CAMPGROUND MASCOT AT BEAVER CREEK

The trip up here from Mt. Shasta was a piece of cake. Even the Siskiyou pass was a breeze. The weather has been delightful, berries are just starting to ripen, and wild flowers everywhere. The campground is our usual when in this part of the woods. Clean, 50 amp, sewer and good water.

OUR CAMP AT BEAVER CREEK RV RESORT

Home for a week or so, then on to Junction City for an estimate on replacing our carpet with something like tile or stone. From there to the Elks Club in Florence. We hope to hook up with Gene & Darlene McDonough, and Johnny & Georgia Johnson from Arkansas while were there.

BOAT PARTY ON THE BANKS OF THE ROGUE

The Rogue River is the Disneyland of southern Oregon. Everybody uses the river for something, and usually something exciting. Here, a group of revelers are having a party close to Hellgate.

Mighty Rogue at Hellgate headed for the coast

Great for rafts, kayaks, canoes, boats and almost any kind of watercraft.

HIKING TRAIL TO BEAVER CREEK

Just one of those backwoods trails that seduces you to follow it just to see where it goes. This one goes to Beaver Creek.

HEllGATE ON THE ROGUE

Diane checks out the geography and history of Hellgate.

DOWNTOWN

This sign crosses 7th Ave. at G st.

It is the center of town in Grants Pass.

BEER AND PRETXELS

The downtown area is loaded with this life-size bears dressed in various outfits. Here, Diane shares some beer and pretzels with the bears.

DIANE GREETS PAPA BEAR

According to the locals. These bears hibernate every winter. The city workers take them down and warehouse them til the spring.

Hope you are all having a wonderful summer. We should be back in The San Diego in November or December. We need to be in South Dakota in Oct. then start our trek SW.

WHAT's DOWN with the BREHMs as of 15 June,12

This is the week or so that was. We wish you all the best from Merlin OR.

This picture was taken at one of 11 ponds on 720 acres owned by our friends Jim & Maxine Dimick. It is a beautiful place for fishing and picnicking, or just sitting and looking and listening to nature.

BEER DRINKER'S CHANDELIER

After we left San Benito, we drove to Nicklaus CA. just NE of Sacramento. We stayed at Lake Minden, and took side trips to Marysville, Yuba City, and Old Sacramento. While in Old Sac, we took lunch at our usual Mexican restaurant, El Terazo. I was intrigued by this chandelier made from beer bottles.

NEW AND OLD CONTRAST-SACRAMENTO

I thought this was an interesting view of contrasts. In the foreground, are buildings constructed in the 1800's, and in the backround, modern hi-tech skyscrapers.

OLD SACRAMENTO

As the historical districts of most cities, Old Sacramento is a little touristy, but we still enjoy visiting it.

Here, the OSMTA, (Old Sacramento Metropolitan Transit Authority) briskly transports wealthy tourists from souvenir shop to souvenir shop.

View from Jim & Maxine's yard, MT. SHASTA

After leaving Lake Minden, we visited friends we met at Johnson's Landing at Salton Sea. They have a lovely home on 10 acres in Mt. Shasta City, and 720 acres of timber out past Shasta. Jim and Maxine were wonderful to us. We were treated to a tour of the town, and a picnic at their timberland. This view is from the yard at their home.

JIM AND HIS OLD HIGH SCHOOL BUDDY

This 1933 Ford Model B pickup truck has been Jim's since he was in high school. He took me for a ride in it to town. It runs like a top. Great fun..

A WOODSY PICNIC

Jim and Maxine drove us out to their 720 acres of timberland for a picnic and some trout fishing in one of 11 ponds on their property.

DROWNING WORMS

Maxine insisted that I try my hand at fishing with her pole. Radar waits with great anticipation. He loves helping me get the fish off the hook..

RADAR FISH DETECTOR

This is Radar! He is Jim & Maxine's 2 year old Lab. What a good dog...

WOMENS CHAMPION FISHER in this pond

Maxine loves to fish. Here she is with her new rod and a spinner that the trout seem to like..

After we left Mt. Shasta, we had a nice drive up to Merlin OR.,just North on

I-5 out of Grant's Pass. We will be here about 10 days, then up to Junction City to see about upgrading our flooring. Look forward to seeing you all next time..

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, 2012

Greetings from San Benito Campground in Paicines, CA. Sorry for the BLOG delay, but some places we camp are very remote and it's impossible to pull those internet zoogies out of cyberspace. So, here is a catch up...

GOTHAM CITY, Metropolitan Area

This is the huge town of Paicines, CA. POP 204. This is the center of it all, and we are camped about 17 miles from here. Lots of agriculture here, great fresh roadside produce, lots of deer, bobcats, quail, wild pigs, hawks, eagles, condors, and Owls.

Good Friends Theresa and Patty

By lucky chance, we ran into Danny and Patty Wall, and Patty's mom Theresa at San Benito. We thought it would be fun to have a "Sounds of Nature" contest. Here, Patty is warming up for her "Sound" and Mom theresa is getting ready to duck......

KIRIGAN WINERY TASTING ROOM

There are many nice wineries in this area. Kirigan has been one of our favorites for many years. Here Diane met her new best friend, the wine tasting expert..

KIRIGAN VINEYARDS of the Central Valley

The vineyards, field of corn, broccoli, romaine, strawberries, cherries, artichokes and garlic are everywhere, and almost resemble beautifully landscaped gardens..

Fresh and Tasty Fungi

The "Royal Oaks" mushroom farm is on the edge of Morgan Hill. The variety of freshly grown, still dirty mushrooms is delightful. I grilled some huge, stuffed portobellos. Mmmmm..

1915 STUDEBAKER

To our delight, there was a car show in Hollister on the weekend of our arrival. There was hot rods, customs, restored and original antiques. There were trucks, cars, vans and motorcycles. This old Studebaker caught my eye.

Whoooo's this Wise Old Bird?

One of the local flyboys.....

San Benito fawna

Many deer at the San Benito preserve.

We took a walk with friends Glen & Grace Davis every morning, always with a sharp eye for the native residents..

Home of the American Biker

Johnny's bar and grill is in Old Town Hollister. It is ground zero for the old Brando Movie, "The Wild One". It is a favorite biker bar for those passing through, and we always try to stop at least once for a beer and a burger

San Benito Humming Pecker

WHAT'S DOWN with the BREHMS, 5 JUNE, 2012

OUR HOME FOR A WEEK

Greetings from beautiful downtown Bakersfield, "garden spot of the dust storm". We arrived here about a week ago from 3 weeks in Las Vegas. We are on our way to Morgan Hill, CA. Horse country, wine country, and mushroom farms. We were scheduled to go there tomorrow, but Diane has been a little under the weather, so we may delay until she's back on track.

BUCK OWENS CHRYSTAL PALACE, BAKERSFIELD

As some of you may know, Bakersfield is home to Buck Owens, you remember, the "Hee Haw" guy. Also home to Merle Haggard. The story goes that much of Buck Owens career took place in dirty cowboy honky tonks, and when he made it big, he wanted a classy venue for country music entertainers to perform. Hence, the Buck Owens Crystal Palace.

BAKERSFIELD BREHMS

Our temporary home is pretty nice, cement slabs, lawns, pool, spa, and all the good hook-ups, including cable TV and wifi. Bakersfield has become quite a metropolis since the 60's. Has all the stores we gypsies use, plus entertainment, and a country atmosphere just a few miles out of town. Great farmer's markets!

CEASER'S on the INSIDE looking like the OUTSIDE

Just a couple of left over pics from Vegas. Most of you probably recognize this. The Forum at Ceaser's Palace.

STROLLING THROUGH THE ART GALLERIES

She sure dresses up that stained glass, doesn't she?

CHECKIN OUT CEASERS PALACE

THE "STRIP"

Oh well, I thought it would be a nice picture...........

WHAT'S DOWN with the BREHMS 28 MAY 2012.

THOUSAND TRAILS, LAS VEGAS

We departed San Diego on 5/10 for Las Vegas to attend the 80th birthday party of good friend Andy Clarkson, and we are still here. It is sometimes difficult to find a place to camp on Memorial Day Weekend, so we dug in here. We will depart on Thursday to Bakersfield, then on to Morgan Hill.

VIEW FROM THE CAMPGROUND

Incredible as it seems, this is what we see from our campground. We are on Boulder Hwy. between Sam's Town and the Boulder Station casino's. It is way too easy to find buffet meals and machines that repeat the famous Las Vegas slogan "Game Over".

HEY BIG RED, ARE YOU POLE-ISH?

While here, we decided to see a show that looked interesting, and was affordable for "trailer Trash". We went to Planet Hollywood and saw the Beatles Show. It was very good. The musicians did not really look like the Beatles, but the music was fantastic. Before the show, we strolled around the place

DAM INSPECTORS

Ever since we left San Diego, we have had the pleasure of the company of Gene and Darlene McDonough. A couple of days ago, we went to Hoover Dam and took the tour. We have done this before, but I am always amazed at the things man is capable of. The statistics on the construction of this behemoth are difficult to comprehend.

THE DAMNED DAM SIGN

Happy Memorial Day to all the VETs that read this, and if you're not a vet, give thanks to those that served with their lives.

Memorial Day weekend has been fairly calm here. Traffic is normal (whatever in the hell that means), and the campground is no more packed than any other day.

HYDROELECTRIC GENERATORS

These hydroelectric generators were placed here in the 30's and are humongous. There are 7 on each side of the main flow of the river. 7 in Arizona and 7 in Nevada.

LOOKING DOWNRIVER FROM THE DAM

The bridge you see here was recently completed. Last time we were here, the Arizona and Nevada spans had not yet been connected to each other. You would think driving across it would be a thrill. You don't even know you are on it. The view is just road up ahead. Take care! stay in touch! and stay tuned...............