To Say Wow! Is Not Enough

Our first family dinner in the beautiful Madison Campground was more than we could have imagined! The whole camp was so comfortable and lost in trees. The kids made the evening. We laughed at the fact the smoke from our wood campfire followed us all around the circle. The smoke even set off our smoke alarm in the coach.

Before dinner my daughter and grandson helped do meal prep on the outdoor table and set the tone for fun. Involving everyone in the dinner prep and being outside is the magic of camping. All ages get to contribute and enjoy the end product. Even our five-year old was running around helping with the cleanup chores. Of course doing dishes outside with two dish pans is something new for the kids!

We sat under the trees and watched their tops sway in the winds as we just felt a little chill as the sun set over the mountains. The glow of the fire made it seem magical. Of course the smores really finished the day with gooey grins.

As the next day dawned we headed for Old Faithful, of course after a great camp breakfast of bacon, eggs pancakes and coffee – thanks grandpa and grandson for their cooking skills! We did not see much traffic and thought we would make a quick trip to the geyser but guess what! Buffalo! A small herd meandering across the road and waylaid us for 20 minutes. Split the group but what great, magnificent animals all going 2 miles per hour! Well the babies are adorable so can’t get anxious. Afterall we do have 5 days to see the park!

We all meet up at Old Faithful, poop the doggies, settle them down and we just miss the geyser blowing. We go to the little hotel meander and ask for directions for the Old Faithful Inn and follow the suggestion of an old friend to view the geyser in style! We walked over to the hotel, bought some of the worlds best ice cream, found coffee and wonder seats to wait for and watch the next spouting of Old Faithful! Now that is a great way to see these natural wonders.

After the event we hiked around the geysers and spent the day amazed at the miracles of nature. We are overwhelmed with the expanse of this park. We must have hiked FOREVER! The amazing colors of the blooming wild flowers was a true surprise. Again an old friend did say we were in time for the spring bloom of amazing color that only happens in the early part of the summer season. She was so right on about the landscape surprises. Tiny purples, roses, whites, yellows and oranges popping up in surprising places. They just added to the magic of Yellowstone.

By the end of the day we were excited and pooped! A hot, tasty campfire dinner of hot dogs and hamburgers, coldslaw, potatoes, beverages and a campbaked apple pie with home-made ice cream cannot be beat! Can’t thank Sunset Magazine enough for all the menu ideas! Kid and family approved!

Tomorrow we drive the northern section of the figure eight road! Good comfy warm sleep and coffee in the morning. What a life!

Operation Yogi Bear! Yellowstone NP

The morning is crisp and full of excitement! Finally after all these months we are arriving at our destination – Yellowstone National Park. I am like a little kid. I feel butterflies in my stomach, anticipation and happiness. After months, since October 2015, we are at our destination. The skies are beautiful blue with fluffy white clouds quietly floating overhead. What a welcome!

We expected another long drive from Pocatello, Idaho to the western entrance of Yellowstone NP — but it truly was like we flew there. There was a special line for campers that had reservations so we breezed through to Madison Campgrounds. The registration process was orderly, full of information, review of regulations and courtesy! Wow! What a deal. The fact we have senior passes for the National Parks it cost us $13 per night! Can’t beat that.

We, at first couldn’t identify what we sensed was different, but we found that not only was Yellowstone green but CLEAN! Our campsite was clean, open, roomy, and had a sense of home. Our son and family was right behind us by about one hour! Our campsites were adjacent! This is their first trailer camping experience. They drove from eastern Colorado and we from coastal California.

It took about an hour to set-up the trailers and then grandpa and grandson set up the cookstove and cooking area, we girls made our seating, eating and relaxing areas livable. The bathrooms were pristine, fresh, and up to date with even a separate area to wash dishes! We were in a no hook up area!

I still can’t believe that we are finally in Yellowstone. We wasted no time to start our sightseeing. As soon as the campsite was secured and set we started on our must see list. It was only 2:00 pm and small crowds. It was very windy but not as cold as we were expecting. The Paint Pots were amazing! They burble, spit and steam all at the same time— AMAZING.

More magical than even Disneyland!

Our daughter and family were coming over for dinner this evening and we started our trek back. It is a glorious start to a truly memory making adventure! We know our campsite is comfortable, fire pit prepared, smores staples at the ready and the dinner project ready for the children to get started with so we can all have an evening meal!

Operation Fun and Family

We have prepared for seven months for this moment. The Airstream is fully serviced, repaired, cleaned and carefully stocked! Yes, we have been planning this first, long trip with family and experimenting with more than seven days away. A bit scary.

It is 7:30 pm, I have left work and pre-listed everything for food, dogs and gifts. We packed all non-food items, records for dogs, all our clothing last night. During the day my hubby finished all the last-minute needs like gas and water needed. We do a last minute check, lock and secure house and off we go. Our goal is to arrive in Eagle, Idaho no later than 5:30 pm the next day!

The best preparation was a revelation of what we did not need and what really needed our attention. The Bay Area Airstream Dealership Service Department was our angel. Chris, is the service manager and he is the best. Every detail was attended to and reviewed with us. We learned to let go of items we really never used or needed. Thank heaven for the airstream storage and planned layout. We have learned how lucky we are to have our silver coach.

We leave with late day sunlight. Our hope is to get out of the bay area and Sacramento traffic before it gets too dark. We start to get a little sleepy about the base of the Sierra’s! The dogs let us know when we should stop. We packed snacks to get us through the night and have our rolling home with us for potty breaks and napping.

At about Truckee we try to nap at a large well-lit rest stop but it is FULL! Truckers and other travelers have already taken every inch. We trudge on and find a well lighted gas station with a few trucks parked and ask if we can park for a little while. They said yes! It was frigging cold and very dark. We walked the dogs arranged our stuff and napped for about 2 hours! Quiet, warm and cozy. Again doggies walked and watered and off we went.

The dawn is approaching and it is beautiful. We feel refreshed, wide awake and happy to be on the road again. We make it to Nevada and know we have to make it at least to Oregon before we nap again. We have traveled these highways before so we kinda know where we want to be.

Usually we travel in the winter. This is the first time traveling at the beginning of the vacation season. What we noticed was there was beautiful spring flowers everywhere, greenness and water!!! Yep streams and rivers and pools of wet stuff—water! We last until just after the beautiful Jordan Valley and nap for another 60-90 minutes. What a great and safe way to travel. We have no need to stop at truck stops, road chain places and possible stomach problems! We are so relaxed and seeing a new view of a familiar road. What fun.

We arrive at our destination, Hi Valley RV park and it is still light and very warm, 90 ish and no ocean breeze. We are guided to our spot, contact our family, prep for a two night stay and of course walk the dogs and have a great class of Six Sigma 2006 Tempranillo! Life is great and this is just the beginning of our adventure!

Our Travel Dreams for 2016

Back to the Dream

Here it is 2016! Haven’t traveled in over three months and keep thinking about going ANYWHERE. Sometimes life takes other turns and gives you a chance to do some long-range plans, repair your rig, re-organize the living areas and dream of where you want to go.

Today is a rainy California day. Our travel time is usually winter so rain reminds me of our travels. In our last walk around of our rig we found a small drip over the bed after a recent rain. The little silver castle is seven years old and we keep thinking she is brand new. This precipitated a complete re-check of little repairs that may need to be done before we travel again.

Last October, 2015, we got the bright idea of Yellowstone National Park in 2016. We are combining that with a family graduation in Idaho and then meandering back home! Wow a dream travel plan that we have read other Airstreamers enjoy. This will be the first “long” road trip for us. Yep a whole two weeks! Ok we have been 11 days on the road with tight timelines….. this will be our first vacation!

It has been a rough year but we know this year is our year to really grow and enjoy life. We have had challenges of serious illness in our family, someone stole our Airstream keys out of our truck, had to order new ones and then needed to make repairs to keep our silver coach safe and road worthy.

In the meantime we did take our Flying Cloud in for a complete service and upholstery change. In essence she is still a new rig of dreams. After we left our trailer at the Bay Area Airstream dealership and service bay we drove up through Suisun Valley to our favorite winery Six Sigma! It was a beautiful drive through cattle and wine country, no traffic just green trees and grasslands.

It was sad to see the after effects of the Lake county fire. The amazing wonder is how mother nature heals herself with beauty and strength! We enjoy peace and greatness of our little piece of the world.

We arrive at Six Sigma and there is a pick up party in process. The people there make us feel at home. The great warmth, friendliness of everyone and fantastic wines create an oasis in a world of crazy noise and cold. As we are sipping our wine we look around and see a campsite! Yep an empty spot that says stay with me and enjoy my peaceful view.

We spoke to Christian Ahlman and were informed they are part of the network of wineries across the United States that allow trailers and RVs to enjoy the beauty, great wine and quiet. This area is like stepping back in time. The fact that this is a working ranch, winery and historic piece of California makes this magic. We can’t wait for our turn to fill this space with our silver trailer at the next Farm to Table dinner and wine pairing. We have the best place to stay! Walking distance to the great food and wine and a little still to our home.

Our coach will be ready in two weeks with a new look to enjoy our next wine adventure. We are looking forward to our first Farm to Table experience just outside our silver door! Bowser!