Waldport

We're staying in a KOA just over the bridge in Waldport, Oregon with a great view of the bay. A herd of seals occupies the large sand bar in the middle of the bay. Almost no boats to be seen. The bay appears to be very shallow and the entrance is not marked by a lighthouse so I'm guessing this could not have been much of a seaport or fishing village in the past. The wind has been very strong for the past few days. Blowing from the NNW about 30-40 knots. Fortunatly we travel in the morning when it tends to be calm. Driving the rig over one of these 100-300 foot high Oregon coastal bridges in 35 knots of wind is not my idea of a fun time.

Coos Bay

Our days in California are over and our first stop in Oregon is here at the Mill Casino in Coos Bay. We love casino campgrounds because they are all well maintained and cheap! We had a wonderful filet oscar dinner at the casino's restaurant complete with salad and dessert for $55 total. This lighthouse is on the point at the entrance to the seaway that leads to the harbor, about 10 miles from town.

Palmer Point

You'll have to trust me on this. Some of those brownish spots on the rocks are actually sea lions:)

Trinidad

This is small harbor on a coast with very few harbors. In the background of one photo you can see the pier used by the fishermen. The Trinidad Lighthouse memorial is shown in the foreground. The orriginal one was decommissioned and moved here.

Westport

This is a very remote campground with a great beach. Dark volcanic sand, no shells, and plenty of rocks, also rocks, and rocks....... Note the absence of pleasure boats. Maybe those rocks.....

And there is BOB sporting his new shirt:)

Sacramento Railroad Museum

This was a fabulous experience. One of the best I've had. The Central Pacific RR, starting in 1862 built eastward and in 1868 joined up with the Union Pacific in Utah to create the first transcontinental link. This museum depicts this great effort as well as some wonderful examples of western railroad passenger cars and motive power. I was lucky enough to get the bottom picture out at the turntable behind the museum, It shows a tank type steam engine, a small industrial diesel, and in the distance an Amtrak late generation locomotive. Three generations in one shot.

A Christmas Carol

Our trip to the Sacramento Railroad Museum coincided with Disney's promotion of their animated holiday film for this year. They were packing up as we arrived buy we did manage to get some great shots of the train and Scrooge too.

Lake Tahoe

Some vistas from the beach in front of the rig. We are off to have a rooftop dinner and a Smothers Brothers concert tonight at Harrah's. We don't gamble much so we can afford the shows:)

Groveland's Saloon

The Iron Door Saloon c1852 is reportedly the oldest in California. Inside are numerous stuffed animals and thousands of dollar bills stapled to the ceiling. Groveland started its life as a gold mining town and was saved from oblivion by the Hetch Hetchy Railroad that built its shops here in 1918. The Railroad was build to service the construction of the water project for the city of San Francisco. Today over 80% of the water for the city comes from the reservoirs, and aquaducts built between 1920 and 1945. Hydroelectric power aammounting to over 20% of the city's needs is also supplied. The railroad was dismantled in 1946 after the water project was completed.

Hetch Hetchy

On day two we drove up to the Hetch Hetchy Dam and reservoir. A 32 mile round trip from the edge of the park on an even curvier and scarier road than the aforementioned climb into Groveland. More spectacular scenery that is so remote you have to marvel at the effort required to build the railroad/dam/road into the dam site.

Yosemite

A grand vista. Huge domes and spectacular waterfalls. Also some very large trees next to one very small lady:) We stayed in Groveland in a beautiful but very hilly campground about 40 miles from the park. There is a 2000 foot climb just before Groveland that is only 3-4 miles in legnth... very steep. Driving the rig up the hill on the outside lane(i.e. fall to your death side) was an experience. It maes the pacific coast highway look TAME by ccomparison

Scenes from the left coast

This guy was hang gliding over the beach just in front of the rig. On one pass he got so close we could read the monogram on his sleeve FROM INSIDE THE COACH. The other is of Pigeon Point Lighthouse just to the south of Pacifico.

Looks like one candle to me

My favorite part of the meal.

Bob's 62nd Birthday

We celebrated my birthday in Sausalito today. We had a great meal at Horizon's restaurant complete with up front view of the harbor and the city. Careful examination reveals Bob's neato Jimmy Johnson jacket hanging on his chair:)

SF Harbor

We spent the last two days wandering around the wharf area and took the ferry today to Sausalito. We found some great sourdough bread and some delicious fudge. I got several great shots of Alcatraz from the ferry, this one is an overall view.

San Francisco Capmground

We arrived on Wednesday at SF Campground in Pacifico. The views from the rig are great. As you can see, the map on the side of the rig is starting to fill up. No new states will be added for a couple of weeks as we will be puttering around California's mountains and nothern coastline.

Awwwww..... Aren't they cute

Yes they are.

Santa Cruz Wildlife

Actually somewhat of a misnomer... looks more like still life to me.

Santa Cruz

A somewhat typical beach town with lighthouses at both ends of the harbor. We drove onto the pier where they have a number of restaurants and had a great meal with an even greater view of the waves crashing into the rocks.

Hearst Castle

We drove up the cast highway for about half an hour before stopping to take the beginners tour of the castle. We took tour number 1. They have 5. The bus trip from the visitors center is over 5 miles, mostly up. The views of the ocean and surrounding mountains are spectacular. The "ranch" as Hearst called it, has over 35 bedrooms, several pools and a gigantic living room that was built specifically to display 6 very very large tapestries. Only the fireplace would fit into my picture. The room is surrounded by choir stalls removed from European cathedrals. I guess those choirs now have to stand.

Pacific Coast Highway

On my list of the top ten most beautiful and terrifying roads in the world. 700 feet straight down, no guard rail. You'd be surprised how tough it is to drive 100 miles while screaming at the top of your lungs the whole time "We're all gonna die":)