Welcome Home committee

ORMOND BEACH, FL, Oct. 22, 2006
We're home. After six and a half months we weren't sure if the cats would recognize us. Our housesitter, who admitted he wasn't exactly a cat-person, had adapted and said the felines were doing fine.
We opened the door to find the welcoming committee of the Princess (above) who is always mellow and the Queen (below) who wasn't quite as thrilled with us leaving her. Anyway, Princess follows me all around the house and climbs into my lap when I sit down. The Queen makes her displeasure know whenever Lydia enters the area. This was the same sweet disposition we knew and loved before we left - - hoping that absence might make her a bit more "sweet".
Maybe, however, the Queen is just practicing her 'greeting' for all those trick-or-treaters who will come by on Halloween.

Taking a stroll

GRAND CANYON, AZ
The seldom-seen blogster, Lydia, heading down the trail on a (relatively) short hike on the Bright Angel Trail followed by her faithful sherpa, DoubleEspresso.

Winslow, AZ pics

WINSLOW, AZ
Taking it easy.

Take it Easy

SILVER CITY, NM, Oct. 18
This morning we left Williams, AZ and all it's Route 66 glory. We rolled down I-40 @ 75mph looking for a good place to grab breakfast. All it took was a billboard that caught my eye which read: "Come stand on The Corner in Winslow, AZ - - next exit." We pulled off as even my musically-challenged mate related to the Eagles hit "Take it Easy" (Written by Jackson Browne). And, yes, Winslow is also on Rt. 66.
"The Corner" is memorialized with a statue, signage and a mural on a wall behind the statue. Closer inspection revealed that it is indeed a wall as the rest of the building which used to be connected to it is no longer there. Nostalgia reigns as one store on the adjoining corner was playing the song and we saw at least 20 folks stop to take pictures and have their pictures taken as well -- which we did also - - and share some camaraderie as none were younger than mid-40s that we saw.
Tonight its Wild West time. Silver City, NM, was the birthplace of Billy The Kid, an infamous outlaw whose lore and legend is but one of the many attractions here along with - - you guessed it - - more mining for silver and gold.
Now, where are the pics?? Well, the sort of weak wi-fi signal from the motel next door (which we've just happened to pull in) isn't strong enough to post pics.

Toes over the canyon

GRAND CANYON, AZ, Oct. 17
This pic doesn't really need a lot of explanation. If you looked over the edge it was at least 2,000' straight down and that wasn't even to the valley floor and the Colorado River. So, while my toes are near the edge and I'm reclining on my backpack so I can take the photo I had Lydia hanging onto me just in case.

The Twilight Zone

EAST OF TONOPAH, NV
Head out on U.S. highway 6 from Tonopah and eventually you'll pass Alamo, NV and an intersection with NV375. What I didn't catch on the drive past on the way to Lunar Crater was the signpost for Extraterrestrial Highway - - a real Nevada DOT sign - - which I saw on the way back was peppered with bullet holes and decals. And I didn't think to get our hosts to stop for a pic.
In 1996, due to many reports of UFO sightings on the 98 mile stretch of highway, it was renamed the ET Highway. Not coincidentally, the road parallels a portion of the Groom Lake Base / Nevada Test Site know as "Area 51." This area, which derives its name from being in grid 51 of the location map, is a US Air Force test center and is home to a 6-mile long runway. The U2 spyplane of the 60s; the SR71 Blackbird spyplane and other futuristic aircraft like the Stealth Bomber are either acknowledged or rumored to have tested in the area.
Want to know more?? Google Extraterrestrial Highway and Area 51 for lots of interesting fact and conjecture.
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Catch up

WILLIAMS, AZ, Oct. 16
So here we are on Route 66 in Williams, AZ. We came through Boulder City, NV earlier today and they also were treading on the mythical stature of days gone past on Route 66. The gas station museum is just one of many buildings in Williams along this stretch of 66 to try to cash in with memorabilia. Actually, we turned off at the wrong I40 exit on our way to the Grand Canyon; saw that the area we were in was pretty neat and decided to spend the night - - the storm clouds rolling in had a bit to do with the decision. And, no, we didn't find any stores selling "kicks on Route 66."
VIRGINIA CITY, NV, Oct. 13
I found this piece of a vintage Dodge truck in Virginia City, NV. The town, like Skagway, has a history shrouded in precious metals - - both silver and gold. And, like the Klondike Gold Rush, also has a famous author tied into the history. Mark Twain started his writing career as a reporter for the (Virginia City) Territorial Enterprise. Today, the former newspaper office is a museum and there is also a Mark Twain Book store. The town's main street has a more rustic appeal than Skagway with casinos and T-shirt/souvenir shops, not jewelry stores, taking most of the attention.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CA, Oct. 12
Just a few miles outside South Lake Tahoe we stopped at a Bureau of Land Management-operated National Forest visitor center. One of the many nature trails led us through an area for bird watching and then to a stream where Kokanee salmon were spawning and the Morganser Ducks (above) were zipping around in formation stalking the fish.
The Kokanee is/are quite famous for (apparently) giving their name to a regional beer here on the Left Coast. Why you would name a beer after a fish is beyond my realm of info.
FYI: The Kokanee have it made. They spawn in nearby stream, the young (fry) swim to Lake Tahoe and then return 3-4 years later to start the circle again.

Crescent City Kitty

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CA, Oct. 11, 2006
While Lake Tahoe has many areas with docks around the lake this shot is from Crescent city, CA on Oct. 9. We had stopped to take a quick bagel and peanutbutter lunch break and encountered this friendly feline. Lydia had taken a walk to take a pic of the lighthouse there and this guy wandered up, walked across my lap and sat down. The body language was simple: I'm not really wild so pet me and take me home; better yet take me home and feed me. It was obvious from his manners that somebody had abandoned the coal-black critter. Too bad 'cause he had character.
No pics between Susanville, Reno, NV and Tahoe. Just wide open spaces with lots of brown grasses, pine trees and cattle/horses/alpacas/sheep. Tahoe got 6" of snow on Monday, which made the roads slick; there's still some in higher elevations around 6,000'

Catching up

SUSANVILLE, CA, Oct. 10
We've turned left from our trip down the Washington / Oregon / California coast and headed into the northern interior of California...sort of Paart Two of our journey back to FL.

Here are a couple of photos to sort of catch things up. until I/we find more that we overlooked the first time. The above pic is from the Redwood National Park area outside Eureka, CA. The pic doesn't really show how tight some of the passages between the trees and the narrowness of the road was.
We stayed in Cape Blanco State Park campground and went out to see the lighthouse at about 7:15am. That's the morning sun glistening off the lower left of the sign and the light (this is still a working light) shining thru the Fresnel lens

What we have here is a technical glitch which I can't (maybe) figure out how to fix. The two photos are supposed to be centered rather than side by side. Anyway the left (or top) pic is somewhere along the coast while the right (or bottom) shot of the driftwood and reflection in the tidal pool should be from Canon Beach near Seaside, OR

Cape Arago Lighthouse, Charleston, OR

Making waves2

CAPE PERPETUA, OR
One more shot

Making waves

CAPE PERPETUA, OR
We missed all these sights yesterday due to lousy weather and low clouds. Cape Perpetua has plenty of trails along the ocean with tidal pools, blow holes, driftwood and other spectacular wave induced natural attractions.

Info

FLORENCE, OR
Click on the pic to get an easier size to read

Sunset

CAPE LOOKOUT (OR) STATE PARK, Oct. 4
I cheated and used a cross-hatch filter on the camera lens to get the 'star' look of the setting sun on the beach area at Cape Lookout. We were camped behind a sand dune nearby. It was comforting to know that they tested the Tsunami Warning sirens in the campground every other Monday of the month. Beautiful Oregon State Parks, great facilities and signs warning you that you are camped in a Tsunami Hazzard Area.
On the plus side, the warning signs say you have approximately 20 minutes from wailing sirens scaring the hell out of you before you should prepare to start swimming.

Axe me no questions

JOYCE, WA
Whiskey Creek Beach Campground

This double-headed axe looks quite menacing in the daylight, especially with that short handle. You ought to try it out in the dark, chopping big firewood into smaller pieces. You do this very, very carefully.

Check out lydiahinshaw.blogspot.com for her blog on our stay in a rustic camping cabin. This photo should give you an insight into 'the rest of the story.'

Stripes

SEASIDE, OR, 10.3.06
This well fed rascal is the guard kitty in one of the bookstores we wandered through on a walking tour of Seaside. A customer came in just as I was about to get a name for the above fur-ball and then I forgot the name of the store. Still, since the unnamed feline was up for a belly rub or two I decided to make, as the shop owner noted, " doesn't like to miss meals" slightly famous

Where else but on the Left Coast

OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK (seashore), WA, 10.2.06
SEASIDE, OR, 10.3.06
Let's say you're on the beach checking out the driftwood, the rocks, the scenic views when suddenly you feel the ground shaking!! Wow! What should you do?? The states of Washington and Oregon..and maybe California too...have you covered. There are signs near the beaches to tell you that if the ground shakes and you are on the beach to: RUN LIKE HELL!! There are signposts like the one below directing you to Tsunami Evacuation Routes. There are information sheets posted inside rooms in hotels, motels (and the Hostel in Seaside, OR, where we are staying) with lots of good Tsunami info. The same goes for the campground we stayed in last night, which was on the ocean.
So, for those of you who see the glass half-empty or are an optimistic realist like I am -- then if you don't get caught in an avalanche of rocks and trees from above you can bet you'll sleep with the fishes if you don't get to high ground quick enough.
More dispatches to come from the Left Coast as the fun continues.

Safe refuge

SAN JUAN ISLAND, WA

The Bald Eagle perched on the National Wildlife Refuge sign has the perfect location to inspect the kayak-ers on the calm waters of xxxxx as they float by. However, he's more interested on what's going on in the waters on his side of the rocks.

Five months of trying to spot wild animals and birds on the Klondike Highway and surrounding areas wasn't wasted as we spotted this 'baldy' before we even pulled into the park's parking lot. We had rented a car in Friday Harbor, where the ferry docked, to tour the island.

Book Club

DoubleEspresso Book Club selections:

"The Blue Bear" by Lynn Schooler. This is a very interesting book about friendship and Alaska. Despite the title sounding like a children's book, this is a real life true story.

"Shadow Divers" by Robert Kurson. This is the story of the discovery, in 1991, of a German submarine from WWII in an area off the New Jersey coast where there was no reported U-Boat activity. The obsession to discover the name of the sub and the identity of those aboard and bring closure to the men's families takes nearly 10 years. Another true life tale.

Time for coffee

We're sitting in the aptly-named (for Florida residents) Hurricane Coffee Company in Sequim, Washington. There's another coffee shop across the street and down a-ways, just as I'm sure there is another coffee-shop drive-thru within a mile or two. It's kind of like dying and going to coffee heaven. If I don't pace myself in coffee nirvana I could be wired until we're two states away. I'm quite sure that Oregon - - where we're headed next - - will have almost as many java joints.