Bill and Eileen's Travels: Yosemite, San Fran, Crater Lake (6/10

Today is Thursday 6/19/2014. We are in Bend Or. at the Crown Villa RV Resort. It has been a very active week and a half. We left Visalia, Ca. and moved on to the Yosemite-Mariposa RV Park which is about 30 miles south of Yosemite National Park. Mark and Kathie moved on to California because there RV was to big for this Park. We met Jen, Magnus, Seb, and Sofia here for a couple of days. We would visit Yosemite and enjoy the park.

After a nice dinner and an interesting night in the RV we piled into the Volvo and off to Yosemite we went. Soon after we entered the park we stopped at the first waterfalls (Bridalveil Falls). The park has very high granite cliffs with beautiful waterfalls. On the way back to the car my bride fell off the asphalt path and landed directly on her right foot. She also had a bad cut and scrapes on her left knee. We took her to the Medical facility at the park and as luck would have it the PA on duty trained with a friend of ours from NC. Needless to say we received excellent service from Brian Burt but the news was not good when we got the X-Ray. The fall fractured the fifth metatarsal on her foot. We were told to see a Orthopedic doctor this week (after the swelling subsided) to determine what to do next. We have an appointment tomorrow morning here in Bend. The open toe sandal is really quite attractive but the crutches proved to be a pain.

In spite of the injuries we had a great couple of days, mostly at the campground with the Ekman family. What a joy to be with them. Sebastian and Sofia are growing up too fast, both are at a great age. We barbequed, swam in the pool, got ice cream, went for pizza, and just enjoyed each other. A great couple of days.

On Friday we were off to SF Motor Coach Resort in Pacifia, Ca. Saturday we went with Mark and Kathie to Jen's house. The girls went for manicures while Mark and I did errands. We had a great dinner at Jen's house. Sunday we joined Magnus for Fathers day and went to see Seb at Soccer. He is a key person on the (Little Kickers) team they just don't know it yet. This is his first year and I see a star in the making. We had a barbecue in the afternoon. Sadie Graham and cousin Emerson joined us for the meal. We had a great time and were able to catch up on all the SF news.

We had a great time with The Ekman's we sure wish we lived closer so we could have visits more often.

On Monday we were off to Oregon with a one night stay in a nice campground in Redding Ca. We arrived in Diamond Lake RV just a few miles from the Crater Lake North entrance on Tuesday afternoon. The campground was difficult to find but well worth the travel. We were able to have our first campfire of the trip that night. Most of the places we have been are in the middle of a three year drought. It has been super dry ever since Colorado. This campground is in the Conifers, the sites were very nice, and the people working there were very friendly.

Wednesday morning we headed up to Crater Lake NP. What a beautiful place. There is still a lot of snow, in fact it snowed the night before we got there. There is a road that goes around the crater with various overlooks. We were only able to go about 40% of the way because the rest is closed due to snow on the roads. We were also delayed for about 30 minutes while a crew working on the cliffs, above the road sent the loosened rocks down onto the roadway. Fortunately while we waited we had the opportunity to view the beautiful lake. After touring the gift shop and a nice lunch at the lodge we headed back to enjoy the campground. This was one of the highlights so far. Just pure beauty.

Today we boogied to Bend. Mark and Kathie lived here in the late 70's. we toured the town and went up to Pilot Butt, a cinder cone that gives you a 360 degree view of the town and the surrounding mountains. Another gorgeous view. We are here for two more days. Life is Good!

Yosemite!!!!!!!!!!