New England back roads

After our trip to Georgia we were sent to Vermont and from there over to our yogurt factory in New Hampshire. There just aren't any freeways that go from VT to NH so we traveled a lovely country road- and as usual saw some interesting sights.

Here we are going through a quaint New England town- another main street excursion for us. I think this was Bennington NH. We could see that it is probably "ground zero" for the fall folliage season. Happily today was not too crowded for our big truck to come though.



Another town had this great monument to pioneer mothers- a baby in one arm and a rifle in the other.


It is never a good thing when you are driving a 13' 9" high vehicle and the sign says 9 foot high bridge ahead. Fortunately this covered bridge was on a side road.



Leave it to those crazy Vermonters to put cows on top of their farm stand.


As we came around a corner we saw a sign for 100 Mile View- so here it is.

Fire on the freeway

We happened upon this huge accident on Georgia this week. It probably occurred about 3 minutes before we passed it. Luckily for our travels, it was on the other side of the freeway and amazingly everyone got out safely. This is the worst accident we have passed this year.

Here is the first sight we had of the accident- the fire is just starting to get going.



As we got closer we could see that a tractor-trailer rig was on fire

Then we saw that a motor home and another semi were knocked into the median
Finally, as we passed alongside we noticed there was also a car involved- under the burning trailer. That really was upsetting so see- but later we found out that the car was being towed by the motor home so no one was in it at the time of the accident.

A rosy peach.......or?

We posted this picture of a giant peach last fall when we drove through South Carolina. This is the view you get when you are traveling northbound

On this trip we got the southbound view of the giant peach.
It gives you a wholly different look, doesn't it? We have heard it referred to as a "giant butt"- and you can see why!!

South Carolina flowers

Driving through South Carolina is a treat in the spring. They have planted huge expanses of wildflowers in the median of the interstate. Several were in bloom this past week. The bottom corner is just a picture of the soil color- it is so red- very different from what we are used to in the Pacific northwest

A visit with Amy

We are on the East coast and have two days off to spend with Amy (while Tim is out in Denver). Here is Amy- all 6 months pregnant of her! Isn't she beautiful!? OH, and aren't the flamigos beautiful too!!

New Driver

We went back on the road on Wed April 18th—and now we have two drivers- sort of. Joanie has passed her written test, her CDL physical and received the go-ahead from our company to drive the truck as an Over-the-Road Trainee. That is as long as Kurt occupies the passenger seat when I am driving. I logged over 300 miles on my first official day and actually backed into a parking space (with my coach directing my every move)

Here is my coach - hard at work

Home Time

We got back to Kettle Falls for a week of RnR (remodeling and rest) from April 9th to 16th. We blew off 6 months of pent-up remodeling energy in our first full day home! We demolished walls, ripped up rugs, cut through walls, covered up one former door opening and framed in a new wall. As it turned out that one day pretty much did us both in so we settled for making more plans, going window-shopping, socializing and generally relaxing for the remainder of our time at home.

Our fist remodel step is to make a bathroom at one end of the extra bedroom. We are adding a bathroom door and moving the bedroom door plus building a new wall to enclose the basement stairs.

Here is the former bedroom entrance before our work started

Here is the wall with the door eliminated.

Here is the wall that will become the new entrance to the bathroom and bedroom before work began. The onpening in the floor to the left is the basement stairs.

This is a picture of what we had accomplished by the end our first day. There is a new hole in the wall, a new beam supporting the roof and a framed wall to enclose the stairs. Whew! Next time home new pocket doors will go up on the other side of this new opening.

More signs of spring-

Ten months of the year the desert areas of Utah, Arizona and California are brown and dry. But in April and May they do have a green season including a purple wildflower bloom. Here is the proof

We also saw lovely purple bushes blooming in northern California- near Mt Shasta. Don't know the name of these but they sure were stunning along the roadside

A day off on the California coast

After driving cross country and stopping in Denver we made it to LA on Wed. Apr 4th. We unloaded two shipments in the morning and then had to take our mandatory 34 hours off. On Thursday morning we rented a car [with Enterprise- since they come right to the truck stop to pick us up] and we headed up the coast. It was a lovely day as we drove along the Santa Monica shoreline. We made several stops to walk barefoot in the sand and to watch the waves and the surfers. In Ventura county we passed acres and acres of strawberry fields- full of ripe berries and hundreds of pickers. We spent the afternoon in beautiful downtown Santa Barbara with its gorgeous gardens, interesting shops and the main street that ends at a pier that juts into the ocean. We had to have an ice cream cone and sit for some great people watching.

The only down side of the whole day was that we forgot our camera!! So here is a picture of the sky- you have to use your imagination to see us walking on the pier etc.....

The Denver window reveal

On Monday of this week we had the afternoon and evening off to spend with Lisa and Ben in Denver-- and as usual we tackled a home improvement project. Last spring when Lisa and Ben reomoved the old wall paneling in their new livingroom they discovered a window underneath- it was also sided-over on the outside. On this trip Kurt sawed through the exterior siding to let the light come in.
In the first picture Lisa and Kurt are looking in as the first siding board comes off.

In this picture Joanie and Lisa are posing infront of the new, bright window. Lisa said it is like having an entirely new room.

We capped off the visit by going out to dinner. Then it was back to the truck to sleep so we could get up early as we had only about 30 hours to drive the 1000 miles left to get into LA and make our delivery on Wed morning. (we made it with time to spare)

Separate Trips for Kurt and Joanie

While Joanie stayed in Washington, Kurt made a trip to Los Angeles, then back to the Bay Area and then all the way to our favorite yogurt factory in New Hampshire.

He stopped for a night underneath Mt Shasta- and had this great room with a view

He had to cross a dust storm in the Nevada desert and

he got a great shot of his reflection while driving in Wyoming

Meanwhile Joanie was able to make a quick trip to Kettle Falls on a picturesque spring day.

Here is a dramatic picture of the coulees of eastern WA- these are canyons carved by ice age floods.

Up on the wheat prairie I skirted a large rain cloud

And here is one of my favorite views of Lake Roosevelt (the 150 mile long lake behind Grand Coulee Dam). Our home is about 50 miles from this spot-around the bend inthe river.

On Friday 3/30 Joanie flew from Seattle to Manchester NH. Kurt drove the truck right into the airport and picked me up and we immediately headed west towards Los Angeles-- with-- you guessed it-- another load of yogurt.

New digs for Jay

Joanie jumped out of the truck two weeks ago to help transition our brother Jay into a new

nursing home. First he had to say good bye to his care givers at Sherwood Village. Clearly they were going to miss Jay. They left his this note at his breakfast table on the last morning.

Jay seemed to make the transition well and had oriented himself to his new surroundings the first day. Messenger House has a large common area where Jay takes part in small activities throughout the day. Here he is looking at a book

Something different- the Nevada desert!

We got sent to Phoenix last week and our route took us down the entire length of Nevada. We have come to really appreciate the stark beauty of the desert-- but the long straight stretches can also be boring....

We are glad there were mountain vistas to break up the flat expanses.

Yes, there REALLY IS a Cottontail Ranch in Nevada-- but it doesn't look like it is much of a going concern any more.

The striations on these rocks are beautiful and interesting to see.

OK, I admit- 350 miles of desert wasn't all that exciting- Kurt caught this picture of me napping in the middle of the day!

Spring Flowers

It is still wet and grey in the Pacific northwest-- but the daffodils are blooming- a sure sign that spring is on the way!!

A Modern Marvel in our backyard

A new "Galloping Gertie" is under construction across the Tacoma Narrows over Puget Sound near Tacoma. We cross the Narrows on our trips to Sequim. Here are a couple pictures of the new suspension bridge that has gradually taken shape over the last two years. It was fascinating to watch the suspension cables being strung. Now the road bed is completely in place.

Same-o, same-o

For those of you who have been worried about how we are making out driving in all the wintry weather that has hit the U.S. in the last month..... Well, don't worry! We have been stuck on the same route down and up the Pacific Coast from Tacoma to LA since early February. Four trips in a row! The good news is that we have not had any "winter driving adventures". The down side is that we are very bored of the route and we aren't making much moola.

It takes about 2 days driving time each way and with loading, delivering and laying over to await a new load a usual round trip takes 6 days. Sometimes we go straight down I-5 and sometimes we vary the route by going down route 97 in Oregon or Hwy 99 in the San Joaquin valley of California.

HERE ARE SOME SCENES FROM OUR TRAVELS...

These first two pictures are of the beautiful, towering evergreens that line the Willamette Pass Hiway east of Eugene in Oregon. Willamette Pass to Oregon-97 is our alternate route through Oregon. We like 97 because it is less hilly and a narrower road- so you can really see the countryside.

When you cross the top of Willamette pass you are treated to peek-a-boo views of this pristine mountain lake

After traveling 150+ miles through the high desert of eastern side of the Cascade mountains on Hwy 97 in Oregon you come to this beautiful lake above Klamath Falls.

I took this picture of a jet trail in Northern California. It was amazing to me because it appeared to be going straight up like a rocket ship!?

Here is a picture from old Hiway 99 in the San Joaquin valley in CA. There is always more to see when we travel the older route- like these flowering trees that lined the route for literally one hundred miles. Plus the hiway is still lined with stately old Eucalyptus trees and palm trees which are fun to see.

Please NO MORE SNOW

We arrived back at our home in Kettle Falls on Monday afternoon for a one week break from truck driving. We made it in the driveway just as the last rays of sun were hitting the side of the house. And we were delighted to see that the snow was mostly gone.

Then each of the next three mornings we woke up to fresh new snow falls including this 4" dump. Happily, the snow mostly melts by afternoon.