Welcome to the Pacific

A beautiful view of the Pacific just before sunset.
The swells of the Pacific are significantly larger than the Atlantic. Along this part of the coast there are warnings to stay out of the water as there are "sneaker waves" that are deadly and can pull you quickly into the ocean. There are also information boards regarding earthquakes and tsunami's- which is new to us...and somewhat disturbing. Needless to stay we remained well back from the ocean.
As you can see, Triana was not the only one "GROSSED" out by the dead sea creatures. Kass shared the same opinion...sad...yet gross.
The Klamoth River can be seen flowing into the Pacific in the bottom left of this photo. There were many sea lions feeding at the mouth of the river, but we could not get any closer because the sandbar is privately owned. The Ranger we met at this look-out point said that there has been gun incidents regarding tresspassing along this sandbar ...we decided to view the animals from "safe"a distance.

Triana's Day - we made it to the Pacific

Today we had brek fast then we got ready for the day. We cleaned out clothes and got rid of some. Then we had lunch. Then we went for a drive. We went to a Redwood tree that you could drive thru. We barely fit then we went to a beach and got to touch the Pacific ocean. Then we went to another one just a mile up the road. We saw a dead sea lion! GROSS! So we just avoided it and went to another part of the beach where there were no sea lions. We walked for a bit then went to a look out point (by the way we left the beach) (back to the story) and we saw ALIVE sea lions from a long way up. We looked at the amasing view for awhile then we went back to the trailer, had supper, then we all went on the computer. Then got reddy for bed, then got into bed. Well I got to go so bye bye.

California Redwood Forest

Jay is off to explore an opening in between two Redwoods. We were happy that he returned after his investigation.... he did leave us the keys...just in case.
A gigantic Redwood along the scenic tour off of HWY 101. The tallest Redwood stands 380 ft tall. The largest diameter of a Redwood is 23 1/2 ft. I just love how grand they are!

The view from the highway. It was beautiful to drive through.

The kids thought this tree was very cool. A fire had caused some damage and created a nice cave in the middle of the tree. We learned that the Redwood is resistant to forest fires and it's outer bark layer is 12" thick...wow that's as big as most of our Poplar Trees!

No-the kids did not cause this tree to topple over, but they did enjoy climbing on it since it was done.

Mission Inn, Napa Valley, Old Faithful Geyser

The kids at the entrance of the Mission Inn - Riverside, CA

1 of 25 Historic Hotels in America

Richard Nixon honeymooned here.

Mission Inn: a beautiful hotel with wonderful grounds. Many influential people visit the hotel annually and it is a popular wedding location. The nicest part about the hotel was that it was "tourist" friendly. We could walk throughout the hotel learning about the history and not feel out of place.

As we left the LA area, we quickly encountered miles of orchards and vineyards on our way to Napa Valley. We believe these are Cherry trees in bloom. There were quarter sections of land filled with the dark and light pink blooms. Awesome.

Along the Napa Valley the vineyards were being prepared for this years grape crop. There were many miles of vineyards and wineries. This time of year there were not many tours offered-only wine tastings. As none of us are wine drinkers we appreciated the scenery and kept driving.

Old Faithful Geyser of California. It is said to erupt faithfully every half hour. While we were there it went off about 12 times in one half hour. Apparently, the more it rains the more frequent the eruptions...it has rained a lot this spring! The water is hot coming out (of course) ...the girls were amazed that small fish and minnows live in the small pond surrounding the geyser. In the background you can see the once active Mount St. Helena....not Helen's, but Helena.

Southern California Sights

Some of the green hills of southern California.
The kids treated us to a day at Knott's Berry Farm - it was a fun, roller coaster filled day.
The campground ranger said these "lovely" creatures are Turkey Vultures. They don't look it, but they are so cute. They wag their tails and pant like puppies.

UPDATE: (*OK- so after further investigation and some help from a good farm girl (thanks Holly) we have discovered these are, in fact, Muscovy Ducks- those campground rangers will tell tourists ANYTHING!)

P.S. We always thought they "looked" a lot like ducks!

Sunny California

Sunny California? The Golden State? I don’t think so. So far we have been welcomed by snow, wind, rain and more rain. It is still warmish – that’s a good thing.

We have also been fighting the flu…not sure who is winning…only a few more of us to attack. The inclement weather is a great for getting lots of book work done. Jay will be ready to write three final exams by the time we arrive home. We are staying in Riverside, CA- an outer LA community. It is a very nice area (the rain certainly makes it green) –it is the first campground in a long time that allows campfires. The small wildlife also appears abundant- we have encountered two skunks, several bunnies, geese, and turkey vultures, which are the absolutely ugliest yet cutest waterfowl ever. Not sure if that is their real name-but the camp attendant says that’s what they are. Attached are some pictures of the vultures and geese. We opted to “just say no” to taking pictures of the skunks- it’s for everyone’s best interest. The outside hose compartment on the trailer still stinks from the skunk in Saskatchewan….last August!


We are all excited to be home soon. Time seems to be moving very slowly lately. Especially for Darla who can’t wait to get back to teaching. Apparently our kids are so wonderful that she just wants to jump right back into the classroom with many more kids. We are planning to visit the Redwood Forest, shop in “tax-free” Oregon, and stop in the Olympic Rainforest in Washington over the next few weeks.

Take care,
The Hohn’s

More School Photos

Ryley's desk- we are going to ask the superintendent if it has the required amount of head room for a student Ryley's age.
Do those not look like the tracks of a 3 ft long raccoon?
Triana sledding in the California sun.
Kassidy's turn...notice Ryley absence? He refused to participate. Don't worry - we took participation marks off for this activity. No one said anything about having to be cool when you sled on the ONLY snow available for hundreds of miles. It was the annual Snow Fest at Silent Valley RV Resort.
Ryley was too cool to sled, but not too cool to wear pineapple leaves on his face to the local Valentine's Dance. Kassidy was glamorous!

Life in California

Entering the Banning Pass and the awesome view of the Wind Farm Turbines.
Even more wind turbines...they were really working the day we drove through because it was VERY windy!
Triana and Kassidy's desk at school (aka: the kitchen nook and dining room table)
Jay's Desk at school- looks sorta like the master bedroom.
hmmm

Gone to the Birds

Bernie shared some food with the flying critters and made lots of friends
Curtis appeared to be enjoying the birds. When we watched the video of this event he couldn't stop giggling.
Nice accessories Carly. Just call her the "Bird Lady" from now on.

The day according to Ryley

February 13, 2008

Today we slept in. Then we packed up, left the campground and hit the road. We did school work during the trip. We stopped at the Californy for lunch and got gas. The we did more school work and more driving, but we finally got to the town where we are staying. The only thing left to do was climb the mountain. “Drivers, start your engines!” Vvvrrooom! Vvrrooom! Beep! “And They’re Off!” LOL. It was a mixture of the Cabot Trail (see September 20th Journal Entry) and the BC Mountains (see March ?, Journal Entry). We were about 3500 ft up and there is no railing! Straight down, all the way! My stomach flipped every time we drove around a corner! It was practically a roller coaster, well except for the no-flips- (unless you count my stomach) and no tracks (unless you count the animal tracks on the road) oh and no shooting off (unless you count Dad pinning it after every corner. So when we finally got to the campground, which is thousands of feet above sea level, we parked and walked around for a bit. There are 850 sites, almost as big as the Disney World campground. Mom and Dad went for another walk and when they came back mom said they she saw a raccoon and it was the size of our bathtub (3’1” X 1’ 7”- I measured). Ok, either her eyes are going of the altitude is getting to her! We then ate supper and I phoned Brandon. A 3 ft long raccoon…seriously!!!!

February 14th 2008

Great Auntie Michawn and Uncle Martie saying goodbye in Quartzsite, AZ
The view on the way to our campground at Silent Valley Club near Banning, CA
The view from our front door this morning...yikes.
California?
Near Palm Springs? Did we mention that the local folk told us that it has only snow here ONCE before? EVER!

What's Up With the Snow

The kids are absolutely ecstatic! Jay is NOT! We awoke to 4+ inches of white, wet SNOW this morning. We were supposed to be avoiding the white stuff! Did I mention we are in Southern California? S-O-U-T-H-E-R-N California…only 30 short miles from Palm Springs. When we left Arizona yesterday it was +25 and the day before we were sitting by a pool in Phoenix with Cory and Cherie, Robert and Tanja getting sunburned. The heat and the suntan lotion are now fond and distant memories. We thought we would run into snow along our trip somewhere. In the Maritimes, there was the possibility of snow…New Hampshire had a chance of snow, but we did not think it would come down upon us in California.

As I type, the kids are outside (in the small amount of winter clothing we packed) building an Igloo. After we pointed out that there were perpetuating the stereotype that Canadians live in Igloos-they are now calling it a “Snow Fort”, but still building. Despite Jay’s disappointment and the very real possibility that the power could go out in our campground and the water lines could freeze, there is warmth that comes from seeing the kids playing in the snow. Ahhhh, yes that is why we are Canadians… Albertans to be exact. There are wonderful memories to be made in the snow. Jay’s thoughts on the situation: “Our kids are crazy”.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Love, The Hohn’s
p.s. Happy Birthday to Miss Madison!
p.s.s. The forecast says it is supposed to be +23 here today…what’s up with that???

Saddle Mountain

Saddle Mountain, Arizona
Uncle Martie helping the kids finds critters. I think Auntie Michawn was hiding her eyes - just in case they discovered scorpians.
We would like to say that we made it to the top of the mountain - but we did not- despite Triana's encouragement.
Here is proof! The desert is beginning to bloom.

London Bridge Looked Fine To Us

We did not have as many bird encounters as the French family did when they visited Lake Havasu, but we still enjoyed the birds. Bernie and Deanna reported that emany birds landed on them at a time (they also have the pictures to prove it). The real prize was that both our families walked away without any bird droppings on us.

Interesting Hot Springs

After a really fun and relaxing time with the French family, we have returned to Arizona. We were sad to see the French’s go, but excited to meet up with our next visitors. “Great” Uncle Martie and Auntie Michawn flew into Palm Springs last week, then drove to a little town near Phoenix to meet up with us on the 9th. While reading this blog please keep in mind it is very difficult to find a campground in Arizona that allows children. Actually, it is very difficult to find a campground in Arizona that allows people under 55.

We finally managed to find one near Tonopah, AZ, which is about 35 miles west of Phoenix. It was a great location to meet Martie and Michawn because we could go exploring Saddle Mountain during the day and it was only about a mile away from the Hot Springs. Ahhhh….the Hot Springs-what a lovely way to kick back and relax after adventuring through the Desert Mountains. You already know there is going to be a catch don’t you? Well…the Motel that was right next to our campground was not exactly luxury and Auntie and Uncle are not as young as they once were so when they heard there were cabins to rent at the Hot Springs they were pretty excited.

Auntie Michawn and Uncle Martie woke up early checked out of their hotel and made their way to the Hot Springs. They returned. They never checked into the cabins at the Springs. Apparently, clothes are not “required” at the Springs. Michawn said they never actually said the word “nudist”, but it had all the requirements of being a nudist facility. That being…no clothes allowed! We really thought they were kidding (anyone who knows Martie would have thought it was a joke). When they checked back in to the NON- luxury hotel - with the sloped bed, non-intentional sky-light in the bathroom, and the six inches between the bed and the door we knew they were serious about the Nudist Hot Springs. How sad...and funny! No....we did not go to the Hot Springs, but we did have a really nice time exploring the mountains. We so love and appreciate the visits of friends and family from home. It makes us look forward to getting back.

Love, The Hohn’s
p.s. It was +27 here today and we saw a horned toad in the desert.

More Fun Moments

Kassidy at Hoover Dam
Jay and Ryley Golfing in Needles, California
While strolling the boardwalk in Laughlin Curtis discovered some shady bandits. They relieved us of some Carmel Corn. It was very tempting to try to pet them, but we didn't want to spend the rest of the evening in Emergeny.
Bernie and Carly golfing in Needles, California
Curtis wasn't afraid of the raccoons, however was not sure about his safety by this Yucca plant.

Hoover Dam

Looking up at the Hoover Dam
Looking down from the top of the Hoover Dam at the Colorado River
The French family "chilling" at the Hoover Dam
A great view of the Colorado River
Lake Mead. Notice the Calcium Carbonate line that indicates the level of the lake during peak season.