The Great Southwest

August 20: Lava Point Campground, Zion National Forest, UT

Most camping sites within national parks are booked many months in advance. Zion had a small "dry camping" (no water or electricity) site at the north end that had an opening, so we nabbed it. The best part about this site was the camp host, who gave us lots of great information and even free firewood! The worst part was the rain from Hurricane Hilary had followed us from Las Vegas. Still, most of the rain was at night and early morning, so we were able to see a lot of Zion the next day. The Zion canyon shows off great rock walls and lots of flora. The park has a great shuttle system that eliminates that car traffic.

The next day some trails were partially washed out. This picture shows one of the trails after it was fixed.

When we first arrived at the campsite, a group of 4 young men came walking into the campground looking tired and hot. They had just hiked a trail from the visitors center up to Lava Point. It took them 10 hours! There is no other way back down to their car other than walking the trail back, or hiking down the road that takes 1 1/2 hrs to drive! They thought about hitch-hiking, there weren't many cars around, so they called a cab; $300, a 3 hour ride round trip for the cab driver. $75 for each person. Not bad for stupid planning!

August 21: Ruby's RV and Campground, Bryce, UT

Next we were off to Bryce Canyon for more canyon viewing. Lucky's battery was down to 0%, so we opted for an RV site with electrical hookups so we could charge up. More hard rain overnight. We felt bad for the group camp of French kids in small tents. The red soil had puddles everywhere! And the roof of Lucky leaked a bit down Annie's side door.

We both agree that Bryce Canyon was one of the best parks. The "hoodoos" (rock formations) are amazing, and the rim trail gave constantly new views of the canyon. The shuttle system here is also very efficient. There are trails that go into the canyon that give a different view of the canyon. We went down one and it started to rain and was slippery and muddy, so we only got a little glimpse but it was well worth it!

August 22-23: Canyon View Campground, Navajo National Monument, AZ

We were headed to Mesa Verde (CO) next, so we were looking for a halfway point to stop. This campground in Navajo National Monument area looked good so we set Google Maps up to take us there. We didn't realize that it would take us through 10 miles of bad dirt roads when we should have traveled the highway a little bit longer to get to a paved road. Annie championed us through the roads in darkness and we discovered an empty (and free!) campground. It took us one hour to drive that 10 miles!

When we woke up, we also discovered a beautiful view, and after a short hike to the visitor center, we found several hikes around the canyon that showed off the plant life in the canyon and the ancient pueblo houses built into the side of the canyon wall. We could only see it from afar, but we didn't expect to see this much here.

We enjoyed the site enough to stay another night. Again we had lots of hard rain, but so far we have timed our hikes well and we sat several big storms out in Lucky in "bench mode", while celebrating our anniversary!

August 24-26: Chutes and Ladders Dispersed Camping, Cortez, CO

We arrived in Cortez and settled in to explore Mesa Verde National Park. The main feature of the park is the Pueblo cliff dwellings. These date back to the mid-1200s. In addition to viewing them from afar, the park offers ranger-led tours that bring you directly into the structures. They call these "strenuous" tours because they require climbing ladders and squeezing through small tunnels. It was a bit of hype, but I guess necessary.

We learned all about the Ancestral Pueblo people and how they came to develop the cliff houses. They were quite advanced engineers and an advanced civilization. We also saw the beginnings of Pueblos, pit houses, 600 ad. 

We were staying on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land; no frills camping, and a big storm made  the dirt roads rutted and slippery. We made it though and the next few days were fabulous, so we stayed on another night to plan our next steps. Here we sit in a restaurant in Cortez, finishing this entry and planning our next stops.

Starting the Loop Back

August 10-12: Skyline Park, Napa, CA

We had a hard time finding a place near San Francisco, but eventually found a park with an available spot in Napa Valley. Our spot was in an area separate from the RVs and tents. A few camper vans joined us. (Many campsites are geared towards either large RVs or tents, and they don't always know what to do with us or other small trailers or camper vans.) The campsite had a lot of things going on, including a disk golf course, archery range, horse boarding and courses, and a native pants garden. 

We went in to do some wine tasting in Napa. Most of the wineries require reservations, but the city itself has some tasing rooms. We had a nice dinner in town and then had some wine while we listened to a local musician. Someone in the audience surprisingly (and anonymously) paid for everyone! There is a lot of money in that town. We found an alternative for wine tasting at the Napa Town and Country Fair. $15 for tasting and they were generous with the pours! No more free tastings and the wineries cost $40 a person and up for their tasting experiences. I guess what I learned was to experiment with wine from your local liquor store, find what you like and when you get bored with that, try some others. The beauty of driving the winding roads through wine country was a nice experience.

In San Francisco, we met up with our niece Alice where we had a Korean lunch and visited some parts of SF that we had not seen before, including Japantown. She was a good host! Afterwords we went to the Fisherman's Wharf and had a nice dinner. Big crowds at the wharf. The fog is amazing on the upper coast, and from Carmel to Oregon the weather was colder than you would think. Sadly, we were too wimpy to swim, but did enjoy walking into the waves.

August 13-14: Elkhorn Ranch, Elkhorn, CA

Our plan was to head east after SF, but we decided we needed more ocean time, so we headed south of SF and found a goat ranch that was hosting campers (HipCamp has many opportunities like this). There were many goats, plus some sheep, a few pigs, chickens and a few turkeys. Not to mention vegetables and other plants. We were in a nice grove.

We went to Carmel and enjoyed the rolling coast and a nice dinner. Carmel is a charming seaside town with upper class pricing.

The next day we went on a "Elkhorn Slough Safari Trip", where we explored the slough on a pontoon boat with a naturalist. We saw many sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters and many different birds. The slough is an interesting and important ecosystem.

Elkhorn also has a large power plant, and the towers went right over our camping area.

August 15-16: Hardin Flat Road, Stanislaus National Forest, CA

We found a great boondocking spot here, large and full of pines. This is our 2 night spot for Yosemite. All of the west coast is so dusty, I had a tank top on for one night in this spot, and when I washed under my arms with a wet wipe, the wipe was full of dirt! We had neighbors from Czech Republic, one morning they woke up early to find a bear right by their van, it started walking towards our camp and he shouted and it turned direction and loped away! We also found a stash of massive pine cones.

Yosemite is awesome with its granite peaks, tall waterfalls and fast running rivers. We swam in a clear lake and watched climbers reach the summit of a mountain.

 

August 17: Lower Lee Vining Campground, Inyo National Forest, CA

We came here to take in Mono Lake. I call this spot a show-stopper, multi show-stoppers is one spot! The mountains, the clouds, the tufa towers, and the display of weather all around the lake. The pictures actually do give a glimpse of this lake's wonder.

Mono Lake is more salty than the ocean. As the lake water level dropped over the years, towers of calcium-carbonate, formed by the interaction of fresh water springs and alkaline lake water, peaked out from the lake. These towers are called tufa. The lake is over 1 million years old and has no outlet.

                                                                                 

August 18-19: North Las Vegas Inn & Suites, North Las Vegas, NV

The trip into Nevada was long and flat. The interstate runs through the valleys of mountain ranges. Strange, almost ghost town-ish cities are dotted here and there. Again with the dust, showing up in puffs from the wind or as a cloud of white from the dune buggies that ride the flats and foot hills.

One city along the way bragged about its "famous" Clown Motel, sitting beside an abandoned cemetary.

Our agenda for staying in a hotel for 2 nights is to shower, sit in the hot tub, maybe swim, do laundry, catch up on e-mails, get the car's oil changed and live a large life, before heading back into our teardrop cocoon in the wilderness. Ahh! Fresh linens- for real, this time!

Coasting

August 3: Cedar Creek Campground, Cottage Grove, OR

We started down the Oregon coast after leaving Tillamook. I love the Oregon coast! The cliffs along the highway are straight down. Sometimes there are dunes, sometimes temperate rainforest. After leaving Idaho we were out of the high altitude but the roads were still curvy and up and down. 

August 4: Sand Lake Recreation Area, Cloverdale, OR 

Our first experience with the coast was at Cape Lookout. We stayed at a site that was an RV ATV site right on the dunes. The ocean was ¼ mile ahead, all sand dune before the water. The site was a large asphalt parking lot with flush toilets and lots of people. ATVs, dune buggies, motorcycles and 4 wheel drives were in and out from 6 am till midnight, revving their engines and riding the dunes. Lots of American and Trump flags flying on the RVs. It was quite an experience of cultures.

August 5-6: Blackberry Campground, Tidewater, OR

The next night we went to the Siuslaw National Forest. We found a campground on a slow river with a nice view of the water, we stayed 2 nights. My favorite spot was found in Cape Perpetua Scenic Area. Tide pools and mollusk-covered large rocks dotted the beach for about a ¼ mile! The life was amazing. Orange and purple starfish, all kinds of stuff that I don’t know, we’ll have to look them up when we have internet. Everywhere we turned there was new life to see. The rocks clicked as crabs inside the clams (?) clicked their pincers. Water dripped off of moss and the rocks, making dotted patterns in the mud. The rocks were tall, about 6 feet from the surface, and the created paths into the shore and farther out in the ocean, but not far enough for walking and wading. Along the shore where there was only sand, logs had washed up and people created huts with the silver wood.

 

August 7-8: Ruby Van Deventer County Park, Crescent City, CA

The next day we traveled down the coast to get to our next camp site in California. We checked one site named Harris Beach State Park, but it was full and, can you believe it, we found a spot at Ruby Van Deventer County Park! It was kismet! Another place on a river, and I will probably wash my hair in it! That will be 5 days between washes this time. We are in the Redwood National Forest.

Before we found our camp spot, I decided that we should experience riding the dunes. We drove past a few places that had rentals, and as I drove further, I told myself that I would turn into the next one. No more feeling too old! They didn’t have a buggy for us until 3 and it was only 1, too long to wait. We used their bathrooms and as we were walking out they had a cancellation and we could go right out in a 2 seater ATV. After being told countless times about the dangers, and how we could tip over by going too fast, then being told again by another person, and then watching a video about everything, we were sent out on the dunes, finally! It was exhilarating! Driving straight down and straight up the dunes is the law. When the buggy reaches the top and the foot is taken off of the gas, the vehicle stops. A perfect time to assess whether the descent is too steep or if it would be better to cut across the ridge for a smoother descent. Both Mat and I got to drive numerous times and with each turn we got more confident.

August 9: Westport Beach RV Park, Westport, CA

After taking the windiest road in America (my title for Highway 1 CA), we splurged and stopped at an RV park that let us charge up all of our batteries, fill our tank and catch up on Wi-Fi (and even watch a Netflix movie!).

Towards the Coast

July 28-29: Jerry Lindholm House, Boise, ID

As promised, after our stay in Idaho Falls 👎, we headed for Boise 👍 where we met up with Annie's uncle Jerry (Gene's brother). The terrain is very dry and we saw one large grass fire ripping through the field near the interstate.

On the way to Boise we stopped at the first atomic power plant (EBR-1) and the Craters of the Moon National Monument. It's part of the volcanic action due to the same plate split that makes up Yellowstone and the whole Snake River path. 

Boise is a growing/hopping city and Jerry lives in the North End with lots of nice houses. We also met Annie's cousin Amy and her husband Todd briefly -- Amy was still quarantining from Covid. Jerry was a sport as we took him out on a Saturday night in the party district.

 

July 30: Spring Creek Campground, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, OR

After saying good bye to Jerry, we headed towards Oregon and the coast. Our midway point was the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, where we found a nice campsite near a dried stream bed. We scared up a few deer on our walk. We chatted with a couple that is using a refurbished ambulance to camp in. They were quite creative in repurposing it.

July 31 - Aug 2: Oxbow Regional Park, Troutdale, OR

Next day we headed for Oregon with plans to stay in a campsite somewhat close to the city. After stopping in the hip, outdoorsy town of Hood River, we decided to move closer in the area of Troutdale where we found Oxbow Regional Park, on the Sandy River. It's a nice family-oriented park, but now overrun by big RVs. 

Here is our friendly local deer, very unafraid of humans:

Here is Annie working late into the night fixing a necklace:

In Oregon, we visited the Japanese Gardens and Rose Garden at Washington Park.