October

We approached October brimming with excitement.  David was finally ready to travel and I had a severe case of cabin fever.  So armed with a voucher for a free (almost free) week somewhere in the US we started looking for a place to go.  Unfortunately, the voucher was on the verge of expiring so choices were limited.  

We chose Las Vegas.  It was on the way to Colorado – our ultimate destination – and an easy stop.  We reserved our week, booked tickets for Wizard of Oz at The Sphere and Penn & Teller at The Rio, notified our daughter of our estimated date of arrival in Colorado, found a spot to spend our first night via iOverlander, and packed the van.

We left Eugene on October 3rd.  This would give us two days to reach our scheduled check-in date of October 5th at Tahiti Village Resort in Las Vegas.

Our first stop, once we got to eastern Oregon, was Klamath Falls. We needed lunch and to stretch our legs. The town of Klamath Falls is in south eastern Oregon at the south end of massive Upper Lake Klamath and north of the head waters of The Klamath River. Although we didn’t spend much time here I was impressed by the abundance of outdoor art. I took so many photos, but chose only a few to show you. You’ll have to see it for yourself someday.

On our way over to the east side of Oregon I told David I was still hearing and feeling a rhythmic thumping in the van.  It wasn’t too bad until we started driving I-97 and it got really bad the further south we drove.  By the time we reached the Diamond Mountain Casino in Susanville, CA it was feeling like I was sitting on top of the washing machine during the spin cycle. We sat in the smokey bar and had dinner and beer while we watched the NWBA game between the Aces and the Mercury. ( We were pulling for the Mercury since there is a former Oregon Duck on the team.) 

We vowed that our first stop in Las Vegas would be a Ram dealership. But first, Tonopah, Nevada for our second night on the road. 

David found a star gazing park online located in Tonopah, Nevada. Tonopah is located southeast of Lake Tahoe at the southern edge of the Humbolt Toiyabe Forest.  At 4,332 feet the park is at a pretty high elevation for us valley dwellers; but offered a gradual way to adapt to the extreme elevations of the Rockies.

Our plan was to join the other star gazers and attempt some night photography.  I had even watched a couple of YouTubes on the subject and taken notes.  After stopping for groceries we followed the GPS to Clara Blackburn Star Gazing Park.  

You know how you look at a place online and you get all excited about getting there and fulfilling a dream,and then you arrive and find the online image was kind of distorted.  So it was with Clara Blackburn Star Gazing Park.  The actual fence-in park with tables one could put their tripod on was about the same size as our 1,388 sq ft home – maybe smaller – and it was empty of any people and it was locked.  To top it off, October 4 was the night of a gigantic, super moon.  Needless to say, my first attempt at night photography failed.

Humbled by that gorgeous super moon we backtracked to the west side of town and spent the night at Love’s.

The next day was the last leg to Las Vegas.  It was a good thing too.  The shaking of the van had reached an almost intolerable intensity.  

First we detoured at Silver Springs, Nevada.  Just a few miles south of here is Fort Churchill State Park.  We just happened to arrive on the Grand Re-Opening of the park following storm repair, so no fees.

Fort Churchill was not only a former army outpost but also a Pony Express way station, a re-enactment we were treated to before we moved on. There were several booths set up with historic information on the Fort and its function during the 19th century.  Several of these people were dressed in period costume and all were very knowledgeable in the day to day life of the period.  We probably spent a couple of hours at the Fort just walking through the ruins and listening to these people who knew so much.  One of my favorites was Rebecca Van Sickle.  This young woman knew every detail of the life of a 19th century housewife she may have lived as one n a former life.  For instance; I now know what a chatelaine is.  Rebecca is wearing one on her belt.  Rebecca shared her email address with me if you would like more information: hearth.and.sickle@gmail.com.

To make life more interesting, I noticed David had taken his glasses off and was fumbling for a pair of sunglasses in the compartment under the steering wheel.  (David never pulls over in these situations).  When I asked what the heck (my grandson might read this so it’s pg) he was doing he said his lens had just fallen into his lap.  He gave the glasses to me to pop the lens back in and I discovered the glasses had broken at the nose piece.  Something else we would need to take care of in Las Vegas before we could let fun begin.

The following morning we searched online for a Les Schwab since David was convinced the van’s problem was tire related.  Well there are no Les Schwab in Las Vegas or anywhere else in Nevada.  So once again David and I found ourselves at a Ram dealership.  As soon as one of their older employees came out he pinpointed the problem – from ten feet away.  The left rear tire was separating.  Not sure how we made it from Eugene to Las Vegas without the tire blowing. 

The next morning Jesus called to let us know the tires were in.  After an hour or so we left with two new tires and were on our way to Hoover Dam.

This was not our first trip to Las Vegas but, we had never explored the area outside the city so took the opportunity of not having a set schedule to see Hoover Dam.  

This is a huge engineering feat full of history as is evident from the original art work in the form of architecture and tile and marble work.  At the same time it’s smaller than we expected.

Due to the ongoing drought the west has been enduring for several years, the water level of the Colorado River is very low as one can see in the photos I took. 

This was Wizard of Oz day.  I was a bit skeptical.  I mean, this was a lot of money!  I was not disappointed.  In fact I was pleasantly surprised, once we finally found the theater, stood on line, and found our seats.  The search for The Sphere was interesting and included lots of walking. My advice: Uber. 

I’m not going to say much about the Wizard of Oz since everyone who has been has either shared video or detailed descriptions online.  I’m so glad I didn’t see much before I went.

After the show we ate at  Surgarcane in the Venetian.  The food and the service were delightful.  When my husband pulled out his yellow debit card with the big green O on it our server got very excited.  He was so grateful to the U of O for Bo Nix.  Apparently this young man is a huge Denver Broncos fan.

Penn & Teller night. That meant a lazy morning and another trip to the Lazy River.  Great way to start the day.  We spent the rest of the day being lazy and storing up energy for the evening.

After the previous night’s experience we Ubered to the Rio for Penn & Teller.  I know we ate dinner at the Rio but, honestly I don’t remember the meal.  I’m sure it was great.  

Penn & Teller had just returned from their 50th Anniversary show in London.  And that was the show we saw.  They are incredible performers.  Objects were flying out into the audience.  People were desperately trying to catch them.  Although we didn’t catch anything I did get bonked in the head with a giant yellow die.  David saw them at WSU when he was in college in the 70’s. This was probably the highlight of Las Vegas for him.

After four days of beautiful weather we woke to rain.  This is not a problem for us but it is for Las Vegas.  The streets do not drain well or quickly.  When we pulled up to the Pinball Museum the parking lot resembled a small lake.  We hopped from curb to curb in the rain to the door.  
The Pinball Museum is amazing.  Located in a very large hangar-like metal building there are all kinds of pinball machines with a few old video games in the mix.  There are pinball machines so old they have no flippers.  The coolest thing about this place is that all the money you spend goes to charities.

Breakfast was at The Little Wonder Cafe in Richfield, thanks to my good buddy Angi for the recommendation.  It was very cute.  On the wall above the table were wood signs indicating which famous person sat in that booth. 

On the road again and the terrain was once again changing as we entered the Rocky Mountains. 

One stop of note here was at a rest stop called Grizzly Creek.  It was right below I – 70.  I say below because this section of I – 70 is actually an elevated road.  It’s long and impressive. 

At Grizzly Creek I was taking photos of the trees and creek when I noticed a couple just putting their fishing poles into the water.  Within a few minutes the man was excitedly calling to his companion.  She rushed over with a net and helped him pull a good sized trout from the creek.  They noticed me taking pictures.  When I asked if it was alright for me to be shooting them they were happy to oblige with a pose.  This was my introduction to Jackson.  After exchanging contact information I agreed to send him the photos.  Once I got home and figured out the tech I sent him the digital copy so he could send it to his mom.

Gotta tell ya; there is no feeling like the one when your grandsons greet you on the lawn with a big  hug from the seven year old and “Grandma! I really missed you!” from the four year old.

It had been a year almost to the day since we’d been here. 

We spent the next seven days playing games, working puzzles, and just hanging out with our daughter, son-in-law, and the boys.

Then, sadly we were on the road again with promises to come back at Christmas.  

On our way through Wyoming we stopped in Rawlins for fuel for us and the van.  

Lunch that day was courtesy of Pinchi’s Tacos.  If you blink on your way into Rawlins you will miss it – and you don’t want to miss it.  Our intention was to have one taco each.  You know what they say about best intentions.  Once we tasted the green chili sauce we had to have a burrito.  Needless to say we were over full when we left.

The following morning we were off to Idaho to visit my brother and his wife.

Traffic along I – 80 was pretty heavy due to a lot of construction.  About an hour or so east of Boise the construction dissipated but we were getting into rush “hour” traffic so there was a lot of jockeying for that perfect spot.  During all this jockeying a rental truck had been shifting lanes with very little room shifted in front of us, also with very little room. The next thing we know there was a large pop sound.  A rock hit the left edge of our windshield and it was spreading fast. 

A few inches to the right and higher and it would have hit David.

I got on my phone with the insurance company who helped me set up an appointment to have it replaced in Nampa the next day.

Friday while my brother and my husband took the van for the new windshield, my sister-in-law took me to one of her favorite quilting stores.  After making 4 quilts for 4 grandsons I learned that I am not a quilter.  I definitely do not enjoy quilting.  Embroidery is my thing. However, I can get lost in a good fabric store regardless of size.  This was heaven. 

I think I’ve mentioned before that I hate cooking.  As it happens I am the only adult in two families that does not cook.  (I do not include my brother-in-law, Kevin.  He bar-b-ques.)  I am fortunate that all the cooks in the families do it well and my brother and his wife are no exceptions.  We enjoyed wonderful meals at my brother’s house.

Saturday my brother took us up into the Bitterroot Mountains.  His goal was to get me up into higher elevations for photography.  Although the weather was not very cooperative I did get some nice shots.  I appreciated his efforts.

It was time to head for Oregon, about 30 minutes from my brother’s house.

I made David promise before we left Eugene  there would be no 7 hour drives on this trip.  So he agreed we would stop in Bend for the night before driving to Eugene.

We had made Harvest Hosts reservations at Bridge 99 Brewery.  This place is on the north end of Bend and a bit difficult to find mainly because you keep telling yourself it couldn’t possibly be where GPS is telling you it is.  It really is there and most definitely worth the effort.  Laura and Eric were friendly, gracious hosts. Great pizza. Great beer.  And David has made both so if we say it’s good; believe us.

We had a very quiet night and pulled out the next morning as the brewing crew arrived.

We had a 2.5 hour drive home and were really in no hurry, so we stopped in Sisters.  We don’t usually stop here because of the tourist crowd.  Wouldn’t you know the one time we did want to stop we passed it and had to turn around on the highway and go back.  The DOT had routed through traffic around the town.  Surprise!

Lunch was leftover pizza in the van.  After lunch we browsed a bit looking for a birthday present for Buddy Angi. Then it was time to head for the barn.  

I know this blog was long, but we really packed a lot into 24 days.  I hope you found something that interested you enough to want to explore yourself.  I really hope you enjoy the photos.