August Kayak Trip

The Rig For The Trip

Otter

Kathy: " I'm taking On Water!!"

Manzanita Lake Sunset

Lassen Peak and Manzanita Lake

Lassen Mud Pits

Us In The Snow In August

Donner Party Statue. Top of stone base is how high the snow was that winter (22 ft.)

Donner Lake From Kayak

Donner Lake From The Pass

Morro Bay: First stop on our kayak adventure! Put in at Morro Bay and paddled along side a seal as long as the kayak! Went around Morro Rock until it met up with the ocean –not brave enough to go out there! Current can get quite strong in the bay going in and out. Lucky for us it was coming in during our time in the water. Lots of noisy seals lying around on a dock, that was fun to watch. Later in the day, we saw otters!
Sacramento:Visited Kathy and Meaghann and we all went out on Lake Natoma near their house. First day, we took turns in the kayak and their inflatable boat prompting these famous words uttered by Kathy: “I’m taking on water!” On the second day, they rented their own kayak and we had a great day on the lake! Took time to look at a funny sound coming from the pop-up wheel, thought it was the bearing. But after taking it out it turned out to be a couple lug nuts came loose. Greased the bearings anyway.

Lassen Volcanic Park - We camped at Manzanita Lake for three wonderful days. The water was so clear, you could see all the way down to the bottom of the lake in many places! One night we watched the sunset from the shore and Bill took this spectacular shot of the clouds. The colors were more intense the longer we watched. This will be one for the wall! They call it “Little Yellowstone” but having just been there I would not compare the two.
Donner Lake - This is the best lake yet for kayaking! Little inlets, beautiful woodsy shorelines, and you never knew what surprises lay around the corners! We visited the Donner Museum and explored a nature trail. Went part way up the Donner Pass until I wimped out because of the heights, but Bill took a beautiful shot of the lake from that perspective.

More after we get to Tahoe

Dads Florida Trip 2

Going to get the RV rental with a van full of stuff for the trip
Bourbon Heaven

Rest Stop


Bourbon Barrels Smell Soooo Good


Great Rest Stop For The Night




Myrtle Beach

Cruising Myrtle Beach in a cart

Gary with TV. In each booth at THORNY'S

Not much time to write right now so I'll just post some pictures. Deb text me and said the oil is due to hit Pensacola tomorrow (Friday) and we will be there today (Thursday) so I guess we will be there to see it come in.

Friday June 4: Guess not.....Dad has had enough. After camping in an RV park in Tallahassee FL Thursday night he wanted to know how the road north is going. Well we were not going north but rather to the beach. Seems the camper noise and change in his routine was a bit much for him so after a bit of discussion I plotted a course back to Michigan. Using the great GPS I got for retirement from the guys at work I plotted a course to the Jim Beam Distillery (well it's on the way!!). We got withing 120 miles or so of Pensacola before the GPS sent us north......but what the heck, I see oil in my driveway all the time anyway.

Tonight we are in the Bluegrass Music RV Park in Kentucky. Nice place with a pool and laundry (better do some at least once on the trip) as well as wireless.

It has been a bit different trip than anyone figured. The first week with my brother Gary was essentially the trip, this is just a return leg now. Dad enjoys the stopping like I do when hiking "I don't hike for the hiking, I hike for the stopping" So I stop often and make less progress than I could. Get to a camp at about 4:30-5:00 for the Gin/Bourbon toast. Lately he is a one drink man before a nap comes over him. So it is "drinking lite" on the way back.

The trip does make me wonder though about the time when life starts to slip away one memory or one joint at a time. Perhaps it comes down to what he told me long ago at the kitchen table during many of our long discussions. "All I want to do is leave the world a little bit better place for having been in it". I know on this trip I don't look to all the cars he fixed or all the welds he made across the state of Michigan but rather I look at all the ways he made my life better off having him as my dad, regardless of where he thinks he is at any given moment. It was the early years, not now, that shaped my life. In the end, I think it always comes down to family and the very few others you can call family.

Due to arrive in Saginaw Sunday evening or Monday morning.

Saturday June 12: The trip back was made for a reason I guess. Saturday morning in Kentucky dad started saying he had a pain in his chest. Not a good sign especially since his first heart attack was 25 years ago...in Kentucky coming out to see me in California. So the choice along the road back was to duck into a hospital if the symptoms were bad (could be heart burn, gall bladder etc.) or keep going to get back to Saginaw where the doctors are that know all his history with his multiple conditions.

To make a very long story short we got back to Saginaw in two days from the onset of symptoms and I took him right to St. Mary's where my sister works.....an emergency crew was waiting. BP 220/118 and he did have a heart attack. He is home now at my sisters seemingly no worse off for the mild attack that it was with different meds than when we started........dodged a bullet on that one!!

Later

Yellowstone Days 4 and 5

Me and the Snow Coach near Yellowstone Canyon
On the way out of Yellowstone
Wolf Kill a few hours old
Trail to the falls

Last couple days in Yellowstone was non-stop. Bald eagle’s, Elk, more winter wonderland and a rare wolf kill by the edge of the river that runs along the road the snow coaches travel on. The kill was early in the morning because it was not there the day before on the trip to Old Faithful. The first part of the two coach tours I took overlapped in the first part of the trip. We could have stayed and watched as the wolves came back to snack, but there were places to go and things to see. Such a fresh wolf meal is a rare site and to be able to watch them was even more rare. The pack typically eats the elk in about 3-4 hours so it was estimated they attacked early in the morning. National Geographic was there so perhaps I can see it on TV later.
At the Bozeman Inn considering the next couple days activities. Will limit the picture taking to the loaded film I have now. I totally think I have at least one keeper among these photos.

Yellowstone Second day

Winter Wonderland In Yellowstone

Hot Springs At Night

Hot Springs During The Day

Wolves At Play

What a day this has been! Let me see if I can name all the animals I saw today.
Elk, Buffalo, Moose, Golden Eagle, Big Horn Sheep, but the best was the Wolf pack!! Yes, that by itself has made the trip. I counted 5 in the pack but there was probably more because they were laying down and getting up and mating……..the usual. And this was the day I was just going to go out to get some winter wonderland photographs. So I got some of those and a bit of night painting in as well. What a day!! So glad I didn't put it off another year.

Yellowstone In Winter

Hotel In Bozeman
Pub In Bozeman
On the way to Yellowstone

Moose

Hot Springs

Yellowstone in the winter is quite dramatic. This is even with less snow than they have had in a while. Hotel is cool, pubs are cool and the scenery awesome. So I'm looking forward to the next week of trying to get work off my mind. Late right now so a short entry. Whe the light gets recharged I'll try some night painting.