Can We Do It Differently?

Day One

We had a beautiful morning and it was not too cold. The sky clear and the sun shinning. Took doggies for a nice walk.

Our one and only neighbor had already left. Appeared to be a retired couple one small dog and they came quietly and left the same. It was so nice to have so much quiet and have space. A nice beginning to day two

Day Two

There are not too many big trucks or RV rigs on the road at 7 am. We drove through the little town of Hawthorne, Nevada. It is an old ammunition storage site and Army base from WW II. The town itself is clean, quiet appearing with alot of pride for its history.

The road that brings us here ends here. We take a left turn through town and end up on I-395 -via I-95 passing Mono Lake! Wow.

We have stopped for a potty stop at Mono Lake before going to California before. This time we drove farther in and looked for the old cemetery and gave up. It was quiet and nice and the dogs loved walking about. Nice lunch break and taking a deep breath instead of racing for time. We also could not see how to get to the lake from this entry road.

We did notice that going through a small town after the turn south on I-395 was an entrance to Mono Lake! Felt like duh! We felt foolish but we had a nice stop and we noticed that the temperature was dropping.

We drove through Tuttle Town, cute, next time we will stop and have lunch. We know that we have to go through Yosemite to get to our destination. Not a really fast trek.

As we approached the entrance to Yosemite, we say signs stating no entrance without a camp reservation!!! COVID and winter rules. We had to wait 2 hours for our turn to at least see if we can drive through and not stop to sight see or camp. When we hit the ranger station they asked if we were active duty military and I still had my ID that said I was. They gave us a no fee permit to drive through the park. Wow, what an ordeal. It did show how much work they had been doing to clean up fire and snow damage. It was nice to see reasonable numbers of people walking, hiking and enjoying the frozen sierra vistas.

The roads are two lanes, the Yosemite Valley shops are closed, at the entrances they are checking for your reservation and ID status when you are stopped. Kinda creepy. After many switch backs, slow going and beautiful scenery we were in the dry low lands and the temp was increasing.

Our destination for the night was a Harvest Hose Winery that we had made reservations with. We needed to check in before 5:00 pm when they closed. We put the address into the NavAid on our tow vehicle and off we went. As we neared the back end of the Modesto area. We were directed to a lonely, desolate combination road of asphalt, gravel and back ranch roads. I had lived in the Central Coast and San Francisco Bay area all my life and skied the areas near by the winery. I could not recognize any of the roads. It took us away from Hwy 49 which is wine, hiking, historical and ski areas around Angels Camp. We kept going, tried not to argue and keep cool. After 3 hours (should have taken 1.5hrs) we found the back way into the Twisted Oak Winery! It was a silly, crazy road. The entire one lane road into the winery had rubber chickens hanging from the trees with funny sayings also either posted on a tree or in the ground. Even had chickens with prison stripped suits painted on them. I couldn’t believe it. We laughed so much after such a challenging way in. A good way to start the evening. But was close to 100 degrees outside! You will have to try the red blend “Chum Bucket” too or “Chicken Bubbles”.

After checking in and trying their wines we retreated to the now empty parking lot in the middle of the vineyard. We did walk the dogs about the grounds and they loved it. It was so good to be outside the “Phantom” and all the windows were open. The great thing about our Airstream is the great ventilation. Cross winds from the hills made it so comfortable. We had our home made version of charcuterie and a bottle of white wine.

As the sun set we settled in and slept in the warm quiet.

Day two complete! Now it will be back into the traffic of the San Francisco Bay Area! Hmm. In the morning we found Hwy 49 a quarter mile away from the winery. Oh boy!

We Have Passed Into Spring

Looking out the window at the ranch looks like spring. I speak with my friends across the nation and find snow, cold, windy and tornado weather. Hmmm I think I like it where I am. I look at the Facebook pages of various groups and all are readying their rigs for travel. Then I get to thinking of places I want to see and experience. Spring fever is here not just quite spring weather though.

I have almost finished my first attempt at writing a book for fellow travelers. I also realize that what’s in my head is very difficult to translate to paper. Luckily I have found friends who are writers that are teaching me how to write and re-write without fear.

What does all this have to do with my Airstream? She sits patiently waiting for another trip. CC3 has survived snow storms, gale force winds, rain and rutted country roads. She deserves a rest and TLC. I think of all the little things that make her our little home. She is a beauty in our eyes and we love her.

The Airstream blogs/groups share creative ideas and DYI talent. Little steps is a great way to start. Thinking the kitchen storage area needs help. I am not sure what to do. I know that online shopping is dangerous. Too many options. I have done a little decorating before but a bit overwhelmed. My youngest grand-daughter (9yrs of age) is always wanting to stay in the Airstream when we visit.

COVID-19 has given us a gift of time. Time to be with our friends and families in new ways. Time to see what we really want. Time to see what is important to our life. Taking a big breath of air and seeing what we have and what we need to make life more meaningful. But it sure is a challenge not to take off in our rig just to get out of our Shelter in Place rules. I want to stay healthy and want others to be healthy. Darn, well dreams, plans and enjoying today sure keep me busy. What about your days and dreams of getting on the road again, meeting new people and learning new things?

Well, we did go travel from ranch to home and found a beautiful change of scenary on the way. It was strange to drive highways with rare vehicles other than semi-trucks delivering things we need. We rested for awhile then had a request for help on the ranch. Off we went to the ranch.

The fun weather changes on the upper plains!

It was a learning ride from home to ranch. Every trip on the same highway is a different view. It was a quiet road and fresh views. The semi trailers were fast and zooming past but not problems. We stopped 30 miles north of our regular Hwy 70 turn off and visited a KOA we had stayed at before.

Our last stay was during winter. Quiet and few people with a beautiful view of the snow capped mountains out the window. This time the same mountain with no snow, a packed campground, lots of families and ATVs. It was quiet. The shelter in place seems to have exploded family travel in trailers. Hmmm not the quiet beauty as last time but still comfortable.

Leaving the Fillmore KOA gave us a beautiful ride around a big chunk of Hwy 70. The wide open spaces with ranches, livestock grazing on spring grass, lambs are so cute and all the babies are adorable. This is what makes travel so great. It is the journey that makes your travel so wonderful. Keep traveling and enjoying the newness of the old.

A NEW CHALLENGE – 2020

We started this year not knowing it would be full of challenges. Our January was quietly moving in a direction of its own spirit. This year so far shows that there is only one truism – You never know what you can do until you do it.

A very dear friend was fighting a very aggressive and rare cancer. She was the kind of person that knew her mind, could be as stubborn as she was kind. She made sure that her last Christmas season was the most memorable for all her family. She found special ways to create warm and loving happy memories for her spouse, children and grandchildren. Then the time was drawing near that she would have to say goodbye.

As the time drew near to say goodbye she asked me to help her and her family make the journey together in dignity . I got a call to come. It was a change for me. I have been a medical provider for over 40 years and in charge. Now I was a bystander of her medical care, an emotional supporter as well as medical translator. I was with her when she finally let go of the here and now and left for what was beyond. It was peaceful and she was at rest. Her family and friends came to say goodbye. Both happy and sad but the was out of pain and at peace. I had been gone from home for 2 weeks. Now on to home.

I was in Wyoming during lots of snowfall, wind and cold. There was many days the highways and major roads were closed. I was also at her family members hospitality for a place to sleep. I did not have my silver coach. I sure missed the privacy and quiet of my own little home. Honestly I spent most of my time at the hospital or the Hospice center.

I decided to go to my home in Nevada 2 days later. I could not fly out as there was no plane to transport me from Laramie, Wy to Denver Colorado could not fly us out. My son and his wife picked me up in Ft. Collins, Colorado. I was so very tired and wanted to go home. I was so thankful for their assistance.

Four days later my daughter-in-law died suddenly. I flew out immediately to help my son and his family prepare for the funeral et al. It was snowing and cold in Colorado! I have never seen so much gray, snow and sorrow. Two days later my hubby arrived with our Silver Coach. This was heaven. It gave us all room to grieve and yet be together. There is more to having a Silver Coach, it is our home whenever we need it.

Life goes on and we learn how lucky we are to be able to use our gifts to help others. Happy travels and safe keeping.

The End Is The Beginning

Here it is then end of a decade! A new decade begins and excitement is in the air!

We have spent most of our time this year handling health issues and family needs. We traveled back and forth to Colorado and California as well as Idaho. We learned that one of the joys of all the challenges was the beauty we found in our ordinary travels.

If you have ever traveled between Las Vegas Valley and Central California you know that parts of this path is “beautiful” – wellll. We learned that taking a back road or alternate route opened our eyes to very beautiful seasonal changes that we have missed by not looking. Traveling with our Airstream allows us to stop and smell the roses! We learned to stop when tired at beautiful, clean rest tops that are free and available to all. We can rest in our own “home” and wake to wonderous sunrises sipping our fresh made coffee preparing safely to continue our travels.

We did not realize the help that is out there to help us to have safe travels. The ability to find gas stations or rest stops or historic spots – there is an app! We utilized the Apps this winter between Southern Nevada to Colorado and from Southern Nevada to Idaho. Fantastic finds in out of the way places when we urgently needed gas, a rest spot and a new look at our routes.

A Christmas look at the KOA in San Antonio! It says it all!

Be thankful for this past year and look forward to a healthy, happy and bountiful new year!

(a little note – we will have a new small traveling cookbook available after the first of the year!)

Let’s Look Back at Our Winter 2018

Best plans for starting at the beginning were changed by a rush of plans and invitations to go visit family and friends! img_1037-1

We put 15,000 miles on our new coach in 3 months! I used the H2O liquid cleaner to quickly wipe down the dust and accumulation of the new rig. There were labels all over the inside stating “no abrasives or cleansers”. Cleaning was quick and easy and we then quickly stored everything from the 20 ft FC and prepped for winter travel!

Well, as often happens, on our way to Colorado our water pump had stopped working. We had just had it repaired from a short trip to California and had picked up the rig at the dealership on our way out of time. Luckily we found a dealership in southern Colorado that refreshed the pump for us at no charge!!! What luck.

We soon learned we were not at all prepared for our trip. Yes we had food, winter clothing, doggie supplies etc. We had too much stuff. We really had not really learned much from our last 12 years of travel. This was a longer travel through new roads and byways. We just rushed to get needed repairs for damages made on the maiden voyage from California to our new home in Henderson, Nevada.

My hubby tried to back up our rig into the court we had lived in and introduced our back aluminum panels to the street sign!!! Our new rig needed two weeks of repair! Ouch, ouch, ouch!

The repairs finished just as we had to leave on our 3 week trip!!! Not a great way to start. Grumpy, short tempered, rushed and hopeful that we were prepared! What another adventure we were to have.

We forgot that there was less daylight and lots of semi-trucks zooming along eastbound Hwy 10! Thank God we had a new tow vehicle and the rig was in one wonderful piece. We finally got to our destination KOA in NEW MEXICO! Rolled in at 1:00 am and rolled out at 8:00 am! Not a way to start.

Day two began with sunlight, 46 degrees and a wonderful hot cup of coffee! After taking the dog for a walk we realized why we have our coach! We had a cozy, comfy sleep in our own bed. We did not have to check-into a hotel, lug stuff in and out of our vehicle. We just parked, hooked up the electric and went to bed!

The next part of the trip was rushed, as we were afraid of the snow possibly falling too soon. The great part was the vistas we enjoyed, the road conditions and we had our own good hot food and could stop to walk about to stretch.

After staying at another KOA in southern Colorado, quite nice too. We arrived at the ranch and enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Of course we had an electrical panel problem we tried to repair but all dealerships were closed. We were able to make it home and to the dealership without problems! Thank goodness my son is mechanically inclined and helped out!

Whew home, safe rested and the rig is getting repaired! Still on warranty too! What luck

Hopefully before our next outing in one week we can review the cleaning and updating of our new rig. Happy travels.

Turkeys and Scones!

Hidden Valley Lake, California was our adventurous goal. What a wonderful place. It was a four-hour drive from our home up to Napa and the Silverado Trail. Beautiful scenery and lots of places to stop and sip the vino. We arrived at our destination, a little dusty, thirsty and ready to relax. It only takes us 30 minutes to set up, open the vino and put out salami, cheese and french bread. We were the only ones there our first night and only two other RVs arrived the next night. Very quiet. It is a small, oak filled canyon with a bubbly running creek. It feels like you are out on the ranch but you are in the middle of a gated community with a golf course and market!

The deer and wild turkeys rule. The early mornings have a little fog hanging onto the branches, deer grazing, turkeys waddling and flying and the feral cats are fed by a mysterious cat lady. The quiet is amazing. We take our little pooch out for a short stroll. The air was crisp and cool with just a hint of damp. We started our morning with a short walk. The water for our french press coffee is heating and the luscious lemony scones are baking. As we return to our rig the water is poured over our Peet’s coffee and the aroma of the scones cooling on the counter just add to the simple pleasures of life. With our curtains opened to view nature, classical music playing quietly in background, we enjoy our cozy cave. (Our doggie pokes his head between the curtains so he can keep an eye on the wildlife.)

We found this little place thanks to our friends Anne and Dan who live at Hidden Valley Estates. This trip we had dinner at their house, went wine tasting all Saturday and cooked our dinner for the night in our rolling French bistro. Sunday was home-made scones and coffee. This little kitchen really works and there is plenty of prep space. Prior planning helped. I prepared the dry ingredients for the scones at home, packed them in a zip lock bag and only added butter and milk in the coach. Fifteen minutes later, we had warm, buttered lemon scones with our own French press coffee. Now that is traveling!

Unfortunately, we also had our first encounter with a frozen water hose too. Luckily, as always, fellow travelers helped us with a lesson on all-weather camping. We now wrap our hoses in cold weather.

We shall do this again! Even, Gunny, our doggie liked it. He travels well. We love to see our friends and the Napa/Lake county wine regions too. If you go to Lake County wine area there is a great little restaurant in Kelseyville called the Saw Shop and a repeat visit is a must. We are getting used to our little home. It is relaxing to just have a lazy morning with goodies you made while still in your jammies! The dog is not so sure, but goes along for the adventure.

Our Gunny! He now loves his little rolling home. See what he did to the curtains!

Oh the Rain, Snow and Landslides!

For us the winter has historically been our best time to travel. That is before a tree said hello to our back panel and mother nature said “you want rain, here it is” . We then had rain, snow, landslides, rock slides and mudslides. Oh, yeh, we had floods too.

This gave us time to deal with the real world, re-thinking tomorrow, re-evaluating dreams of travel, fun and life. As we are challenged by time, our time. What is the future? Hey, who knows, so enjoy it.

When we bought our Flying Cloud we had no clue what we were doing. All I know is I was not going to sleep on the ground, freeze and wake up aching at every joint. As all newbies know and learn …. WE HAD NO IDEA! reading Living Riveted, Airstream blogs and Sunset magazine … we were confused! Happily we just kept walking into walls and looking goofy!

I also realized we have had our rig for nine (9) years! It feels like it is so new and beautiful. There are so many ways to decorate it, make more luxurious, comfortable and “ours”. It keeps changing and I am still not sure we are doing it right! OK what is correct and right and the Airstream Way? Just have fun is the answer.

A co-worker of mine has a glass etching business with her hubby. They made us beautiful Riedel style glasses with our little silver coach etched on the side! What beauty and such meaning. These are the little things we keep finding in our lives and travels.

We are so excited that we also gave the Airstream bug to our friendly winemaker at Six Sigma Winery. We got them the Riedel glasses to pack easier in their new home! What a hit! Fun, creative people with new prisms of our environment really enhances our experiences.

From all the “how to’s” of travel I havent seen anything about “melt downs!”. YEAH! I mean I journaled our travels from day one to now. They were always beautiful times. Just saying. The adjustment period either makes or breaks your love for you rig. Right?!

So here goes my little story of our little Silver “Canned Comfort”. …..

Outer Banks Trip 088 — Sea Cliff State Park

Here is where the journey started! Our shakedown cruise. Lovely quiet spot 15 minutes from our house! I had already “packed” the little baby with all I thought we needed, including a stew already cooked and just needed a little warm up.

It took us about an hour to get us “right”. The scenery was beautiful, gray, misty and about to rain. Can you imagine what a great start to our first adventure? I forgot the wine opener, had the wine though! We only had one puppy with us and we were about a 20 minute walk uphill to a quick stop! Our knees were kinda sore but we got our corkscrew and found this little place had a great wine selection!

It then started to rain, we were soaking wet by the time we returned but that’s a memory. We turned on the lights, we had full hook ups, turned on the heater, changed to dry clothes and then realized we were in a very little space! The art of movement in a small space has a weird learning curve as does the sleeping areas!

We can hear the surf breaking on the beach, reminds me of Hawaii but very cold, The rain sounds great as it hits the roof. Our first night was a rough night, sleepwise with me and hubby and a mini Australian Shepard trying to stay warm. When we awoke the next morning we though our roof was leaking as the walls and ceilings were dripping wet stuff! we sealed everything closed that night and did not have the moisture stuff to absorb wet! Who would think that you leave vents open to keep your environment going!?!?

Let’s just say a few bad words were spoken and threats of never, ever doing this camping/trailer thing again went round and round that evening. The morning dawned and the sun peeked out while I baked home-made scones in our little oven, the french press was making wonderful coffee and best of all the shower and toilet worked like charms!! Almost like being home in a very condensed toaster! Had a wonderful walk on the beach to a little hamlet nearby and then prepped for home! We had survived our very first ever glamp in our own “back yard”. We are each still alive, the doggie loves his new bed – ours and we did not break our brand new Airstream!

Onward to more adventures!

Our Travel Dreams for 2016

Back to the Dream

Here it is 2016! Haven’t traveled in over three months and keep thinking about going ANYWHERE. Sometimes life takes other turns and gives you a chance to do some long-range plans, repair your rig, re-organize the living areas and dream of where you want to go.

Today is a rainy California day. Our travel time is usually winter so rain reminds me of our travels. In our last walk around of our rig we found a small drip over the bed after a recent rain. The little silver castle is seven years old and we keep thinking she is brand new. This precipitated a complete re-check of little repairs that may need to be done before we travel again.

Last October, 2015, we got the bright idea of Yellowstone National Park in 2016. We are combining that with a family graduation in Idaho and then meandering back home! Wow a dream travel plan that we have read other Airstreamers enjoy. This will be the first “long” road trip for us. Yep a whole two weeks! Ok we have been 11 days on the road with tight timelines….. this will be our first vacation!

It has been a rough year but we know this year is our year to really grow and enjoy life. We have had challenges of serious illness in our family, someone stole our Airstream keys out of our truck, had to order new ones and then needed to make repairs to keep our silver coach safe and road worthy.

In the meantime we did take our Flying Cloud in for a complete service and upholstery change. In essence she is still a new rig of dreams. After we left our trailer at the Bay Area Airstream dealership and service bay we drove up through Suisun Valley to our favorite winery Six Sigma! It was a beautiful drive through cattle and wine country, no traffic just green trees and grasslands.

It was sad to see the after effects of the Lake county fire. The amazing wonder is how mother nature heals herself with beauty and strength! We enjoy peace and greatness of our little piece of the world.

We arrive at Six Sigma and there is a pick up party in process. The people there make us feel at home. The great warmth, friendliness of everyone and fantastic wines create an oasis in a world of crazy noise and cold. As we are sipping our wine we look around and see a campsite! Yep an empty spot that says stay with me and enjoy my peaceful view.

We spoke to Christian Ahlman and were informed they are part of the network of wineries across the United States that allow trailers and RVs to enjoy the beauty, great wine and quiet. This area is like stepping back in time. The fact that this is a working ranch, winery and historic piece of California makes this magic. We can’t wait for our turn to fill this space with our silver trailer at the next Farm to Table dinner and wine pairing. We have the best place to stay! Walking distance to the great food and wine and a little still to our home.

Our coach will be ready in two weeks with a new look to enjoy our next wine adventure. We are looking forward to our first Farm to Table experience just outside our silver door! Bowser!

Silver Dreaming

We are prisoners of our routines. I know I feel like there is this hamster wheel I keep running on without the ability to jump off. Then I look out and see a glint of sunshine on our silver Flying Cloud that keeps winking at me. It seems to say “come on we should go someplace”. We just returned from the ice-cube travel to the Idaho countryside that took five days. We had a timeline, many miles and new lessons learned — NO MORE POOPSCICLES!

As we look at our work week and think there is not enough time or money to make another trip somewhere right now. Wrong, we live in beautiful Santa Cruz County on the Monterey Bay, hmmm. There are many state parks and national parks close by. The Pinnacles National Park is the farthest away at 90 minutes! Sea Cliff and New Brighton are 15 minutes away. They do need reservations all year round but well worth the planning. If you’re self-contained there are even more opportunities to run away.

When we first bought our beautiful Airstream I had many things on my mind, I did not want to rough camp, I wanted to be comfy, I did not want left over household items as our trailer pantry and stores and I did not want to create a large footprint as we traveled. I loved the pictures of others luxuriating as they “camped”.

The first five years were filled with meltdowns, tears, new lessons, forced communication all with new eyes to see our world. We have traveled from California to Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado. We marvel at the bigness of our country and the kindness of those we encounter. Again though that took up to eleven days to get there and back. That is too much time.

A friend of mine who lives in Aptos, California told me when his kids were younger they would get into their Class C RV and drive 10 minutes to New Brighton State Park and feel like they were worlds away from home and had fun like tourists do. Hmm hadn’t really thought about the local parks.

That makes escape easier and more relaxing. We have many wineries here in Santa Cruz County and Monterey County, Olive oil tastings, ocean shores, mountains and quiet relaxation. This doesn’t even touch on great foodie adventures. With our little Silver coach reminding us of the why behind our investment we smile. It is a new year with new possibilities for seeing what we don’t see every day. When I drive to work everyday I drive by miles of open beach, the Elkhorn Slough, miles of farmlands growing everything we eat but I just drive by and take it for granted.

We often lose sight of what we have right next to us because it is just there. Now we can see that with a little time spent on the State Parks and National Parks internet sites we can make a reservation and be on our way within an hour after work. This puts a little lift in my spirit and lets the stress release. I have made one day car trips to Lake County to pick up Six Sigma Wine, but it is a long day. Here I can go out of my daily circles and in 10 minutes to 90 minutes max, be in another beautiful place. If you’re prepacked with all your creature comfort have to haves, you just add a little sprinkle of your favorite wine, steak, comfort food and off you go! What we have and don’t see is what takes the energy out of our lives. We don’t have to go to Paris to find adventure. Here where we live, if we open our eyes we can find it here!

Homeward bound from Idaho, open vistas and cold

We wake up to a sunnyish hazy day. We hope the frozen outlets are going to thaw and we will no longer be a “poopscicle”. The temperature is 13 going up to 23. So no thaw.

We went to Home Depot and purchased a warmer thingy that was attached to a propane tank, a little one, and my hubby spent three hours trying to encourage the goo to melt. The goo won! After freezing and chattering teeth he gave up and joined me and the family for a toasty, cozy day long visit. A quiet day, away from the cold, cold weather allowed for a family time without time restraints. The dogs loved being out of the truck, in a house, all the attention and scraps from some of the most delicious barbecue in Eagle Idaho.

After a wonderful quiet, restful visit, laughs and hugs we went back to our cozy cottage on wheels. Tomorrow we start back home to warm California. It is surprising how this little silver bullet is our quiet place at the end of the day and lazy breakfast mornings.

Sunshine greats us and again we are on California time not Idaho time. It evens out eventually. Our Nesspresso gives forth the comforting aroma of coffee and a new adventure. Yes, the poopscicle lives. It has had no relief from the freezing temps. We know the further west we go the warmer it will be!

Packing up and securing for the drive home is easy. Airstream designs storage in logical ways for ease of use and travel. Fold and stow, clean and go. This smooth process puts a smile on our faces. We both have allergies an bad snuffy colds so we use the “lady bug” lint remover from H2O at Home. It has a two-fold use. We take the doggie hairs off both furniture and doggies! Helps keep potential allergens down in small spaces. We use the Handbroom for the floor. It looks little but it calls all the dirt to gather and we have clean floors. Wiping the counters clean with the chiffonetes takes minutes, even the mirrors shine. Looks great! We feel great and ready for our travel home!

We stop by our daughter’s house to say another goodbye, the sun is shinning and it is 23 degrees outside! The roads should be clear no weather insight. We have reservations set for Frontier RV in Winnamucca, Nevada, book plugged in, doggies secure, kleenex, cough drops, snacks and water.

After leaving the city limits the highway opens with very few vehicles in sight. . . Humming along! How different the landscape looks with early daylight versus setting sun and darkness. Again no wildlife. Must mean they are smart enough to stay warm and not challenge Mother Nature. After a couple of hours we stop at the same vacant gas station, let the doggies run a bit, go to the coach for a wonderful lunch of left overs.

We are making great time, we are going mostly downhill! We reach Winnamucca before nightfall and guess what it is above freezing! We finally get rid of the poopscicle. We are feeling so good we park and start to reheat our New Years Eve dinner. We are now feeling better, our taste buds are working and the lamb is sooooo good, a little champagne, homemade cookies, Martini Radio and we are good!

The morning dawns and we do our “pre-flight”, doggies running and chasing, we are good to go. This morning we try coffee at a truck stop where we gas up. Coffee is hot, not Peet’s, but the morning is chilly. My special, double layered lap blanket, hand knit by my daughter keeping my legs toasty so the coffee is a little plus. The highway is still a bit quiet, few rigs, cars or trucks. We smile and listen to our second book, Killing Patton!

By Reno, it is still cool, 27 degrees, but not 7! We find an In-N-Out burger in Sparks, Nevada and we are in heaven. Never knew it was there, just near the Nugget. We again set the table in the coach, doggies have water and a stretch, onward we go. After getting gas near Cabella’s west of Reno we chug up to thru the Sierra’s and find a view we have probably driven past a zillion times in our travels. I don’t even know the name of the rest stop but it is gorgeous. When we get out of the truck and doggies are out we notice that at the edge of the fence has an even more breathtaking view of a little valley and different hills and mountains. This is where we realize that stopping just because has many special surprises.

All alone with beauty and a valley down below!

We are almost home. It is always bittersweet. No longer as cold nor windy as our road out, just traffic. Home is now only 3 hours away. We have finished two audio books and feel quite accomplished. I am writing notes about our trip, putting down our thoughts and memories. Of course of places we may want to revisit again or explore are written in large bold letters.

We arrive home, unload a few things, park our silver castle in the drive way and then lock the door. Doggies are happy to be out of the truck, we kinda are too. It is almost the enjoyment of less that makes the trip more, and home is our base camp to prepare for the next adventure. Oh the fun of picking and planning another untraveled road.