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.