10-17-2005 Work Trip Road Trip to Winnemucca and Elko

Transcribed from a very sketchy journal of our trip to Nevada.  I was going for a work training class in Winnemucca and we took a few extra days to go as far east as Elko and some of the surrounding area.  Mo had her white Blazer at the time. 

We left Klamath Falls around 10:30 AM, driving 140 to 95 to Winnemucca.  Visited the Sheldon Wildlife Reserve, dinner at  Model T Diner. Checked into Gold Country Inn Best Western around 8:30 pm.

Tuesday October 18 2005

Sue to Class.  Mo traveled north to Windy Gap and the Humboldt NF and had a flat tire.  Sue’s great granddaughter was born at 2:15 EDT.  Dinner at Red Lion

Wednesday October19 2005

Sue to class.  Mo east to Rabbit Hole and Sulphur mine and Rochester.  Sue and Mo up Water Canyon.  Dinner at Model T Diner.

Thursday October 20 2005

Sue to class.  Mo to Unionville.  Afternoon Sue and Mo on a town walk.  Basque dinner at Winnemucca Hotel.  Since 1863 oldest operating hotel in Nevada.

Friday October 21 2005

Breakfast at the Red Lion.  Leave for Elko at 10 AM  Gas at 2.56 per gallon.  Shouda had the MoHo with us.  We got our room in Elko at the Motel 6 after going to the museum and visitor center.  Drove to the Ruby Mountains and up Lamoille Canyon for the afternoon. We hiked a ways into the wilderness area but it was getting dark so we drove back down the canyon.  

Went to the Red Lion Casino for dinner where they had a great seafood buffet for $17.95, but it was too much so we just ate some good sandwiches.

Saturday October 22 2005

Up for breakfast and Sue got Starbucks and a pastry and Mo had her McD sandwiches before we drove north to Jarbidge, a tiny town of 16 people where a nice guy gave us gas even though the station was closed.  $4.00 a gallon!  It was 47 miles over dirt roads to get to the town.

The aspens had mostly lost their leaves except for a few places.  Someone said that first week in October is probably best.  Left Jarbidge and drove along the canyon over some empty wild country and then went north from Wildhorse Reservoir to Mountain City.

Leaving Mountain City we were planning to go the long lonely road to Midas when the second flat tire of the week changed our minds.  Right on a curve! and it was very sudden.  Mo had it almost done when an inebriated cowpoke stopped to help.

We drove back to Elko, and had Les Schwab was closed but WalMart was open and even had a set of tires at a good price.

My guess is we drove back home on Sunday since I no doubt had to be to work on Monday morning.

August 31 2005 To the Steens

Transcribed from the old very poorly hand written leather journal on April 14 2015. 

I certainly didn’t keep track of what we did and saw nearly as well back then as I try to do now!

Click here for Photos of our trip to the Steens

20767 mileage on the baby MoHo

Leaving at 9:50 AM from Rocky Point.  Maiden voyage with the white Tracker as our Toad.  I arrived at Mo’s at 8am and we set up the hitch to tow the GEO, bikes are on the Geo, lights are working except for the right turn signal and right brake.

Planning to go to LensCrafters in Eugene and get my glasses then on to Albany for Melody’s show tonight.  Plan to leave tomorrow AM for Burns via Highway 20, then French Glen and Steens Mountain tomorrow night.  Very excited to finally see the Steens!

Current events include a huge hurricane Katrina which devastated New Orleans Gulf Port MS among others.  around 17000 people are trapped in the SuperDome in NO.

September 1.  We had a good trip with no problems towing the GEO.  We parked in front of Melody’s apartment for the night and unhooked to drive to Corvallis to see her show.  I got my glasses quickly in Eugene and we got to Albany by 4:30 or so.  Supper at McMennamin’s.  Coffee with Melody and a cereal breakfast in the MoHo then on the road by 9:30AM.  We will gas up and get some groceries and head for Burns.

Filled the tank in Albany at $2.59 per gallon getting just over 10 mpg.  Melody’s band played just a little over an hour last night.  Deb came down but got there late.  I of course, loved hearing and watching Melody but the second band was way too loud.  Will get some groceries and be out of town before long.  Hooking up the Geo is pretty easy.

251 miles to Burns since we filled in Albany this morning.  Gas here at the Shell is 2.99!  Took us 7 hours to get here since the pass was slow.  We stopped and checked out a couple of campgrounds, ate lunch and dumped the tanks near Sisters.  Found a free dump site on Highway 20 just past the 395 road.

Arrived at French Glen around 7pm and found a great site at Page Springs #1 for 4 bucks per night with the Golden Age Pass.  Set up camp and made a chef’s salad for supper and enjoyed the balmy desert evening air.

Up this morning to a pleasant morning made sausage eggs and potatoes and cleaning up to organize the MoHo before we left for our day doing the Steens Loop.

Drove to the South loop and decided to go up the hard part instead of down.  Left around ten and home around 3:30 or so.  It was cool and beautiful up there.  We walked to the Summit, viewed Wild Horse Lake, East Viewpoint, Kiger Gorge Viewpoint, and the baby geo did great in 4 wheel drive.

At home we decided to move the MoHo for better shade, relaxed till things cooled down at bit, went for a bike ride, and then ate a great 4 course supper of salad, then veggies, then corn, and finally steak.  Treated ourselves to hot showers and a beautiful night of stars after a pink sunset and a little campfire time.

Everything seems to be working well.  Left light is gray water, right light is black water.

September 3 Saturday

Amazingly uncrowded for Labor Day Weekend.  Up at 7 for coffee and egg breakfast again.  Lovely cool morning but it warmed up fast.  It certainly hasn’t been as cold as we expected, just right.  Warm days, balmy evenings, cool nights.  Perfect.

We left at 9:30 for the big loop around the east side of the Steens.  Took the Diamond Crater scenic drive and saw lava flows and an amazing water filled crater called a moar.

On to the French round barn and museum, which was surprisingly lovely and a really amazing building.  Through some boring stuff till we got to the East Steens Road where it became very wild and beautiful again.  The east face of the Steens was impressive. At Alvord Lake we saw land sailing on the playa.  Had a chocolate shake and fries at Field’s and then finished the 210 mile loop to our camp.  Now we are relaxing in the shade with a glass of wine and reviewing the day after a light hamburger supper.  In bed at 8:30

September 4 Sunday.

Woke to beautiful morning and coffee in bed, cereal for a light breakfast before our hike up Blitzen canyon.  The hike was pretty but challenging because it was very primitive.  Lots of rocks and talus and what looked like poison ivy.  We finally gave up after two miles.  Saw some backpackers camped back in there but it was just too rough to be enjoyable.  Molly did get to swim a lot, however.  Home to visit with our camp hosts and shared a beer with them.

We had a great family style dinner at French Glen shared with people from Germany and the US.

September 5 Monday

Leaving at 8:50 An after getting up around 7 and having a cereal breakfast.  Had to take on some water since we ran out last night during my shower.  Clean skies, cool morning, heading for home via Nevada.

05-07-2005 Mother’s Day at Castle Crags

Transcribed from our old leather journal on June 14, 2018

We left Klamath at 4pm heading for Castle Crags near Dunsmuir on Interstate 5.  We arrived shortly after 6:30 to the State Park.  Camped in site #38.  The upper loop was closed and the lower loop was too close to the freeway. 

That is the only real drawback to this campground.  The freeway I-5 is very close by.  Our spot was one reserved for RV’s so was fairly level with the door opening out to a pretty meadow and a great view of the oak-pine-fir forest out the bedroom window.  We leveled a bit, settled, in, and I made soup and cheese sandwiches.

After dinner we walked up to the Vista Point.  About a mile of steep winding road that was restricted to RV’s.  Seemed like a lot of up!  We went to the Vista Point but it was too cloudy to see any of the view.  We skipped a fire and cozied up in bed with books and a good night’s sleep.

On Saturday we woke to a rainy morning so we had a great bacon and egg breakfast, and a slow and peaceful morning.  I finally knitted a scarf for Shera and Mo helped unravel and wind yarn.  Finally at 11:00 AM it was clear enough that we decided to take a hike. 

Followed the river trail for about 6 miles overall, 1.5 miles from the Riverside Day use area to the end and then looping back past the store and the campground trail to the north.  Beautiful hike along the Sacramento River.

Fritos, cheese, and wine while we put up the awning and set out the chairs and table and we just enjoyed the meadow for the rest of the afternoon.

Mo built a nice big fire and we baked potatoes and steak and veggies.  Great dinner.  After dinner we went down to the 1 mile Indian Creek loop for another lovely hike, but then the rain started.

We turned on the generator and watched Good Morning Viet Nam while it poured down rain and we slept great all night to the sound.

On Sunday, Mother’s Day, it never stopped raining all night and was still pouring at 10:30 AM.  We cooked another good breakfast, and turned on the generator again to watch Fried Green Tomatoes.  Probably won’t be doing much outside today since it is so incredibly wet. 

We are having a little bit of leakage on the rear passenger window by the bed.  Hopefully we have isolated it.  Not a bed weekend, even with the rain.  We had a good time, good hikes, and were very comfortable in the MoHo.

April 15 to April 18 2005 The MoHo Goes to Washington State

Transcribed from the old leather journal on June 14, 2018

Mo and I left Klamath Falls on a beautiful sunny morning after Mo went to her new doctor in Klamath Falls.  She likes the doctor.  Mo drove first, mileage was 17,725 via Highway 97 to Madras where we bought gas at $2.40 per gallon and calculated 11.6 mpg.  Great mileage!

We stopped for an ice cream cone in Shaniko and by the time we got to Biggs it was a little after five and was raining lightly.  Mo spent $22.for the full hookup site at Maryhill State Park and we settled in and then went for a walk along the river.

Quiet evening cooking dinner of rice and polish sausages, cole slaw, and boxed Chardonnay while we played cards.  Sleeping in the rain till after 8AM the next morning.  We spent a lazy morning, had a good breakfast of polish sausages, eggs, and potatoes, took a walk around the campground, visiting with MoHo admirers and then drove up to the Maryhill museum. 

It was a great museum with lots of art, gardens and peacocks, even a white one.

We drove on to Wenatchee via Highway 97, with a hot dog lunch at the rest area north of Yakima.  Pulled into Wenatchee at 4:15 or so.  Gas in Quincy was $2.45 PG and we got 12.6 MPG!

Deanna and Keith met us at their old house and we dug plants, then we went to see the new spec house.  The downtown building “legacy Square”, and then visited over Mexican dinner at Casa Mia’s, their treat.  Home to sleep out in the apartment parking lot.

The alarm went off at 5 and we left at 5:35 AM to Albany via Highway 97 over Blewitt Pass.  I-90 to 18 and Augurn where we got gas and ate a McDonald’s breakfast, then down I-5 through Portland to Melody’s theater.

We parked in the back lot to change and eat and visit with Deb and her friend Shannon.  Deb is doing a little bit better after her recent surgery.

We had great fun at the play “Rocky Horror” with Melody as Columbia.  Afterward home to Melody’s house for more visiting and a chicken dinner cooked by Kevin.

Gas in Albany was $2.39 PG and we were getting 10 mpg.  We left at 8am via i-5, Highway 58, and Highway 97.  We had lunch at Mollie’s Cafe and were home to my house by 2PM in the afternoon.

04-09-2005 Maiden Trip to Lost Lake

Transcribed from the old leather journal on June 14, 2018

We left Mo’s house around 1PM, driving over Highway 140 to the Butte Falls Road #321.  There still was snow over the pass, but it thinned out before we got too far.

We took Road 992 to Prospect then up 62 to Union Creek, but all the campgrounds were still closed for the season.

We stopped for a BLT lunch at the Union Creek Campground and then headed back toward Medford.  We found a really nice state park with electric hookups for only $12. per night  at Joseph H Stewart Recreation Area and Campground and settled in.  Mo has a spider bite and Sue has a sore throat, so we are a pretty low key pair.  We had a glass of wine while we relaxed before our evening stroll.  What a way to live!

Stewart State Park was great.  Lovely campsites with electricity, nice trails to walk, lots of space between sites.  We slept well for more than 10 hours!  It was nice to turn the furnace on in the morning to take off the chill.  We drove down to Applegate Lake but there wasn’t much there to see.

Gas was $2.49 , we drove 222.5 miles total, and our mileage was 11.35 mpg.