Many Miles of Majestic Mountains

You'd be disappointed if I didn't lay a little awesome alliteration on you before our trip is over, wouldn't you? We're home now, and there's quite a bit of catching up to do, both blog-wise and unpacking-wise. So let's just back up to when we left Reno, Nevada, yesterday morning. It was going to be a long day of driving, and so we got an early start. It wasn't long before we crossed the border into northern California.

It's a beautiful part of the country, ringed with mountains.

We drove miles and miles of open highway.

There were beautiful puffy white clouds in the sky.

And we saw lots of barns. I was wishing I could have gotten a better shot of the one below. With the bright snow-capped peaks in the background, I could only get it in silhouette.

Some of these appeared to be abandoned.

Eventually, we crossed the border into southeastern Oregon. It's always good to see this sign and know we're getting close to home.

We had a nice visit with our friends in Bend last night, and a very nice dinner out. Our day of driving was much shorter today, and so I had some time to spend slow-stitching this morning. Now I've moved the hoop to the bottom right side of the design. This one is coming close to being finished, and then it will be time to sew the nine blocks into a quilt top.

If northern California was beautiful, central Oregon is even more so. The jagged peaks of the Cascades are breath-taking. Ahead is Mt. Jefferson.

These are the Three Sisters.

This one is Mt. Washington.

This next one is Three Fingered Jack.

We stopped off at the Stitchin' Post in Sisters. I've blogged about this quilt shop before, and so I won't do it again. You can read my previous post about it right here.

Wanna see that quilt hanging out front? Tempting, isn't it?

Here's the info about it if you're interested.

For this visit, I was specifically on the hunt for two fabrics to finish off the Sundress quilt. I needed a yellow solid or a tone-on-tone. I liked this one.

And I needed a small scale multi-colored print with the colors of the quilt in it. I liked this one.

The first one I selected was this one, but it didn't have enough color in it.

But then, I noticed this...

Well. Say no more. Two yards, please.

And then we continued on our way. When we see Mt. Hood come into view, we know home isn't far away.

In about an hour we were home, and don't you suppose the kitties were happy to get out of the trailer. Smitty seemed to breathe it in.

Here's a cat on a mission.

This little person was none too happy to see cats arrive on the scene. He scolded and scolded them.

So there are lots of blooming things in the garden to catch up on, but I'll save that for tomorrow. We're expecting rain for a good part of the day. I'll be spending the day unpacking the trailer, making up a grocery list, and putting things back to normal.

Thanks to all who followed along and left such nice comments. It's always fun to travel with friends.

Posting on the Road

Today we're headed for Bend, Oregon, and we'll be home tomorrow. We had sandwich bread left for one more day of lunches, and so we stopped at a Subway in Alturas, California. We got our sandwiches and brought them back to the RV to eat. We need to let the kitties out of the bedroom at lunch. They have water going down the road, but no food, and so they are always ready for lunch too. And all of that to say that Mike is taking his nap, and I'm standing at the kitchen counter with the laptop writing this post. The laptop can only be plugged into certain outlets when we're working off the inverter, and that means I have to stand. No biggy...I've been sitting all morning.

Let's just back up to the drive from yesterday, shall we? Look at this picture below, and you'll know pretty much what we saw yesterday.

There were a few interesting diversions. For instance, we drove through this area where there were quite a few Joshua Trees. The Joshua Trees are blooming right now, although not too many in this area. They only grow at certain elevations, and this was it...somewhere around 4,000 feet(?).

Also...a number of historic towns...all quite small. It's the western side of Nevada, and there isn't much here.

We drove past the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project. We saw this on a previous trip. It looks as if aliens took up residence here. I'm in a hurry, or I'd say more about it. If you're interested, click on that link back there.

Many of the small towns we drove through were inhabited by a few people, but many of the structures looked like ones you might see in a ghost town. As far as we could tell, these structures were not inhabited. The ones housing humans were in slightly better shape, but not much.

Toward the end of the day, we drove through some colorful landscape that reminded us on the Artist's Drive in Death Valley.

Shortly before reaching Fallon, we crossed over the trail used by the Pony Express back in the day. I looked, but there was no sign. You can see it on the dotted line of the map below.

As we approached Reno, we started seeing some beautiful puffy white clouds. There was raking light shining through that I couldn't capture with my camera. Also, the Sierra Nevadas can be seen off in the distance. It was very pretty here.

It was a long day of driving for all of us, and the kitties were itching to get out on their catio. They're very good about sharing and giving one another equal time.

Smitty has always been a cat who considers his options carefully before committing fully to any activity.

Before leaving Pahrump yesterday, I stitched the whole hoop of my embroidery project. As expected, I'm going to run out of the green before I'm finished with this last block.

We ended up not driving through Carson City as we'd expected, but not to worry. Reno had its own Jo-Ann. And not to worry there either because Jo-Ann never fails to disappoint. We found the Jo-Ann just about five minutes away from the RV park. When I looked in the numbered bin for my color, it was empty. Of course it was. So I searched quickly and found a Michael's just up the road. They also sell embroidery floss. When I looked at the numbered bin there, I found ONE LAST SKEIN of the color I wanted. Man, I must be living right.

Okay, so like I said...I'm posting from the road, and I probably won't post again until we get home. We're meeting up with some friends in Bend, and I doubt I'll have time for that. With that in mind, I'll see you on the other side with news of the last leg of the trip.

Lucy gets full sun coverage

Lucy found a spot right near the window where she could get good sunbeam coverage.

Wine and Flowers (but no Roses)

Speaking of whining...oh my gosh. Smitty has not been a happy camper this trip. We have, sadly, not been any place where he felt comfortable getting out for more than the briefest of excursions. He's begun telling us how unhappy he is every morning, beginning about 4:00 a.m. He sings the song of his people...loudly and mournfully. This morning we told him we'd be heading for home tomorrow, and we can't get there soon enough for him.

Sadie, on the other hand, has taken it all in stride. She's a lot like our former cat Gracie in that regard. With traveling comes lots of lap time, and that's just fine with her. Also, she's really enjoyed the cat toys this trip. We put them in a little basket every evening, but every morning when we get up, she's gotten her favorites out again.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we had dinner at the restaurant here last night. What a lovely evening with great food and a nice atmosphere to boot. The restaurant and winery are separate from the RV park, but they might as well be one and the same. As we were leaving the restaurant, we passed through the tasting room and noted their sign that offered 7 complimentary tastings. We had a wonderful zinfandel with dinner and planned to buy a bottle, and so we went back over this afternoon to taste some of their other wines.

You'd be disappointed if I didn't take pictures of every blooming thing along the way, wouldn't you? The grounds here are lovely. These first ones look like some we saw blooming wild in the desert, but I don't think they are the same.

These are dahlias...my favorite flower.

Of course, daisies...

and petunias.

This is some sort of succulent.

No thoughts about this one.

This pyracantha is growing near the pool.

This low shrub was covered with little blue flowers, and it was alive with bees.

Looking beyond the park and across the desert, you can see snow-covered mountain peaks.

So here's the entrance to the tasting room and the restaurant. The restaurant is called "Symphonies," but the winery is called Pahrump Valley Winery.

Who knew cactus could look so pretty in a landscape?

The wrought iron railing leading into the winery had this design.

Inside, we bellied up to the bar...

and chose the 7 wines we wanted to try.

So here we go...

Good wines...we ended up buying three bottles in addition to the zinfandel we had with dinner last night.

And this is the real deal. Walking beyond the tasting room was this entrance into the winery itself. These are just some of the wines they've produced at one time or another...some of them sporting ribbons.

Through some glass doors, we could see the winery, and it was spotlessly clean.

There was also a gift shop with some funny signs and napkins.

Sorry about the reflections on some of these. They were wrapped in cellophane.

I liked this one...in my case it would have been my former sister-in-law..."former" being the operative word.

There was a full wall of these next ones. I loved this one.

In a former life, I was a pretty good pianist, and so I appreciated this metal sculpture of the pianist and the singer.

Outside, they grow some of their own grapes.

We ended up walking all around the RV park just to get some exercise. Aside from that, we've just been relaxing and I've been stitching. I got a small start on my newest stitchery yesterday.

I stopped when I had it this far this morning. I might do a little more later on. I'm afraid I'm going to run out of that green floss before I'm finished. There is a Joann up the road in Carson City, and so we'll stop in there as we pass through so I can get some more.

Tomorrow, we'll head for home. It's a three day drive (two nights). We'll spend the first night in Reno, Nevada, and the second in Bend, Oregon, where we have some friends we'll meet up with for dinner. After that, it will be a short trip from Bend to home on Sunday. We're going to pass through Sisters, Oregon. I've already checked to see if the Stitchin' Post quilt shop is open on Sundays, and it is! I actually need some fabrics to finish off the Sundress quilt, and so we'll stop in there. I really like that shop, and so we always stop when we pass through Sisters.

The next couple of days will be spent mostly driving, driving, driving, and so I'll post if I have anything to tell you. Surely we'll at least see some barns along the way. But seriously, we'll be driving through some pretty country, and so I imagine I'll have some pictures to show. If not, you can expect to hear from me again by Monday when we'll be at home. It's been a great trip so far. Mike was really needing some down time, and we both needed the desert warmth. It's been a good combination of sight-seeing and relaxation. Fingers crossed the trip home is uneventful.