October 1999

Location

Pacific Coast, Monterey Bay Area - we thought this would be an ideal location to complete our visitors education. The many mountains, canyons and lakes had given then an insight of what we are having to endure. Las Vegas was new to us all, but oh! so different. It was now time to slow the pace down, find a site near to the coast so we don't have to take the truck out too much. No such luck - all the sites contacted could not help us. Cabana Holiday, Prunedale, near Salinas was the nearest we could get with the facilities we wanted. Downside - it was near to the highway, which made it very noisy, and the pitches were very close together. Upside - very clean, nice swimming pool, good recreation area. We ended up going out every day visiting: Monterey Bay, Pebble Beach (famous for golf), Carmel famous for Clint Eastwood, and the whole bay which is famous for sunsets, which unfortunatly we never managed to see.

Activity

Monterey - In the early 1900's this area was part of a world famous Sardine Canning operation. Cannery Row (read John Steinbeck) was created by renovating the derelict canning factories and is now a very attractive seafront area for browsing the various shops (two Christmas shops?) and restaurants overlooking the ocean. We had asked our friends to bring us some small Scottish flags (St Andrews Cross & Lion Rampant) and we could have bought them here in the Flag shop!
Monterey Bay Aquarium was the highlight of our visit. A million gallon indoor ocean viewed through a massive window, with towering kelp forest where many different varieties of fish swim. In addition extensive live exhibits explained all different sorts of marine life which are so pretty and interesting in their natural state. We were fortunate to be there to watch the fish in the indoor ocean being fed by a diver. One of the staff on the outside of the tank educates the onlookers about the various types of fish and their eating habits, also how the kelp grows and why it is so important to marine life. She then talks with the diver while she feeds the fish. Sharks, and other semi-dangerous fish take the food from the feeder. Not a job we would like to do. The Aquarium also features Sea Otters as these have returned to this part of the California coast. A member of staff spent 15 minutes giving a really interesting talk while feeding the otters. They only have injured or sick otters in the Aquarium and these are released when recovered. This was one wonderful educational tour, highly recommended for all ages In the early evening we had a super meal (our friends 40th anniversary) with a view across Monterey Bay, the perfect end to a perfect day.
Point Lobos State Park - Today our intentions were to drive along highway 1- coast road from Monterey to Big Sur but we never got that far. We decided on a short detour to the State Park, but ended up staying more than three hours just wondering along the cliffs, watching sea lions, seals, pelicans, cormorants, to name but a few of the species that live on this rough coastline. Sea otters were basking in the sun amongst the kelp, which we would not have been able to differentiate from seals if not for our education the previous day at the aquarium.
Pebble Beach - Many golfers dream of playing this course. A seventeen mile scenic route has been created which takes in the many different ocean view golf courses, beautiful coastline then finally through Pebble Beach village where you can pop into the lodge. The start of our drive was in low cloud so we wondered if it would be worth continuing. Being British we always look on the pessimistic side, but true to form around these parts the cloud vanished and we were again in beautiful sunshine albeit somewhat breezy. A picnic lunch was taken overlooking the Pacific Ocean, with the truck acting as a windbreak, before our slow and enjoyable drive home.

Unfortunately it's time for our friends to go home - the three weeks have just flown! We leave them to get on with their packing, Linda breaks out the Microbrew and I join her - the things I do for my wife? Once the suitcases were closed and locked they could not be opened again, anything forgotten must be left behind. When they arrived they had two half empty cases, and returning with three full and very heavy cases full of gifts for the family. Hope they are not too strict about weight on the flight home!!
The drive to the airport was quite somber as we were sorry to see them go. All good things must come to an end, hopefully next year they will share another three weeks with us.

Location

Clear Lake -is one of the oldest lakes in North America, scientists believe it to be well over a million years. Unfortunately, it does not live up to its name of "Clear Lake" because of the build up of silt over the years. Winter can be cold but it very rarely gets snow, making it an ideal retirement area.

Our reason for going north to Clear Lake this year was a pre-arranged meeting with Pat Buell a fellow Hewlett Packard, (now Agilent) employee Linda had conversed with for many years while working in Special Engineering. It was arranged that when our Scottish visitors returned home, we would all meet up then and put a face to the voice I had listened to so often, and this was not far from Santa Rosa where we had arranged to meet.

Highway 99 and a wide variety of busy highways around the San Francisco Bay areas took us from the Salinas area to our destination at Clear Lake via the famous Napa Valley, passing miles upon miles of vineyards but recognizing only a few of the vineyard names. Then up and down the winding roads until arriving at our final destination - the very picturesque Edgewater Resort near Kelseyville. We were given a lovely shady pitch with a view across the lake. This is the sort of site that you feel happy relaxing around. Fishing boats for hire, paddle boats for the energetic, or seats at the end of the pier so you could sit and do nothing. We decided to stay two weeks and do a lot of the sitting on the pier watching the many different species of birds. We also needed to recharge our batteries.
Edgewater Resort was also chosen because of the Internet facilities it offered. We had received so many messages from so many people at home asking "when it was going to be published". If it did not get completed soon, there may be a divorce because of the frustration it was causing. Many of our Web pages had already been written, so it was just a matter of getting an RV site with good Internet access. A lot of the following two weeks were spent writing, correcting, creating Hyperlinks, and uploading our Home Page. Not an easy task as much of the "source" text needed to be changed before uploading could be completed. In the end, it was a very rewarding but somewhat tedious chore, now complete, thank goodness.

Activity

Clear Lake 68 mile loop road - is a very pleasant drive allowing good views of the lake from all directions. Lakeport was our favorite town. It has a very picturesque water front with picnic tables overlooking the lake, a commercial area where you can hire a boat or just take one of the tours available in the summer. It even has a Carnegie Library which made us feel very much at home as Andrew Carnegie originated from Dunfermline. Acres upon acres of Bartlett Pears orchards line the roads on this side of the lake - it is said that this is the largest producing area of these pears in the world!!
Santa Rosa - As we still have a hankering to see of much of the countryside as possible, we took the scenic road to Santa Rosa. We had been asked to arrive about noon as Pat & Cindi were volunteer helpers at "Friends of the Library", and were helping until our arrival. After the introductions were over we were taken to Point Reyes Lighthouse via the Marin French cheese factory at Petaluma where we enjoyed a picnic lunch. The road was narrow and winding with outstanding views of the rugged coastline, grass tufted dunes and sandy beaches. We descended the hundreds of steps to the lighthouse, not thinking too much about the upward return journey. The views from the lighthouse are stunning as it is one of the most westerly point on the Pacific coastline making it a very popular tourist spot. In the evening Pat & Cindi had invited a couple of ex Queensferry employees (Helen & Ian Wright) who we both knew to join us in a BBQ. English, Scottish, Northern & Southern Irish, and our American hosts (sharing a common language?), enjoyed the different banter that went back and forth during the meal. The evening was a great success although sometimes our hosts had great difficulty understanding our British humor? An invitation for us to spend the following weekend in the company of Pat, Cindi, Alli and Angie at Shelter Cove was accepted without hesitation.
NOTE: Friends of the Library book sale takes place twice a year - books of all types and sizes are donated throughout the year, with all the proceeds going to Santa Rosa Library who then buy books, computers etc. for public use. They charge $1 per inch so being Scottish, Wullie bought those books with the smallest print! On that October weekend they made $25,000. The "Friends" were also recognized this month for donating a total $626,568.32 over the past years to the library. Pretty impressive, don't you think!!
Robert Louis Stevenson State Park - We had decided that we had been idle for far too long, so a good hike was called for. Lunch packed, boots on, walking stick in hand we started off on this ten miles round trip. The start of the walk looked very promising as we gained elevation through old woods. Then we were out in the open, on a very dusty wide road with no character. The views would have been stunning if not for the forest fires in the surrounding areas. We walked on for another few miles, before we decided we had had enough. Without more ado, we turned and made our way back to the truck. We think we completed about seven miles in total, so we had sufficient exercise.
Shelter Cove - As we were spending the weekend we had all day to get there, The sun was shinning and we decided to take the coast road. Linda insisted we stop for lunch at guess what? - that's right at the Boonville brewpub in Anderson Valley. It is based on an English type pub with lots of beer memorabilia on display. Lunch was very good and Wullie pretended to enjoy the beer to please Linda. We were about two miles from the coast when the "haar" started drifting in. By the time we reached the coast it was "gey dreich", but on occasions we still stopped to admire the rough and rugged coastline when the visibility made it possible. Back onto highway 101 the sun shone once again, we were able to enjoy the drive through the Famous Redwoods of California. At Garberville we decided to take one of our famous detours through Briceland, (you would think we would know better by now!). With the sun dropping behind a hill and the road ahead very narrow and winding, Linda said it looked just like one of the roads we had driven on many times in the Yorkshire Dales. That became even more apparent around the next bend when we were confronted with a heard of cows on the road. We were right in the middle of them, they were looking at us, we at them, all thinking, "who is going to make the first move", but we couldn't go back as the road was too narrow. Luckily after studying us for sometime the leader of the herd made a move sideways and the rest decided to follow across the fields. We continued our journey, vowing not to make anymore detours, (well not until the next time). Our hopes of arriving at the coast to see the sun going down were not fulfilled. We did arrive earlier than expected, so went for a very enjoyable meal in the local restaurant awaiting our hosts arrival. During the weekend we met Cindi's parents who live locally, were shown many beautiful sights, wondered along unspoiled black beaches, talking to the volunteers who are in the process of erecting a historic lighthouse. What a lovely way to spend a weekend!!. We know we have made new friends and hope we can return the hospitality they gave us, in the near future.

Location

Yosemite - was within easy reach so we decided to return to do some of the hikes we had read about and seen while there in September. We chose to stay at Yosemite Pines RV Park, a very spacious park, lots of amenities, and most important of all half price - we are pensioners you see. We even got a pitch with a phone hookup which is a real luxury. To get here we had to conquer and climb Priest Grade, six miles of 6-7% graded hill with switch back bends. A few months ago we would not have attempted anything like this, but are pleased our confidence has grown. While siting outside our RV one evening, a woman with her small daughter stopped for a chat. She was from Leslie, Fife. In February her and her husband decided to take a year out of work to tour West of the Rockies in a motor home they purchased from one of the rental companies. They are also thoroughly enjoying wonderful sights and weather, just like we are. Scots certainly seem to be the adventuresome type. Nearly everywhere you go here, a Scot has been before you and has a plaque erected somewhere (even if it is in a Jail).

Activity

Panorama Trail - This was a favoured hike of ours ever since we visited Glacier Point in September and saw the terrain and views this hike had to offer. The fact that there is a 3200 feet elevation loss and only 760 feet of climb makes this a relatively easy walk. On the day we chose to do this hike (in our shorts), it was 39 degrees at 8.30 a.m. when we arrived at the Visitors Centre to get the hikers bus to Glacier Point for the 8.5 mile hike. There was a bit of mix up with the bus and we, along with other hikers found ourselves amongst the folk who had booked the tour bus. This meant stopping at the view points on route, which we had seen before, and arriving one hour later than we had hoped to start the hike. That later start meant the temperature had risen and we felt warm once again. This walk is described as an incredibly spectacular hike which is certainly true. The start is at an elevation 7,214 feet, with views in the distance of Half Dome, Basket Dome North Dome, Illilouette, Vernal and Nevada Falls to name but a few, all of which we were going to come very close to on this walk. We started with a steep downward zigzag path giving views of the valley and across to Illilouette falls. A bridge took us over the river that feeds the falls, then follows an uphill path with wonderful views of the valley below and surrounding mountains ranges before descending a short distance to the bridge over the top of Nevada Falls. This was a good stopping place for eats while dangling the hot and dusty feet in the cool rock pools. From here you have a choice of two trails to Vernal Falls. We took the very steep and stony path (Mist Trail) which looked right up at Nevada Falls we had just passed. The next point of interest was Vernal Falls which can also be reached directly from a car park on the valley floor, making it the busiest part of the hike for us. More wonderful views of the valley, and a very steep strenuous downward stretch before we completed the hike and boarded the free Yosemite valley shuttle bus back to where we had parked the truck. Many memorable photos and video film were taken on this wonderful five hour hike. We read a description of this walk which says "The view from Glacier Point is like looking at a picture postcard - hiking the Panorama Trail is like being inside the picture postcard", no exaggeration here!
Cathedral Lakes - 8.4 miles hike. Our hiking guide rated this ten out of ten for scenery. three out of five for difficulty -Tioga Pass road across Yosemite was the starting point for this hike. The rain overnight at 3,000 feet meant snow at 7,000 feet where we would be hiking, (in our shorts - again). It also meant the visibility was crystal clear, sky a brilliant blue, as most of the forest fires that had been active over the past few days were finally under control. The start of this hike was through trees which made us wonder why this walk had been rated so highly for views. As we climbed we encountered icy puddles, snow on the path (no bear prints), before getting our first glimpse of lower Cathedral Lake in a classical alpine cirque setting. The reflection of Cathedral Peak and the surrounding granite mountains which had a splattering of snow on their peaks was so beautiful in the crystal clear water of the lake. We had a snack then decided to extend our walk to upper Cathedral Lake, which was also surrounded by lots of mountains, and equally as beautiful. Cathedral Pike was still watching over us while we had another snack before making our decent to the truck. The day still had a few hours of daylight remaining so we decided to continue the drive along highway 120 to Tioga Pass which we had heard so much about. The descent from Yosemite to Highway 395 and Mono Lake is very scenic and very different as this is close to being desert. Just before Highway 395, on a side road to a viewpoint of Mono Lake, a trapeze had been set up outside a Motel/Gas station and it seemed passersby were invited to have a go. Having just descended from 9000 feet we didn't feel like ascending so soon, although there was a safety net in place.
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir - once rivaled Yosemite Valley before it was flooded in 1920s. Now under 300 feet of water it supplies the San Francisco area. We had hoped to do a hike around the reservoir, but unfortunately the road was closed 17 miles from the main road so we had to make the return journey. It was on the way back that we decided on an alternative walk, so the day would not be wasted.
Carlon Falls - This 4.5 miles walk is very easy and very colourful at this time of the year. The path has one or two obstacles of fallen trees across it, some quite difficult to straddle as it wanders by the cascading Tuolumne River. The morning sun shinning down on the water which reflected the red and golden leaves of the trees and bushes by the water edge, provided yet again lovely photographic opportunities. We had lunch by the ever flowing Carlon Falls before returning through the forest, again in awe of these wonderful old trees which we never seem to tire of.
Sonora Pass - There are warnings at both ends of this road. Steep grades, sharp bends, narrow roads, not recommended for long vehicles. All of these warnings are certainly true. 26% grades in some places made this was one of the most exciting roads we had travelled. We started our accent from the highway 395 end. Wullie driving while Linda had to decide which of these wonderful views should be shot as the video film was running short - what a time for this to happen!!. Switchback steep grades, and the fact that our petrol was running low added to our anxiety. Snow at the side of the road at the 9, 626 ft. summit. Sun quite low in the sky made the autumn colours on the trees in the canyon exceptionally beautiful on our decent. We managed to get petrol at Darandelle so could now enjoy the rest of our downward journey. We had one final stop at Donnel viewpoint where we had wonderful views of Donnel Lake reservoir in the deep rugged canyon below. We had not planned to do this drive on this particular day. We had started out with the intentions of doing a hike, but when we got to our destination, changed our mind. One of those impulsive - good decisions!!

Miles travelled this month: 2,234

Accumulative miles: 12,634

Six months Summary:

Where to start? First of all it doesn't seem like 6 months since we left family and friends behind to start this adventure. Everything has gone so well with very little problems that we keep wondering when will our luck run out?

Scenery - The scenic beauty has been awesome. Nature was given a huge "canvas" in the USA to fashion some wonderful creations. The sheer magnitude of the natural beauty is what makes it so different from home. Bigger isn't necessarily better but it certainly is different and breathtaking.

Hiking - We have only toyed around the edges of the hiking opportunities available in Oregon, Washington and California, partly due to the heavy snowfall of last winter but mainly due to time limitations. I know it seems crazy but we have already missed places of our itinerary because of time/weather considerations. Backpacking opportunities out in the wilderness (complete with wildlife and cuddly bears) are extensive in each hiking location we have visited. Most backpackers here carry a fishing rod to supplement their foodstocks. As far as we can see it works as most lakes we have visited in the mountains have evidence of fish activity usually trout. You may think 9 & 10 thousand feet mountains are rather high for hiking up, well so do we. However when you start at 8000, 9000 doesn't seem so high. We were used to the hills of the Yorkshire Dales (3000) and some parts of the Lake district but we adapted quite easily although the thinner air does slow you down and your distance limit reduces. We reckon that each of the three States would require at least a full hiking season each to allow us to see and do everything we would like.
National Parks - What can we say about National parks? Our favorite is the last one we visited! Every time we visit we say "It can't get better than this" but it does. Every one is set up for maximum accessibility and enjoyment for all with special effort made to cater for the disabled. Each one we have visited is unique even when relatively close to another i.e. Yosemite & Sequoia. If you visit this part of the world for a holiday and enjoy nature our suggestion is, only use San Francisco or Los Angeles or Seattle or Portland as an airport (at best as somewhere to recover from jetlag) and visit as many National Parks as you wish. If you like hiking you could spend 1 to 2 weeks in any one and more in some. After National Parks come National Forest, Wilderness Areas, National Recreation Areas, National Wildlife Refuges and we ain't got round to State Parks yet. We have identified some other areas that are worthy of "National" status and have wondered sometimes "why didn't they include this in the park?" like Sonora Pass bordering Yosemite.
Entertainment - Cable television provides 30 to 50 channels of "Quality" television? well the picture quality is usually good. They do some peculiar things which would annoy some folks back home i.e. a Baseball game goes to extra innings and it's to be followed by a soap, the soap starts and the viewers join in when the Baseball finishes. So if the Baseball overruns by 30 minutes you've missed the soap. A program starts spot on the start time say 7.30 - and goes to adverts at 7.31. You think a program is finished but it goes to adverts and then comes back to run the titles. Our favorite program is Wheel of Fortune, it's not as exciting as Blind Date but it's billed as America's game. The system here is very similar to SKY, most sport is on Cable/Satellite. English/European Cup football is available on Rupert Murdoch's FOX network and as a REAL treat Public Broadcasting and a channel called A&E run some British drama series like, The Pimpernel, Morse, Midsommer Murders and various comedies as well as the Antique Roadshow? The Cinema is very well attended here - when a BIG new release (Star Wars for instance) occurs there are queues even in the smaller towns. We haven't been yet as Wullie wants to go to a drive-in movie and do some necking! but Linda says that isn't allowed anymore. When it comes to night life, forget the glitter and excitement of Hollywood, it is generally sleepy hollow in the places we have visited. Big cities like San Francisco (quiet when we were there) and Los Angeles (lots of car chases) may offer more night life but you will have to drive to it we suspect. We record films when we have a good Cable hookup on site to watch when all we have is normal television. Otherwise we read, play cards and dominoes and create WEB pages.
Accommodation/Transport - Our research in these areas certainly paid off. The combination of Fifth Wheel and Pick-up truck is ideal for our lifestyle. The truck has taken us along some very scenic forest roads to trailheads that a car would have struggled on. Running solo we are getting approx. 15 miles/gallon but the gallon here is only 0.8 of the British gallon. More importantly the average price of petrol (gasoline) is only about 90p/gallon which even although its a small gallon is pretty cheap. The Fifth Wheel is very comfortable and of course is now very much our little house. The size means we can't take it as close to some places as we would like but the space and comfort make up for that and with the cheap petrol we just put the miles on the truck. We are getting more adventurous and taking the Fifth Wheel into less accessible places but not as adventurous as the locals who take them into shopping malls and all sorts of places.
Linda's Microbrews - When we first talked of this adventure the thought of drinking Bud, Coors or Miller for 2 to 3 years was a bit of a downer! We would have done it because it is polite when visiting a foreign country to fit in with their customs. Thankfully we haven't had to live up to that as the pacific states all have extensive Microbreweries which turn out various German, Swedish, Scottish, Irish and even some English Beers. At Linda's bidding we have tried quite a few of these and our favourite types tend to be Amber (a light ale), Pale Ale (IPA like, very hoppy) and ESB (extra special bitter). Some brand names that come to mind not necessarily in order of preference are:
McTarnahans Red (Oregon), Red Hook ESB (Oregon), Oregon (Oregon & Minnesota), Henry Weinhardt (Washington), Deschutes Brewery (Washington), Red Sail (California), Red Seal (California) and Butterfield Bridalveil Amber Ale (currently one of Wullie's favourites which must be hidden from Linda). In addition many small towns in Oregon & Washington have Brewpubs which sell only their beer and bar meals. This trend is spreading south into California and we suspect that due to its success (in a commercial sense) this will become even more prevalent. We met two English tourists the other day who told us Utah was a dry state? The cellar will be well stocked before we visit there.
Things We Miss - You will not find work on this list!
The British sense of humor! A pint of Real Ale! Scottish Shortbread! Plain Bread, although Linda never could get it in ASDA? A pint of Real Ale! Good Back bacon instead of streaky! Linda has a craving for Weetabix? The PARS!
A pint of REAL ale! Visits to Muker! Dominoe's in the Farmers Arms! A pint of Real Ale!
More seriously our biggest miss is all the great friends we left behind, it would be nice to have a "wee blether". For the first couple of months, even although we were having a great time, Linda in particular was quite homesick. The holiday visit by Margaret & Jim settled us down although we wondered beforehand if it would make us worse when we were left on our own again. We think it brought home to us that our good friends are only 12 hours away and time is moving so fast it won't be long before we are together again.

Hyper Links that may be of interest:

Monterey Cannery Row

Lakeport Area - Clear Lake

Point Reyes

Shelter Cove

Shelter Cove Lighthouse

Yosemite

Go to next month - when we hope to visit - Lake Isobella, Death Valley, Las Vegas and the southern California desert.

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