Christmas in Oregon

Kevin and I once again packed up the motorhome on 12/23/09 to celebrate Christmas in Oregon.  We wanted some colder weather and to experience the holiday in a small downtown.  There were many Indian casinos along our route through Northern California into Oregon.  They are large resorts with RV parks.  We stayed in two of them, one in CA, called Rolling Hills, and one in Canyonville, OR, called Seven Feathers.  They were very pet friendly and had a fenced in yard so the boys could run around freely. 

After the first night on Christmas Eve, the weather became chillier as we headed north.  The mountaintops were covered in snow and the trees were lightly frosted.  We passed Mount Shasta along the way.  You could see it for miles and miles, but this was my favorite view.  It was finally beginning to feel more like Christmas!

Christmas Day was very relaxing.  We slept in (as much as the dogs would let us) and enjoyed the NFL before dinner.  The resort had a traditional Christmas dinner buffet that was very delicious.  We decided to play a few slots before heading back to the RV.  We passed by a free Cabaret show in the lounge, so we stopped to see what it was about.  It was a musical Christmas extravaganza in drag!  My favorite number was "I want a boob job for Christmas......."  I thought Kevin was going to pass out.  I tried to take a picture with my phone, but was told I should stop before security got to me.  Apparently drag queens are camera shy.  It was a hoot!

It took three attempts to get our Christmas photo,  but we had fun in the process.  The dogs had to either face front or be out of the picture! 

 Take 1

Take 2

Take 3!

We headed back to Milpitas the day after Christmas with some scenic stops along the way.  The first was Grants Pass, OR and the other was Jacksonville, OR, which was decorated like a Victorian village.  The restaurants during our trip played traditional Christmas carols and the feeling was very festive, exactly what we were looking for.  We didn't have a lot of plans, but enjoyed just being together.  We hope you all had a Very Merry Christmas with many blessings to come in 2010!

Christmas Party

On 12/4/09, the Surgicenter had our Christmas party at an Italian restaurant.  They are a great group of people and we had a fun time.  These pictures are of the endoscopy team, both nurses and techs.

Below is my preceptor Apple.  I like her a lot because we have the same sense of humor!

My nursing supervisor (in black sweater).

It's been a great experience working with this group.  There is an interesting cultural mix that I have not had much exposure to and I've learned a lot from them.  The main groups are Filipino, Korean and Taiwanese.  I hope that I have left as positive an impression on them as they have on me!

Badwater Basin

Badwater Basin is 282 feet below sea level and is the lowest point in North America!  If you look closely at the picture below, you can see the sign designating sea level and how far below it we were.

The basin itself was very flat and white with salt deposits.  It was very firm and you could walk on it for quite a distance.  Periodically you would see potholes of water, some with salt crystals floating on top.

It was getting dark very quickly making it difficult to capture the photos, but you can still get a sense of the area.  A nice family was nearby and wanted us to snap their picture.  They were more than happy, almost insistent, on taking our picture as well!

This was the end of our trip as we headed back to the Bay Area overnight.  The weather conditions were treacherous at times, but we finally made it home by 11am after a reststop nap.  South of San Jose, we stopped at Casa de Fruita, a large and well known farmer's market mecca.  When we got back to the RV, this peacock was strutting right in front of us.  I'm sure it was an escapee from a petting zoo somewhere on the grounds.  It was still cool to see!

Finally, no blog is complete without gratuitous pictures of our pups.  Cabot is on the left and Ingonish on the right.  We hope you enjoyed our trip to Death Valley as much as we enjoyed sharing it!

Golden Canyon

Golden Canyon is a two-mile winding path through beautiful rock formations.  Many of the rocks were pink and green in color and slowly formed by rainfall over time.  I was a little nervous about this trail because we had just hiked the Ubehebe Crater and my legs were feeling wobbly.  Thank God it was relatively flat.

Okay, so I forgot who I was dealing with.  No sooner did we get started then Kevin had to go off the path and climb something.  I was allright with that.  But, we veered off the main path and the only way to go was up.  I wonder how quickly an orthopedic surgeon could find me if I fell?

This path was better than the main one!  Behind me is a dry falls in the picture below.  During the rainy season that is where the water comes down, eroding the landscape little by little.

It's never a successful climb until Kevin has me climbing up a rock!  This was the first one I could climb unassisted.  We were having such a great time!

As I said before, nothing is more beautiful than the late afternoon desert sky!

Nevada Campsite

One of the challenges of traveling in an RV in a national park is finding a place to stop for the night.  Since we were at a campsite the night before, Kevin wanted to stop in a more desolate area the next night.  There are many restrictions as well as logistical difficulties when camping in a 31-foot motorhome off road.

We actually drove into Nevada and Kevin found a path off the main road to pull in for the night.  No one was around except for an occasional car on the highway.  The weather was starting to cool off more and became very windy.  I thought I was back on our hill in Canandaigua!  The next morning was eventually bright and sunny, but notice the snowcaps on the mountains in the distance.  It was awesome to see snow from our sandy desert campsite!  When it came time to drive home later that night, it was actually snowing with some accumulation in Death Valley.  What?!  The roads were pretty treacherous at times with the blustering snow and wind.

Ubehebe Crater

Ubehebe (You-bee-HEE-bee) Crater is a 770-foot geological wonder caused by an underground steam explosion over 3,000 years ago.  It is located just 8 miles west of Scotty's Castle.




The hike down the crater is difficult as the trail is made up of gritty sand.  You softly slide your way down and sink into the sand as you go.  I was so excited to get to the bottom of the crater that I wasn't paying attention to how difficult the climb back up was going to be!  I'm not as cardiovascularly fit as Kevin (big surprise), so it was a challenge, but I made it.

To give you perspective on how far down the crater is, I am in the middle of the photo at the very bottom.  The colored striations in the rocks were very beautiful.

As late afternoon approached, the colors of the rocky hills became more vivid.  The sky appeared bluer in contrast to the brown landscape.  Dusk is very beautiful in the desert!

Scotty's Castle

Scotty's Castle is located at the northeastern end of the park.  Albert Johnson, a wealthy investment banker from Chicago, built a vacation home for him and his wife Bessie called Death Valley Ranch.  He was urged by his doctors to spend time in a warm, dry climate.  A spring ran through the property making it an ideal location.  In addition, he funded a stranger's gold-mining expedition in Death Valley sight unseen.  The man who grubstaked the money in advance told great stories of all the gold found in his secret Death Valley mine.  His name was Walter "Scotty" Scott, and he was a cowboy-turned-con artist who used to ride with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.  Eventually, Albert Johnson wanted to check out the mine for himself and invited Scotty to stay at his ranch.  Scotty bragged to visitors that he had the mansion built with gold found in his mine.  Albert and Bessie, who often entertained guests at their home, thoroughly enjoyed Scotty's tales.  He entertained their guests and they could just relax in the background.  The Johnsons never received any payout from the mine, but developed an interesting and life-long relationship with Scotty.  Guests assumed Scotty owned the ranch and it was dubbed "Scotty's Castle".

Albert, Bessie and Death Valley Scotty

The Johnsons have always enjoyed visitors and the mansion was kept in pristine condition.  After they passed away, the mansion was eventually turned into a museum run by the National Park Service.  Practically the entire mansion was filled with original artifacts such as handpainted floor tiles, handmade rugs, furniture, painted leather curtains, dinnerware, linens and clothing.  It was amazing.  You could only walk on the tiles or carpet runners they placed for you.  Otherwise, walking on the rugs or touching anything in the house was forbidden.  That was tough for me because I like to touch everything in a museum!  Kevin made sure I complied with museum policy.  Our tour guide missed her calling to the theater.  She was very animated and quite the storyteller.  We really got a great picture of what life was like for Scotty and The Johnsons and the nature of their unique relationship.

Formal Dining Room

    

Bessie's Closet

Mesquite Springs

Thanksgiving night we stayed at a campground in Mesquite Springs.  The next morning, Kevin was walking the dogs.  I peered out the window to see where he was and this was my view.  You had to catch it quick because in minutes, the vivid colors started to fade as the sun came up.

Just outside the campground, we took a walk with the dogs.  The landscape changes in color and texture as you look from the foreground to the background.  It was a breathtaking view against the bright blue sky.  It felt like a late spring day.

 

At the weirdest times, the dogs got really hyper on our walks and tried to play tug-of-war with the leashes.  We actually got them to calm down for a moment or two to take some pictures.  We didn't realize until we downloaded them that they were both sticking their tongues out.  They couldn't be serious for two seconds!

Desert Holly                                                                 

Beaver Tail Cactus