I’m behind on my posts – we are currently back home in New Mexico. But first, let me continue my story of our epic trip out west.
We decided to leave California sooner than expected, due to the poor air quality. Time to get out of there! It was looking bleak on the way out of the eastern Bay Area:
Our goal was cleaner air in Utah.
But we had a lot of driving through smoke to get there. Sacramento was blanketed. It continued unchanged as we headed into the mountains. We couldn’t see the mountains even when we were in the mountains.
Here’s Reno. At least that’s where I think it should have been.
We drove for hours in this as we crossed Nevada.
By the time we reached our destination for the first night, the air was significantly better.
We camped for the night along this woodsy creek in the grasslands of eastern Nevada.
The air quality continues to be very bad in the Bay Area.
Here’s a picture of my shoes, lol. They aren’t spotted shoes, that’s ash that has fallen out of the air.
We’ve enjoyed seeing Laura and Alex, and I’ve been hanging out with my good friend, Tracey, who lives right here in Livermore. We’ve had a great time but the air quality is harsh, so John and I have decided to leave early. John had a quarterly review at work yesterday, so we needed to stay here for that.
So where next? We could just go home, but we want to be in Tucson for the final walk-thru and closing at the beginning of next week. So if we went home, we’d just have to turn around in a couple days and drive 6 hours back westward again. We could go straight to Tucson but we’d have to get a vacation rental because it’s too hot to camp right now.
We’ve got 5 days, a camper van, and smoke across the entire west coast. Where would you go?
There was a time when I assumed that the beach would always be smoke-free. I think I must have imagined a consistent onshore fresh ocean breeze. But this time of year in particular, the hot valleys and deserts of the southwest cause west winds, blowing dust and smoke toward the coastal communities. To get out of the smoke, we’re going to have to go east for quite a distance.
If we go due east across the Sierras, and then start heading southeast toward Tucson, we’d go through Las Vegas. We don’t gamble so aren’t interested in the strip, plus, covid. Plus, temps over 100 starting tomorrow. We like Lake Mead but don’t have our boat with us or our kayaks or anything.
Another option is to go farther east, and end up in Utah before heading directly south to Tucson. John has a real fondness for the landscape of southern Utah. We had planned to go camping in Utah next month, but we probably won’t have time once we close on the house. So why not do it now?
At the moment, southern Utah looks pretty good. The four corners area is a clear spot in a sea of smoke. Although who knows what it will look like in a couple of days.
Meanwhile, here’s some pictures from our week in Livermore!
Laura and I dehydrated figs from her tree:
She and Alex have a huge and prolific fig tree in their backyard. They keep it pruned down to a bush shape, to better reach the figs, and to keep it out of some overhead power lines.
In addition to drying figs, Laura also made fig pies and tarts.
One day we visited Alex’s mother, Tamara, and her partner, Michael. Tamara and Michael were babysitting for Michael’s kids, who were out of town on a short vacation. Here’s Tamara with the family dog, Bucky, showing us the fancy cookies she was serving in honor of our visit.
Laura
Laura, Tamara and Bucky
Here’s Tamara with her granddaughter, Layla. She’s Tamara and Michael’s first grandchild.
Here’s a picture of me with Tracey. Without thinking I went to stand right next to her for the picture, and she moved away an equal amount, like two apposing magnets. Laura said, “Social distancing!” Oh yeah, oops. This pandemic is such a bummer. Pandemic plus wildfires is surreal.
Here’s Tracey, at lunch downtown. I love this picture, with the covid warning in the background, the American flag, the deserted street due to unhealthy air quality. It’s all so poignant. When I arrived in Livermore the temperatures were over 100 degrees, but then the temperatures plummeted. Not sure if it’s just because of that front that went through the entire western US, or if it was because the smoke obscured the sun for several days. Or both.
Laura, lunch downtown. Note how Laura has her mask attached to her hat rather than behind her ears. It’s much more comfortable! It was Tamara’s idea. They cleverly sewed buttons on baseball caps to hold their masks. I’m going to do that as soon as I’m home. Unfortunately I had not brought a baseball cap on the trip. I could have bought one but I’m trying to stay out of indoor spaces, like shops.
Here’s John throwing a stick for Zane in Laura’s backyard.
John also bought Zane a bully stick, which is a tough, beef-based chewing stick for dogs. He loved it of course. Here he is playing with the small end left after he had eaten most of it.
Despite dodging insane heat and smoke, we have been having a good vacation. I’m happy to be somewhere other than home. And it’s so good to see friends and family.
We originally intended to start by camping in the Six Rivers Wilderness, in the far northwest of California, and then go down to the Bay Area, and then home. But then we acquired an errand in Tucson – we didn’t want to buy a house without seeing it! Then we stayed in Southern California for a week waiting for the smoke to clear in the north, instead of our camping trip in Six Rivers. When the smoke improved, we headed up to the Bay Area.
When we arrived, it looked like this – classic California. (I was taking a picture of the palm tree, I didn’t think to take a picture of the fleeting blue sky!)
But conditions have been challenging! Here’s the gazebo where we have been sitting 6 feet apart in the searing heat and haze with our masks on to visit.
Check out that temperature – ouch!
Then by Tuesday afternoon it looked like this:
And if you’re thinking, aww, well, that’s just a sunset, think again. Here it is in the middle of the day at 11:30 AM yesterday.
It was vastly cooler, thankfully, but I was reminded of the concept of a nuclear winter. Here’s a picture of the sun at noon. See that little dot?
The scary thing is, the air quality was far worse toward the end of August, a couple of weeks before we got here. I can’t even imagine how bad it must have been.
Here’s Laura’s picture of the sun in the middle of the day in Santa Clara yesterday:
And here’s some more pictures sent by friends in San Francisco and Berkeley. These were all taken in middle of the day!
Meanwhile, as you might have experienced in your state, it has gotten suddenly cold. Another friend sent me these pictures from her garden in Santa Fe. The temperature plummeted from in the 90’s to freezing in 24 hours. Those poor plants!
Then we found out last night that ALL of the national forests in California are closing due to fire hazard. So much for our camping trip to Six Rivers!
We had another week planned in the Bay Area, but with our postponed camping trip now impossible, we’re starting to wonder about our “Plan B”. We’re not sure what the next few days will bring. Is it time to hit the road again?
On Friday before Labor Day we left the beach and made the drive up from the San Diego area to the eastern edge of the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s no further than Tucson to San Diego, but it’s a much more miserable drive. I-5 remains busy, despite covid. The trucks are still trucking.
It was also insanely hot. We stopped at this little tourist spot and eyed the ice cream shop.
After some deliberation, we decided against ice cream. We are avoiding going inside public places to the extent possible.
Instead, we wandered around in the 100+ heat. John climbed up on this – whatever it is. He’s still a kid at heart.
In Livermore we rented a little detached studio right next to the cute main street downtown. There’s a farmer’s market less than a block away, twice a week!
Yeah, I don’t know what that is on top of the shelf. It’s in a stand, like a piece of art, but it looks like a bong, lol.
John’s been working, but I’ve been hanging out (outside) with Laura and local friends. Lucky me!
John somehow managed to find a lone remaining camping slot for the Thursday before Labor Day weekend at Carlsbad State Beach. We only got it for one night, because the park was completely booked for Labor Day weekend.
It wasn’t a spacious campsite like we had at Stone Creek in the San Jacinto mountains. They were just little gravel spots, tightly packed in long rows. But we had oceanfront!
Here’s the view looking down over the fence right behind our van.
When we first got there our neighbor was running his generator.
It was deafening! I wish everyone had solar panels! But we went for a walk on the beach and by the time we returned he wasn’t running his generator anymore.
Here’s the view from the top of the stairs down to the beach.
Pebbles and sand.
A nearly empty beach. The weather was perfect too.
We could see the back of our van from the beach.
We watched the sunset from back up on the bluff.
The next morning we went for a short walk on the beach before leaving. It was warmer than it looks.
I’m so happy it’s only about 6 hours from Tucson to San Diego. I’m looking forward to going more often!
The San Diego Botanic Garden in Encinitas was great. Due to COVID, they were only allowing a few people in at a time, with reservations only. It was such a pleasant experience with almost no one there.
As you can see, I love bamboo stalks. And look, these are striped!!
Look twice at this one; the topiary are dancing people!
More striped bamboo stalks. I couldn’t get enough of it!
After relaxing in the mountains for several days, we headed down to the beach. We were still biding our time, waiting for the smoke to clear further north.
We got take-out fish tacos at the Oceanside marina and ate them on a bench off the beaten path with a view of the boats. Then we rented kayaks and paddled around the marina for an hour.
After kayaking and a quick rest and change of clothes in our handy camper van, we went for a walk along the beach.
We were thoroughly enjoying Oceanside but then I had an unexpected freak-out on the beach about cancer. I am finding that I’m almost more stressed about cancer now than I was when I was in middle of treatment. I’m scared it’s going to come back. But most of the time I can put it out of my mind.
This trip is for my mental health, and it truly is helping. Some days I have setbacks, but being outside and seeing the beauty of the world is reassuring.
After leaving Tucson early because the air conditioner in the van wasn’t up for 100+ heat, we made our way up into Mt. San Jacinto State Park, which is just southwest of Palm Springs, California. We stayed there several days, near Idyllwild, and it was idyllic 🙂
Pines, oak and manzanita…
John was very impressed with the pine cones.
Yes, Laura, you’re right, there was a lake in the distance, which we did finally catch sight of.
Our campsite was spacious and the weather was perfect.
The original plan was to be in the Northern California mountains along the Oregon border, but it was smoky up there. Eventually we felt ready for a bit more adventure and we drove down out of the mountains to the San Diego area.
I suppose you have already read about the recent death of Chadwick Boseman, but I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind. I don’t usually follow celebrities, but his initial cancer diagnosis, stage 3 colon cancer, is the same as what I was diagnosed with in January.
It’s amazing what he was able to accomplish in the final few years of his life, all the while secretly undergoing chemotherapy and surgeries. I don’t know at what point his stage 3 progressed to stage 4, but it would had to have been fairly quickly. His initial diagnosis of stage 3 was only in 2016.
That’s consistent with the statistics. If my cancer were to come back as stage 4, it would likely happen within the next couple of years. The longer I go without it transitioning to stage 4, the less likely it will come back at all. I’m not considered “cured” until 7 years pass, however.
The fact that this has been in the news has been unsettling for me. It makes it real somehow, that yes, real people (young, wealthy, successful people, even) can die of this. I’m still really grappling with that. Some days I don’t even think about it, other days I wrestle with a sense of my own mortality.
John is the one who is the most impacted by my difficult days and is my primary support. But I also have a weekly cancer support group. And I occasionally hire a life coach, about once per month. And I have a “peer support” specialist, who is like a therapist but with different training. I’m also part of a “compassionate listening” group, where we practice active listening techniques. As we practice our listening techniques we are essentially providing therapy for each other, even though that’s not the actual goal. So I have a lot of support.
Here’s more about Chadwick Boseman in case you missed it in the news:
We have finally left on our vacation. Whew! For the last couple of weeks John has been very busy at work. We have also been looking at houses (remotely). Also we had tenants move to Florida and we needed to get new tenants in.
Tenant change-overs are always a lot of work. I get the house thoroughly professionally cleaned including the carpets steam cleaned. There are always various handyman items. At minimum we touch-up paint and change the locks, but sometimes quite a lot more fix-up needs done. Also the yard inevitably needs landscape maintenance (no matter how much tenants earnestly promise that they love yard work).
I think I mentioned I had tons of applicants for the house. We had no trouble renting it, the only trouble was going through all the applications and making the very hard decision between multiple qualified applicants. The worst part was having to tell everyone who didn’t get it. I don’t like disappointing people! I wished I had a house for everyone.
We got the lease signed on Tuesday, and Tuesday night we dropped the puppies off at Sandy’s house. Wednesday morning we were off on our big road trip.
The dogs, by the way, are doing great with Sandy. Except now that Kai is comfortable there, he’s being a butthead and testing her. He’s a well-trained dog, but he’s pushing his limits. He would be in charge if you let him!
We had planned to go camping in northern California, but it’s still completely smoke covered.
We don’t know for sure what we’re going to do the whole week we have set aside for camping, but first, a quick stop in Tucson to look at the potential new house.
We got to Tucson Wednesday night. The local state park campground was deserted. No wonder – it was searingly hot. Luckily we have a portable air conditioner in our camper van. We had reserved an RV slot at the campground with an electric outlet (we have some of our own electricity from solar panels on our roof, but not enough to continuously run an air conditioner). The air conditioner ran all night long.
The next morning was my birthday, but no time for that yet – we had an appointment to see the house we are considering buying! It was exactly what we expected – everything is smaller and a bit more rundown than what it looks like in the marketing pictures. That’s usually the case, so we were not surprised. The house is generally solid, but it needs some TLC.
Broken tile
Funky cabinets
Back of oven peeking over the counter top
There’s no pre-existing, built-in space for a refrigerator, although there is a wall we could put one on for now. It would just block a couple of cabinets and an unfinished pantry space until we were able to redo the cabinets. At least there’s already an outlet on the wall.
They’ve done some painting in a blueish gray that’s stylish right now, although the white trimwork needs refreshed.
But it’s perfectly livable.
And when it’s 70 degrees in January and snowing in the rest of the country, we probably won’t mind a cracked tile or two in the kitchen!
We like the exterior style of the house, which is fairly unusual.
I would remove the iron gate. There was a similar iron gate across the archway at our current house in Albuquerque when we bought it, and we took it down right away. It doesn’t seem welcoming and if someone really wanted to break in, there are easier ways than through the front door.
Here’s a couple pictures from the street side of the house (it’s on a corner lot). Lots of prickly pear!
After looking at the house, we got take-out street tacos from Seis Kitchen. If you’re ever in Tucson, we totally recommend that restaurant. Their street tacos are excellent!
We went back to the state park with our tacos, plugged in our portable electric air conditioning and watched while the temperature in our van continued to climb. It’s a good little room-sized air conditioner, which cleverly vents out a port John made in the wheel well. It does a good job of making cold air, but we were sitting in a metal box in the middle of the desert and it was 108 degrees outside, and our air conditioner just couldn’t keep up.
The temperature inside the van kept climbing, until at 91 degrees we gave up, packed up, and decided to continue driving west. I enjoy Tucson in the summer, but only with whole-house air conditioning and a pool in the backyard!
We drove west in the heat and smoke. Our car said it was 118 degrees outside as we drove through Phoenix.
We were ok though, because the regular vehicle air conditioning that runs off the engine is more powerful than our portable electric one that we run when the engine is off.
This huge thing is a blade from a wind turbine being transported, slowing traffic near Indio, California. It would have been a better picture but I took it through our filthy windshield, lol.
The drive up into the mountains scared me. California is the worst for twisty roads on the edges of cliffs with completely inadequate guardrails! It was dark when we got to our campsite, but blissfully cool at 6,000 feet.
We fell into bed exhausted, but just before going to sleep I opened my birthday presents. John got me candy wrapped in decorative computer paper, lol.
He actually planned to get me a really cool flight simulator game, but it needs a decent gaming computer, which we don’t have. So he wanted to check with me first to make sure I would be interested before investing in a gaming computer.
Darren is like, YES, DO IT! If we had a gaming computer, Darren wouldn’t have to lug one here to visit. And I’m happy to do what I can to encourage the kids to visit as often as they can!
I also got a llama picture (photo taken on the campsite picnic table the next morning). It’s a little painting, only about 5 inches across. Very cute!
And I got a fun road runner from a friend. John and I appear to be unofficially collecting road runner items – I guess that’s what happens when you live in New Mexico!
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