California! From Rocks to Trees

Mommy had 2 chances to get a pic of the California sign - good thing, too since she missed the first one!

We've made it!  From one coast to the other, in one piece and still smiling!  The drive yesterday was another long one - 11 hours.  But with new tires on the camper it was very smooooooooth.  It's been 1,500 miles since Daddy felt a smooth ride.

The kids opted to eat in the shade...

Mommy made some yummy sandwiches for lunch so once we hit California we stopped at a nice (but hot) little rest area nestled in amongst the pines.  Not at all sure why they couldn't have put these picnic tables under some of these pines for shade, but sitting there in 98 degrees wasn't ideal.

Our lunch rest area in California

A big Ponderosa Pine

Northern California is pretty dry

Snowy slopes on Mt. Shasta

The transition from Nevada to California went from dry and hot with no trees to dry and hot with trees. Northern California is pretty darn dry.  It was very odd, however, to be driving in 100 degree weather and see snow on the slopes of Mt. Shasta.  We hit two mountain passes - Siskiyou Pass which wasn't too bad.  The pass on I-5 was another story - gigantibeast handled it well but the attrition on the side of the road was nothing we'd ever seen.  On the southbound side we counted 6 tractor trailers and 3 camper rigs pulled over and overheating.  One camper rig's radiator must have burst since water was just pouring out from underneath.

Our adjusted route took us up into Oregon and then back into California from the north.  Our weather channel app was still telling us that the temperature at our destination, Crescent City, was 59 degrees.  30 miles from camp we were still at 97 degrees.  We wondered when it would get cooler so we checked the temperature every 5 miles and sure enough - as we descended into the Klamath National Forest the temperature dropped steadily, sometimes more than 5 degrees in 5 miles.  Getting out of the Suburban at camp was shocking.  And the drive at the southern end of Rt 199 (Redwood Hwy) was stunning.  It was tight with the camper and we got to see our first giant redwoods - one of which had to be notched so campers could fit around it.  I ran out of battery with the Go Pro yesterday, but we're about to head off in that direction to hike in Jedediah Smith State Park where we'll get to see some giant  redwoods up close!

Day 20 - Solutions

Today had to be a work day.  First order of business was sorting out my external hard drive.  Turned out that a trip to Best Buy and a different cable was exactly what the doctor ordered.  Solution #1.

Second order of business - tires.  Yes - again with tires.  Since the second tire went down in Colorado, I've had this vibration that shows up the second I hit 63 mph.  Since we've not been on any interstates, doing 60 mph hasn't been much of an issue.  I also think slowing down yesterday saved us from running out of fuel and being abducted by aliens, but I really noticed the problem yesterday when we were stuck behind this oversize load in eastern NV doing 8.5 mph.  At that slow speed, I could actually see the trailer bouncing in my rear view mirror - almost like the tires on that side were oval instead of round.

So when we arrived here in Dayton yesterday, I noticed a tire shop across the street.  Stopped in to see him and he could take a look at them this afternoon.  That posed 2 issues: the camper had to be packed back up and re-attached to gigantibeast and we needed something for everyone to do while I waited.  After an exhaustive search we came to the conclusion that there's nothing for kids to really do in Carson City or Dayton.  And there's no pool and no playground at this campground, either.  It also hit 115 degrees here today...  I watched the water from the air conditioner drip off the roof where a puddle usually forms when we camp.  Today, within a second or two the drip spot was dry as a bone.  So I dropped everyone except Maribeth off at Bed Bath and Beyond and went to see what was wrong with these tires.

The owner of this tire shop is also a camper guy so he was very helpful with a number of things, but most importantly we learned that both tires on the driver's side had the same issue - the tread was separating from the tire.  Both had large bubbles and we came to the conclusion that these tires were definitely defective.  Since my spare was new from the Pennsylvania blowout, we threw that tire on, bought a new tire and for $15 he sold me a slightly used tire to use as a spare.  I'm breathing easier now...

When we shared with him that our next stop was Crescent City, CA, his eyes lit up.  It happened to be one of his favorite places and since he had just been there for the Fourth of July, he told us about construction on Rt 299 (our planned route) that would have made for a miserable trip.  Apparently, a landslide on one section of the road took out a number of switchbacks and the road is a mix of traffic jam, dirt and pavement.  Good info so Maribeth and I already worked out an alternate route with his help.


So while we missed out on swimming in Lake Tahoe today, I feel pretty relieved that a couple of problems have been solved and I've done what I can to make the remainder of the trip as safe as possible.  And Scarlett got some new curtains for her room!

Sunny and 115 degrees in Dayton, Nevada

So tomorrow we head to Crescent City, CA to see some really big trees!  I decided to check the weather there for the next few days...  We will go from 115 degrees today to a high of 59 degrees tomorrow.  You'd think we were traveling from Death Valley to Alaska.  See everyone tomorrow!

Nevada: Shades of suede. And weird.

Eleven hours and thirty-six minutes total time to cross from Glendale, UT to Dayton, NV.  43 minutes of "stop" time the whole day.  Let's just say that the kids have been fantastic little travelers and today they really needed to be.


The day started with our most challenging mountain pass yet.  Up and over Cedar Mountain at 10,000 feet, which is the mountain that Dot & Rich Dillon call home.  Rich and I talked it over yesterday and since I had driven it without the camper to go see them, I knew what I was in for...  Of course, I hadn't seen the entire climb, but Gigantibeast did what he always does - he pulled us up and over like champ.

From there it was a short drive to the Nevada border and then essentially cross the entire state.  Let me first say that this will go down in the history of the Olsen's travels as the strangest and most nerve racking trip EVER.  We fueled up in Utah to top off and prepare for a long stretch which turned out to be a long stretch without gas stations on Rt. 375...  For those that don't know Rt. 375 in Nevada, it lies to the north of Area 51 and is called the Extraterrestrial Highway.  There are alien references everywhere...  As I drove along that stretch with half the suburban asleep at different times, let's just say that the place just had an eerie feeling.  There was a strange absence of vehicles - I passed less than 10 vehicles in 200 miles which is absurd.

Then Maribeth and I started calculating our next gas stop and things got weird.  With 150 miles to our next station, I had a 3/4 tankful - close, but in good shape to make it.  Less than 5 minutes later, I had just over 1/2 a tank.  I have never, while pulling the camper, ever gotten more than 100 miles out of a 1/2 tank of gas.  About 10 miles later, the needle recovered a little, but not nearly enough...  I went into conservation mode immediately - no more than 2,500 rpm's, pulling up hills at 40 mph, flats at 55 mph and putting it into neutral down hills.  The fuel needle continued to play games - with 70 miles to go and just over a 1/4 tank, the needle dropped to just above E in one mile.  I've never seen my fuel gauge do this.  And outside - this road and this part of Nevada is nothingness - it was worse than Kansas since nothing was growing here.  It was 98 - 101 degrees.  No cell service.  The mountains that we weaved in and out of looked like rolls of suede and as far as the eye could see, there were no signs of life or towns.  And I kid you not - I passed 10 vehicles in 200 miles.  And some of these mountains would randomly have strange designs on them - everyone was asleep when I saw these mountains and I didn't want to wake anyone to point out the weirdness, but it was unsettling to me and I had to focus.

With 40 miles to go and under a 1/4 tank, I was beginning to prepare mentally to pull the bike off the roof and bike to Tonopah.  How close would I get and could I make it there and back with fuel?  Everyone would be out in this godforsaken, weird place with no AC.  I'm not going to lie - it was a terrifying thought to leave them.  As we got closer to Tonopah, my fuel gauge became more consistent - it still dropped more than I wanted, but things started to look like we were going to make it.  With 15 miles to go, my warning light hadn't come on yet and I started to breath again.  Then out of the nothingness - Tonopah!  I was never so relieved to see people, cars, buildings and a Shell station!!!  That's what the fuel gauge looked like at the pump.  Way too close for me.

Tonopah!!  You can tell by the "T" in the mountain...

The only real "trees" we saw on Rt. 375

Walker Lake

After filling up, it was time to push north and I will say that for our entire drive across this part of Nevada, the poverty was awful.  Even as we drove past Walker Lake, a good-sized lake, it appeared that they attempted to make it a waterfront resort and no one came.  It was deserted.  The resort, boat launch, beach, campground - it was all there, there just weren't any people.





We were relieved to pull into Dayton RV Park and were immediately met by a character - he manages the campground, but spent a good amount of time in Upstate New York when he was younger working for the circus.  You can't make this stuff up...

Tomorrow, I hope to get some new connections for this hard drive and take care of some odds and ends on the camper - our awning isn't quite working the way it should.  Life on the road...

A day to relax

As exciting as it is to explore some of the places we've been, today was a day to relax and visit with friends.  Dot & Rich Dillon were originally from Aquebogue and retired to Duck Creek Village, UT.  Dot worked with Lisa for several years at Riverhead Middle School - they were close then and are still close now despite the distance.  When I was planning the trip, I made Glendale our home base since it was right in the middle of Duck Creek, Zion and Bryce.

So after 2 days of exploring and getting back to camp after 10:30 p.m. it was nice to sleep in a little, catch up on at least Zion for the blog and then head off to Dot & Rich's.  Dot's daughter, Bonnie Jean is visiting for the summer with her 4 kids who are pretty close in age to our kids so for the afternoon, kids were being kids, watching TV (our kids haven't been around a TV in over 2 weeks), playing board games and hanging out in the "tree cabin".  Dot, Rich and Bonnie Jean made us all a wonderful dinner (thank you so much guys!) and before we got around a camp fire to watch the kids cover themselves with sticky marshmallows, Dot took us for a tour of Duck Creek Village.  What a great place to live - all the homes are log cabins and most of the people there are retirees or have made Duck Creek their summer get away - lots of folks from Las Vegas are here.  Nothing like living at 9,000 ft with tall, thin pines surrounding your log cabin...  It was so nice to see Dot & Rich again and we can't thank you enough for having us for the afternoon.

Rich pulling some smoked salmon off the smoker

Heading up to the tree cabin

Kiddie table

The big kids

Getting ready for s'mores!

Dot & Rich had some special pine cones that turned the flames pretty colors

This was "secret town" at the bottom right - don't tell anyone you saw it!

Bryce Canyon NP - The Trifecta

Why Trifecta, you say?  Well, today was one of those days where the timing of everything just worked to perfection.  In short, the Trifecta was a hike in Bryce Canyon for Lisa, Maribeth and the kids, an epic bike ride in Red Canyon for Daddy and an unexpected oil and filter change for Gigantibeast.  Here's how it all went down...

We got a good start on our day today - Bryce Canyon is nearly an hour away from camp and since planning this trip, Daddy has been looking at one trail to ride - Thunder Mountain in the Red Canyon.  It is one of those places that is mountain bike only, technical, huge climbs and an elevation change of nearly 1,400 feet.  The trailhead was 14 miles short of the entrance to Bryce Canyon, so Daddy got dropped off while everyone else headed to Bryce.


To say that this ride was epic would be an understatement.  I took the trail in the reverse direction that most people take it, not by design - just because it was the only way I knew.  It was essentially a 5 mile ascent and a 3 mile descent and the combination of the elevation and the grade had me walking and carrying my bike for about 1/3 of that first 5 miles.

Red Canyon

A view from the handlebars

Bike rack and a thunderstorm that followed me to Bryce Canyon

This was the elevation near the top of Red Canyon after my 5 mile ascent.  The effects were startling - at one point, I was so winded that I felt like I was hyperventilating and just couldn't get enough oxygen.  According to my Run Keeper, I set 3 personal records:  longest ride at 2:23:27; largest elevation climb at 2,137 ft and highest elevation at 8,719 ft.  I was able to capture a lot of the ride on the Go Pro, including a crash.  No big deal - I took a chance at a spot that allowed it and paid with a shoulder full of red dirt.  The 3 mile descent was a blast - after that it was a 14 mile road ride to the Visitor Center at Bryce - pretty level ride until the last 2 miles.

A set of hoodoos about 4 miles into my ride

Starting my descent

So while Daddy was enjoying his ride, the rest of the clan was hiking about Bryce Canyon.  By most accounts, it was their favorite place so far.  Once I went there later in the day, I'd have to agree - one of the most interesting places geologically on the planet since this is a lesson on erosion.







As I'm sitting here in Nevada trying to catch up with this blog, I'm sorry to report that I have some external hard drive issues that have been plaguing me for 3 days now - all the photos from Bryce are on that drive and I can't seem to get that drive to do anything consistently.  I'm hoping to resolve them tomorrow and will hopefully finish this post up then...

Zion NP - A water hike

Today was a mix of "taking care of business" and fun.  Since we arrived to Glendale, UT late on a Sunday, the lone grocery store was closed.  So Lisa, Maribeth & Scarlett headed to the grocery store first thing while Laryssa and I took care of breakfast.  There's something about late starts that don't sit right with us, so Mommy & Daddy were a little grouchy with each other - sorry kids.  I wish we were perfect parents, but we do our best and I suppose that comes with life on the road.  But we moved on and took in the splendor that is Zion NP.  Here's some shots on our way in.

The kids had to hike up on the gradually sloping rock formation

We went quite a ways up

A future Park Ranger

Carefully making her way back down

Waiting for the 1.1 mile tunnel to open while a large vehicle passes through

One of the issues when visiting a park for one day is that there's no way to hike every trail, even if we arrived early.  To maximize our experience, we took the shuttle bus on the Scenic By-way which is only accessible by shuttle anyway.  We were able to take in all of the Zion Canyon proper and opted for the hike at the last stop - Temple of Sinawava.  The hike here is called the Riverside Walk and while we had no bathing suits, the kids went in to cool off - it was in the lower 90's after all! 

Annalise clinging to her big sis

There must be something interesting there

We continued our hike along the Virgin River on really what was a concrete side walk.  It was amazing to see water, trees and general greenery in this place since our ride in and our detour up the rocks was so scorching hot.  As we continued, we hit a trail called the Narrows.  Aptly named since the rock walls of the canyon narrow and our hike became a wading adventure.  Definitely one of the coolest hikes we've been on!

Shoes off again!

Maribeth and Annalise

It's not a trail anymore!

Scarlett finds a crevice

Don't lose those shoes, Scarlett!

Who's happier than Graeme?

We were far from alone on our hike today

On our way out of Zion NP

We find that whenever we get a late start, we eek out every minute of daylight and today was one of those days.  The thought of going back to camp to cook dinner and then shower the kids was agonizing so we ate out at this funny little restaurant on the corner of Rt. 89 & Rt. 9 on the way out of the park.  Take a close look at the sign...  Turns out that way back when, the wood that they originally painted the sign on wouldn't fit "Home - made" so they improvised.

Annalise was checking to make sure that "she had pants on"

When in Utah...