Bay Area Airstream – Canned Comfort

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!

A Dream Come True!

To say we had fun is an understatement! After a very busy work week we landed in heaven! Our first overnight at our favorite winery and ranch. Six Sigma farm to table dinner and overnight camping.

We just got our Airstream road ready for the Yellowstone adventure with family and needed an excuse for a “shakedown” cruise. Six Sigma here we come. We also invited friends who live in the area to share a meal with us while we where in the area.

After battling, unholy traffic we bumpty bumped into the ranch. We arrived as the crew was setting up for the dinner venue. This is our first farm to table event. Kaj Ahlman, the “father” of this wonderful, multifaceted family enterprise, guided us to our spot! It was a cleared area with generous room to park our rolling home. There are no hook ups, we came with our water tanks full and solar panels on our roof. It was an easy fit.

We expanded our awning, set the stabilizers, and made ourselves comfortable. We had a gas firepit so no sparks or chance for potential fires, our grass pad was a new acquisition and rolled out beautifully. The dogs had their own fenced pen to relax in after a nice walk. We then got ready for dinner.

Wow the place was filling with lots of happy people sipping wine and reviewing a menu that included Six Sigma lamb and local fruits and vegetables paired with wonderful Six Sigma wine! Christian Ahlman, Judy, Matt the winemaker and Kaj et al made the evening fantastic. People enjoyed seeing our well behaved pups roaming about with us and marveling about our silver coach awaiting our end of evening relaxation.

As all the hustle and bustle of the evening wound down the beauty of natures quiet overtook us. We could even hear the small creek running by us. The weather was perfect, a slight breeze with the sound of the wind in the tall trees made everything very relaxing. We slept with all curtains open, windows slightly ajar and the breeze just right. We could see the stars in the night sky. This is camping! This is living, this is why we love our silver baby. The dogs were comfortable, we were experiencing our dream for the very first time. Alone, not in a crowded campground, even the national parks have too many people, generators and noises all the time!

ranch house tasting room — Just before lights out at the end of the day.

The morning was sweet, ranchers and work hands drove by, no real noise, no disruption, cyclists going by, all surprised by the silver thing in the woods. Our friends came by for a relaxing brunch and then off to the real world.

We did find I had forgotten to re-stock all we had taken out for the maintenance to be done so that was goofy. Everything worked, yeah Bay Area Airstream for the great job. This little sojourn was so much more relaxing than any of our other excursions ever! Ohhhhh how enjoyable! This is what we were trying to find. Now we know where to find it.