The "Dew Drop Inn" Chronicles

Oh sorry, I meant to type 96. Her oldest sister died just short of her 103 rd birthday. I'm looking forward to spring and camping season. First trip will be Cowboy Camp in March if we get some decent weather.

 

Michael,
Looking good... I thought it was a "Smoker" at first...

Yes, it does get c-c-c-cold when the sun drops down... I have yet to set a fire, but working on it...

Looking to do the Carlsbad Caverns and Ice caves on the way back via Grand Canyone, Sky Bridge and Death Valley, then up the coast just north of SF.... hopefully they'll have all the snow cleared off by then Seattle.. heheh (Jab)

fun

got it covered
Roswell, NM
(Google changed image address format and now won't work as it did before - sigh)

 

That sounds like a fun, adventurous route back to the PNW Frank. We loved Carlsbad Caverns NP when we rolled through that area in Dewey 2 winters ago. We are going to head back north via the coast roads in late March. We got a late start heading south on US395 last fall and found that too many of the campgrounds we wanted to stay were closed so ended up staying at RV parks, not exactly wilderness experiences. US395 is a great road though, we'd never traveled it before so we got to check out Reno, Virginia City, Lake Tahoe, the ancient bristle cone pine forest, Mono Lake, the B western museum at Lone Pine, etc.

I'll pm you with our whereabouts as we head north, it sounds like our paths could very well cross this spring, it'd be fun to camp together again.

This heater we got is really working out great! It puts out a tremendous amount of heat, about twice what a propane patio heater can muster but only about a quarter of the cost to run. It functions well with the good size gravity feed hoppers, you fill the hoppers with pellets, light them with your choice of a fire starter, we use an alcohol gel then just kick back and enjoy the heat for hours.





I can't believe how clean burning this thing is, there is zero smoke I mean none!



Nice being outside enjoying the stars even when it's cold.

www.newfireoutdoors.com is where we ordered ours.

Michael

 

"Sparky" it is! Yes "Sparky" will travel with us everywhere we go, we'll introduce you two come spring.

Michael

 

By the by, this El Niño year is making travel a tad more exciting!


A section of CA Route 330 collapses this last Sunday



Funny, Susan and I were driving 330 on our way to Big Bear Lake a few weeks back thinking it might be a while before we can get back up there uneventfully.

We lived in SoCal during a big El Niño year way back in 1998, we got used to seeing footage of houses sliding down mountain slopes on the nightly news broadcasts.

Be safe out there folks.

Michael

Sent from my iPhone

 

Kewl... or I guess I should say "Hot"...

So does it break down for transporting sake... the big main box, 2 side boxes and the chimmey, in two parts??

and the heat is reflected out of the top cover too, like the propane ones...
Nice... Looks like it's more of a semi-permanent setup than a week or two...

Nice...

Will catch up on the itinerary closer to the months... looking forward to hitting the PNW coast again...

thanks...

 

Yes Frank our pellet heater comes apart for easy transport.

We haven't seen a teardrop in months till this morning when we saw this beauty in the San Jacinto Valley and snapped a picture.



Michael

 

Hey Michael, that's us about an hour ago! I remember passing that dial-a-ride van. How weird is that? We took the scenic route between Palm Springs and San Diego. Just stopped for an In-n-Out burger and saw this post. We'll be in socal for a month, so we'll keep an eye out for you.

 

Hi Jim and Ani, we had a sneaking feeling that was you when we saw the white Lexus SUV and 560. Did you notice the silver Tundra turning left while you were stopped at that light, Susan snapped your picture as we passed by. We have reservations at a couple San Diego campgrounds next week, if we are both in the same place at the same time we should try to get together and catch up.

camp runamucka south, Hemet, CA

Michael

 

There's great shelling on the San Diego beaches...



...the Dizzy crew has been camping in SD for over a week, seeing the sights, gotta love the weather, ocean side setting, history, attractions, restaurants, shopping...

Michael

 

let's see the water..... heheh, nice.... when you all heading back to the PNW?

 

Here you go Frank...


Dizzy does the beach at Silver Strand State Beach campground


Islas Coronados, Mexico from Coronado Island, USA


View from Point Loma


The San Diego Zoo

...we're gonna start heading north mid to late March...


Coupeville in the foreground and Port Townsend in the background with "camp runamucka north" on the extreme right under all those trees

...will pm you with our whereabouts, happy trails Frank!

Michael

 

NIce, thanks.

Will catch up in a bit..
Happy Trails...

 

Your post goes back a couple years... Do you still store your TD in a storage unit? What size unit do you have? That will need to be my storage solution, and I'm not finding large ones very close by. I have about 16 months to figure it out, but would appreciate knowing a recommended minimum size. It's good to know I'm not the only one who has to resort to an off-site solution.

Love PT, by the way. I did a whale watch out of there a few years ago when family from IL visited. Once I have the TD, I intend to explore the west side a lot more. Pullman is nice for work (small town friendly) and traffic (none), but the green scenery side of WA and OR is where my heart is. I really enjoy reading your old posts for campground ideas.

Oh, after posting, I see you have upsized from the TD...

Nancy

 

Nancy,
Do I understand right that you have ordered a CampInn and live in Colfax? Peg and I live in Coeur d'Alene and Peg grew up in Pullman and her grandparents in Colfax. Love our 550 Ultra.
Larry

 

Yes, Larry, I live in Colfax and commute to work at WSU. I really don't know many people in Colfax, it's just where I lay my head. I'm originally from central Illinois but have been on the west coast (Salem, NorCal, Colfax) since 1994. I miss daytrips to the Coast, which we of course can't do from the Inland NW. I won't order my TD until this fall, but spent some time in Door County with family last summer and stopped by Necedah for a tour with Craig. I'll be going a bit simpler, with a 550 Special. Less maintenance than the Ultra, plus I'm a bit limited weight-wise by my current TV, a Buick LeSabre.

 

Hi Sneakerwave, love your handle! So glad to hear you're enjoying the old posts. You're going to love owning a 550, you are so centrally located to the coast, Glacier NP, Yellowstone, Banff NP and all that national forest land. We had a rather large storage unit, a 12 by 30, we could fit both the trailer and tow vehicle if need be. I would say that a 10 by 12 foot unit would do it, a ten foot wide unit would allow you to open both doors. You are wise to think ahead and to keep your new baby out of the weather. You've got a ways off before getting your 550, in the mean time keep on reading!

Michael

 

Also Sneaker, you might consider the cover.

I had one on and used it for about 3 yrs and worked well. Strong, sturdy, didn't tear and kept dry when it rains on the outside. While a little tricky putting on, front or back, it does an excellent job and covers it all. And that was in Seattle, WA, not the driest state of the Union, as we all know.. heheh

Just something to think about... inside storage would be the best as noted by Michael, but if not available, the cover will work just fine for a long long, time..

Hope that helps...

 

The Dizzy crew has started their spring migration, we now find ourselves at El Capitan State Beach campground...



...another species heading north is the California Grey Whales, on their way to Alaska, we haven't seen any so far this trip, but we sure have our eyes peeled...



...we have seen a riot of wild flowers... and everything is so green, simply amazing what a little rain will do!

Michael

 

Wow I really envy your view of the ocean. Keep posting and I can live vicariously thru you.
Gina