Days 22 - 24 - Homeward Bound

We chose to take the scenic drive out northeast through Yosemite and then go north on Hwy 395.
Leaving Yosemite to Hwy 395

From Ahwahnee we met Deanie and Bill in their 5th wheel, so we made a three part caravan with Deanie and Bill leading, Eugenia and her camper in the "rocking chair", and Johnnie and Jenny bringing up the lead.

This is a beautiful route though very slow with lots of winding, two lane roads.

Tenaya Lake

Some stands of deciduous trees are in the valleys and showing their fall colors

Evidence of old burn areas show where the forest gradually comes back

Deanie and Bill drop off part way, and Eugenia makes a stop as well. Johnnie and Jenny soldier ahead to Lee Vining. We are both ready to get home!

Lunch at Nicely's in Lee Vining

 We are headed to Bodie National Historic Site just off the highway. We make the turn and then all of a sudden the blacktop turns to dirt road that is rough and full of potholes. After a 1/4 mile or so, our camper is getting beat up by the rough road and covered with fine dust. We decide to turn around and skip Bodie this time. We head into Bridgeport for the night. Ah, the first hot shower in 8 days! Yahoo!

The next day we continue on Hwy 395 toward Susanville.

North of Reno on Hwy 395

Very dry and desolate area but it has its own beauty

Stopping to eat outside Susanville, CA

Good food

Decor outside Lumberjack's 

 From Susanville we head west-northwest through Lassen National Park toward Mt. Shasta.

Route to the second night

Featherlake Hwy 44 going west near Poison Lake (now totally dry)

Hwy 89 near Hat Creek; lots of burned areas

Hwy 89 near Hat Creek; lots of burned areas

Hwy 89 near Hat Creek; lots of burned areas

Hwy 89 intersects Interstate 5 about Mt. Shasta and we head north. At this point we are both in agreement to use the interstate. Originally we planned a more scenic route back but after a week of dry camping at Yosemite and NO SHOWERS we are pretty ready to be home!

The scenery starts to change from I5 going north

Our stop for the second night is at Weed, CA. No particular reason, just got ready to stop and this was the first significant town we could find a motel. Found a nice place, economical and comfortable and stopped. Our "next door neighbors" at the motel were a man and woman that had been married 7 years. He is 84 years old and both were widowed several years ago. They told us of all the travels they had in the last 7 years; not letting any grass grow under their feet!!

We ate at an Asian-American BBQ a couple blocks away and then stopped by a liquor store to buy a beer to watch the Seahawks the game. I love tasting the local brews and found this one.

Three star

CA has legal Medical Marijuana but not recreational

Day 24 Last leg of the trip:
Interstate 5 is fast, smooth and safe; the scenery in Northern California and Southern Oregon is rolling hills and lots of agriculture and pasture land. It is nice to see green again after the drought-ridden lands of the last two days!

 We do make good time on this road. Next stop to eat is the Wild Goose Cafe in Ashland, OR.

Another metal sculpture we love!

If it seems like all we do is eat on our trips, well, there might be some truth to that. At least on this return trip, we are not stopping to sightsee, just clicking off the miles as we head toward home.

Shari's restaurant near Salem; Johnnie's healthy lunch and he didn't offer me a bite!!

Jenny's healthy lunch

At Portland, we agreed to push on through and get home. We arrive about 8:30pm with a big sigh! It was a long travel day, longer than we like but, we both just wanted to get home.

The trip home

In the days ahead we will clean up the camper and winterize it, do laundry, reflect back on this trip, and figure out what the next season of life looks like for the two of us. This was an amazing time together -- our first big road trip as full fledged retirees -- and the best part is we are still friends and still smiling!!