Week 11: Palm Springs to San Francisco

We did manage to get out of the desert pretty quickly.  In fact, three days later we were standing in the snow.  California is an amazing state with such variety in landscape.  It has been an eye opening three week tour of the state, and we haven't even been to the far North yet.

From Palm Springs we were going to drive up 395 through King's Canyon and Yosemite, but after further research realized that all the passes were still closed due to high snow levels.  The pass near Mammoth mountain still had fifteen feet of snow on it and would not open until June or so.  It might have been possible to take a long detour into Nevada then through Tahoe and south to SF, but the weather was turning and it seemed there might be a chance of snow.  Not willing to risk getting stuck, we changed our plans mid-drive and cut east through Sequoia National Park instead.

Our first night out of Palm Springs we stayed in the San Bernadino mountains by a lake and the wind kept us nice and cool all evening.  The next morning, refreshed, we headed out to drive the southern stretch of 395 before cutting over to avoid the closed passes.  We were surprised to suddenly find ourselves back in the desert!  We passed several mining towns from the late 1800s, now shuttered and empty.  Ghost hunting friends, contact me for directions!

Signs for the High Desert Festival caught our attention, and we stopped in Ridgecrest for the fair.  Lukas loved the carnival rides, the jousting, and the rock band called "No Legs Joe" whose drummer had no legs.  Brian and I got in the spirit and ate some deep fried Oreos, then checked out the 4x4 truck pull.  A first time woman driver smoked most of the men, which brought on a lot of comments from the crowd.  We had a fun time all around.

It was 6 pm and we really wanted out of the desert, so we hopped back in the RV and took a gorgeous sunset drive to Kernville.  Hwy 178, or the Isabella Walker Pass Road, has a much higher density of Joshua Trees than Joshua Tree National Park.  Then suddenly we were out of the desert and the Kern River was below us, making the landscape lush and cool.  Heavy rains had washed away the road we were planning to take, so we had to detour around Lake Isabella.  As even more evidence of the overabundance of water in the area, the lake had enveloped multiple stands of trees and just the tops could be seen poking out of the clear water.

We reached our destination, an RV park on the Kern River, just after dark.  I did not notice the sign taped to the register until the next day: "In the zoo is an African Lion, in the White House is a lyin Afrikan."  Holy smokes, where are we?  All the residents of Kernville seemed fairly snarky.  In trying to get a sense for the culture, it seems that these are folks who live close to the wild, love hunting and fishing, and are isolated from the rest of society.  We were definitely outsiders and were treated as such.  I can only imagine what our welcome would have been if we were blacks or Latinos.  We spent a day there getting laundry done and enjoyed a tasty meal at the Kern River Brewing Company.  A day was long enough, after that we were more than ready to go despite the beauty of the place.

Just outside of Kernville is Sequoia National Park.  The drive began at 2,000 feet of elevation along the Kern River, which sits in a tight valley between two mountains covered in shrubs and rocky outcroppings.  An hour later we were at 6,400 feet watching patches of snow melt around giant sequoia trees.  On the other side of the mountain there was dense fog and a snowflake fell every so often.  I hugged a sequoia tree and Lukas wanted to play in the snow until he realized how cold it was, then decided he'd rather go back inside the RV.

  



We snuck out of the Park at the town of California Hot Springs and kept going through pastureland for another hour until we reached Hwy 99.  We traveled up 99 for a bit, but it was bleak and there was no place we wanted to stop for the night.  So we made for Hwy 101 instead, going due East back toward the Coast.  We reached Paso Robles before nightfall and were very pleased to be back amongst "our people" closer to the coast.

Since we were in wine country, we decided to hit up a winery before the drive back to SF.  Eberle Vineyards had some tasty wines, a nice deck overlooking the vines, provided free tastings and a free tour of their wine caves.  Winner!  Across the street we had a nice lunch at the Hunter Golf Course.  Lukas was able to practice his putting while he waited for his macaroni and cheese, and we struck up a fun conversation with the couple seated next to us who were staying at the same RV park.  Folks who travel full-time by choice are of a kindred spirit and it is great to meet others with the same wanderlust, though most we meet are twice our age!

Back in the Bay: cold, windy, foggy, lots of traffic.  We will be here for the next few weeks to do some RV maintenance, pack up our condo, attend a couple weddings, and take in a baseball game.  I'm ready to enjoy the parties and get the chores done with, then get back on the road!!!  We finally have a routine in the RV and now we're back to condo life.  I'll note the routine here and see if it changes after our hiatus.

6:00 Lukas gets in bed with parents.
8:00 Lukas wakes up parents.  Make coffee, eat breakfast.  Kathy might go for a run.
10:00 Play with Lukas outside.  Brian unhooks RV, Kathy readies inside for travel.
11:30 Head out on the road.  Find an activity for Lukas.  Eat lunch.
2:00 Hope that Lukas will nap while we drive.
4:00 Arrive at evening's destination
4:30 Brian hooks up RV.  Kathy plays with Lukas outside then readies RV for dinner.
7:00 Dinner.
8:00 Make Lukas's bed.  Get him ready for bed.
9:00 Lukas goes to sleep.
9-11:00: Parents check email, plan next day's travel, read.
11:00 Lights out.


RV PARK REVIEWS


Silverwood Lake State Park, San Bernadino: B
  Nice path down to the lake, plenty of trees, lots of wind, no problem getting a spot on a Friday night

Camp James, Kernville: B-
  Next to a raging river, several creeks, hook-ups funky (sewer right next to water), owned by some racist crackers

Wine Country RV Resort, Paso Robles: B
  Walking distance to wineries and airplane museum, grass under picnic tables, pool and hot tub.  Much better than the Wine Country RV Resort in Rohnert Park (no relation)

San Francisco RV Park, Pacifica: D-
  Downgraded after further research.  Expensive, windy, bad hookups, tight spots.  Sewer hook-up left open by newbie RVers.  Neighbors partying loud and late, then pissing on the fence by our bedroom.

24th Street Abode: F
  No RV parking in sight!

Thursday: Giants beat the Diamondbacks!  SF's baseball stadium has the best view.

Week 10: Santa Barbara to Palm Springs

Santa Barbara Zoo!  We parked our RV in the zoo lot, taking up four spaces.  Luckily it was a weekday and no one gave us a hard time about having a giant vehicle.  We took a self tour as a family, then I met up with the Mammal Curator and Assistant Curator of Birds for a behind-the-scenes look.  Many thanks to Rachel for our penguin encounter, and Michele for a last minute tour of the gorilla area and giraffe barn!  

The Santa Barbara Zoo is beautiful and they have a nice assortment of animals.  The otter family was really active, the birds in the mixed species aviary were easy to spot, the lions have a view of the giraffes (though that didn’t keep the lions from their favorite activity - sleeping), the baby golden lion tamarin was popping his head out of planter bucket being cute, and the two silverback gorillas were avoiding each other nicely.  There is a great playground for kids and a train that leaves every half hour.  The raptor exhibit is massive and I somehow missed out on an elevated walkway that takes visitors  around the back edge with a view of the lake on the other side.  I was thoroughly impressed and ready for another visit sometime soon.

We were feeling energetic and stupid so we decided to head south at 3:30 in the afternoon, putting us in LA Traffic at 5:30 on a Friday night.  It was stop and go but we made it through and got one of the last RV sites at San Clemente State Beach.  Apparently we need to start reserving ahead on the weekends.  That became even more clear the next morning when we had to go through a lottery to get a spot at the same campground for Saturday night.  We got lucky, sparing our friends the embarrassment of parking in their driveway.

We spent Saturday morning at the beach.  Eric brought over an extra surfboard and wetsuit, so Brian rose to the challenge and tested the surf.  Lukas and I dabbled in the shallow waves and threw around a frisbee.  The beach was long with white sand and the sun was bright.  We were definitely in Southern California.

Saturday night we had friends over to the “house”.  We bought food to grill and then made them grill it.  As two recovering vegetarians, we have now eaten some meat, but not really cooked it.  Eric made a killer fire, Brie seasoned the hamburger patties, Matt got the corn going and Audrey made sure we flipped the fish.  It was definitely a team dinner.  I can’t believe we still had room in our bellies for s’mores!  Also fun to watch the rest of the campsites full of people having similarly huge grill-ups.  

By Sunday we were ready to leave the crowds behind and headed out toward the desert.  As we headed East the terrain grew progressively rockier.  It was a spectacular sight to hit the top of a ridge and see the Colorado Valley down below with the Salton Sea shimmering in the distance.

Anza-Borrego National Park is shaped like a circle with a bite taken out of the middle.  Brian found the perfect RV park in the donut hole, leading us to an oasis of calm.  The Springs at Borrego has a 9-hole golf course, a salt water pool, hot mineral baths, and a stocked fish pond with grilling sites on the beach.  The park is mostly empty, extremely quiet, over the top beautiful, and costs less than most of the places we’ve stayed so far.  It is the tail end of wildflower season, but many of the cactuses, bushes and trees are still in bloom.  Brian played a lot of golf and I had a killer massage.  Lukas spent most of his time in the pool or the putting green.  This was the relaxing interlude we all needed.

 

After a couple days at the “oasis” we headed back out through the desert and around the Salton Sea.  The Salton Sea was created in 1905 when the Colorado River overflowed its banks and poured into the towns lying 227 feet below sea level.  In the 1950s it was thought that the Salton Sea would be the next big tourist destination and development sprung up on its banks.  However, the influx of water has been diverted over the years and the lake has gotten increasingly saltier.  The area is now mostly devoid of human life, but the birds love it.  Fish die-offs are common and the shores of the sea are covered in barnacles and dessicated fish.  

I was pretty fascinated by the history and the wildlife, so we drove around the entire sea.  On the way we stopped in at Slab City, an unincorporated area where in the wintertime you can find RVs by the hundreds parking for free on old military slabs.  The entrance to Slab City is Salvation Mountain, a thirty foot high sculpture that you can explore on foot.  Leonard, the artist, has spent most of his life created and re-creating this masterpiece, all focused on redemption from God.  Unfortunately we found Leonard very ill and it is likely there will be no further painting in his future.  I’m sure his legacy will live on for decades.

Slab City was fairly deserted, but there was a stage for live music and a few permanent mobile homes scattered here and there.  We moved on to Bombay Beach, what was supposed to be the epicenter of the tourism industry for the Salton Sea.  We found our way through a downed fence to the beach, past salt-encrusted ruins of homes and power lines.  Dead fish and other debris littered the shore.  The water was murky, the color of coffee, and very thick.  The silence was deafening.

A little further down the road we found a state park with RV sites.  There was a family there, the father out in the water fishing.  Birds were everywhere: the most impressive being the white pelican as it soared over the water.  The scene was beautiful, hot, and filled with flies.  The family left and we had the entire park to ourselves.  Once again, the quiet was eerie.  At some point during the night the wind picked up and we could hear a faint lapping of waves on shore.  The smell of sulphur came with the wind as the waters were stirred.  I rose at dawn for the birdwatching - more pelicans, egrets, and so many others that without binoculars or a guide I can not name.  An amazing place, but somewhere you don’t want to stay too long.


On the way to Joshua Tree we stopped for date shakes.  More heat, more desert.  We spent the day traversing Joshua Tree park from the South the West, through Colorado desert to the higher elevation Mojave Desert.  There is a distinct shift in habitat as you shift from one desert to the next: ocotillos and sand give way to Joshua Trees and ground cover.  

We stayed in Indian Cove campground, one of the two campgrounds in the park that have spots large enough for Class C RVs.  It turned out that our neighbor was a young family from Sacramento who were camping for a week with their 1.5 year old.  They kindly invited us to join them for a morning of rock climbing, and even let me borrow some gear and have a go at the climb.


Mid-day we left Joshua Tree and headed for Palm Springs.  I booked a spot at an owner based RV community, filled mostly with retirees.  The Outdoor RV Resort has a full size golf course and a 9-hole course, six pools, and 1,200 RV spots.  It seemed an appropriate place to stay when trying to get a feel for the local culture.  The desert heat was really getting to us, so we spent time in the pool and actually fired up the air conditioning in the rig.  Next week we need to get the hell out of the desert.

RV PARK RATINGS

San Clemente State Beach: C+

  Full hookups, no shade, lots of trash, very crowded, some spots overlook ocean, beach access

The Springs at Borrega: A+

  Well maintained, quiet, salt water pool, hot mineral tubs, massage available, golf course, store, grills available next to pond

Salton Sea State Recreation Area, Mecca Beach: A

  Great birdwatching, clean beach, shade trees, picnic tables, very quiet, dead fish

Joshua Tree National Park, Indian Cove Campground: B

  No water available, spots small and not level, rock climbing at site, rattlesnakes

Outdoor RV Resort, Palm Springs: B

  Golf, pools, retirees, store and coffee shop closed for the summer (April-October)

Week 9: Sacramento to Santa Barbara

Our second week in the RV began with a trip to the in-laws.  The cover story was that we were there to celebrate Easter.  Our real mission, however, was to work on the RV while the grandparents babysat Lukas.  We took a couple trips to the RV supply store and hit up all the big name stores for tools, household items, and groceries.  Our biggest task was to sanitize the fresh water tank.  This required running electricity and water from the in-laws house to our RV and several hours of filling and dumping the holding tank onto their driveway.  

Truth be told, we also had a lovely Easter.  Lukas had a great time with Nana and Papa: dyeing eggs, hunting for eggs, looking through his Easter basket, and eating treats.  Brian and I were also spoiled with good food and candy.  Best RV park we’ve stayed in yet!

While in the area we also visited Fairytale Town, which is across the street from Sacramento Zoo.  Fairytale Town in a 60s era park that is built upon the standard fairytales.  Attractions haven’t changed but have been kept up nicely.  Lukas had a wonderful time running through Robin Hood’s forest, climbing on the Little Engine That Could, and sliding down Grandmother’s Shoe.  After all that activity Brian took Lukas for a nap and I headed to the Zoo.

Sacramento Zoo is a small zoo located in a city park.  The general curator and primate keeper were kind enough to give me a tour, so I saw first-hand how well they care for their primates.  And what a primate collection it is!  Chimpanzees, orangutans, ring-tailed lemurs, mongoose lemurs, sifaka, mangabey, and probably a few others I’m forgetting.  The zoo also has a new giraffe exhibit including a feeding station, and a vet hospital including display windows into the surgery rooms.

Zoo visit accomplished, it was time for us to get moving again.  We headed out of town late in the day and made it to Monterey by nightfall.  We stayed at Marina Dunes RV Park again, which seemed even nicer than our first visit, probably because I have now visited other RV parks which lowered the bar.  After a quiet night Lukas and I took a walk down the dunes to see the ocean, then back into the RV for another big drive.

Our plan was to stop over in San Luis Obispo for lunch and stay in Pismo Beach.  We got into SLO mid-day and it was busier than we expected.  Found a spot for the beast and paid up two meters.  As we wandered around it was very clear that this is a college town, akin to Palo Alto.  We had a mediocre pizza and split.

I had spent a lot of time researching RV parks in Pismo Beach and had found what seemed like a nice campground in Oceano, south of PB.  Oceano is a white sand beach that allows off-roading, and the campground was a tiny, neglected spot near the freeway that we turned down on sight.  But we were optimistic because Pismo was RV Central.  

We had passed numerous parks along the way and were sure one would work out for us.  First we checked the state park: nice but no hookups and we were running with an empty water tank.  Next we checked out Pismo Beach Village RV Resort.  Wow.  It was huge, with 400 RV sites, an arcade, pool, three playgrounds, beach access, and an over-the-top-happy-Disney-type feel to it.  We were creeped out and moved on.  But we were running out of gas and energy.  

On to Avila Beach.  There was awesome RV parking along the waterfront, but it was confusing to figure out and super windy on the water.  Next to Avila Hot Springs RV Resort, super cheesy with a water park.  Exhausted, we checked in at the next place: Avila KOA.  This turned out to be the worst place we had looked at all day.  It was right under the freeway with tiny spots and lots of people.  I was having a bit of a fit after two or more hours of searching for the “right” place to stay.  We let Lukas play on the playground, filled up our water tank, found a gas station, and headed for Morro Bay State Park, backtracking 30 miles north.

Thank goodness Morro Bay had an open spot!  This is a gorgeous state park in the woods with an Estuary on one side, Marina and restaurant across the street, Golf course just past the campground, and Morro Rock overlooking it all.  We couldn’t have found a better spot to unwind and enjoy nature.

Brian spent the following day playing golf while Lukas and I checked out the marina and the nature center.  The tree right next to our RV seemed to be hollow and had several holes in it.  While Lukas napped I lay in the sun and watched the birds go in and out of their tree nests.  This is exactly where I wanted to be.

The next morning I hiked up a peak to get a good view of the region, then we packed up for our next destination.  We planned to stay near Santa Barbara, but research showed that there were no RV parks near town.  I picked out a state park near Lake Cuchama and we set our navigation system.

Solvang was close to our destination, so we stopped off to see Little Denmark and grab some coffee.  On the way we found a miniature horse farm!  Oh my goodness, those babies are so cute that it caused this normally reserved girl to squeal.  

Back on the road, up over a huge ridge, and it seemed that our campground was on the left, a beautiful spot right next to the lake.  However the navigation system said our set destination was several miles ahead.  Up and over the top of the ridge and the wind was something fierce.  It was downright dangerous out there.  But when the "Nav" said we had reached our destination there was nothing but road.  It being too hard to turn around, we headed for Santa Barbara and took a break on the beach.

We ended up pulling another "Pismo Beach" like adventure of checking out possible campgrounds before backtracking 20 miles north to the most expensive RV park I've ever heard of.  Granted, it had a pool and hot tub, was very clean, and was close to the beach.  We paid the money, happy to be fairly close to Santa Barbara, and hoped our next journey wouldn't be quite as much of an adventure.

RV PARK RATINGS


El Dorado In-laws Resort: A+
  Provide bedding and towels, allow RV maintenance, food and babysitting included


Marina Dunes RV Park: A-
  upgraded after further research


Morro Bay State Park: A+
  wildlife, hiking, golf course, restaurant at marina, nature center


Ocean Mesa at El Capitan: B+
  clean, pool, hot tub, laundry, playground, close to beach, pricey