Yes, this was a huge, emotional experience to see my long time Army buddy again after all these years. No matter how prepared you are when the moment comes you simply just hug and let the feelings flow.
Dan not just up at the door steps of my motel, but also delivered the new cycler and allowed me to resume my treatments last night without a hitch.
Then today Rennie and I trudged out to their place in Palo Cedro. How do you describe the indescribable? Dan and his wife Darlene - a LA gal - had taken 3 1/2 acres of cattleland built their main homestead by using their own design and handiwork and incorporated material from Dan's parents home from NJ. As they had two horses a barn needed to be built. As an office for Dan was needed, they both designed one in octagonal fully glassed structure right under the tree canopies. His "hobby house" has to be the most unique structure any male could have in his backyard. I don't know the square footsge, but i think a family of four could establish residence He has things like a Foosball and Tabletennis and has several toy train layouts, but the crown jewel is a Private Theater. His passion for movies took him to replicate the De Asti theater and has a movie collection rivaling MGM. He showcased the movie Rio complete with 3D interactive glasses. I was blown away.

Living out in the country they have an abundance of deer, basically grazing off his azaleas. Enter Rennie the deer chaser. He amplified Dan's "shoosh" by taking off after the biggest deer and in an unbelievable sequence chase the deer across the open field. The deer saved himself by leaping over a 4 foot fence, with Rennie going sideways in an all out full stop when he saw the fence. Then he trotted back. He won the hearts of Dan and Darlene. They had never experienced such a dog and wanted me to leave him behind.

We also spent hours on just catching up on 45 years worth of news. Dan promised me to sent me the pictures he took while we travelled the French and Dutch countryside in his 1967 Beetle. I guess I will have to hide a couple of the pictures as it shows me with my French girlfriend of long ago.

Believe it or not this is still the Bug we rode in late 1966 just before I mustered out.

Oh, the dialysis worked out great and we are on the move to the vicinity of Ft Bragg tomorrow.

Cheers, me

Don't let the coolness of Mt. Shasta fool you it is hot here in Redding. The temperature for us saw a change from 38F (4C) to 104F or 40C..whew! You should have seen Rennie seeking out shade in a hurry.

I have checked into the Hill Top Lodge only place in town letting me have Rennie. No phone, no WiFi.

Also awaiting making contact with Dan and hopefully my new cycler

Closing the daily blog with a map of the Ring of Fire Mt Shasta is part of. The drive down Hwy 97 was out of this world.

If you had been around about 7 thousand years ago you would have experienced Mt. Matanza blowing his top in a grand spectacle, thereby forming the bowl which has become Crater Lake. Basalt and lava found itself many miles away and rivers such as the Rogue river had to carve out a path through it. (see video at the end)

Lava tubes facilitated this process and were formed by the outer layer of basalt quickly cooling, while hot lava continued to flow inside the shell. Once the labs had flowed through these tubes, easily recognizable in the picture above, they remained either for the water to flow through or were barricaded as you can see one in the lower middle of the picture.

The living stump gets its nourishment via a root graft, consequently it lives on as long as its mate stats alive. I found it kind of neat.

On May 3 2012, this lad climbed a 4 foot safety fence trying to get a better vantage point for a better picture. He lost his balance and was swallowed by the rush of water flowing through Rogue River Gorge at over 400,000 gallons a minute. Despite extensive searches by the authorities and family members his body has not be recovered to date.

Finally, I have to cut short my stay as my dialysis machine crapped out on me. My new machine is delivered to Dan Weggeland (Lori take notice) my Army Buddy of 45 years ago Lori located for me. This will be my 4th model and makes me lose confidence in the product made by the German firm Fresenius.

It will be a major temperature shock for myself and Rennie as the temps in Palo Cedro are regularly over 100, while we are used to getting up at 38 degrees and the high play around 60.

Cheers,

Peter

Yesterday was full of surprises from my two daughters. First I received an unique Father's Day labelled "Save the Redwoods" from Hillaryand then some well wishes from Margaret after her sailing trip in the Caribian. Carol also sent her well wishes with a special card. But the biggest surprise is that Hillary may join us in Oakland in July. Spending time with both of the girls; how good can it get!

This is my new home. It is constructed all wood, including wide floor boards. Quite rustic! It is surrounded by wonderful trails and Rennie acts like a puppy.

I really enjoyed my stay at Woodland Villas. It is owned by Sharon, an energetic woman from Los Angeles. Tired of being treated by her last 4 digits of her social security number, she just chucked it all and moved herself and son Garrett to this rugged life. Garrett, also full of energy, committed his time to the end of the summer and then he wants to start studies in music. I wish them both well! Sharon on arrival saw immediately that the booked room would be inadequate for my needs and upgraded me to a much nicer cabin for the same rate. Garrett loves dogs and would bring Thor kitchen left-overs. Don't worry Margaret, Rennie did not get any scraps, even though he was very much interested. Then there was Tracy, who ensured that I had fresh and soft towels every day, and upon learning my dialysis plight, shared her sister's emotional story. Her sister had a kidney transplant at 16 which lasted 10 years. For the past 10 years she has been on the kidney transfer list awaiting a match and since she has zero kidney functions her dialysis is more critical than mine. Kind of heartbreaking, yet the family rallies around her in a wonderful way.

Carol and Margaret, if you still are looking for the John Steinbeck quote, look under the comments section, that is where I found it. Dee good luck with the surgery. I know it was not an easy decision. Raphael enjoy your time in New Zealand. Yes, a dream has come true for you. It just shows again, if you dream it, it will happen. Good luck with your assignment in Laos and that Verena can join you soon.

Speaking of dreaming, this trip here started in my mind when I saw Carol and Hillary's photos of their trip here 8 years ago. It is as beautiful in reality. Crater Lake is the deepest lake of the USA at 1932 feet and the intense blue comes from the fact that blue is the last color absorbed by deep water. Of course, the Ranger had a zillion of other facts I am sparing you. I am leaving you with this short video of a panoramic view.

Arrived in Crater Lake and took possession of our cabin. We were surprised by yes that is snow in the above pix. Can you believe that Margaret in tropical Mexico or Raphael in "down under" New Zealand or for that matter anywhere in the Deep South?

As you can see from the attached video Rennie thought it was just perfect after a long ride. It did wonders for his appetite as well.

This will be short as I am traveling toward Crater Lake and I am making use of the free WiFi at the Crescent City Starbucks.

I am dedicating today's blog to my daughters Hillary and Margaret as well as to my supporting wife Carol, the reasons for my fatherhood. I am truly the luckiest man on this planet.

The picture above shows Steve and his "son" Thor. They are a wonderful pair and I shall miss our daily interaction. Did I tell you that Thor indeed treed a bear on the path Rennie and myself were using?

I hope to find WiFi at my next cabin of not updating of this blog could find a 4 day gap.

Happy Father's Day to the fathers reading this blog.

Best wishes,

Peter

p.s. Carol thank you for the special Father's Day card. It was very much appreciated.

The mélange is composed of immense blocks of highly resistant rocks (cherts, greenstone and sandstone) within a matrix of softer more easily eroded rock(mudstone). The more resistant blocks survive the erosive power of the ocean and form the Seastacks! Seastacks as seen in the above picture are most commonly associated with the Franciscan mélange. If you look closely you can see the Seastack is the home of thousands of birds, who appreciate the in accessibility from humans. Here the range from the following: Cormorants, Pigeon guillemots, Brown pelicans, ring billed gulls, Willets, Surf Scoters and Common Murres. I also saw my first Western Bluejay. He dove in the dumpster and stole off with his treasure.

Tomorrow I will check out and travel the 200 miles to Crater Lake OR. There awaits me another cabin for 4 nights. Hope they have WiFi

Cheers,

Peter

Yesterday evening despite bad connections I was able to talk to Dan one of my close Army Buddies after about 45 years. If it had not been for Lori's sleuthing skills this conversation would not have taken place. It is amazing that after 45 years reconnecting was easy. We were able to exchange information about each other, i.e. marriage, he has two sons and was really amazing still drives the VW bug we rode together visiting the beaches of Normandy and the country sides of the Netherlands in 1965 listening to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones on Radio Luxemburg. Where did the years go! Anyway we hope to get together on June 27 and 28th. Stay tuned, Dan was a crack Army photographer and he promised me some surprised from the past.

I knew that "pigs could fly", but what about dogs soaring? Yes, that is Rennie in a Gondola high about the tree tops looking alertly about. He is without fear and just followed me. He loves the beach and would just stay all day long and play in the black sand.

I hope my reply to Carol with a John Steinbeck quote appeared somewhere in this blog. I also appreciate every comment they sustain me in a big way, letting me know that I am connected to you.

I don't know if you get the feel of the mighty Pacific and it's wonderful clean breeze. When I arrived in San Francisco and it felt that I brought the wrong clothing with me, yet once along the coast line I am glad that I brought sweaters and coats with me. The air is without any humidity and has that cold arctic air feel. At night I am using a heater. Today we visited the "mystery of trees", which was a step back into Indian folklore. The Redwood trees were magnificent and the Brotherhood Redwood tree - the worlds 6th largest - is 300 feet tall. See also the video to get a feeling of the trunk. There was also the Candelabra tree, being horizontal and having vertical trees reaching to the sky from its trunk. Apparently, the horizontal tree is being fed via Photosynthesis from the vertical trees. Amazing! Then there was the Cathedral tree. It is actually a grouping of redwood trees in a semi-circle and being used as a backdrop for weddings. What a way to get married! It was dedicated to a fellow by the name of Strauss who built the golden Gate bridge and wrote a book called The Redwoods.

Rennie was a great sport, including riding a gondola with me to the top of the mountain. There we had a spectacular view of the forest below being bordered by the Pacific coastline.

Now it's off to the beach with Rennie again

Love, me

...as in Redwoods! US 101 is also named Redwood Road as it leads the curious traveller through thousand acres of Magnificent redwood trees right along the coastal vistas of the Pacific.
You probably were wondering if there would be a Day 4 posting as I am being late. Can you believe I managed single handedly to exceed the daily allowance of the motel's WiFi allowance and as a result the network speed was reduced to a crawl and all guests were locked out for 12 hours. I guess we are being spoiled with high speed access and forget that not all places have this speed. Consequently, you will get both days sent from the Crescent City Starbucks.

On this Wednesday it was getting "groovy" day and ensuring that Rennie would get a lengthy walk. There is a trail right next to the cabin and we explored that until after a mile or so it just stopped. Rennie also became antsy as he seemed to ick up a scent or two of something lurking near-by. A resident later thought it could have been a bear, but he said they were friendly. We also went to the beach. If the video takes he can see for yourself how Rennie is enjoying himself.

Thanks for the comments this has been fun so far

Cheers, Peter