YOSEMITE DAY 2

Spent the day at Yosemite again today. Drove the big loop through the park, then took the long way home. What a great scenic drive. There is a great view around every curve and there are a LOT of curves. Went from 1800 ft above sea level to 6000 ft and back and up and back...lol. We hiked down the mountain to get the shots of the little falls near where Louise is standing. Not to bad getting down there but a real butt kicker getting back to the car. Thinking about taking a train ride tomorrow, will let you know. The redbud trees are in full bloom as well as the California Poppy. Great color to go along with the great views.

Till next time

Duane and Louise

Yosemite National Park

We spent the day in Yosemite. The trees are Sequoia, really BIG trees. The falls in the park are spectacular. I have pics of 2 different ones on here today. We plan to go back tomorrow and see some different ones. Got a late start today so we didn't have time to see more. We hiked through the Sequoia area of the park most of the day. Walked 2 miles up a mountian to a musuem, it was closed, oh well we needed the exercise. The traffic in the park is bad, the roads are real curvy and the people drive like nuts, 0ther than that we had a good time ...lol.. We hope to drive all the way through the park tomorrow. Going to get an early start, I hope. I'll have more falls pics if they turn out good.

Till next time

Duane and Louise

Lompoc, California

We spent the weekend at Lompoc, CA visiting with Louise's brother Tim and his wife Carolyn. Had a great time going to the beach, even though it was chilly, and seeing the town where they live. The views are beautiful. The area is very hilly with lots of overlooks like the first 2 pics. The drive to the beach was some of the best views we have had yet. I found the rocks on this beach some of the most interesting I have seen. I took lots of pictures of them but will bore you with just a couple. The striped rocks were so cool looking. That's Louise and her brother Tim sitting on the rock. They had a good time talking about old times growing up. We went geocaching and found 3 out of 4 before we ran out of time. We will off to Coarsegold, CA today.

Till next time

Duane and Louise

Disneyland

Spent the day at Disneyland. We had a great time, rode all the adult rides and spent LOTS money. It cost $63.00 a piece just to get in. You can imagine what food cost. But what the heck, don't think we will ever get back here again so had to go once. Leaving here tomorrow to head a little futher north. Have enjoyed our time we get to spend to spend with Danny and Sally, real great people. Been metal detecting on the beach when time permits, not rich yet but working on it.....lol.. Going out to do a little geocaching and looking around.

Till next time

Duane and Louise

MADE IT to the OCEAN

We made it to the Pacific. We have spent the last few evenings with Danny and Sally Graves. Danny is my friend from high school. It has been great to see him again. We go walking with Danny every morning. Went to the Mission of San Juan Capistrano today, pretty neat to see. We had to see it around about 200 little kids on a field trip but not to bad. We'll be here till friday.

Till next time

Duane and Louise

Last day at Joshua Tree

Started the day by gassing up the jeep....$3.34 a gallon That HURT .......... Did some geocaching on the way to the Salton Sea, found 8. Then we headed to the Salton Sea to check it out. It is 220 feet below sea level. Quite a story about how it was formed. Used to be part of the Gulf of Mexico, silted in at the coast to form the lake. Went dry, reformed again when a river breached the levee. It is real big lake that not many people use anymore because of the salt content. After that trip we did the fun thing, went to the laundery mat. Then Louise went to church after which we stopped for a sandwich before heading back to the coach and the evening campfire with a group of campers here. We will leaving here and heading for the coast in the morning. We'll be at Doheny State Park till Friday. While there we will be spending time with Danny and Sally Graves. Danny was my best friend in high school. It will be good to see him again. The first 3 pics were taken at the Salton Sea. The last 3 were taken yesterday when we went on a hike in the park.

Till next time

Duane and Louise

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK day 3

Went on a ranger guided tour today of an old homestead and gold mill. It was a real interesting hike. The distance was only aout 2 miles and the ranger was very informative about the area. One of last gun fights was in the path we walked down. The guy that won had a rifle, the guy that lost had a pistol, don't seem fair does it. The guy with the pistol fired the first shot so I guess he wasn't too bright. This area was big in gold mining in the late 1800's early 1900's. There are mines all over the place. Most of them are closed now, of coarse all the ones in the park were closed when it became a National park. After the hike we went rock climbing, that's us in the first pic. It was a lot of work but it was fun. Just kidding...........We stopped and watched these climbers for a while. You couldn't shoot me up there with a cannon. Maybe when I was in younger but not now. We are setting here getting the first rain we have seen in a month. Right now it is pouring and very windy. Hope it clears tomorrow so we can go on another hike, if not we will just hang out here. When we got back to the coach we walked down to chat with the neighbors for a while then the rain came so we headed in. About supper time.

Till next time

Duane and Louise

The Oasis

Today we took a hike to the Oasis in the desert. 7.5 miles around trip, I'm pooped!! All the pics tonight were taken on the hike accept the little cactus with the red blooms on it. That one was taken on the 20 miles dirt road drive we took after the hike. The views along the trail were spectacular. We could see the Sultan Sea from the top of the mountain we went up. The sea is some 50 miles away. We were about 3800 ft above sea level. The sea is about 200 feet below sea level. The oasis is WAY back in the hills and in the bottom of a canyon. We hiked almost to the bottom of the canyon and took a break to eat our lunch, then headed back out. The palms are native to this part of the desert. The palms are real big, nearly 50 feet tall. When we got back to motorhome there were a bunch of rvs parked in the same area we are. When got out of the car a man from the group came over to introduce himself and invite us to join them. Turns out they are all Escapees Boondockers, a club we just joined. So tomorrow when we get back here we will join in the 4 o'clock social hour. Going on a ranger lead hike tomorrow morning, only 2 miles this time. The topic is gold mining in this area, ought to be interesting.

Till next time

Duane and Louise

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK day 2

We drove into and around the park today. We met up with another couple, Mike and Charlie Harris that started fulltiming this year to. We went out to eat with them after we left the park and had a nice chat about our new live style. The first pic is the Joshua Tree. The 2nd is the bloom on the tree. They are all in bloom right now. The rest of the pics are views from around the park. The big rocks like the ones in the pic are everywhere here. People come from all over to climb them. I hope to get some pics of them climbing before we leave here. It was real windy today and we didn't see anyone on the rock faces. They sell a book here showing all the climbing rocks and the best path up them, I think I will let the younger ones have the rocks. I'll just watch. The scenic overlook pic is over 6000 feet above sea level . The place we went to eat, about 20 miles out of the park is -12 feet below sea level. Yes that is minus feet. There is a lot of ups and downs in this area. Going off the main road tomorrow to veiw some old gold mines in the park. They are way back on the dirt roads, hope we don't get stuck. Will do a little hiking tomorrow to.

Till next time

Duane and Louise