2012-36 Hawthorne to Pahrump Nevada

2012-36

Hawthorne Nevada
Tonopah
Beatty
Pahrump

Campground:  Scotty's rv park, Hawthorne Nv 775-945-2079 $19 regular rate.  Basic in-town campground.  Mainly pull-thru’s.  Restrooms, laundry and wifi available.  Concrete island with all utilities and long narrow concrete pad for stepping out onto.

Joyland

Campground:  Joy Land RV Park, 1260 Ketten Rd.  Tonopah NV, 89049, Local: (775) 482-9444
PA rate: $9.00 - $10.00 Normal Price: $18.00 - $20.00 Three dirt lots on a side street.  The 3rd one has pull-thrus.  Real basic but doable, though surrounded by shacks and MH‘s in disrepair, this is a poor town.  No tv reception.  Minimal cell phone.  Wifi available in town.

Beatty Hot Baths

Campground:  Beatty Hot Baths Rv.  $21 water/elect. 30 amp.  No dump station.  Hot springs are include in the RV camping rate making for a great value.  Only about 14 campsites but they also permit dry camping for a small fee.  No wifi, no over air tv, 2 bar Verizon cell service. But who needs it with a hot springs out your back door.  Note: Road traffic/noise is heavy in the evening.

Campground:  Preferred RV Resort, 1801 E. Crawford Way, Pahrump NV, 89048 (800) 445-7840 Local: (775) 727-4414 PA rate: $16.50, Normal Price: $33.00 for the PA rate one gets a gravel site with a concrete pad and picnic table.  Full hookups w/wifi and over air tv stations available.  Good cell phone service.

I headed out of the Carson City area after waiting well over a week for my mail to arrive and it never did.  At least I had a great time visiting with Elaine and John along the way.  I decided to head on south into California to Mono Lake, just to see what it looks like, then east back into Nevada.  What a wonderful drive along hwy 395 along the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range which recently got a dusting of snow on all the top peaks.  What an awesome site to see along with the fall change of colors.  Around the Mono Lake area it becomes a most desolate desert valley surrounded by those mountains and even though there were a few things to see in the area like a scenic drive, the eastern or back side of Yosemite and a ghost town, I continued on back into Nevada.  Fortunately I didn’t have to buy any fuel while in California as the cost for diesel was over $5.00 a gallon.  there are numerous electronic signs indicating which mountain passes are open or closed.  Only one was closed when I went through the area.

I liked this route not only for the new vista’s I’d never seen before, but also because they had numerous areas one could pull over to take some pictures and get a drink out of the camper.  There was even some construction on one of those overpasses.  We all had to stop and wait for the one way traffic to reverse and I got an extra chance to take a few more pictures and visit with fellow travelers along the route.

Distance traveled: 151 miles

I arrived in Hawthorne Nevada a dusty little town of about 3,000.  The large Hawthorne Army Depot is here consisting of over 2,400 bunkers storing ammunition, mercury and things of that sort.  My campground, Scotty’s Rv, is right in town so it’s close to one casino a few restaurants and two discount stores.  A military museum called the Hawthorne Ordnance Museum is in town and even though it was closed when I stopped by, it has large windows and a number of displays outside so I was able to get an idea of what’s stored in all those bunkers.  A local resident told me that the military special ops group that took down Osama Bin Laudin had their final training here before going over to take him down.  The local paper had a big to-do about it after the fact and this particular local I spoke to was not happy that it was out that their small town was involved.

Calif. heading back into Nevada

Hawthorne Nevada, Army Depot bldgs

Distance traveled: 104 miles

There are some really awesome colored mountain ranges along route between Hawthorne and Tonopah Nv.  Looking like someone splashed yellows, reds, oranges, browns and tans across the mountains.  It’s a lonely road to travel even with the occasional bunches of cars, trucks and Rv’s passing on by.

I arrived at the Joy Land Rv Park which is more or less three sand lots surrounded by chain link fences on three sides.  The pull thru sites are on the 3rd lot and at the end of a desolate road.  Old shacks, mobile homes with debris stacked out front and on the sides looking as if the inhabitants have given up on life itself.

Tonopah, mining museum

abandoned mining housing

Tonopah is an old mining town and I’ve passed this way before a couple of years past.  Half the stores are closed, a few old casinos line the main street.  I stopped into a deli in the heart of town, one of the few shops that looked well kept.  The food was good and as the locals came in, it was clear that everyone in town knew each other and easy casual conversations took place.  A young couple in their mid 20’s came in with a small baby and a child about 4 or 5 years old.  I was impressed with how easy going the parents were and relished hearing the dad telling the baby that she was just too precious and cute for words.  Gives one a warm feeling to see children being raised with such love.

Can’t imagine how they make a living around here.  I drove through some of the back streets and folks were living in houses that had no paint on them and in many cases looked as if they’d been patched together with what ever was available.  I’m only spending two days here and even with that it seems too much.

Distance Traveled:  93 miles

Hwy 95 looks like it’s been paved recently and is just as smooth as can be.  The road is straight as an arrow for most of the way on this two lane highway with bare mountains on either side and I even saw my first Joshua Trees in the desert.  Still no cactus.  Beatty is a good stopping point for anyone wanting to visit Death Valley, the Ghost Town of Rhyolite and Scotty’s Castle.  I’ve been to all of those areas and have reported on them in the past.  This time I’ll once again enjoy the hot baths at the park.  They’re actually hot springs enclosed in three buildings.  Each with temperatures from mild to hot depending on which building you choose.  The floor of each building has rock and gravel as the base where the hot springs percolate up through the floor.  A wide sturdy staircase leads to the waters edge.  A shallow 3-4 feet deep.  Just right for sitting on the bottom of the gravel floor or floating on the heated mineral spring water.  You can bet I enjoyed my time in the baths today and will again tomorrow.

downtown Beatty NV

The small town of Beatty, approx. 1,000, are the most friendly of folks.  I’ve had easy conversations with so many in the short time I’ve been here.  And what a perfect day.  77 degrees and sunny.  Having such a short time in the area I had to see a few of the sites once again.  I took off early in the morning and headed just outside of Beatty to the ghost town of Rhyolite and the Goldwell Open Air Museum which has some of the most wonderful sculptures.  Just perfect for any budding artist/photographer to enjoy.  I think I got some hauntingly beautiful shots and can’t wait to share them with you.

heading into Death Valley

I learned more about the ghost town of Rhyolite as well.  It is considered the last of the gold rush era boom towns built on the hopes and dreams of finding gold.  Only one mine produced gold, taking out a total of about two million dollars worth and went broke doing so.  At it’s height in 1907 it had between 3,500 to 5,000 people.  With concrete and brick buildings.  Some three stories high.  All had water and electric.  This was a town that was determined to make it.  And yet less than 13 years later it was all over. The final end to the gold rush era.

Then it was off into Death Valley and when I say into, it really is like going down deep into this barren hot valley.  The descent is through a series of mountain ranges as bare and weathered as one would imagine.  But oddly they have had quite a bit of rain recently, washing out a more direct route to Scotty’s castle.  That rain revived the scrubby plants that grow in death valley and much of it was as green as can be and washed of all the dusty sand that usually covered everything.  My destination was Scotty’s castle, about a 35 mile drive through Death Valley.  The castle was built by the wealthy Albert and Bessie Johnson of Chicago.  How it ended being built in this oasis of a canyon is most fascinating.  It all started when Scotty, who was working for the Buffalo Bill Cody show, began selling shares of his “gold mine” out in death valley on the side.  Albert Johnson was one of those who invested in Scotty’s mine to the tune of $30,000.  Johnson decided to visit the mine and took a trip out to Death Valley.  Realizing that Scotty had no mine but enjoying the west and Scotty’s stories, Albert decide to buy up any land that had water in the area.  Eventually building a couple cabins around the natural spring.  Bessie came out and said if he wanted her to ever join him again, he’d better build a proper house.  And that was the beginning of the adventure that led to the building of Scotty’s Castle.  The place was able to produce it’s own electricity and had solar water heating.  Indoor waterfalls helped add humidity to the dry desert air.

Distance traveled:  73 miles.

My next stop is in Pahrump Nevada.  A desert valley community approx 50 miles west of Las Vegas.  Preferred RV Resort is one of those resorts that has a large swimming pool craft rooms, club house, Laundromats etc.  Nice place to land at a good Passport America rate.  I understand many Vegas workers live out here due to the cheaper housing prices.  I'll be here for 10 days.

So there you have it.  Another week on the road as I continue heading south towards my winter destination.  I’ve committed myself (ok you can stop the jokes right there) to head a new camping club at Desert Trails this winter.  It will be called “The RV travel Club”  and we’ll be sharing places to go, things to see and travel routes to use and avoid along the way.  Hopefully we’ll cover a few states each week.  Looking forward to sharing what ever I’ve learned along the way.

more pictures on PICASA

2012-35 Carson City Nevada

2012-35

Carson City Nevada
The State Capital
Virginia City

Carson City, Nevada's Capital

Well here I am sitting in the flat valley of Douglas County with bare mountain ranges on either side.  Though the mountains to the west of me are also forested at the higher elevations as they reach into California and spidery lines indicate where the ski slopes are.  There isn't any snow on those peaks but it won't be long before they turn white with powdery snow.  Hwy 395 which runs through Reno and Carson City is constantly busy and from my campers windows I can see traffic heading in both directions night and day.

Here at the Silver City Resort I stopped up at the front desk to enquire about when the mail arrives daily as I’m waiting for mine to arrive.  Super nice owners and as I went to get a cup of coffee in the store, they told me as a camper in the park the first cup of coffee was free and they even gave me a fresh donut.

I checked out the monthly fees at a campground nearby that was advertising a rate of $295 a month.  Apparently that is the starting rate for the winter rates.  Summer rates run in the $465 range.  Why folks would want to summer in Nevada is a bit of a mystery to me.  I was talking to a biker who lives in the area and he said it was a very mild summer and the temperature never got over 100 except for a couple of days.  Now I don’t know about you, but that’s awfully hot to me.

I picked up the local Sunday paper today and it cost a whole $3.00.  It was $2 until just recently when the Reno Gazette-Journal decided to up it a full dollar more.  Seems kind of redundant to call the paper a Gazette and a Journal.  Surely one would suffice.  Wonder how much you pay for your local Sunday paper these days.  I haven't been buying the paper much anymore since I get most of my information over the internet, but it is nice to read a local paper and find out what’s happening around town.

Nevada’s legislature meets every other year to enact laws and do whatever legislators have to do.  Seems they’ve had a ballot to change it to a yearly session, but the public has soundly defeated it every time.

People out here enjoy doing things like gluing a coin to the street or even on a hand railing.  I’ve seen it in Oregon, Calif. And here in Nevada.

I wish I could tell you I’ve been touring and exploring, but this is a down week for me.  Down being a good thing in that I’m just enjoying the area without doing any of the touring type stuff.  Today I signed up for one more day at the campground and had to pay the full rate.  Well, actually I got about 25% off with my D.o.D. card and then I used a $25 coupon from Good Sam’s that I got when I signed up for the Camping World discount card, bring my final cost for the extra day down to $6.25.  Best one day camping fee of the year.

an old mining operation at the entrance to Virginia City

No mail, so I will stay another day or two.  In the meantime, you know I had to do a bit of touring.  I decided to drive over to Virginia City NV.  It’s only about 11 miles from Carson City.  I’d visited this mining town years ago and remembered the main town and train ride I took back then.  This trip I drove in from the south end and was surprised by the 15% grade in the road leading into this mountainous mining town.  There’s even an Rv park up here, but you’d best take the “truck route” to get to it.

15% grade to the left

The town is well preserved and now serves as a great tourist destination though I did see an open pit mining operation on the outskirts of town.  Nice to see an old mining town still having some mining activity in the area.  I got hear early in the morning to be able to enjoy a cup of coffee and pastry at a coffee shop in town before strolling the boardwalk through town.  Many of the shops and building having covered walkways making it very pleasant on those hot sun drenched days.  What fun antique and consignment shops up and down the main street, interspersed with saloons, museums and even the occasional old fashioned casino.  There were T-shirts and the usual tourists gifts for sale, but not as intense as so many modern day tourist destination towns.  Going through some of those stores was like walking back in time.  Seeing all those knick knacks from years past.  I even took a 30 minute trolley tour around town.  Something I always recommend when traveling to an unfamiliar town.  It helps the traveler to get a bearing on where the important buildings and tourist things are so one can go back and explore those things that are most interesting to you.  And if the tour guide is good, I get to learn more about the history and interesting tid-bits on an area.

The Spite Houses

Like the two houses that were almost touching each other.  Seems two miners hated each other.  One of the miners moved to the other side of town and built his modest house.  While it was being built, the other miner bought the land next door.  When the first miners house was completed, the second miner had his house moved to within inches of his nemesis.  Or over at the Silver Queen Saloon where there’s a painting of a lady covered in 3,261 silver dollar coins making up her dress.  The belt around her waist is made up of 28 $20 gold coins.  The silver coins are supposed to represent the 3,261 feet of the deepest Comstock mine in Virginia City and to honor the miners who had to go down to those depths which was so hot down there (120 degrees) that they could only work for about 20 minutes before out to cooler levels of the mine then taking a 20 minute break.

The Silver Dollar Lady 

Back at the camper I did a bit of investigation into the Roku media streamer.  It’s a small device that you connect to your tv and the internet via a wi-fi signal.  It works well with my 4G connection on the Verizon smart phone, but unfortunately, most of the “channels” that are available cost money to stream.  Like HULU-Plus which cost $8 a month instead the free vanilla version of  HULU which doesn’t cost anything to view tv programs.  I guess I’m not quite ready to spend $8 or what ever each month to view tv.  Movies are also available on a per movie cost basis.  It’s an interesting product for sure in that you can access movies, video, and tv programs and lots of free obscure programs without the use of a computer.  It even comes with a remote control so you select the show just like you would a tv program from a menu on tv screen.  So I guess if I want to watch tv via the internet, the computer connected to the tv is the way to go for me at this time.  Now if you were able to follow this little discourse it means your techno savvy.  If not, it means you have better things to do with your time than play with electronic toys like I do.

One of the joys of being on the road is when you get a chance to meet up with fellow Rv’ers.  Elaine and John arrived at my current campground here in Carson City and we had just the most delightful get together.  Using our smart phones, we found a great Mexican restaurant in town called El Charro Evitia. A truly authentic Mexican restaurant that we all enjoyed.  John’s meal came with the usual beans and rice but he said they were the best he’d ever had.  Nice to find really good food.  I even had dinner over at their La Casa Grande the other night as well.

Elaine

John

My travels will be coming to an end in another month but I’ll more than likely send out a few reports from my winter destination once I get there.  Wishing you all the very best of  journeys.

More photos on Picasa

2012-34 California to Nevada

2012-34

Oregon to California

Campground: Tulelake Butte Valley Fair 800 S. Main Street Tulelake CA, 96134: (530) 667-5312 $18 Passport rate.  Full Hookups.

Campground:  Honey Lake RV Park, Hwy 395, Milford CA, 96121: (530) 253-2508.  $19 Passport rate, full hookups, about 20 over air tv stations.  Wi-fi available but I couldn't get it to work.  If you want to save money, insist on a site with elect/water only, otherwise they will put you in a full hookup site.  Not sure what the rate is, but it is less than full-hookups.

Campground:  Silver City RV Resort.  3165 Hwy 395, Minden NV, 89423.  Local: (775) 267-3359  $19.77 Passport rate.  Full hookups, 50 amp.  Cable extra.  Nice paved sites with gravel between sites.  Fuel, beauty salon, game room and swimming pool.  All pull-thrus.  Just outside of Carson City.  Close to shops, 30 minutes to Lake Tahoe.

This week will involve a fair amount of traveling every few days, so much less touring.  So you may want to just skip through this report quickly.

Doing just a bit of exploring in the Tri-City area of Oregon, just off of I-5,  I’ve seen Covered bridges a few of the many waterfalls that can be seen and hiked to within the area.  If I spent more time in the area, I would have revisited Crater Lake and even driven the hours drive to the Pacific Coast for a bit of beach exploring and light house climbing.  The towns in this area are small and quaint. Just big enough for a bit of walking around and window shopping or a quick lunch.  But since I’m just staying a couple of days before continuing my journey south, I’ve seen enough to know it’s a pleasant area to visit.  And I do like all the forested mountain ranges.

Distance traveled:  180 miles

Not a mile more.  As I used a tank of diesel fuel and needed to fill up again.  That was more than enough driving for one day.  I landed in the very northern end of California in a sad little town called Tulelake.  It’s surrounded by potato and white onion farms that are just being harvested.  The earthy smell of the potato’s and the rich aroma of the onions pervades the air and is making me hungry.

Bugs!  I really thought bugs would be gone by the fall.  Not sure why I figured that way, but they are definitely not gone.  Had to wash the front cap of the camper today.  As I was driving from Oregon to California I passed along upper Klamath Lake, as I looked out the side window at some marshy areas, it appeared at first as if there was a sudden swirling dust storm over each of the shrubs.  It in fact was thousands of flying bugs and knats so thick they appeared to be swirling towers of smoke.  Duck hunting season is on as this is a major flyway for birds migrating like the rest of us snowbirds  So I guess the bird watchers compete to see the birds before they’re shot down by the hunters.

Distance Traveled:  164 miles.

I left the fairground by 8:30 and was on a direct route using hwy 139.  Very little traffic along a route with the speed being between 55 and 65 mph.  A super nice speed for me as I have more time to see the surrounding landscape, though not many pull-outs for stopping and picture taking.  Saw a couple awesome old barns that I really wish I could have stopped to take pictures of.   Along the way I stopped in the 1906 Adin Supply Co. in the small town of Adin.  One of those general merchandise like groceries/wine/clothing, well you get the idea.  A perfect place to stop along the way for a cup of coffee and a sinful Bavarian cream donut.  I know, I know, I shouldn't have, but it tasted so good.  They also had a great selection of California wines at very reasonable prices so I stocked up on some of those.

Then it was on through National Forests, up and over small mountain passes of 1,500 feet, past remote lakes. Finally past the towns of Susanville, Johnstonville, and Janesville (Hmm, maybe I should recommend a town called Dougieville) before arriving at my campground opposite Honey Lake.  Well, it’s no longer a lake as all the water has dried up, but still a pretty site to overlook while I settle in for a few days.

Honey Lake

Eagle Lake

Distance traveled:  102 miles.

I’ve arrived at Silver City Rv park on the south end of Carson City.  The park has a new policy for Passport members.  4 days at Passport rate, one day a regular rate, then you can sign up for Passport rate again for 4 days.  Odd but it works.  What a nice area to be in.

Even though Silver City Resort is at the top end of my price range even at the Passport rate,  it’s nice to be at a park with so many nice amenities.  I dropped by the Fandango Casino for lunch the first day I arrived to get that real casino feeling that only Nevada has.  The lights were dimmer, not like the newer flashy casinos across the country.  The Rum Jungle buffet takes up a large area in the casino with palm trees, tropical fans lazily swaying back and forth, booths and tables all in green and tropical prints.  Everything lit up with green spot lights.  There’s even a circle of slot machines around a large volcano that goes off if someone wins a big prize.  The food was usual buffet stuff, but it’s the atmosphere that brings one back to a different place and time.

I’ll be in the area for most of a week, waiting on my mail to arrive and touring some local spots.  I'm only 30 minutes from Lake Tahoe, Virginia City and other attractions.

Till the next rambling traveling report, have a super great day.

more photos on Picasa

2012-33 Oregon, Heading South

Lafayette
McMinnville
Tri-City

Heading south to my Winter Home

Campground:  Sleepy Hollow RV Park, Lafayette OR, 97127. Passport America, $15, full hookups w/cable tv.  Older park with mostly perms.

Campground: Tri City RV Park 187 N Old Pacific Hwy Myrtle Creek OR, 97457. $14 Passport Rate.  Super nice new park.  Mostly all pull thru’s with grass between paved sites.  No large trees to worry about.  Full hookups 50 amp and tons of cable tv stations and free wi-fi.  Two thumbs up.  Note: ignore the sign up front indicating the Passport Rate is $20, it doesn’t apply.

I had a couple extra days in Washington as I waited for the arrival of my campers charger/inverter.  Apparently when one pays for 3 day delivery they (UPS) really mean you’ll get it in 6 days.  Needless to say I wasn’t a happy camper.  You may be aware of deliveries by such a service, I was clueless.  What I learned is they don’t count the day the item is picked up for mailing, weekends, even though they deliver on Saturdays, and they don’t count the day the item is actually delivered.  Making a 3 day delivery stretch to 6 days.  Ok, I’m stepping down from my soapbox, stomp, kick, stomp.

If you’re a roadie like I am,  you’ll understand the angst about not being able to be on the road when your all ready to go.  It’s the feeling that your being chained to a site with the engines revving and eager to get back on the open road.  And I had planned it so well to head out onto busy I-5 on a Sunday to avoid the heavy weekday traffic.  Alas that didn’t pan out.  It hasn’t helped either that the past few days have been overcast, chilly and a bit dreary.

In the mean time, I’ve been tinkering around with my smartphones internet connect, the laptop and my flat screen TV.  I’m in an area that has excellent 4G service and decided to experiment with streaming online TV from the computer to the big flat screen tv in my living room.  I got online and connected to the web site HULU where I checked out a few shows I’d been missing, selected one and started to watch it on the laptop.  Then I decided to connect the laptop to the tv via it’s 15 pin connection.  My laptop doesn’t have the new HDMI connection, but the 15 pin connection works fine.  Except for some reason it doesn’t port the sound over to the TV.  I was able to go around that by connecting my surround sound system to the laptop and walla, I have super TV reception and surround sound to boot.  Thanks to Tom for spurring my on to this little experiment.  Oh and my Verizon service is the unlimited Internet so I don’t have to worry about going over any allotted minutes.  This morning because I don’t have all that many over the air TV stations in this area, I connected the laptop once again and watched my favorite Sunday Morning Tv show, “Sunday Morning“.  And I only had to watch a 15 second commercial between segments.  It’s amazing how much different 3G is to 4G.  I could never watch videos online with just 3G as they’d keep stopping and skipping.  With 4G it’s really fast seamless streaming of videos.  Now I’m a real happy camper.

On the Road.
Distance:  165 miles.

I finally installed the charger in the camper and all seems to be working correctly.  So on Wednesday, I began my trek south.  Just in time as well, as the temp this morning was 45 degrees.  Fortunately I-5 was not too crowded and the trip was smooth as I also took I-205 around Portland Oregon on my destination to Lafayette where I found a Passport America park and is close to the Evergreen Aviation Museum which has the Spruce Goose.

I stopped in a thrift store in this small town of Lafayette and discovered a real gem of a place for anyone wanting to fill an empty apartment or small home.  As the Second Hand Rose Thrift store/furniture/antique shop was chock full of some really nice furniture and newer decorating items galore.  The sales lady says that things change constantly as their prices were really really low.  Unfortunately they didn’t have anything I needed.  I was almost ready to buy a small place and furnish it on the cheap.  Haven’t seen bargains like that and good quality to boot in a real long time. And no Tom and Christine I didn’t see a table that would fit the camper, but just about everything else.

The wing of the Spruce Goose overshadows this plane

The following day I drove the short distance over to McMinnville to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in particular to see the Spruce Goose.  Built by Howard Hughes in 1947 for heavy transport during WWII.  Built almost entirely of Birch not it’s namesake, Spruce.  Inside the first of three large museum hangers, the Spruce Goose originally named the H-4 Hercules fills the vast open space of the museum.  Imagine a wing span of 320 ft (97.5 M) and a height of a 5 story building and it was designed to fly from and land on water!  It towers over all the other planes on exhibit.  Painted a navy gray on the outside it hardly has the appearance of being made almost entirely of wood.  My friend Eric will be glad to know that they now permit tours of the flight deck for an additional $25 for a family of 6.  With the concept of family being very loosely interpreted.  I was hoping to join a group but was unsuccessful in getting added to someone else’s party as the front desk is not very helpful in that department.  And since I already paid $19 just to see the Spruce Goose, I couldn’t justify the added expense without being able to share the expense with at least a few other folks.  It was built under a Government contract but never used in the war and only flew one time at the hands of Howard Hughes himself.  The reason for using wood was that there was a severe shortage of aluminum so with the help of a shipbuilder, wood was the choice of materials to be used.

Images of the Spruce Goose

Besides the Spruce Goose, the museum has lots of military planes, lots of volunteer with some wonderful stories to tell.  Take the time to listen to those stories and those of other visitors who are so willing to share their own personal stories.  All adding to the history of aviation.

Like the tail of the Germany plane that was operated by a guy name Schmitt and a Air force pilot by the name of Brown.  Brown was being followed closely by the German, who rather than shoot down the American, was signaled to turn around and follow the German pilot, presumable back to Germany where the planes crew would be detained.  He refused. Once again the German pilot followed the U.S. pilot from behind and once again began a maneuver that would force the U.S. pilot on a course back to the UK.  With a final tip of the wing, the German flew off.

After the war, Charlie Brown attempted to find that German pilot for many years to no avail.  Then one day while in Seattle as the story goes, the pilot told his war story to a fellow at a military affair.  The guy he was telling the story too, said he’d just heard the same exact story on the other side of the room.  He asked urgently, who was the other fellow and after all those long years, the two pilots were reunited.

Charles Shultz, the creator of “Charlie Brown” would later make Schmitt the Godfather of all of his children.  Now the names and events may be slightly imperfect in the telling, but the gist of the story I was told are thought to be true.

Just one of the stories that was shared to anyone willing to take the time to listen to those volunteers at the museum.

Distance Traveled: 175 miles.

I’ve taken the interior route through Oregon rather than drive along the Pacific coast.  Mainly because I’ve never driven this route before.  As I left the Lafayette area and eventually arrived at I-5 heading south, the topography gradually changed from orchards, farms and the ever present vineyards to small mountain ranges popping up along the eastern side.  Gradually becoming more prolific, ending my days journey in the Tri-City Oregon area surrounded by those low mountain ranges on all sides.  Traffic as expected along I-5 was heavy but with patients I did pretty well.  Stopping at numerous rest stops along the way.  Remember I mentioned previously that one could stay overnight at any of the rest stops in Oregon, well today I discovered that many of them are manned by volunteers who dispense free coffee and cookies (for a small donation if you have it to give).   More homeless and hitchhikers along the way as well.

I’ve arrived at the Tri-City Rv park in southern Oregon.  Small towns and side adventures abound.  I’ll be exploring this area for at least a few days before continuing my trek south.

Photos on PICASA