Sunday in Oregon

First hike of the day

Certainly loving the little walks we can take here.  I guessed wrong on on path out of the beach and Mindy and I were just about stuck forever.  The path was still obvious but there could have been snakes or sinkholes with each step.  Glad we survived.  Had to take my shoes off to get onto the correct path it was so steep.

He spent the night in the parking lot of the courthouse.  We were not alone as others had the same idea.

Welcome to Oregon

The feel in Oregon is more our style.  Although NoCal is beautiful and appears much the same the people are less stressed.  In California people were wearing masks on the trails.  Here in Oregon people just move back far enough to allow you to pass safely.

We stopped often at sites along the way

Still in Eureka

Still in Eureka but the parts delivery  came in at 8.  We packed while they worked on the van and we were on the road by 9:30.
We headed through the Redwood forest.  Zoom in to see the heads poking out of the van. 

Van in shop but we took a loaner

 We woke up early to be ready for them to work on the van.  Deliver came in at 10 and by noon we were told it would be another day.
We went north about an hour and spent the rest of the working day.

Briana told us of a couple of fun spots, Trinidad Point and the Lighthouse drive in.  She said the hike was not too hard and so we climbed up the hill to the cross.  I had to rest just about every bench but had to take the trip back down backwards in spots.  It was harder than my feet could handle.  At least that section was paved.

This is such a beautiful place.  I can't believe how green with flowers growing everywhere.  This must be close to heaven, at least it would be if it were further from Pelosi.

Oh, yes, we are doing this for a family gathering.  Corn bread with sage cone, mashed potato and gravy, with pulled pork on top.  What a fun and delicious meal.

Lounge day in the auto shop

We spent the morning in the shop but by 11 we were antsy and went put for a ride on our bikes. 

McDonald's won't take orders on a bike.  We went over to Burger King.  I went in while Dad stayed put with Mindy.  While waiting a homeless man came in and ordered.  His card wasn't working so I instinctively stepped up and paid for him.  He didn't even realize for two minutes when he found enough cash for one sandwich.  He was delighted to be able to get what he really wanted.  Made me feel good too.

After a short ride we went back to the shop to find out they had to order parts.  We took the van to drive around town.

Dad wasn't feeling well so while he was sleeping I went scouting.  There are no public dumpsters so I made three grocery bag trips to Safeways trash cans out front.

The best find was the redwood forest city park.  It felt just as wonderful as the Sequoia National Park with slightly smaller trees. 

May have been one of my favorite spots this far on the trip.

After shopping and walking we were ready to go back and watch a movie in the alleyway of the autoshop.

Time for a checkup on the Van

We have had the van refuse to start three times now.  We wait for a while and after prayers it starts.  We decided to go into Eureka for a check up.  We ended up making it just before closing time.  They got us on the docket for tomorrow.  We will sleep in their alley.

At Doctor appointment

My eye feels so much better just after a few hours.  Who would have thought you can have RA in your eye?

Lounging...

I woke up at 6 and my eye seems so much better; just an irritant instead of the boss.  I tried to catch up the last few days on the blog quickly, nothing fancy but to hold its place on the blog and in my memory.  We will be on the road by 9 am heading toward the coast.

I've tried over and over to get my Spen to take photos.  It works well inside the van but does not work out in the field at all.  That is a source of stress but I found a timer we will resort to using if we must.

Little walk in Chico

Although much of the day was spent getting eye medication and seeing a doctor, we still found time for a little walk around the grounds of a local mansion.

I loved seeing the beautiful arch, greenery and hydrangeas.

Dean had some anxiety last night with his back hurting.  He took something for it.  He was frustrated after doing so well for a couple of weeks, bit he seemed to bounce back.

Eye trouble

My right eye has been bothering me since before we left.  We decided to put in more time today to get me to the doctor.
He diagnosed me with RA in my eye and prescribed Prednisone drops for a month.  I need to be seen in a couple of weeks.
We spent the afternoon in Chico but it was hard to find a sleeping spot so we moved on to an I-5 rest stop.

The van wouldn't start in the Del Taco parking lot.  Prayers were answered and we were on the road again.  Still waiting for inspiration on what we need to do further or if it just got flooded easily.
We think we found a redwood on our walk around town.  We saw a woodpecker, bluejay, three steps to nowhere and an Opthalmologist.

Donner Pass

We travelled to Donner Pass and it rained and snowed the entire time we were there.  It's absolutely beautiful there, but I couldn't help but think about those early Pioneers that were stranded there in the cold unforgiving winter.   

It felt like 26 degrees when we woke up to snow on our some vent cover.

Although we we're excited to go for a walk the weather decided we should travel instead. 

It snowed most of the time it took us to get off the mountain the next morning.

Church in Lake Tahoe

Who needs Cheerios?

We had a late church as we wanted to drive early.  We finally found a dumpster and a spot we could pull off at near a beautiful river bend.  The bridge was locked, as expected so we parked in the "no parking area" for a few hours.

We saw bluejays and a Canadian goose family of five.

I packed white linen for our trip but forgot small cups.  We have been using Cape Cod by Avon at home, but had to resort to lids for this trip.

Tahoe is gorgeous

Although it was snowing, and everything was locked down because of Covid-19, we loved seeing the area around Lake Tahoe.
We found one spot where we could park on the side of the road and walk out to the lake.
We stayed only a short while as it was raining but grateful a passerby told us to put our umbrellas away.  We traded for a jacket and it was much better.

The beach was beautiful with only a couple of people coming and going.  The sand wasn't fine but uniform and inviting.  Minder wore out quickly.
With so few visitors there were pinecone everywhere under the trees.  It gave the illusion that few people had visited this year.

The lake is bigger than I expected, and more beautiful than I can describe.  This is a place we would have loved camping at but it is locked up tightly. 

Petroglyphs in Austin, NV

One of the nice things about to plan is that we can pull off the road at any time.  Dean found a fun spot just about lunchtime.
Although there were other groups stopped as well, we were all on different paths.
We wished they had a printout for us.

Mormon crickets are nasty

... just walking among them made me shutter.  Those little critters are disgusting.  The roads were red in the car tracks from the sheer amount.

Ely's not that bad.

I've been to Ely three times now, and with each visit I like it more.  So excited to start our trip.  This is a first.  We know we are going to the Oregon Coast but that is the only detail planned ahead of time.  In an effort to play it chill we are just driving.  We jumped in the van headed out.

I'm done with the quarantine

I'll do what I can to help the medical community help us up to a certain point.  We stayed home so they would not be overwhelmed, but no plans to stay home four or more months.
I've seen masks and only gone shopping about every three weeks but after the third set I felt it was time to get back to living a regular lifestyle.
The country is split on this as well.

Lu returned to Heaven.

Lu was a sweet, athletic little girl.  She was Nikki's from day one, but when Nikki left home she became mine. She loved licking to tell you she loved you which I hated.  She learned to simply lick the air, and we were both happier with that.
Lulu often walked on her front legs to avoid getting all four wet on the lawn.  She climbed every fence we put up to stop her until the slick flooring gate.
She liked to see where she was going in the van.
Lu was a great dog and we will miss her.

"What do you need me to do?"

One of the ways we have been asked to prepare for General Conference was to ask God where He needs us, what He wants us to do.  I have done that but felt like I wasn't getting any inspiration.  I haven't felt well, so much of my time was spent trying to get on top of things again and I felt perfectly fine crocheting and watching Hallmark movies as I needed the break.  But time clicked on and still no response to my prayers.

Then as the news hit that we were short of PPE's for the medical staff, my focus turned to masks and how I could make some.  I spent a fair amount of time researching the most effective kind and came up against a few very negative Facebook posts that they were of no value.  I finally decided to make them anyway, as Candice was having to reuse masks for multiple days and multiple rooms.  I was able to take my first batch up to her a week ago.

Then right after that, the area Mission President asked our ward to sew 50 for the missionaries.  Quality Market needed some and then a few ward members also asked, including Sherri for Diamond D.  I have spent the past 3 days mostly at the sewing machine.

I was feeling very badly that I wasn't getting inspiration as to where He needed me, and yet the opportunity was dumped right in my lap.  I didn't feel any extra "spirit" leading me it was just where I naturally went.  I would say that this time I was lead where my natural desires lead me with worry about Candice and others, but I look back knowing I went where He needed me to go.

Trimming apple tree

Candice's Granny Smith was in need of a good trimming.  She was going to ask Taylor but Dean said he didnt have the saw anymore so we ran up to support her.
Amidst this virus we were crazy careful.  She fixed roast and vegetables for us and we enjoyed the meal and work at a distance.

It has been almost a week ago now, with no signs of her or us having the virus Covid 19.  We continue to be very careful.
Millard has two cases on the other side but we do not want to get it with our histories.

We went up and back quickly.  I made Candice a few masks in the morning and then we headed up by 2:30.  It wouldn't give us much time to work before needing to head home, but I didn't want to miss conference on Saturday.

We have been looking forward to General Conference for 6 months.  President Nelson said it would be unforgettable.  I don't think he meant Corona Virus.  With our excitement we took the van up, carrying my little trailer and cut out about half of the tree, hawling the branches back to Delta to burn and make "Priests" out of.

I was also able to bring Jarad's Go Goffer up to him.  He seemed pleased with the end results.