Avenue of the Giants

Our trip north found us driving along The Avenue of the Giants. This 33 mile stretch of highway found us surrounded by great, big, huge, 350 plus foot giant red wood trees.

And what a sight that was. We were pulling the rig at this time; and more than once were hugging the yellow centre line. Thank goodness this highway was pretty quiet.

There are trees in this area; that are hundreds of years old; among the oldest in north america. Some of these trees were so wide; that you need 20 plus people, linked by their hands; to fully circle a tree.

We continued north through Oregon, and spent roughly a week in this beautiful state. We found a couple of nice state parks to stay in; and found lots of neat places to take day drives. Next stop was Washington. The weather on the West coast; is usually fairly moderate in the early spring; but this year was an exception. It was cold; wet; and windy for most of our time here. Great planning on our part. The state parks from California right on through to Washington are beautiful; with large, private sites. And great hiking trails, usually close by.

We also spent a week on the beaches of Long Beach, WA. It was still pretty chilly at this point; but the park we found was nice and right at the beach. In fact, we were able to drive our truck along the beach for a bit. Molly also spent a lot of time chasing her frisbee and had a great time.

While in Washington, we visited another relative. We hadn't seen Victoria for close to 9 years; and it was nice to visit and catch up. She treated us to a nice Mexican dinner; than toured us around Seattle; before coming back to our place, another state park, out near Puget Sound to hear some stories and see some pictures. A good time was had by all.

Next stop, Canada.

Take a look at the pictures.

San Francisco and area

Our next stop along the way was San Francisco. We stayed at a nice RV resort about an hour south of San Fran. We drove in one day and did a self guided tour. We drove past fisherman's wharf; alcatraz; went through the golden gate park; and of course, we drove across the bridge. That was pretty neat. We also drove to haight/ashbury. Mike lived in that area, briefly, during the early 70's; and although that was a long time ago; he pointed out the house he lived in. The whole area is pretty preppy and a lot different from those earlier days.

We also followed a cable car up and then down, one of San Fran's really steep hills! We were here during the spring break time; and couldn't find a place to park our F-350 - anywhere! So needless to say, we didn't have a chance to get out and walk around. But we were satisfied with what we did see.

We also spent a day in Carmel. Again, we picked a really busy time to go and see this little gem of a town. But we did manage to find a parking spot down by the beach; and spent an hour or so walking and watching the waves.

We also took a few more scenic drives around this area; those twisting, curving, tight roads. And again were wowed by the beauty of the area.

It was on one of these drives, heading "home" for the night when we passed a pier, completely covered in sea lions. There must have been hundreds of them. All piled on top of, or right beside each other. It was quite comical watching the jostling when a new one came out of the water. After an hour or so of being entertained, we had a nice fish dinner at the restaurant beside the pier; and for desert, we watched the sea lions before heading home.

We then headed north up the coast; and were wowed by the rugged beauty of the Big Sur Highway. Unfortunately we couldn't stay in the park as we're too long for their spots.

Take a look at the pictures.

Driving along the coast in California

After pampering ourselves for a week at the Fountain of Youth Spa, we started to make our way to the Pacific Ocean. Again we found ourselves on a secondary highway; one of those twisty, curvy roads; and all of my driving skills were put to the test.

We spent a night in San Matteo; and although we had planned on spending a week in this area; it was really booked up due to Spring break. So we moved on the next day. We drove through places such as Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Long Beach; Redondo Beach, Santa Monica. These are places that the Beach Boys sang about for years; and many of us dreamt about. We also drove under LAX, while a plane was landing. That was as close to Los Angeles that we came to. As we avoid most big cities like the plague.

We ended up spending the night in Ventura; and were parked right up to the ocean. This park was also a dry camping park - no facilities; but for one night; we managed just fine. We also had surfers right behind us; and they kept us entertained until sunset.

Take a look at our pictures.

California, here we come!

We arrived in California early March; and were met by a beautiful warm, sunny day.

At this time, we decided to head to the Sultan Sea; and spent a week at The Fountain of Youth Spa. Talk about going from one extreme to the next. Dry camping to more spas than one person needs. This place had 4 spas; a couple of steam rooms and we tried out everything.

We also took a tour through Joshua Tree National Park. I had never seen nor heard of a Joshua Tree before; and it was pretty amazing to see.

Take a look at the pictures.

Back to Mesa, Arizona

After leaving the bliss of the Ajo desert; we headed back to Mesa, Arizona. Another of Mike's Aunt's from Ontario was there for a visit; and we decided that one more visit with the relatives would be a good thing before leaving the area.

We also took this opportunity to get hair cuts; wash our really dirty truck; re-stock our fridge and freezer; and get a few good games of pepper in while there.

We only stayed a week this time before moving on towards California. We spent a few nights in the desert near Quartzite, Arizona, which is really close to the California border. During the months of January and February, Quartzite is booming. There a 1000's of RV's parked throughout the desert; and 100's of vendors selling their wares. Thankfully, when we arrived; there were only a handful of both. We found a nice place to call home for a few nights. Although it's wasn't near as peaceful as the first boondocking experience. The I-10 was only a few miles behind us; and the traffic never seemed to let up.

Take a look at our pictues that we posted.