We made it to Williams, AZ today. ..487 miles. …long day of driving. Fraser drove to Mojave where we topped off with gas and had breakfast at Carl’s Jr. I drove from there to Kingman, AZ. The scenery was very dry (it is the desert) until Kingman and then we got the trees and greenery. Beautiful skies along the way with fluffy white clouds and we even had some rain. Williams is the gateway to the Grand Canyon. ..save that for another trip. On to Albuquerque, NM tomorrow.
At this KOA there is a Nature Trail…walk over the bridge over the creek, thru a meadow and then duck into a totally green, dark, quiet and fanciful world. You follow a very narrow dirt trail under tall, mossy trees. The greenery grows very close to the trail and is tall. I felt like I was in one
the Fellowship of the Rings movies, holding my breath, waiting for the trees to start moving….like the Ents!
Or, I was in the Harry Potter movie where he falls int
o a hole under the Howling Tree. This tree on the trail looks just like I imagined Harry saw it. It was so quiet under the trees on this trail, it was like we were in another world. We didn’t follow it to the river….turned around back to the meadow.
Back out in the meadow we walked the perimeter and found another tree that had the same crazy look as the one on the trail. Here are it’s leaves….what kind of tree is it?
We are headed to the border tomorrow. Will check back in when we have WiFI access.
Didn’t expect to see this at a WA rest area. It really looked odd sitting out in the middle of the parking lot. There was a phonebook in the booth so I assume it was functional.
We had a good drive today…left Albany, OR at 7:15 am. Got gas at the next Pilot Flying J station. Lots of wild flowers again…there is a beautiful yellow flowering bush all along the highway. Waved Hello to BJ in Portland plus Maureen’s grandkids. The Willamette and Colombia Rivers are huge and gra
nd. Got a picture of a huge yacht tied up to the dock in Seattle. What a way to live!
Got off I-5 at Exit 221 to Hwy 534. This was a detour around the downed bridge near Burlington. We headed NE on 534 through cattle and 
d
airy country. Turned N on Highway 9 and toured the back country in this part of WA. Lots of old barns (yeah!)….the dairy cows live good out here. Lots of new construction around the lakes. Saw some very nice log homes.
Our KOA is right next to the Skagit River….very green and the weather is wonderful! We are staying here for two days preparing for the border crossing.
We made it to Albany, OR without mishap. Stopped for gas twice at Pilot/Flying J stations. It is pretty much all uphill on this leg of our trip and the truck is doing great towing the trailer. Mt. Shasta still has a lot of snow but the lake is about 20′ low.
We saw three different groups of deer while driving. Didn’t get the camera out quick enough 🙂 The wildflowers are stunning! CA poppies, yellow, blue, purple and orange flowers and bushes. Makes for a very pretty drive. I like taking pictures of old b
arns but haven’t been quick enough yet.
We have also seen quite a few sculptures of various designs out in the fields…cows, dinosaurs, cowboys, etc. I got one of the dinosaur….it was really cool!
Here in Albany they have 7 covered bridges….they are in an area of about 47 miles….takes about 4 hours to see them all. Fraser has promised we will come back….I want to see these bridges!
Tomorrow we are headed to Burlington, WA…..detouring around the broken bridge.
Fraser and I left at 5:45 am this morning, headed to Mt. Shasta. Long drive….almost 10 hours….stopped for gas at Lodi around 10:30…..I drove from there to the KOA in Mt. Shasta. We did stop for lunch at a rest stop. The KOA here in Mt. Shasta is nice, set in the mountains with tall trees. Tomorrow we are headed to Corvallis, OR.
Good morning! We are here at Mountain Gate, just N of Redding. Explored the Burney area yesterday including the MacArthur/Burney State Park where we saw Burney Falls, Burney Creek and walked the Falls Loop. It was only 1.2 miles but the elevation changes got my heart pumping! Stepped foot onto the Pacific Crest Trail….can’t imagine walking all the way to Canada! Next we found Lake Britton where Fraser caught 3 fish! Still looking for the Pit River….the Ranger at the State Park informed us that the creeks are still closed to fishing but the lakes are open. The Pit is only catch and release until 4/28 when the season officially opens. We saw bald eagles, osprey and northern harriers (marsh hawks) while fishing at Britton. Plus a Blue Jay! The Pit River is difficult to find…but once there supposedly the fishing is great. We found Baum Lake and toured the Fish Hatchery there. Who would have thought…Albino Rainbow Trout?? They will be planting fish beginning 4/28 for all the fishermen. We did finally find the Pit River, Dam #3, and really enjoyed traveling the back country roads. Fraser is going to try his luck today…I’m going to sew! Enjoy the pictures..
Yesterday it rained all day….perfect for getting started with the Orca Bay Mystery Quilt. Over 400 1/2 square triangles to cut….picture shows almost halfway there. Only 200+ more to do. Will do some more today after quilting. This is my first Bonnie Hunter mystery (http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2011/11/mystery-monday-link-up.html?ref=nf) and I’m looking forward to seeing what the final “look” is….
This is a good project in several ways….as I cut fabric I am “organizing” it into containers. This has needed to be done for a long time and I’m feeling good about it!
We are currently camped in Ouray, CO. The town is nestled at the foot of the San Juan Mountains and is very picturesque. The Ute Indians were the first to live here but they were eventually pushed out by the white man. Here is a picture of the San Juans approaching Ridgway which is just 10 miles N of Ouray.
Water is everywhere here….making fishing a challenge. We made a side trip to the Silver Jack Reservoir where fishing is supposed to be very good but just too much water. Owl Creek (pictured) Summit was 10,000 feet…lots of snow still. Saw deer on this drive too.
On the drive from Buena Vista to Ouray we passed lots of ranches…cattle and horse. I thought it was really good of the owners to keep the older out buildings. Most ranches had newer houses but they still had really old buildings scattered about their homesteads.
Had to look up this breed of cattle on the internet….Highland Cattle. They are long-haired, have horns and just the coolest looking animals. The breed is the oldest registered on record and originate in Scotland. They are very hardy, have exceptionally lean meat and will eat stuff that most cows will ignore. The long hair insulates their bodies instead of a layer of fat that exists in other breeds of cattle. I want one!
There is a fabric store in Ridgway according to the internet at Daymakers Salon….this sounds more like a hair salon but I’m going to investigate.
Fraser is off fishing today and I’m going to try to get some sewing in….talk with you all later….
We had so much fun on the Durango-Silverton train yesterday. Met some very nice people on our San Juan coach. Three hours plus going up to Silverton, 2 hours in Silverton and 3 hours plus getting back to Durango. We boarded at 10:00 am and were headed back to the KOA by 7:20 pm. The scenery was so cool and it was a wonderful experience! I am so grateful that some folk think it is important to retain parts of our history and are willing to keep that history alive!
Check out this quilt shop in Aztec, CO. Found it by a large sign on the road…just a house back in a residential area behind the main street. Every room had bolts of fabric….just kept going on and on. Love the name…..Quilt It! Ya Ya! They have been there for four years and get regular customers from all over Colorado, Arizona and even Utah!
The Quilters Mercantile in Williams, AZ was a really nice quilt shop. Really enjoyed the native patterns…so had to buy a couple. Just what I need….new projects! Bought fabric too….they had a really nice selection.
We left for Durango after I deposited my BIG bag of new purchases into the truck! Of course, Fraser was duly impressed as I tried to show off all my new stuff 🙂
We traveled Hwy 89 N (junction at Flagstaff) to Tuba City and then Hwy 160 E…thru the Navajo Indian Reservation and then the Hopi Indian Reservation. These two tribes have a huge area for their reservations. Very flat, dry and austere country. Some like to live as their forefathers without any amenities (no electricity, water, etc.) while others live in mobile homes with more creature comfort. Quite a contrast……..
While getting gas in Kayenta (the junction where you turn for Monument Valley) I saw this cactus bush….beautiful flowers!
On the road again….really cool rock formations and arriving in Durango…our truck and trailer in the KOA park. Nice trees, shade and cool weather. Tomorrow we check out the train station, quilt shop and maybe some Aztec ruins.
Take care you all!
 | Patty on Nashville, Cont’d. |
| Patty on Nashville, TN |
 | np3quilts on The Smithsonian Trip |
 | Annette on Burlington, WA |
 | Carol on Burlington, WA… |
Over The Top Quilting with CeCe 