Great Friends in Portland

We stopped in Portland to get our trailer winterized.  I guess that means that freezing cold weather is coming!!

We had a lovely visit with our friends John, Cheryl, and Marci Rose, which included a fun afternoon of bowling (which we hadn't done on this trip yet).  

Oregon is always beautiful, the trees and moss and mountains are looking more and more like home!!  We were a little concerned about travelling through the Columbia River Gorge at this time of year as it can be quite windy and  icky, but it was all good!   
Just a quick overnight stop in Cour D'Alene and we will be at the cabin and back on Canadian ground!!!

A different kind of scenery

We saw this row of trucks when we pulled into a station to get fuel.  The kids noticed what a neat picture it made, different from more 'natural' settings, but still pleasing to the eye.

We have seen more than our share of trucks on this journey, and now have a much greater appreciation for the job they do, and the hours they spend on the road.

So this is our tribute photo to truckers!!

Mount Shasta

Just visualize this rainbow as being a whole lot brighter in real life and you can imagine what a great view this was!!!  The scenery through this mountain range was pretty spectacular, and reminds us of home!

Colours of Malibu

Our trailer was sitting up high on the cliff above the coast, which gave us amazing views of sunrisees and sunsets.  I couldn't have dreamed of a better spot!!  The flowers in the campground were amazing as well!  Oh what a gardener could do with so much sunshine and warm weather.

It is really hard for us not to book another few days at this campground, but we have to head north.  There is some tricky weather in the forecast and we are trying to stay ahead of it!!

We are heading up the I-5 to Portland where we will get our trailer winterized, and then on the the final stretch for home!

Desert Hot Springs

Here are some more photos out of order, from our beautiful campround at Desert Hot Springs, which is right above Palm Springs.  We spent a lot of time at the pool, swimming and relaxing, trying to store up some warmth for when we get home.  This was a great spot to soak up some sunshine and do some reading!!

Oops, this one is out of order

I must have been tired when I did that last blog

because I forgot some stuff!!

Throughout the desert, the early native tribes settled in areas where they could get water.  These pockets with underground water produced plants,  birds dropped seeds, and eventually an oasis was born!

Our adventure today involved a dune buggy ride.  We could have driven through the wind turbines (where they filmed the helicopter scene from Mission Impossible) , and that would have been really cool, but we chose instead to go experience a real life oasis.

The dune buggy trip down the highway and through the desert and dry riverbed was awesome!  Then we had a 20 minute hike up the 

hills to get to the grove of palm trees.  There was 

a slow spring seeping up into a small cave. The 

trees were black and scarred from a fire that 

swept through the area 5 years ago.

From this distance up the hills we could see for

miles across the valley.  It was quiet and serene, 

and it really felt like an oasis in the desert!

As we looked across the valley floor is was easy to imagine ourselves as travellers, finding life in the arid desert, or as Spanish bandits waiting for caravans to rob - there is much sustenance for the imagination here! 

Sean is now convinced that we need a Dune Buggy for our own personal use, so I guess he will have to start saving his allowance!

Yet another amazing ocean view

This is the view out of our bedroom window today!  We are staying at the Malibu Beach RV Park which is nestled in the hills above the Pacific Coast Highway.

   We have canoed in Algonquin Park and played on Samuel Champlain's beach during an amazing sunset in the Great Lakes.

   We have stood on the Northern tip of Newfoundland, wrapped up in our warmest gear as the wind blew us sideways and salt water from the Atlantic sprayed in our face.  

   We have sailed on a ship off the coast of New Brunswick  and watched whales swim under the boat.

   We have gazed up on the Statue of Liberty 

from the deck of a ferry in New York City.

   We have ridden through the waves outside of 

Savannah, Georgia, watching the dolphins play.
   We have cruised through the Carribbean, gone snuba diving in the ocean off Honduras, and rafted down a river in Belize.

   We have caught fish off the dock in Islamorada, in the Florida Keys.

   We have sat on a snow white beach on the Emerald Coast on the Gulf of Mexico.

   And now we relax for a moment, and watch the sun rise and set over the Pacific Ocean as we are about to start the last leg of our amazing adventure.