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Our Big Trip Across the Western US - September 2015

• Western US Trip - Front Page
• Wednesday September 9th - Travel Day - Arrive El Dorado, KS
• Thursday September 10th - Arrive Hurst, TX
• Friday September 11th - Vist Mary Ross and Family
• Saturday September 12th - Travel Day - Santa Rosa, NM
• Sunday September 13th - Travel Day - Arrive Flagstaff, AZ
• Monday September 14th - Visit the Grand Canyon
• Tuesday September 15th - Travel Day - Arrive Riverside, CA
• Wednesday September 16th - Visit Roger & Nel Bevins and Denny Keeler
• Thursday September 17th - Travel Day - Arrive Sausalito, CA
• Friday September 18th to Sunday Sep. 20th - Visit Brian & Filaree with Gary
  • Saturday Sep. 21st - Angel Island with Brian, Filaree, and Gary
  • Sunday Sep. 22nd - Sunday at home - Football Day
• Monday September 21st - Travel Day - Arrive Burns, OR
• Tuesday September 22nd - Travel Day - Arrive Missoula, MT
• Wednesday September 23rd - Travel Day - Arrive Philipsburg, MT
• Thursday September 24th - Visit Gary
• Friday September 25th - Travel Day - Arrive Medora, ND
• Saturday September 26th - Travel Day - Arrive Watertown, SD
• Sunday September 27th - Travel Day - Arrive Estherville, IA
• Monday September 28th - Trip wrap-up

Saturday was another beautiful day in the San Francisco Bay area as we began another day of sightseeing. Our first stop was in Tiberon where Brian and Filaree will be moving in the next month or so. They lost their lease on their current townhouse so found a beautiful 2-bedroom rental overlooking another bay. We hesitate to call it an apartment as it is large enough to be a stand-alone home but is attached to other rental units. The realator was kind enough to open it for us to view. Following that we drove further into Tiberon and headed for the ferry to Angel Island.

The ferry is the only way to get to the island, which is a California State Park. The price of the very short ride includes the admission fee to the park as well as the return trip. The views from the ferry ride were great with no fog and just a bit of haze in the distance. This is of course a view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

We had a great seat on the ride out to the island. The view of Tiberon as we departed was amazing and we had cool air coming in the rear door where we were sitting. The sail boats were beginning to set sail in the bay offering a very picturesque trip.

The ferry approaches the island from the north docks in Ayala Cove. The Spanish were the first Europeans to land in San Francisco Bay in 1775 and anchored in this cove that was named after Juan de Ayala, the ship’s captain. The building above the beach is one of the island’s visitor centers.

The cove had quite a number of sail boats moored out in the cove and still more at the pier. The clear skies and sparkling water added to the beauty of this area.

Brian and Filaree arranged for us to take a tram ride around the island. This was a very wise decision as the warm weather and steep hills would have prevented us from seeing the entire island. We were in the back section and had wonderful open air for a nice breeze and stunning views of the island and surrounding bay.

At this higher elevation we had a fantastic view of Mount Tamalpais. The driver stopped the tram and told us that the mountain got its name from the Native Americans that lived on this island. They saw the form of a woman lying down and Tamalpais in their language meant “woman lying.”

The picture below is marked with the features that the tour guide pointed out that represented the woman. He said if we were having trouble seeing the features that several bottles of wine might help.

The red brick building was first built as medical training facilities for military doctors. The island has been used in many ways over the years and now is strictly a park.

There are a lot of structures on the island that date back to the Civil War era, just to the right of this house out of the frame of this picture is the bake house used in an earlier era for feeding the troops.

The tram would slow down and stop for most of the views of the sights around the island but at one point the driver stopped and allowed everyone to get out for pictures. This is a great view of Alcatraz Island and San Francisco behind it.

Among the many structures are officer quarters left from the military years, some of which are used for the park employees and their families.

This structure is also on “officer’s row” and has not been restored. Like most of the structures on the island it is Spanish Revival style.

This next building is the hospital that is now unsafe to enter and is right next to the road that the tram takes around the island.

This very large building was the enlisted barracks for soldiers and sailors returning from the Pacific area after World War II. Like many structures it has not been restored and is not in use.

While at the one place we could get out of the tram our driver took a picture of all of use with the Golden Gate Bridge as a backdrop.

After taking a break in the midafternoon we drove to the Sausalito marina and walked along the pier to see a house boat Brian had been discussing. Believe it or not this is a boat at the end of the dock we are walking on. It is styled after the Taj Mahal and is amazing to see it setting in the water in the bay area.

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