Death Valley

Way to much to see here and I just KNEW I'd have trouble keeping up with my blogging, so this is just to say I'm alive and well, warm and dry and exploring what must be one of the most facinating places on this earth.

Ubehebe Crater

View looking north from Dante's Point







Oh yes, forgot to mention the 75oF, warm springs fed swimming pool.......

Back later..........

Scotty's Castle

Wow, four days has taken me all the way from Carson City in Nevada to Death Valley in California. From -8oC at night to +8oC and 12oC during the day to 23oC. From 4,000ft above sea level to 190ft BELOW.

I'll go back to Friday 13th...

Friday 13 November

I awoke to blue skies again but chilly as my furnace has been playing up. The thermostat has been switching so fast that the fan doesn't have time to stop on cool-down before it is kicked in again. Not good for the furnace, not good for my batteries and not keeping me warm either. I've toyed with the inards but decided to bite the bullet and buy a replacement today. $24 at the RV sales just up US 395, on the outskirts of town. Oh boy, what a difference it's made!! I can set the delay on this one, or rather the anticipator and I get a good 4 or 5 degrees boost before it switches off, instead of 1/2 a degree.

Back up to Washoe State Park to "do tanks" and refill with fresh water, then back to Lot#4 for the night.

I'm not superstitious, but happy the day went by without incident!

Oh yes, nearly forgot. Wayne brought me over a pork chop "farewell dinner". Such kind and generous people. Thank you! My faith in humanity proven again!

Saturday 14 November

Warrmmm all night, wonderful. The furnace worked a real treat and kept the -4.8oc overnight cold away.

Well, taking my leave of Carson City today, said my farewells to Skyler but unfortunately Wayne and his family were all out somewhere so had to leave a note, but have their email address and will write later.

On the road east to Virginia City some 20 miles away but a climb of some 2,000 ft to just over 6,200ft. My Islander took it in it's stride but a 15% grade sure took a bit of gas to climb! I really cannot imagine having to WALK it as used to be the case! There is another route, through 6 Mile Canyon, but it heads south of Carson so doubles the distance.

Virginia City is terraced out of hillsides with mine workings all around. The main thoroughfare is preserved (albeit with tarmaced road now), with boardwalks leading into saloons, bars, houses of ill repute.... oh no, sorry, it was a store selling t-shirts. Typical tourist place really, but nice to see the other 8 or 10 streets consist of real housing with real people still enjoying their town and making a living, keeping the place alive and bustling.

I was fortunate enough to find the Virginia and Truckee railhead just 5 minutes before a train puffed and panted its way into view. It doesn't normally run this time of year, but a special tour had been arranged and 2 coach loads of eager tourists were waiting as the old train clanked and wheezed its way into the "halt", bell clanging and steam billowing around it. I took a video and will try to post it, but couldn't get it to run on my computer (very, very grateful to Jack for its loan as otherwise there would be NO blog!). The line now runs all the way back into Carson City as in the old days so I bet they had a terrific ride! The train was met and waved off by a dozen or so locals dressed in "western gear", six-guns, spurs (the men), bonnets and bustles (the ladies).  Once the train had left they went back into town in golf carts, a very odd sight!!

Although there is an RV park and a large parking lot ideal for boondocking just below Main Street, I decided not to stay overnight as it really was a bit too touristy for me, mostly shops selling every imaginable knick-knack and curio, so I headed off down 6 Mile Canyon to Dayton, east on US50 through Stagecoach, then south on ALT95 to Yerrington. I camped here overnight in the Rest Area which proved to be very quiet and with a sani-station, immaculately clean washrooms but no fresh water.

Sunday 15 November

Crickey, my thermometer registered minus 9.8oC overnight and my pipes were frozen (but thawed out quickly with the sun). My furnace must have worked wonderfully because I was toasty! Looking out at the fields behind me, I could see swirls of leaves picked up by what I can only descride as miniature tornadoes. Like dust devils, they swirled leaves up 10 or 12 feet, moved slowly across the fields and then died and the leaves gently dropped back to earth, all without the slightest of movement of any other of the thousands of dry leaves around. Most weird!

I reached Walker Lake about 11am and wished I had found it the night before. Spectacular! Three camping areas along the shoreline, one called Twenty Mile Beach and the most wonderful views across the lake to the distant mountains. I decided to have an early lunch as I couldn't leave here without spending some time in the tranquil beauty of the place. Now I wish I had just stopped early and stayed overnight, but there'll be other times!

US95 eventually got me to Tonopah, back up at 6,200ft after decending to just 3,000ft on the way. Time to gas up again and I found a nice little boondock site behind the McDonalds (with their blessing, as advertised on a billboard 20 miles out of town!) I also decided to fill up the propane tank, just in case, as I expected another cold night. There was only one place in town that sold propane, the Texaco truck stop just next door so I duly had the tank filled and then went in to pay. Nearly dropped dead! $3.90 a gallon, over 60% more than normal! Rip-off!!! I had only paid $2.75 for gas in town and the norm for propane is around $2.40 elsewhere. Oh well, at least I stayed warm that night!

Oh, and the stargazing wasn't so good because of the lights at the truck stop! Should have driven out of town but it's too dangerous to drive off the road in the dark. You just never know what type of surface it'll be and way too many shoulders are soft and very sloped into drainage ways. It'd be all too easy to get stuck, or worse flip the camper.

Monday 16 November

DARN, batteries ran out of juice about 5:30 so the furnace died. Had to huddle under the covers and last until the sun warmed things up again!

Taking the curtains down I saw a rabbit sitting watching me, then a hop, skip and jump as it disapeared down the hillside.

Headed off down US95 ever southward then turned west onto 267 which took me into California and Death Valley National Park. You can tell where the state line is by the sudden crashing of overworked suspension as the road instantly deteriorates!

The temperature has been steadily rising all morning as the sun shone from a cloudless blue sky and I realised I'd been going steadily downhill for the last hour or so. Then the road, which until then had been endlessly straight to the horizon, took a curve and disappeared into a canyon. I then twisted and turned for about 5 miles definitely getting lower and lower. Ahead of me, instead of desert scrub and sagebrush, an oasis of trees and bushes sprung up on my right. Intrigued, I slowed even further (I was only doing 30kph anyway) and suddenly saw a small sign with the word "Trailers" and an arrow pointing right. ???? no idea! A hundred yards further on, another sign reading "Motorhomes". Oh well, I'm a motorhome so in I turned and parked up with one other unit in a gravel lot in amongst tall trees, intriguing! Then I saw, at the end of the lot, a gateway. Walking down I found that this was Scotty's Castle. A huge attraction in Death Valley and even marked on my Walmart map! (when I looked).

It's real name is Death Valley Ranch and wasn't owned by "Scotty" at all, but by his "business partner" and financier. I took two tours, one of the house and one of the tunnels and power house (ohhh yes, that's me...). Apparently "Death Valley Scotty" was a larger than life character in the early 1900s. He toured the US and Europe as part of "Wild Bill Hicocks" show and learned the art of showmanship. He then went on to become a highly succesfull conman, selling shares in his non-existant gold mine to a good few rich and gulible men, but with such suavity and guile that he was never taken to court and actually became a very famous man, visited by stars from Hollywood and statesmen from New York, all waning to hear his stories of gold mining and his life (mostly made and and embelished, but no-one cared!).

He was backed by an Albert Johnson, who sunk an initial $20,000 as a grubstake into his "goldmine" and on his eventual insistence on seeing the mine, arranged to visit Death Valley. Scotty was horrified at this and plotted with his brother and some cronies to attack the coach, "shooting over their heads" to make it seem like a group of bandits and frighten off the "city softy". Well, it was darn cold trecking up to the ambush point and waiting overnight in the canyon so the friends had a few drinks "to keep out the chill" and hatched a far better plan! They'd shoot out the wheels!! So along comes Scotty, his brother and Mr.Johnson, the shooting starts, Scotty yells they're being attacked by bandits and Mr.Johnson absolutley LOVES it!! He is so tired of being a fusty city insurance tycoon he longs for the old wild west and thinks it's fabulous, even when Scotty's brother gets shot in the leg by an inebriated bad shot!!!

Fortunately the wound isn't too bad, Mr.Johnson forgives Scotty's attempt to flamboozle him and he ended up bankrolling Scotty for the entire rest of his life, even allowing him to take "ownership" (as far as the guests were concered) of the Ranch that was eventually built as a holiday home by Albert and his wife, Bessie.

Scotty's storytelling abilities and obvious flare for beguiling everyone he met, along with many camping trips into the desert seem to have formed a bond between the two men that lasted until the death of Johnson, who even then made sure Scotty was taken care of, at the Ranch for the rest of his life. Scotty died in 1954 and is buried on the hill overlooking Death Valley Ranch, or "Scotty's Castle". Just a few months later, his dog died too and is buried beside him on the hilltop.

The residence is something else. Albert Johnson actually was a graduate engineer and only went into the city after a bad rail accident that killed his father and severly damaged his back. He was a technology freak and designed the house to run on free power, provided by an 8.5kW Pelton wheel generating set operated by water from a spring on his property that flows at 100 gallons per minute. There is also a Carillon bell tower (unfortunatley not working) and a fabulous automated organ and piano (that I got a special visit to see the inards, over 1000 pipes, drum, cymbals, sound bellows and electronics), built in Chicago and shipped out, as was most everything else. It cost over $2 million to build the Ranch and was still an ongoing project when he lost most of his fortune in the stock market crash in the late 30s. Along with the fact that the US government decided to turn Death Valley Monument (as it was) into a National Park. A survey was carried out which put Johnson's 1500 acres of land one mile east of where he was!! Eventually, after court cases took a large portion of his remaining fortune, a deal was struck whereby Johnson "bought" back his land (that the goverment had sold him in the first place), for $1.25 an acre.

Anyway, it's certainly a beautiful home and situated in an awesome location.

Tuesday 17 November

I camped overnight just outside the park, back in Nevada on BLM land then returned to walk around the Ranch, finding a stable block housing Scotty's old 1936 car, a couple of horse draw coaches and wagons, 2 trucks used in the build and a 1914 Packard that is 1 of 4 built in that year still in existance in original condition. Albert Johnson loved his Packards and bought 3 or 4 over the years to drive around Death Valley and further afield, exploring and camping with his wife, Scotty and friends. Out in the sunshine I walked around and around the hill, up the pathway to the top where Scotty and his dog are buried. I can see why!! What a fabulous place to spend your life and end your days! The photo cannot really convey the reality, but hope you get a sense of the amazing serenity and wondeful way that nature has been harmonized with man's need for comfort. My uncle Roy would have so loved to see this palce. It was his dream to be able to harness natural springs and sunshine to provide power, warmth and the "necessities of life", in his own home. Never made it unfortunately, but then he wasn't a multi-millionaire either!

Oh, I nearly forgot the solar hot water system! 1926 and all the hot water was produced using solar panels! No pumps, no boilers, as much free hot water as the sun could provide. We aren't quite so advanced and innovative these days as I thought!!

Lot #4

Sunday 8 - Thusday 12 November

Wow, time sure does fly these days. Sill here in Carson City, settled in Lot#4.  Been looking around the town and discovered the source of the wonderful chimes, a Carillon! (although unfortunately a totally electronic one consisting of a 300watt amplifier, 4 speakers and a chip containing the "voices" of over 400 bells). It's still lovely to hear a tune every hour and "Westminster" chimes on the quarters. It is housed in the Tourism Commission building just across the block. Now it isn't a tourist information centre, but the Commission itself which generates all the brochures and "arranges things". Strangely the Tourist info building is 1 mile south on Hwy395, housed in the railroad museum (on tomorrow's agenda).

We've had fairly decent weather these last few days, although cool at night, the bright sunshine during the day helps cheer everyone up!  There are so many americans around who have "dropped off the ladder" in these financially challenging times.  They are the people who were just clinging on and making a living before, but now find themselves without homes (after foreclosure), jobs and now many on welfare or greatly reduced income after their job hours have been cut back.  Some are lucky enough to have trailers or motorhomes, some now on the streets.  It really is hard to see someone go off every day walking the town applying for every job they can find with often dozens of others applying also and returning emptyhanded and footsore.  Skylar has been doing this for over a year now!  Not enough money to move anywhere else and not enough to afford rent, he "exists" and is slowly degenerating in health o the extent he is worried for himself over the winter.  At least everyone looks out for each other and a strong sense of community seems to have sprung up again. 

Drove a few miles back to Washoe State Park on Tuesday, a large reserve around a lake that is unfortunately depleating fast. 2 years ago the boat launch had to be closed permanently as the ramp is now over 250 yards from the waters edge!

Having talked with a few dam operators and Park Rangers, there seems to be a severe problem with water level reductions in most, if not all, the major lakes and rivers here and I'm surprised there is so little conversation or apparent concern over the issue. Perhaps everyone is more worried about the here and now than what may occur in years to come. That could lead to disaster I feel!! Whilst at Washoe I did "tanks" and even found a nice shower, but oh boy! the water pressure was phenomenally high! No wonder they had a couple of broken water pipes that were shut down.

Did a bit of grocery shopping at Walmart (sorry, yes Walmart, they don't have much competition here). Their meats were 2/3 the price of Canadian outlets, which means half the price of the UK! Bison steak at $5.05/lb and tasty it was too. Had to buy a new headlamp to replace the drivers side that decided to conk out. Still no luck with the high level lights, just can't find where they splice into the clearance light circuit. Tested every fuse I can find.
We had a dusting of snow overnight and I awoke Thusday morning to light rain pattering on the roof, but with a gorgeous view of hills covered in snow in the distance.
Just realised it is Friday the thirteenth tomorrow, not that I am superstitious! (I'll just cross my fingers here).
Both Wednesday and Thursday evening I've had a knock on the door about 5pm and been presented with a lovely home-cooked meal. Wayne and his wife Rose had cooked enough dinner for both myself and Skylar as well as their family. Very kind and generous of them and I must say she is a rather good cook! I'll have to think of something to give them when I leave.
As the weather forecast is looking decidedly chilly, I'm thinking it is about time to head further south toward Death Valley, but still deliberating whether to take Hwy 395 through California or Hwy 95 through Nevada. More high desert in Nevada apparently (so cooler at night), but it would take me through Tonopah which is advertised as the best star gazing town in the world!  I also aim to visit Virginia City on the way out of Carson which is now a "tourist ghost town". Maybe there won't be too many tourists this time of year!

Good luck to everyone for tomorrow!

The Nugget Casino

Saturday 7 November

Had a "day off" today, so I'm still docked at the Nugget Casino in Carson City. The sky was bright blue all day, although with a chill wind when the sun went behind the trees and I was woken this morning to the sound of a carillon ringing out a lovely tune, one I recognise but cannot remember the name. It is in a building next to the casino and chimes every quarter, with hourly renditions on two or three different tunes. Really quite beautiful to hear such clean, clear tones from the bells. Must go and look tomorrow.

I decided to investigate the generator problem once breakfast was over and after a couple of hours using my meagre tool supply to strip it down, finding nothing untoward and reassembling it I switched on, primed the carb, pulled the start cord and away she went!!   Now all I have to resolve is why I have no high level running lights. Oh and to replace the headlamp I found was not working!

A couple of the "residents" here came over and I ended up spending most of the afternoon chin wagging with Skylar and Bruce over decaf cappuchinos.  Apparently there are half a dozen units here almost permanently.  You sure do meet some interesting and diverse folks! Alex and his wife have been full time RVing for 4 years and lived here for the last 4 months whilst she is having treatment at the local hospital. Skylar has spent most of his life working in different states at whatever job he could get, but times are hard here and the first jobs to go are the low paid, low skill ones, too many people after too few vacancies. Bruce started smoking "weed" at age 10, then progressed onto crack cocaine by his early teens. In his late twenties he was told he needed an operation on his back or end up in a wheelchair. He was so scared that the hospital would find drugs in his sytem and refuse to do the operation that he quit and hasn't relapsed since. He considers himself a lucky man having since met his wife and had two daughters, whereas he could easily have ended his life years ago.

Life is full of characters, people who have lived "colourful" lives and those whose world is far removed from the one I came from. I am so glad and honoured to meet such people and share with them their experiences and outlooks. It enriches my life and I hope theirs too.

Be safe and enjoy life as you may.

PS Having stopped the generator after a short battery charge, it then commenced to drip gas onto the parking lot so I guess it'll have to be stripped again in the future!

Guy Fawkes Night

Thursday 5 November

So, Thursday dawned bright and sunny and I was still in the same site, just! The wind blew a hoolie all night and I didn't fall asleep until gone 4am. I honestly thought the camper might get blown over so I turned it to face into the main wind direction but it was very gusty and coming from different points of the compass.

Apparently it has been known to turn over trailers here in the past!!  It is still blowing hard now, but bearable and quite warm. The alkali is being rousted up from the dry lake edges and is pouring across the lake to the extent it is obliterating the hills on the horizon. It looks like steam being boiled off the lake surface but actually is incredibly fine alkaline particles.

It stayed warm all night (10oC) which was a bonus I guess. Still, the sun is shining now and the rejuvenating waters in the bath house beckon so see you all later......

Ohhh yessss, definately need half an hour in a hot spring at least once every day. I feel incredibly mellow, all warmed through and no pain!!  (Mind you, it could be the very low humidity too?). 

I reluctantly took my leave of Summer Lake Hot Springs, Katherine and Jonnie the managers and set off south once more. There is no fresh potable water at the Springs campground as the only water available is the hot (113oF) spring water, so 6 miles down to Paisley and the Ranger Station there that has a water faucet outside. (Thanks Katherine).  Looked in on the Ranger Station to check it was ok to use their water spigot, filled up the tank and then carried on US 31, more south-east now, with the hills on my right and alkali lakes to the left with great plumes of alkali dust blowing toward the far horizon.

Trundling down the highway at my usual 80kph, I see a line of three vehicles coming toward me all flashing their headlights?? Now three vehicles in a line is an unusual sight in itself (there really isn't that much traffic around here), but with headlights flashing!! Maybe a police speed trap I think or???  Anyway, despite traveling under the speed limit anyway, I slow down even further and then see the reason.  A family of about a dozen mule deer bounding alongside the road, hopping 4 and 5 foot fences and gates so gracefully, with seemingly effortless bounds. Some look across disdainfully my way and then carry on across the front lawns in the small town as though they owned it. Which I suppose they really do! We humans just borrow their land and stick fences up to create our own little alloted space that no-one else should trespass upon, whilst those that have been here for so long understand more about sharing without boundaries.

At Valley Falls I joined US 395 south and reaching Lakeview, filled up with gas before crossing the border into California between New Pine Creek and (old?) Pine Creek. Before reaching the first town in CA the road is barricaded off and everyone has to drive into a shed at the border checkpoint. RVs get their own special lane! Guess we tend to harbour more criminal produce that folks in their family cars and trucks.  I had to undergo the ubiquitous Californian border checks for illegal produce by a guy with more tatoos than bare skin!! Apparently the last two apples I had bought in Penticton, that had been chilling in my fridge, were possible harbourers of some dreadful fly so whoosh, confiscated!! Mind you, I did get 2 leaflets in return explaining in great detail why.

Coming into Pine Creek there is a traffic advisory sign flashing. OK, better find out what the problem is,  so I tuned in to the radio station and sure enough, it is advised that RVs and vehicles towing trailers park up and do not travel. Hmm, well I've been ok for the last hour so I'll try a bit further yet. As I leave the town there is another traffice advisory sign, but it ISN'T flashing. Confusing....and you know it doesn't take that much to confuse me!

Now going around Goose Lake and the winds are still blowing but Goose Lake is on my right and I can see that ahead of me the alkali dust is blowing directly across the road.  As I enter the cloud the sun darkens and there is an erie light all around that is strangely familiar. Then I remember watching a solar eclipse years ago. Not exactly the same but very similar.

Coming into the town of Likely, I decide to stop and have a piece of pie. There is only a general store, restaurant and gas station to choose from, so pick the restaurant. The aroma of cooking was too much and ended up having dinner there and jolly well cooked too by a young lad who was both cook and waiter.  In the back of the menu, there is a page written about the ties this Likely has with the one in BC.  Apparently they correspond frequently with updates of local goings-on.

I asked about local places to camp out and he reckoned there were some good places about 6 miles to the east. Well, what with the dinner being so tasty, as was the banana cream pie he whipped up (literally), that it was dark when I was ready to leave. Didn't fancy dirt tracks in Warner Wilderness Park in the dark so he told me that the restaurant also had an RV site for $15. Sounds good to me, so I was directed around the back and hooked up for the night. (After firstly parking in completely the wrong place and finding no power at the outlet). Mind you, the voltage in the actual site was so low that I nearly disconnected again as I didn't want to damage my wiring. In the end I stayed connected but didn't run too much.

GUY FAWKES NIGHT - Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot......!

I just don't remember the rest! Does anyone?

NO FIREWORKS HERE.....(very few people even know about Guy Fawkes over here, fireworks are STRICTLY controlled and seem to be used by folks in a much more contained way than do the hooligans in the UK)

Friday 6 November

Well, it rained overnight and I awoke to dull skies and spitty little bits of rain trying to get together in a gang and look big. I took a wander to the general store and opened the door into Pandora's box! Most of the general stores both here and in the smaller Canadian towns cater to large communities and carry diverse goods, but I have never seen one like this before. I honestly think it was the epitome of the saying, "if it's not here, you don't need it"! After wandering around 2 floors of goods, I bought some bread and milk for breakfast and a couple of paperbacks for the dark evenings.  I asked the owner if he had an inventory of all the items he had in stock and he said after running the place for 37 years he had a pretty good idea in his head!
On the way back to the camper I made the mistake of popping my head in the restaurant to say goodbye. Ohhh that smell of bacon and eggs......

So, breakfast finished and an hours chat with a couple from Salem, Oregon driving south to Arizona for the winter in their double axle diesel pusher Discovery and three truckers driving south with Hyundai parts!! and off we jolly well go. South on US 395, clouds breaking ahead of me and sun streaking through, then bursts of rain that smelled so clean and fresh.  It actually cleaned the dust off the camper without a trace.

At this point I crossed into Nevada and back onto wonderfully smooth, well maintained roads. A little like driving between Kent and Surrey really!  How CAN California be so broke?

Down through scrub pine again with patches of sandy desert but mainly sagebrush, bypass Susanville and around Honey Lake, aptly named as it was dry with honey coloured soil/sand?

Driving down a long hill off the plateau, through sweeping bends and Reno comes into view sprawled across miles and miles of basin. Huge monolithic, futuristic buildings housing casinos and hotels and traffic pouring onto the roads put me right off so I just drove straight through on the freeway and out the other side!
Eventually I stopped at Carson City to gas up again then decided to have a bite to eat and make a cuppa in the store parking lot.   OMG it's 4pm already.  As I start off down the road again I realise I am in the old part of Carson City and see a small Casino ahead, the Nugget. Aha, casinos have parking lots and often welcome RVs to park up (as do most Wal-marts), in the expectation people will spend money there (sorry Nugget, not me!). This is only a small casino but I spot a few RVs up a block and find they are in a small lot reserved just for RVs (lot #4). How thoughtfull! Having found a spot to pull in I made some dinner and once again found a Wifi network to connect to (I think provided by the casino, thank you!)

I plan to have a walk around the old part of town tomorrow and saw a museum just back a couple of blocks so think I might be here tomorrow night too. We'll see.....

Goodnight all!

Sorry Microsoft, not your fault?

Hhmm.. found out it was Google changing their posting program that caused the glitch.  Here's the blog.  Sorry Microsoft, not your fault, (this time).

Tuesday 3 November

Awoke to all the bustle of cars, trucks and even bigger trucks careering all over the Walmart parking lot.

-2oC overnight but very calm so I didn't notice too much. The furnace kept the chill out and curtains the floodlights.

Got on the road by 10:30 and drove back down US 95 to the Museum again. It really is quite a place to see and experience. The living exhibits of homestead, sawmill and tepee were interesting but do I have issues with the live exhibits.

They have a couple of bald eagles, some owls and hawks, even a desert fox and a lynx, The cages/aviaries were not big enough for birds to fly or the animals to do anything but take a few paces. On the other hand, Thomas the otter had a wonderfully elaborate area with both pool and ground area to play in. Apparently he was bred in captivity and did not get on with others of his kind so I guess his habitat was good for him, but the others?...I'm not so sure. Certainly the magnificent bald eagles looked terribly confined and not at all where I felt they should be. I wish I had talked to someone whilst I was there as I am sure there are good reasons, but I will just have to go back some time!

The model sawmill was incredible. 25 YEARS in the building and a man's legacy dedicated to his childhood and his father's working life.

So, eventually took my leave of the museum just after 2pm and headed back to the camper in the parking lot. A couple were just about to drive away when their car alarm started wailing. Boy, you know, these elderlies' just can't work modern technology, thought I!  I started to drive past and then saw the look of panic on the lady's face. Oh heck, can't just drive off and leave them alone in the lot can I? So I pulled in next to them and I hadn't even got out of the door when she's asking can I help her husband stop this horrible noise.

Who me? turn up the opportunity to play with electronic gadgets in nice shiny new cars? No way! They turned out to be the nicest couple, retired and moved to Florida from New York (I think), orthodox jews trying to get off to Walmart for kosher bread! Yup, Walmart sells kosher bread!

Oh yes, the alarm was going off because he had used the remote tailgate opener instead of the door locks, then used the key! I wonder what technology will come along in the next few years that'll fandangle me and have me looking for assistance?  (I did find I can't use a PS2!! .....or was it a PS3?)

OK, back on to US 95 heading south again to LaPine, a town nestled in a huge pine forest. Wonder where the name came from? duh!

Just south of LaPine I took a left turn onto US 31, designated a "Scenic Highway" and yet another left onto a Scenic Loop toward Fort Rock. Sounded really interesting on the roadside marker so worth the detour I hoped. Found the "old homestead" town that a group of local people have reconstructed but it was closed. In fact it's only open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays so no point in hanging around.

Had a quick cup of coffee (made "tea-bag" style!) at the local tavern. Small town America certainly has its share of interesting characters......

Back on toward Fort Rock then, driving through mesa, tumbleweed and volcanic rock with the buttes looming all around and on, and on, and....oh look, there's US 31 again!! Still have no idea where the Fort Rock turn off was, or indeed the other two points of interest, the 500 foot wide hole made by a water pocket being hit by lava and the crater edge.  It's not like there is hundreds of roads around....Oh well, there's always something to come back for!

South again with the sun starting to get low above the escarpment to the west. The time change means it's dark by 6:15 now. (Can anyone explain the idea to me??).

Time to look for a place to camp. I'm climbing up toward Picture Rock Pass (4,830ft) and then down the twists and turns of a canyon on the other side when I spot a track of to the right. Hmm, looks a likely spot, in amongst a stand of stunted trees but beautifully sheltered from the winds.

Having bumped over a good few potholes I backed in to a lovely site sheltered from both the wind and the road. Obviously used a lot (by locals I guess), as testified to by the blackened remains of campfires and plucked bird feathers all over the place!

Anyway, it turned out to be a wonderfully peaceful night with a magnificent moon illuminating the landscape around me and turning it almost "lunar".
I was so warm that I took off a layer of bedding and a layer of night wear, checked the thermometer and it was 10oC at 10pm...toasty.  Then 4am came and I woke up shivering. Having neglected to set the furnace, outside it was now minus 6.1oC!! Blanket back on, furnace on and back under the covers pronto.

Wednesday 4 November
Chilly but blazing sun in a cloudless blue sky!! Oh I really could get used to this! It is sooo energising and the world seems just so much brighter somehow.

A couple of tracks run off though the trees in different directions, one leading to what seems to be an abandoned ranch and the other disappearing over the hills and away, who knows how far. The track is too rutted to chance driving it and my back won't let me walk too far so it'll have to remain a mystery (for now).

Packed up and back on the road south I managed to get at least 15 miles before stopping again at a rest stop opposite a gas station in the middle of nowhere, a few miles north of Summer Lake.  Actually I stopped to look at the Historic Marker signposted, then realized it was a picnic site with tables, rest rooms, water faucets and even allowed camping overnight!! It had better facilities than some of the campgrounds I've been to!

So, another coffee (yes, it's getting to be a bit of a habit) and a can of stew for the larder from the gas station and I'm crossing back over to the Islander when a truck camper towing a horse trailer pulls alongside mine. A rancher, complete with Stetson, leather chaps and sheepskin waistcoat, pokes his head out and asks "where in tarnation did I get that neat little rig?". Half an hour later and we're still chatting when his horse decides he really needs a drink and gives the trailer a thump, or two!

Unfortunately the water's been turned off for the winter so the retired cowboy gets on his way again, heading just down the road to a reservoir and trailhead. He regularly drives down from Washington and spends a week or two riding different trails in the back country. Pity he only has one horse!

Onward toward Lakeview, but I've been told to look out for Summer Lake Hot Springs and take a dip so, just another 10 miles or so and I turn off another rutted track with cinder fill into the Summer Lake Hot Springs RV campground. A few wooden structures, an old trailer set at an alarming angle and an airstream that has certainly seen better days. Enter the office and find it's a charming wooden lined interior with a very calm and cool atmosphere.

I paid my $10 and was directed down to a huge barn-like structure that was the bath-house. Built in 1927 it's all original.....

Oh boy, 113oF of totally soothing, soft and regenerating hot spring water. Half an hour later I'm back in the office booking in for the night.  Then back to the camper to lay down and mellow out.

Another dip before dinner and maybe another before bed, although after 9pm it's "dress optional". Mind you, there are only two of us here! The main rental cabin has its own private pool and I'm not sure who is there, but the lights are on.

During the afternoon, a Mercedes drew up and an elderly gent and his son got out to chat. Turned out he was 87, used to live in the area and his son was taking him on a "tour of reminiscence". He was able to add a bit more of the place's history and local characters to the present owner and they had a rejuvenating dip before heading off north again on their journey.

Fortunately I have internet access again so can post this update.

I've been poring over the map time and again and think now I'm heading toward Furnace Creek in Death Valley, CA. Don't ask me why, it's a bit of wanting to see DV and the forecast of hot days and warm nights so...

Also the National Parks I was headed for, such as Crater Lake, have a lot of roads shut due to snow so not much point in going really. Again, somewhere for another time.

At least I have power tonight so the electric heater (thanks Jack & Joan, mine is in Victoria) is toasting the inside of the camper and I'm re-charging the camper batteries, whilst the warm waters re-charge mine.

Actually, my back feels a heck of a lot better. Is it real, or all in the mind??...

Goodnight all

PS As I am writing this the camper is being buffeted by the strongest winds I've encountered so far.  I'm crossing my fingers that 8,500lbs of metal and fibreglass will keep all four wheels firmly on the ground.  Hope I'm still here in the morning because it is getting just a little disconcerting now!

Yet another glitch

Well I've just spent the last hour writing up two days in notepad and now I can't paste it in here for some unkown reason. Have Microsoft struck yet again with one of their infamous "updates" of which I ran two earlier?
I'll try again in the morning, until then here's some photos from the High Desert Museum. The rest will be on my Hotmail Skydrive if anyone would like to see them.

A Ghost Town Visited

Sunday 1 November

A bright sunny, calm morning, 10oC and awake earlier than normal (and yes, I remembered the clock change). I had a lazy morning exploring the campground which, being right on the river, was well used as a day area also. I cleaned the van a bit, inside and a quick rinse off on the outside, then took my leave of Maupin (pronounced Mo'pin) and headed off on a loop road for Shaniko (a ghost town).

Wow, what a road! It follows the river north, snaking through a canyon for about 5 miles. The river is a must for white water rafting, kayaking and tubing. About 10 nicely appointed Recreation Areas along the banks with plenty of dry camping sites. There was a salmon run at the lower end by Sharars Bridge where the river tumbled though 2 miniature waterfalls. Then the road turned east and wound up into the hills, higher and higher around twists and turns and hairpin bends until I reached the plateau. What a stupendous view! Snow capped mountains in the distance and desert scrub and tumbleweed all around. South now along a backroad, out onto US97 and into Shaniko, just off a righthand bend in US97, literally! The highway bends around it. Shaniko is a very old town of wooden sidewalks, double fronted wooden buildings housing such necessary stores as the post office, bank, blacksmith etc. and a brick built hotel, all unfortunately shut. Not very ghostly as there are still 25 or so people who live there but according to Richard and his sister Sheila, the general store owners, it is slowly dying again. Apparently a local landowner bought about a third of the buildings, including an RV campground and tried to breath life back into the place but the local town council were having none of it! Despite large injections of cash and offers of more, a lot was squandered, or simply disappeared with receipts getting "lost". Eventually the entrepreneur decided enough was enough and so the bustling little town fell into decay once more. It was a very sad thing to see somewhere that should have had a future just slowly crumble. One amazing find though was a transport museum housed in a barn put together by a local man who unfortunately had died just last year. He had collected relics of cars, trucks, wagons, a stage coach and even a hand built, leather covered horse-drawn sleigh! The barn was locked and I caught a tantalising glimpse through the dusty window but was fortunate to find that the gas station owner knew the key holder. So tomorrow is due to start with a look see! Parked up overnight on Main Street, outside the hotel. A huge, bright, new moon, deathly quiet and creaking sidewalks......maybe there are a couple of ghosts around after all?

Monday 2 November

-2oC overnight! brrrr...but another bright, sunny morning.

Oh boy! what a place that barn was! Shirley came up with the key, took off the padlock and we both heaved the sliding door open. The sun flooded in to the huge barn and beams spotlighted an array of cars and trucks, all in their original condition, and over a dozen wagons of all descriptions from stage coach to fire wagon, jail wagon to a home conversion with an engine in it!Shirley had left me to wander around with a promise that I would close up and lock the padlock again so once I'd taken a few photos and finished admiring amongst others, the 1914 Chevrolet and 1918 Studebaker I pulled the door closed but it stuck about 4 inches from closed. Try as I might I could not open or shut it any further! Eventually found a lever to prise it back open and then took a run at it. Slid shut as smoothly as you could wish! Hmm, maybe they didn't want to be shut back in the dark again??
So I took my leave of Shaniko and headed out on another loop road south-east to Antelope, an even smaller community, but alive and thriving, then rejoined US97 south to Madras. No curry house but I did buy gas at the Towne Pump! Just south of Madras I saw a sign for the High Desert Museum. Fortunately, I decided to take yet another small detour and check it out. Fabulous! Hidden away in the forest it is a huge place dedicated to showing the history of pioneers and native peoples alike. It was so large that I never even got to the outside exhibits of a homestead, sawmill and the like before closing time. Whilst talking to an attendant it transpired she had visited a friend last year in Yateley! She was really kind and has given me a complimentary 1 day pass so I am overnighting in Walmart (luckily with Internet access care of some kind local company) and going back to the museum tomorrow! One exhibit showed a really cool liquid called a magnetised fluid. Developed and used by NASA to enable liquids to be controlled in zero gravity, it has magnetic properties that allow its movement to be control by magnets. Spooky watching liquid flow from a pool at the bottom of a container STRAIGHT UP 6" to coat a metal ball!

Night all.

HALLOWEEN

Friday, 30 October

Awoke to another cold day but with some sunshine peeking through the scudding clouds. Drove off to the bank to exchange my $CAD for $US, at a somewhat better rate than last year! (97cents on the dollar rather than 72!). Yay, the camper started first time!! must have a good battery again.

Oh yes, forgot to mention "the happening" last night. Drove into the parking lot to buy my pizza and parked near a flatbed truck which I realised was being loaded by a forklift with the automated bank teller machine! Not something you see every day (or night) and it occurred to me (after they had driven off), "I wonder if it's being stolen?", "should I perhaps have photographed the truck?". Fortunately it transpired that the bank had organized the machine's replacement and a new one was installed later that same evening!

So, cash hidden in my "secret compartment" (it is a trifle unnerving to travel with ones entire worldly goods all packed inside one 20ft van), I set my GPS and headed off for the border, south of Osoyoos. Got 1/2 km and realised I had no milk for my tea! Ah, there's a Save-On, quick detour and a grocery stock-up and back on the road. Reached the border and then spent the next hour being grilled by US border guards (why do I always get the trainee?). 10 minutes at the booth then I had a sticker slapped on the windshield and was directed to the search area! Two ladies then order me to stop the engine, hand over my keys, keep both hands on the steering wheel, wind down the passenger window...hmmm sorry ma'am but they are electric windows and I need the keys to turn on the ignition to wind the window down. Oh the look I got!! Ordered out of the camper, keeping my hands in view and out of my pockets. "Where's all your money?" "Well ma'am some is hidden inside the camper and some is in my wallet". Then had to direct her colleague as to the exact location in the camper and was then "escorted" (one on either side of me) into the offices. Wow, then ordered to empty all my pockets into this crate, hold all my money, step back from the counter, strip off my jumper, pat down all my pockets whilst the two ladies stood either side, hands on guns!!!

Camper was searched, I was searched, then the grilling continued: "Why do you want to enter the US?", "oh, you're driving to California, What's the address you are going to?", "why don't you have an address there?" Well, you might be exploring the countryside and camping out, but you must have an address! We might need to contact you!" HUH?? Gave them the address of a campground I used last year and then getting the trainee paid off! Got a "thank you for your patience, if you step this way I'll give you a visa" Yipee!! Poor guy next to me nearly had a fit. He and his wife (both in their 70's) had rented out their home in BC for 6 months, arranged a condo rental in Arizona for 4 months and were looking forward to touring the states but had been stopped and searched and their camper (just bought) had been found to have "residue" in one cabinet. That seemed to be the end of their whole trip!! I left him and his wife stroking their old poodle and crossing their fingers that after their (already 3 hour) ordeal the border guards might, just might, relent and allow them to continue on. I wonder....

So, photo taken, finger prints scanned, declaration filled in (twice, as he mucked up the first one trying to imprint it), hand over my $6, passport stamped, green "visa waiver" card stapled in, I'm breathing again and on my way south. Well, actually west first, but only as far as the nearest gas station (about 500 metres). Filled up at $2.97/gall(US), about 2/3 the Canadian price. Then on down US97 to Oroville, Okanogan WA (as opposed to Okanagan BC) and on to Wenatchee. Here I snaked around a bit and decided to try a short route using Stemilt Creek road over the mountain as the GPS reckons its 35km shorter. Well, that one didn't work. After 20 kms of really good hardtop, I ended up on a single lane dirt track! I then chickened out and as it was getting dark, parked up next to the river. There I spent a very peaceful night and was wonderfully warm, although it was quite windy.

Saturday 31 October

Having made a cuppa the next morning the first truck to come down the mountain stopped to chat and a friendly lady (with her two boxer dogs eyeing me up for breakfast) advised me that it was an OK road during the summer, but not to try the route now as the rain had made it deteriorate and she'd been using 4 wheel drive a lot of the way. Having seen the mud adorning her truck, no need to be told twice, I retraced my steps and headed off back through Wenatchee, east along US97 and then south down through Wenatchee National Forest. Actually, mostly UP because I climbed through the Blewitt Pass at 4,102 feet.

Turning south again on US82 at Ellensburgh (having now gone 45km further than the mountain route), bypassed Yakima, then turned off onto US22 toward Toppenish. Gosh, it's getting warm in here! Suddenly realised the sun was out, bright and warm and it was 20 degrees outside!! Stopped in Toppenish to empty tanks at the town site (unfortunately the fresh water pipe was missing!), then filled up again with gas (even cheaper here at $2.85), chatted to a native (trying to sell me his daughter's dream catcher as his gas had been stolen and he needed to drive to Oregon urgently, right) and back on to US97 south over Satus Pass (3,146 ft), and turned west on US14 to Wishram, heading for the Dalles and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Quick detour left and down into Wishram itself to see the "Historic Train". Eventually found the train in its own little park after wandering the real tracks and wondering what on earth people did here? Actually, it was an interesting place that had a Halloween feel to it (without dressing up)! And it was totally sheltered from the roaring winds that came up after leaving Wenatchee.It was getting late in the afternoon by now and I decided not to go further west to the scenic area but instead to leave Washington State, turn south again across the impressive steelspan bridge over the (very wide) Columbia river into Oregon, through The Dalles and follow US197 down toward Bend.

I am now in Maupin OR having spent the day battling howling gales, but found temperatures around the 20's, luverly!! Halloween seems to be pretty quiet around here, apart from some howling wolves (teenagers I guess) and a dozen youngsters coming into the restaurant all dressed up and thoroughly enjoying themselves. I'm camped in the town RV park having paid my $24 (and that's the tenting rate the lady kindly offered, the RV rate is $32 ouch, but they do have internet, hydro and water), but boon docking tonight I thought wasn't such a good idea, not knowing quite how the locals acted on Halloween! Actually seems very quiet so needn't have been bothered, but better safe than sorry! Tomorrow, having rejoined US97, onwards to Bend and Crater Lake
National Park I think....

ANNOYING

Just written an update post twice and each time I lost everything! I'll try again tomorrow