The Baseball Trip 2026

Day 10 - Wednesday, August 12

We are leaving Pollock Pines, California, and heading slightly west to Placerville for breakfast at Sweetie Pie's Restaurant and Bakery.This place is awesome. Even their home-made wheat bread toast was special!

Random Observation from Randy: You have to try my biscuits and gravy. You can tell they are home-made, made from scratch.You have to!

I have never been offered that gift before.

Onward to Sacramento and the (Oakland, Sacramento, Las Vegas?) Athletics. Anyways, The A's are hosting the Tampa Bay Rays...the only 2 teams currently playing home games at minor league ballparks. The A's didn't renew their lease at the Coliseum, and the Rays had their roof blown off by a hurricane.  Unfortunately for the A's, the Rays are one of the best teams in baseball.

The Rays destroyed the A's 8-4.

Here are a few pix from the ballpark, Sutter Health Park: The minor league team, the River Cats, still play here:

My first photo with a MLB mascot! Stomper! (Of course, it was at a minor league field.)

Onward to LA. We are going to see the Dodgers play the Brewers. God help me, I have to root for the Dodgers. Heading for San Luis Obispo for the night.

Along the way:

Vineyards.

Sacramento River.

Our trail.

Last hill.

Favorite Town Names: Shingle Springs, CA

Favorite Signs: Rough and Ready Island

                          T. W. Bonkers Toy and Candy Emporium

Things we cannot hang around for: El Dorado Stampede, Auburn, CA

                                                             Hollister Peace Vigil, Hollister, CA

Random Observation from Randy: If I ever suggest a road like this again, hit me in the head.

Fire Hazard Signs - 1

One-Lane Highways - 0

Next: LA!

The Baseball Trip 2026

Day 9 - Tuesday, August 11

We are leaving Welles, Nevada, but not before breakfast at the Iron Skillet. I didn't get a picture of the joint,because it was inside a slots casino. But, I'll show you what I ordered:

Pretty tasty.

Random Observation from Randy: If you have to use the bathroom, I'd advise you to hold it for later.

Before we left town, we stopped for road-trip coffee at the Buckaroo Coffee House. Pretty cool interior.

We traveled south and west toward Reno. The scenery was pretty much the same as days earlier,with a few nice shots.

We didn't stop in Reno to gamble, but we did circle around Lake Tahoe for some pictures:

Tahoe National Forest

Favorite Town Names:  Deeth, NV

                                        Pumpernickel Valley, NV

                                        Strawberry, CA

Favorite Signs: Prison Area - Hitchhiking Prohibited

                          Report Shooting Across Highway (Apparently, this is necessary out west.)

Things we cannot hang around for: Diana Ross at the Grand Theater in Reno

Fire Hazard Signs - 1

One-lane Highways - 2

Next: Sacramento for Major League Baseball!

The Baseball Trip 2026

Day 8 - Monday, August 10

We leave Hamilton, Montana and head south into Idaho and parts unknown. We'll keep you posted. But first, breakfast at the Coffee Cup Cafe:

We were going to stop here, right next to our motel, but it has been closed for a few months. If you know...

Nonetheless, we soldier on. We head south through the Idaho Rockies, the Salmon River-Challis National Forest, and the Salmon River Basin. A few photos:

Salmon River.

Random Observation from Randy: I have no idea where that tree came from. I was just trying to get a shot of the valley, you know... good composition. This will be my Christmas card next year.

We were alerted to the fact that Craters in the Moon was only 15 miles ahead, and, of course, we had to find out what the heck that was.

Well, here you go...

Apparently, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is a vast, surreal ocean of basaltic lava flows, cinder cones, and rugged volcanic features in central Idaho along US-20/26/93 between Arco and Carey. Formed by ancient eruptions along the Great Rift, this 750,000-acre geologic wonderland mimics an otherworldly lunar landscape.

Ok, so everything after "Apparently" is AI.

But wait! We're not done! As we head south through Idaho into Nevada, we take a little side trip through Twin Falls, Idaho, to the scenic byway of the Snake River Canyon.

Favorite Towns: Wisdom, Idaho

                             Jackpot, Nevada

Favorite Signs: Bighorn Sheep Crossing - Next 5 miles

                          Rocky Knob Restaurant - Visit The Knob!

Things we cannot hang around for: Back to School BBQ - Darby, Montana.

Fire Hazard Signs - 3

One lane highways - 0

Next: Not sure. This is a big nation!

The Baseball Trip 2026

Day 7 - Sunday, August 9

We finally made it to Glacier National Park! But there is a snag: it's crowded, and it's covered in smoke.

Random Observation from Randy: I'll just assume all this is very pretty.

The day started with breakfast at Big Sky Cafe.

It's for sale, in case you are interested.

Some of the photos are eerie, obstructed by smoke. But some opportunities arose for clear photos. Nonetheless, here they are:

The only Glacier we could see clearly.

Logan Creek, dammed up.

Favorite Town Names: Elmo, MT

                                    Two Medicine, MT

Favorite Signs: Many Dancing Woman Trading Post.

                        Help Me Jesus!

                        Thank you faculty for teaching with heart!

Things we cannot hang around for: Shakespeare in the Park, Cut Bank, MT. (The Merchant of Venice.)

Fire Hazard - 2  

One Lane Highways - 0

By the way, we finally found a minor league baseball game in Montana after we left Glacier National Park. It was supposed to start at 3 PM. Unfortunately, it was cancelled because - you guessed it - an air quality alert.

Next: No promises!