Captain Jack Log Day 23

Sunday, July 31, 2011

The wind last night was so strong the trees at the park lost branches everywhere.  Got up before the kids and ran to Walmarts for duct tape.  We came out with donuts, bagels, 3 bed cushions for the kids and all kinds of food. 

Got in our duct taped RV and got back on Route 84…and you’ll never guess what we found…our siding for the RV.  We picked it up and put it in the tub/dirty clothes hamper.  We drove to the Tetons to camp for the night.  The duct tape looks as if we just put it on…thank god, because it rained last night, most of today and again tonight.  Had a campfire before the rain tonight, our first in three weeks.  Only one week to go!

Captain Jack Log Day 22

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Well, with the trains going by we got off to an early start.  It’s like a mad rush out of the campground.  The place is half empty before we even got up. 

Picking up rocks in Washington

 Today we traveled east on Route 84.  We did cross the Columbia River to check out the Washington side.  Made it into Idaho. 

Were traveling on Route 84 in the high deserts.  It was very windy, the RV was being pushed all over.  Then we came to a crest of a small hill and the front side of the upper bunk siding flew off.  The siding from the vent window of the upper bunk to the front, about 3 foot long top to bottom, just ripped right off.  We pulled off but could not find the siding.  Put some duct tape to hold the corner and the rest of siding from coming off.  Found a place to stay and make repairs.  I stood on a picnic table and put almost two rolls of duct tape on to seal the side.  Red Green would be proud of us.  Black and blue stripes.

Captain Jack Log Day 21

Friday, July 29, 2011

Spent last night in a KOA in Waldport, Oregon.  Our neighbors are from Ontario, Canada.  They are very friendly.  Met them when I was cooking breakfast outside.  The people to our side are dog trainers and yes they had seven dogs outside in cages.  They are better than my kids, they never barked at all.  My youngest rode a banana bike before we left but it wasn’t as much fun as the last place…too much wind.  So, instead of going North the way we need to go we headed South to a sea lion cave…now that was worth going south for 23 miles and paying $56.  Whoopie!  Can you say, can we go now???

Now we travel north up the Oregon coast and then east to Cascade Locks.  We found a KOA and the first mate did laundry.  When it got dark a train went by the campground and blew their whistle…that happened every 15 to 20 minutes until morning. 

Captain Jack Log Day 20

Day 20

Thursday, July 28, 2011

We got cleaned up and packed back into the RV.  My first mate got the blogs up to date this morning and we pulled out of the hotel at 11:30am.  The RV has run great today but we only drove maybe close to 200 miles. 

On the way north on Route 101 we found an ATV rental place at the sand dunes on the Oregon coast. 

We rented a 4-seat dune buggy and a 300CC Quad for my son.  For only $237 we got them for an hour.  The girls rode with me.  They screamed so much I was glad to be wearing a helmet. 

Some of the dunes went straight up and down, but the beach was hard and flat.  We got up 40+ mph top speed on the beach.  It was a good time for all.  Cool sailing!

Captain Jack Log Day 19

Wednesday, July 26, 2011

We spent the night at a hotel in Gold Beach, Oregon.  At 8am I had the RV at the shop.  The lower front bearings are broken and the uppers are worn.  The local NAPA parts store has the parts on hand so we are in luck.  When they pulled the tires off the rims they found broken cords in the two front tires.  So now the RV has 2 new tires, upper and lower front ball joints and a front-end alignment.  I got the RV back in the afternoon and drove back to the hotel, it rides great!  We’ll be spending one more night at the beach and in the morning …on the road again!

Captain Jack Log Day 18



Made it to Oregon

 Tuesday, July 26, 2011



Today we got on the road early, I should say I drove off while everyone was still in bed.  8:30am, heading for Oregon. 



My baby watching the sunset at Gold Beach, Oregon



 The shimmy in the front end is not going to make it back home.  Stopped in Gold Beach, Oregon at a NAPA store.  They gave me two places to go have the RV checked out.  The first was a place just wanting to sell me new tires and they can’t do a front end alignment on an RV.  So we went to the second place, Precision Performance.  They didn’t have time today to work on it but tomorrow at 8am they can.  So I guess we’ll spend a day or two at the beach.



Captain Jack Log Day 17

Banana biking in Eureka.

Monday, July 25, 2011

The day was off to a slow start.  My two youngest wanted to ride these bikes they rent at KOA campgrounds.  They’re called banana bikes and they have one wheel in front with the pedal and two wheels in back and you recline in the middle.  You shift your weight to steer the bike.  S had some trouble at first but she learned and had a blast.  My son was zipping along with no problem.  He enjoyed spinning out in the gravel and chasing his mother. 

Massive Redwoods

Oregon Elk

These trees make us feel small

I found the Pacific

We drove through the Redwood forest on the way up to Crescent City, California.  The trees are huge.  You stand at the bottom and you can’t see the top of the trees.  A tree had fallen near the road and an SUV was parked next to it…the tree on it’s side was taller than the SUV.  Boy do I look small next to those trees. 

Captain Jack Log Day 16

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Got a late start but we are finally on the road.  We took Route 36 out of Susanville, California heading to the Pacific.  The road is full of mountains and valleys.  Nice to look at.  The road is windy and steep and the shimmy is getting pretty bad. 

Then halfway across the state we find a sign that read, “Not recommended for RV’s or trailers.”  So we traveled north to 299 west.  This road is worse!  Twists, S-turns, C-turns, up, down…If this is the recommended road for RV’s I’d hate to see the second half of Route 36.  Thanks to the RV and its awesome driver we made it across to Eureka, California and the Pacific Ocean.  Now, let’s get out of California. 

Captain Jack Log Day 15

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Route 50 Nevada...The loneliest road in America

Got up at 7:30am and on the road at 8:15am. 

Sacramento Pass, Connor Pass...one mountain pass after another!

Drove to Susanville, California and found campground to stay at.  Hit the local Walmart for supplies and we had pizza at a local pizza shop.  Now we can get caught up on the blogs…and listen to the local dirt track.  Tomorrow the Redwood Forest and the Pacific Ocean.

There's this constant whine from the behind me...slow down...
you're going too fast...I'm gonna puke...are we there yet!

Captain Jack Log Day 14

Zion National Park, Utah

Friday, July 22, 2011

Drove to Zion National Park.  A lot of this can be seen from outside the park.  Route 9 runs through the park and continues on to Bryce Canyon.  They wanted $25 to enter the park and another $15 to drive out the other side…$40, not from me!  We drove the long way around.

Hoodoos at Bryce Canyon, Utah

Bryce Canyon is even more beautiful than Zion.  This is one place that I will come back to some day. 

The light changes the colors of the hoodoos.

Got out of the park late, had dinner at Subway and drove til just after midnight.  We slept on the side of the road in Nevada at the intersection of Route 2 & 50.  I don’t think anyone drove past us until after sunrise!





Newer hoodoos being formed by erosion



Captain Jack Log Day 13

The Hoover Dam

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Got up in the morning and went swimming in the pool.  The littlest crew member loved the pool.  Showered and clean we pulled out of the campground at noon.

Intakes

Went to the Hoover Dam.  Didn’t take a tour but we did drive over it twice.  Had to be inspected before we could drive over…the inspector asked me to turn off the RV and then open all the compartments in the RV.  I said my crew would mutiny if I turned off the a/c!  Passed muster so we got to continue on…

Wires run everywhere!

We drove to Zion National Park and stayed just outside the park.  The youngest crew member got back in the pool.  The campsite was at the bottom of a big red mountain.  Time to sleep, goodnight!

Captain Jack Log Day 12

Day 12

My buddy Fred...he was here 24 years ago too!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

We got up early and it was a good thing because parking for RVs at the Grand Canyon is hard to find. 

We came here on our honeymoon 24 years ago!

Checked out the visitors center and watched a movie about the park and the canyon.  Listened to a Ranger talk about the rocks at the park. 

The Grand Canyon...you gotta see it to believe it!

Looked at the canyon until the afternoon. 

We made it to Vegas!

The kids wanted to go to Las Vegas…so I drove all night and got to the Vegas strip just before midnight. 

Definitely a different world!

It’s not easy driving a 31 foot RV down the Las Vegas Strip.  The crew loved the lights.  Found the RV park about 1:15am.  Happy Birthday to me!

Captain Jack Log Day 11

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Spent last night in Cortez, Colorado.  Everything looks better in the morning after a big storm and we had a really bad storm last night.

My co-pilots keep me going!

 Drove most of the day, we only stopped for gas and sandwiches that we made. 

Not much water here in the Southwest

Interesting rocks...somewhere in Arizona

We got a site at the KOA campground just outside of Flagstaff, Arizona.  After we checked in we found the corporate store/office for Verizon so we could return the wireless 3G stick we bought that doesn't work anywhere.  Didn't get all our money back but my wife gave them hell. They tried to charge us $35 for a box and she went on the rampage.  It was fun to watch some other guy squirm under her thumb, cool!  Needless to say we didn't pay for the box.

Captain Jack Log Day 10



Mesa Verde, Spruce Tree House

 Monday, July 18, 2011

Today we drove from Durango to Mesa Verde National Park. The drive into Mesa Verde from the main road (Route 160) is just beautiful…about 20 miles to get to the Spruce Tree House.  That is the one tour you can do by yourself. 

Dwelling under the cliffs

The museum is also at this location, Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum, with a movie about the people that have lived at Mesa Verde.  The museum is filled with dioramas of Mesa Verde dwellers and actual artifacts from 550 to 1300 A.D., pottery, tools, spears & bows. 



Going down to the dwelling was easy...coming back up, not so much!



 From the museum it is a half mile hike to the Spruce Tree House ruins. 

A different perspective...

On the drive out we stopped at one of the free self-guided sites.  Then we found a herd of Elk.  They are much bigger than the white-tailed deer we have at home.  Lightning flashed in the distance.

Big storm tonight in Cortez, Colorado.  The lightning is a show of its own.  Tomorrow we drive!

Captain Jack Log Day 9

Saturday, July 17, 2011

A hummer tour through the Rockies

We did not travel today, instead we spent a second night in the KOA Durango.  We did go on a Hummer tour to the top of the San Juan Mountains. 

Rocky Mountains in Colorado

The views are breathtaking! 

Snow bridge at the bottom of a mountain

There is still snow on top of the mountains, we even got to see a snow bridge at the bottom of an avalanche area.  Got to see half a dozen mule deer on the tour. 

Having a great time...wish you were here!

The hummer had two open bench seats in the back that would hold 10 people.  If you didn’t sit right and hold on your butt was going to hurt.  The road to the top was graded by a bulldozer in the spring…boy is it rough. 

And then the rains came...we couldn't stop laughing!

Then on the way back to town it rained on us.  Rain at 40 mph feels like sleet on your face.  It was well worth the money and butt pain!

Captain Jack Log Day 8

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Great Sand Dune State Park

Got up early and had breakfast at the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado.  That is one huge pile of sand. 

Hey, we look small compared to this pile of sand

If I had to guess the size, I would say it would cover the whole village of Nassau.  It has to be close to 2000 feet tall. 




Where'd the other kids go???

 Then we went to a 36ft waterfall.  That was really cool...no COLD!  But the falls was only half the story. 

Rockclimbing to the waterfall

Hello from the falls

Mountain climbing in an RV

We had to drive 3 miles up the mountain on a rocky, dirt road to get to the stream that the falls are on.  Then we walked up the rocky stream to a cool cave and the falls.  It was lots of fun for us but the camper lost some screws and a few things are now loose. But it made the drive from Alamosa to Durango, taking Route 160 over the San Juan Mountains.  The views are great in the mountains but the crew is getting tired.