Here's our route to date:
Map legend:
A) Parkland, FL K) Mesa Verde, CO T) Arcata, CA
B) Ocala, FL L ) B l u f f , U t ah U) Cottonwood, CA
C) Navarre, FL M) K a n a b , UT V) Ashland, OR
D) Baton Rouge, LA N ) Las Vegas, NV W) Crater Lake, OR
E) Austin, TX O ) Los Angeles, CA X) Crater Of the Moon
F) Llano, TX P) Santa Ynez, CA Y) West Yellowstone, MT
G) Carlsbad Caverns, NM Q) P i s m o B e a c h , C A
H) Sante Fe, NM R) Sacramento, CA
I) Taos, NM S) Napa/Calistoga, CA
J) Pagossa Springs, CO Humboldt Redwood Nat
Forest, CA
After leaving Cottonwood, California we headed north to Ashland, Oregon. Ashland is a beautiful town,
home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Our friend, Donna, lives there and gave us a great tour. There are some fabulous restaurants, great shops, and a magnificent park. There's also skiing, river rafting, trails for biking and lots of mountain lakes for fishing. We just loved it!
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| Jeff, Peter's life long friend, flew down from Seattle to spend several days with us in Ashland. |
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| Jeff with son Ben and girlfriend Tess |
Downtown Ashland
Deciding where to have lunch in a town with such great choices!
Lithia Park downtown Ashland
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| Lithia mineral spring water downtown Ashland Water flows continuously in these fountains. Everyone seems to love the mineral water, but believe me, it's an acquired taste. One small sip was all I could handle! |
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| View from Ashland |
There are free concerts downtown before the theater opens. The two concerts we went to were really excellent.
We just loved Ashland and would love to return some day.
Our next stop was Crater Lake. We went three hours out of our way to see it. Actually, Peter had been there before and wanted me to see it. It was incredible.
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| We parked the RV at one of the visitor centers and drove the Fiat up to the lake. |
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| Peter and I camped on the Rogue River many years ago and I had such incredible memories of the area. It was so, so beautiful. I was excited to visit the area again and was not disappointed. The river seems untouched by civilization, so clean and refreshing. I look forward to returning some day soon to spend even more time there. |
While driving through Idaho I started to notice the landscape getting stranger. It went on for miles and miles and then realized we were in Craters of the Moon National Preserve. Lava flows and volcanic formations were all we could see. I thought it was desolate and ugly and was anxious to get to the other side.
Next stop: Yellowstone National Park
We entered the park at the western entrance. It was so cold! There was actually ice on the roads while driving into West Yellowstone. Yellowstone was cold, rugged and beautiful.
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| Gibbons Falls |
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| Linda took these picture from the Fiat about 15 feet from this big Bison. |
The water here averages 170 degrees year round. The bison come to these waters to warm up during the winters when it can be 30 below zero.
