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2017 West Coast Road Trip
  • Sam Dickerman
  • Samantha Dickerman
  • Sam Dickerman
  • Samantha Dickerman

2017 West Coast Road Trip

A 37-day adventure by Sam & Samantha Read more
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  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    Back at camp

    July 20, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We drove home and had a nice dinner. The kids and assumed we were breaking several state and local codes by cooking turkey bacon in real bacon grease - but it was yummy! We finished watching Clint et. al. after dinner.Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    Donner, Lake Almanor, and Mana

    July 21, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Kind of a mellow day. We did laundry at the cleanest laundromat ever and the visited the Donner visitor center. After that we made the long, pretty drive up to Lake Almanor south of Lassen.

    The best part was when a campsite neighbor gave us a huge chunk of steak - yum!!!Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    Devil's Kitchen - starting up

    July 22, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We drove up to the Lassen Visitor's Center after breakfast to talk with the Rangers. The road through the park was still closed half-way up because of the snow. This also meant the most famous hike through Bumpass Hell was closed. BUT - there was another hike to Devil's Kitchen if we drove around the park to the east. So - off we went. We grabbed a campsite nearby and then set out on our hike through a beautiful valley.Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    Devil's Kitchen itself

    July 22, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    I'm sure the thing the kids will remember most is the SMELL!! It was pretty strong! There were steam vents and mud pots and all sorts of boiling bits. Very cool!

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    Back to Lassen

    July 23, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We had a nice breakfast in town in Chester and then made the drive back up to Lassen. First we stopped at the Sulfur Works which was equally stinky to Devil's Kitchen and then took in the views as we drove up towards Lassen Peak.Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    Setting off to Lassen Peak

    July 23, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Now, the kids will tell you that there was a grand conspiracy to get them to climb all the way to the peak of the mountain. The length is about 2.4 miles - about the same as the distance to Lone Pine Lake at Mt. Whitney. However the vertical climb is much more. The trail begins at about 8500 ft and ends at 10.565 ft. So that's a big climb up.

    So I won't say I wasn't eager to get the kids to make the whole hike. I was. But I also thought we might not make it and that would be OK too.

    There was quite a bit of snow to traverse. The ranger had said we might need crampons but we found the snow to be pretty soft by midday. Not that we didn't slip and slide a bit - but there was never a part that felt really dangerous.

    We had to rest frequently right from the get go and Franklin and Samantha were both tired almost right away given all the adventures we'd been having of late.    Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    We keep on going...

    July 23, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We kept on going even though it was steep. We stopped for a halfhearted lunch and kept discussing when we would turn around and go back.

    We met some folks coming down who told us that there was a migration of tortoise-shell monarch butterflies at the top pollenating the wildflowers so we decided it would be good to make it high enough to see that.Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    One foot in front of the other

    July 23, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    The views were just amazing. We could see the outline of the wide crater that blew up 850,000 years ago. The kids were tired and several times we were on the absolute edge of stopping. I explained that my job as a dad is to push the kids to learn what their limits are.

    And then a magic moment I will never forget:

    Franklin (upset and tired): Dad - I don't know what my limit is!

    Me: I don't either honey. The question is, are you there yet?

    Franklin (resignedly): No...

    And we walked on. To pass the time I found a Lord of the Rings Trivia website. We did OK - Franklin did the best of us I would say.    Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    We made it!

    July 23, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Amazing - the final push through the last of the switchbacks and before we knew it we were there! 10,565 feet above the world! Suddenly, Franklin found a burst of energy and climbed the bolder to become the highest climber on the mountain!

    The butterflies were swirling around and the ravens were circling and saying hi to us. It was magnificent and the kids were so proud. What a feeling! It had taken 3/12 hours but it was worth it!    Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    Heading back down

    July 23, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    We headed down as the sun was starting to get low in the sky. We estimated it would take an hour to get down but it ended up being a bit more. Still - we did find a short cut past several switchbacks!

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip
    1

    Drive down out of the mountains

    July 23, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    We had been up at high elevation for so long we'd forgotten about the heat! The drive down was filled with endless fields of brown grass and boulders. As if the ranchers were raising rocks for slaughter.

    When we stopped for a snack in Maxwell the heat hit us like a wave. Just a couple of hours earlier we'd had enjoyed the cool at 10,000 feet. Now it felt like Dinuba all over again.

    We ended up at a nice little motel in Williams. Franklin and I shared a bed. Franklin was, of course, a little cuddle bug!    Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    Covelo's magic P1

    July 24, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    It's hard to put the Covelo stop into words. We came through the canyon road not quite knowing what to expect. The land was beautiful but dry in the same way as the hills coming out of Lassen on the other side of the mountains.

    Google maps had the address right but we also happened to run into a guy headed the same way and when I mentioned Max and Emily he just said "follow me". I felt like I could have asked anyone and I would have had the same answer.

    And then we were there and it just felt like coming home. Emily and Debbie and Ray were waiting at the farm house and we all had hugs and kisses and the playing with Ray began in earnest.

    Franklin turned out to be an excellent egg retriever (22 in two days). After a bit we walked the short distance over to Max and Emily's awesome not-so-tiny home.    Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    Covelo's magic P2

    July 24, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    After hanging out (and resting - oh how we needed to just rest!) we headed out for a short hike down to a wonderful swimming hole. There was a lot of poison oak all over and the kids did a great job avoiding it.

    The swimming hole was clean and deep and we had a nice time exploring. I wish I had taken more pictures but I was slowly slipping into relaxation mode.

    After the hike we had a nice dinner at the local BBQ joint where we got to meet up with Max. I barely took any pictures because I was busy demolishing a tri-tip sandwich AND an order of ribs. YUM!

    By the time we got back around 8:00 the kids and I were falling asleep. I felt badly that I didn't have the energy to stay up and lose money to Max and Emily but the cooling air and comfortable sofa couldn't be resisted. The kids crashed on the Murphy bed in the back bedroom and slept for 12 hours!    Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    Covelo's Magic P3

    July 25, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We had a super lazy, wonderful morning. We finally got around to breakfast around 11:30 and the eggs were delicious - as was the local Covelo bacon. Ray was delightful as ever and it was fun to (literally) bump heads with him over and over.

    Debbie started the siren call of "stay another day...". How we wanted to! The kids did for sure and I was sorely tempted. Covelo is so beautiful and charming. I could feel time and space warp under me from the pull of both Covelo's gravity and family love.

    But mean old dad said we had a plan and should stick to and should push on.

    So we drove to town in Emily's car. There was a wonderful moment I didn't catch on camera when one of the horses escaped through a gate we had opened to pass through. Emily jumped out of the car but left the car in drive so after a funny moment of head flipping hesitation she jumped in the car (which was slowly rolling off the road), put it in park and ran back to cut off the horse. She got past it and hooted and hollered at it until it started back towards us. In the meantime, the kids and I had The wherewithal to close the gate just in time to cut off the dappled grey trying to make the same escape. The two horses pushing past and around us as we opened the gate for Emily's offender impressed the kids and me with their size and power. "Horses are scary" Samantha commented after - but agreed they were sweet too.

    After that we saw the very fine town library and then the awesome radio station! Franklin recorded a station ID and his voice will now echo across Round Valley in rotation with the other versions. So in that way, as well as others, we left a bit of ourselves in Covelo.    Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    Saying goodbye to Covelo

    July 25, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    It was sad to say goodbye of course. We felt so welcome and our visit had been so brief. But it was also the halfway point of our journey - a high valley transition from our adventures in the mountains to our trip out to the coast.

    We love the show "Avatar: The Last Airbender" with its Aristotelian four elements - air, fire, earth and water. We had seen these in many forms so far, in the intense heat of Dinuba, the belching sulphur of Lassen and the crackling of our campfires. From the waterfalls and roiling rapids of snowmelt in the Sierras to the lakes of Donner and Tahoe. From the dry trail dust that sticks to everything to the towering cliffs of Mt Whitney. And the clear air of T-shirt skiing at Mammoth to the hot winds blowing smoke over Yosemite.

    And yet now we were off to a new adventure. Back on the road, just the three of us packed in the van - all of us missing Kha in our own ways. To the coast and up up up with more earth, fire, air and (much more) water to come.    Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    Hello Shelter Cove

    July 25, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We arrived at Shelter Cove at a magical moment just as the sun was setting. The road in was remarkably twisty and steep and I used 1st gear much of the way.

    It's a sleepy little place. We stayed in the RV park right next to the airstrip. There were two planes but no traffic in our out during our stay.

    The mist hung low and heavy and we had to get out our jackets for the first time in quite a while.

    We fell asleep after a nice long reading about Temaraire- the dragon star of the book I'm reading at bedtime right now.    Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    Failed Fun Fishing

    July 26, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Well, we floundered around trying to set up the right fishing rig. We bought a couple of cheap poles at the general store and some bait. Later we got a bit better advice and tried some rubber squids. Still no bites. However, the super nice guy Brad who drove the tractor that raised and lowered boats into the bay gave me really good advice that I'll try on our next fishing attempt.

    Still, we had fun casting and standing in the cold waters of the bay. The kids got to building a volcano after a while. I gave the bait fish to some locals who much appreciated it. One of them had given us advice up at the general store. He said he'd forgotten his rid that day. We were headed back up to the RV park so I offered to lend him one of ours. We told him we were at site 83. About 5 hours later he dropped it off - proving I thought a good lesson to the kids that most people are decent and trustworthy.

    We all showered and had a nice pizza dinner. We haven't quite gotten back to cooking in the van.

    We then watched Rocky in the van. It was as good as I remembered. Even Franklin could (barely) handle the kissing - eww!

    Plans are to watch at least II, III and IV!    Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    Night time animals and wake up

    July 27, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    The kids showed off their clean feet after a shower....

    During the night a huge owl landed right near our van on a fence post. In the middle of the night when Samantha and I got back from the bathroom there were four sweet deer eating the grass right outside the van. As we approached they calmly walked single file through the opening in the fence out onto the airport golf course that circled the runway. Samantha and I theorized that they flew around the world eating golf course grass and that they navigate using their ears. 😀Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip
    1

    Shelter Cove highlights

    July 27, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We went to check out the black sand beach just around the corner and discovered that it's more of a black rock beach. It was beautiful but we continued to be wary of the water. So many of the people we've spoken to have mentioned how dangerous the ocean is. A 40 year old man had just drowned the week before at "Deadman's Point". Later in the day we stopped at a sporting goods shop in Eureka. The really nice guy there had lots of warnings and stories of danger as well.

    This seems to match the West Coast in general - where everything is just bigger - mountains, rivers, weather and danger.    Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    Seal Rock

    July 27, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Kudos to Franklin for noticing the sign for seal rock! They were all just lazing around except for one who was trying to get onto the rock. He was right near one that was already on and we were thinking he was saying "Hey, Bob, how about a little help?" And Bob, unmoving, just said in that classic Franklin manner "Nah".

    We also saw a starfish which was only visible as the waters receded - or as Franklin put it as he wielded his wizardly powers, raising and lowering his arms "rise........unrise.......rise.......unrise.......    Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    Through the redwoods to camp

    July 27, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We drove up through the Avenue of Giants to see the giant redwoods. We stopped at the visitor's center and bought more commemorative tokens to add to our collection. Our goal is to have enough to use as replacements for the tokens we use playing Netrunner, Magic or Coup. We came up with this idea only after leaving Yosemite - so I ordered a few of the one's we missed online. This lead to a text from Kha with a photo of the one from Mt Whitney in its packaging asking "What the heck is this?"

    I didn't take many pictures as we were driving mostly but we saw many huge trees towering over us. After stopping at a Starbucks in Eureka to download more Rocky movies, we made our way up to Elk Grove Campground. It is absolutely beautiful! We've already seen a few of the Roosevelt Elk in the fields.

    Our campsite is 10 feet from a lovely stream and there are ferns and blackberry bushes everywhere.

    Franklin worked on his fire building skills - he is getting good!    Read more

  • 2017 West Coast Road Trip

    What I do for love...

    July 27, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    At 10 pm I decided to text Kha but the only Internet available was at the little amphitheater by the entrance to the camp. So I walked about 1/4 mile through pitch Black Forest with only a flashlight. Strangely, I wasn't really scared - something I would have thought I would have happened in that situation. It was just very peaceful. The kids didn't fall asleep until I got back though!Read more

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