Today we went up over the hill behind the RV Park, through the no hookup campground in Lake Easton State Park, through Easton, and across the freeway to Easton Pond.

Easton Pond is a nice fishing lake on the north side of I-90 between the freeway and the Yakima River.

The photo above is from the lookout at the top of the hill, overlooking Lake Easton. The dam is to the left, just around the edge of the hill, past the orange barrier markers.

View Larger Map

Yakima River near Easton Pond.

Technorati Tags:
Easton, WA, Lake Easton RV Resort, Lake Easton State Park, Yakima River

Tags: Easton WA, RVing, Washington by john
No Comments »

We came to Lake Easton RV Resort yesterday, planning to stay here until June 3. Interesting to note that the park has quite a few long term people in it, working on a some construction projects on I-90. This is going to upset some of the regulars here at the park, but times change, and things change.

Today we went for a walk around the lake.

View Hike around Lake Easton in a larger map

There’s a tunnel on the south side of the lake, where we followed the John Wayne trail. That tunnel is closed due to the risk of falling concrete.

Tags: Hiking, Lake Easton, Motorhomes, RVing by john
No Comments »

View Larger Map

We’ve been in Walla Walla at the Fairway RV Resort for the last couple weeks. It’s a nice place, with good wifi internet access.

View Larger Map

Tomorrow we’re packing up and heading up the hill to Lake Easton Resort in Easton WA.

View Larger Map

Technorati Tags:
Walla Walla, WA, Easton, WA, Fairway RV Resort, Lake Easton RV Resort

Tags: RVing, Washington by john
No Comments »

We’re in Toppenish for our annual NW RV.net spring rally. Toppenish is known for a few things. One is the number of wall murals all over town. Another is that one quarter of the world supply of hops, used in beer making, is grown here in the Yakima Valley.

We toured the town murals in a horse-drawn wagon. When we got to this one mural, we got the chance to view the mural from the angle that showed the wagon like we were about to cross the bridge.

Technorati Tags:
Toppenish WA, RV.net

Tags: RVing, Toppenish WA, Washington by john
No Comments »

Visited Sea World today with my niece and her kids.

A seal hamming for the crowd.

A dolphin show.

Of course the star attractions, the orcas.

The orca splashing the crowd.

Technorati Tags:
California, Sea World, orca, dolphin, seal, killer whale, San Diego

Tags: California, RVing, San Diego by john
No Comments »

Went bicycling around the marina here in Oceanside, California this morning. The marina is quite large, and tons of pelicans.

Saw this sign on a boat pullout pier.

Technorati Tags:
Oceanside CA, Pacific Beaches, Harbor, Pelicans

Tags: Beaches, California, Destinations, Oceanside CA, RVing by john
No Comments »

We are spending the day today in Yuma, Arizona on our way to Oceanside, California tomorrow. We went over into California today and visited an old mining camp in the Cargo Muchcacho Mountains. The Tumco ghost town history dates back to early discovery by the Spaniards in the 1500’s followed by rediscovery in the 1800’s. The town was abandoned in 1949, and is currently BLM land.

Some examples of erosion left behind by the stacks of mine tailings.

One of many mine shafts:

Some remains of stone structures:

And concrete (and stone) remains. This building actually had stone walls, similar to the previous walls, that had concrete coated on the outside to seal the building:

A fascinating tree:

Technorati Tags:
Old West, California, Tumco, Ghost Towns, Mining

Tags: California, Ghost Towns, RVing by john
No Comments »

Today we visited Tombstone, the town too tough to die. A lot happened in this town that made the news in its day, and played well on the silver screen since.

The town came about when it’s founder discovered silver. The first mine, the Good Enough mine, is open for public tours, which we availed ourselves of:

We went to Six-Gun City and saw a reenactment of various moments in history (mostly with guns).

This man took offense when others made fun of his wild shirts, which he had special ordered from the New York Fashion houses.

Another shoot-out.

Big nose Kate was Wyat Earp’s girlfriend. She didn’t actually have a big nose, she just stuck it into everybody else’s business, hence the nickname.

This applies to all politicians. No further comment required.

Technorati Tags:
Tombstone, AZ, Old West

Tags: Arizona, RVing, Tombstone, Arizona by john
No Comments »

We visited the Bandelier National Monument today. The main loop trail travels up the Frijoles (free-HOH-lace) Canyon, home of the Ancestral Pueblo People. Formerly they were known as Anasazi, but that term translates roughly “ancient enemies” so it’s no longer used.

The ancient people of the canyon carved homes in the soft rock called tuff. This rock came from a series of volcanic eruptions over one million years ago. The rock varies in density, giving it a “swiss cheese” look from the natural erosion of wind and water.

View of the remains of some of the dwellings.

These dwellings in front of the cliff were built as replicas of the original dwellings, so we can get an idea of what the original would have looked like. Note that the doors in front are probably wrong. In general, entry was through the roof, not front.

That’s me, looking out an opening.

A look up the canyon to the mountains, including the remains of the volcano.

Technorati Tags:
Santa Fe, Bandelier National Monument, Ancient Pueblo

Tags: Destinations, RVing by john
No Comments »

We’ve now spent two days exploring the area around Albuquerque.

Petroglyph National Monument, Boca Negra Canyon

Yesterday morning we explored Boca Negra Canyon in the Petroglyph National Monument.

It’s a great place to get a sense of the past inhabitants of the area.

Also the geology of the region.

Notice the moon in this one.

Sandia Crest

We took the Tram up to Sandia Crest. It’s billed as the world’s longest tram, rising from 6995 feet to 10,678 feet and a 2.5 mile cable. It’s a spectacular ride.

There’s a hiker’s shelter at the top of the peak on the ridge, about a mile from the top of the tram.

The view from the back side of the ridge (there’s a ski area over there).

The sunset on the ride down was special.

Volcanoes

This morning we hiked around the remains of volcanic peaks that have been extinct for 140,000 years.

The peaks themselves are underwhelming for those of us used to Pacific Rim volcanoes such as the peaks of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada. But still, we saw a lot of wildlife, including interesting insects, rabbits, hawks circling overhead, songbirds, and lizards.

Technorati Tags:
Albuquerque, New Mexico, Sandia Crest, Petroglyphs National Monument

Tags: Destinations, Photography, RVing by john
1 Comment »