KathyBob
Junior Ranger
19 days from Federal Way, WA and back, via OR and west and east sides of California. What a huge and diverse state. We experienced all types of weather: glorious sun with temps in the high 80's to wind and rain - in San Diego no less - to snow with temps in the high 20's. The TD handled it all beautifully and except for a malfunctioning CO monitor, which Cary helped us deal with via phone, we had no problems. Lesson learned for all of you in the process of ordering your TD - get the danged galley windscreens. We thought that would be a place to save money, but on this trip our diet would have been more varied if we could have cooked in the winds. Raising the lids of the storage bins to shield the wind helped a little, but having the screens would have really helped.
As Jenn told you in her accounts of our meeting at Joshua Tree NP, we had a wonderful time getting acquainted. She also taught us how to set up the side tent - a piece of cake (once someone shows you how - definitely should be a topic of the next CI video.)
So, now we'll see if I've figured out the picture insertion technique!
First stop, Valley of the Rogue State Park, just north of Medford, OR. OMG - it worked!
Then Casa de Fruta on CA 152 in Hollister, CA. Thanks, Al, for the tip. We would have driven right by it!
The 17-Mile drive around Pebble Beach was worth the $9.75. We did stop at the golf course and detoured to Carmel for breakfast - didn't run into Clint but swore we saw Gary Busey on the beach. Jim and Sue, we loved Asilomar State Beach!
Stayed one night at Veterans Memorial Park in Monterey. Pretty lonely at this time of year but guess that it's hoppin' in the summer. The ranger had us take a look at Mt. Toro in the distance.
Had a fun, albeit too-short, meet-up at the Pismo Beach KOA with Tom 'n Gayle who were heading up to San Francisco to do grandparent duty
For us PNW'ers, Saddleback Butte State Park, 17 miles east of Lancaster, CA, was a great introduction to the desert. Fortunately, it was still too cool for us to worry about the "Mojave Green" snakes that hang out there in the summer! The volunteer camp host was delightful. Unfortunately, this campground is on on the list of possible closures.
The sun broke through our last full day in San Diego and we took the opportunity to visit beaches and the Mission San Diego de Alcala
We finally met up with Jenn at Joshua Tree NP.
We successfully set up the side tent . . .
While Bob "supervised"
The TD cousins, #452 (Sundog) and #454 (yet to be named)were attention getters
Death Valley NP was absolutely amazing
The Lone Pine Film Museum an absolute must for fans of westerns and sci-fi movies, many of them filmed in the nearby Alabama Hills. Check the website for a full list:http://lonepinefilmhistorymuseum.org/
Further north on US 395 is the Manzanar War Relocation Center National Historic Site. A fascinating and sobering place to visit.
Our second-to-last night was at the Hunters RV Park in Lakeview, OR. We listened to the wind howl all night, and woke to snow. We think we were the only ones actually staying overnight at the campground which was basically a big field. The showers were warm and the free coffee in the morning was delicious. AND, of all the places that had wi-fi available, theirs was the strongest. Of course, to get out of there, we had to scrape snow!
We had a few disappointments: couldn't drive down CA 1 because of storms coming up, AND, Al, the Whoa Nelli Deli in Lee Vining was closed until the Tioga Road into Yosemite was open. But we had a great breakfast at Nicely's, also in Lee Vining. So many thanks to all of you who gave us suggestions. Looking forward to meeting those who will be at Mossyrock and the IRG4. Kathy
As Jenn told you in her accounts of our meeting at Joshua Tree NP, we had a wonderful time getting acquainted. She also taught us how to set up the side tent - a piece of cake (once someone shows you how - definitely should be a topic of the next CI video.)
So, now we'll see if I've figured out the picture insertion technique!
First stop, Valley of the Rogue State Park, just north of Medford, OR. OMG - it worked!
Then Casa de Fruta on CA 152 in Hollister, CA. Thanks, Al, for the tip. We would have driven right by it!
The 17-Mile drive around Pebble Beach was worth the $9.75. We did stop at the golf course and detoured to Carmel for breakfast - didn't run into Clint but swore we saw Gary Busey on the beach. Jim and Sue, we loved Asilomar State Beach!
Stayed one night at Veterans Memorial Park in Monterey. Pretty lonely at this time of year but guess that it's hoppin' in the summer. The ranger had us take a look at Mt. Toro in the distance.
Had a fun, albeit too-short, meet-up at the Pismo Beach KOA with Tom 'n Gayle who were heading up to San Francisco to do grandparent duty
For us PNW'ers, Saddleback Butte State Park, 17 miles east of Lancaster, CA, was a great introduction to the desert. Fortunately, it was still too cool for us to worry about the "Mojave Green" snakes that hang out there in the summer! The volunteer camp host was delightful. Unfortunately, this campground is on on the list of possible closures.
The sun broke through our last full day in San Diego and we took the opportunity to visit beaches and the Mission San Diego de Alcala
We finally met up with Jenn at Joshua Tree NP.
We successfully set up the side tent . . .
While Bob "supervised"
The TD cousins, #452 (Sundog) and #454 (yet to be named)were attention getters
Death Valley NP was absolutely amazing
The Lone Pine Film Museum an absolute must for fans of westerns and sci-fi movies, many of them filmed in the nearby Alabama Hills. Check the website for a full list:http://lonepinefilmhistorymuseum.org/
Further north on US 395 is the Manzanar War Relocation Center National Historic Site. A fascinating and sobering place to visit.
Our second-to-last night was at the Hunters RV Park in Lakeview, OR. We listened to the wind howl all night, and woke to snow. We think we were the only ones actually staying overnight at the campground which was basically a big field. The showers were warm and the free coffee in the morning was delicious. AND, of all the places that had wi-fi available, theirs was the strongest. Of course, to get out of there, we had to scrape snow!
We had a few disappointments: couldn't drive down CA 1 because of storms coming up, AND, Al, the Whoa Nelli Deli in Lee Vining was closed until the Tioga Road into Yosemite was open. But we had a great breakfast at Nicely's, also in Lee Vining. So many thanks to all of you who gave us suggestions. Looking forward to meeting those who will be at Mossyrock and the IRG4. Kathy
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