Tag: adventure

Oh Boy!

I cannot believe I am so behind in my blog!  The story hasn’t changed since we traveled and the memories are still fun.

After leaving Mina, Nevada we headed to our next destination the Twisted Oaks Winery near Murphy, California.  We had been through this area before but had not noticed our surroundings.  The beauty of trying to slow down is that roads we have traveled before become new.

Highway 95 is a lonely two lane road that is used by big semi-trucks and the occasional rig.  It is early spring and the wind is warm.  It is a quiet road, we pass abandoned farm houses and businesses.  There is an Army depot near Hancock California.  We took a left to go south on Hwy 395 to cross over and through Yosemite NP.

The strange thing is when we had our small 20 foot Airstream we drove down the road past Mono Lake as we did on our way to California but could not find signs to help us navigate to get to an historic cemetery near the lake or get closer to the lake.  We were such newbies then.  We decided we would follow the map and drive through.  We still didn’t know if rigs were allowed on these roads or where exactly the cemetery was.  We are now pulling a 27 foot Airstream and turning is a challenge.  We are such sissies.  We did not want to trespass if this was private land and we did not want to be on BLM land we were not allowed on.  We did park the rig, take the doggies out for a walk and to do their business.  We did a little walk around and found pit toilets, some fencing but no signs.  We left to get going.

As we turned left to go onto Hwy 395 we started seeing signs to the entrance to the Mono Lake National Park! Sometimes we get lost in too much thinking.  It was getting later and we had to get across the mountains into Gold Country.

We were able to get to the entrance of Yosemite NP but found that COVID and snow made for a few restrictions.  1- you had to have reservations to get into Yosemite and 2- a two hour wait for one way traffic into or through the park.  We had not made reservations as we were just passing through.  Luckily I had my military ID with me and we were give a free pass to go through the park.  Whew otherwise we would have to go to Barstow, California many, many miles away.  We were able to walk the doggies again, eat a nice lunch in our rig and comfortably wait for our turn to pass to the other side. Oh and it was very cold, snow on the ground and windy.

We drive through Yosemite without any problems or backups.  We did drive down very windy roads to get out of the area and it was a bit of a nail biter.  We reached Modesto California in one piece and onward to Twisted Oaks!

I am a California native and have been through these hills many times but that was before wineries.  hmmmm.  My hubby decided we should use his navigator on his phone to locate our destination.  It was now 91 degrees outside!

I thought the directions were a bit wonky but he persisted.  It took us through 1 and 2 lane gravel and dirt ranch roads instead of the highways I knew I had driven many times before.  It took a good 3 hours to drive carefully and safely to our Harvest Host site.  The winery is located right off Hwy 49!  We could have been there 2 hours sooner if we had taken my directions.  Oh well we made before closing, were given a very nice place to park, tasted great wine and there was a cooling breeze all night long.  We had no hook ups as these places are free with no “hook-ups” (no electricity for campers to hook up to.  That means no AC and it was hot.  We opened all our windows on the Airstream and the cross ventilation was so enjoyable. Eating outside was even more fun for all of us.

The most fun spot for an overnight with crazy rubber chickens hanging from trees with funny sayings and great wine too.  We hope to pass through there again.  It is quiet beautiful and free.  Well we did buy some wine and it was another plus for taking the slow road to wherever.  We also found out we were five minutes from a favorite place of ours, Angels Camp, California.  Next time we will take even more time to enjoy the area.

 

Can We Do It Differently?

Day One

We had a beautiful morning and it was not too cold.  The sky clear and the sun shinning.  Took doggies for a nice walk.

Our one and only neighbor had already left.  Appeared to be a retired couple one small dog and they came quietly and left the same.  It was so nice to have so much quiet and have space.  A nice beginning to day two

Day Two

There are not too many big trucks or RV rigs on the road at 7 am.  We drove through the little town of  Hawthorne, Nevada.  It is an old ammunition storage site and Army base from WW II.  The town itself is clean, quiet appearing with alot of pride for its history.

The road that brings us here ends here.  We take a left turn through town and end up on I-395 -via I-95 passing Mono Lake!  Wow.

We have stopped for a potty stop at Mono Lake before going to California before.  This time we drove farther in and looked for the old cemetery and gave up.  It was quiet and nice and the dogs loved walking about.  Nice lunch break and taking a deep breath instead of racing for time.  We also could not see how to get  to the lake from this entry road.

We did notice that going through a small town after the turn south on I-395 was an entrance to Mono Lake! Felt like duh! We felt foolish but we had a nice stop and we noticed that the temperature was dropping.

We drove through Tuttle Town, cute, next time we will stop and have lunch.  We know that we have to go through Yosemite to get to our destination.  Not a really fast trek.

As we approached the entrance to Yosemite, we say signs stating no entrance without a camp reservation!!! COVID and winter rules.  We had to wait 2 hours for our turn to at least see if we can drive through and not stop to sight see or camp.  When we hit the ranger station they asked if we were active duty military and I still had my ID that said I was.  They gave us a no fee permit to drive through the park.  Wow, what an ordeal.  It did show how much work they had been doing to clean up fire and snow damage.  It was nice to see reasonable numbers of people walking, hiking and enjoying the frozen sierra vistas.

The roads are two lanes, the Yosemite Valley shops are closed, at the entrances they are  checking for your reservation and ID status when you are stopped.  Kinda creepy.  After many switch backs, slow going and beautiful scenery we were in the dry low lands and the temp was increasing.

Our destination for the night was a Harvest Hose Winery that we had made reservations with.  We needed to check in before 5:00 pm when they closed.  We put the address into the NavAid on our tow vehicle and off we went.  As we neared the back end of the Modesto area.  We were directed to a lonely, desolate combination road of asphalt, gravel and back ranch roads.  I had lived in the Central Coast and San Francisco Bay area all my life and skied the areas near by the winery.  I could not recognize any of the roads.  It took us away from Hwy 49 which is wine, hiking, historical and ski areas around Angels Camp.  We kept going, tried not to argue and keep cool.  After 3 hours (should have taken 1.5hrs) we found the back way into the Twisted Oak Winery! It was a silly, crazy road.  The entire one lane road into the winery had rubber chickens hanging from the trees with funny sayings also either posted on a tree or in the ground.  Even had chickens with prison stripped suits painted on them.  I couldn’t believe it.  We laughed so much after such a challenging way in.  A good way to start the evening.  But was close to 100 degrees outside!  You will have to try the red blend  “Chum Bucket” too or “Chicken Bubbles”.

After checking in and trying their wines we retreated to the now empty parking lot in the middle of the vineyard.  We did walk the dogs about the grounds and they loved it.  It was so good to be outside the “Phantom” and all the windows were open.  The great thing about our Airstream is the great ventilation.  Cross winds from the hills made it so comfortable.  We had our home made version of charcuterie and a bottle of white wine.

As the sun set we settled in and slept in the warm quiet.

Day two complete!  Now it will be back into the traffic of the San Francisco Bay Area!  Hmm.  In the morning we found Hwy 49 a quarter mile away from the winery.  Oh  boy!

So We Re-Start

The learning curve begins and what a gift.

Discussing the future way of travel was our first step;  1- learn how to use the many apps for finding “free” overnight camping spots and non-national private ie, KOA type places,  2- we set a goal of only driving 4 hours a day, 3-stop, plan for an easy setup for a relaxing evening  and  enjoy  walks with the new puppies.

We are planning a 3 week family visiting trip covering 5 states.  Looking at an Atlas book of current maps of the United States and Canada we penciled in 3 different routes.  The route had to be different than our usual one.  On our previous trips from Nevada to California were from our home off I-15 south to Hwy -5N to Hwy 46 to Hwy 1 to Santa Cruz, California.  Whew.  This time we went North on Hwy – 93 to Hwy 6 W, Hwy 395 to Angels Camp California and then winding our way to Felton, California for the duration of our first leg of this trip.  Yep, that doesn’t sound like much until you look a a real map.  Oh boy.

Ok, to say the “best laid plans oft go astray” is too true.  We were up early, rig already packed and hitched the night before.  Doggies prepped.  Then our real day began.  The two, 9 month old miniature Australian Sheppard puppies spotted a young coyote across the road.  They were already in the car.  We had decided to try traveling without their crates and put them in a safety hammock.  Hubby left the driver side window open.  They both jumped out the window.  The chase began!

It was a beautiful young coyote that was chased by two  doggies.  It then turned around as to say “I’m supposed to chase you!”  He turned around and began barking at the dogs and then the dogs decided they had better get back home.  They of course ignored our calls to report to us and then kinda went to the busy street above our road and we started worrying.   They quickly returned to home after seeing big cars.    We were now grumpy and frazzled.  Coffee, Coffee, Coffee. NOW.  We were behind in our timed start.  Big breath, go to the drive through bakery for a croissant breakfast sandwich, large coffee and water for the pups.  We had driven about a mile.  Oh my.  We laughed, wished we had filmed the coyote express and realized we had planned a 3.5 hour drive and it was only 7:00 am.

Our first stop was Mina, Nevada.  Our first overnight.  Never heard of it?  Me either.  It is a very small, dusty hamlet on the way to somewhere else.  It was empty of campers when we arrived.  Fine for us.  They had long “pull through” spots with well defined hook ups.  Very clean, near the highway but quiet with an amazing view of the desert hills of eastern Death Valley.  It was very reasonable, $35.00 per night. Very good for our budget.  The sun was still up, warm, gentle breezes wafted through the camp. It was a quiet I associate with the late spring of the prairies.  We could hear the occasional hum of a semi-truck.  Just quiet and calm.  Our pups loved the walk around the grounds and sniffing a bunch of everything.  I took a big deep breath and almost cried.  It was a space out there without the noise of the city,  My hubby poured us a beautifully chilled Marianne’s Rose from Six Sigma Ranch in Lake County California.  We  felt so accomplished.  We drove for only 3.5 hours, on a less traveled road, identified places we would like to explore on a recreational trip.  We were not stressed and puppies were also less cranky.

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The end of the day refreshment

Our dinner was one I had prepared the day before and we heated it up in our kitchen while enjoying our view.  We ate inside as the wind was picking up and the temperature was cooling down.

We took the doggies for another quick walk about, then into the coach for our dinner.  It was so nice not to feel wrung out and stressed.  We were able to eat dinner with a beautiful view of the desert landscape and birds, not worry about a crowded, noisy campground – we listened to the quiet, even the highway noise was muffled and slight.  We  heard a faraway train going through during the night. Ahhhhh

The morning was bright sunlight, not warm yet.  Quiet, no people, many birds and deer scattering as we make human noises.  Big deep breath and sip fresh coffee on our outside chairs.  Doggies nudge us for the morning wake up walk.  Just what we need.  Simple, quiet, not people.  A fresh new day.  We had camp fire toasted, homemade cast iron bread.  Home made jam and a smile.  The doggies little wiggle butts were happily wagging too.  It was an easy, un-rushed  re-pack, to secure items and pack the dogs.  We knew it was May.  The day would heat up and we would melt.  Onward and westward we charge!

 

A Great Plan for the 4-Day

We have all the makings for a wonderful long weekend.  My brother’s wife was able to get us our favorite spots at  the Pinnacles National Park, the menus have been agreed upon and the prep work done!  We have plans for the hikes and the weather is in our favor.  How much more perfect can this Friday be!  
After a week of famiy stuff and work stress it is finally Friday!

The guys started out early today to prep the campsites, start our dinners and have our cocktails waiting for us.  My sister-in-law and I worked a full day.  This is our first time we  are riding together to meet our guys.  It is so easy to jump in a car and not naviate the city streets with our silver coach.   It is 5:00 pm.  We are going from my Salinas Office, through Holllister and then to the Pinnacles!  The east entrance is the only way for campers to gain entrance to the park.  

A beautiful Airstream drives by going south and it is a good omen.  Yes, we are ready for our quiet weekend . … then I spy a glint of silver shimmering on the highway ahead of us.  There is a big semi-truck in front of us,  we can’t really see the  silver shinny thing.  What I can see looks like  the same model as ours.  It is going rather slow.  Just as we think we can catch up it is time to turn onto HWY 156 toward Airline HWY and Pinnacles.  We finally pass the truck and IT IS MY Flying Cloud!  My husband waves and the doggies look happy.  What happened?  I hope there are no problems.  He should have been going south to this turn off not north.  He should have been going south on Hwy 101 from Hwy 129 and already be at the campsite!  OK what happened!?????

  
We keep going and are keeping an eye on the coach.  As we turn south onto Airline Hwy we get a strange text from my brother asking which turnoff to take to get to the Pinnacles  from Pacheco pass!  We pull off the road to text him back and find out where he is.  We don’t get an answer back and continue one.

As we are driving I ask my Sister-in-law what was the name of her trailer.  I though it was a Sierra and she could not remember but looked in the rear view mirror and thought she she saw one like her’s behind the Airstream!  It was a Salem!  It then picked up speed and passed the Airstream.  We started laughing because that is something my brother would do.  It was my brother!  OK now neither one is at the park and that means we have to set up and do the cooking.  We just start laughing and laughing!  Only those two would have this goofy convergence without even planning it.  

Always something happens to make each trip an adventure.  We just want to know what happened to our great planning!?