Category Archives: RV Travel

Unknown's avatar

Making our Way Back Home

by

Monday, Day 34

When we stopped tonight in Salem, Oregon, Jim said he could keep on driving for another six hours! It was such an easy drive compared to the last several days of mountain climbing.

We continued up the Oregon coast and found the rugged shore line with the rocky peaks standing tall off shore, like sentinels guarding the bay,  even more interesting than the California coast. Then we reached the Oregon Sand Dunes.  We had to stop for some pictures of course!

There is a tree, the Myrtle tree, that apparently grows only in an area encompassing parts of  northern California and Southern Oregon. As we approached the city of Bandon we noticed a couple of shops that advertised Myrtle wood for sale.  We couldn’t get into the first one, but the second one turned out to be a better choice anyway. Inside the shop we found just what we were looking for — a few pieces of the wood cut into sizes just right for turning pens, or carving knife handles.  We know of two people who might like them. But we didn’t get out that easily.  The little store was full of all sorts of wonderful things that had been made from Myrtle wood. I would have bought gifts for everyone, if I could afford it! It’s a unique wood.  Every piece looks a little different, from colour to grain, and it’s quite light weight. Although my budget was blown long ago, I couldn’t resist buying at least one piece.  I chose a salad/serving bowl.

We made no more tourist stops after that.  From now on we will be pushing on to Kaslo, and then home.

We’d hoped to boon dock (park in a parking lot for the night for free, without services) at the local Walmart, a place that always welcomes out of town visitors, but we noticed signs posted on the perimeter warning that no unauthorized parking was allowed.  A security guard was patrolling the lot so we asked him if we could stay there.

“Sure,” he said. “Just park over along the curb, out of the way, and go into Walmart to tell the manager you’re there.”

It took us a while to find the manager and when we did she told us that Walmart had no problem with us camping there, but the city of Salem is one of the cities  that has passed a by-law forbidding it.  They will have you towed away. She directed us to a nearby RV Park which is quite classy yet less expensive than any we’ve been in yet. So the light continues to shine on us and we are grateful for this opportunity.

Unknown's avatar

Everyday’s a Holiday

by

Saturday, Day 31

As I begin this blog, we’re driving through some very twisty parts of Hwy 101. The speed limit is between 30 and 35 mph. The road is lined on both sides by towering redwood trees, except for the occasional turn when we find ourselves looking across massive sand dunes along the ocean on our left.  We have just left Eureka, California and will be somewhere in Oregon before we stop for the night. From there I’ll try to finish this and post it. Road signs tell us to watch for Elk.  There is an Elk Reserve in the vicinity.

We found the Elk, at least a couple of them, in a meadow at a National Park. Signs posted also warned us of bear and cougars who inhabited the woods as well. We didn’t venture too far off the boardwalk, but I did pick a few wild black berries. Yumm!

We had our lunch in the park before continuing on. Hwy 101 is a much better road and for most of it the speed limit is 65 mph, so we made much better time. When we reached Crescent City the GPS directed us to turn onto Hwy 199, which would take us easterly to Hwy 5, the fasted route to Kaslo, BC.  However, we hadn’t spent a night at a State Park by the ocean yet, and we’d been seeing so many enticing ones along the way, we decided to stay on 101 for another day. We crossed the border into Oregon around 3:00 and stopped at the Welcome Centre to ask about camping at any nearby State Park.  We were reminded that this was the last long weekend of the summer! We’d forgotten, since we’ve been on one very long, long weekend for a month now! All the State Park sites were fully booked. The attendants at the Welcome Centre made some phone calls and found us a site at a private RV Park, within view of the ocean and a short walk to it. The price isn’t much more than that of the State Parks, and we have all the amenities so we’re happy. We took a walk down to the beach before dinner, and had an interesting conversation with a crab fisher, who explained the process and the regulations. The air is still a little bit cool and refreshing.

Wait for it!

Unknown's avatar

Fog, Redwoods and a Long Day

by

Friday, Day 30

After we spent time visiting with our next door neighbours at the campsite this morning it was nearly eleven o’clock before we got away. The ocean was barely visible through the fog and for many hours fog drifted just above the road and through the trees.  It was another slow drive, up, down and around mountain peaks, but this time much more of it was through the Redwood Forests. The highway was even narrower and steep in many places, until we reached the junction at Hwy 101.  Before continuing on along 101, we stopped at Leggett to see the drive-thru Chandelier Tree, a 315 foot redwood with a diameter of 21 feet and believed to be 2400 years old.  The motor home wouldn’t fit through the opening, but I got a picture of Jim pretending to try.

That was our only stop except for taking the occasional picture and eating lunch along the side of the road.  We were determined to get to a full-service campsite tonight. We were running out of clean clothes and we weren’t sure how much propane we had left, since the gauge quit working a long time ago. We also needed a bank and a grocery store! We finally made it to Eureka just before dark. A fine mist was beginning to coat the windshield. We did our banking and a bit of grocery shopping, but by that time I was too tired and hungry to decide what we needed.  We got only the bare necessities. We were lucky to find a space at the nearby KOA.  This was a very long day.

Nope, it won't quite fit!

Unknown's avatar

Searching for Family and Cool Air

by

Thursday, Day 29

Tonight we’re camped at Ocean Cove, California. It’s a site with neither hook-ups nor levelled lots. We can’t use internet, or empty our holding tanks or fill the propane tank.  But we’re right beside the Pacific Ocean, watching the sun go down, and the cool, crisp air is a welcome relief from the 105 degree temps this afternoon.  What could be better?

We didn’t travel very far today, but it was a slow drive.  Our first stop was in Sonoma where we began a search for a family who was very close to Jim’s Uncle Peter and with whom he and Jim had spent time during Jim’s visit. We had names and an address, but hadn’t been able to track them down after Jim and his family last visited them in 1964. It wasn’t too difficult to find the house, and it too was listed for sale. No offers of a tour were forthcoming this time though. There appeared to be no one home. A chat with neighbours on either side provided us with only one small piece to the puzzle. One neighbour had been there since 1968 and he didn’t recognize the name, so we could conclude that the family had left the neighbourhood sometime between 1964 and 1968.

We checked for records at City Hall and found nothing. We continued on to Santa Rosa, the County Seat, and at the Office of the Registrar were able to find a few more details about Peter’s death – he’d been cremated, which could account for the lack of burial records. There was nothing about the other family.  While we were parking the motor home in the parking lot, we’d been chatted up by a friendly fellow who talked about his motor home experiences and shared much of his life story with us. Once, when he was telling us about how he’d prayed for a good outcome to some financial situation, he asked if we were believers. We braced ourselves for a sermon, but our positive response seemed to suffice. He eventually let us go on our way and he went on his.

Disappointed with our meagre findings, we returned to the motor home to  find a book on my seat, obviously tossed through the open window,  National Sunday Law – forces unite amid stupendous crisis. Might make some interesting reading!

We left the cities, and the exhausting heat behind. Even the fans in the cab of the rv were of no use in that temperature.  The air was so warm it felt more like hair dryers blowing on us.

We soon began our journey through some rather narrow, always twisty roads that eventually led us to US Hwy 1 and the ocean.  We’d planned to stop at the next available KOA, in Manchester, so we could catch up on laundry, fill up with water and propane and empty the holding tanks, because we’d hoped to find

Sunset behind Jim, over Ocean Cove

a nice camping spot in a State Park the next night, where we knew there would be none of these amenities available. But the winding,steep roads reduced travel speeds to between 35 and 45 mph. The scenery was glorious, yet some of the turns caused us to hold our breath as the road appeared to drop away over a cliff. As I photographed one turn, I was stunned to see three cows on the narrow inside shoulder!

By 6:30 the all-day upper-body workout had Jim badly in need of a rest. That’s when we pulled into this very relaxing spot for the night. The laundry will have to wait for tomorrow.

Unknown's avatar

Yosemite – a Must See to add to your Bucket List

by

Monday – Day 27

Ahh, it’s getting harder and harder to remember what day it is! If I didn’t write this blog every few days, I wouldn’t have a clue!

We had a late start getting away from Reno on Saturday, despite setting the alarm clock so we’d get up early. We had a couple of stops to make before leaving town and they took longer than anticipated. But it was a nice drive on another sunny day.

We crossed the border into California sometime late afternoon.  We stopped to eat lunch along the road a short time later.  I’d considered having an apple for dessert, but thought I’d have it later.  I should have eaten it when I had a chance.  Just a few miles down the road we had to stop at an “Inspection Station”.

“Do you have any fresh fruit or vegetables?”

“A couple of tomatoes, some lettuce and some apples,” I replied. I forgot about the raspberries I’d purchased a couple of days ago.

“I’ll have to come aboard and check your fridge,” the attendant said.

Of all the things in it, she confiscated only the apples.  They were the only thing left that we’d brought from Canada.

It was nearly four o’clock when we stopped at the Visitors Centre at Mono Lake, a sparkling blue lake that was very photogenic, and only twelve miles from Yosemite.  While there we learned that there were no camping sites within Yosemite Park that could accommodate us. We decided to camp at the nearby Mono Vista RV Park for the night and go into Yosemite in the morning. It’s a small park, with a few permanent mobile homes and small spaces, but there were several RVs there for the night, either on their way to Yosemite or just out. A very strong wind rustled the leaves of the poplar tree above us, sounding like rain. There was no rain though. How many days has it been since we’ve seen any rain? I can’t think of one day since we left Peterborough.

We were on the road by 9:15 on Sunday morning and a half hour later we were climbing uphill towards Yosemite. If we thought that the drive through Yellowstone was breathtaking, this was more intoxicating and even a little bit scary at times. The road climbed and twisted along the side of the mountains and slightly back down into valleys before steeply climbing up again. By the time we reached the entrance to the park, at Tioga Pass, we were at nearly 10,000 feet and we’d already taken fifty or more pictures. It was a slow climb, but the motor home made it without incident. It was cold up there! People were wearing heavy coats – quite a change from Reno.

We stopped to take a photo of Half Dome, and then we climbed 800 feet up a rocky hill, just to challenge ourselves, I think. It was a marvellous view from the top.

We’d planned to drive to Yosemite Village where we could park the motor home and take the bike up to Glacier Point, but we made so many other stops along the way, to snap more pictures, that it was already four o’clock when we got there. Since we had to be out of the park before we could stop for the night, we reluctantly continued through and out the north exit.

Although we couldn’t camp in Yosemite Park, we did find a spot just outside, within the Stanislau Forest. Our only neighbours were a young couple in a tent several metres away from us.  We hoped to see some animals, but no such luck. I was glad that we were inside, just the same. We had no power or internet for computers so we went to bed at 9:00 to read, but the day’s adventure had tired us out and the books were soon dropped and the light out. What a stupendous day!

Today was a day of travel. Another mechanical problem caused a delay in reaching San Francisco, but fortunately it wasn’t an expensive one. It was 6:30 when we finally got ourselves into the RV Park closest to downtown that we could find. It’s small, and maybe not in the best neighbourhood, just across the river from San Quentin. I convinced Jim to lock all the outside storage compartments. Tomorrow, we hope, we’ll get to explore San Francisco.

Unknown's avatar

Another Day in Reno

by

Friday Day 24

Our day started at 6 a.m. We took the motor home back to the service centre, pulling the bike behind it so we could go get some breakfast while the tank was being dropped and the situation analyzed. When we got back, they had the old pump out and we took it to the Ford parts department to see if we could a new one.  We could.  They’d have it in for us in an hour. We wandered around a local mall to fill in the time. I looked around the Burlington Coat Factory for a bit, but seeing Jim standing at the door looking impatient stifles my desire to shop rather quickly. Now a stop at another Harbor Freight store was a different story! Ha, ha.

When we picked up the new pump, the store manager took pity on us and gave us a cut rate. We dropped it off back at the GM Service Department and came back to the hotel to enjoy a swim and lunch by the pool.  The day had gotten hot again and the water was like that of a tepid bath, but still it was refreshing and it was the only chance we’ve had to make use of our passes.

Back to the service centre again. They were still working on it.  We spent another hour or so in the waiting room.  We began to feel like part of the family. At last it was done and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the labour charges weren’t as high as expected either. So the day ended not quite as badly as we’d thought. We’d saved about $300. Also, the first time that the engine had shuttered, a couple of weeks ago, we thought it was a transmission problem. That could have cost us a whole lot more.

And we’re grateful to Mike at the GM Service Centre and Mike at the Ford Parts department for their sympathy and generosity that got us back on the road as painlessly as possible.

Tomorrow we leave for Yosemite National Park in California.

Unknown's avatar

The Bubble Sprung a Leak

by

Thurs. Day 23

Today was a day to take care of some domestics. While we waited at the Laundromat for the laundry to be done, Jim made some phone calls to see if we could get the motor home checked out before we were ready to leave Reno tomorrow. He contacted the service manager at the local GM dealership, one that specializes in big trucks. They were very busy, but when Jim explained our situation he agreed to look at it. We took it in right after lunch and spent the next two hours sitting in the waiting room for the diagnosis.  The news wasn’t good. We needed a new fuel pump. With installation it would cost about $1100. Our bubble had finally burst. The service manager did suggest that we might be able to find a better deal on the pump if we could pick it up ourselves. We brought the rv back to the park for the night and we’ll be up very early in the morning to take it back to the service centre. The gas tank will need to be dropped and the old pump removed in order to get a part number.  Then we can look for a replacement.

Rather than sit and fret about all of this, we hopped on the bike and went to the State Fair. Being “old” we got in for free! Bonus! We watched the Wild West Show and a couple of “gun fights” and strolled through the midway.  Again we were surprised by the poor attendance. Everyone blames it on the economy, yet if you take a look around this RV Park it’s plain to see that not everyone is suffering.

Unknown's avatar

Lights of Reno Faded

by

Wed. Day 22

The outside temperature was over 100 degrees in Reno today. We rode the bike up 6000 feet on a very winding road (more good biking country) to Virginia City.  There it was enough cooler to be comfortable. We enjoyed pizza and a sasparilla in The Red Dog Saloon, an interesting old saloon with a tin ceiling, antique ceiling fans and a crystal chandelier. Sadly the musical entertainment would be playing until later in the evening. The Red Dog is just one of many old-style saloons in this former mining town, now a tourist attraction. We took the town tour in a wagon pulled by a John Deere, and learned its fascinating history.

Back down in the valley a few hours later, the temperature was still steamy. We had a quick supper before riding out again in search of the city lights, the casino district. We found the lights and took some pictures, but we were very disappointed that there was no entertainment to be found in any of the casinos. In fact, there were very few people at the slot machines or the gambling tables, or even on the street. Perhaps it gets better on the weekend. Cindy Lauper is supposed to appear on Saturday, but we will be long gone by then.

Unknown's avatar

Salt Lake City

by

Day 15 – Thurs.

Today started out as an uneventful travelling day. It ended a little differently.

We left the campground at 10:00 am and within two miles we were in Idaho. Travelling along Hwy 15, there wasn’t much to see.  It’s mostly fields of wheat and potatoes, or pastures for cows and horses.  There was one small section, about five miles long maybe, which looked like the badlands – black rocks tumble weeds and scrub brush. By mid-afternoon the colourful mountain ranges of Utah began to appear on the horizon. Through the open window I could smell rain, and looking towards the east we saw the black cloud of rain emptying over the mountain. The valleys could have used some of it.  There were many sprawling ranches where the huge irrigation systems were working full time.

At 4:15 we crossed into Utah and we were only an hour away from our day’s planned destination, Salt Lake City. We stopped at the Information Centre to get a list of campgrounds and left with two good options, The Pony Express RV Resort which was new and a ten minute drive out of the city, or the KOA which was inside the city. Both sounded good.  That’s when our day began to change.

As we got closer to the city the traffic got crazy. I was trying to enter the address of The Pony Express into the GPS while Jim was occupied with the traffic.  The GPS couldn’t even find the street! I finally gave up so I could watch for the highway exits shown on the little map on the back of the brochure. We found Hwy 215, and then watched for exit 28. We saw exit 27 and thought the next one must be 28, but the numbers went down! We saw the RV park as we passed over it, so we turned around. By then we’d decided that this one was too far from downtown so we stopped and entered the address for the KOA into the GPS. It took us off the highway at exit 27 and right past The Pony Express RV Resort!

We arrived at the KOA at about 6:30 and our very friendly site guide told us about the many things that were available in the park, including a shuttle bus that would take us to the Mormon Tabernacle to listen to the choir rehearse. It only happens on Thursday nights, and the shuttle bus was leaving at 7:10. We hadn’t had any dinner yet so it didn’t look like we could make it. While I made dinner, Jim looked up the directions to the Tabernacle and also found that the practice was from 8:00 to 9:30 and visitors could come and go at any time.  It was only ten blocks or so away.  We could bicycle. (Jim hadn’t had time to find out what ailed the Virago yet.) After we ate we threw the dirty dishes into the sink and hopped onto the bikes.  It was already 8 o’clock but it should take us only about twenty minutes to get there, right?  Wrong!  The direction map that the RV park had given us showed a route that seemed longer than necessary. The Tabernacle was on the same street as the KOA, so Jim figured that part of it must be a one-way street, making it necessary to go a few blocks around if going by car. Riding bicycles on the sidewalk (there doesn’t seem to be a law against it here) should be no problem.

After riding several blocks, we learned the real reason for the round-about directions.  The bridge was out! We had to find the way around after all. We were told we should cut through the Gateway Mall, which was two very long blocks away. I think that we’d ridden close to the ten blocks already!  After the first block Jim discovered that his bike had a flat tire. We were forced to walk the bikes the last five or six blocks and finally arrived at the Mormon Tabernacle at nearly nine o’clock. Was I glad to see the drinking fountain in the court yard! I wasn’t feeling great by then.

Inside the Tabernacle we marvelled at the beauty, but there was no choir rehearsing. We were told that that was happening at the Convention Centre, door twelve, a block further away. We left the bikes where we’d locked them and walked to the Convention Centre. It took a few wrong turns before we found door twelve, but we soon heard the soothing sounds of orchestra and choir. The comfortable seats were a bonus. We could listen only for about twenty minutes before making our way back to KOA. At least it was a nice night for walking.

All along the way Jim kept an eye out for an air pump. He even asked other bicyclists that we encountered if they had one with them. About three blocks from our destination he found one at a service station, so we were able to ride the rest of the way. We were doing fine until we noticed the clouds of water up ahead.  The lawn sprinklers that had been hitting only the edge of the sidewalk the first time we’d passed were now aimed directly across our path. The road was under construction and traffic was heavy so that didn’t seem to be a safe option.  I was in the lead.  I took a deep breath and peddled for all I was worth, through the water. My glasses soon became so spotted I couldn’t see through them.  I pulled them down over my nose and pushed on past four, five, six sprinklers.  Jim was right behind me.  We blindly made it through and stopped to wipe our glasses. We were a little wet.  By the time we got back to the KOA parking lot, Jim’s bike tire was flat again! We walked to our RV site, having some difficulty finding it amongst the 200 that were there.

We had such a good time that we’ve decided to stay here two more nights – to enjoy the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in all their splendour, at the church service on Sunday.  We’ll be ready to catch the shuttle bus this time!

Unknown's avatar

We didn’t see Yogi Bear, but we Did See Old Faithful

by

Day 14 – Wed

I didn’t think I’d take any more pictures until we got to Yellowstone, but the scenery through the hills of Wyoming were impossible to ignore!

We left the campground at 9:30 am and arrived at the gate to Yellowstone National Park about an hour later. The scenery through the park is impossible to describe. Probably the many pictures we took won’t really convey the magnificence either. The one “black” spot on the beauty was the massive area where forest fires of past years have left nothing but naked tree trunks standing.  There is evidence of new growth beginning, though.

We knew we wouldn’t be able to see even a fraction of the 2.2 million acres of park, so we took the lower half of the circle, catching some of the highlights. Our first stop was at West Thumb Geyser Basin, an area that percolates with geysers, hot springs and mudpots. The steam coming off of one geyser created a sauna effect and steamed up our glasses as we stood over it, on the wooden path. We stopped to photograph a herd of buffalo; we ate lunch beside beautiful Lake Yellowstone. We reached Old Faithful just in time to catch the end of an eruption. We enjoyed ice cream (I think this is becoming a bad habit!) while we waited the fifty minutes for the next one.  This time we had front row seats. It was exciting to see, but we also enjoyed just as much the many smaller geysers and ponds that surround the area. This was our last stop and we made our way out the west side of the park at about 7:30 pm. Along the way we crossed The Great Divide, and the border into Montana.

We stopped at the city of West Yellowstone, just outside the gate, for information. We hoped to find a campsite in the city so we could catch the IMAX film. There were no RV Parks that could accommodate us,  so we continued west for about eight miles to Lion Head RV Park. It was nine o’clock by the time we had dinner, but we had a great day. Tomorrow we’ll continue south-west.