HERE WE ARE WITH 10 OTHER ALFAS ON OUR WAY THROUGH WYOMING. WHAT FUN 

CARAVANING THROUGH WYOMING

When we were at Pismo Beach, I couldn’t figure out why the commercial RV tow truck brought in or took out two or three big rigs a day. Then our friends in Nopomo explained it. There is a big RV storage lot near them that holds a lot of RVs that belong to people from San Francisco. The people call up the towing co. and have their rigs taken to the park for the weekend or a week and then drive up and find everything in place. What a deal!

It was interesting outside of Bakersfield to pass a field full of oil pumps and then a ways further to pass a hillside covered with wind generating windmills. A couple of overnight stops in Walmarts in Barstow and North Las Vegas turned out very well with lots of room, quiet nights and best of all, free.. St. George, Utah was so hot that we were happy to leave it.

With only one night in Salt Lake City, we moved to Ogden to be near the RV repair place that was to give us our Christmas presents early. When you RV, things get down to the basics and we were ecstatic to have new ‘toys’ added to our rig. Zoe was very happy to get a system to fill the tires off our engine, a sewer macerator and “steer safe” that minimizes the push of wind from passing big trucks. I was very pleased to have an automatic electric cord reel and an automatic electric hose reel that make my jobs easier. We also met up with ten other Alfas that were caravanning to the Alfa rally in Gillette, Wyoming and are now with them in Lander, Wyoming.

Residents of Wyoming like to say that there are more cows that people in their state and I believe it. They have the lowest population of any state. The scenery is awe-inspiring. At first there were dramatic bright red cliffs and then shrub covered rolling hills and flat green fields. Then we climbed through wind-carved multicolored sand cliffs. The variegated cliffs changed from sage, to tan to charcoal to green and then to brown.

We were the last rig in the caravan so it was exciting to see ten rigs just like ours winding down the road ahead of us. We hit snow coming over the Continental Divide but fortunately the snow was wet and didn’t stick. Then heavy rain hit us. The heavy gray clouds were spectacular. Everywhere you look here is another fantastic wide-open landscape. Now the sun is out and the snow is spectacular over the golf course we are parked next to.

View from our site in Wyoming after the storm.  

Zoe's grandson, Jameson, in his senior graduation recital. He has just been accepted at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston as a graduate student. 

Zoe's grandson, Russell, who has just been accepted into the graduate school of his choice in International Business. 

Our two weeks at Pismo Beach went amazingly fast. We didn’t even get down to the beach at the park. We did get to see our friends Margy and Linda at nearby Nopomo. What lovely home and location they have. We also caught up on some medical and car maintenance.

Our main reason for being there was to hear Zoe’s grandson’s senior recital for his graduation. What a glorious concert! He played a Bach piece on his classical guitar and then jazz on his electric guitar with a great combo of professional players. His music professor stated that Jameson was the best musician that Cal State San Luis Obispo ever had as well as being the kindest. What an accolade. We also got to hear him in two other concerts, one of modern jazz that we still haven’t learned to understand and the other a swing band of older musicians that brought back memories.

Jameson was awarded a full scholarship to The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and we are looking forward to visiting him there when we are back East this fall.

Zoe’s daughter, Susan and her children also came down for the recital. Her son, Russ was also accepted into graduate school with a scholarship in International business at Minnesota State University. It was quite a family gathering. Susan brought some of her sculpted concrete leaves that she has created and was able to place all of them in an upscale garden store in Morro Bay.

We were there for Mother’s day and spent a lovely day with Zoe’s son Russell and family. We met for coffee and then a walk on their favorite beach with their two Corgis. Then we had lunch at a beachside restaurant. It was a nice laidback day.

Plans to visit some of the nearby wineries, a la the Sideways movie got lost in the scheduling. The nearby hills though were more green than I have seen them before and the weather was perfect.

Susan's daughter creates are from real leaves cast in concrete and hand painted. Some are as large as 2 feet in diameter. Her outlets are exclusive boutiques. 

OUR NEW ITINERARY

Here is a rough idea of where we plan to be. This, of course, can change minute by minute but is what we plan right now. This will hopefully help you to see if there is anywhere where we can make a connection as we travel down the road. Look below for our new pictures.


May 7 San Luis Obispo, CA
May 18 St. Georgo, Utah
May 22 Salt Lake City, UT
May 28 Laramie, WY
May 31 Casper, WY
June 3 Gillete, WY
June 15 St. Regis, MT
June 16 Coeur D’alene, ID
June 21 Leavenworth, WA
June 22 Bothell, WA
July 7 Lynwood, WA and Discovery Bay Resort, Sequim, WA
July 13 Anacortes, WA
July 19 Kamloops, BC
July 20 Sicamous, BC
July 25 Golden, BC
July 26 Canmore, AB
Aug 2 Drumheller, AB
Aug 6 Moosejaw, SK
Aug 11 Bismark, ND
Aug 15 Minot, ND
Aug 20 Gillette, WY
Aug 24 Thermopolis, WY
Aug 31 Gillette, WY
Sept 4 Belvadere, SD
Sept 5 Salem, SD
Sept 6 Albert Lee, MN
Sept 8 Minneapolis, MN
Sept 10 Albert Lee, MN
Sept 11 Dells, WI
Sept 14 Granger, IN
Sept 15 Avery, OH
Sept 16 Chataqua Heights, NY
Sept 19 Roscoe, NY
Sept 20 East Lyme, CT
Sept 27 East Stroudsburg, PA
Oct 6 Europe
Nov 6 Jersey City, NY for 3 weeks

THIS US DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY LIKE WE KNEW WHAT WE WERE DOING. TAKEN BY CAPT. TONY 

PLACERVILLE

It has been pleasant to leave the cities behind and see lots of trees and green farms around Placerville. We are probably some of the very few tourists who have visited Napa and not visited a winery. So here in the Placerville area we wound through the back roads and visited a couple of wineries and had a nice picnic lunch at one.

Of course, we had to visit our friends, Paula and Joan. They are spending the summer as camp hosts at the Mariah Whitewater Expeditions campground. It was fun to see the facility and meet the owner Donna. A couple of delicious meals were shared with Paula and Joan as well. On our way to San Luis Obispo.

PICNIC AT A WINERY NEAR PLACERVILLE. TOO MUCH FUN.