Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction

A favorite place to stop on our way to or from Tucson is Lost Dutchman state park.   The campground there has huge nicely spaced sites with electric and water.   Beat of all is the amazing views of the Superstition Mountains.

 This is the view from our dining room window.     I took the sunset picture during a walk on our first night there.    The edges of a big storm was going through Arizona and this was a great place to wait out the wind and hike a bit.   

Next stop:   Tucson!

San Juan Bautista Mission

Another fun find thanks to the AAA book, was the Mission at San Juan Bautista.   The mission is over 200 years old with a beautiful sanctuary and a quiet pretty garden.   

Pinnacles National Park

Pinnacles National Park was a wonderful surprise.    The park facilities are small and limited but the hiking is fantastic.    We went to both the East and the West side.    The Moses Spring trail had great views of the rock formations.    The Balconies Cliff trail did too but it also ended up at the Balconies Cave which was a hard scramble for two shall we say "older" people.   In spots it felt more like a climb than a hike and if we had lost our footing or our grip the fall would have been over 10 feet down to very hard rock.   We were both very glad when it was over & have been patting ourselves on the back that we didn't turn back.

 We stayed at San Lorenzo Regional Park in King City but really wished we had stayed at Pinnacles.   San Lorenzo was nice and we enjoyed it but the national park campground was nicer and more convenient.

 

Redwoods National & State Parks

We found a great little campground just north of Redwoods National Park, called Klamath River RV Park.    Our spot was right on the banks of the river looking downriver.    There was still considerable fog off and on but the views were great when it lifted.

Redwoods is a combination national and state park system.    Nice to see the cooperation.   The scenic drives are so lovely both in the fog and in the sun.   The Lady Bird Johnson Grove is high on a hill and includes a quiet hike.   

The Trillium Falls hike is longer and very nice.   We were the only ones on the trail.

Fog Fog Fog from Bandon to the Redwoods

My one disappointment on the trip down was the fog from Bandon to the Redwoods.    That part of the southern oregon and northern california coastline is supposed to be dramaticly scenic.   Unfortunately we saw very little through the fog.    I am reminding myself how lucky we were to have 4 gorgeous days on the coast and trying not to whine too much.  

Central oregon coast; Newport to Bandon

It has been a very long time since either of us have been south of Newport on the coast.   We took off on another brilliant fall day.    It is so rare to have such beautiful weather.   We stopped at the Spouting Horn for a short walk and to see the water spray up out of the rocks.    But my favorite spot was the Heceda Head & lighthouse & hike.       

On the Road.... again

On the road again.... I know it is almost a cliche but love that song.    We are on the road to the Oregon coast.     The weather is amazing, sunny, calm, clear blue skies.    A bit cool but fall is like that.    Closing up the house took a while so our first stop was close, Newport, Oregon.   Our friend Warren is a camp host there so we wanted to say hi and check out South Beach State Park.

It is a great camping park with hiking trails, bike trail, beach, jetty, marine science center & aquarium all within a walk or bike of our camp site.   Lots of nice sized sites with reasonable privacy and pretty beach pines.    We walked the jetty trail to guess where?   the jetty.   Also rode our bikes and walked to the beach.   Nearby is Yaquina Head & Lighthouse, a national recreation area.   Luckily the government shut down ended so we were able to spend a day there at the visitor center and hiking.    Of course we had to go to the original Mo's on the Newport Bayfront for their famous clam chowder.    More sightseeing and then it was time to head on down the coast.   We were there 3 nights and could have spent longer.

Before we leave

Before we leave for Tucson the yard needed some attention.    It looked so pretty and tidy after a good weeding & a fresh top of bark.  Luckily the yard is very small and we took care of it in an afternoon.

Nana couldn't leave town without some more Isabelle time so Shannon, Isabelle, and I had an OMSI adventure.    The new OMSI is so much nicer than the one I took Shannon & Erik to.   Isabelle's favorite was the flubber play area.

 

We also had a sibling evening at brother Dick's home.    The four of us hadn't been together in a very long time.

Hiking in the wild, wet, green northwest

We did get some hiking in before we leave for the desert.    We made sure to find some hikes with lots of water and green forests because we won't see much of that in Tucson.    The Wildwood Trail in Forest Park is in the middle of Portland but feels like you are miles away.    We had the trail to ourselves for part of the time except for a busy spider and his web.

We did several short walks on our trips up the Columbia Gorge with company.    We also met my brother Arnie and wife Jean for a walk around Lacamas Lake on a very rainy day.    We did manage 3 miles before we were so wet we gave up and went for a fun lunch instead.

Our last hike of the season was Lacamas Creek Park.   Again this park in in the middle of a town but feels wonderfully remote.   The trail is wide and soft and there are 3 sets of rapids/waterfalls.    Loved it!

Well, it is 10 days until we head down the coast for Tucson.    I hope to see Isabelle most of those 10 days if I don't drive Shannon & Chris crazy.   We still have a few get togethers with friends and the Sunday before we leave, we will have a family brunch.   It has been a great spring and summer.    Now, to the desert!

It was a fun summer but almost time to close the Kaspar Inn

Fall seems to be a time for reflection for me.     As I think about this past spring and summer, I feel so fortunate.   Isabelle is growing and changing so fast and I am so glad we are in town to share this wonderful time. She has the cutest corkscrew curls right now.

 It was a busy time what with selling the Brier house and buying the townhouse in Ridgefield.     And then we wanted to share our new place with friends and family.  It is wonderful to be so close to everyone.    And as I think about packing up the motor home and heading for Tucson, I am excited to get to the desert and the new friends we have made at Desert Trails.    What a great life and I am grateful.

Since I wrote last we have managed to get some hiking in and also some fun adventures with friends.    Mary Wales & John are friends we know from Desert Trails.  They gave us free tickets for the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler.   What a treat.   It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed a 2 hour cruise from Cascade Locks to Bonneville Dam and back.

We took a last trip of the season to Port Townsend to see LeAnne and help her move some things.    On the way there we stopped to see Madonna & Matt and also drove to the top of Mt Walker.    On the way home we spent a night with Kathy & Bill & had a fun lunch with my sister & brother in law.   We packed a lot into a long weekend.   

Our last overnight company was Jan & Lonnie.    We had a great couple days catching up, eating, drinking, and driving up the Columbia River Gorge.    We hoped to see some fall color but there wasn't much.    So we made our own color with lots of laughs.