Time to update the Blog!!

So... I've been lagging on getting this updated lately.  We have a lot that has happened in our lives over the past year.  I'm going to work on getting this updated to show you some of our experiences.  Basic overview...

1. When I got back from my deployment- we took some time off and went down the coast of Washington, Oregon, and some of California.  We got solar panels put on the camper.  -- Amazing!!  I highly recommend it.

2. We took some weekend trips over the fall and winter-- including a trip up and around the Olympic Peninsula.  It is beautiful!

3. We moved to Greece!  Along the way, we drove from Washington to the East Coast-- visited a lot of friends and family along the way.  Lots of stuff to update on our adventure!

Take care,
Steve

Time to get ready..

So.. I've been out a bit.  We haven't had the camper on the road due to my job lately... but I've been plotting and planning for what the fall will hold.

1. On September 29th, we have an appointment to put Solar panels on the camper.  We are putting 3 x 135W panels on our camper.  AM Solar is going to do the work.  We went down there last fall and talked to them about building a system for our needs.  We would like to have enough power to run the refrigerator circuit board, water pump, water heater thermostat, and the furnace fan for 6 hours at night.  For these requirements, we will need 3 x 135w panels, the wiring, and the control module to run the system.  We are excited about this capability.

2. We are planning to take the camper down the coast.  I'm not sure where all we are going to head to, but we might check out Yosemite NP as well.

3. We also plan to stop in some of the state parks in Oregon- so who knows if we'll even make it to CA.  Oregon is really nice.  We are going to try to check out the the Benchmade factor and possibly the Leatherman factory as well.  We will see.

We are excited to get the camper out on the road.

Take care,
Steve

Monday, 02DEC13- Chill-axing..

We slept in this morning.  The weather was still rainy out, so there was no real incentive to get up and on our way.  We decided to relax and just rest all day at the campground.  We paid for two nights and just relaxed all day.  By relax… I mean didn’t drive.  We took Rhoda for a pretty long hike on some of the trails in the morning.  It was raining a bit, but it was good to get out on the trails.  We got back to the camper and Elijah and I washed the camper and the truck- carefully to conserve water of course.  We then cleaned out the inside of the truck.  It’s crazy to see how filthy the critters can get the back seat on a road trip.  It was good to have Elijah helping with cleanup.

As a bonus- I had no cell service today- so it was really relaxing!  As we hiked around in the morning, I was reminded of this when my phone blew up with a slew of text messages, emails, and voicemails that I had evidently missed in the flurry of Monday morning activity- too bad… ha-  but it is a painful reminder of what I have to return to in the near future… L

We went inside the camper to warm up this afternoon and enjoyed another gourmet meal from Traci.  She made fish tacos, fresh salsa, and for desert- apple / oatmeal treats and fresh made ice cream.  It was great!  After all of that, we got out the bikes and took Rhoda for another hike out to see the lighthouse at the end of the road.  It was a beautiful sunset!  The lighthouse was built in 1870 and was operated manually until 1980, when automated lighting equipment was installed.  Pretty neat!  We have a great time relaxing around the campground today.  Again, it cannot be said enough- Oregon State Parks are great!!

Sunday, 01DEC13- Heading back North!

Today we got around and got back on the road.  We drove from Patrick Point up through the same redwood alternate highway to 101 through the Redwoods.  We stopped at a place called “Mysterious Trees” along the way.  It was a fun stop.  At first I thought it was going to be another tourist trap type setup, but the place was really nice.  We went through their gift shop, then went through their hiking trails and gondola ride up through the trees.  It was great!  We had a really nice time there hiking and exploring with the kids.

The weather started to “mist” / “rain” at times.  We got back in the truck and headed north.  We got back into Oregon and stopped in Brookings at our favorite new store- Fred Meyer for a resupply.  We picked up a few things for the road- groceries, clothing items, and odds and ends..   It was a good stop.  Then we got back on 101 and headed north to Cape Blanco State Park in Oregon.  We arrived later than normal for us, but the campground was great.  We hooked up to 50Amps of power and water for only $16 a night!  It’s great to be back in Oregon.  Oregon State Parks are great!  We set up and rested for the night.

Saturday, 30NOV13- Exploring the Redwoods!

Today we spent some time relaxing and driving through the Redwoods.  As you head south on Highway 101, the scenery changes a lot along the coast.  As we entered into northern California, the coast was beautiful.  The Redwoods are huge and beyond description.  Taking snapshots of them does not do justice to the size and beauty of these trees.

The redwoods are estimated to be over 1500-2000 years old.  As loggers started timbering through the trees in the US, these trees were a prime target.  Railroads were built specifically to handle transporting these trees out of the forest.  Logs weighed 100 tons when cut and placed on rail cars.  With the trees disappearing quickly, groups of people banded their finances together to buy up portions of the forest to save these trees.  They helped to build the Redwood highway through parts of the forest to bring awareness of these natural beauties to the public’s eye.   The efforts of these folks are largely responsible to the preserved redwoods we still see today. 

We drove down the Dudley R … memorial highway today.  It is a scenic highway as an alternate to HWY 101.  This highway zig-zags through the redwoods.  It is a great trip!  We stopped a few places to take a break, snack, and hike through the trees!  It was a lot of fun!  We had a blast.

At the end of the day, we found a campground around Patrick Point to spend the night.  Sounds of the Sea Campground was a nice place for the night.  It had full hookup at our site.  We were one of only a handful of campers there for the night.  We had a nice evening there to recharge our batteries and clean up a bit.   Showers for everyone!

Friday, 29NOV13- Black Friday??? Or Camping in the Redwoods?

This morning we got up and went for a hike down the trail to the beach as a family onto Harris Beach!  It was a beautiful morning!  We must have taken a thousand pictures!  We had a lot of fun down there hiking around on the sand… up and over the rocks.. around the corners… finding starfish and other creatures on the shore.  We had a lot of fun.  Growing up, we always went to the beach in Delaware or Maryland.  Those beaches are always sandy.  Even the beaches in Florida are usually sandy beaches.  The beaches in the Northwest are usually rocky or really gritty sand- if any.  With that in mind, there seems to always be a lot more wildlife on the beaches here.  There are always crabs, hermit crabs, sea annenomies, starfish.. and a bunch of other critters. Well, I guess it would be more accurate to say that the wildlife is noticeably different here than it has been at other beaches we have been used to exploring.  So, all of these differences really stick out to us here.  We had a lot of fun exploring the beach together this morning.

After our hike, we ate some lunch, packed up the camper, and got on the road.  We drove about an hour south into the Redwoods- into California!  We are spending the night at Jeddediah Smith State Park.  It was tricky to get the camper into the site here.  The campsites are beautiful!  They are nestled into the redwoods.  There aren’t any services here and the prices are higher.  The scenery is tough to beat though.  It’s times like these that make me with we had invested in some solar power to help with power when we are off the grid.  We will be fine for a day or two… but some solar would make things a little nicer.  Some Day… We are camped in a beautiful park… along the Smith River… after we set up camp, we took the bikes out and pedaled around the park with the kids.  It was a lot of fun.  Again- glad we brought the bikes. 

We will see what tomorrow brings… we might pull the camper out and head further south to see more of the trees.  It might be easier to just pull the camper with us everywhere we go.  That might be easier than trying to time our departures and campsite check-ins….  It is really free to just go… without making reservations.  When we started our trip… I thought that all of these campgrounds were going to be booked up because the reservation sites would not allow us to book sites.  In reality, the parks are pretty well empty- so no one bothers with reservations in the winter.  Again, fall / winter camping is a great way to see all of these parks without dealing with the crowds.  We have met some great people out here on the road… makes me want to be a full timer for a few years after the Army…  We will see how it goes.—Either way, it sure beats fighting with other shoppers at Walmart to save $50 on a TV that no one needs… right??  J

Thursday, 28NOV13- Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

We enjoyed waking up at Harris Beach State Park.  The front of the park faces the ocean.  There is a long hiking trail that leads down to the water.  The coast has a lot of huge rocks that stick up out of the water.  The way the waves hit the rocks makes for a beautiful coastline with water and foam spraying up into the air.

We relaxed around the camper in the morning before heading into town.  We were set on finding a restaurant to eat Thanksgiving dinner in… but we ended up stopping at a Fred Meyer instead.  They had a ton of stuff in there!  We got a few odds and ends there to make for a great thanksgiving dinner back in our camper.  We also did some other shopping while we were there as well.  Those stores are great- if you haven’t had the chance to go in one of them before.  I picked up a few odds and ends to fix some different things.  We even picked up a nice set of LED Christmas lights to light up our awning at night at the campsite. 

Willie who??

After our expensive adventure to Fred Meyer, we drove down the coast and looked at the Redwoods with the kids!  It was great.  I’ll tell you, pictures don’t really show the enormity of those trees.  They are beautiful!  It is difficult to imagine that these trees were alive when Christ walked the earth… and they are still here.  It is amazing to walk around in the forest of these trees. 

After our trip south, we headed back to the camper and cooked up a Thanksgiving dinner.  Traci does a great job cooking with all kinds of different means at the campsites.  Dinner was great!  We built a small campfire outside.  I sat down and took a few snapshots of our setup there..  What a great day… we found paradise..  great fun!