John Day Fossil Beds; Sheep Rock & Painted Hills...But first~~

In the here and now: 

We're taking a month-long trip leaving October 1st for Granada, Nicaragua.  Why, you might be asking?  Because one lazy day early in the summer I stumbled across this website:  The World's 8 Best Places to Retire in 2014, and decided we should check it out. It's relatively easy and inexpensive to get to and we found another great rental through VRBO.  Ours will be the 1 bedroom unit for $1030 per month which includes many amenities like complimentary breakfasts and free WiFi, in a great location within walking distance to the Parque Central and old Spanish colonial city.

Which explains why I am hurried and way behind in my journal, and more importantly, why we hurried through Eastern Oregon, not giving nearly enough time to our brief destinations.

Another fine blogger tip:

Thanks to another awesome blog, Wheeling It, Nina's photos and commentary led us to John Day Fossil Beds Nat'l Monument and its Painted Hills Unit; two separate days, two different units (out of 3), two unique locations.  Not nearly enough time to do justice nor properly explore an area that preserves plant and animal evolution, changing climates, and past ecosystems that span over 40 million years!  I will let the links do the talking, which I encourage you to read as they tell a pretty incredible story.

Sheep Rock Unit:

We stayed at the Fish Creek Inn and RV Park in Dayville on Hwy. 26, 32 miles west of John Day.  This park is another garden spot with sprawling green lawns, shade trees, and ice cream to boot.  We thought the $25 per night for full-hookups was very reasonable and its proximity to the Sheep Creek Unit for a quick day of sightseeing convenient.

Our first stop was at the very impressive Thomas Condon Paleontology Center to get our bearings, check out the exhibits, and see the movie. The exhibits proved to be the best option for seeing fossils throughout the park.  We already had Blue Basin Dreams, and who wouldn't after reading this (link), though the basin itself appeared rather greenish against a cloudless blue sky. Technically it is a formation of blue-green claystone comprised of volcanic ash, containing fossils of animals that lived some 25-30 million years ago, or so! 

We decided on the Island in Time trail, an easy 1.3 miles round-trip with a series of 13 short metal bridges, instead of the longer and steeper Overlook trail. Afterwards, we continued on to the Foree area to check out the Story in Stone and Flood of Fire trails, both short 1/4 milers.  We also lucked out as there was a paleontologist on site at the time of our hike!

Painted Hills Unit:

Another day and 38 miles down the road to Mitchell, where we managed a spot in the smallish 3-site Mitchell City Park, $17 per nite.

We wasted no time getting down to business as our excitement was building.  Off Highway 26, a country road winds through rugged landscapes, passing agricultural fields leading into a geological wonderland! The Painted Hills are the crown jewels of the region with their spectacular colors of red, orange, gold, purple, and grey, all changing with the sun; a palette of sublime patterns, each layer of color representing another 10 million years, or so. There are several short 1/4 to 1/2 mile trails, and we were determined to take them all.

On to home territory:

So in a nutshell, we made a brief stop in Bend thinking we'd be able to pick-up some summer bargains on the clearance racks at the Columbia Outlet Store.  That wasn't happening.  Air quality is getting nasty so we continued on to Weed, CA.  Do you see the irony here...Weed!!  That's right, we stayed the night before a major fire pretty much wiped out the town!  

The smoke and air along I-5 was so bad we drove all the way to Half Moon Bay for fresh ocean breezes and to see the littlest grandkids, and their parents.  We breathed a sigh of relief, had a couple of great meals, a haircut, and a trip to the pumpkin patch....

And here we are in Petaluma, just in time for Christina's 8th birthday!  She got to chose a store and Toys R Us won out.  

A quick trip to the Joseph, OR area~~

Our very first stop in Eastern Oregon was at Pendleton, not on the itinerary and completely unscheduled. We had noticed our voltage gauge fluctuating while driving; sometimes down to almost zero, then back to the normal 13 volt range.  We looked up and found Cummins Northwest and they were able to get us in Monday morning, the day we had planned to leave Charbonneau.  Howard figured the voltage regulator or alternator may be failing, considering our MH is 14 years old with 157,000 miles.  When hooked up to the computer voltage was steady, no fluctuation even with a load.  All the wiring checked out so the only thing they could think of was that our gauge is faulty.  So we were sent on our way...

Lake Wallowa:

Bloggers are the best and we are continually learning and adding places to our "to go" list. We really focused on the Joseph area after reading Roads Less Traveled great write-up with their always beautiful photography.  We were a little skeptical when we got to La Grande on I-84. There was a lot of smoke and the air quality was poor, but we were too close to pass it by. 

Wallowa Lake State Park seemed to be our best choice as a base camp, located just 6 miles out of Joseph, and framed by jagged 9000 ft. peaks and a clear glacial lake.  The park was quite full but we were able to get 2 nights.  Smoke filled the air and the ranger mentioned a wildfire was close by.  Helicopters were flying back and forth to retrieve buckets of water from the lake.  Our photos are hazy at best.

Fire on the ridge line

Lake Wallowa geology

From the other side of the lake

Trail from our site to the lake

Imnaha:

We had one full day to see as much as possible, only covering a very small portion of all the many suggestions we received and places we had read about.  The decision was made to drive out to Imnaha, 30 miles east of Joseph, then decide if we had time to drive the 24 miles south to the Hat Point Lookout or the rough 27 miles north to Dug Bar, for the views into Hell's Canyon on the Snake River.

By the time we got to Imnaha it was close to noon. After a visit to the country store for a drink and some info we decided against driving out to the overlook.  We have driven to Heaven's Gate out of Riggins, ID, taken a wild jet boat trip into Hell's Canyon from the north end at Clarkston, WA, and lastly driven into the canyon from the south end on Highway 71 out of Cambridge, ID a couple of years ago when we visited friends in Caldwell.

Joseph:

So we headed back to spend the rest of our afternoon exploring the lovely town of Joseph. The smoke had receded leaving puffy clouds against a clear blue sky and we had a great walk-about, followed by a super good dinner at the Outlaw Restaurant:

On almost every street corner sits one of the famous bronze statues created at Valley Bronze at its foundry in Joseph; each paying tribute to a segment of the town's history.  Chief Joseph, the town's namesake, proudly overlooks all!

Please take the time to click on the various web links highlighted for more information on this area, one we plan to get back to for a longer stay.  But now, we have to move on.....

Cape Arago magic...

Talk about short travel days, this one topped the charts at 50 miles.  We just can't pass up the opportunity to re-visit the splendiferous scenery along the Cape Arago Highway near Coos Bay, Oregon.  Like magnets we are drawn to marina RV parking; Anacortes, Port Townsend, Duluth, and here in Charleston.  There's something about an atmosphere of fishermen, sailors, boats and sea life, buckets of Dungeness crabs being cleaned, pots boiling, that gets our juices flowing.  How about mountains of oyster shells:

The Charleston Marina RV Park has full hookups and provided us safe haven for the busy weekend.  Regular parking lot-style sites are $28.50 with larger deluxe sites a few dollars more.  Ours wasn't the greatest; small and cramped with nary a view except for the backside of the Coast Guard facilities.  But the laundry got done, much sushi was consumed, and we saw Cape Arago in all its glory!  

Our first stop was a sensory overload. Perched on a bluff above the Pacific Ocean along the Cape Arago Highway, Shore Acres began as the private estate of the Louis Simpson family, a Coos County timber baron and shipbuilder.  The estate holdings were sold to the State of Oregon in 1942 for use as a park after a devastating fire and the financial fall-out of the 30s.  

Ever since its beginnings, these five luxurious acres have been a "garden for all seasons", with showy "peaks" of different flowers throughout the year:  spring bulbs, daffodils & tulips, followed by azaleas and rhododendrons.  Rose bushes and dahlias were the highlight of our visit.  From Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve, more than 300,000 lights draw the holiday crowds. 

One mile to the north is Sunset Bay State Park, with overnight camping facilities (reservations recommended), day use and picnic facilities.  The bay is surrounded by sandy beaches, steep cliffs and rocky out-croppings and is a popular kayaking and sun-bathing destination.  One mile to the south of Shore Acres lies Cape Arago State Park with its tidepools and barking seals and sea lions.  All 3 parks are connected by a series of bluff trails, some winding down to small coves for fishing and beach-combing, with peaks along the way of the Cape Arago Lighthouse sitting mysteriously offshore on tiny Chief's Island.

We continued north after the weekend with a short en route stop at the Chinook Winds Casino, providing us free parking with a spectacular view, especially from its upper level.  We had a short visit with long-time friends from Half Moon Bay days of old, Don mostly as Joan wasn't feeling well, who were staying nearby in their 5th-wheel.  We did not gamble, partake in buffets, nor join in the Senior Tuesday festivities.  Honestly, this heavily traveled section of Highway 101, through Newport, Florence, and Lincoln City, all the way til we crossed the "Tinker Toy Bridge" also known as the Astoria Megler Bridge, was gridlock....

PS:  And since this whole blog post does not format properly, too many spaces where I don't want them, photos refuse to align, I'm just going to hit the Publish Button and be done with it!

Summer planning...

During these dog days of summer when our travels slow to a snail's pace, ebbing and flowing like a wimpy tide, our minds wander to far off places.  We pull out maps then do the inevitable internet search and find...tada... The World's 8 Best Places to Retire in 2014:

1. Coronada, Panama~~Monthly budget $1800, rent $600
2. Languedoc, France~~Monthly budget $2300, rent $800
3. Ambergris Caye, Belize~~Monthly budget $2000, rent $800
4. Cuenca, Ecuador~~Monthly budget $1300, rent $500
5. Chiang Mai, Thailand~~Monthly budget $1100, rent $400
6. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico~~Monthly budget $2000, rent $700
7. Granada, Nicaragua~~Monthly budget $1300, rent $500
8. Medellin, Colombia~~Monthly budget $1800, rent $500

Our studio apt. is part of Villa Delfin

Wow, this stoked our curiosity big time and got us to thinking we might try a month in one of these locations.  We've started to experiment with life outside the motorhome, spending a month in an apartment or condo in foreign locations, like last year's trips to Roatan, Honduras in February, and April's drive down to San Carlos, Mexico. 

We walked down the hill to the beach

We've been to Ambergris Caye and Puerto Vallarta a few times so want to try something different. The Languedoc has always fascinated me since reading The Narrow Dog to Carcassonne and Thailand bodes mysterious and enchanting.  Alas, these locations will have to wait for another year perhaps.

View from our 13th floor San Carlos condo balcony

We had brief stops in Cartagena, Colombia and Panama on our Tall Ship cruise aboard the Star Flyer in 2011, and would like to eventually spend more time on Panama's west coast.  We narrowed our choices down to Granada or Cuenca in countries we've not visited in the Americas.  Next we checked out accommodations on Vacation Rentals By Owner and found both locations very reasonable.  We've also learned over the years that owners are usually amenable to negotiation, especially for extended stays such as a month.  

An overview of San Carlos, MX

I guess in the end our choice of Granada might have been simply its proximity.  Plus the owners live in Vermont and responded to our many questions and did offer us a sweet deal for the month of October.  Here is the web site with photos and overview of our "intown" Granada condo.  We chose the 1 bedroom, lower level, end unit with the infinity pool right out our door.  Croissants, Nicaraguan coffee, and fresh fruit each morning will be a bonus!

Though a couple of hours drive to the Pacific, Granada is situated along the shores of Lake Nicaragua (Cocibolca), the 10th largest lake in the world.  Nearby is the now dormant Mombacho Volcano that blew its top and now forms a lake with the 365 Islets of Granada.  Transportation is cheap so we expect to do much sightseeing.  I envision most early mornings and late afternoon/evenings strolling the short distance into el centro for dining experiences and seeing the sights of this oldest colonial city in Latin America which was founded in 1524, just 9 years before Cartagena.  

Before signing off I should say....No, we're not planning on retiring anywhere at this time and surely not in one place, and not outside the USA, but extended periods of travel in some of these locations does hold a lot of fascination.  And...we have another wonderful motorhome trip planned for August and September! 

Coyote Canyon Jeep drive~~

Well, it's about time, I say!  We've been here sprouting roots going on a month now and with the exception of a few runs into Rockhouse Canyon and up to Blair Valley, our Jeep drives have consisted mostly of trips to town, the Center Market, the Post Office, the hardware store, the farmers market; all about 7 miles west of our location off S-22.

We choose the South Coyote Canyon Trail which follows a portion of the historic Juan Bautista de Anza overland trail that passed through Borrego Springs in 1774 and 1775. The drive is about 13 miles from the south end near Di Giorgio Rd. to the north closure at Middle Willow.  It winds through sandy washes to the Desert Gardens area where there are a couple of picnic tables set among ocotillo, cholla, and prickly pear.  We stopped to look around and chat with a nice fella who had loads of information.  In springs past, the ocotillo here have been in wild bloom.

Ocotillo blooming in past springs...

Meeting others and exchanging stories..No blossoms yet!

We passed campsites and lots of hiking and horse trails leading off to remote areas of the desert and mountains, and historic markers commemorating De Anza's amazing journey.  

This campsite, now occupied by day-trippers, was used by the De Anza party on their 2nd journey in 1775, because of its proximity to water.  Though I doubt the water and other amenities were supplied in quite this fashion.

Marker placed near campsite

Santa Catarina Springs campsite on March 14, 1774, on their 1st trip & feast day of St. Catherine

There are 3 crossings of Coyote Creek.  The 1st crossing is approx. 5 miles from the entrance at Di Giorgio Rd., and is usually dry.  The other 2 have year-round water that can be up to 24 in. deep. Conventional vehicles can usually make it as far as the 2nd crossing.  We were amazed to find the first signs of greenery...and flowers!

The difficult stretch of the trail occurs just after the 3rd crossing with a steep ascent of a half mile or so on large, loose rocks and embedded boulders.  This section is rated 6 out of 10 for difficulty.  We were leery and pulled over to the side to watch others navigate. Our jeep is pretty much stock, and I trust Howard's judgement as to its capabilities.  He said let's do it, and that was good enough for me!  These photos were taken on the drive back when I decided to get out of the car, and ended up getting left behind...well not quite!

Hey, wait for me!

Arriving at the saddle, we are looking north into Collins Valley, named for an early homesteader at the turn of the 20th century.  We pulled over for photos and met this young family.  The dad points us in the right direction, way down there!

See the tiny ribbon of track?

Shortly before turning around at the gate closure at Middle Willows, we passed this beautiful grove of fan palms.  The green growth and trees around the springs stand out in sharp contrast to the drier surroundings.  The springs are a major source of Coyote Canyon's year-round water supply.

For the most part, the wind has not been an issue, though as I write this it is kicking up a blow and the air is thick with dust.  We make the mad dash to put up awnings and fold up chairs and tables, and close windows before we're inundated with sand!  But last night, we enjoyed this beautiful scene as we sat outside barbecuing on a warm, still, star-studded night.  No complaints here!

It has been so convenient being able to receive FedEx and UPS shipments at the De Anza Hardware store in town.  On one of our many visits, mail issues somehow came up in conversation with the manager.  This has allowed me to order some much needed camera paraphernalia; wireless remote shutter release, spare battery and lens cover, and polarizing filter.  I'm now using a few of my favorite bloggers' Amazon sites for purchases.  I'm sure it's just a drop in the bucket, but hopefully those drops add up!