Fall 2001

Six days after we left home our country was thrown into terror and war like we have never known on our own shores. Life will never be what we knew before the attack on the World Trade center, but we will go on and life will be better because we Americans are strong and united! God bless all the American souls lost on September 11, 2001 especially all my brother Firefighters in NYC.
We left home in San Dimas on the 5th of September and returned on the 5th of October, fall colors appeared as we passed Park City Utah and a fierce storm developed behind us. Camping in Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota and passing through Nebraska led us down new highways and back roads to see what non-urban USA is like.
Farm life is somewhat foreign to me, but I like what I see and appreciate all the hard work and sacrifices farmers make daily to bring us the bread, potatoes and meat we take for granted everyday at the supermarket.
During the next month we helped Mom in Fargo get ready for winter, toured Yellowstone NP and many other State and National Parks in Montana, North and South Dakota, Washington, Oregon and California. Yellowstone as always was spectacular with lots of wildlife including our first glimpse of a Grizzly bear.

Family visits in South Dakota and Washington led to lots of gab-fests and family history. Priscilla and I have compared notes and uncovered a little more info about our mom's parents. We also scoured the antique stores around Poulsbo and Port Townsend for those special treasures. We headed south for Mt. St. Helens SP and then on to Washougal WA to the Pendelton woolen mills store. Off to the Oregon coast we soaked up the fantastic scenery and sampled lots of fresh seafood. CA. gave us spectacular views of the coastal Redwoods and a tour through Napa wine country for wine tasting and some great cuisine. We wrapped up the trip with a day in the Sacramento delta region and visit to the Bogle Winery and vineyards to taste some fabulous Zinfandel wines.

Six thousand miles and the Baja Croozur said "is that all?" I said NO and we are making plans now for a tour of northern coasts of Baja now. New images at Oregon