South Again

 The snow has returned to Mt. Hood.

 The clouds have returned to the Columbia Gorge.

 So as 2011 drew to a close, we packed up and headed south.

 New Year's eve found us climbing into the foothills of the Siskiyous.  Not much left on these deciduous trees but moss.

On New Year's Day, we pulled out of Grants Pass, Oregon.  There was a little fog, but I-5 was clear and, for the most part, dry.

 Although it was clear, it was still cold.  We've found that if we suspend a shower curtain on a spring rod between the slides, the dash heater keeps us warm enough without having to turn on the furnace.  We claim to be keeping more hydrocarbons out of the environment, but in actuality we're just tightwads and don't want to burn our expensive propane.

 Unless she's driving, Penny likes to knit among other things.  Here she's using leftover yarn to knit hats for homeless kids.  She also made the fingerless gloves she's wearing and crocheted the afghan on her lap.

 Here's the Siskiyou Summit.  A far cry from last year when there was snow along the road.

 Mt. Shasta welcomed us to California.  Note the lenticular cloud to the upper left.  Ted thought it looked like the Starship Enterprise had come to visit. 

The next day, Penny and Ted shared the driving through the boring central valley of California and we spent our third night on the road near Bakersfield.  The next morning we were excited as we continued east through the Tehachapi Pass seen here.  This is the last place where weather could be a problem.  You can't tell from this photo, but you can see beyond these hills into the San Joaquin Valley, it seems, forever.

 Then through the Joshua trees on the edge of Edwards Air Force Base.

And back to our winter digs in Palm Desert for three months.  Four couples from last year returned and a fifth stopped by from the house they bought nearby.  One of Penny's cousins is close and her brother and sister-in-law are 2 hours away.  From here we'll go to???