On The Road Again To Montana

So after just one more tea party, and a whole lot more sorting and packing, we headed north, mostly via I-5, then the Columbia Gorge, and then I-90, to Missoula, to do more sorting and packing, in preparation for this season's (final, last, ultimate) snowmobile adventure.

Grandma's new scones recipe is so good even I
like it

In my princely regalia

Sometimes the sorting and packing requires difficult choices;
I wore this self-designed T-shirt more than 100 times between
2011 and 2016; alas, only two people ever even smiled at the
humor, much less commented (I was ready with, "Oh yes, it's
the former Castle San Angelo, at the corner of Conciliation
Avenue and the Tiber"); maybe there are more Catholics out
there than I thought; anyway, Vicki despises it, and, I admit, I
have out-grown it, so to speak; so it is now gone...

Our drive north included two extended visits at RV shows and
dealerships; here, our dream vehicle; but we are coming to the
realization that, with our travel plans in the next 3 years, we
probably don't really need an American RV after this coming
spring...of course, as I have often said, we make plans only
so we can change them...

Camping somewhere in deepest Oregon

Mt Hood, in Portlandia, majestic as always; alas, although we
got to Missoula just fine, our propane system stopped working...
no furnace, no hot water, no cooking, etc.; for the moment we
are OK, parked and plugged-in in the Rotts' driveway, everything
freezable drained or brought indoors; but we've got to get this
fixed before heading out and up into the mountains...PS, turned
out to be just a propane bottle lock-out...

Camping Again In Middle California

In a few days, Aunt Rachel and Uncle Will had returned to DC, and Mama had embarked on her 10-day trip to India (a school field-trip), so, to give Daddy a respite, we took P on a short camping trip, first to Casa de Fruta, near Hollister, and then on to Pinnacles National Park, which we are getting to know quite well.

Riding the narrow gauge train at Casa de Fruta (a very large
old orchard/vineyard/ranch/amusement park/RV resort) 

Casa de Fruta's impressive double-decker carousel

Riding with Grandma

On the big slide

Coloring in the camper; she's getting really
good at Go Fish!

On the Cave Trail hike at Pinnacles NP

Largest Buckeye yet found, two inches in diameter; I am still
grieving for my Buckeyes...

The camping trip did not end well; our truck suffered a total
electrical failure; Daddy had to come rescue P and me, her for
school and me for a doctor's appointment; above, the camper
is being towed to the Dodge Ram dealership in Gilroy, where
defective parts were replaced, and we were back on the road
in a couple days; thanks to the warranty and Chrysler road
emergency service, there was no cost, except for time,
aggravation, and J's mileage to and from Pinnacles; the service
advisor at the Dodge dealership in Gilroy, Emily, was the best
ever; memo to self: next time the vehicle's electrical system 
shows signs of being possessed, head immediately to the 
nearest dealership

Fun Old-Fashioned Family Christmas, 2015

It was another very special Christmas for us, with both daughters and sons-in-law, and, of course, the grand-child. Nothing beats a Christmas with a four-year-old in full. Also, the sweetest child ever.

Going over her Christmas list with Santa at Stanford Mall;
Santa was impressed that I knew the name of the Other Reindeer
(Olive)

Baking with Grandma

Decorating the ginger-bread house with Aunt Rachel; Mama
and Daddy in the background

Drum-roll, please!

Selfie with Uncle Will and Aunt Rachel

As with last year, we spread the Christmas
Fondue Extravaganza over two days; here a bit
of the meat and seafood course; not pictured,
the cheese course (my favorite)

A bit of the dessert chocolate/fruit course, next
day

'Twas the night before Christmas...cookies and
milk left for Santa, together with another sweet
hand-written note

Christmas morning helping with Mama

And Daddy

Opening presents

Still firmly in the Princess Phase, here she is in
her new Merida costume; one of several...

Grandma's traditional Christmas morning
cinnamon bun ring

Christmas brunch

Family portrait (following performance of favorite episodes
from the Nutcracker)

Family Time In Lower California

So at length we left Joshua Tree National Park and headed down into the valley, Desert Palm, etc., and then back up the next set of mountains and down their western side, ultimately landing in Oceanside, by way of Pala, and the home of Vicki's brother Bob and his wife Beth. Vicki's sister Marie arrived the next day for a mini family reunion.

Looking down on the valley west of Joshua Tree, now from the other side

Some of the best metal sculpture yet...

The detail was especially impressive...Ricardo Breceda...

Bob, with dessert, in one of the nearby casinos

Vicki's dessert sampler

Marie, sampling

And gaming

Another day we drove over to the Oceanside beach and pier

Thus

Peter Paul Pelican

Beth observes the feeding flutterment

Another Pacific sunset from the deck

Vicki, Bob, and Marie

Southwestern Out-Takes

I have been remiss the past couple months, integrating what should have been out-takes into regular posts. Oh well. Here are a few that didn't make it...

Near Missoula, of course

Indeed, seen all over southern Utah

In case of fire, maybe consider taking the elevator...Moab

Not that funny, actually

Tomb of the Unknown Squirrel

The Duke and me

Barad-Dur

"In a clever disguise..."

Christmas in the RV resort

Lighting up the San Andreas Fault

"Ce n'est pas un sentier"--Magritte

Zion NP: signage in 12 languages...a new world record