More Crescent City to visit.

We are just 20 miles from the Oregon border and will be moving up soon. But there are a few more things on the tour itinerary to visit before we go. The previous wagonmaster said the "Chart Room" resturant was wonderful so we had to go. Just out the window we saw Sea lions on a dock. I had a plate of steam clams and clam chowder.

Cheryl had a bowl of chowder!  This was a quaint little restaurant where locals hang out, situated right on the water. 

Dean stopped on the way out to enjoy the "Art Work"!  I told him he had to post this photo as he took too long enjoying the "art work"!.

Crecesent City Calif. and environs

Today we visited several sites we will take the guests on during the "tour" in Sept. We headed south on 101 to Trees of Mystery where there is a wonderful museum on many Indian tribes of the U.S. as well as a gondola trip up the mountail thru the redwoods. We then drove the 9 mile Newton B. Dury scenic by-way to drive the redwoods and also see Roosevelt Elk at Praire grove.

 Cheryl found a wonderful hike to Fern Canyon on the coast, so we drove a gravel road 4 miles to do the hike. There are five species of fern growing in this canyon. Very cool and inviting. It emptys right into the Pacific where we saw more bull elk in a swale.

HEADING UP THE COAST

Prior to leaving Santa Rosa we stopped at the Charles Schultz museum where Charlie Brown and company had their being. They have a cafe there where you can watch ice skaters pratice their moves.
 We are now in Crescent City on the Pacific where the weather is much cooler then inland. The route 101 highway is very hilly and curvey but beautiful coastal redwoods to drive thru and great ocean views here and there. I think our guests on the tour will be impressed!

Santa Rosa, California and environs

We are camping in the Sonoma County fairgrounds where we will bring the West Coast tour group in October. We are here for 4 nights scouting out places we will visit on our tour as well as the reunion group who will be here in late October. Today we drove a 75 mile Bodega Bay and Korbel Winery route. When we stopped at the tourist information place, they suggested we drive a few miles to a bluff over looking the Pacific and spot Gray whales comming up the coast. We were not dissappointed! We saw numberous whales, glad Cheryl brought her binoculars. What a sight!

 We drove back to town and had lunch of clam chowder and a crab meat sandwich. A beautiful drive up California 101 to head back inland to Korbel Champainge Cellars for a tasting. We will do a tour of the place when we come back down the coast during the tour. It has been very hot in Sonoma, 105 today. Very cool along the Pacific.

Kallie at Hoover Dam

We I stopped at Hoover Dam on our way to California.  Kallie was not too keen about the heat and wind at Hoover Dam so we only had her out of the car for a few minutes. 

Kallie in Utah

This is Kallie and Dean when we were in Utah.  She loved this area.  It was very warm about 100 and she loved exploring all the cracks and holes in the rocks.  She is a wonderful traveling animal.  We have yet to figure out if she is a smart cat or rather dumb.  She tags along with us without a complaint.  She rides in the car without a complaint.  And she always has to have the front seat when we are traveling down the road in our motorhome!

Worlds Largest Therometer!

We are still enjoying our travels.  On our way to Buelton, CA we passed through Baker, CA and had the opportunity of seeing the World's Largest theometer again.   We seen this several years ago traveling with our good friends Bob & Shirley either on our way to or from seeing the World's Largest Boulder.  We had lots of laughs and good memories.  All is going well, we were hoping to get a chance to stop in Pahrump and Palm Springs on our way west, but time did not allow it.  We will do that after our CA tours.

Colorado National Monument Drive

Kallie our cat is enjoying our drive through Colorado National park.  Kallie & Dean taking a rest after a short hike. 

This is one of the views along the road.  Pictures do not capture it all.

Dean along one of the overlooks!

Hobo Jungle in Algona, IA

These are some of the Hobo people we met in Algona, IA.  We felt very safe as there was a policeman there.  These Hobos came early as they are helping to set up for the Hobo Celebration.

Tommy painting headstones

This Tommy, a Hobo, who has spent his life traveling the rails.  Each year Britt, IA holds a HOBO Celebration where hobos come from all over the world and celebrate.  During the Celebration a King and Queen Hobo are elected/announced.  Tommy was crowned last year.  Each year Tommy goes to the cementary and paints the names of the deceased hobos on their headstones.  He remembers many of them. 

We visited the Hobo Museum in Britt, IA.  They are having a Hobo Convention this weekend....awe shucks we will just miss it.  This is a photo of K-Bar and Dean in the Museum.  I talked a bit to him outside, so he came in and gave us a personal tour of the museum, pointing out all of  his friends (Hobos) he knew and traveled with.  He was a Hobo in his younger years, but only for 18 months.  He was most fascinating to talk to.  He told us to go to the jungle, where hobos hang out when they are in town......so I was driving and guess where we headed to?  Yep.  The jungle down by the tracks.  We met 3 more hobos in the jungle.  They were clean and very nice people, easy to talk to.  They talked a bit about their lives and lifestyles.  Each year they crown a king and queen.  Tommy was last years' king (as seen with Dean).  He comes every year to Britt and paints the names of other hobos on their headstones.  Tommy is and has always been a hobo traveling all over via train or whatever mode of transportation he could find.  He would not accept a ride to the cementary but preferred to walk.

World's Largest Cheeto, Algona, IA

We are in Forest City, IA for a week.  There is not much here, but we did find out a couple of interesting or unusal things in the area to do.  Like the Surf Ballroom (the last place Buddy Holly played), the site of his plane crash, the Hobo Museum and THE WORLD'S LARGEST CHEETO!  Okay, so we are getting a bit bored, but we are having fun.  The cheeto is on display at Emerald's, a restaurant in Algona, IA, about 40 miles away!   All one has to do is ask to see it and they are very gracious as they take you into the back room to show you.  So now we can take that off our bucket list!  Whew.....

Visit to Buddy Holly Crash Site

We drove to Clear Lake, Iowa and visited the Surf Ballroom where Buddy Holly did his last performance on Feb.2nd 1959. Sometime after midnight, he along with the Big Bopper and Richy Valance hired a pilot to take them to Fargo, N. Dakota during a snow storm. They got about 9 miles when the plane crashed in a corn field just outside Clear Lake. All were killed. Buddy Holly was just 22 years old, and already a rock and roll icon! His music began a revolution in the recording industry. Lots of mementos have been left at the site.   We left our card.