Arrived!

Last night around 8 pm I arrived at my destination: Hayward, CA.  I will be house-sitting for the next two months, and it worked out that I arrived about 2 hours before the homeowners left for their trip!  So I got to meet them before they departed, which we didn't think would be possible -- they were originally going to leave on July 1 but events conspired to keep them here until last night. 

So now I am settled in and a lot more rested than when I arrived last night.  I unloaded the car this morning and hope to get everything arranged in the next day or two so I can begin exploring the area and looking for work next week.

A lovely welcome!

This reminds me of my aloe plants  of long ago...

The back yard.  Yes, that is a lemon tree on the left!

The Blue-cific Ocean!

Here are some photos that I took yesterday at various places along the coast, from Crescent City to the Klamath River estuary...  (When I was little we called the Pacific the Blue-cific!)

This is at Crescent City, the first place I saw the Pacific Ocean on this trip.

I LOVE pelicans!

The laughing gull and the serene pelican.

So peaceful...

I am not sure what these are for -- anybody have an idea? 

Trying to decide whether to do a cannonball, a swan dive, or just jump in...

This is a little further down the coast...

The waves were not too big 

Thar be WHALES down thar! (They're a little camera shy.)

This is near the mouth of the Klamath River

"From the redwood forests, to the gulf stream waters This Land was made for you and me!"

Yesterday's travels began in Grants Pass, OR.  I left there and headed southwest on US 199 to US 101, a route that took me through several redwood forests and along the coast.  It was a beautiful drive, and I couldn't resist stopping along the way and taking lots of photos.

Not long after I crossed into California I came to an Agricultural Inspection Station.  I had known of this but forgotten about it and was caught off guard.  I disclosed that I had one nectarine and some dried mango, which didn't seem to cause any alarm.  But with some prompting from the interrogating officer, it came out that I also had some fresh cherries in the car -- I had forgotten to mention them;  wasn't trying to conceal anything.  I was informed, for future reference, that "cherries are contraband" but allowed to keep my small stash just this once.  That's good, because by this time they were one of the few healthy snacks left in the car, and I still had a long way to go!

Pretty soon I came to Redwood National and State Parks -- I gathered that it is actually a series of parks connected together.  The first visitor's center I came to was Hiouchi Visitor Center, and I stopped there to gather information for my trip through the forests.  The volunteer guide who helped me was very well-informed and gave me some great information about where to stop and what to see given my time limitation.  Turns out she and her husband, who are from Florida, volunteer somewhere every summer, and it just happened that they chose Redwood to work at this summer.  (I am always interested to know about ways that people find work, whether paid employment or not.  This was a program I wasn't aware of.)

Anyway, to make a long story short, here are some of the images I shot in the forest...

(Coast photos will be in a separate post.)

This little guy was hopping around behind me...
when I turned around he didn't fly off, but
kept on hopping nearby in a friendly manner.

So much exquisite beauty in this place!

If a tree falls in a redwood forest...
the ferns keep it company. 

There isn't any way to capture
the bigness of the trees...

I couldn't resist this beautiful arc. 

This is part of a redwood tree root

Some people came along and we took pictures of each other...  

Hello from Grants Pass, Oregon!

Well, I finally pried myself loose from my uncle's house near Lake Ki and Arlington, Washington, and got on the road early this morning.  Except for a lengthy detour to eat lunch and (simultaneously) view Mt. St. Helens from Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center, I came more or less straight down I-5 today, arriving at Grants Pass a little after eight p.m.  No photos from the hotel this time... a few from Hoffstadt Bluffs will have to suffice.  There was also some spectacular scenery -- beautiful, tree-covered mountains -- the last hour before I got to Grants Pass, but I don't have photos of that. 

By the way, the veggie burger I ordered at the Hoffstadt Bluffs Cafe was one of the two best from this trip!  They make their own.  The salad and huckleberry tea were great, also! 

The exhibits about the Spring, 1980, disaster were very informative, but I didn't get to read much of them.    

Toomorrow:  California!

 

Mt. St. Helens from the Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center

At the Memorial Grove

The Memorial Grove

Another view from the Memorial Grove

Paradise

Yesterday I came through here...

...today it felt like Paradise to me near Arlington, WA... with Uncle Fred and his grandson Sam and beautiful surroundings

Music for the day:  bird songs, rain on the metal roof of Fred's shed, the puttering of the motor on Fred's saw...

Montana

What can I say?  Montana has to be seen to be appreciated...  The landscape is ever-changing, gorgeous, inviting...  lush grasses, clear streams and creeks, rippling lakes, horses everywhere...

I visited Little Bighorn Battlefield National Park yesterday.  A park ranger/storyteller gave (without notes!) an excellent talk on the history of the battle and its significance, as well as the other issues surrounding the event.  I wish I'd had more time to spend there.

The rest of the day I drove and drove and drove, finally stopping to rest for awhile at Rockford Coffee in Bozeman, MT.  The barista and I got into a running conversation (between customers) about life and plans and nearby beautiful spots to visit. We finally settled on a plan for me to take a scenic route off I-90 on the Pintler Veterans Memorial Scenic Highway between Anaconda and Drummond.  It was truly beautiful, and I was glad for the chance to get off the beaten path.  Not longer after that I pulled into Missoula for the night.

I don't have my camera in the hotel room with me this morning so will add more photos to this post later, I promise!  In the meanwhile, here's a link to some photos. I didn't go into Phillipsburg or the Granite Ghost Town but I did see the same scenic views.  Also the very last photo is something I saw but didn't get a photo of -- very curious yard decoration!

It's quite cool here this morning -- I feel guilty enjoying this cool weather when my friends out East are sweltering in a heat wave.  Wish you all could be here with me!

Music for the day:  David Wilcox, John Hartford, Appalachian Journey, Arlo Guthrie & Pete Seeger (More Together Again)