Full blown, up-chucking panic attack today. Drove on a 10 road today. If you're at all afraid of heights, don't go on the road past Ferndale, California. Had to turn around and go back.

Later: My stomach has had a chance to settle a bit. We went back to the campground and I took a nap.

I was talking to a gentleman here, a retired music schoolteacher, who was here with his wife. They live up by Portland and come down here to meet up with his wife's brother to go motorcycling. He was describing the road that I turned back on, said that was the longest stretch he'd ever ridden with his face lower than the rest of him (the other end of the road had a very long downhill stretch). Sure am glad I turned around.

It was quite interesting talking to him. His family was originally from Iowa, and after WWII, his dad, who had fought in the war, got a job teaching in New Mexico. The first weekend in their new home, at 9 am, gun shots went off next door. His dad jumped up and reached for his rifle, thinking he was still in the war. Turns out the next door neighbor (who was in his 70s) used to be a peace officer and every Sat. morning strapped on his 6 shooter and went out to his back yard to practice his draw (it was a small town).

That's one of the fun parts of traveling, getting to talk to people from all over. When we were in Idaho, there were a couple of young ladies from Germany. When I told them my grandmother came over from Germany, they asked where from, and darned if I couldn't remember where her family came from! Getting old...

Got a few more photos to post. This one is the mountains seen from central Oregon.

On the way up to Crater Lake 

Mountain range after mountain range, you can see for miles and miles

Crater Lake, which is actually the caldera of a volcano. The island is the volcano after more eruptions.

Squeak helping Lukas with his DVD player

Scottie snoozing away

Another long day. And a day of extremes. We started with snowdrifts up on the rim of Crater Lake (and with 10 being the absolute drive from hell for an RV, Crater Lake is a 9), and then to Medford with temperatures in the low 100s, to the California coast, where the temperature right now is a nice cool 57 degrees. I really hate campgrounds that advertise Wifi at the sites, and then don't have it. The campground we're at tonight fits right in there. I called about noon to reserve a site and asked for a site that had good wifi reception, and the girl told me that the entire campground was wired. So we finally get here and guess what? No wifi. They've been having trouble with it all day, and they have someone coming to fix it real soon. That was 3 hours ago. On to the Redwoods National Park tomorrow. I'm going to try to get a reservation at campground close by there so we can make a nice lazy day of it. I'm getting frazzled with too many 15 mph switchbacks.

I've been to the top of the world today, and taken a couple of roller coaster rides down the other side. I love the names people think up, a small farm called 'Roadkill Ranch, and a creek called 'StinkingWater Creek.' Amazing the things you see when you get off of the freeway.

We're in Oregon tonight, and may be on our way to California. We'll wait until tomorrow night to decide on that. Lukas had a nasty bloody nose in the middle of the night last night, and I was debating calling 911 at one point. Was stuffing pieces of toilet paper up his nose, and it was soaking through and running down his face. Lots of ice and pinching his poor nose finally stopped it, and he finally went to sleep with a wad of paper still in his nose. Took a bit of his mustache with this morning when I pulled it out. We've got 2 humidifiers running in here now, and hopefully that will help. Too much hot, dry desert air. We really need to get to the ocean and then home.

Time for some photos. Scott, the boys and the dogs at the salt flats,

When you get out of Salt Lake City, you'll start seeing rocks piled up along the side of the freeway. Kids come out and write their names with the rocks.

A dust devil in NE Nevada

Desolate land, NW Utah

Scottie and Pip

Hot and pooped out dogs

Craters of the Moon in Idaho. These are lava flows.

When the lava flowed, it formed tubes when the outer skin cooled, but the molten lava inside continued to flow out of the tube, so there are hollow tubes of rock all over, some small and others quite large. The ceilings eventually collapse and leave holes in the tubes. We went to Indian Cave, one of the larger tubes. Here's the boys in the cave and then going up on part of the collapsed roof. It's really neat inside the tubes, very cool, with water dripping, and doves cooing from nests they've built in the caves.

I really have to take more advantage of the technology that I have available. This morning we wasted an hour and a half driving around Idaho Falls looking for a grocery store or Walmart, and Idaho Falls isn't that big of a town! We're in Arco, and next stop is Craters of the Moon.

Sitting in a campground in Salt Lake City, cleaning beads that I made back in April. I just might get caught up cleaning beads on this trip. Have I mentioned I love my iPad, cleaning beads listening to Bachman Turner Overdrive, with tomorrow night's campground programed into GPS HD so I don't lose my way and end up in Taos, New Mexico, like the last time we got lost.

I can see why the government owns 80% of Utah, the vast majority of it is uninabitable. There is some fantastic scenery in spots, though. David's ashes continue on their journey with me. They've been on roads that would have curled his hair. He did not like the mountains. I continue to miss him terribly. We didn't have the best of marriages; having a handicapped child places incredible stresses on the best of marriages. But we had more ups than downs, until the company that he worked for was purchased by an international corporation. In 2001 they installed a computer dispatching system, waited a week or so to get it up and running, then laid off all of the senior dispatcher. No severance pay, no 2-week notice, nothing but a final check. That is what really killed David, to be treated like that after putting in over 20 years. He turned more and more to drinking to cope, and over the last couple of years he became bitter and angry, and it was increasingly difficult living with him. My life now has a sense of freedom from the angry words and worrying about his declining health, but I still miss him and what could have/should have been.

I have decided that after we return, I'm going to have the boys clean everything out of the RV and get it all cleaned up and I'm going to sell it. It's become difficult to take care of Lukas properly in it, and things keep breaking down. Whatever I get for it can go for bills, and God willing, in a couple of years, I may look for a newer, larger one.

More photos to share, the Tetons. This is a view that I've been taking a photo of for almost 40 years now.

Neat storm clouds

Nick checking out the Tetons

Mark taking the dogs for a walk

the dreaded Flaming Gorge, in southern Wyoming and northern Utah

and Mark being a ding-a-ling. See Squeak, the white dog? That's the edge of a cliff, and at least she's got a harness on!

my niece, Debi, with her daughter and granddaughter. They live in Grand Junction.

and then into southern Utah and the Arches National Park. Gorgeous scenery!!!