Fall 2016 Excursion

As we depart each fall, our last view from the driveway is the grandeur of Mt. Emily!  What possibly lies ahead?   In 2016 we first visited Jon's family in Sunnyside, WA and then on to Yakima area where we had a nice visit with Chris.  We also had great visits with friend Vonda Bridgman in The Dalles and Joan Willoughby in Prineville.

An added treat was connecting with WSP  friends Jim and Joanne Gleeson in Prineville.  We took them up on their invite to spend the night on their property.  Little did we know the guests that we would be viewing RIGHT OUT OUR MOTORHOME WINDOW!  Check out a few of them below.

On September 7th, the family joyously celebrated the arrival of great nephew Carter Koza in Springfield, OR.  Since we were only a couple hours east, we made a detour across McKenzie Pass in the Cascade Range so we too could congratulate the proud parents, John and Cindy.

Of course getting to snuggle baby on his second day was ALSO a joy!

We headed on down I-5 into California and  then went west on SR 96 along the Klamath River.   What we did NOT realize, there was a a major forest fire that had just passed through this area.  The GAP fire had impacted almost 40,000 acres.   We saw MANY fire fighters as well as their tents and vehicles.  We set up our motorhome in the Totten Forest Service Camp Ground and within minutes, trucks, rafts, and many young men arrived at our site.  Some floated the river in rafts and then climbed the canyon wall to put out hot spots.  

What a gorgeous waterway!!!  These photos  don't begin to do justice to the magnificence  of this "wild and scenic river".  The gorges are deep, the rapids are frequent, and water is pure/clear!  

AND....guess who we ran into in Happy Camp, CA?  We did visit several GPAA gold claims but found them not readily workable considering our prospecting methods.

Upon arriving in Eureka, CA we had a delightful dinner out with friend Joyce Radelich.  She gave us great insight into this area of California and led us by the spectacular Carson Mansion!

According to Wikipedia,”The Carson Mansion is a large Victorian house located in Old Town, Eureka, California. Regarded as one of the highest executions of American Queen Anne Style architecture,^[2]:33 the house is "considered the most grand Victorian home in America."^[3] It is one of the most written about and photographed Victorian houses in California, and perhaps, in the United States.^[3] Originally the home of William Carson, one of Northern California's first major lumber barons….”