Looking back, there wasn't much joy in his face

I should have seen it sooner.  He wasn't joyful in Oregon either, and the whole trip seemed to be just more than he could bear.  I was broken hearted.  I had waited to do this since early 1990's when I dreamd big to try and heal my emotional hurt.  I was ready to leave and travel and all he wanted was to go home and be left alone.  How did we get to this place?  Would he be able to heal quickly, that we could find a happy medium.  

I was ready to lock up the house for 4-6 month, if not year round to go out on the road and see the county.  I had put all of these years into converting the cargo van into a camper that would meet our needs without breaking the bank.  All of our bills were paid and we could afford the gas to travel while being careful to cook meals in the van, and go cheaply.  I thought that not spending any more than just staying home plus a little gas would make it so Dean would be on board.  He was not.

I felt like I had made the trip a bad one by getting the eye problem and not being as fun as I could have been.  But with everything locked down, there wasn't much that could be done around that.  We would just travel home, let him rest and then we would have to take trips that only lasted a few weeks at a time and then I could let him rest at home in between.  Of course, I was still going to figure out a way up to Alaska this summer or next, and an upper New York trip where we could do all of the Sweet genealogy and find Amos.  It would just have to be postponed for a month or two.  Possibly next year.
 

Benson State Recreation Area

 We bypassed Portland with no regrets and found a different waterfall that we could see from the road.  We had tried to find a waterfall Dean was interested in but we couldn't see it from the road, and it would have been closed anyway.  Happening upon the Benson waterfall was a nice bonus for us.  We couldn't stop but got a nice picture from a distance.

 

We drove all day, and when it was night we didn't see any great spots to pull into so we finally took an exit in the middle of nowhere and drove on a dirt road until we were in an area we could see a distance in both directions and pulled over to sleep for the night.  

Vancover, WA was just a blip

 

We didn't even stop in Vancover, but took a picture as we were driving through.  I don't even remember who took the picture, but I was driving.  So depending on where this view is from the window will determine if I took it out the drivers window or if Dean was up long enough to take it out of his.

 

 

Washington, Here We Come

 

The bridge is one of the longest I have driven on, others being in lower California.  It always unnerves me a bit knowing I'm driving over the ocean and if something happens I doubt I could get away from the falling debris, escape the van, and swim to safety.  But, alas, we made it with no problems at all.

We stopped just inside of Washington, at a beautiful little rest stop.  It was filling up quickly so we found a spot and settled down for the evening and night.  What a beautiful view we had of the green of Washington and the Pacific ocean.

 

 Sadly, this is the day that Dean said he had had enough traveling and needed to go home.  We made it into Washington and I had hoped to go up the coast further and maybe make it to the top before turning for home.  His anxiety had gotten the best of him and he was grumpy and tired.  It was frustrating to not be able to go out and enjoy a great meal, but rather just cook in the van and drive and see sites from a distance.

We decided to head into Washington, toward home, and see a famous waterfall. I don't know exactly what happened but we couldn't see it from the road and, of course, it was closed, so this too was a bust.

We drove as far as Moulton, WA, and then got out and stretched out legs.

The joy was gone for Dean.  He was now existing instead of embracing.  He had gone quiet and wanted to do more sleeping than driving, which was fine with me.  I was over my eye problem enough that driving was not a problem for me.

However, the stress of watching him struggle so much and not knowing what to do to help him was a bit overwhelming.  I had thought that seeing new country and feeling the fresh air and getting a little exercise would help with the anxiety but it was as if the trip over the bridge broke something in him.  He was just done.

Astoria, OR

 

We made it to Astoria, and what a beautiful area it is.  Astoria is linked to Washington with a huge bridge but we wanted to spend a little time in the city before crossing into Washington. 

Some of the very best reasons for coming to Astoria were completely out of our reach.  Food was out, visiting the sites was out, as seeing the National Historic Parks and State parks alike.  

About the only thing that was available to us was to drive up to the Astoria Column and drive around the hill, seeing the country from all directions.  It is beautiful and a place that can't be missed.  Imagine being able to go inside and seeing from that distance.  I just had to tell myself they wouldn't be able to see any better, because it would be foggy up there.  I was grateful for what we were able to see from our little walk and from the windows of the van.

We really didn't go downtown as everything was closed, but I later thought we should have.  We could have looked into the windows of the shops and stores and got a little taste of what their city had to offer.

Instead we took pictures and decided to make our way into Washington, where we would spend the night at a rest stop that had room for us.  Then we would travel further up the coast from there. I got the joy of driving over the bridge, which always makes me a little uneasy.

Seaside, OR

 Finally we came to a town where we have plenty of places to park and plenty of places to walk.  They have long paths where we could get all of the walking we could handle very easily.  They had blocks of path along the beach, with entrances here and there, and a few places where you could sit and rest.  There were more people out here, and I don't remember whether they ordered from local shops or if they brought their own food, but they were sitting in the dining area and enjoying the day.  This little area was as full as any place we saw on the trip.

What a fun little town.  I could see myself living there for month at a time during the warm summer.  It as warm enough we didn't need our jackets but still cold enough we didn't want to walk down to the water where the mists would get us chilled to the bone.

Instead we spent our time on the paths and there were enough people out we had to park a couple of block away from the spot we entered the path. 

Seaside and Cloverdale

 

This beach, with a very long beach, at Seaside had more people than just about anywhere else on our trip.  There really wasn't a place to pull over, nor anything to do if we went down, so we just took a picture and moved on.

Passing through Cloverdale brought memories of the ranch but the grass does grow greener on the other side of the fence or country.  What beautiful fields these cows have to roam in.  Dad would have loved to have these patures  for his cattle.  Remind me again why we live in Utah, and especially Delta!
 

Sunday in Oregon in Florence, OR

Dressed with no where to go.  Well, not exactly.  We still had church in the van and what a beautiful area to thank God for his creations and worship him.

We had to go up to the shop to take a picture, even though they were closed because of Covid.  I hadn't noticed the closed sign in the window being in the picture but laugh as I update the blog and see it.  I must confess that I was much happier about taking the photo with the diner closed.  That way God couldn't mistake that we were not trying to break the Sabbath.  LOL

After Sacrament meeting in the van, we went and visited a few more lighthouse sightings and enjoyed the cool breezes (more like winds).  

We tried to take a picture of every single lighthouse even though they were all closed and we weren't allowed to see them up close or inside.

The beaches didn't have a ton of people on them.  Granted it is early in the season and still pretty cold, but each one had a few people there enjoying their day out.  I loved the scenes with the variety of rocks on the beach and in the water.  The paths were all pretty good to traverse but after walking down to a few and not going into the water, we started just taking pictures from a distance.  This one however, we walked down and enjoyed the scene closer up.  The path wound back and forth and was very easy to take.

Covid church days mean you don't have to shave.  The van is really good for most things but a place with a bathroom where you can spend some time actually getting fully ready will be nice.  Rest stops work great for that, but most of those are closed down as well.

This trip feels like our timing wasn't perfect with so much closed down and chilly, but what a wonderful experience and so beautiful.  No wonder Taylor and Chandra loved their trip to Oregon.  I am especially enjoying taking pictures of the light houses, although next time I will make sure they are open for business.
 

Newport OR

 

I really love that we have the technology to put in "Lighthouses" in Google and we can easily find them.  They are all closed and we haven't been inside any, nor seen any signs with pictures of what it is like inside.  I think most charge for a tour, but would loved to have been able to go in at least a few.

We found an interesting site, Boiler Bay State Viewpoint, and it looked like the water was churning, but once again, it was closed and this was as close as we could get to it.  The brochure online looks like it would be a very fun place to spend some time.  

Having everything closed is getting a little bit tiring.  We need to find a place like Eureka where we can just camp in the driveway and take some time to see more sites at each of the locations.  Who ever thought that a broken van would be some of the best part of the trip.

First hike of the day

Certainly loving the little walks we can take here.  I guessed wrong on a path out of the beach and Mindee 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.  

 

I want to wake up to this every morning!

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.

And I must be honest.  I truly am a fan on the beach.  This beach is different than any I have previously seen.  I'm used to Florida beaches or San Diego/Santa Monica beaches where the focus is the sand and water, mostly free of rocks and cliffs.  This was new and unique and delightful.

I would have loved it to be warmer so we could go into the water and enjoy it, but it really was too cold for that craziness.  It was windy and chilly and Mindee was very happy to be on our backs in a bag. 

There weren't a lot of tourists out, but there were still some.  We simply all treated each other with Covid etiquette and walked past each other as far away as possible - each hugging their side of the path.  People were friendly and smiling and it was good to be done with the masks.  At this point we were all pretty confident it was over hyped and we would be just fine in this beautiful air.

Dean was still struggling with anxiety but was trying to play it close to the vest so it wouldn't become a big part of the trip.  We are both out of shape, so we never did long hikes and used our walking sticks to help us along the paths.  Although he was trying to enjoy the trip, I could see he was starting to get a bit uncomfortable.  I hoped it was just that we had been delayed and that had caused him stress.  I was looking forward to the days ahead, when he could calm down and we could both enjoy the trip.  My eye was feeling so much better I hardly noticed it, although I faithfully took the drops to keep it that way.

We stopped often at sites along the way.  There were more spots to pull over and park than had been in California.  The weather here was always breezy and a bit chilly, so we always used our windbreakers, but that was enough to keep us mostly comfortable.

Sleeping was great.  The bed in the van is really pretty nice even though we had to be downsized to fit in the width of the van.  I had cut the mattress to be able to move it alone, so there were times we settled into a joint and that wasn't perfect.  Still, we were able to get the rest we needed.  I'm loving life.

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 spent some time at a Redwood forest in Eureka while waiting and I think back on it as one of the best parts of the trip.  It was just a city park in the middle of town, but it had walking paths, and redwoods and I thought we got to see everything we wanted to see right there.  They had places we could sit and rest on stumps while we were walking the paths, and picnic tables we could eat our lunch on. If I ever take this trip again, I'm going to schedule a low key walk through Eureka's park.

We headed through the Redwood forest.  Zoom in to see the heads poking out of the van.  There weren't a lot of obvious places to pull over and hike as the lots are all closed and other cars were out and on the pullouts.  We didn't feel slighted because of the Eureka park.

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.

They were very good to us and told us that we could take one f their cars as a loner so that we would not simply waste the day.  They were very good to let us stay in the van on their property so that we didn't have to get a motel room.  

We had an enjoyable time on our ebikes seeing the area near the shop yesterday but we were ready to take them up on their offer to take a car.  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.  

I would move to Northern California in a minute if it wasn't for their crazy politics and influence from Hollywood.  Northern California seems pretty normal with people that are kind and caring.  We really lucked out choosing the shop we did.  It really didn't put a kink in our vacation at all.

Briana, the receptionist at the shop, told us what to order for lunch.  We thought it sounded great so we followed her suggest.  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.

I may have purchased a waffle cone maker while still in the parking lot for our next family get together.  It really was delicious.

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 is a little pen with a button on it to take photos so that we can both be in the shot without running to beat a timer or taking a selfie.  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.

I refuse to go back to the days of my New York trip when all of the pictures of me where I was visiting my ancestors property were simply my red slip on's in the picture somewhere.  What a sad excuse for a memory.

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.  What the heck am I doing living in Delta, Utah.  I'll bet we have planted over 500 trees in the time since we moved here.  The fruit trees we planted, near the same time Devon planted his, are not producing yet and he has been preserving fruit for many year.  

Flowers just about kill me to keep them growing and the peonies and roses just keep dying.  The clematis and phlox won't even take root.  Delta has been a great place, I suppose, for raising a family and providing for their needs, but it is U-G-L-Y!  I need to live in a Garden of Eden near the beach.  Am I asking too much?  Oh and without allergies!

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, but he seemed to bounce back.

It isn't easy for him when I look around for a while and then go back on the bed to sleep and try to heal this eye.  Man aren't we a pair!

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.  We ended up turning from our regular path and headed down to Chico where we were sure they would have a doctor that could see me.  Anything smaller and we might have to spend days to get in.

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 traveled 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.   We were in a very nicely insulated van, out of the weather completely with a nice heater to keep us at our preferred temperature.  

Outside it was miserable.  We had bikes readily available yet neither one of us thought - even for a second, about getting on them with the rain and snow coming down.

We spent the night near the train tracks in a very spacious parking lot, meant for people exactly like us.  Accommodations were perfect for parking our self contained van.  It was not terribly crowded with only a few families or couples so we were spread out enough we didn't even hear each other.  It seemed like we were out by ourselves, with a train pulling through here and there.

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

Although we we're excited to go for a walk in this weather, we did drive around a bit and see the sites and then we allowed the weather to decide we should travel instead. 

Through all of this beautiful country and have one eye closed most of the time.  I have a crazy eye infection, and it is red like a slice of a pie.  It feels like I have hard contacts in and is really starting to put a damper in my trip.  Wanting to go on this trip for so long, has been pushed a side a bit, while I try to heal this crazy eye.  I don't know what I did to cause this!

It snowed most of the time it took us to get off the mountain the next morning.  It is twisting and steep and my eye is screaming.  Dean has been a trooper to drive all of the time.

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.

With church held at 'home' we can have it at any time we choose.  That is one of the best parts of Covid and Church at home.  We usually watch a devotional and there are lots of channels that are starting to put content out on YouTube, but for now we find an old conference address or a BYU devotional to watch for church.  

Sunday school we simply read from the scriptures or watch one of the new channels popping up devoted to Come Follow Me. It is so wonderful having a Prophet that can see around corners and prepare us in advance for the time that is coming.  We haven't minded it at all, and it totally takes the guilt away from traveling on Sunday.

I packed white linen for our trip so we could take the sacrament but forgot small cups.  We have been using Cape Cod by Avon at home, but had to resort to lids for this trip.  Our Sacrament bread was perfectly comfortable on my beautiful china used in the van.

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.   

Although we were deep into the problems of Covid, we were not terribly afraid of it killing us and we felt perfectly fine being out and about.  We just didn't realize that everything was going to be locked down so tightly.  

Tahoe only had a road with one or two pull offs and they were blocked so you couldn't actually go into the parking lot, but had to find a spot along the side of the road where your car, or in our case, the van would fit.  We really only found a couple, and most pictures taken were from the passenger window.

I can imagine coming back here again next year when it is warm enough to play in the water and actually use a camp site or a parking lot.  It truly is a piece of heaven here.

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.

This was a great little side trip, totally unplanned.  We should have stayed long enough to prepare our food, and do a little more walking, but we saw most of it and we hot and tired and just got back in the van and headed down the road for the big adventure.

We have never really "stopped to smell the roses".  Oh we may pull over, take a good deep breath but then we load back up and head down the road.  Of all of our traveling so far, we have done this.  I'm more of a pine tree and ocean girl so I'm looking forward to pulling into a camping spot and spending a few days and really letting the sights and smells sink deep in our souls.  Dean seems to really enjoy this type of adventure, sand, heat petroglyphs and lizards.

Our faithful side kick Mindee is very easy to take on this trip.  She likes being right with us, on our laps, or in our arms.  She doesn't weigh enough that she is really even noticed so we don't get tired of holding her.  My biggest problem with her is her heat.  Between the two of us, I think we may start a fire, and down she goes.  Dean finds great comfort in his little friend.  She is a bit too much like Puppers for my taste, but she is a sweet little dog, something he was never accused of.