Utah-Nevada-California-Oregon (Day 12)

 Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Today was pretty laid back.  We actually went out for some breakfast and then walked around outlet shoppes in the morning.

In the afternoon, we spent better than 3 hours visiting Aunt Delores and Richard.  We discussed a number of family stories and watched some of the birds and the squirrels in the backyard.  Delores is well into her 90's and I think she's doing ok for that age.  She does have some trouble remembering things.  At one point, she said, "I can't even remember tomorrow."  I have to remember that phrase.

After our visit, we stopped for dinner at a local pizza place which turned out to be really good.  Then we tried out a couple of Troutdale's drinking establishments before heading back to the RV for the night.

For the most part, our trip is winding down.  Tomorrow we plan to begin our way home.  We plan to take our time heading back and anticipating taking 3 days.  If anything of interest happens, I'll check back in.  If not, this is probably the conclusion of our trip out west.  Hope you guys enjoyed tagging along with us.

Utah-Nevada-California-Oregon (Day 11)

 Tuesday, May 18, 2021

We've made it to Portland... or rather Troutdale outside of Portland.  In arriving here, we drove close to downtown Portland.  What a mess.  There is graffiti on every concrete wall or bridge wherever an arm or hand can reach.  There were also many homeless camps.  One homeless tent we saw even had a makeshift back porch.  We wondered how much of this came from the riots a year before.

For the next couple of nights, the campground of choice is the Sandy Riverfront RV Resort.  Our main reason to stop here is to visit Aunt Delores and Cousin Richard.  Once we arrived, I called Richard to check in.  We hoped to meet up but he had just realized he was late for an appointment.  We'll have to meet up later.

So instead, Buffy and I take the Jeep to go see waterfalls outside of Portland, namely the Latourell Falls and Multnomah Falls.  On the way there, we first stopped at a place called Vista House.  It was basically an old resting stop for travelers long ago.  It sits at a scenic point that overlooks the Columbia River Gorge.  It wasn't open today as it looks like they were remodeling.

Multnomah Falls

After we returned from our trek to see the waterfalls, I waited some time for Richard to be finished with his appointment.  After so long, we decided to go ahead and fix dinner, which was going to be steaks on the small Weber grill.  No more than we are about to eat, Richard calls.  

Sorry, folks.  Park's closed.  The moose out
front should have told you.

"Come on over," he says.  We plan to do so, but after eating dinner first.  We eventually headed over to his house, which was less than 5 miles away.  This is why he recommended the campground we are at.  We spent a good couple hours with them and plan to visit again tomorrow afternoon.

Near Mishap of the Day: This could have been a bad mishap, but was averted very quickly.  When leaving for the day this morning, I had the Jeep all hooked up for flat towing.  I put the RV into drive, let off the brake and we go no where.  I apply a bit of pressure on the accelerator and still we go no where.  Shit!  I forgot to put the Jeep's transfer case into neutral and left the parking brake on.  Oops!  No harm was done and everyone made it out alive.

• Miles Travelled: 106
• Miles of Graffiti: A lot

Utah-Nevada-California-Oregon (Day 10)

 Monday, May 17, 2021

Another day of just being on the road.  It was a good drive.  There were patches of road where we drove along the Pacific Coast.  Then the road would turn inland and we'd drive through forest.  But it was just driving today, so we don't have any pictures, video or any real quirky stories but maybe one.

One thought I did have that reoccurred during the drive... where do these other campers stop to get fuel?  As we drove, we come across countless other RVs, trailers and 5th wheels.  Yet when I pass by whatever gas station I see, they are small, congested, corner stations with little maneuvering room.  How do these vehicles get in and out of these gas stations?  Let alone where do the semi trucks go to re-fuel?  And some of these stations don't even sell diesel.  What's the deal?

For much of our drive, I was behind a 5th wheel and at one time, that 5th wheel and another truck.  They were moving slow; maybe 45-50 mph.  This helped my fuel milage today.  I topped out at 14 mpg, which I think was great considering I'm towing a 3k lb Jeep.

We stopped in Depoe Bay, OR for fuel.  And this was weird.  Some guy appears to be hanging out by the gas pumps.  There was a small, white pickup truck in front of us.  The driver hands this guy and number of bills and he proceeds to pump gas for these people.  I see no indication that this guy works for the gas station.  They finish up and now I pull up to the pump.  This guy is ready to assist.  I ask if this is a full service station and he kind of laughed.  I mentioned I hadn't seen a full service station in 45 years.  I didn't really understand his broken English, and I'm generous calling it that.  I tell him I need to fill up with diesel.  I hand him my credit card, somewhat wary of doing so.  He runs the card through the pump and starts filling up.

While the tank is filling up, I grab a couple of dollars to provide him a tip, because I'm sure that all he's working for.  I handed him the cash but I'm not sure if I got my money's worth as he didn't bother to check the oil or clean the windshield. But off to our next campground.  Tonight, it is another site close to the coast.  

The Premier RV Resort in Lincoln City, OR.  A very nice spot for RV camping, with exception to the weather.  Right now it is windy and rainy.  And cold.  It's been mid-50's all day, but I could use my Carhart coat.  Anyways...

Mishap of the Day: Again, these mishaps seem to occur first thing in the day.  And file this into the gross category.  We are packing up getting ready to leave.  I go through the routine to clean out the sewer hose for our sewer.  I finish up and then pack away the water hose.  I then get the sewer hose and notice a bunch of leaves and dirt on the end of it.  I try to shake them off, only to see a bunch of crap fly off to the ground.  

The sewer hose wasn't as clean as I thought.  I unpack the water hose to hose it down.  But what do I do with the mess I left on the ground.  Fortunately, we still had poop bags with us when we had dogs.  But as before, fortune seems to favor the foolish.  If I didn't try to shake off those leaves, I would have packed the shit filled hose in the RV.  That would have not been good.  So we got lucky on this one.  This must be what happens when RVing.

• Miles Travelled: 192

Utah-Nevada-California-Oregon (Day 9)

 Sunday, May 16, 2021

Our mishap of the day started early.

When preparing to leave, I hitched up our Jeep for flat towing just fine.  But when hooking up the supplemental braking system, it would not power on.  I fear a short in the cable or a blown fuse is preventing it from starting up.  It would take time to diagnose the problem, let alone fix it.  And we were wanting to get on the road.  So I didn't bother with it and just took the risk of less efficient braking (actually, as long as you apply the breaks sooner, and don't drive like some madman, we'll be fine).

Anyhow, I'll look at this later when we have time.

Our drive out was just as good as our drive in; driving among all the redwood trees and surrounding forest.  We had learned that while Sequoia trees are generally wider and have more volume, Redwoods tend to be taller.  Record high Redwoods top out to around 360 feet.  We were about to find this out at our next stop, the Redwood National Forest; more specifically, the Lady Bird Johnson Grove.  This is just outside of Orick, CA, which is also not that far from the Pacific coast.

We drove into the forest when we immediately saw the sign that says vehicles towing campers not advised to drive into the forest due to steep grades.  There was a trailer turnaround.  I took it where we unhitched the Jeep so that we could travel into the Lady Bird Johnson Grove.

When we got there, no parking was available.  It appeared there was some parking just outside the parking lot along the road.  Though there was a no parking sign displayed, someone else had parked up from the sign.  I parked the Jeep next to that car and hoped for the best.

We began our walk into the Grove.  These Redwoods were more impressive than the last ones we saw.  They were much taller than the others.  Definitely taller than Sequoias.  We also saw the marker to where this grove was dedicated in August, 1969.  In attendance was then President Nixon, past President Johnson and his wife Lady Bird and California Governor and future President Ronald Reagan.

Good livin'

After our loop in the forest, we emerged to head back to the RV, hook everything back up and then search for our next stop for the night.  Buffy found a RV park close to the coast so we make reservations.  We set the Garmin GPS and finally crossed the Oregon border.  The drive up US 101 is really cool. 

We stopped at The Honey Bear by the Sea RV Resort near Gold Coast, OR.  They put us into the campspot that had the best view.  We didn't have a huge view of the Pacific Ocean, but had plenty of the sound of surf and a great sunset.  All from the RV.  Good livin' despite the cool temperatures.

We plan to drive up the Oregon coast the next couple days and then to visit some relatives on Wednesday.

• Miles Travelled: something like 170; forgot to look at it
• Number of Parking Tickets Received: 0

Utah-Nevada-California-Oregon (Day 8)

 Saturday, May 15, 2021

Once we were packed up and left the Comfort Suites, our first stop was at the local Post Office.  I received an e-mail from my tax accountant how much I owed the government for 2020.  So that morning I wrote out the check and needed to mail it.  I didn't really trust the hotel staff to do this for me.  I've had a history of mail that did not make it out of the hotel.

And since the IRS won't wait for me to finish my vacation as they want their money now, LET IT BE KNOWN THAT I MAILED MY 2020 TAX PAYMENT FROM WOODLAND, CA POST OFFICE THE MORING OF SATURDAY, MAY 15, 2021.  This particular post office was not open on Saturday mornings.  So I dropped it into the box, but it looked like the next pick up would be on Monday, May 17 at 5pm.  As long as it gets postmarked May 17, I should be good.  Onward with the vacation.

Our second stop this morning, which was probably inevitable, was to McDonald's for breakfast.  Our first McDonald's stop thus far in the trip.

The drive today takes us north on I-5 for about 40 miles.  After a fuel stop there, we get on CA-20 to US-101.  Most of it was scenic.  Driving on I-5 is not much to talk about.  We're looking at about a 5 hour drive to get to our next destination, Avenue of the Giants.

This is a street/road/highway that takes you inside a redwood forest.  This was a really cool drive into our next campground.

Mishap of the Day:  When trying to find the campground, our Google Maps had us turn much sooner than we should have.  I suspect that since we went out of cellular service, the phone did not know exactly where we were.  I stopped short on the road and pulled into this turnout.  A sign said 'No Outlet' and things didn't sound or look right.  I tried to turn around from the turnout, but unfortunately, there was not enough room.  And flat towing a Jeep does not allow you to back up.  Yikes, I was stuck blocking both lanes of traffic.

These roads were not heavily travelled, but I still scrambled to unhitch the Jeep and then have Buffy drive it up the road to this town we had just went through.  My thought was that if we just travelled onward we would find the campground.  Which was the case.

We found the campground and got the RV all set for the night.  Then we got into the Jeep and headed into town to look at the redwoods some more and get dinner.  When we came back, we started up a fire, enjoyed a few beverages and then some and shared some s'mores with our camping neighbors; a family also from Colorado.  Good times.

While we were very happy with this campground, there was no cellular service or quality internet.  So this blog post needed to wait another 24 hours to post.

We're not quite sure where to stay tomorrow.  Thinking Crescent City, CA which sits on the coast.  But the plan is to check out redwoods at the Lady Bird Johnson Grove in the Redwood National Forest.

• Miles Travelled: 246
• Number of Cars I Blocked Trying To Turn Around: 1   

Utah-Nevada-California-Oregon (Day 7)

 Friday, May 14, 2021

This was another day of just driving.  We left our camp spot at the Sequoia RV Ranch and began heading to Northern California.  Our next destination is the 'Avenue of the Giants.'  This is the location to where they filmed Star Wars Return of the Jedi and hosts many Redwood trees.

But for now, we stopped in Woodland, CA (just past Sacramento) at a Comfort Suites.  Yes, a hotel!  We couldn't find a campground that was available so we decided to live in luxury for one night.

Our only mishap for the day was the loss of a pin in the hook up for flat towing the Jeep.  I have no idea how long the pin was gone, but the hitch pin stayed in place the whole time.  Fortune really does favor the foolish.

Tonight was an opportunity to 'regroup' as we stopped at a Target to pick up supplies. We also had the time to map our our travels for tomorrow.  It should be about a 4-5 hour drive.  We hope we can find an available campground.  Wish us luck.  We might be boon docking at a Wal Mart.  Who knows?

Sorry, no photos from today or any lame statistics to share.

Utah-Nevada-California-Oregon (Day 6)

 Thursday, May 13, 2021

Kind of a repeat from yesterday.  Get up and head into the Sequoia National Park.  See what's there.  There were 2 or 3 things worth looking at that we didn't get to yesterday.  So today is the day.

I'm on a half tank of fuel entering the Park.  According to my trip computer, I can go 150 miles until empty.  There should be plenty of fuel for us.  After several miles and about 4,000 ft in elevation, my trip computer says I have 98 miles until empty.  We still have several miles yet to drive.

On the other side of the Park, there is a fuel station.  I'm thinking we're probably ok with the fuel we have, but instead, we decide to travel to the other side to fill up.  At least this way, we'll see more of the Park & Forest and one less thing to worry about.

Standing at the base of a Sequoia that fell in 1917

So we drive straight through to the fueling station... a self serve... I mean there's no clerk or office.  There is a restaurant and gift shop, but no real service station HQ if you know what I mean.  I put my Discover card in and start pumping.  It stops at $50 of fuel that has been pumped.  I'm just a tad away from being fully fueled.  I don't bother to pump any more, especially at $4.29/gallon for Premium unleaded (and I feel I got a bargain because in Three Rivers, they charge $4.59/gallon for the same stuff).

Now fully fueled, we head back to the other side of the Park to see oddities such as the Tharp's Log (a cabin some guy built from a Sequoia tree trunk and lived in for 30 years), the Chimney Tree, the Tunnel Log where you can drive your car through and the Hospital Rock where Indians cared for the wounded.  

One other item of note as we hiked through the Sequoia forest was that we found some speculation as to how these trees became so big.  It was really weird.  At one spot, I saw this really weird, bubbling white goop coming out of the ground.  This mosquito landed on it and drank some of it.  Within seconds, it grew to almost 5 feet in length and then flew off.  It flew above us and then landed on some other guy's back.  With what looked like a 2 foot sword, it began to bite him, and in the process, literally sucked all the blood out of him.  It flew off, leaving this guy dead and drained of blood.  It was like the goop this mosquito drank made it grow to gigantic proportions.  This stuff was like some kind of Food of the Gods.  And maybe that's how these trees became so big.

But after all that, we stopped at the Three Rivers Brewery for a third attempt for a drink.  Low and behold, they were open!  I guess the third time is the charm.  And we found a parking space across the road (perhaps a legal parking space).  I ordered an "Oliver" which was to be some type of blonde ale; Buffy had a stout which was a good 6% abv.  We tried to plan out some of the rest of our trip during this time, but either the indecision or alcohol prevented such.  After 3 drinks each, we decided to head back to the RV.

Our only plans at this point is to head to northern California tomorrow and perhaps stop at the Avenue of the Giants. This is another place with giant trees and the location to where they filmed Star Wars Return of the Jedi.

Before signing off for the day, just a tidbit of info... it came to my attention this morning that we are Day 6 into this journey and we have yet to even stop at a McDonalds.  This has to be some sort of record.

• Miles Travelled: I quit keeping track
• Highest Gas Prices Found: $4.59/gallon of premium unleaded/$4.29/gallon diesel

Utah-Nevada-California-Oregon (Day 5)

 Wednesday, May 12, 2021

"Yep, we're gonna need a bigger chain saw."

Looking straight up at the Sequoia trees

We slept in today.  After all the driving and activity, I think we needed it.  And along with the cocktails we consumed the previous night.

We are staying at the Sequoia RV Park just outside Three Rivers, CA.  And only a handful of miles from the entrance of the Sequoia National Park.

Before we arrived here, I expected the area to be a bit rainy and damp, like a semi-rainforest.  I also expected it to be somewhat cool in temperature.  All because of the pictures and movies I've seen in the Sequoia forest.  This is not the case.  It's in the low-90s and dry.  There are even a few palm trees here and there.  There are mountains in the park; perhaps the Sequoias are on the other side where the climate is radically different.  We shall see later today.

After our breakfast and other rituals one needs to do to start the day, we fired up the Jeep for our expedition into the Sequoia forest.  It didn't take long to get to the Park entrance, but did take some time driving in the Park.  It's basically going up a mountain.  You feel like a big horn sheep climbing up.

I'm glad we have the Jeep.  I'd hate to make this drive with an RV.

When we entered the the Park, the temperature was 91... and this was roughly before 11am.  As we climbed, we hit 3,000 feet in elevation.  Still about 90 degrees.  Then 4,000 feet and no change.  5,000 feet it's about 85.  6,000 feet and the temperature has dropped significantly now.  Going on 7,000 feet in elevation, the temperature has not only dropped to 66, we can now see very large trees.

We stopped at the parking lot for the General Sherman tree, one of the largest trees in the Park to begin our hike in the forest. These trees are impressive to look at.  The tallest tree in the Park is measured at 311 feet... basically +/- a 30-story building.  The oldest tree in the Park is estimated at 3,200 years. The trunks on a lot of these trees are as wide as my Jeep is long.  Maybe longer.

When you walk along the paved paths through the forest, you constantly get a scent of fresh pine.  Very refreshing and exhilarating.

I'm guessing we hiked for about a 2 hours.  I had packed my hiking shoes, but forgot about them this morning.  Instead, I hiked with the Chuck Taylors I was wearing.  No harm done and I probably looked rock star doing so.

On the way out of the Park, we stopped at the Gateway Restaurant on the banks of the Kaweah River to conclude our day of big hard tree discovery.  We then wanted to stop at the local brewery but discovered it was closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  This same attempt was tried yesterday, but all 3 parking spaces were filled up, not to mention they weren't open.  Instead, we returned back to the RV in time for Happy Hour.

Tree hugger

• Miles travelled: ? (didn't keep track but assuming about 50)
• Encounter with Ewoks: 0
• Local brews consumed: 0

Utah-Nevada-California-Oregon (Day 4)

 Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Nothing happened of interest today.  Literally nothing.  It was a travel day from Yermo, CA outside of Barstow to Three Rivers, CA just outside of the Sequoia National Park.  For the next 3 nights, we'll be staying at the Sequoia RV Ranch.  But tomorrow, we'll be taking the Jeep into the park and we're going to see some really big trees.  Big, hard wood!!!

Until then...

• Miles Travelled: 230

Utah-Nevada-California-Oregon (Day 3)

 Monday, May 10, 2021

Today is planned to be a great day.  Breakfast at the Little Ale' Inn, then drive around trying to find Area 51 in the Jeep and then head out towards California.

The black mailbox.

We got into the Little Ale' Inn around 8am for breakfast.  The biscuits and gravy was excellent; I would say Track Inn quality (Track Inn is a greasy spoon on the north side of Chillcothe, IL and has the world's best biscuits & gravy).  When paying our bill, we inquired again about trying to find where Area 51 was at.  The clerk instantly gave us a pre-printed map of where to go.

Off to the Jeep we went.  There were 2 different points on the map.  The first one was not that far, maybe about 10-12 miles out.  And exactly as Smitty claimed; go down this unmarked gravel road, then it turns to asphalt and leads right up to the gate of Area 51.  The signs say no photography, but Smitty claimed everyone takes pictures.

Sure enough, there it was.  A few small buildings.  One being some kind of guard building with mirrored out windows.  There was some sort of boom truck there.  A fence with razor wire surrounded everything.  There was a gate with a stop sign on it and on the sides of the gate, the 'No Photography' signs.

We didn't see anyone around as we pulled close to the gate.  It was kind of eerie.  I jokingly said that the government placed this gate up as a rouse for tourists to see.  And the Little Ale' Inn is in on it.  We got our pictures and left.

We then proceeded to the next place of interest.  And this sounded a little more legit.

Between mile marker 29 & 30 on the Extraterrestrial Highway is a black mailbox on an un-named, un-marked road.  The story has it that an engineer named Bob Lazar had placed this mailbox there with a claim that from that location, one could witness lights from aircraft being tested late at night.  Bob Lazar claims to have been working at Area 51 to reverse engineer what he believe to be alien technology.  

Should you drive down that road from the black mailbox for a good 15 miles, you come across to another entrance to Area 51. And this gate is actually guarded.

On the way there, we found the cow that was on the side of the road yesterday.  My question was, where is the cow's owner?  That was probably $1,000 of beef sitting on the side of the road, feeding the crows.  Anyways...

Our first warning.

We found the black mailbox, complete with a bunch of stickers posted on it.  We assumed that's how you can tell if it's an actual Area 51 marker... if there's stickers posted on it.  Inside the mailbox were even some notes left inside from the day before.  

Something of note while we were there; we could hear jet aircraft flying around overhead.  However, we never saw any.  Alien cloaking technology?

We decided to move on and drive down the road that allegedly takes you into Area 51.  I've seen a lot of these documentaries regarding this air base.  Signs say 'Use of Deadly Force Authorized.'  I've seen a video of 2 couples taken out of their car, with hands on top of their heads, being told to walk backwards up to military guards.  Knowing all this, I was actually a bit nervous driving closer and closer towards Area 51.

Again, we saw a cow and a bull and they didn't seem to care we were driving by.  Could they be armed military disguised as cows?  There are monitoring stations all along the perimeter of Area 51.

The terrain was mostly flat and I knew there were some hills around where those seeking Area 51 found guards, signage and monitoring equipment.  But before long, the landscape changed and hills were on the horizon.  It wasn't long until I saw something I had seen before in many of those Area 51 documentaries... the white truck sitting on top of a hill with military officials watching you come their way.  I pointed at them and said to Buffy, "There they are!"  We drove closer.  There was a warning sign by the side of the road.  

This was a sign I'd never seen before on any documentary.  It basically said 'Warning. Do not attempt coming in here or be faced with a $1,000 fine, your car will be towed at your expense and you will be processed, etc, etc.'  I suspect had we kept driving on (assuming those military guys in the white truck didn't stop us), we'd encounter more signs with more explicit warnings... like the one that says 'Use of Deadly Force Authorized.'  

I theorized to Buffy about these guards, that they feel like they are just doing a babysitting job.  They know 99% of these cars driving up are curious tourists and that they are not going to do anything.

Can you see the white truck?  They can see you.

We stopped at the sign, took a couple of pictures and left.  They even had a convenient turn around next to the sign for us.  How thoughtful!

Had I been with someone experienced in skirting the Area 51 perimeter, and I wasn't planning anything else for this trip, I would have been willing to try to get in a little further.  But for now, I was good with turning around.  I really didn't want to be stopped and then have to be 'processed.'  How long would that take... all day?  How inconvenient.

We headed back to the Little Ale' Inn to hook up the Jeep and proceed on to our next destination... a KOA campground outside of Barstow, CA.  We made a stop in Jean, NV, just past Las Vegas not only for fuel, but to get some White Castle.  However, the disappointment of the day was, the White Castle was closed.

Supplemental: I forgot to report our daily debacle in my original post.  When only miles from our stop for the night, I noticed something from the corner of my eye out the driver's window.  The weather stripping between the cab and bed area was blowing off.  I could literally see it falling off from the wind.  I knew if I let it go, it would peal off all the way and I'd lose it all together.

I opened the window and tried to pinch it back into place, all while driving.  I guess you could call it 'on board repairs.'  This didn't work very well.  I got maybe a 1/2 inch of stripping back into place.  Since our exit was about a mile away, I opted to hold the stripping in place with my left hand until we arrived.  I don't know how silly I looked doing this.  But I was able to hold it together until we stopped at the KOA.  While Buffy checked in, I put the entire weather stripping back into place.  It was good as new.    

• Miles Travelled: 293
• Alien Encounters: 0
• Sliders Ordered: 0

Utah-Nevada-California-Oregon (Day 2)

 Sunday, May 9, 2021

We awoke from a pleasant sleep at the Beaver, UT KOA campground, despite the heavy traffic that went by the campgrounds earlier that night.  I figured it was the drunks going home after an evening of hard drinking at the bar.

Our plan today is to travel south on I-15 until Cedar City and then cut across into Nevada on our way to Rachel.  Rachel is a small town that sits outside what is commonly known as Area 51.  Dreamland.  Groom Lake.  Or as listed under civilian maps, Homey Airport.  Should be about a 4 hour drive... assuming you're not towing a Jeep and getting really shitty fuel milage.

Actually, the flat towing is going really smoothly.  Fuel mileage isn't all that bad, though it's a little slow going up inclines.  And we're driving slow to conserve fuel.  The RV really starts guzzling once you hit about 65 mph.

We plan to fill up in Cedar City, UT and pick up supplies at Wal Mart.  Our planned trip through the desert has us stopping when we can to fuel up.  Gas stations appear to be few and far between.

Our other plan for the night is to boondock at an establishment called the Little Ale' Inn in Rachel.  That's the claim to fame for this town as those who seek out Area 51 usually stop here for a drink.  And they have camping.

Moments before the Feds, aka 'Men in Black,' started shooting at me.

Traveling through the desert between Utah and Nevada was desolate.  It was like we were the only ones out there.  Before getting to Rachel, we need to travel a bit south to a place called Ash Springs, NV.  It's the nearest place with fuel.  Buffy can't wait to get to Rachel and see what's there since she noticed all the alien gifts and souvenirs that were for sale in the Shell station.

After leaving Ash Springs, we stopped at the rest area just north of town where the iconic "Extraterrestrial Highway" sign is posted.  We needed to make a photo op... and change into shorts.  It was starting to get hot outside.

And then just around the bend is the Alien Research Center!  We stopped but didn't do any research there.  This place was just a sci-fi, alien themed gift shop.  It was an establishment housed in a metal quonset hut (like those things that Gomer Pyle lived in) with a giant alien, made of sheet metal to greet you.  All this sitting out in the middle of nowhere.

Now onto Rachel... just a short 40 miles away.  Again, it was like we were the only ones out there.  Except for the free range cattle.  The cows would roam freely in the desert.  Why?  How good could the steak be from this?  At one point just before arriving into Rachel, we encountered a cow casually sitting by the side of the road.  She didn't seem to mind as we drove by.

At long last, we pull into the Little Ale' Inn in Rachel, NV.  If you ever watched an Area 51/UFO documentary, this place is usually featured in it.  And it looks exactly like what I've seen.

After a few photos, we walk in for a cold drink and dinner.  It was during this time some guy walks in and talks about a cow about 8 miles up the road that he thinks is injured as it can't get up.  He talked to the owner or manager's son who is becoming an EMT.  He said he would take care of it and I'll leave it at that.  So much for alien cattle mutilation.

For dessert, I could not resist ordering the pie.  Flavors included apple, cherry and 'alien fruit.'  Of course I opted for the alien fruit, which resembled a lot like raisin. 

We inquired about RV camping and got that all squared away.  When setting up our RV for the night, I talked to some guy named 'Smitty.'  I don't know if he worked there, was one of the owners, or what.  But he was telling me all the stuff I can do with a Jeep around there.  I told him I wanted to see Area 51 and aliens.  And he told me where to find one of the gates to Area 51.  That was going to be the first thing we do tomorrow morning!

Time for a cold one at the Little Ale' Inn.

Once it turned dark outside, I wanted to do some night photography in the desert.  We unhitched the Jeep and headed about 10 miles west of Rachel and down some road.  Didn't really get good photos and we were disappointed with the night sky.  I don't know if there was some sort of haze or something, but I can see just as many, if not more, stars at home.

We called it a night.  Tomorrow will be a big day.  Lookout Area 51!!

• Miles Travelled: 246
• Fuel Stops: 2

Utah-Nevada-California-Oregon (Day 1)

Wow, has it been almost 3 years since I entered anything into this blog?  Maybe about high time I did some more posting.  And what not better than another travel-blog with tales of our journey to Utah, Nevada, California and Oregon in the RV.  Be forewarned that some days there may not be lengthy posts as I'm busy being a tourist and don't have the time... or I'm too tired.

The main purpose of this trip is to see the Redwood and Sequoia forests.  But we'll make some pit stops along the way in hopes to see natural scenery, unique saloons, meet interesting people, see some family and quite possibly aliens!  So come along with Buffy and myself as we see some shit in these states.

Saturday, May 8, 2021

On the road again.  Heading out after a fuel stop in Yampa, CO.

The RV is mostly packed.  We just need to load up our groceries and hook up the Jeep that we've set up for flat towing (this will be our first time; may fortune favor the foolish).  So we finally leave the house at 8:50am.  I originally thought that if we were to leave by 9am we would be doing good.  So far, the trip is a success!

We expect today's travel to be non-eventful.  Just a day of driving.  Our biggest thought is to boondock (meaning camping somewhere where there are no hook ups of electric, water, etc) somewhere off the highway in Utah.  Buffy read that Utah will let you do that provided there are no signs of 'no parking' or 'no camping' and it is not on private property.  The thought of being in the middle of Utah, camping under the stars away from any lights and civilization is appealing.  But turns out, we didn't know or see anywhere where we could do this.  Instead, we wound up camping at a KOA campground in Beaver, UT. 

Yes, Beaver, UT, where we 💖 Beaver.

Our first troubles began that evening when I tried to set up the satellite dish for TV.  The tree next to us prevented us from getting a signal.  So I retrieved the coax cable to use the campground cable TV.  That didn't work either.  I suspect no signal was getting to our camp spot.  So I tried off air TV with our antenna.  Couldn't pick up anything.  You know, I really wanted to watch Elon Musk on Saturday Night Live.  Elon Musk is the guy who makes technology work, unlike all the other shit technology I was dealing with that wasn't working.  Time for another vodka tonic!

• Miles Travelled: 475
• TV Channels Received: 0