Becky's Birthday

Rylee helped Grandma blow out my birthday candles on the beautiful cake his Mom made. It tasted great too! Thanks Angie!

Crater Lake and Yellowstone

HELLO ALL!!! WE ARE BACK AT MAYHILL AT DEER SPRINGS RV PARK FOR A MONTH OR SO. WILL KEEP YOU POSTED WHEN WE START TRAVELING AGAIN...



One of many waterfalls at Yellowstone. We spent most of the day there yesterday. The morning started out sunny, then it rained for several hours that afternoon. Still a great way to spend the day. The last time we visited Yellowstone was in June 1984, right before Donnie started his new job at Otero County Electric Coop. Time flies...
The park sure looks different after the 1988 fire. No more giant pine or fir trees, just lots of burned tree trunks but small trees are beginning to return. We saw only elk and buffalo this time. Think it is the first time we have not seen even one bear or moose.
We are leaving tomorrow, driving through the Tetons so will keep our eyes peeled for wildlife. We have plotted our course south to New Mexico. Looking forward to seeing everyone in Cloudcroft and Mayhill...AND, sure have missed our kids and grandkids. Can't wait to get to Artesia for our Grandma and PaPa "fix"!!



We are seeing this sight for the third time, but it never gets old. Got here at Old Faithful about 30 minutes before it erupted, so I just HAD to kill a little time in the gift shop (of course!). We have never seen so many other tourists here before...quite a few hundred standing around waiting for the "big blow". Seems like the price of fuel is not keeping people from traveling.



We are camping at Henrys Lake State Park, just 15 miles from west entrance to Yellowstone. It has a beautiful lake, covers 6000 acres, and is real popular with fishermen.



Another lake view...



Looking out our trailer window at the sunset. I could get used to this!!



Our campsite at the lake. We loved it here, except for the very friendly monster mosquitoes.



Crater Lake in southern Oregon. We visited last week while staying at Joseph Stewart State Park. It was not as clear as usual due to the smoke from forest fires in northern California. Still an amazing sight even with the haze. The lake is five miles wide, surrounded by cliffs reaching 2000 feet in some spots. The rim drive is 32 miles long, with great overlooks.



Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. at over 1900 feet, so no wonder it is so blue.



Notice how big my smile is? That's because my back is to the lake. My knees sure got wobbly when looking over the edge of the lake. Talk about a LONG way down!



This waterfall was right next to the highway, so didn't even have to hike to get this picture.



We stopped at a scenic overlook and noticed all this snow that still hadn't melted, so...had to take a photo of Donnie standing in it, wearing shorts no less! Just another summer day in Oregon...

Still on Oregon Coast

We are still in Oregon, staying at Humbug Mountain State Park again. We drove down to Brookings ( in Oregon near the California state line) on Sunday. This view is from an overlook north of Brookings. We have had more sun lately so the ocean is a beautiful turquoise color.

We plan to spend one more night at Humbug then head east tomorrow. We have always wanted to see Crater Lake so will stay a few nights at a state park west of there, until we have done all the “touristy” things.




The Brookings harbor where we checked out the docks and the Chetco River, which runs into the Pacific. Donnie would like to bring our boat here some time to cruise the river. We had lunch at a great little place on the harbor called the Hungry Clam, but we had fish and crab cakes, no clams this time.




This is the southernmost lighthouse in (Brookings) Oregon. It is a privately owned home (no tours!) but it is a working lighthouse. Can you imagine the view the owners have from their living room window?





Cape Arago Lighthouse south of Coos Bay, Oregon. It is on an island and can only be reached by a bridge that is closed to the public, so this is the closest we could get to take a photo.




While stopped at a scenic overlook near the gardens, I noticed this sailing ship in the distance. Donnie was able to get this picture with a telephoto lens. One of the locals said that this ship regularly sails this area. Wish I had more history on it to share...





Shore Acres State Park also south of Coos Bay. It was originally the estate of a pioneer timber and shipping magnate. There are seven acres with rose gardens, all types of flowers that bloom at different times of the spring and summer, and several very impressive overlooks. It also has a GREAT gift shop that I enjoyed!




Donnie at Shore Acres State Park gardens.

Lighthouse

Donnie was finally able to get a photo of the Cape Blanco lighthouse near our campsite. Until this morning it had been completely covered in fog. So...success!



The ocean from a scenic overlook near the lighthouse. No blue skies today!

Campsite at Cape Blanco

We have put out bird feeders which have attracted little ground squirrels (my Dad used to call them Chip ‘N Dales) in addition to lots of blue jays. They are so much fun to watch and we also have several baby cottontails that join us in the evenings. We have spoiled them to the taste of carrots, but we probably aren’t the first campers to do that...



Shelby doing what she does best. She does get more lively when the squirrels and birds are hopping around the yard.



One of the camp roads. Lots of big trees and greenery. Reminds me of a rain forest, especially when the fog rolls in...speaking of fog...we haven’t been able to take a photo of the lighthouse here yet. It has been too foggy on the point where it is located. We are hoping it will clear up in the next few days and give us a shot.



Our campsite at Cape Blanco State Park. We think it is the best space in the park. It is surrounded by salmon berry (NOT tasty, trust me I know!) bushes and ferns, so it makes the space very secluded and almost wind proof. The wind blows almost constantly here at Cape Blanco, as it is at the point farthest west on the coast.



Our "back yard"

Cape Blanco State Park

Check it out...I have my binoculars at the ready! Not a whale in sight, but still interesting watching the seagulls and pelicans.




The weather was so nice yesterday (just a light breeze) that we took our lawn chairs to an overlook here in the park. There was a little fog out in the distance but the ocean looked bluer than we had seen it lately. Just a great morning to relax and enjoy the water.




This is the Coquille River lighthouse in Bullards Beach State Park near Bandon. We drove up there a few days ago and even got to tour the lighthouse. There was a park volunteer that took us up to the top of the tower and explained a lot about the river and history of the area. Great views and we even learned a thing or two!




View of the ocean south of Cape Blanco State Park.

Park Hiking Trail

Donnie and Shelby found this great walking trail in the Humbug Mt. State Park where we are still staying. It is the old Highway 101 that runs above the current highway. It is closed off to vehicle use, and makes a great place to walk. Shelby had a great time, running around, sniffing the sea air. She found a great big snail that she found interesting. At least she didn't try to eat it!
The trees along the trail are gigantic. Some of them covered in moss and twisted from the ocean winds.



We walked 4 1/2 miles. Wow, I was really tired, but Donnie and Shelby seemed to take the hike in stride. Guess they have more energy than I do!



Great views of the ocean from the trail. Wish it had been less foggy. Made a good photo anyway.

Whale Watching!!

We have seen our first whale, up close and personal! It is just amazing! We stood here at the edge of the port for at least an hour, watching it feed on crill. We were told by some locals that it is a gray whale. After it got tired of this bay, it moved on north up the coast. What an experience...

Port Orford, Oregon

A few photos of the port at Port Orford. It is an interesting place to watch the fishing boats coming in to port. Port O. is called a dolly port. There are giant yellow cranes called dollies that are used to lower boats into the water, then raise them up when they come back in to port. We watched them for several hours and it was pretty fascinating. When the boats are lifted out of the ocean, they are placed on big boat trailers, then parked at the port until they go out again.



This is a really good restaurant right at the port, called Griff’s on the Dock. We have eaten here twice and really enjoyed the food. Great fish and clam chowder. The lady who works here told us her husband and son are both fishermen here. She also told us that there had been a whale feeding in the bay next to the port for several days. So...we plan to hang out here with our camera and try to catch a glimpse of him (or her?)...

Gold Beach and Port Orford, Oregon

Bridge crossing the Rogue River at Gold Beach, Oregon. We drove south down the coast yesterday and had lunch at a nice restaurant at Gold Beach. Great homemade pie too!

The ocean just north of where we are staying at Humbug Mountain State Park near Port Orford, OR. Donnie took this photo today and as you can see it is a little overcast. It is 52 degrees now (about 4 pm), but has been getting up to mid 60s most days. We got to the central coast on Thursday (6/26) at Newport. We planned to spend a week at Beverly Beach State Park there, but it was so jam packed that we decided to head south to Port Orford to avoid the crowds. Newport was way too "touristy" for our tastes.

A bay near the Port Orford docks. We were told that the whales come in to the bay to feed on crill most days. Didn't see any today, but I did catch a glimpse of one as we were driving down the coast from Beverly Beach State Park on Friday. It was pretty exciting seeing the whale breaching. We plan to get the binoculars and do more whale watching in the next day or two.

Glenns Ferry, Idaho

Our RV space at Three Island Crossing State Park in Glenns Ferry, Idaho. This is a beautiful park...very green and well kept. It is on the banks of the Snake River, on the old Oregon Trail. So far this is one of the prettiest campsites we have had. It was so enjoyable that we stayed for several days.

Donnie overlooking the Snake River.

Pool Boys

PaPa and Grandma just had to get the boys a swimming pool for those hot Artesia days. Rylee and Parker took to "swimming" really fast (check out all the flotation devices! Ha!). Casey thought it wasn't a bad place to cool off either! We had a great time visiting Casey, Angie and the boys. We were lucky to spend a couple of long weekends with the kids while staying at Deer Spring RV park in Mayhill (we were there April, May and part of June). We were there for Mother's Day and Father's Day. Angie and Casey really spoiled us while we were visiting! We loved it! Thanks kids!! Also...Donnie had his checkup in Lubbock on June 19th. The surgeon was very impressed with how well Donnie's shoulder is healing. Only more more appointment scheduled for October, then he'll be free! Yippee!!