July 7th....Lassen Volcanic National Park
.....Thanks to the advice of a British couple we chanced to meet at Crater Lake, we divert from our original plans and head south to Lassen Volcanic National Park. On our journey we pass beautiful Mt. Shasta and the Shasta lake alive with summer activity and the biggest collection of houseboats this side of Sicamous.......We turned east at Redding and arrived in Lassen Park around 5pm.
In contrast to the heat of the plains, the cool forest was pleasantly refreshing. We decided to buy a season's National Park pass as we'd be in and out of them all over the country for the next month...they are well worth the $50.00...(Yosemite alone costs $20 just for a visit). We had a choice of several great camp spots in amongst the pines, many more tenters and fewer RVs for the first time in a week! We had our first encounter with a bear-box (food locker)...but the Rangers said there were no camp-bears in the area. After dinner we went for a stroll through the woods...and consequently got lost......it was very quiet, and the hush was a little eerie after the busy traffic of the I5.....we were soon back on track and found our way down to Lake Manzanita for  twilight  shadows on the water....truly magic!! We toasted marshmallows...not that the boys are fond of them but they do like a good camp-fire!! We watched the stars come out and the temp. dropped way down low.
July 8th....
..........Rise and shine to the sound of Stellars....but we called them Bluejays...and damned if they would sit still for a photo.Vibrant blue wings......Lots of condensation on the tent so we waited for the sun to dry it off a little. Had a lovely exploration around Lake Manzanita and watched people canoeing and  the anglers bobbing about in their tiny flotation "boats" no bigger than a kids dinghy...you sit in them with your feet dangling in the water(in waders of course)..they looked just too comfortable. Fishing here is "catch and release" and anglers are not allowed to use barbed hooks...just send 'em back to get bigger.....its all in the way you play the game.....
Around midday we headed off to Lake Tahoe......but thats another story.

July 10th....
.....After Tahoe we jump back to California and resume our camping trip. This time we're headed down the 395. Once again the landscape turns semi-arid, and what seem like valley floors are quite high elevations. We pass through a little town of Bridgeport having a peaceful demonstration to try and save their bank...we stop just outside town at a tiny antique-come-junk shop with some real treasures inside...one man's trash, I guess. We stopped soon after at Mono lake, a favourite spot of Mark Twain. The lake has many feeder streams but no outlets except evaporation, consequently the salt content is very high; something that the birdlife flourishes on, as they were abundant in numbers and species....its a very important migration route (an aviarist's paradise)The lake also has some great "coral" formations and a wonderful interpretive centre and observatory.
A little while later back on the track we were at 9,945 feet going over Tioga Pass and into Yosemite National ParkThis is Half-dome...one look and I was sufficiently impressed. We arrived mid-afternoon at Tuolumne (Too-wol-me)Meadows where Richard had fortunately made a booking. The place was full to over-flowing and many campers were turned away. As we were allocated our spot we spied the eye-popping photos of the car that had been opened like a sardine can by a bear. It had gripped the top of the car-door and bent back the entire frame, glass and all and eaten the head-rest off the seat.......the Ranger proceeded to inform us that its a good idea to lock away all traces of food-stuffs in the bear-lockers, including toothpaste, gum, and even sunscreen......and when your eating please don't turn your back.....(to what?).....by the time we had finished there wasn't a crumb left in the van.
We popped into the Visitors Centre and tourist shops at the meadow, saw some deer browsing in the fields and marvelled at the wildflowers alongside the road that appear to be the hand of a landscape gardener, so vibrant and diverse.After dinner we trekked up to the communal camp-fire to hear a Ranger tell some lovely folk-lore stories...some native,some European. We sang a few songs (and laughed a lot) and watched the moon come up over the forest canopy. Soon after going to bed, but thankfully after the boys were snoring, neighbouring campers began shouting and banging on pots, signalling a bear in the camp......there was so much noise til around 10.30 its a wonder a bear wanted to come anywhere near the place......hence, one nervous, sleepless night.  The boys played with Kelsey from a near-by camp, until we had packed up and had breaakfast. We drove down to the Village which was very dusty, hot and crowded with tour buses and of course, tourists..like us....We had lovely views of El Capitan, Bridalveil Falls and Half-dome. We stopped at theMariposa Sequoia Grove for a peek at the giants.....We take the 41 to Fresno then the 99 to Visalia where we stop at a KOA camp ground....the kids enjoy the pool...we enjoy a steak on the barbeque and a great nights sleep.
Next day we're off to L.A....get a kids-eye view of that adventurehere.

July 26th....
......We followed the coast road through L.A.....Newport was very pretty...but the rest of the drive was fairly heavy traffic, with the none-too-delightful landscape of oilrigs and factories lined up along Long Beach. The Santa Monica Pier was in carnival mood with rollercoasters and side-show alleys right on the beach. We passed through Malibu, Rincon and Santa Barbara, stopping at El Capitan for the night. The kids had a swim at the beach while we rested and watched the dolphins and pelicans off shore. Our camp-site was entertaining, with our neighbours having a computer-generated slide-show after dark set up in the back of a truck. It was a record of all their reunions of various campgrounds for the past 14 years!! Aunts,Uncles,Grandpas and Grandmas and all the kids were there...they came from all over Western America every two years to get together for the holidays...consequently they took up a dozen camp-spots and erected a "mess-hall" complete with flourescent lights....my favourite image is of Grandpa sitting back in his rocker-recliner they'd brought from the living room back at home...what a hoot!!
July 27th...
.......Gorgeous morning...we stop at the little town of Solvang, which is very nearly completely a Danish community, every last shop and house in the main district. It was very quaint. We spent a delightful morning on a bicycle built for four, touring around the various little streets. We stayed for a picnic lunch in the park and met some folk from La Canada in L.A., whose kids just happen to go to the same school as some friends we had met on our L.A. connection...(even though L.A. has the same population as the entire Australian continent, this was bound to happen sooner or later, wouldn't you agree?No?Okay, we'll just call it a freaky coincidence...)
We arrive at Arroyo Grande mid-afternoon, just in time for a cuppa with Ginnie. We watched the hummingbirds dive-bomb each other out the back-door, make aquaintance with two shy,pampered felines...and then the boys discover there are two boys next-door with two dogs with a garage full of toys...Nathan thinks thats even better than ice-cream. But Hayden reluctantly accompanies us on a walk downtown on the promise of achoc cone and a cool swinging bridge. Ginnie, (God bless her) fixes dinner while Richard and I escape childless, down to Pismo Beach for a quick stroll on the pier and along the shops. We return and "coax" the boys from Sandy's house to join us for a delicious pasta and salad that Ginnie has prepared.The boys finish the movie they were watching then drift easily off to dreamland.
We say our 'goodbyes'....thanks again Ginnie for a wonderful visit.......
July 28th....
.......We encounter our first real fog on the coast as we drive through San Louis Obispo. We stop at San Simeon and I take a tour of the famous Hearst Castle whilst Richard takes the boys beach-combing and seal watching. After the tour, we only drive a short distance before we stop to watch giant elephant seals basking on the beach not one hundred yards from where we stood. The Big Sur coastline is quite rugged, yet majestic. A Shinook helicopter passed overhead at one stage to fill a water tank from the ocean, presumably for some nearby spot fires that were burning brush on the hill.
We drove on to Carmel-By-The-Sea with its beautiful homes perched on the cliff-edges. Our camp for the night is at Monterey, but already the fog has rolled in obscuring the view. The boys make friends once again and stay out playing in the eerie twilight fog.
July 29th....
......Next morning we take a stroll down famous Cannery Row to the aquarium. Great hands-on display for kids with interactive ocean games...it was lots of fun. We saw the otters being fed in the huge tanks then watched over the wharf at the playful frolicking of the wild ones and their sea lion companions. For golf enthusiasts, this is the home of Pebble Beach.....a rather exclusive little course just out of town.......
The fog lifts and we drive to Santa Cruz...very busy...Saturday night....dozens of surfers in the not so big swell, lots of kelp, not very inviting. We stay at "Bob's" camp-ground for the night...the boys pick blackberries we eat later on our pancakes...mmmmm. The kids find more kids as usual and play until torch-light.
July 30th....
.......Scrambled eggs and hash browns for brekkie....head up the coast, Richard spies a silver fox dart across the road. The road to San Fransisco is quiet, but gets busier towards the bridge...beautiful day, but fog rolling just over the bridge and nicely obscuring that famous view. Kids were excited about crossing the "George of the Jungle" bridge......
Drive down into Muir Woods and thankful for the cooling air. The Redwoods are absolutely stunning, and this was only our first taste...only professional photographers can really capture their grandeur and even then, its nothing like actually being there...take a peek.
We pass the pretty town of Stinson Beach then find a beautiful camp ground at Olema near Point Reyes.
July 31st....
........Glorious sunshine...the boys are in the playground all morning...chattering Stellars everywhere. Blackberry and banana pancakes for breakfast and we leave around 10am and join the 101 at Petaluma (a nostalgic little town with fantastic mid-19th Century architecture). Make several stops and the temp. must be over 40C without a doubt...do some wine-tasting at Jesop Vineyard mainly to get respite in the air-conditioned foyer.(oh, and the Chardonnay was pretty good too)...the 101 has dozens of great wineries, from the boutique to the major exporters(its adjacent to Napa Valley). We stopped for lunch at a beautiful park in Ukiah....it was tempting to stay in the cool shade of the redwoods and take a nap on the carpet of thick lawn...however.......
Onward and ever northward, we take a break near Levitt, drive through an amazing 2,500 year old redwood tree and visit an even bigger tree that has a shop inside it. This giant tree(they claim) was burnt hollow in a forest fire three hundred years ago but is alive and healthy and supposedly approaching its 4000th birthday....whether or not that's really accurate, is beside the point...to touch something living and breathing, that has been living and breathing well B.C........leaves one in awe.
We camp at Benbow State Park for the night, not many neighbours (except for the ex-Sydney-pat and his family from San Fransisco)...the kids take turns locking each other in the bear-box for entertainment....next morning the boys and I wander down to the river for a swim in the crystal clear waters....(honestly, okay...I didn't swim...but those two would swim in a fish bowl)...father was on washing-up duty...he had the help of an inquisitive squirrel. We vacated the park just as they were expecting a full house for, of all things, a Reggae weekend!!)
Aug 1st....
........We drive 30 miles along The Avenue of the Giants...sorry, at a loss for words here.....then we're back on the 101 for supplies in Eureka and lunch on the Marina. Humboldt Bay is shrouded in fog...head off to Klamath and book into an RV park(not our first choice, or our second, but all the State Parks are booked out). Very quiet, few kids.....kestrels and eagles hover over the forest canopy catching supper....this is one of the best places in the country for steelhead and salmon...the mist inevitably rolls up the Klamath River mouth...they electrify the garbage bins after 9pm to deter bears from raiding the fish heads...a practice that fortunately hasn't caught on in the State and National Parks.

Aug 2nd...
....And we're back in Oregon...
Next page