On the Road…
Posted on 15. Jul, 2010 by Elizabeth in The Gear Movers
The Shadow of our Amazing RV as we travel west!
The latest adventure took me through thousands of miles of the western United States, experiencing the continually changing landscape by RV, raft and boat, and even simply walking down its coastal highways. It all started with an RV, set rolling on wheels that haven’t moved in five years, and four friends ready for a new rafting adventure (as we’ve done in years past). A vintage RV, straight from 1978, complete with the general yellow tinge and faded fabrics, wood paneling, and brown shag carpet. Four of us left Colorado, driving this top-heavy, gas eating machine through Wyoming, Nevada deserts, and on to Oregon, taking the RV to its new home. After only one night relaxing in Oregon, we traded our spacious ride for a tight squeeze in a Jeep that backfires and only has two seats for four people, plus gear. But we make it work, and continue on our trip to the Klamath River in Northern California, encountering fewer and fewer other humans, moving further into the wilderness.
Driving down the lonely road heading west in Nevada
Avenue of the Giants - the Majestic Redwoods
Oregon Flowers and Shadows in the Summertime
Nic, Appel and Matt in the Jurassic Forest in Oregon
Fire, smoke and sunshine, in the Oregon forest in the summertime
Our modes of transport when not on the river in Oregon, good times!
The Redwoods in July
The river – the second goal of the trip. We inflate our craigslist purchased raft and set off on our way. It doesn’t take more than ten minutes before we find ourselves bailing out the boat, hit by a huge swell of water and gushing rapids spitting us out of the river. But this is the worst of it, or maybe it’s just we’re more prepared for what’s ahead. For three days we paddle and drifted through beautiful redwood forests, stopping every night under cloudless night skies to camp. We explored the river with the bears caught lazily swimming, the eagles flying over head, and ventured into the dense, enormous trees at the river banks. The last day on the raft, the mouth of the river becomes wider and wider, and we pull the raft to shore in sight of the white breakers of the Pacific Ocean.
The Klamath Crew July in the summertime
Awesome river foliage in the summertime in Oregon
Yum Yum, fishy eggs in the river
A jet boat on the river in July
Matt jumping in, this is one of our favorites!
Fog and wind roll in as well pull our raft to shore, but the journey is not over yet. In three days we covered about 90 miles on the river, but by road, it’s more like 120 miles between our only vehicle, the Jeep, and us. So, two of us set off on foot, each with a small bag slung over the shoulder, just in case we don’t make it back in one night. Thumbs out. Within minutes our first ride, a bright blue jet boat, drops us off at Highway 101, where we walk for a mile before our second ride. A savior, a traveler reluctant to return to LA, takes the rest of the way back to our car, chatting about the Illuminating, the Green Party, and random historical facts the entire way.
A Black Bear in the Klamath River in July
A Banana slug by the river
After camping on the beach, we make our way down the coast, along the 101 and back towards civilization, to San Francisco where we catch a flight. Almost exactly a week later, we are ending where we started, in Colorado.
The number one driver of the RV, its me!
… I am very thankful to this topic because it really gives great information ~`~