Page 1 (click here to go to page 2, page 3, page 4, page 5, page 6)
OK, folks, here we go with another boring travel blog from Al and Lena. The plan is to drive through the desert to Las Vegas, pick up daughter Jenny, then camp, bike and hike in Utah, drop Jenny off in Salt Lake City, and then camp our way home. Our main concerns are desert heat and space in the car (three adults with camping and biking equipment in a Toyota Echo!).
What would a trip be without a new whacky invention from Al. This trip's invention is the open-window noise-reduction module:
When the window's open, there's too much noise as the air hits the rear edge of the window. This sheet of Plexiglas cuts through the airflow, and keeps it from getting turbulent and noisy. It slides in the window tract, and is held in place via a lip on the nut that is pushed up by the window. We'll see if it works...
Our housesitters came over early, and we headed off. We actually seem to have more space than in previous trips:
We stopped for coffee at a nice riverside cafe
and then it was on to a great campsite at Lassen National Park, where I set up my "Hammock Bliss" hammock. In the past, I'd thought that one had to choose between an uncomfortable hammock, or a big hammock with a spreader bar. However, this hammock, a birthday present from Lena, is delightful, and packs down into a small one-pound bag.
There was an amazing coincidence -- I found out two days before we left that our best friends from the Bay Area (Tom, Berit, Nathaniel, Sam (my godson), and Sven) were all going to be at Lassen on the same day! So we got together as they were going through the serious business of suiting up for some serious flyfishing. They were staying in a "camper cabin" (cough wusses cough).
These guys are good at waving the rods around, we saw some good trout...
and they had a good cheering section,
but did they catch anything?
Stay tuned for the answer and more flyfishing photos! I'll be updating this blog as I get a chance. I'm posting this from a restaurant in Hawthorne, Nevada.
Chapter 2
Here are more fishing pictures from Manzanita Lake in Lassen.
That's Mount Lassen reflecting in the water.
So, did they catch anything? Ah, no.
We all checked out the sunset, ate dinner, and hung out around the fire. There was actually a brief rain shower. We knew that since we were headed into the desert the next day, we would no longer have to worry about rain. Or would we?
Then they retired to their condominium, and we retired to our tent.
Stay tuned to find out about thunderstorms in the desert, and check out my camping-fashion faux pas.
OK, here's how the temperature thing works. In the day it gets really warm, so you wear shorts. Overnight it gets really cold, so you put on your long underwear. In the morning, you still need your long underwear, but only have your shorts in the tent, so the result is:
We were up around 6 AM, and now began the long wait for the house dwellers to arise. I went for a hike to take some artsy fartsy photos.
while Lena sat by the fire and knitted.
And finally, Berit emerged from the suspended animation chamber.
Tom was still under the influence of the sleepy house.
Sam emerged several hours later. Berit is hugging him here either because it has been so long since she's seen him, or she's glad that he's not actually in a coma.
After a fun breakfast and a lot of lingering over coffee, we said our goodbyes to our buddies and to Manzanita Lake.
Coming up: Find out if the noise-reduction module actually works. And will we brave "isolated thunderstorms" or stay in a motel?
I'm posting this from Tonapah, Nevada, and I'm not sure when I'll next be able to add more to the blog.
To continue, click here to go to Utah Trip Page Two.