past two days, which I have now managed to squeeze down to 186…
Since there are so many, I decided to break them into two Blogs…
There’s not much to say about Las Vegas that you probably don’t already know, so, I’m gonna make this short and sweet…
As I understand it (from personal experiences, and talking to people living here), Las Vegas is still recuperating from the “depression.” There are a lot of commercial buildings and homes empty when you drive around town, and there is a lot of new construction which has simply stopped in mid-stride, but, when you drive, or stroll down “The Strip” (Las Vegas Boulevard), you’d be hard pressed to think this town is hard up…
Tourists are here by the thousands, and traffic is awful whether you‘re driving The Strip or Freeways…
Luanne and I’ve been here many, many times over the years, and we really don’t like going into town any more… To us, Las Vegas has become so “impersonal,” and so big, so “stretched” out that it’s almost impossible to “take it all in” and enjoy it any more… Of course, the prices of everything has skyrocketed, which doesn’t help either…
Anyway, now-a-days, we usually drive through town just to check out the new casinos, and then go to “people friendly” places (like Laughlin) instead of fighting the crowds…
As I said, I’ve split our two-day venture here into two Blogs: This one consists of (for the most part) pictures taken while driving, and the following contains pictures we shot while walking…
Most of the pictures will be self explanatory, so I haven’t bothered writing anything on them…
I think it’s true when I say that Las Vegas has gone over the top when it comes to everything, and that’s only been a good thing (to me) when it comes to the architectural designs of new buildings… They are sleek, and right down fabulous, and that’s the only comment I will make… See the pictures for yourself: http://cid-44d18849bf3983e9.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/LAS%20VEGAS%20-%20ALBUM%201%20%5E5APR.%2023%20-%20APR.%2024%5EJ%202010%5E6?uc=96&isFromRichUpload=1
If one picture tells a thousand words, then I have about 186,000 words to tell you, because we took about 260 pictures in Las Vegas over the past two days, which I have now managed to squeeze down to 186…
Since there are so many, I decided to break them into two Blogs…
There’s not much to say about Las Vegas that you probably don’t already know, so, I’m gonna make this short and sweet…
As I understand it (from personal experiences, and talking to people living here), Las Vegas is still recuperating from the “depression.” There are a lot of commercial buildings and homes empty when you drive around town, and there is a lot of new construction which has simply stopped in mid-stride, but, when you drive, or stroll down “The Strip” (Las Vegas Boulevard), you’d be hard pressed to think this town is hard up…
Tourists are here by the thousands, and traffic is awful whether you‘re driving The Strip or Freeways…
Luanne and I’ve been here many, many times over the years, and we really don’t like going into town any more… To us, Las Vegas has become so “impersonal,” and so big, so “stretched” out that it’s almost impossible to “take it all in” and enjoy it any more… Of course, the prices of everything has skyrocketed, which doesn’t help either…
Anyway, now-a-days, we usually drive through town just to check out the new casinos, and then go to “people friendly” places (like Laughlin) instead of fighting the crowds…
As I said, I’ve split our two-day venture here into two Blogs: This one consists of (for the most part) pictures taken while driving, and the following contains pictures we shot while walking…
Most of the pictures will be self explanatory, so I haven’t bothered writing anything on them…
I think it’s true when I say that Las Vegas has gone over the top when it comes to everything, and that’s only been a good thing (to me) when it comes to the architectural designs of new buildings… They are sleek, and right down fabulous, and that’s the only comment I will make… See the pictures for yourself: http://cid-44d18849bf3983e9.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/LAS%20VEGAS%20-%20ALBUM%201%20%5E5APR.%2023%20-%20APR.%2024%5EJ%202010%5E6?uc=96&isFromRichUpload=1
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