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Posts from the ‘Animals’ Category

Sep 7

Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail

It was another hot one here in Ashland today.  Consequently, I was inside the Airstream most of the day.  While comfortable in the confines of air conditioning, by the time my work day ended, I was more than ready to get myself outside and into a change of scenery.

At Kelly’s suggestion, we decided to explore a nearby trailhead and see where it would lead.  Unbeknownst to us, the expansive Pacific Crest Trail sat quietly just down the road from where we’ve been parked these past few days.  The PCT proved to be just perfect – it was close, was not too steep, and afforded us lots of tree cover to block any direct sun.

To my surprise, the trail itself was exceptionally well marked.  We covered only a few miles, but we must have passed a dozen trail markers.  The trail is maintained primarily by the US Forest Service and I’d be curious to know if the entire  system is so well marked.

One of many trail markers

We had a nice walk and per usual, Lilly was out front the entire time.

Lilly, always ready to keep moving

All in all, a great walk.  We arrived back to the Airstream just in time to capture a nice sunset and enjoy a late dinner.

Tomorrow we begin the trip back to Half Moon Bay.

The Airstream

The Airstream

Sep 3

Evening Walk

After dinner Kelly, Lilly, and I all went for a walk.  The area around our RV park is pretty rural; there are lots of farms surrounding us.

I saw the barn below and really liked it.  The home I grew up in is a former farmhouse and while the crop fields had long since been turned into the neighborhood I was raised, the barn itself remained.  For us, it was our garage.  I’ve always liked barns, maybe because I had one as a kid.

A bit further down the road, but still within the same farm, I stumbled upon these two beauties.  Moo.

Sep 3

Exploring Ashland

Once again Kelly and I were in no rush to get ourselves ready today – it is a holiday after all.  Lilly was the first to get started this morning and was anxious to get outside.  After a quick walk we did a bit of laundry while we ate breakfast.

We have only booked two nights at our current location and Kelly suggested that we move to a state park just down the road.  After a bit of reconnaissance to check out the state park, we made our way into downtown.  As mentioned yesterday, I was keen to get myself some decent coffee – especially a nice shot of espresso.  Thank goodness Noble Coffee Roasters was open today.

Kelly and I each had a drink (actually, I had two) and pastry.  Everything was delicious.

Once we finished fooling around with coffee, it was time to venture into the foothills surrounding Ashland.  There are a plethora of trails to choose from in the area and we opted for something relatively close and with plenty of shade.  The hike was nothing too strenuous, but it’s always nice to walk trails and in this case, Lilly decided this particular hike was all about exploring the adjoining stream.

Sometimes Lilly has no interest in water, sometimes she does.  Today she wanted play in the water.

After a few hours in the trails, it was time for a late lunch.  One of our preferred eateries is Martolli’s, a downtown pizzeria.  Stopping here was a no brainer.

Kelly and I each had one slice and also shared a salad.  The food is really tasty, but today our salad was made incorrectly (the dressing was not on the side – I hate that), but all in all, good eating as is usually the case here.

The weather is great today which afforded us ample opportunity to enjoy ourselves.  Once we finished lunch, Kelly and I wandered around town a bit more before heading home.

As you can see below, Lilly was also ready for a little late afternoon relaxation.

Sep 2

On the Road Again – Finally

Having spent the past five weeks living full-time in the Airstream, Kelly and I used the Labor Day holiday as an excuse to hit the road and let the Airstream stretch her legs. We’ve been parked for far too long without a trip and were really excited to get away. Of course, we chose Oregon as our initial destination … southern Oregon to be specific. Odds are good we’ll land someplace near Ashland. We’ll see what happens.

For now, we’re parked in a beautiful place – Brandy Creek campground near Whiskeytown, CA. We’re traveling I-5 in order to make decent time. I also wanted to get our truck/airstream combo weighed which essentially limits us to the interstate where semi-truck mega stop are plentiful. Have yet to weigh our set-up, I was anxious to verify whether or not we are loaded with too much stuff. (UPDATE – we were not … in fact, we had lots of room to spare, but our weight distribution needs some refining).

Brandy Creek is a bit out-of-the-way – about ten miles, but the detour was worth it. There are no hooks-ups, which was fine with us because we needed/wanted to test drive our new Yamaha generator. All went well I happy to report.

There were about 30 total sites, of which about half were taken. Of course, the people next to us thought it would be cool to be loud — too loud I thought. Who decides to wait until 10:30pm to set-up tents? Is the 40 foot RV and the monster generator not enough? Good grief.

Apparently – as you can see in the pictures below – the deer were not annoyed. Food is food and the knuckleheads next to us had seemingly unlimited supplies of bread to toss on the ground. The deer seemed quite satisfied.

 

In addition to its namesake creek, there is a great beach and mountain lake, but I forgot to grab my camera, so no pictures.

Tomorrow we’re off to Oregon.

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