Rock Climbing At Lake Tahoe

Here I am climbing a rock to get a better view of the lake.

Rock Falling

OOOPS!!! It was slippery! Good thing I am stuffed with fluff. I am OK and I did finally get a good look at the lake.

Lake Tahoe

This is Pamm and her Dad at Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe.

Garden Railroad

Pamm has finally had a chance to edit more pictures. These are some from Earl's (Pamm's Dad) Garden Railroad.

Heading South

Wednesday January 17: We left Yosemite headed south to see our friends the Bartletts in Port Hueneme, CA, then on to Hemet to see Pamm’s Mom and Don. Unfortunately our plans had to change. We were finally able to get things worked out for Pamm’s infusion the end of the week. Then as we were traveling down Highway 99 towards Bakersfield, the highway warning signs were saying that I5 was closed across the grapevine due to snow. Can you believe it?! Almost no snow in the Sierras, but it is snowing in Malibu!!! We had to forgo our visit to the Bartletts for now and headed east by way of Edwards Air Force Base. Just past the base on highway 395 our truck started acting up. It was making grinding noises, then began to smoke. We ended up pulled of the side of a narrow stretch of 2 lane highway with trucks flying by. By the time the tow truck got to us, towed us many miles to the south to Fontana it was after midnight. He towed us to a Ford dealership parking lot where we spent the night. In the morning the dealership got right on the job fixing the truck (I don’t think they wanted a 36 foot trailer sitting in their lot another night). The turbo on the engine had fallen apart. Fortunately it was covered under warranty. We were on our way by 4:30 (just in time for that famous Southern California rush hour gridlock! We arrived in Hemet about 7:30 and set up at Dick and Cathy Morton’s house. They are Don’s brother and sister-in-law. They have been so nice to us and made us feel at home right away. Since then we have been having a wonderful time visiting family. Pamm finally got her infusion thanks to much hard work on the part of our friend Randi and John (from Corona) from Option Care. (Thank you so much for all your hard work!) We plan to mostly visit family this next week, then head east by the end of the month.

More Yosemite

This one is for you, Scott!

Yosemite

Monday, January 15, 2007: We left Sacramento to head for the Sierras. We stayed the next two nights in a little RV park in Greeley Hill, CA. On Tuesday we drove to Yosemite. Jan and Pamm got me a new friend called Smokey the Bear. We had fun looking at all the beautiful places on the way to Yosemite Village. We stopped to play in the snow. We found a discarded old snowboard and I had a great time sledding ( and crashing!). I also tried to build a snowman. This is the best time to travel. We had most of the roads and pullouts to ourselves. There was very little snow, only a little spot on the roadside that had about a foot of snow, just enough to have fun with. The rest of the area was dry and bare. We didn’t care too much for the village at Yosemite, but the hiking trails are awesome. If you have never been there, you definitely should go. Yosemite is in a very deep, narrow valley, with towering cliffs on all sides. I have seen many pictures of the place, but they cannot possibly convey the tremendous beauty and awe of this place! We entered the valley from the high road along the tops of the cliffs and then drove out by way of the valley floor along the river. There were frozen waterfalls, and frozen parts of the river. Again there were barely any other cars on the road. It is hard to believe that we could have this place almost completely to ourselves.

Aunt Sherry and Uncle Jerry

While in Sacramento, we went to visit Pamm’s Aunt Sherry and Uncle Jerry. We all had such a good time! We got to see Pamm’s cousin, Keith and his children Jordan and Krisstina. I also made a new friend, Everything Bear. We had a great time having cookies with Aunt Sherry and Krisstina and Jordan. Aunt Sherry and Uncle Jerry have a room that is devoted to their miniatures hobby. They have so many neat displays. Pamm’s favorite is the baby’s room (big surprise there!) I was sad to leave my new friends. I showed them on the map where we are going next and they said they would follow our adventures. (Hi Everything Bear!). Pictured here are "Family" Aunt Sherry, Uncle Jerry, Pamm, Krisstina, Jordan, and Keith; Everything bear, his pink bear friend, and me looking at the map; Aunt Sherry, Krisstina, Everything and me having cookies; and mini rooms.

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated my blog. We have been having so much fun, I haven’t gotten to catch up on my writing.

Some of you have complained that I did not post any pictures of me on the trains at the Sacramento Train Museum, so I am posting a couple now. I am on the front of one of the trains. Can you find me? The man with Jan is Pamm's dad Earl.

Train Museum

These are some of the friends I met at the Sacramento Train Museum.

Here we are at Myers Flats, California. I found a great tree house that had a perfect place for a nap!

California Redwoods

This is a sample of how big the trees are in the Redwoods. I stood in front of one, too, but I was too small to see in the picture.

Battery Point Lighthouse

This is the Battery Point Lighthouse in Crescent City, California.

Here I am at Harris Beach State Park in Southern Oregon. We had a nice morning coffee break on an overlook. The hike made me so tired I had to find a place for a little nap.

Jan and Pamm took a class at a glass blower’s shop and each made a glass float.

We also got a chance to tour some of the other lighthouses on the Oregon coast; Yaquina Head lighthouse is just 4 miles north of the Yaquina Bay Light and Umpqua River Lighthouse 77 miles to the south.

After a month on the coast it was time to say goodbye to all of our new friends in Newport and move on down the coast. We headed south on 101 towards California. We stayed one night at Harris Beach State park just north of the California border. What a beautiful place to stay. We took our coffee and had a nice walk to the beach in the morning and then headed south again.

Our next stop was at Kamp Klamath on the Klamath River in the redwood forests of northern Calfornia. Our camp was on the river near where it enters the Pacific Ocean. It was the first time in our travels, however, that we didn’t fall asleep to the roar of the ocean. (it was just over the hill) Pamm and Jan miss it, but I can sleep anywhere!. From our location we were able to see a good part of the Redwoods. We first went north to Crescent City. There is a great history museum there. When we went in to the museum, Jan and Pamm were talking with the caretaker about the local lighthouses. They told her about lighthouse volunteering in Oregon and she immediately asked if we would be interested in hosting at their lighthouse (Battery Point Light). We were invited to go out to talk with the keepers living at the lighthouse. It was raining and the lighthouse is only accessible at low tide and by climbing over a huge pile of driftwood, so I was not allowed to go. But Jan and Pamm had a great time visiting with keepers Randy and Sally and touring the light. They have signed on to host there in August.

The next day in the Redwoods took us south into the park. Jan and Pamm went on a hike into the Lady Bird Johnson Redwood Grove. It was breathtaking! When they started the hike it was raining, but it soon turned to snow. They had the entire grove to themselves. (I stayed behind because it was too cold and rainy for me.) There is a valley in the park that is a preserve for elk. They stand around on the side of the road posing for pictures. We saw a herd of 6 males, and then later a herd of 8 – 10 females. I guess the boys and girls don’t get along this time of year.

We decided to pull out of Klamath a day early. Our second day there, a landslide cut off our exit from the park. They were able to clear it that day, but as it was still raining quite a bit, we didn’t want to chance getting stuck there by another slide.

We made it to the Avenue of the Giants for our next stay. We found a nice little camp in the little town of Redcrest. We are quite accustomed to seeing very large tree in Washington, but these were really amazing! We felt so small nestled in the groves of giant redwoods.

As we continued the next day south, we came across the little town of Myers Flat. Of course we had to stop to get our picture taken. Most of the town was closed down for the season, but there was a little tourist trap of redwood novelties (drive thru tree, treehouses) that we were able to explore. I found some great napping spots! We also met 2 local women whose mother was from the Myers family that named the town, as well as the local lumber mill.

We arrived in Sacramento on Friday, January 5^th. We are now staying at the Cal Expo RV park. It is the first time we have stayed somewhere without trees! It is fun, though, because we are parked right over the fence from the horse racing track. We can watch the Harness Races from our bedroom window. What a fun treat that is. We are here visiting with Pamm’s dad and his wife Jody. Yesterday we went into Old Town Sacramento to the train museum. It was exciting to see so many cool trains. We met some very nice people, too. The ladies really liked to give me hugs. It was nice! I am pictured here with some of the people we met there.

Monday, January 8^th , Jan and Pamm went to Pamm’s dad’s (Earl) to play with the trains in his back yard. Pamm’s Aunt Sherry and Uncle Jerry were also there. Can you believe they went and did something that fun and forgot to take me!!!? They did take a lot of pictures though so I can at least share in the fun. The train layout is amazing. It is called a garden railroad, the tracks covering nearly the entire back yard, even running along the side of the house. Many of the engines use live steam to run, with sounds (and hot steam) to add to the realism. Pamm’s Dad and Uncle built the engines themselves (not from kits).

Tuesday, January 9^th, Earl and Jody took us (yes, I did get to go!) for a drive up to Lake Tahoe on the California/Nevada border. We drove all the way around the lake, stopping at some beautiful overlooks, as well as in the cities of Carson City and Reno. It was so much fun to go with Earl, as he had many stories to tell of his growing up in the area. I tried to do a little rock climbing to get a better view of the lake, but it was very slippery. Fortunately, I landed on a soft spot and wasn’t hurt. There was snow on the ground, but not enough to make the roads bad.

Introduction

Hi! My name is JB Bear. This is the story of my travels with my friends Jan and Pamm. We are traveling around the United States ( and maybe some of Canada, too) in a 36 foot 5^th wheel trailer. We began our journey on December 5 , 2006 from Port Orchard, WA. Our first stop was a long one, but what fun! We got to be lighthouse keepers at Yaquina Bay Lighthouse in Newport, Oregon. We stayed at South Beach State Park. I am posting some pictures of us at the lighthouse, as well as our campsite. When we were not working, we enjoyed walking on the beach, taking drives to explore to coast, and playing tourists. There is a very nice aquarium in Newport. We had fun watching the seabirds, seals, and sea otters. After a nice lunch in the café, I found a cozy nook in one of the caves near the sea otters to take a nice nap