The PENguin Blog

For the last three years we have foregone our annual pilgrimage to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. This year we are back on the road via our usual roadtrip, up the Sonoma Coast to Mendocino/Fort Bragg. Mid-July, lots of traffic and stops for roadwork. The highlight of my day might have been at one of those stops where one of the workers noted, as we passed, "cool car." Egoist that I am I just assumed he meant us and not the Prius behind of the pickup in front.  As we began from home Sharon noted that I really did not need to bring my cameras since I have photographed every inch of the coast. Armed with that challenge I decided to look to weathered and abandoned agricultural buildings, as the earliest European settlement was agricultural. So here you are: And the obligatory view from our window at Little River Inn:

Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe, California  The last day of our first road trip in three years carried us back to Lake Tahoe on the afternoon of June 13. Anyone who knows me or has followed the blog knows how much this place means to me going back almost six decades. Family (of origin) vacations, loves and losses, discovery, all happened there. In contrast to two weeks earlier we had enough time to spend a day walking and driving around the lake including Emerald Bay, one of our favorite spots. Images from the Stateline Fire Lookout Trail And from a random beach Emerald Bay, our favorite corner of the Lake The island in the middle of Emerald Bay The "castle" at the peak of the island. There are several stories as to why it was built, from tea house to mausoleum. Waterfall!! Rosa, who was seriously miffed about not getting her moment on Pike's Peak, has another moment in the sun Pine Trees Ma and Pa get their pictures taken by a friendly passerby An attempt at art

 The antepenultimate day of our trip found us on US 6 and US 50 (often dubbed "America's Loneliest Road) between Delta, Utah and Austin, Nevada where shortly after midday we checked into the Cozy Mountain Motel, one of several "quaint" motels (and not much else) there. The drive was relatively short, but covered a variety of terrains from desert to mountain.  Throughout this landscape we have noted the harshness of the desert which has defeated so many settlers The town is an unincorporated city, formerly the seat of Lander County with a population of 167 people and almost as many abandoned buildings. In truth there is not much left there, the stores mostly boarded up with one cafe that served burgers and a couple of sandwiches and a service station that dished up $7.00/gallon gasoline and burgers from a food truck. We opted for the cafe. It was better than we would have thought possible. Several of the extant civic buildings pointed to bygone prosperity, but the res...

 So, coming out of Grand Junction on our way to Delta, Utah on Sunday, we decided to take the long way, off the interstates as much as possible. The route took us due north on Colorado 139, US 6 and old US 40 through some lovely roads and interesting and quite varied scenery. For those not familiar with the American West, this is "purple mountains majesty." Along the way we saw open land, traversed an area of ancient native settlements along the West Douglas Creek and through Dinosaur and Vernal Utah and saw any number of active and abandoned ranches, recreational areas, and considerable traffic at times. Still I was able much of the time to drive the temperature, in the upper 90s+. Rosa's moment of glory. She felt that she was given too little credit during the earlier parts of the trip. A good day. Tomorrow, Monday, across Utah to Nevada and more backroads.

 After a delightful visit with our friends in Denver, Saturday we hit the road back home, this time using I-70 as our spine.  Rosa has been most cranky about having gone up Pike's Peak and n to having her picture taken, so we stopped at the Colorado Summit.  Traffic was heavy, but a nice rest stop along the road afforded us a short walk and some pretty pictures. We ended the day in Grand Junction with a superb meal at  TacoParty