September 6, 2011

September 6, 2011

We are on the west side of Los Angeles and need to go east to return to Tucson. Amazingly it is a two-hour drive just to cross the LA metro area. And that is going the speed limit! With LA’s notorious traffic it could be an all day journey, not to mention that the RV is a scary ride in heavy traffic. So Aimee shouldn’t have been surprised when I woke her at 4:30AM and told her we were leaving. She didn’t think I could wake up that early.

On the road before 5am I was shocked to find the highways weren’t empty. With all the cars I see during the day, I often think nobody works anymore. It is nice to know that some people actually get up early and still go to work.

We made it to Yorba Linda, CA on the east side around 7am. We took showers and caught up on emails till 10am when the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum opened. It is a beautiful place, well manicured and richly decorated. I guess I had the impression a disgraced presidency wouldn’t have attracted this much money. The library was built on the site of Nixon’s birthplace and family orchard. The original house is still on the grounds.

The museum was outstanding, part autobiography but mainly an in depth history book on the 50’s and 60’s. It really is too much to see in one day. I could easily come back. I am glad we saw Reagan’s Library recently. These two make a marked contrast. Even though both were Republicans from California, their presidencies were exact opposites. Reagan’s persona and message was uplifting, he had a successful presidency, he revitalized the country, and in his campaign terms, “it was a new day”. Nixon on the other hand, was our worst day.

The section on Watergate is surprisingly candid. It was recently redone by the National Archives, who took over the library a few years ago. It is obvious Nixon was a paranoid guy who saw conspiracy everywhere. In some ways he was justified, since it is likely his 1960 presidency was stolen by Chicago (Daley) voting fraud. But I am a big believer in character. We don’t vote directly on issues. We have a representative government. We depend on that elector to use his best judgment in making decisions. If we elect a lying crook looking out for his own benefit, we the people lose. Unfortunately as a country, we continue to reelect crooks election after election and then wonder why we have problems.

In the early afternoon, we left Yorba Linda heading east back to Tucson. It doesn’t take long to hit desert. In Palm Springs we saw what has to be the worlds largest wind farm. Thousands line both sides of the highway. In our travels we have seen wind farms popping up everywhere. What I am always in consternation about is the high percentage of non-spinners. Maintenance is a big issue. They are put up for the tax benefit but since they are uneconomical on their own, they are not worth fixing when they break. That is the dirty secret of subsidized programs. I estimate half of Palm Springs’ windmills sit idle.

We spent the night in Quartzite, AZ home of a massive RV show. Not now, but in January. Currently it is hot hot hot!

September 5, 2011

September 5, 2011

From Simi Valley, CA we drove next door to the Visitor Center for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. This NRA encompasses the whole coastal mountain range west of LA and is a hodgepodge of various state, national and local parks.

We have a time crunch so we decide to do mostly a driving tour. We stop first at Paramount Ranch. This is an old studio property that the National Park now owns. The Santa Monica Mountains have been the backdrop for countless movies. We walk around an old western set that is looking pretty shabby. The surrounding hills look, for good reason, like the mountains in the TV show MASH.

We then drove south along Malibu Canyon to the ocean. There we followed the Pacific Coast Highway past the Malibu coastline. It is beautiful but crowded. We finished at the harbor in Oxnard.

At 1:30 we caught a boat to Channel Islands National Park. This park consists of several islands just off the coast. We chose to be dropped off at Anacapa, the closest and smallest of the group. It takes an hour for this slow barge to traverse the ten miles. It was also a bumpy ride. We forgot the Dramamine. Aimee and I both looked at each other wondering who would get sick first.

Anacapa is a five-mile long spine of rock jutting out of the ocean. Sheer cliffs completely surround it. Isolated from California, different and unusual plants grow here. We hike to each end.

Most of the rocky island is completely covered with a carpet of ice plants, a fleshy groundcover with pretty flowers. There is also a strange kind of stunted tree called coreopsis that looks dead but is really just hibernating till the next rainfall. The one negative is the stench. It is a major breeding ground for pelicans and sea gulls.

Our return trip to shore is packed, overloaded in my mind. We added a dozen people who camped overnight, all their gear, and six large kayaks. Looking for a smoother ride, we got seats at the stern.

September 4, 2011

September 4, 2011

This morning we drove into the Los Angeles metro area stopping in Simi Valley. There we found Ronald Reagan’s Presidential Library and Museum. I have to say it was very moving listening to Ron again. His message was always upbeat and stirring. I found the museum to be very good, even though we moved through it quickly. We lived this era and know the history well. Incredibly the museum is built around an entire Air Force One jet. I have no idea how they got it on top of this hill.

It almost seems déjà vu listening to Ron speak. Running for governor of California he talked about the poor economy and persistent budget deficits. He solved the state problems. Later running for president, he talked about the ailing US economy. He fixed those problems too. California and the US are in similar straits today. Who is the new Ronnie that is going to save us this time? We might have an inkling if we stay. The Republican Presidential Debate is being held here in a couple days. They asked me to stay and say a few words.

Through one of our RV guidebooks we found a park in Simi Valley just down the road from the library. It is surprisingly empty for a holiday. It is a gem, a small county park hidden away, with no recreational facilities that would lure the locals.

September 3, 2011

September 3, 2011

We drove again all day, south through California’s central valley past more orchards and tomato farms. California is an immense state. Finally north of Los Angeles we climb out of the valley and stay at the only campground we could find with availability. This is Labor Day weekend. I have grown to dislike holidays. It causes difficulty finding a place to stay. We have to stay far out of town and contend with holiday rates.

September 2, 2011

September 2, 2011

August is history and northern nights are turning cold. That is our signal to turn around and head south. We return to California and descend back into the Sacramento Valley. As we drive for many hours, I still can’t believe the number of orchard trees we pass. They are seemingly endless.

The highway (I-5) is in terrible condition. California is broke and probably can’t repave it. It’s amusing to see all the tomatoes on the side of the road, apparently bumped out of trucks by the potholes. I thought about stopping but Aimee nixed the plan. She is not cooking California “road kill”.

We spent the night at a nice county park on the bank of the San Joaquin River.

September 1, 2011

September 1, 2011

Last night we drove to Ashland, OR. It has great summer weather, beautiful scenery, and is home to a Shakespeare festival. So after dinner we drove in to town and saw Love’s Labor Lost in an outdoor Shakespearean theater. The play was so-so but the actors were great.

From Ashland we drove west to Oregon Caves National Monument. The last ten miles was up a very windy cliff road. When we arrived we were immediately questioned again about bat disease and visiting eastern caves. We got a reprieve after saying we had been recently disinfected. We were then allowed to walk to the Visitor Center, where we bought tour tickets.

Given a choice, Aimee much prefers these group tours through lighted caves. I am not so impressed however. To me Oregon Caves is very ordinary and not much different than the other thousand caves throughout the country. Nevertheless it is a nice tour. I was randomly flashing my light on the various formations, when by accident I found the most interesting thing for me. A piece of historical graffiti dated 1877 from before it was named a national monument.

After hiking uphill on the cave tour, we return to the Visitor Center via a nice stroll thru the forest that gives us nice views of the valley we drove up.

August 31, 2011

August 31, 2011

Lava Beds National Monument’s claim to fame is the huge number of lava tube caves. At the Visitor Center we borrow flashlights and then set out to explore a few of the easiest. We start at Skull Cave. This tube is short but cold, so much so, that there is a patch of permanent ice at the end.

Our second trek is Valentine cave. We don’t go far, maybe a hundred yards. It is a little eerie going in an unlighted cave by yourself with only a couple flashlights. Caves have little allure for us. Plus this one has several junctions. I didn’t realize that lava tubes branch off and the tubes are layered on top of each other. We turn around to go back and immediately run into a intersection. Uhoh!
I didn’t notice that on the way in and panic momentarily sets in. Which way? Fortunately another couple is talking at the entrance so we find our way out. Whew! That was too close. The next handful of caves, I look in the entrance but that’s it. My bravery starting to come back, we go in the last easy one, Sentinel. We could hike this one for a half-mile and leave by a second exit. Instead we go a hundred yards and turn around.

Aimee and I are not big cavers. If we were this would be a very nice playground. It is a beautiful park and there are lots of tube caves, large and small, that you can explore on your own, and despite our fears, are relatively safe. You can’t get “too” lost. I could see families having fun here.

This park is a two-fer. On our drive out of the park we explore the above ground history. The Modoc War was fought here in 1872. The Modoc were Indians that lived on a large shallow lake that used to exist on the edge of the lava fields. They refused to go to a reservation in Oregon, so the Army was sent in. Despite being outnumbered 10 to 1, the Modoc held out for six months among the rocky outcroppings and lava tubes inflicting heavy losses. We take a half-mile hike around the main battlefield “lava fortress”.

The park is actually a Three-fer. A few miles away is one of nine sections of the new far-flung park WWII Valor in the Pacific WWII National Monument. This one is the Tule Lake internment camp. We learned about this place at Manzanar a couple weeks ago. Tule Lake started out as one of the ten Japanese internment camps but turned into a more notorious segregation camp. The army forced all internees to answer a loyalty questionnaire. Those that objected or answered with qualifications were deemed disloyal and got sent here. It was a stupid “military intelligence” questionnaire, like asking everybody, “Are you a spy?” The real spies wouldn’t say yes. I met the ranger for this park at Lava Beds yesterday. She gave us a private tour today of the jail after lunch. Despite being new she was very good. Even though most of the camp was sold off or scrapped, it actually doesn’t look too different today. The jail is now surrounded by a migrant labor camp, with the same rows of barrack housing. That is a weird twist of history.

August 30, 2011

August 30, 2011

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area is a lake formed by a dam across the Sacramento River. It is a picturesque lake nestled in a hilly valley. We sat and had our cocktail by the lake last night.

Whiskeytown is also gold country. Prospectors discovered gold here igniting the gold rush of 1849. I give panning a try in the very stream that ignited the rush. I came up dry. I need to come back on the weekend when Park rangers demonstrate proper technique and the prime locations. Till then I’ll have to break the news to Aimee that she is not getting that gold anniversary ring.

On the way out of the area, we stop for a short visit to Shasta State Historic Site. Shasta is a ghost town from the gold rush era. This place is confirmation that the only people who got rich panning for gold were the suppliers of pans.

From Whiskeytown we drove north past the snow-capped volcano Mt. Shasta. In the northeast corner of California we arrive at Lava Beds National Monument. The park is one small section of Medicine Lake volcano, the largest in the West. It is as tall as Mt. St. Helens but many times wider (about the size of Chicago) because the lava was thin and runny. This kind of lava flows down the side of a volcano inside tubes. This area is so full of tubes that the land looks infested with giant moles.

From the Visitor Center we take a hike through a short tube in which the park has installed lighting. But before we can, we get grilled on other caves we have visited. Since we toured Mammoth in Kentucky last year, our shoes get a thorough scrubbing and disinfection. They think we might be a carrier of an eastern bat disease. The ranger did such a good job cleaning our shoes, Aimee and I bring him all our other shoes too.

We spend the night in the park campground. It is nice and meets the high expectations we have of National Parks.

August 29, 2011

August 29, 2011

Today is our wedding anniversary. I asked Aimee what she wanted and she said "to go home". We don’t have enough gas for that. How about something closer. I found just the right gift. A tour of the Jelly Belly factory! We went there this morning and Aimee was like a kid in a candy store. Well, I guess it is a candy store. Jelly Belly, probably made famous by Ronald Reagan, is a master of marketing. Who else could have turned jellybeans into big business? Jelly Belly fame is from the wild flavors they sell. We tasted a few before going on the tour. Second most popular flavor is buttered popcorn. Who would have thought!

The tour follows a catwalk above the frenetic factory floor. The main process occurs in what looks like a giant rock tumbler. Here the hard coating is sprayed onto the soft gooey centers. What I found most interesting is the constant movement of beans. It seems the workers are either loading the beans into boxes or emptying them out of these same boxes. As an engineer, it seemed terribly inefficient. But I guess that chaos is the result of the huge number of flavors they have to make, store, and then mix before final packaging.

Just around the corner from Jelly Belly we had the choice of touring an olive oil factory or a brewery. We chose Budweiser. We thought a couple beers would go better with lunch than olive oil. I have taken Aimee to many places she considers off-the-wall in the middle of nowhere. But she is always shocked to see a crowd wherever I take her. So who would have imagined that we would be the sole tourists at a Busch brewery. We got our own private tour. At the tasting room we had Stella Artois and Beck’s, two additions that came with the merger with the European Inbev.

From the Bay area we drove north thru farm country passing mostly nut and olive tree orchards. After three hours we left the farms and started into the mountains. Just ahead is Mt. Shasta’s snow-capped peak. Outside Redding, CA we stop for the night at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. Despite being a National Park unit, our campsite is a parking lot again!

August 28, 2011

August 28, 2011

Our last stop with the rental car is Point Reyes National Seashore. It is a peninsula of land on the shoreline north of San Francisco. On a map it looks like somebody tried to slice it away from the mainland. Turns out Mother Nature is the culprit. That cut line is the San Andreas Fault. During the famous 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Point Reyes slid twenty feet north. On a short hike from the Visitor Center we see evidence of that in a fence line that split during the quake.

In the Visitor Center we watch a ranger presentation not on a flat screen but a giant globe. Even though the ranger is mediocre, the show is pretty cool. The ranger is able to project dozens of different scenarios. He starts off with weather showing the movement of real hurricanes across the Gulf and Atlantic. He moves on to ocean currents and temperature gradients. Then on to earthquakes, dozens of which occur everyday on the earth (including DC). He finishes showing the thousands of airplanes in flight all over the world. I am into globes and now I have to figure out how to convince Aimee to let me buy one of these.

While pondering that problem we drive into the park and head for the lighthouse guarding the southwest point. When we get there, it is a pea soup fog of course. The lighthouse sits on a craggy spit of rock looking just like those scary movies we’ve all seen.

From the lighthouse point we drive inland and then south to Drakes Bay and another Visitor Center. This one gives a lot of the historical context of the park. It was first discovered by Sir Francis Drake, who stopped here to repair his ship. He was raiding Spanish galleons that plied the Pacific, shipping gold from Acapulco to Manilla, and returning with Chinese spices and silk. He claimed the area and named it New England because the shoreline reminded him of the Dover Cliffs. Interestingly the local Indians were found using Chinese porcelain tableware (which they scavenged from a Spanish galleon that sunk offshore.)

After spending most of the day at Point Reyes, we drive home to leisurely read the Sunday newspaper. That had to be cancelled after we got stuck in a two-hour traffic jam when a NASCAR race let out. The Bay area with its water and mountains everywhere can cause horrific traffic pinchpoints.

August 27, 2011

August 27, 2011

This morning we drove to the old shipyards of Richmond, CA. It is now the home of Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park. This Park honors the women and minorities who joined the workforce in droves during WWII. The Visitor Center is in the planning and construction stage and if done well could make a compelling story. The victory in WWII had as much to do with our “arsenal of democracy” out-producing the rest of the world as it had with the fighting troops.

Our first stop was a “Rosie” memorial that looks like a ship skeleton in construction. The next stop is the shell of a Ford plant that made tanks and jeeps for the war. The last stop is at one of the nearly 750 cargo ships built at the Kaiser shipyards here in Richmond. Unfortunately it is being moved to dry dock and tours stopped yesterday! I boarded anyway and sweet-talked this old guy into giving us a private tour of the ship. He was a tail gunner on a carrier-based torpedo bomber during WWII. He gave us a humorous albeit abbreviated look around. I thought we were on one of “Rosie’s” Liberty ships. Turns out this was the newer Victory ship made by her sister, Wendy the Welder.

From Richmond we went to Danville, a cute town where we had lunch while we waited for the shuttle bus to Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site. The park is the playwright’s home where he lived for seven years late in his life. The house is in a gated neighborhood in the foothills. I think the main reason it is a national park is because the neighbors didn’t want the property developed. Aimee and I both think it is a waste of money. Eugene O’Neill is famous for being the only American playwright to win a Nobel Prize. The house is very ordinary with no historical value. The only thing I learned of interest is that O’Neill’s 18-year-old daughter, Oona, married the 54-year-old Charlie Chaplin. That tidbit is good for crossword puzzles.

A few blocks away we found a Traders Joe store where we stocked up on the wine we drink. It is a one-third cheaper here in California. We open one to celebrate when we get back to Vallejo.