Flashback:2005 Walkabout

Was just going through some old documents and found these journal entries I recorded on our Northern California walkabout that Tyson, Eric Suggs and I did in 2005. I previously did a webpage with a lot more pictures, but wanted to get it into this blog. This was a fun trip where I got to share some sites with Tyson that I'd always wanted to see.

We left Samammish in the evening on August 27th around 6pm. Tyson and I got the car packed and went over to pick up Eric Suggs at his house. The car was an interesting story. Christine put the truck in the shop to have it worked on and they didn’t have the part they needed to get it fixed by Saturday. That meant that we wouldn’t get the truck back until Monday. Well, I wanted to get a start so I asked the dealer rep, Brooks, what kind of deal they could do for us on a rental. He said they could pay for one until the truck was fixed. We worked out a deal where I would pay their rate for the remainder of the time we had the car. It worked out for the best because we rented a PT Cruiser. Now, I’m no PT Cruiser fan, but it has plenty of room for all our gear and for the two boys to sit in the back. It was perfect.
So, we got down to Portland around 11 pm. We went the back way by Klamath and got to see Mount Shasta.
We spent too much time at the Suggs and driving down so that when we finally got to call Rob, my Nephew it was very late. We had some communication problems. Both of us were very tired from the long trip and so we didn’t make it to his apartment until around 1:30am. We talked for a while, Rob and I. The next morning Rob went to church around 9am and we left shortly thereafter.
We drove down to Crater Lake. I made a deal with the boys. They would put away their gameboys whenever we were in a National Park. And they were not allowed to take the game boys out of the car. This is working great. They stay occupied while we drove, but engaged when we’re at points of interest. Crater Lake was incredible. The boys were actually quite enthusiastic. They were extremely impressed with the scene as we parked next to the ridge and walked roughly twenty feet up the pumice sand ridge and peered over the edge. Tyson covered his eyes so that he could see it all at once. He pulled his hand away and said “wooooohohohohooo” I think that meant he was very impressed. From where we were standing, it looked as though the lake was around 1500 feet below. We could see the entire lake from where we were. We drove all around the lake. The wind was fierce, but refreshing. We spent approximately two hours there and then we drove down to Klamath Falls and stayed in a Shiloh Inn there, room 102. We wanted to watch a movie, but there were none available that were either appropriate or interesting. While I was in the shower, the boys flipped through the channels and found “Swordfish” playing. I didn’t think it was appropriate, but we sat through it anyway. It was pretty good movie and it was edited so some of the more objectionable scenes were gone or modified…

On August 29th, we took the long drive down through northern California. We ended up at a little town called Arnold. There’s a little Inn called the Timberline Lodge. We stopped there. I went into the office and met the lodge owner. As we were talking, she noticed my CTR ring and knew the significance. We had a nice chat about her congregation there. She also had a limited edition painting that I admired. It's the one of George Washington kneeling in prayer next to his horse. We set up in the little room. I went in and the boys stayed in the car until roughly midnight, playing their gameboys. Since they’re not allowed to take the gameboys out of the car, they spend a lot of time in the car. I get no arguments about long drives now.

This morning, August 30, I sit here in the Timberline Lodge, room 6 writing this entry. The boys went out into the car while I was in the shower. They packed everything up and got out as soon as possible. They just can’t get enough of that car it seems. :)
My cel phone was dead, and the car charger wouldn’t charge it sufficiently, so I had to stop at a cel phone store in Stockton and pick up a wall plug charger. Now I got it charged up, but I’m out of range. Will try to call Christine and the girls today.


Yesterday, August 30, we did the loop from Arnold up highway 4, through some very beautiful scenery, to a lake called Alpine Lake. We spent some time there. I took my shooes and socks off and walked in the water for a while. Got some sun on my head and even got a little sunburn on my bald spot. Was feeling it a bit today. Then, we headed east and then south down to Bodie. It was interesting. I took a lot of pictures, but was disappointed at the outcome. The sun was just so hot and the light too harsh for many good pictures. But, the town is interesting, albeit, out of the way. I’ll likely never go back, but it was worth the stop.
It was getting late, we left there around 7pm and headed to Mono Lake. We got there right at dusk. I ran down the trail to see if I could get any decent pictures. I set the camera ISO up to 800 and shot a few. Some came out, but in such a rushed state, I doubt any will be showable. I was impressed with how cool it was right down by the lake. As I walked back up, I hit what I could only describe as a thermocline. The air went suddenly from cold to warm. I backed up, cold, went forward, warm. I did that several times. There was a very real cold barrier. I hopped back into the car, and we took the first campground we could find.

We set up camp. We had a little bit for dinner. We had chips and salsa, and coldcuts with cheese and crackers, and water and other drinks. It was good food and good company. We had a few laughs, setup camp and went to bed. Tyson read a few verses from D&C 88, where we’re reading right now. Great section that one. I resolved to read it again more thoughtfully. There is a lot of meaning and doctrine there to think about. I especially like the part about why people go to different glories.

Thinking, “Hey, it’s the middle of August. It’s going to be hot everywhere”, I told Tyson to only bring my summer sleeping bag. Big mistake. At least, last night it was anyway. I slept under the stars and about froze my tush off. The stars were absolutely spectacular, but I gave up around midnight and got into the car. It was warmer there and I managed to sleep a little better. It says a lot if I’m cold when I’m sleeping. I think it must have been around 40 up there.


Today, we went through Yosemite. It reminded me a lot of Glacier N.P. Sheer cliffs and hanging meadows. Waterfalls and natural flowering plants and placement of trees almost seemed planned. The boys enjoyed it. They hiked up a few of the large hill rocks and we kept moving pretty well. Definitely a place I’d like to explore more, but I think late May or early June would be better to catch the flowering plants and for cooler temperatures. We drove out of Yosemite having our fill of beautiful sights. We arrived in Oakland around 8pm and are staying at a Budget Inn that doesn’t seem so budget, 70$. On our way in, there is a windmill farm the likes of which I’ve never seen. They’re in a little town outside Oakland all on the tops of the hills. Seemed like there were hundreds of them. They were entransing. I kept driving off the road watching them. There was something unearthly, alien, and yet artistic about them. The setting sun emphasized them as it lit them from the back with a reddish, orange hue. I pulled over and took some pictures. That was something I wish I had more time to watch and photographically explore.
My cell phone is acting up and doesn’t seem to want to charge. Today it’s started this thing where it looks like it will start up but stays on the welcome screen and won’t complete the startup. I think it’s just trashed. The phone in the hotel room won’t work either. Everytime I try to call out I get a duotone warning of some sort. Very frustrating. I did manage to send mail to Christine today telling her what we’re up to and where we are. There was a Hot Spot at the Burger King where we stopped.

Rested well last night. Today, September 1, we’re off to see San Francisco. This is the last leg of the trip before we start heading north. I’m hoping to get on that naval vessel where they give tours or go see “The Rock”, the prison out on the little island. The boys seem to be having a lot of fun and enjoying each other’s company. They wrestle all the time and do everything together. I think they both are trying to catch up for a whole summer being apart. Eric spent most of the summer down in Mexico with some of his family.
The hotel we’re staying in is clean enough. I must admit I worried about the contents and the safety of the car last night. It’s difficult to describe, but I’m not really comfortable here. Mostly it’s the people, I guess. We’ll be leaving as early as possible today. Got to be one of the most beautiful scenes on the trip. But then, I can never seem to get enough of the ocean. This was a scene from highway 1, if I remember correctly, right before entering Redwood National Park.
This was one of the coolest places we saw. But, by now, the boys were tired of seeing cool stuff and weren't all that interested. Were it me on my own, I'd have spent a little more time here.
As it was, Tyson and Eric just seemed to want to wrestle or play game boy by this time. It was time to head home.