Levan Homestead: June 2017

Ten Day Road Trip: Homeward Bound

6/3/2017: Our goal for the day was just to get home.

It was a long drive down America’s loneliest highway….the

famous Highway 50 across Nevada. We came through Delta

and on home. We were earlier enough to pick up a few fresh

things in Nephi and get unpacked and settled at home.

This is a medical clinic we passed in one of the very few little

towns we passed through. As you can see they live in a different era.

The salt flats were a welcome site.

To us this sign said, "Welcome Home!"

Ten Day Road Trip: Drive Through Redwood Tree

Our last stop was near the Klamuth River. No redwood

visit is complete without driving through a redwood.

These bears stand sentinels of the Klamuth River bridge.

The also mark the turning point to see
the privately owned drive-thru tree.

We had to fold the van mirrors in, to the drive through the tree.

We just started in when I realized there was no one on the

out side to take pictures of this amazing event. Darrel backed

out enough for me to get out to take some photos.

Notice that dad didn't measure the entrance until we had been through. :)

From here we headed for Reno through the National Redwood forest. It was like a Lagoon Ride that goes on for hours. There was beauty on every side, but I was pretty car sick by the time we got a call from the motel we had reservations at that night. In harsh, broken English I was informed that they had tried to run the charges on the credit card I had given them on line to hold the room. We had made it clear we intended to pay cash, but in running the card he said, “It’s no good! No money!” He demanded another card number. I assured him we would pay cash. After a minute or two of demands and just plain Arab bullying, I told him we would find somewhere else for that night. When we got to an area with better cell service, I called the credit card company only to learn that our card had been compromised and 8 fraudulent charges had been denied since we left on May 25^th. Gratefully I was able to pinpoint the last authorized use of the card. A fraud report was submitted on all the others and that account was closed. We tried to find lodging in Reno, but were unable to. The places we checked were not in a good part of town if such a place exists in Reno, so I grabbed Anita, (our GPS device) and told her to take us home. We were far too tired and it was too late to go much farther, but I felt a peaceful assurance we could find somewhere for the night. We travel about 50 miles before that happened. We eagerly turned in for the night.

Ten Day Road Trip: Native American Museum and Gift Shop

These are shots taken from the visitor's center

and museum at the base of the gondola trail.

The redwoods are the home of BIG Foot! And...

the largest geode I have ever seen.

There is a Native American Indian Museum here that is the

largest in the US and features the collection of one woman.

It features most of the major tribes from the US and Central America.

This beautiful lay-over is made of shells and is an original piece.

This is a Navajo couple.

Can you see the little papoose inside?

There were lots of ideas made from redwood

for purchase there as well.

We thought Bethany could make one of these!

Ten Day Road Trip: Gondola Adventure

6/2/2017:
As we left Crescent City we stopped at the tourist site just south of the city. We hiked through another glen of redwood forest and then rode a gondola to the top of the ridge. It was beautiful, but a much more commercial experience. Signs along the trail pointed out different facts and features of different evergreen trees. Of course the redwoods were the largest and most regal of them all. We stopped at the cathedral formed by several redwoods that grew up from a single mother tree. It literally has a podium and couples can pay to be married here. I can’t think of a place more holy than a redwood forest other than the temple or a home. As it became clear we were nearing the end of that walk, I was feeling a bit sad that my encounter with the redwoods was coming to an end. I am not sure I will ever stand in the presence of one of those great patriarchs again. At the moment I was having those thoughts, a single brightly colored blue jay came and lit in the tree above me. He hopped from branch to branch, pausing for several seconds on each one. The sudden appearance of a single beautiful bird has come to symbolize my Mom’s presence. The feeling there deepened in only the way the Spirit can. My farewell to the redwoods was beautiful in deed and I know that my Mom has now seen them, too. The ride to Reno through the National Redwood forest was like a Lagoon Ride that goes on for hours.

Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox live here.

This nice BIG bear lives here, too.

We hiked up the trail to get to the gondola ride.

This cathedral of trees is famous.

People actually get married here.

I am guessing that next to the temple it is a good choice.

The tram starts near the Brotherhood tree.

This is where people get on the gondola. It is

designed to handle alot of people very efficiently.

A selfie inside the gondola.

This is where the gondola lands. We got off to look around.

This view was taken from the very top.

Dad is waiting to get on for the return ride....

Then we hiked back to the bottom.

We met some interesting creatures along the trail.

These were at the very end of the trail. I had a sweet "bird" experience here.

This is the trunk of a BIG redwood that was cut down.

The growth rings have been charted and labeled.

This tree started growing during the Crusades that began

in 1043! It stood during the time of Columbus,

the pilgrims, and when California was made a state.

Ten Day Road Trip" Crescent City Light House and Harbor

6/2/2017: We got an early start this morning. We visited the lighthouse and harbor of Astoria. The 1964 Tsunami completely wiped out the harbor, but the lighthouse amazingly survived. 60 square blocks of Crescent City were affected. Thirty of those blocks were leveled. We stopped at the tourist site just south of the city.