Coastal Redwood Trees

10/25/05 - Back to Eureka
Tuesday we drove southwest over the very windy US199 to McKinleyville which is about 30 miles north of Eureka. We had a lovely drive through the Redwood trees and down the Pacific Coast of Northern California .

The next day we stopped to check out JoSanja's studio in Eureka. She is a fabulous artist and welcomed our visit with open arms.

Friday we decided to move to Mad River Rapids RV Park just north of Arcata where we saw this interesting very low fog . This has become a favorite place for us because of the hot tub and the proximity to Arcata which a very cool college town.

On Sunday we had a nice dinner with my cousin and her family, who lives in Fortuna, about 20 miles south of Eureka, and pickup up some medicine we had shipped to her.

Sunset over a Dairy near Arcata, CA

10/31/05 - Redwoods National Park
Monday we drove up to the Redwoods National Park and took lots of photos including this Elk grazing by a fence , as well as many Coastal Redwood trees . We wound up back in Arcata for this interesting sunset.

On Wednesday, Nov 2nd we drove down to Ferndale and enjoyed this lovely small town filled with beautiful Victorian architecture . I spent most of the next week editing photos while it rained outside.

The following Wednesday we drove out to Samoa Beach and I took these photos of some interesting sea foam . Then we went into Eureka and enjoyed some of the beautiful Victorian architecture there. I think Eureka may have the most Victorian buildings in any city that I have been to, north of San Francisco.

11/11/05 - Beautiful Shasta
On Friday the 11th, we moved to Lake Shasta over the equally windy US299. We wound up at Lakeshore Villa in Lakehead, CA which was practically closed for the season. So the next day we moved to Lakeshore Inn and RV Park and got a beautiful spot overlooking the Northern arm of the Sacramento River and Lake Shasta reservoir.

Lake Manzanita and Mt. Lassen, CA

On Monday we drove down to Redding and took these beautiful photos of fall colors . Wednesday we drove up to Mt. Shasta and took this photo. Thursday we drove to the East and visited Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Saturday the 19th we again drove up to Mt. Shasta and visited with an old friend who moved there some months ago. We drove out to nearby Lake Siskiyou to watch the sunset on Mt. Shasta.

11/21/05 - Bountiful Thanksgiving
On Monday we moved to Colusa (Map). Wednesday we drove the car to Santa Rosa and pickup up my Mom and brought her back to the coach for the night. The next day was Thanksgiving and we drove to Marysville for a big family reunion. We returned to Colusa for the night and then drove the coach back to Santa Rosa the following day. It was nice to be able to share the holiday with my Mom and the Catterall clan.

11/25/05 - Back to Santa Rosa
We spent Friday night in Windsor, but decided to move to the KOA in Petaluma on Saturday for the rest of the holiday season. Over the next month or so we had doctor and dentist appointments, saw my Mom and sister a few times and had a Merry Christmas.

Tara Making Friends with Donkeys

The Petaluma KOA is a very nice park, but a bit pricey. It rained a lot while we were there. They have lots of animals, including cows , donkeys, chickens, turkeys, goats and peacocks. Tara and I enjoyed visiting them on a regular basis. Tara is a very gentle dog and the animals sense this and are not afraid to come up to her and exchange sniffs and even kisses.

12/27/05 - Back to Morgan Hill
On Dec. 27th we moved to Maple Leaf RV Park in Morgan Hill (Map) and visited several friends and relatives in the South Bay Area over the next week or two. We took the coach into Alpine RV for some service on Jan 5th and they needed to order an air conditioning unit, so we returned on Friday the 13th.

1/14/06 - Back to Desert Hot Springs
That night we headed south and made it as far as Buelton. Saturday we visited the very picturesque Solvang (Map) in the morning and then drove down to Santa Barbara and had a nice lunch with my aunt and uncle who live there. After lunch we drove down to Desert Hot Springs (Map) and spent the next two weeks at Caliente Springs which has many pools and hot tubs.

Shells at the Salton Sea

1/25/06 - Salton Sea and Joshua Tree National Park
On Jan 25th we drove down to the Salton Sea, which was interesting but not particularly picturesque. In this photo the stuff in the foreground is not sand, but finely broken up shrimp shells. The water is so salty that very few animals besides Tilapia and Brine Shrimp can survive in it. The lake has several streams running into it, but none flowing out of it. So the salt and chemicals from surrounding agriculture collect in the water. It is also interesting to note that this is the largest lake in California and the surface is about 200 feet below sea level. More about the Salton Sea.

Then we explored Joshua Tree National Park, where we took lots of photos of cactus including this Cholla cactus . The Joshua Tree is a very interesting plant. It can live 200 years and reach 45 ft tall.