5/23/09 - Houston, TX


We are on our way to the Dakotas via California. We'll be attending a memorial service for Dr. David Neill in Orinda, CA next Saturday. David was my best friend and the best man at our wedding. We don't plan on updating this blog every single day like we did the last two big trips -- it's just too big a PITA. But check here every so often to keep up with our adventures.

5/24/09 & 5/25/09 - Segovia, TX & Bowie, AZ



We got a late start leaving Houston on Sunday. We left around 3:00 PM and made it as far as Segovia, Texas near Junction. We spent the night at a minimal RV park for only $5.00 -- the electricity was inoperable. The site did include water and sewer which we didn't use. We got by on our LED lights which consume very little battery power and our on-board water. On Monday we drove 643 miles to Bowie, Arizona. We drove straight through and only stopped for gas. We arrived at another crappy RV park just at sunset -- at least it had full hookups.

5/26/09 - Quartzite, AZ



We got up and took showers in our bathroom -- this is only the third time we have used our trailer shower. We drove to the nearby Fort Bowie National Historic Site. This was the fort used by the U.S. Army to subdue Geronimo and the Apaches. Then we drove to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument between Tucson and Phoenix. It is one of the largest prehistoric structures ever built in North America. It was built around 1350 by the Hohokam indians. We drove on to Quartzsite, Arizona and checked into an RV park. This area is very popular with RVers in the winter, but it is pretty deserted in the hot summer months.

5/27/09 - Mojave, CA





We left Quartzsite and drove north to Lake Havasu City, AZ. We stopped at two brewpubs (Mudshark Brewing and Brothers Brewing) and had samplers of their beers. Brothers Brewing was right next to the London Bridge of childrens' song fame. The bridge was literally falling down in London and it was moved piece by piece to Arizona in 1968. We left and drove through the Mojave Desert and visited the Hole in the Wall visitors center at the Mojave National Preserve. Then we continued on and checked into an RV park in Mojave, CA.

5/28/09 - Orinda, CA


We left Mojave and drove straight through to Orinda, CA. We parked the trailer in Lorna Neill's driveway.

5/29/09 - Orinda, CA



We got up and went to the local 24 hour fitness to work out. Then we hung around with Lorna Neill and Melynda Dove (David Neill's daughter). They worked on a collage of pictures of David for the memorial service. We also saw a wild turkey in Lorna's back yard.

5/30/09 - Orinda, CA


We attended the memorial service for Dr. David Neill at the Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church. Eulogies were delivered by Lorna, David and Lorna's daughters Melynda and Karen, his sister Elizabeth, and me (Jim). After the memorial service there was a reception in the adjoining Fellowship Hall where they had a Powerpoint slide show of David's pictures. We went back to Lorna's to change clothes and then went to the El Charro Mexican restaurant in Lafayette to have dinner. In the picture from left to right are Carolyn, Jim, Lorna, Melynda, Raymond (Melynda's husband), Elizabeth, Karen, James (Karen's fiance) and Dennis (Elizabeth's husband).

5/31/09 - Orinda, CA




We got up late today. Jim made pancakes for us. Then Lorna took Karen and James to the airport to fly back to Seattle. Then Jim, Carolyn and Dennis went hiking around Lafayette Reservoir, a beautiful park near Orinda. Note Mount Diablo in the background. After we returned Melynda drove Raymond to the airport so he could go back to work in Hawaii. For dinner we ordered pizza. Tomorrow we will head out to the South Lake Tahoe area.

6/1/09 - El Dorado National Forest, CA





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We left Lorna’s house and drove west to the Sierra Nevada mountains. There was still a lot of snow in the mountains. In looking for a campsite we went down a road that was snowed over and impassable. We had to back the trailer up until we could turn it around. We ended up camping at the Forest Service Caples Lake campground (much of which was closed). There was no water available (nor electricity, for that matter). We didn’t have any water in our tank because we didn’t want to haul all that weight 8,000 feet up into the mountains.

6/2/09 - Lake Tahoe, CA




We left Caples Lake and drove to South Lake Tahoe through some beautiful country. We set up camp at the Forest Service Falling Leaf Lake Campground. This one had water so we filled up our tank. The weather alternated between sun, rain, and hail all day and the temperature was in the low 50s. While it was raining we went to a local brewpub, Lake Tahoe Brewing. Carolyn was getting a sore throat so she stayed in the trailer while I went on a short hike during one of the brief sunny periods.

6/3/09 - Lake Tahoe, CA





We drove on scenic U.S. 89 and stopped at the Inspiration Point Vista overlooking Emerald Bay, part of Lake Tahoe. The only island in the lake is there. Then we went on a hike to Eagle Lake. This is one of the places David Neill and I camped at about 30 years ago. We had a picnic lunch (Hurricane Ike MRE’s) at Baldwin Beach on Lake Tahoe. Then we walked through the Tallac Historical site. It contained the rustic estates of three upper crust families who summered there during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

6/4/09 - Lake Tahoe, CA






We got up late because I (Carolyn) felt horrible. We had planned on going on a 5 mile hike to one of the mountain lakes, but I was so stopped up I could hardly breathe. We went to the library and updated the blog using their wifi connection. Then we went to the Bi-Rite Pharmacy and got me some sinus medicine. We went to the Forest Service Visitor Center and did a small hike there that had an underground walkway beside the river to see the fish (trout). After that we went on a ½ mile hike to Fallen Leaf Lake.

6/5/2009 - Austin, NV






We left South Lake Tahoe and drove east on Hwy 50 (known as the Loneliest Road in America). We stopped at a tree. It was very strange. There it was in the middle of nowhere and it had hundreds of shoes hanging on it. Some had fallen off to the ground below and it looked like foliage under the tree. Jim printed off a list of cheap places to stay along the way and one of them is where we are tonight. Totally FREE! It is a Forest Service campground about 6 miles east of Austin, Nevada on Hwy 50. It is very well maintained. The elevations here is 7,500 feet. It has no hookups, but it has water spigots and flush toilets (not pit toilets.) It has a very beautiful setting and we are by ourselves. A lady came through and said she stayed last night and the camp was full.

6/6/09 - Sacramento Pass Recreation Area, NV





We continued east on highway 50 (the loneliest road in America) and stopped off at the Hickison Petroglyph Recreation Area. We hiked a short trail which led to a few petroglyphs (symbols and pictures scratched on the rocks by ancient Indians). As petroglyphs go, these were pretty weak. There was as much modern graffitti as there were petroglyphs. This place has another free campground that would be worth staying at. We continued on to the town of Ely, NV. We went to the Family Dollar and bought a cheap ($6) hideous faux Indian blanket. We nearly froze to death last night with only one blanket and a bedspread. We gassed up and refilled our water tank and continued on toward Great Basin National Park. As we approached the park it began to rain. We found a free BLM campground at Sacramento Pass (above 7,000 feet elevation) and set up the trailer. We got the last camping spot.

6/7/09 - Great Basin National Park, NV








We drove from Sacramento Pass to Great Basin National Park. We unhooked the Casita at Lower Lehman Creek Campground. The creek runs alongside our site. There is no entry fee for this park and camping only cost us $6.00 per night. No hookups but, they do supply fresh water and a dump station. They have pit toilets in the campgrounds. We drove the road up to Wheeler Peak and stopped to hike a 1/3 mile trail to the Osceola Ditch. It is an 18 mile ditch that was dug to divert water from Lehman Creek for use in mining gold in the 1800’s.

6/8/09 - Great Basin National Park







We got up and drove to Wheeler Peak Trailhead to hike the Alpine Lake Loop Trail. This trail took us past two pretty lakes, Stella Lake and Teresa Lake. The trail started out at 10,000 ft. and gained 400 ft. in altitude. It was 4 miles round trip. In many places the trail was covered by snow and the only way to find the trail was to look for footprints in the snow. Between Stella and Teresa Lakes, the weather took a turn and it started to sleet and snow on us. It took us 2 hours 10 minutes to hike it. In the afternoon we took a tour through Lehman Caves inside the park. As caves go, this one was pretty good.