We’re headed home, after spending a day in San Francisco with our son Jon. This journal entry covers Days 11-16, including Oregon and California through San Francisco.
Day eleven took us into central Oregon. After experiencing no problems pulling the trailer with our 4-cylinder engine, I decided to take a route directly south over the side of Mt. Hood, the highest mountain in Oregon. The views were dramatic, with snow on both sides of the road. We stopped at the only ski hill in the U.S. (they say) that is open 365 days a year.
Our destination for the day was Bend, Oregon, a city I have been reading about for several months. It is located in what they call the “high desert,” which means days are warm and nights are cool. That’s what we experienced – temperatures up to 80 in the day time, and below 30 at night.
There was no KOA in Bend, and the best option based on my Internet research was an “RV resort,” which sounded like an upscale RV park. Upscale was the word – they almost didn’t let us stay since we’re not fully “self-contained.” (Translation – we have a porta-potti and no shower.) They did have a shower – with warm air blowing from the ceiling – luxury indeed. We also used the hot tub.
Here are two pictures of our equipment, with the neighbor’s RV behind us. First, our “living quarters” compared to theirs, and then our “towing vehicle” compared to theirs. But I have to say we love the Scamp.
Day twelve was devoted to a day trip into town, leaving Sarah behind to sleep (her preferred daytime activity). I was impressed with their highway through town (throwback to my urban planning college major), where the bicycle lane is a different color, there are sidewalks, and the median strip is desert plantings.
Bend is just to the east of the Cascade Mountains. Mt Bachelor is a half-hour to the west, and although they offer skiing through May 15th, we didn’t go. But here is the view of the Three Sisters, mountains just northwest of Bend.
Our favorite stop was the Old Mill District. We spent an hour browsing through REI, which is located in the powerplant of the old sawmill. Here is a shot of the REI building, with a sculpture in the forefront.
For lunch we chose Anthony’s, a favorite seafood restaurant that we first encountered in Gig Harbor, Washington. The Old Mill District is located on the Deschutes River, which runs through Bend up to the Columbia River. Anthony’s is on the left, with the green umbrellas. We walked over the bridge, and took the second picture of Anthony’s from across the river. We saw folks walking, jogging, bicycling, kayaking, and more along the river – all with the mountains in the background.
After lunch, we headed towards downtown for coffee. We saw a new development on the way – townhouses across the street from a coffee roaster. The townhouse complex had commercial space on the street corners – an interesting mix of uses reminiscent of a bygone era.
The Café Sintra was a refreshing change from Starbucks. They had excellent art from three different artists on the wall. Here’s a bit of art, with Deb in the foreground.
Day thirteen took us back on the road, driving to Mt Shasta, California. Along the way, not far from Crater Lake, Oregon, we happened across a lumbering museum. This is one of the most impressive museums we’ve ever seen – all outdoors, and free. Here are a few snapshots.
A wheel made from a “slice” of a log.
This is a restored Dolbeer Donkey, which is a steam engine mounted to a winch, which attached to a steel rope was used to “skid” logs.
Here is a “portable” saw.
Finally, here is Deb sitting on a “bear chair.” Our kids will remember us reading them a book about bears and chairs ten years ago.
After crossing the border into California the view began to be dominated by Mt. Shasta, the second highest mountain in the coastal range (only Mt. Ranier in Washington is higher, and not by much).
We had planned to camp at Redding, but discovered that the temperature would be well over 100 degrees. Since it was only in the low 80s in the mountains, we camped at the KOA in Mt. Shasta City. This was a great place to stay, nestled in the pines. Here is the view from the window in our trailer.
Some people may wonder what it’s like inside our 13-foot Scamp trailer. Here are two pictures of the “back” of the trailer. The first shows it set up as a dinette, although at this point with a book and computer rather than a meal. The second shows the dinette folded down and made up as a bed.
This is a partial view of the “front” of the trailer, showing the kitchen to the left, and two bunks across the front. Sarah sleeps in the bottom bunk (and is still sleeping when I took this picture). Not shown is the door and a closet just inside of the door.
Day fourteen took us into the central California valley, and temperatures well over 100 degrees. We paused at noon to visit the Alabaster House, the 24-7 prayer room at Bethel church. We visited Bethel twice in 2007, but this turned out to be just a quick stop on our way down I-5. We stopped for dinner at Petaluma, north of San Francisco, as part of our plan to arrive in the early evening to avoid the heat (our Scamp has no air conditioning).
Day fifteen was our day in San Francisco, with Jon. After stopping to see the Palace of Fine Arts on the way into town, we met Jon for lunch at Schroeder’s, a vintage German restaurant where Deb and I ate with her folks in 1972, when we lived in San Francisco.
We then rode the cable car up to Chinatown. Here is their hospital.
We rode the cable car toward Jon’s home and work. Here he is hanging on to the side (which is a necessity when all the seats are taken).
You have to get off at the end of the line. This is where they turn the cable cars.
From the cable car terminus, we took the muni – a rail car running on electricity. The tracks are underground in the downtown, and come above ground elsewhere. Here’s an ad underground – for zipcars. Jon does not own a car, and rents a zipcar at his apartment complex for $10 an hour (includes gas and insurance) when he needs one. They have a Mini Cooper!
We visited Jon’s office. He works for Slide Inc, which is known on the internet as www.slide.com. They write add-on apps for Facebook and other social networking sites. Jon is working on porting one of their apps to a network in Europe. He has two MacBook Pros – one belongs to him, the other to the company.
After visiting Jon’s office, we spent a couple of hours chilling at his apartment, including watching Iron Man. Here are Jon and Sarah in his apartment elevator.
We closed the day with supper at Jon’s favorite pizza joint – Uncle Vito’s. Of course we took the cable car. Here is the view looking uphill just before we got off. Uncle Vito’s is the red neon sign on the left.
Day sixteen brings us to Manchester Beach. This trip is supposed to be somewhat spontaneous. So yesterday we decided to drive up California Route 1 rather than U.S. 101. We came over a “scenic byway” alongside the Russian River, and here is where the river meets the Pacific Ocean.
Finally, here is the prettiest campground we’ve experienced so far. We’re staying at the Manchester Beach KOA, in Mendocino County, California.
