Capilano Suspension Bridge

Today we went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge.  It was a very enjoyable day walking on the bridge, the tree top walk and Cliff Walk.












Then we went to Horseshoe Bay to watch the BC Ferries and have lunch. It was a beautiful view.
Tomorrow we visit Stanley Park in Vancouver.

Surrey BC

Back into Canada.

Yesterday we drove to Surrey.  The weather was clear but cool.  It's in the upper 50's.
We have switched over to our Canadian Cell phone so if anyone has to get ahold of us call
that number.
The truck is in getting an oil change and I'm sitting in McDonalds using their WiFii.  We don't have good WI Fii at the campground so I may not update the blog every day.
We'll be here for 3 or 4 days then off to Kitimat.

Mount St. Helens

Today we took a drive up to view Mt. St. Helens.  It was rainy and very cloudy so we couldn't see the mountain. We went to 2 visitor centers and couldn't get to the last one because the road isn't open for the season yet.  We saw a nice video of the event in 1980.   and tried to drive up to where the road is closed but decided to turn around when it was snowing and the temp was falling to below freezing.  I didn't see anyone salting the road and they were very wet and steep.  So I decided it was time to turn around and head back down.  The photo is from the second visitor center looking toward Mt. St. Helens.  The mountain is in the middle of the picture but behind the clouds. (At least that's what we've been told)

Tomorrow we head to Surrey BC.

Lincoln City Oregon

Today we drove to Lincoln City Oregon.  The day started out nice, cool but dry.  The afternoon brought light rain and some fog.  The coast was beautiful, but much of the drive was inland.  The roads had a lot of repair work for rock-slides and sink holes.



Stopped along the way and visited the Sea Lion Cave.  We walked down a path then took an elevator down about 200 feet to the cave.  It was filled with Sea Lions, about 150 laying on the cave floor and swimming. They winter inside the cave then come out in the spring.  After we came back up to the surface we took the trail to the coast and saw many that have come out of the cave and were laying on the rocks.

Fortuna to Crescent City

As we continue to continue our Journey we drove a short distance today from Fortuna to Crescent City.  We passed a heard of Elk just off the highway. They were not afraid of us at all, but were very curious as the trailer passed them.  They were right at the edge of the road as we drove by slowly.






After we arrive at the KOA and got the trailer set up we drove  to a scenic lookout searching for gray whales.  We spotted at least 3 feeding at the mouth of a river.  It was a thrill to watch them. We had lunch and stayed for a couple of hours.
Tomorrow we leave California for Oregon.  The drive up the Oregon coast is supposed to be very beautiful.

San Fransisco - Fortuna

San Fransisco was a bust.  The idea was to go to Fisherman's Warf and Pier 39,  Lesley loves Bubba Gump's coconut shrimp.  We left Patches in the trailer and headed off to San Fran.  We were advised to take the ferry, free parking on this side and we get a boat ride.  Well, we just missed the ferry so had to wait almost an hour for the next one.  We did get a very nice ferry ride to downtown San Fran.  We wanted to go to our bank which had a branch not far from the ferry dock.  It took almost an hour trying to find it.  Then we went to take the old trolly car down to Pier 39.  We waited for a long time with a lot of other people and no trolley.  They must have had some kind of problem.  There goes another 1/2 hour and we were no where near getting lunch.
It was a half hour boat ride there and we would have another 1/2 back.  It took 1/2 hour drive to the dock from the campground, so it would be another 1/2 back.  We were running out of time to get back to Patches. With no trolley in sight we decided to head back.  Once on the ferry we both bought a beer, a bag of Frito's and ate a free sample of humus we got while walking downtown.
Yesterday we drove North on the Redwood highway to Fortuna.  Part of the way we took an alternative route on the "Avenue of Giants". This road goes into a Redwood forest, it was a beautiful  drive.  Today we drove to Ferndale, which is a historical Victorian town then we took a scenic drive along the coast.  It had some white knuckle spots as we climbed and went down some very steep curves.  The road was very narrow and dropped off hundreds of feet just off the pavement.  Sometime the pavement had fallen into the ravine and the road was only 1 lane.  At some points we were at the very peak of the mountain and could see down both sides.  It was some ride, but had some beautiful views.
Tomorrow we head North again.

Yosemite National Park ... Napa Valley

As we continue our Journey we visited Yosemite National Park for the day.  What a great place, from huge waterfalls to the large Sequoia trees that are over 2,000 years old.   Patches had a ball hiking with us but boy did he get dirty.  The snow was melting and the trails were very wet and mucky.  He was a trooper!  We had a couple of people tell us the dog was pulling us up the hill.  He was a real motivator.  Now we are in the Napa Valley.  Tomorrow we go on a wine tour.

Bakersfield California

Sunny California?   We arrived today to temps of 45.  It got to a low of 31 as went went over the mountains.  Lots of snow, thankfully the road was wet  but had no snow.  The winds were still gusty, but sure glad we waited in Vegas for an extra day.  We're only planning on staying here one day but we'll see tomorrow. Heading North, the weather is supposed to warm up tomorrow.  I hope.

Sedona - Laughlin - Las Vegas

Our journey has brought to Las Vegas, we're staying at Sam’s Town RV park.  It’s located on what they call the Boulder Strip.  We were in Sedona for 2 days, the second day we took a drive out in the country.  It was a beautiful ride on a beautiful day.  The drive from Sedona to Laughlin was a white knuckle day.  The road had steep inclines and declines with high gusting winds.  The truck handled the drive better than I did, in the end we stayed in Laughlin for the night.  We stayed in the Riverside Casino RV park, went to the slots and lost a couple of bucks and then went to see the Hunger Games at the theatre.

In the morning we drove north to Las Vegas.  We're at Sam’s Town RV park it's like a very large parking lot, but it does have a nice pool and hot tub.  Last night we went to walk the strip near Treasure Island and Caesars.  The wind was very strong and it was cold, the show at Treasure Island and the Volcano at The Mirage didn’t happen.  It must have been because of the wind. We waited in the cold but no show. The water show at the Bellagia went off on time and it was fantastic.  This afternoon we went to a free Variety Show here at Sam’s Town, it was a great show.  

We are going to stay one more day because of a high wind warning. Then we’re off to California.

As we continue our journey we find ourselves in Sedona.  We drove from San Antonio Texas to Albuquerque New Mexico and spent the night.  We walked around Old Town where we listened to several street musicians. Then off to see the Red Rock of Sedona.  Lesley went to Easter mass today in a church with a fantistic view of the red mountains. It was very busy but well organized.  We went to the top of the hill to watch the sun set, however it was very hazy. the sun didn't cast the beautiful colours on the hills.  We may try again tomorrow if the sky is clear.
I posted some additional photos yesterday and today.  Tomorrow I'll try to post some of Sedona.

San Antonio Texas

We arrived at San Antonio on Sunday night after a day of butterflies--hundreds of them from Brownsville to San Antonio.  Monday we went to the Riverwalk and took a boat cruise around the downtown area on a series of canals (these canals are only 3 feet deep).  What a great idea to revitalize a city.  Then we walked along the river and had lunch at a Mexican Restaurant.  Monday night we went back down and walked along the river to see the lights.  What a great place, very busy both day and night.  We took a bus right from the campground to the river.  Tuesday we went to an IMAX movie of the Alamo then went across the street to visit the Alamo.  
Wed we left and drove to Carlsbad New Mexico.  We saw quite a difference in the scenery, it went from trees and flat to hills and a lot of sand and cactus.  It was a long boring ride but we had an audio book John Grissom's  Confession.  Photos to follow.

Tomorrow we go to see the Carlsbad Caverns.

Brownsville

We spent 3 nights in Brownsville at Winter Haven.  It was a beautiful park with RV sites, park models and even many brick and mortar homes.  Friends from home have a park model in this park.  They helped make our visit even more enjoyable.  They took us to a great bar for Fish and Chips and on a tour of South Padre Island.   Thank you Barb and Glen!
Tonight we are in San Antonio.  Plans are to stay for 3 nights and visit the Alamo, Riverwalk, and enjoy the pool.  The temperature was over 90 today but they are calling for rain tomorrow.