Wow! It's Thursday already and I just realized that I haven't blogged since Saturday. Well....It has been an interesting and some what active week.

After having lunch with our friend and his family in Denver. (Thanks C.) We continued north passing by Longmont and waving to my "sister." She wasn't feeling well so we will get together another time very soon. (Feel better sis.)

For whatever reason going into Wyoming Herb decided to take the scenic route off of I 25 and Thank God we did. On I 80 between Cheyenne and Laramie WY there were three accidents involving four 18 wheelers. If we had taken the interstate we would have been right in the middle of the accidents. There were no fatalities and no serious injuries. Just four big trucks that won't see the highway again.


Wyoming is such a beautiful State there are places the grass is brown and barren but it is covered in rich pine forest. The contrast makes for an interesting landscape. I am often in awe of the Indians who lived here and of the first settlers who passed through these areas. The land is rugged and rocky and the Buffalo grass grows tall and has sharp spines on the ends. Horses can't even eat it. To have walked for months through these conditions. It is a wonder the west was ever settled.

Now and then on our travels we come across some unusual sights.......This being one of them.


We know not where he came from or where he was going but he had the makings for a bunch of Pumpkin Pies. LOL
This is another picture of Wyoming.

The journey through Utah and Oregon were mostly at night and uneventful. When we stopped for the night, it was in the first rest area in California on route 199, and this is the view we woke up to. The smell of pine was almost overwhelming. It had rained a bit during the night and the sounds of the forest around us awakening was beautiful. There was a bit of mist over the mountain that we had to be aware of for most of the morning but it burned off by noon.


Upon entering California we also entered the Redwood National Forest. Much of which is untouched. Thank You President Roosevelt for developing the National Park System. The sheer size of the trees was incredible, I am grateful to know they are safe from logging and will be there for my children's children to enjoy. We hope to have Kaitlynn with us next time we are in that area.

We were traveling along Highway 199 and it runs in and out of the Redwood National Park, in the areas outside of the park there are a bunch of little "Burgs" (in CA small towns are called Burgs). In one of these little Burgs there were several signs boasting of an Elk herd that was descended from the original "Roosevelt Herd". We thought maybe we might see an Elk or two in a meadow or field, little did we know they lived IN the Burg. This young buck was grazing right next to the road. On the other side of the road there was about a dozen or so more lounging in someones front yard. Including a mature buck with a substantial set of antlers. Can you imagine waking up and looking out your window to find a 2200 pound Elk munching on your geraniums????

The 199 highway drops down on to Highway 101 The Pacific Coast Highway. One moment you are at 3500 feet surrounded by Redwoods and the next you are sitting on the beach listening to the wave crash against the shore.

We delivered our load to a construction sight in Eureka CA. We were so close to the Ocean that you could smell the salt in the air. Having gotten unloaded fairly early in the day and needing desperately to do laundry we decided to get a hotel room for the night. It was nice to get out of the truck and have a little time to relax. We had been pushing a bit to be able to unload in time to turn this load in for this weeks payday, so Herb went back to the room to rest after he walked over to "Mom's Laundry" to do laundry.. This place was neat, washers were a bit pricey $3.50 a load but the dryers were free. The lady running the place was extremely nice and very chatty. Made the work go faster. With laundry done, I met up with Herb at the hotel and we settled in for a restful night.

The next morning we headed back north to Sutherlin, OR. to get a load of hardwood flooring to take to San Antonio TX.

We are now traveling south on I 5 passing by Shasta Mountain and there is already a blanket of snow covering the summit. The load we are carrying is heavy and going up the mountains is v e r y slow. Coming down can be faster but, is dangerous due to the weight of the load, so this portion of the journey is a bit tedious. We will be stopping in Redding CA for the night and continuing south through CA until we get to I 10 about LA then turning East to San Antonio. This will take us through New Mexico and Arizona. Two states Kaitlynn has not yet been to. Maybe next time Baby Girl.

Speaking of Kaitlynn, she went to the dentist while visiting with Grandma and Grandpa, and he found a couple of pinhole size cavities that needed filling. (Yes they are baby teeth but she will have them for another 3-5 years so for prevention sake he filled them.) She called to tell me that she got to listen to "Hanna Tanna" (Hanna Montana) on the headphones while the dentist fixed her teeth. I love my kids dentist, I have never had any problems taking them to the dentist. They do a great job with kids. Thanks Dr. D, Dr. S. and Thanks to your Staff for taking such great care of the kids.