The Over the Hills and Valleys

We began our trip knowing that it would be a long and stressful trip. We are traveling old highways and small towns. We made no arrangements for campgrounds but thought we would try our luck with Harvest Hosts, rest stops and other surprises.

We did ok for our first 30 hours and were surprised at how well we survived. I was even pleased at how the doggies are doing. We had great sunrises and even dinner on the road. I am getting used to our little galley and we are glad that we did some of the prep for meals.

Before the sun was up we were ready to go after a quiet and restful night. We are off again and hoping to gas up before we really get going. Goodbyes said and off we went. Breakfast coffee in hand and doggies walked and fed. Our route simply outlined and fueled up. Off we went.

We saw the last stand of the Nez Pierce and where they are now. The history is sad but brave. There is a large reservation and national park that preserves the land. It is beautiful, very thought provoking and I imagine, haunted. We got information to read on the road. The air was still very thick with smoke so we did not to eat there. We drove about an hour further and had a great lunch with a view.

It is amazing what sights we saw. It was almost like stepping back to a slower lifestyle and memories of when I was in my teens. The people waving at us, smiles and hellos made us feel more relaxed and smiling. NO traffic either. Our last leg to get to Spokane. It is a very long day and we hope a smooth day. Weather is cooperating and pleasant.

We make landfall in Spokane by the target hour and very pleasant weather greets us. The doggies also have a nice area for us to walk them and they can relax. Dinner is comfortable, the visit and on we go. Oops it is later than we expected and we need to find a place to spend the night.

We have luck at the Dusty Rose RV park and we do our quick set-up, walk the doggies and sleep. Hoping our next leg is less stressful on the days driving.

We are winding our way to Boise. We are way behind our planned time. We will be too late to stay in Boise. Onward to Glenn’s Ferry for a quick dinner and wonderful place for doggies to unwind. It is a Harvest Host that is both a golf course and winery with a very nice restaurant. Wow, we lucked out. Tomorrow is going to be a new road home.

It’s Already October

The first steps in planning for our “epic journey”.

As always I see how many days we will actually be on the road and identify what challenges we may encounter. We have two, two year old Australian Shepards and they have traveled with us since they were 10 weeks old. They are still rambunctious but slowly learning our lifestyle. My husband looks at the roadways and weather. I look at food, medical and doggie needs. I also do a thorough cleaning.

We have planned not to use the big interstate highways where possible. We can travel faster from point A to point B using the fast interstate but that is not enjoyable. I also felt we needed to look for Harvest Hosts, Boondockers Welcome and other no cost places to overnight. We generally travel to see family and take care of annual medical exams. We haven’t traveled in our rig just for fun in years. We are looking to change that!

Our first leg of this journey was scheduled to leave exactly at 7:00 am. I ordered a breakfast order at our local Kneaders for a 7:15 am pickup. We made it by 7:30 am. Then we had to put fuel in our rig. My “pilot” did not fuel up the night before! We use diesel and oh well here we go again.

Hwy 93 from Las Vegas to Fallon Nevada is our first start. It is mostly a two lane highway through deserts, ranches and small towns. We stop to let our doggies do their business and we switch drivers and snack, stretch with the doggies for a small walk. So far so good.

While driving we realize we are not passing any truck stops. We get diesel fuel at up to 30 cents cheaper at the truck stops than the regular gas stations. Hmmmmm. We have passed many really inviting towns but we are on a timeline to Spokane, Washington. Notes for future stops. I was really surprised how different the countryside was the farther north we traveled. Loved the slower feeling of travel without a lot of heavy traffic. People actually waved at us and smiled. A great change.

I had made one strawberry cheesecake and Greek apple cake for the trip and to share with my son’s family on the last leg of the trip. Big mistake. We had slices of the apple cake for the first 3 days but kinda forgot about it. Left the frozen cheesecake until we got to the ranch. The cake was getting weird, kinda got wet because I secured it in the sink while we drove. By the time we reached the ranch it was slimy so thrown away. The cheesecake got watery while it thawed! It was a good idea but traveling in different climates and length of time on the road did not work in our favor. Oh and the new refrigerator was smaller than our Airstream’s. Well oh dear, on with the plan! Always learning.

We we did not make reservations for any RV park or BLM. So we stayed the night in the truck parking of a casino in Beatty, Nevada. It was after 9:30 pm. We had a late start from home. Again such plans. The truck parking lot was all dirt, no donkeys, lots of semis and a few trailers.

We were able to take the doggies for at least 2 thirty minute walks and let them stretch. No feeling of fear. Able to put the slide out and enjoy the bed and warmth, especially since the doggies think the bed is for them.

The next part of the journey is north toward Fernley, Nevada! Whew, they had a space without a reservation. Hopefully the trail will be relaxing and new and without problems.

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.

528A26A8-4F64-45FE-9E00-22E52DTheB182EB — 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!

Turkeys and Scones!

Hidden Valley Lake, California was our adventurous goal. What a wonderful place. It was a four-hour drive from our home up to Napa and the Silverado Trail. Beautiful scenery and lots of places to stop and sip the vino. We arrived at our destination, a little dusty, thirsty and ready to relax. It only takes us 30 minutes to set up, open the vino and put out salami, cheese and french bread. We were the only ones there our first night and only two other RVs arrived the next night. Very quiet. It is a small, oak filled canyon with a bubbly running creek. It feels like you are out on the ranch but you are in the middle of a gated community with a golf course and market!

The deer and wild turkeys rule. The early mornings have a little fog hanging onto the branches, deer grazing, turkeys waddling and flying and the feral cats are fed by a mysterious cat lady. The quiet is amazing. We take our little pooch out for a short stroll. The air was crisp and cool with just a hint of damp. We started our morning with a short walk. The water for our french press coffee is heating and the luscious lemony scones are baking. As we return to our rig the water is poured over our Peet’s coffee and the aroma of the scones cooling on the counter just add to the simple pleasures of life. With our curtains opened to view nature, classical music playing quietly in background, we enjoy our cozy cave. (Our doggie pokes his head between the curtains so he can keep an eye on the wildlife.)

We found this little place thanks to our friends Anne and Dan who live at Hidden Valley Estates. This trip we had dinner at their house, went wine tasting all Saturday and cooked our dinner for the night in our rolling French bistro. Sunday was home-made scones and coffee. This little kitchen really works and there is plenty of prep space. Prior planning helped. I prepared the dry ingredients for the scones at home, packed them in a zip lock bag and only added butter and milk in the coach. Fifteen minutes later, we had warm, buttered lemon scones with our own French press coffee. Now that is traveling!

Unfortunately, we also had our first encounter with a frozen water hose too. Luckily, as always, fellow travelers helped us with a lesson on all-weather camping. We now wrap our hoses in cold weather.

We shall do this again! Even, Gunny, our doggie liked it. He travels well. We love to see our friends and the Napa/Lake county wine regions too. If you go to Lake County wine area there is a great little restaurant in Kelseyville called the Saw Shop and a repeat visit is a must. We are getting used to our little home. It is relaxing to just have a lazy morning with goodies you made while still in your jammies! The dog is not so sure, but goes along for the adventure.

Our Gunny! He now loves his little rolling home. See what he did to the curtains!

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.

Yes We Can!

It is now January 2016 and we have a big plan in mind! We want to have a family camp out in Yellowstone National Park. Yep a 12 person get together for three generations. This will be a first camp out for my two oldest children and their children. There will be two trailers and one family in a nearby hotel. Our travel start day is 27 May 2016!

I have a countdown calendar and already gathering items for our get together, scheduling trailer servicing, preparing menus, and planning activities for us all to enjoy. I did ask the youngest girls for their ideas and they want smores.

I am really lucky in the friends in my life who are giving me tons of information and inside input on how the park works. Now we are really getting excited to plan, plan, plan. This is so exciting for us. We, after seven years, we are just now really becoming comfortable with the Airstream dream and embracing the experiences yet to come. Stay tuned for our little journeys and prep for the big day.

This must be our year for our dreams of travel come true. I received silver rivet earrings for a Christmas present and a dear friend of ours made us a beautiful reminder of our dream! A stained glass replica of our rig! The silver beauty we love.

Update to today! The work is done, cleaning and updating stuff done, now food and excitement are our focus. We are going to tryout many items that should engage children and adults in old-fashioned, non-tech family fun. An ice cream maker that looks like a soccer ball, traveling eco friendly fire pit for s’moors and a large propane outdoor cookstove so us oldies don’t bend over the fire to cook!

Our fun season starts in a week with a shakedown to recheck all repairs and new “stuff”. This well be a great wine and food experience! Six Sigma here we come! Then onto Idaho and Yellowstone!

Bon Voyage and Great Wine!

Airstream photo and 115 — Its the little things that count

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!