Humboldt National Forest

So we went on an adventure last Sunday 6/22, not surprising, I know. This is what we seem to do best... pack a lunch, fill up with gas and just drive any direction. Thank goodness we grabbed our cameras this time. Steve decided we would go in search of a ghost town just north of here in Paradise Valley. 

We paid $4.19 a gallon for gas just outside Winnemucca, NV on Us Hwy 95.

We started off with a clean jeep and a full tank...

It really was a little paradise on the banks of a little creek right smack in the middle of the high desert.

 I didn't expect this much, but we really found a ghost town...

just on the edge of town...

or what was left of it!

beautiful old trees too!

maybe an old saloon or store? or both?

Then as we were leaving we noticed this sign directing us to the 

Humboldt National Forest

so Steve said...OK, let's go!

and we drove...

and we drove...

down miles and miles of gravel roads...

til we stopped at what appeared to be the summit...

Hinkey Summit to be exact!

and what a view...

so vast... in every direction!

Nevada has miles and miles of uninhabited BLM land...

As far as the eye can see in every direction! 

There were some trails that were passable only with ATV's

we even stopped to smell some wildflowers...

really pretty...right in the middle of the desert!

There was still some patches of snow too!

We drove over cattle guards and finally...

saw some cows! lol

  our jeep took a beating...but she made it! 

as we were leaving I snapped a pic of this sign!

Land of many uses....hmmmmm... and we didn't see much "forest" either,

but none the less it was beautiful in its own desert sorta way! 

Goodbye Dear Washington State Hello Nevada

I started this post right before I became very ill.  I wanted to get back to it but I have just now (2 weeks later) begun to feel well enough to think clearly. I loved our time in Washington. It was definitely our Northern Exposure and I will remember the last 6 months for the rest of my life. What a gift we have in travel, having exceeded all our expectations and so much more than we ever imagined. 

So somehow I landed in the ER on June 4th with high fever, high blood sugar and a whopper of a headache.  We soon found out how very ill I was... UTI, bladder and kidney infection that spread to my bloodstream. I even have kidney stones...who knew? I am so thankful for the ER staff and the PCU staff at Tacoma General Hospital. They were so good to me. Since we travel we are forced to participate in "medical tourism", partaking in whatever medical care is available. I can honestly say that while I do prefer receiving medical care in Houston, Tacoma was a good experience. 

I was released just 36 hours before we were to drive to Winnemucca, NV for Steve's next assignment. So, I didn't get to say all my goodbyes to Washington. I really wanted to see *my* Mt. Rainier one more time, but it wasn't to be... We left about 3am in the dark on Monday June 9th. We had a pleasant uneventful drive all through southern Washington and down through Oregon. Arriving in Nevada about 2:15pm. Our wonderful brand spanking new apt was all ready for us and we moved right in...aaah the beds are fabulous, cable tv and wifi!!!

High Ground Village Apartments
http://highgroundvillageapartments.com/index.html

5750 US HWY 95 N
Unit D6
Winnemucca, NV
89445

the lovely view from our front door!

our apt D6

It's big, about 1400 sq ft

large dining area and bar into kitchen

brand new table and chairs

perfect spot for our printer and laptop

looking into the kitchen through the dining room

beautiful kitchen...I would have chosen black or stainless appliances, 

but these are very high quality frigidaire! Love them!

big screen tv with direct tv...I'm dreaming of the beach!

new microwave still in the box...beautiful granite counters! 

The hallway divides the 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms with a laundry room at the end. This apt is set up for room mates, sometimes 2 nurses will share an apt when they work opposite shifts. 

one of the 2 bathrooms

larger of the 2 bathrooms 

our master bedroom, no picture of Spencer's room, but it is much the same

bedroom view

Our apt backs up to the mountains too! 

This is a new complex built just for corporate temporary housing. There's no permanent residents. All our neighbors are travel nurses and contract workers from all over the USA.

It's so quiet here. I'm hoping this will prove to be a great place to rest up for more fun adventures! 

Looks like a visit to Reno will be next! 

Housing

We have spent the last few days hovering in the assignment unknown due to housing issues. It's not really an issue to fix, it's an issue to find! lol. Steve landed a great contract in Northern NV. We are so grateful for that and while it's exciting to say the least, it won't be doable til we secure pet friendly safe affordable furnished housing with A/C, cable and internet. There's more but you get the picture. I can be really picky. I left a great home and I'm not living in scary substandard housing while my husband is working nights. Sorry, not doing it. Steve's agency has the greatest staff who work together on all areas of the contract tweaking it to meet all our needs. However, the best housing specialist in the world cannot find housing that just isn't there. So we have been back and forth with the housing specialist doing just that! I'm excited to say that we are very pleased with what they have arranged for us! It was no easy feat to meet all our requirements in a town of 7K. Yeah, this place is small...hope we get good internet and cable tv service or it's gonna be a long hot summer. I don't think there's much of a library there either. I'm just thankful that it all came together and the contract is signed! We are leaving Tacoma on June 9 traveling to Nevada the very same day. I think it's about 10 hours away. It will be a hard drive with the 3 of us, 2 cats with everything we own in a jeep! I'm really looking forward to a new location for the summer, weird food to eat and strange people to meet...fun! Just part of the adventure!

Nevada

Steve has verbally accepted a job in Nevada for the summer. Yes, NEVADA! not New Mexico or Colorado as we hoped. He did get some lowball job offers from NM and CO, but they came in too low for us to even live on. The CO contract was so poor that we would have to pay them for our housing. So... Nevada it is! He hasn't signed any papers yet, so of course anything can happen. His recruiter said we should get the final contract by Tuesday. They are still tweaking it and working out the final numbers for us. So, as long as it all comes together on paper everything should be fine. Please pray that they can help us secure safe affordable air conditioned pet friendly housing available in 2 short weeks. I know it's a lot to ask, but we trust God with all the details.  Even when we don't understand it all, we know it will all work out in the end. .  

Anyway, this hospital is in a small town in the high desert near the Oregon border.  Hopefully the summer will not be such a scorcher at 4500 ft. We were looking forward to an extended road trip but now that's been cancelled. Nevada wants him asap, so we will leave Tacoma June 9, and check in the same day just 10 hours later in Nevada. His start date is June 11.  This saves us a ton, about $2000.00 in travel fees. Last time we were 3 weeks in between contracts and that proved very costly. We really don't have the budget for a big vacation right now. Living in the pacific northwest has been a dream come true...and a expensive one at that, but I wouldn't trade these days for anything. His new assignment should run 13 weeks ending in mid Sept. That will put us back in Texas by Fall...so looking forward to a good long visit with our family and friends!! We miss you all so much!

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

We spent a lovely day on May 21, 2014 traveling to Canada via the Victoria Clipper Ferry.
http://www.clippervacations.com/clipper-ferry/
 We left Tacoma about 5:30 am and arrived in Seattle around 6:30 am to check in and pick up our boarding passes. The Boat sailed about 7:30am, so we had plenty of time to spare. 

 Here is Pier 69 in Seattle...

http://www.portseattle100.org/properties/pier-69

checking in...

time to board!

ready for our clipper ferry ride!

We arrived in Victoria, British Columbia about 10:30am

http://www.victoria.ca/

My sweet hubby enjoying this beautiful day down by the water...

beautiful flags all around the city!

these are some of the harbor tour boats!

The British Parliament Bldg right across the street!

http://www.victoriabc.ca/victoria/parliamentbuildings.htm

What a lovely sight! 

The Empress, known for  their pricey afternoon tea.

http://www.fairmont.com/empress-victoria/

We weren't dressed for the occasion and at $57.50 per person....we decided to pass. 

Update... $59.95 pp

We enjoyed a quiet stroll through the downtown area...Look who I found!

We even sampled a few hot dogs! lol

lots of interesting sights to see...

Beautiful gardens and landscaping throughout the city

We decided to visit the Royal British Columbia Museum.

http://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/

The Viking Exhibit was awesome...

I think these are the viking weapons

viking headpieces for sale in the gift shop!

the modern living history section...a theater 

showing silent movies...lol

The Museum was very extensive, we loved our visit!

even the signs are British...

We toured the Parliament Bldg next...

\

It was magnificent! 

So elegant...

The stained glass was beautiful!

This week was open house and we were able to tour 2 floors of the bldg

We happened upon a school group tour and made the acquaintance of Queen Victoria herself...

She is very proud of her namesake and shared so much great history with us!

more flags...

This donation box is full of currency from around the world...

My favorite souvenirs...

Canadian currency...isn't it lovely? I think so.

Our wonderful day has come to an end and now it's time to sail back to Seattle.

Our ferry leaves Victoria at 6:30 pm and we arrive in Seattle about 9:30 pm.

It was a bumpy ride back while crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but as we approached Seattle at night we enjoyed the most amazing view of the Emerald City! Wow!  

Today was a big learning experience for us. We went through customs 4 times, took in some wonderful harbour views, got schooled on loonies and toonies, strolled through lovely gardens, visited the British Royal Museum, walked through the Parliament Bldg with Queen Victoria, took a boat ride straight from deadliest catch, ate strange food, met weird people, and drank bad coffee all within about a 16 hour time span.

We are tired, but it was a day we will remember forever.