California – Page 14 – The MoHo and Other Traveling Tales

Travel decisions and Grizzly Creek State Park

As we were driving over the winding mountain roads on Saturday, there was plenty of time to talk about all sorts of things. Among the conversations was the one often repeated, “So, we have at least ten good years of travel, right? When are we going to do the AlCan?”. When Mo bought the first MoHo back in 2005 she was already urging me to think about retiring so that we could take that famous road. Mo has some great photos of her first trip north in 1974 in a little Scout with some built in boxes on top to carry supplies. She scanned all the faded, slightly scratchy slides a few years ago, and we look at them and laugh at the stories about mosquitoes while thinking about that future trip someday in the MoHo.

The result of these conversations was a decision. We are embarking north around June 15th. One of the quandaries of this time of year for traveling is how much we love where we live in the summer. Not many places in the world prettier than Crater Lake and Recreation Creek in July, but Alaska is waiting and we aren’t getting any younger. I certainly don’t want to go there in the spring or fall, although I have heard some folks say that the road is actually better when it is frozen. Nah, I’ll take the mosquitoes and the cloudy skies over dealing with serious cold weather in the MoHo. I have read enough horror stories over the last few weeks of folks dealing with all the cold in the southern part of this country this year to know better. I am excited, to say the least. It is an epic trip, one for the bucket list, and I don’t want to miss it.

In the mean time, we will enjoy this week in what turned out to be foggy California and prepare for a hopefully warmer foray down to sunny Arizona in March for three weeks of desert time.

On our way here, we stopped overnight at a sweet little state park along Highway 36. In the gloomy evening, with fog dripping from the redwoods and no one around, it didn’t seem like much. With morning, however, in spite of the gloomy skies, the park revealed some of it’s delights.

Grizzly Creek State Park is located along the Van Duzen River on a place that has been used for rest for more than 150 years. Before that it was a lodging spot for the local tribes, rich with salmon, berries, and shelter. And yes, lots of poison oak, my particular bane of traveling in California. In 1946 it was established as a state park, and the amenities reflect this heritage. I didn’t see evidence of the CCC, but the visitor center is an old shingle building with a lot of character and the fire pits are old stone structures that speak of a long history of happy families and the days of car camping.

We had the entire park to ourselves on this Sunday morning, except for one lone fisherman who walked in from the highway to catch some of the salmon that still run on this river. Encouraging. There was one lone employee in the park office, and he said this park isn’t likely on the list of California park closures because it stands alone in the area. We discussed the ridiculously high California State Park camping rates and laughed about how silly it was. They keep trying to increase revenue and instead, most RV’rs avoid them like the plague because of the high cost. He then told us about the Van Duzen County Park just 4 miles down the road that looked very much the same, with river frontage and nice sites for $25.00 a night. No wonder the state park was empty. When we left, we passed the park, but missed the turn, so didn’t try to turn around on the narrow winding road to check it out. I guess that is why we have internet. I’ll go research it for the next time we come this way.

I was still glad we stayed there, just to contribute our fair share to the economy of California and the state park system. I wish California would recognize that these state parks are the true legacy of the state and assign lottery funds to support them the way Oregon has done. I don’t know of any state that has better state parks than Oregon.

The hushed forest was lovely, and I even found a vanilla leaf in bloom at the base of a huge redwood.

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This morning we are in the Humboldt County Fairgrounds, at Fernwood. As Laurie said, it’s flat, especially where we are parked on the pavement at the edge of the park, just outside the fence, with our water and electric pedestal in easy reach. The camp host suggested this spot and it is perfect. There is a dump on the fair property and we are getting a few more channels on the TV this morning. Fox comes in the best, so we watched the game yesterday and enjoyed a quiet day in the MoHo since the fog never lifted the entire day.

Another amazing little perk is free, fast WiFi. I’m not sure how it happened, but I plugged in my booster that I bought in Desert Hot Springs, and up came a connection to Frontier with no password requirement. The guy who sold me this little gadget told me that I could pick up connections up to two miles away in some areas. I know its unsecured, so am careful, but it’s great to be connected. I am trying to complete my stories of my cruise and get them posted, ( by the actual date so they only show up in the January archives), uploading photos, and cruising the internet with abandon. Gotta love it.

Today we planned to kayak the Eel River Estuary, but looking out at the drippy, cold fog, we have decided to go exploring instead. The Co-Op in Eureka has some great goodies, and we haven’t yet seen Fortuna. Of course, the organic white cheddar cheese and home made roasted pineapple salsa awaits at the Loleta Cheese Factory. I guess sometimes it’s a good thing to return to places we have enjoyed previously.

The rest of the photos of the park are here.

Off to the coast

Jeremy loves a road trip in the MoHo and settles in immediately to his spot on the dash

I barely had time to get my land legs back before Mo looked at me and said, “How about a trip to the coast?” Of course, Mo has been home patiently feeding the fire while I was off gallivanting around the Caribbean and she was ready to get out of the house and do something different. A trip to the California coast actually sounded wonderful, with warm temperatures and plenty of water for kayaking. We decided to go to the area we visited last fall, a bit unusual for us to return to a previously visited site when so many await, but it’s actually the closest place to Redding that looked good to us.

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The Shasta Trinity Mountains in northern California are wild and rugged.

While I finished out my work week, Mo researched our route and checked out the available campgrounds. This trip we hoped to be a bit more thrifty and make use of some of the great local county campgrounds. The Humboldt County Fairgrounds at Ferndale looked like a great choice so that is our major destination. Our planned route this time takes us across the Shasta Trinity mountains via Highway 299, turning south at Highway 3 near Hayfork, and connecting up to Highway 36 heading west toward Grizzly Creek State Park along the way to Ferndale. It’s about 160 miles from home to Redding where we pick up the MoHo, and then another 180 miles or so to the coast.

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The view from the summit of South Mountain along Highway 36 is gorgeous.

This morning we woke up at 5:30 with great plans to be on the road by 7. We already loaded up the kayaks and the baby car with MoHo supplies and were ready to go right on time. With the MoHo in storage in Redding, we have to bring everything home with us, wash and repack it all up, and then tuck everything into the baby car for the 3 hour trip back. It’s a bit of a squeeze, with clothes, bedding, all the throw rugs that I brought home to wash, the comforter cover, the kayak paddles, walking sticks, the kayak bag of life vests and equipment, extra water for the MoHo till we get to a campground, the charger just in case she doesn’t start, the dog and the cat and the cat cage, and oh yes, me and Mo. We don’t even bother with a cat box, since Jeremy usually settles down pretty well when he knows we are heading for a big trip and waits until we get to the MoHo where his box is waiting. Good kitty.

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It’s really funny to watch the animals the night before a big trip when we are packing up. Abby sticks to Mo’s leg like glue, no matter where she is going. Jeremy walks around and meows loudly, and keeps looking expectantly at all the stacks of stuff. I actually think he knows where we are going. I can only surmise that Jeremy loves going on these trips so much because his humans and his dog are going to be 100 percent completely accessible and no farther than 12 feet away at any given time. In his dotage, he has become a very needy cat and hates to be alone. So, proudly, right at 7 am we jumped into the car, cat and dog and humans, and traveled east toward the rising sun. About 25 minutes into the trip, almost to Klamath Falls, I turned to Mo and said, “You have the MoHo keys, right?”. She looked at me and with a gasp, pulled the car over and whipped it around to head back west to get the forgotten keys. You have to know Mo to know just how rarely this kind of thing happens. I have no idea what made me think of it at that moment, but we were both really glad it wasn’t three hours later in Redding when it came to mind.

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With an extra hour behind us, the rest of the trip to Redding was uneventful, with open roads and good weather all the way. The mountains are especially open and bare for this time of year, and the lack of snow pack is surprising considering the huge snowfall we had in December. Once in Redding, the sun was warm and the thermometer read a balmy 71 degrees. We slid the MoHo out of her berth as she rumbled to life without a whimper and in a short time we were loaded, hooked up, and on the road west.

I drove from Klamath and Mo drew driving duty this time over the mountains. Mo is a great driver, but after many miles of narrow roads with long steep canyons dropping off on the passenger side, and 10 percent grades, I was getting a bit testy. I am a great companion most of the time, but not so much after several hours of being tossed about by rough, winding, bumpy, nasty roads. The scenery was gorgeous, but the road, not so much! Every time we end up on a road like this we are grateful for our short 26 feet.

The original plan included a stop at Hayfork in the County Fairgrounds Campground for the night, but we arrived at Hayfork at 2:30 and our next stop was only 80 miles away, so on we rambled. It was a bit of a rough 80 miles, however, and Highway 36 might not really deserve the handle of highway at all. The day had been sunny and gorgeous, but as we dropped down toward the river, the coastal fog enveloped us. We reached Grizzly Creek State Park around 5 pm, and the deep forest of redwoods was fairly dark and gloomy. The entire campground was empty except for a single tent camper, with no one around. Instead, there were instructions to self register and pay in cash or check. California State Parks are an endangered species, with the budget of the state threatening to shut them down at any moment. The rate is $35 a night with a $2 discount for seniors. For that price you get no hookups, one lone working bathroom, and no camp hosts around. We wouldn’t spend any real time here, although it looks like it might be a pretty park with the river flowing past and the lovely forest. Since we thought we were going to spend two nights on the road, we figured we could mentally divide it by two and figure it wasn’t too bad.

It’s incredibly dark out there, but not terribly cold in spite of the overcast skies. The highway is fairly close, but not terribly busy. It will be a very early night snugged in to read a bit and then get a good nights sleep before our arrival in Ferndale tomorrow.

Hiking on Christmas Eve, and heading home

I ’m sitting at my desk once again at home in Rocky Point, with snow outside the darkened windows, a blazing fire in the woodstove, and all the glory of high def big screen television illuminating the living room down the hall. Seems almost impossible that two days ago I was feeling the warm sun on my body as I hiked through the Coachella Preserve in a pair of shorts. In spite of many internet searches and phone calls, we never did find a dog friendly trail for Abby, so instead Mo spent the morning relaxing in the MoHo while I took off hiking with Laurie and Odel, who graciously offered to drive. It was the first time that I have entered the murky gloom of a desert California fan palm oasis, and I was completely enthralled. The hike through the palms was less than a mile, however, not enough to even touch the 10,000 steps that are the daily goal of my hiking partners. Instead we opted for a 4 mile mostly ridge run through the desert.

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The trail offered magnificent views in all directions, and the snow frosted peaks of the surrounding mountains made everything look all the more dramatic. With temperatures in the mid-60’s, the hike was perfect, just a few short climbs to get the blood moving, and long strolls punctuated with many stops along the way to talk about all the things that we don’t blog, aka politics, religion, and of course, all the other RV bloggers that we both read and enjoy! Stopping at a particularly gorgeous overlook, Laurie commented that she thought the huge rift below us looked like a fault. Bingo, Laurie! That was the San Andreas Fault, bisecting the park, lying beneath us. The fan palms are there due to the seeps and springs coming from the fault zone, and the fabulous warm waters of Desert Hot Springs are also a result of the active fault. Lucky us! Great hiking, hot pools, palms for shade, and no earthquakes!

Back in camp, Mo and I sat outside in the sun for a long time, until the lengthening evening shadows forced us indoors. Once it was all the way dark, we strolled through the park, enjoying all the Christmas light displays and listening to the music drifting on the evening air. With only two days of brilliant sun, and that luxurious hot water pool, the trip felt like a complete success, even with the crazy weather.

We planned to drive on Christmas, hoping for light traffic and good weather, and we weren’t disappointed. Christmas morning was beautiful, with so little wind that the mighty windmills were still for the first time since we have been here in the desert. Traveling I-10, to the 210 through Pasadena (close to my birthplace in Sierra Madre), then to I-5 and over the Grapevine was completely uneventful, except for the ker-thunkety ker-plunkety road sounds that frustrated Jeremy more than any of us. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t settle down in his usual spot on the MoHo dash. The road surfaces in California in many places are very old and very tired, and nowhere more so than on these major interstates. My truck driving daughter says they are some of the worst highways in the country. I would agree, especially after just returning from Florida where turnpikes and road fees make for some highways as smooth as butter and as well lit as a videogame. Ah well, eventually the I-5 smoothed out a bit, the rain stayed north of us and we made our way to Coalinga. I spent some good phone time with each of my four kids scattered around the country, and talked with friends here and there as well. Just exactly what I would have done on this day if I had been back in Rocky Point.

Near Coalinga we passed the Harris Ranch, a huge complex of restaurant, store and inn, with an interesting history. Mo spontaneously said, “Hey, how about a steak!”. We parked in the huge lot to the west of the complex and decided to see if it was possible to get in for dinner. To our surprise, we didn’t even have to wait. Did you ever eat a 32 dollar steak in a tee shirt?? It was totally comfortable, with some folks in diamonds and glitz, and others fresh off the road as we were. The service was fantastic, and the steaks were all natural, no hormones added, grass fed beef. I had a glass of knarly oak old vine zinfandel that was an experience to itself. I wouldn’t want to drink that wine alone, but with dinner it was perfect. I swear I could taste the dirt beneath the old vine in that glass. The ambience was lovely, with a huge old fireplace blazing brightly, Christmas music in the background, and twinkly lights everywhere. Turned out to be the perfect Christmas dinner for us, and I didn’t even have to cook a thing.

Back on the road for one short hour of hard driving rain and wind before we found a little KOA at the San Luis RV Resort near Gustine, where we had reserved a space by phone earlier in the day. The site was pull-through, and it just took a few minutes to hook up in the rain. We lit the flameless candle, turned on the flickering snowman, pulled all the shades, and were suddenly in our own little heaven, safe and warm, watching Christmas shows till bedtime. I love that part about RVing, the quick changes, the variety, and then the nesty safety of it all. No suitcases to lug around, to fluorescent lit front desks to deal with, just pull in, plug in, and you are home.

We spent the once again sunny Sunday morning driving to Redding along I-5, again just out of reach of the hardest rains until we landed in our little boring Redding RV Park along the freeway. There was enough time left in the day for a quick trip up the hill to Mo’s uncle living in Shingletown, so we made a quick call and left for the hills. Uncle Don was a World War II pilot, and then a commercial pilot, married to his sweet Maxine for many decades. Maxine left the world a couple of years ago, and Uncle Don is on his own now, and doing absolutely great for a man in his 80’s. We had great fun visiting and listening to airplane stories, and playing with his little Boston Terrier, Spike. Down the mountain in the dark, and before long we were again safely tucked in to our little haven. We spent our last night on the road for our big cross country trip here, and now we are here again. I would imagine we might use this park quite often, since it is just a mile or so down the road from where we store the MoHo. At $15.40 cash only with the CampClub USA card, it’s a deal.

This morning was easy. We found a place to fill the propane, and a great self service car wash big enough for the MoHo to get her all cleaned up for a few weeks in storage. Have you ever heard of a coin car wash that takes credit cards?? It was great, no quarters clinking away and no bells beeping. We just washed till we were done and paid the bill. $7.25 a steal for sure! By eleven she was tucked away in her berth and we were on the interstate driving north toward Klamath Falls. Somehow that last 150 miles seemed soooo long. For one thing, we were in the baby car, not the big cushy leather seats of the MoHo, and the cat couldn’t figure out where to be and the dog thought the cat was in her space and wasn’t happy about it. Jeremy, who is really a sweetheart most of the time, reached around the seat and slapped Abby for no good reason at all. Reminded me of a couple of kids in the car fighting for space.

Now here we are, all settled in at home. The car is unloaded, the laundry is running, the dog is sleeping at Mo’s feet and the cat is sprawled out on the back of the sofa. Just like we never left. Amazing to me how that happens.

Sunny day in the desert

Finally! When the sun does come out, it is as though I can breathe the light. I am a light addict, I know. Mo says often, “Quit worrying about it, you can’t change it”. I want blue skies, maybe a few puffy whites around, and 75 to 80 degrees or so. Isn’t that why we have an RV?? I am certainly not complaining about our gorgeous day today, however, not one bit. We started out with a swim around 4:30 am in the 24/7 hot spring pool. If you can’t sleep in this park, just go swimming. Funny thing, by 5:30 there were some other folks showing up. Crazy, I know, but it sure felt good on the bones that are tired of all the rain.

Today instead of hiking, we decided to try out the Palm Springs Aerial Tram. Knowing how quickly after a rain the skies can get hazy, I was glad that we left early in the morning and beat the crowds. We heard many languages spoken on the tram and in the visitor’s centers, and even had a great conversation with a local Palm Springs resident who was sharing the great tourist attraction with visiting relatives. I think I’ll just link to the tram information since the hour is late and I am a bit worn. Lazy? Maybe, but why rewrite it all? Sometimes people tend to avoid touristy attractions, but often they are attractions for a good reason. The quick, slick, smooth ride from the desert to the snowy mountaintop was breathtaking, and worth every single penny. Maybe it isn’t something you have to do more than once, but I wouldn’t have missed it.

We capped off the tram ride with a great long walk through some wide open desert along the flooding wash north of Palm Springs. Sadly, almost all of the nice hiking trails in this area are not dog friendly, with even leashed dogs prohibited from the trails. We wandered off into the desert toward the huge windmills that fill the valley, unencumbered by rules, people, or anything else to bother us except the ever present desert garbage. I just don’t get the garbage thing, but it seems to be strewn everywhere, huge piles of household trash, shoes, books, hangars. Abby didn’t care, and we didn’t either as long as we just kept looking up to the gorgeous skies and brilliantly shadowed mountains capped with fresh snow. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful walk. The garbage of humankind can be ignored I guess, if you try hard enough. Is it somewhat strange that all this garbage and all this opulence are just a few hundred yards apart?

After our walk, we wandered around the back streets of north Palm Springs, checking out Elvis Presley’s honeymoon house and other idyllic homes on soft quiet streets. In spite of all the road closures, we managed to find a route west of the valley that took us through open countryside and avoided another tiresome stop and go run down busy highway 111 through the palm towns. I took a ton of photos today, tried to delete as many as possible, but just couldn’t resist the magnificent vistas of desert sky and mountains. If you want to look, the rest of the photos, including shots of some of the flooding, are here.

Rick is King!

IT King Rick to the Rescue! (link to Rick’s help)

A great photo of Laurie and Odel at dinner at the Fishermans Market

Rick came to the rescue this morning with his comment on my last post with his great CNET download and instructions (linked above). What a great guy. I have to say this wouldn’t have been possible without my small purchase yesterday after Brian, the IT dude here at Catalina, hooked me up with a Wi-Fi booster. At first I was skeptical, but seeing my signal go from 1 to 11 with the simple addition of this little baby was great. I was able to download the software in a flash and with Rick’s clear instructions, in no time I had my photos back. Yes! So, maybe they aren’t the most fabulous photos in the world, but they are mine, and the Oasis is about 40 miles down the road in a direction we certainly didn’t want to do again in all the rain and flooded roads around here right now. THANK YOU RICK!!