Stan and Connie Spielbusch's Web Site

StanAndConnie.com

May - June 2003

July-August 2003

California

In July we headed north as fast as possible to escape the heat. We barely stopped in California, but we did see some interesting things along the way. We saw an entire "crop" of roses when cutting through the farmland, which was quite a sight. I guess it never occurred to me that there must be flower farms to supply the florists all over the country. Unfortunately it's tough to stop for pictures on a busy 2-lane road, so we can't share the sight with you.

We also found a pistachio orchard next to a freeway rest area, and picked a few fresh pistchios. Now we know why they come pre-cracked in the stores -- they are tough to open! (OK, maybe that's not the real reason but it seemed reasonable it at the time!) And of course we saw vineyards of all kinds, strawberry fields, and other crops we couldn't recognize.

After a few days in the 90-plus degree heat of the California valley, we were really happy to see Mt. Shasta and climb out of the valley into the mountains.

(Click photos to enlarge)

There's a handy truck stop in the mountains that has a terrific view of Mt. Shasta, so we stopped to fill up (both the motorhome and our tummies).

Crater Lake and Phoenix, Oregon

We stopped for a couple weeks in Phoenix, Oregon -- locally called the "other" Phoenix. The RV park was right behind an outlet mall and a McDonald's -- rather too handy, actually. I needed some new shirts anyway. At least that's what Connie tells me.

We also visited Crater Lake, which is a large lake in a volcanic crater. Its water is unusually clear because there are no rivers flowing into it (or out of it), so the sediment doesn't get stirred up. This makes the water a deep blue. Looking out over the huge bowl-shaped crater, it's easy to believe that the lake is nearly 2000 feet deep.

Some of the rough rock formations together with the pine trees and the cinder cone in the lake really make for interesting scenery.

What a view!

Of course it's really cool up there due to the elevation, so it was a great relief from the heat -- and it was nice to be near a little snow (OK, that's close enough!)

Even the drive to the lake was breathtaking, with seemingly endless "tunnels" of tall trees.

We drove back a different route, and were surprised to see farmland. Somehow these cows seemed out of place so near the mountains. Judging by the way they were staring, they were probably thinking the same thing about us.

Eugene, Oregon

We stopped for about a month in Eugene to get some work done. The weather was pleasant, with cool mornings and highs typically in the 80's. We also got to visit with some friends that we met in Arizona. They took us on a drive through the countryside where we saw all kinds of crops, some of which I didn't expect to see here in the hills. There were Christmas Tree farms next to wheat fields, peppermint fields and sugar beets, and berries of all kinds. They can grow just about anything here. Unfortunately I was so busy watching all of the scenery I forgot to take pictures!

One thing I did have to stop and take a picture of is this street sign (one of many like this in the area). If you know where you're trying to get to, it's hard to get lost even though the roads meander through the hills in all directions.

We also went to the annual Scandanavian Festival in Junction City, where our friends were part of the entertainment. Here's Elaine in her traditional Finnish costume, and Arnie giving a Lefsa cooking demonstration (Lefsa is like a potato pancake). Don't they look adorable?

There were a variety of dancing and musical performances. This group of musicians and dancers was actually flown in from Estonia for the event. They gathered a crowd for their performance by marching down the street playing music.

Other performances included childrens' dances and ribbon dances.

The highlight for me was actually the variety of foods. I wasn't alone -- the most popular foods, Biff Piej (meat pies) and Aebelskivers (pancake balls) had long lines all day long (can you see me in the Aebelskiver line?).

Ah, the payoff -- fuffy hollow pancake balls!

Of course, a Scandanavian event wouldn't be complete without a windmill.

Seattle

Finally we got to visit Seattle, if only for a day. We met up with our niece and went to the Pike's Place market, where Connie went crazy over all of the seafood.

We browsed the market and sampled a variety of foods like almonds, hazelnuts, honey, and jerky of all kinds (lots of free samples, for which we paid handsomely by buying bags and bags of goodies). Then we lunched at a little chowder place that had several varieties of seafood chowders -- and clam chili. We were entertained by a sidewalk musician while we dined.

Finally we rode the monorail to the space needle and viewed the city from the top of the needle (520 feet up). It was a little overcast and hazy, but we could still see for miles. You can see the monorail coming from the middle of downtown, if you look closely.

Now we're heading east with some stops in South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, and New York, before heading back to Kansas City for Thanksgiving.

That's all for now!

Thank you for visiting our travel site. Please visit our other sites too:

Campground Master -- A tracking program for your campground or inn. Easy to use and learn, but modern and powerful. One of the most inexpensive systems, great for small campgrounds. Designed by campground owners and full-time RVers.

MysteryPhotos -- Every week a new photo is shown, which may be a close-up of something, or a section of a common object or sight. Guess what it is and you might win a prize. Lots of fun for the whole family! Free screensaver and wallpaper too.

Awesome Screen Savers -- Cool photographic screen savers of the highest quality, for Windows PC's. Download FREE Lite versions of them all. Some are created with photos from our travels, some are awesome photos from NASA. (Contact me to have a screen saver made with your own photos!)

Cottonwood Software -- My shareware business site, currently featuring File-Ex: a Windows file dialog enhancement tool. Great for people who work with a lot of files.

Free -n- Cool -- Tons of Freebies, Giveaways, and Cool Sites -- all in one! You'll find a large selection of free samples you can get mailed to you, free games, screen savers, internet services, etc., plus hundreds of contests of all types, and a unique "intensely cool sites" list.