Sunday - another fun day ahead with kids

Today Drew and Erin and Shannon are taking us to a Winery(ies) for a picnic lunch. And the best thing is the dogs are welcome. 

Sorry I didn't post last night. Too much sun and too much wine ... I was bushed. 

Shan met us at our campground and we took off for Placerville so I could stop at a quilt shop. They know how to keep me happy!

Then on to Somerset and the Skinner Winery to listen to music, eat a picnic lunch, drink wines and drink in the exceptional views (did I mention drink wine!)

It was so hot that the dogs just laid on the concrete and didn't bug us the whole time we were there. 

On the way home we stopped at Amador Brewery. Had to get in both of our fav drinks. Reuben found a friend and was so happy. 

Another long day but so much fun catching up with the kids. 

Saturday - first day we didn't have to get up early!

After a few cups of coffee, we took Lenny and Reuben on a walk around the Fairgrounds. Last night we had front row seats to their races and today we have access to their car show. 

Next is breakfast. Walking makes me hungry. 

We're watching and listening to the fire in Yosemite. Not sure if we'll be able to hike there next week or not. Called the campground where we will stay and they said they haven't been evacuated YET!  Oh dear. Will keep you posted. 

Headed up to Carl and Shannon's to drop off all the stuff we brought from PA. Will probably save us gas on the way home with the amount of stuff we brought!

Shannon and Carl took us to the Yuba River to cool off. So much fun. 

Such a refreshing and relaxing day. But we were all tired from the sun and the fun. 

Milo and Reuben sharing the backseat. 

Back to Shan and Carl's so Carl could grill salmon, asparagus and sweet potatoes. Yummy meal. 

Even though we were tired , we decided to take a hike on a trail just below Shan's house. Then a 30 minute drive to our home away from home. Night all. 

Friday - hopefully last traveling day for awhile

Beautiful morning here in West Wendover as we get ready for our last leg of this part of our trip. 

On to Auburn, CA, right in the middle of Shannon and Drew!  

On I80 west, they are building wildlife bridges. They take their wildlife very seriously. 

Beautiful Nevada scenery along I80

Emigrant Pass

Yay we made it to California. Notice the changing landscape. 

Look at the rugged landscape in the Tahoe area. 

Finally found the "campground" we are staying in tonight ... Auburn Fairgrounds. We're happy they gave us a spot because we are a day early for our other campground reservations. Apparently they just upgraded the electric here BUT we had to get the maintenance guy because the electric kept tripping the breaker. Bill had to help the guy understand that when you put in 30 amps, you also needed to use 30 amp breakers. They had used only 20 so after that got changed, we were good to go. 

This is our spot. We are the first ones to use the new services before their fair in September. They should pay us since we found the electrical problem for them!

Once we were set up, we took off for Moonrakers Brewery to meet Drew and Erin and Shannon. Carl had to work. Miss you, Carl. 

Headed. Ack to our luxurious campground for the night. 

Thursday- Across Wyoming and Utah

As we drove across Wyoming's Red Desert, I knew it was hot because I had the air vents turned on. Usually I have them closed. 

The topography of Wyoming is beautiful buttes (not buts!). 

Look far in the distance. Not sure but we think that could be snow on Medicine. 

Saw several herds of antelope but this is the only one I could get a good picture. 

Lots of sage here in the desert. We stopped in a little oasis called Little America. Lodging and restaurant in the middle of the desert!  We all had to have a little ice cream - $.70 a cone. 

We also saw miles and miles of wooden snow fence in Wyoming and Utah. 

Then The Great Salt Lake. I remember the first time I saw it, I couldn't believe how big an area it was. It came almost up to the road. 

Tonight we're staying in West Wendover KOA, just across the Nevada border. Casinos have started!

Wednesday - driving across Nebraska

Sunrise welcomes us this morning as we got ready to pull out of our campground 40 miles east of Des Moines Iowa. 

Driving across the plains of Iowa, there's not a lot of different landscape to see. But I did enjoy seeing the different shades of green. 

Then we saw this huge windmill right along I-80. I knew they were large but this made me realize just how large. 

Driving across Iowa, we looked at the sky. This looked troublesome, but didn't get much rain. We think it went north. 

Now we are driving across Nebraska and coming into the Sandhills. The Sand Hills are mixed-prairie on grass stabilized sand dunes. These cover over a quarter of the state of Nebraska. 

I love the golden wheat fields next to the blue sky. 

Lots of these fields as we crossed the WIDE state of Nebraska!

When we got out to get gas, a blast of hot, oppressive air hit us - 104 degrees!  Back in the air conditioned truck we went. 

Look at these gorgeous bluffs that are now in the landscape near the border of Nebraska and Wyoming. The pictures taken from the truck just don't do it justice but we'd never get anywhere if I kept saying "stop, I want to take a picture!"

Look at that speed limit!  If Bill went that fast, we'd be filling up with gas every 2 hours instead of 3.5. 

More bluffs in Wyoming called the Pine Bluffs because pine trees are going on them. 

Just pulled into the Laramie KOA campground. Time to get some dinner started and hopefully take the dogs for a walk. 

It cooled down in Laramie to about 80 degrees, a lot easier to breathe. 

Tuesday Morning - headed for Nebraska

Up and on the road around 8 am, but took a little time before for a walk with the boys. 

Stopped at Camping World for a few things. 

Haven't seen an Osage Orange tree since the kids were little. I told them that this is where tennis balls came from. Yeah, I told a few big ones in my day. 

Didn't make it quite as far as we wanted. The roads in Indiana and Illinois are atrocious. Had to drive slower than usual because the bumps throw things around in the camper. Then we came through a torrential downpour in Iowa. Had to go even slower and actually stopped for awhile because we could hardly see. So we made 40 miles east of Des Moines. 

But I did get a few pics of the countryside. Indiana and Illinois were quite flat with field after fields of corn and soybean. And lots of graineries. 

Airplane spraying the fields. 

Then Iowa had a little more rolling hills. 

Sometimes I pick really good campgrounds and then sometimes they aren't the greatest. This one has easy access to I80, right off the exit. They are solar powered but not much more to offer. Oh, unless we want "the best burger in town" which is at a Phillips gas station. Glad we had our own food. 

Good thing is it's so flat and level, we didn't need to unhitch the camper. Save us time tomorrow morning. We're going to try to get across LONG Nebraska.