The fallsand GOLD

Went gold panning today,finally found a little piece!!!!!!!! It isn't much but I found it in a crack in the rock you see in the pic. We had a great time wading around in the water looking for that elusive first piece. We spent yesterday hiking in to the falls in the pics. Some were a mile off the road while others were very near the road. We hiked a total of 5 miles and drove a 70 miles one way to get to them. We would see one then drive to the next trail head and hike again. Great fun, great views. When we got to the end of our drive we were 5500 ft above sea level. There was snow on the ground. Wanted to go to Cater Lake National Park but the road was snowed in!!! The rabbit and the turkeys are more of the nature that wonders around the park we are in. Having a great time.

Till next time

Duane and Louise

Sutherlin

Setting in the parking lot of a Taco Bell posting this. We are going out on a hunt for water falls today. We have a map with about 10 on it, don't know how many we will make. Will post the pics of the ones we find. The pic of the deer was taken out of the window of the rv where we are parked. They come thrugh the campground every night. There are wild turkeys everywhere here to, just haven't had the camera at the right time. The covered bridge was near a geocache we went in search of . We found all 4 we went after. We better get going.

Till next time

Duane and Louise

Oregon

We are in Sutherlin, Or at an Escapees park. I have to go up town to get on the net here as my phone connection does not work in this area. I am setting in a Taco Bell parking lot using their wifi. I will try to get some pics ready for the next post. On the way up here, we went through some great mountains. We will be here till next Thursday, then move on north a ways. Going to stop at the place where the coach was purchased so they can check a fuse blowing problem. After that it is on north. There is still snow on the mountain tops around here, but nice in the valley where we are.

Till next time
Duane and Louise

On north

Been out of reach of the net for a couple of days. Left Concord Monday morning heading north. We had a great 3 weeks visiting with the kids. They about wore us out with all the sightseeing but didn't get to see everything. There is so much to see in and around San Franciso. We are now in Crescent City, Ca in the heart of redwood county. Spent last couple of nights in Willits, Ca. While there we took a ride on the Skunk Train out of Fort Bragg. It is the train that was used to log the redwoods years ago. The scenery was really pretty. The first two pics were taken from the train. Today drove through the redwood forest. Spent a lot of time going up and down mountains and around curves. After we got settled into the rv park we went to the beach for a walk. Then to the dock to see the tall ships that were in the harbor for the week. The pic of the lone ship is a ship that was in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. We will go on to Oregon tomorrow.

Till next time

Duane and Louise

Keeping busy

We spent the last 2 days sight seeing with kids. We were lucky to have Matt and Beth off work to show us around the area. Went to San Francisco on Monday. Took the boat to Alcatraz for the tour of the prison. Walked around town a lot, rode the cable car, took a taxi and the train. Talk about a full day. On Monday we went to Matt and Beth's for a steak lunch before heading to the coast and the John Muir National Seashore and a walk through the Muir National Redwood Forrest. On the way back we stopped at the Golden Gate Bridge to take a few nighttime pictures. Stacy has to go to her conference Wednesday evening and Beth has to work. Matt has to retun to work Thursday so we will lose our guides around town. Hope we don't get lost.

Till next time

Duane and Louise

Monterey

We had a really nice trip to Monterey and on down to Big Sur. The coastal scenery is beautiful. We took the drive through the Peeble Beach golf club. It cost $9.00 just to drive on their roads. I guess that is why they have all that money. When we stopped at the club house there were realstate ads for houses from 1.6 million to 28 million, that's dollars!!!!!!! The pic of the golf coarse is the 19th hole. It cost $350 to play a round of golf.

Till next time

Duane and Louise

SAN FRANCISCO

Friday we spent the day with Matt and Beth in San Francisco. We went Fishermans Wharf, saw Alcatraz, Lombard St. and the Golden Gate Bridge. We took the Bart train from their house, just a short walk, to the down town area. Then caught a bus to the wharf. After getting there we walked and walked. Walked up the hill to top of Lombard St., what a hike, what a view! We ate lunch on the wharf.....had..... you guessed it, sea food. The food was real good, but pricey. Oh well it's California. Took the bus to Golden Gate Bridge and hiked across it. The view from the bridge is great. After leaving the bridge we rode the bus back to the bart station, then the train home. We got back to the house at the same time that Stacy and her co-worker Sue arrived from Ohio. They are in town for work, but came a few days early to spend some time with us. Looking forward to our time together. Matt cooked burgers on the grill, we all ate way to much for that late at night....lol Going on a hike today.

Till next time

Duane and Louise

Gold Country

We spent yesterday in Coloma, Ca. The gold rush of 1849 was started in this area. The town of Coloma is now a state park. There is a museum and lots of buildings from that era that has been saved. They have lots of exhibits about the gold mining that took place here. The road into this area is very curvy and very steep. The first pic is the place where that first nugget was found by James Marshall. The statue is of Marshall pointing to the place where he found the nugget. The 4th pic is overlooking the valley from the base of the statue. The statue is on top of the hill above the river. The 2nd pic is an overlook on the road to Auburn, Ca after leaving Coloma. This road was as curvy and steep as the road we took to get there, but better scenery. We were planning to visit a couple of other towns in the area, but as we usually do, we ran out of time. Route 49 runs through the gold belt and is REALLY a pretty drive. I don't think I would like to drive the motorhome on this road, it is STEEP with a lot of horseshoe bend turns. We would like to be able to spend more time around here to explore more. We went to Sutter's fort the day before. It is in Sacramento and is also a state park and it is right downtown. It is the original building. So much to see we don't know where to go next. Stacy will be here on Friday to run around with us for a few days. It will great to be able to spend some time with her. I think I need a rest from all this fun.....lol

Till next time

Duane and Louise

Coloma, CA

We spent the day at Coloma, Ca, where the 1849 old rush all started. The whole town is now a State park. The blog site will not let me post pictures tonight, so I will have to try again later.

Duane and Louise

Bodega Bay, CA

Hi all.....Been a while since I have had new pics to post. We have been at Matt and Beth's since Monday but have not been doing much in the way of sightseeing. Been spending time with the kids and running around the town. Today we went up to Bodega Bay area near Napa. Matt drove so I could relax and enjoy the scenery. The metal figures are made by an area artist and are made entirely from junk. They are really cool. The house in the picture is the school house where the movie "The Birds" was filmed. The seashore shots are at Bodega Bay. It was very pretty drive that took us through part of Napa Valley with all the vineyards. The wind was blowing about 40 miles an hour, well it seemed like it anyway. I had a hard time steadying the camera for the pictures at the beach. After the drive back to Concord we stopped at Toni Romas for a rib dinner, oh how I like those ribs......I think we will go to Sacramento on Monday. The kids have to work so we may spend the day up that way. I hope I can get some good pics to post.

Till next time

Duane and Louise

No gold

Got to go on my first gold panning trip today. Bad news, didn't find any color. Color, that's what the pros call finding gold. I had to take a picture of the flower growing along the stream to get my color. Had a great time even if I didn't find any. The old guy that I went with showed me how to pan, set up a sluice box and where he thought we should find gold. He was wrong today. I shoveled sand and gravel for 3 hours, didn't find a speck. I am tired and sore from all the work but loved it. The picture is the stream we were working in, real pretty place. It is on the property of the rv park we are at. Louise spent her day picking up rocks. If she keeps picking up rocks we are going to need a bigger rv...lol.......She wants me to get her a rock polisher for her birthday. We need more hobbies....LOL.... May go back to the stream tomorrow for a bit, not sure. I hope everybody has a happy Easter and don't eat to much candy.

Till next time

Duane and Louise