Any Amazon.com purchase made through this link helps support this site - thanks!
 |
|
|
|
   |
|||
| >> January 29, 2011 >>> Gold and marble  This weekend we went a little further from home, to California Gold Rush country, the home of the (original) 49ers. We lucked out again with a terrific place to stay, Marble Quarry RV Park in Columbia. It's aptly named as there's a deserted marble quarry on the grounds, just up the trail from our parking/camping site. The quarry was active in the 1920s, providing high quality marble for floors & walls for many landmark San Francisco buildings including the Palace Hotel, Wells Fargo Building, and main post office. There are great slabs of rough-cut and raw marble everywhere along with marble gravel on the trails, but the main quarry site is impressive and bizarre looking. It's a sheer wall maybe 60 feet high, and it dips another 20 feet below ground level, with a smooth face cut with even striations. Sadly but not surprisingly, there's some graffiti on it as well. Some ruins of the quarry workings remain, but in general it's a rustic and mostly natural setting, almost serene, with a wide open view across the valley opposite. Click the top left pic for full size, and click here for historical photos of the quarry's productive days. Down another trail in the other direction is the town of Columbia which is a living history California state park. The buildings are Gold Rush era, filled with museums and cute eateries & gift shops, and there are also roaming folks in costume, a working blacksmith, an Old West saloon (we went in for a beer), stage coach rides, musicians and other assorted characters including one old fart, "Dakota Dan", a guitarist and self-styled "adjuster" who pinched my funny bones awhile, and said he'd fixed any ailments I might have had. He's also a dowser, which fits.Days have been sunny & warm but it's cold & frosty at night, so now I know how to work my furnace. This is my first RV park - the other two trips were campgrounds - and it's really nice and very spread out. Many sites are pretty close together and might feel crowded during the busy summer season, but for now there are just a few of us scattered about, with lots of room in between. It doesn't feel like we have neighbors at all. The staff is nice and helpful, the bathrooms are large, very clean, with hot water and counter space (something often lacking in campgrounds). I've got free Wifi, and Trixie got a special doggie welcome pack with some Milk Bones & chewies - can't beat that! >> January 24, 2011 >>> Return of the wind Saturday's spring-like perfect weather turned blustery in the evening, giving us another rock 'n rolling time inside the van, this time with the crash of branches all around us throughout the night. Luckily nothing too big hit us, so we packed up early Sunday and headed the short distance home. Overall it was a successful trip, with the stove/propane and fridge/electrical hookup systems more or less figured out, and I discovered a lovely spot close to home that I hadn't been to before. Next time: water tanks? Or maybe I'll keep that on hold and instead figure out some of the electronics, such as why my TV doesn't have audio, and how the GPS system works. >> January 22, 2011 >>> Camping in Oakland?  Not the first destination that comes to mind with camping, but I'm sitting in a lovely eucalyptus grove in Anthony Chabot (pronounced sha-BO) Regional Park in the Oakland hills. Technically the park's in Castro Valley but it's just a hop from Oakland. It's a huge park with a very large and very spread out campground.The weather is perfect - it seems more like April or May than January, and there are several other RVs camped here as well as a number of tents and even a scout troop over in the car camping sections. The park surrounds a large lake which we spotted through the trees on a hike, but not being over-exercisers, we decided not to hike down the steep trail to the lake's shore, as we'd then have to hike back up.  The eucalyptus trees surrounding us give off a mild menthol-like aroma, and they also drop branches like crazy, along with long hunks of peeled bark. The roads and grounds are littered with them, and every so often you hear a branch crashing down to the ground like the jeep falling down the tree in Jurassic Park. The eucalyptus also drop acorn-like seed pods which are everywhere, and several of them have burst open with hundreds of tiny grabbers exploding out in an attempt to embed the acorn into the ground and take root.So far on this trip I've figured out the electrical hookup system, battery inverter, fridge, propane control and stove, and I've set myself up a little computer workstation that seems like it'll be workable (but I don't have any internet access here). The oddest thing about camping here is there's a marksmanship range within the park. It's quite a ways off from the campground, but we hear them shooting all day. Rather than a lot of pop-pop-popping, it sounds more like rumbling thunder in the distance, but without any rain or even a cloud in the sky. They close up and quiet down around dusk, so that's fine. Overall this is such a terrific place, we're staying an unscheduled second night. >> January 18, 2011 >>> Maiden voyage  We went back to the RV show yesterday to get my van, and got the how-to tour of all its workings. Even though I took notes, it didn't take long to realize I was overwhelmed with info. Driving it away, I was whelmed again by its size: while it's just a standard Chevy van length and width-wise, I'm used to driving a little two-seater toy car.But we got it home, introduced the dog to it, and packed up for our overnight maiden voyage. We headed up to Mt. Diablo, a California state park east of San Francisco, an incredible local wonder. We'd been up there often and camped once, so the only real challenge was adjusting my driving habits for this gigantic (to me) vehicle on the windy road. We headed for the campground nearest the summit, picked a site with a nice level RV pad, and set the brake.  It was pretty late by the time we got there, so we ate our sandwiches and watched the sunset. There was only one other occupied campsite, and the silence and serenity was spectacular. The fog filled in the valleys below us and the bright band of orange lingered on the horizon for what seemed like hours. Later, towns & shopping centers lit up the fog from below, making eerie glow spots.. it was just beautiful. Click the pic for full size - you can see buildings of San Francisco in the distance, just right of the center. I've made it my wallpaper.We decided to go in and see what our living conditions were all about. We'd brought a Netflix DVD, but either the 12-volt "house" battery isn't wired to run the TV & DVD, or I didn't have all the settings right. So we fired up the generator and watched our movie on the high def flat-screen TV with surround sound (much nicer than what I've got at home!) and then hit the button that rolled out the sofa into a bed, and unrolled our sleepy bags. About then is when the wind kicked up. We were in a nice tree-sheltered spot but when you're at 3,000 feet on a solitary mountain peak, it gets gusty! With the inside curtains drawn and the van shaking in the wind, I had visions of being blown off and rolling all the way down. Luckily that didn't happen. We had a nearly-full moon and saw some critters at one point on a bathroom run - I think they were a family of raccoons but it wasn't bright enough to be sure. Trixie the dog was happy to get back inside after that. I was woken up by tremendous gusts of wind a few times but the bed was very comfy. We fired up the generator again for morning coffee, took a few more walks, and headed home. Now comes the big task of poring through all the manuals to learn more about this thing in depth, and planning the next trip! >> January 16, 2011 >>> Tomorrow, tomorrow.. ..you're only a day awaaayyyy I'm getting my van tomorrow (!) which will include a whole lot of learning about generators, propane, holding tanks, and other stuff that's all new to me. I'll be taking it out right away for an overnight maiden voyage, and will report in as soon as I get back - I'm pretty sure there's no cell coverage or internet access where I'm going. >> January 14, 2011 >>> A chink in my plans  So I started researching mobile internet options and unless I'm missing something, there isn't really anything that sounds ideal.Cell providers give you 5GB a month for $50 or 10GB for $80, and $10 for each extra GB you use. So how much is that? This chart says that's about 15 hours of streaming Netflix, standard def. I figured I could park somewhere pretty for a month or so for the busiest part of the Big Brother summer to do my Hamsterwatch site, but 15 hours is only one day's worth of feeds, using a loose comparison to Netflix as far as bandwidth. $80 a month is more than I'd like to pay as it is, and a lot of rural places and national parks don't even have 3G coverage, let alone 4G. Also, those figures require a two-year contract, at least with Verizon, and it's obvious even to my dog that this arena will change dramatically over the next two years, and prices are likely to come down a lot. In the back of my head, I kept thinking satellite internet was an option. True, dishes can run into the thousands but there are also some relatively inexpensive options out there. The kicker is that once you have a dish, you have to have a service provider, and there are only a handful of them. Hughes is the main one, and DirecTV and DISH Network both use WildBlue to add mobile internet to a TV package. Here the problem is their Fair Usage Policies (FAPs) where, if they determine a user is using more than their fair share of bandwidth (which Big Brother feeds certainly would), they reduce your access speed dramatically for a period of time, and might cut you off for repeated violations. WildBlue doesn't have a plan now for RV satellite so I'm not sure how that works since both main satellite TV providers use them, but some random forum hopping indicates they're a lot tougher than Hughes about FAP violations. A third option would be RV parks with Wifi, but speeds vary a lot, and then I've got daily rental rates as high or higher than motel rooms. All this is assuming I will follow the feeds and do the Hamsterwatch site of course. If I don't, I lose the income that site generates along with the audience I've built up for it over the last six years. I could do a lot more with this site over the summer months, but it probably won't even pay for itself that soon (if ever!) So what am I missing? Do any of you have practical, affordable suggestions for me? Unfortunately, all this just serves to remind me that I really can't afford to fulfill this dream. Update! There is another option: Sprint has a plan that turns your phone into a private, mobile Wifi with unlimited data (granted, at a price). Verizon may have a similar setup, but theirs seems a lot more complex. Again, random forum hopping indicates Verizon's got a little better coverage out in the boonies, and 3G is far more widely available than 4G, which would be a whole lot better for streaming video.. I'm researching. >> January 13, 2011 >>> I've got a delivery date My loan's approved and everything's a go, but I'm getting that protective coating that car dealers always talk you into, and it's pouring rain which delays application and drying of that, so I can't get my van until Monday - but that's firm! So come Monday at 11am, I'll be starting a two-hour walk-thru with them to learn how everything works. I CAN'T WAIT! >> January 12, 2011 >>> Still waiting I was hoping to take delivery of my van tomorrow, but it won't be ready yet. They have to take it from the RV show to the dealer to detail it and make sure everything's working properly, etc., then they'll bring it back to the show so I can get it there (which is a lot closer to home). But they're still waiting on the lender to give the final go-ahead, so poop. Hopefully it won't be much longer - I want my van! The kid & I are planning to go up to Mount Diablo for an overnight as soon as I get it. >> January 10, 2011 >>> Insurance and salad  I'm really touched by all your great support, comments and enthusiasm for my upcoming adventures - thanks so much to everyone who's commented! I try to reply to most but I know I'm random about that. Sorry I don't have commenting ability on here - yet? I'm looking into it.Between jobs today, I chipped away at a few preparations, getting insurance quotes for one. Unlike buying a car where your existing auto insurance covers a new one for a short transition period, you can't drive away a new RV without RV insurance, at least in California. But the good news is it's cheap! At least compared to auto insurance, and that was a very pleasant surprise. I'm also thinking ahead to keeping my little van stocked. Even though it has a LOT of storage space for its size, the cupboards & drawers are still limited, and the fridge is small (though it does have a little freezer that may or may not be efficient.. we'll see.) In other words, I won't be able to do bulk buying, and that means grocery shopping more often than I'm used to doing. Like so many others, I've been making a conscious effort to eat healthier lately, and it's just a sad fact that you simply can't stock up on fresh produce for more than a few days' worth. Compare to convenience, frozen and snack foods, well, there's no comparison. You could buy enough of that stuff to last you a year, and it would last until you eat it. My problem is I hate shopping. I'm not sure if that's about the shopping itself or merely the effort it takes to make the decision to get it done. That will definitely be changing since I'll have to shop far more frequently to keep my van's pantry and fridge stocked when I'm living in it. But that means it'll also be easier to keep fresh produce on hand, so maybe I should think of my little (insured) van as a tool for healthy living. >> January 9, 2011 >>> So it begins, almost  I've had this dream for a year or so of running away from home, jumping into a little camper van with my papillon dog iTrixie, and seeing where the road leads us. The dream only grew stronger throughout My Horrible Year (2010), in which my adult daughter began recovery from drug addiction and hospitalization for psychosis, and looking after my elderly dad who went from totally self-sufficient to totally dependent (on me) after emergency surgery in April, with various ups & downs until he passed away in October.But my work didn't end there. My daughter's clean (fortunately!) but still unable to work, still on meds, and I'm still supporting her, plus I'm the executor of my dad's estate. It doesn't consist of much, but still entails a lot of paperwork, errands, sorting/selling/tossing his things and cleaning out his condo, etc.. all of which just reinforced my dream of getting away from it all. Even though I can't afford it by a long shot - I live hand to mouth as it is, and I lost a lot of work through all that - I went ahead and took the plunge the other day to make that dream a reality: I bought a Roadtrek, a fully self-contained motorhome built onto a Chevy van, using the car I inherited from my dad for the down payment.  I'd been doing a lot of RV research and decided that while there were a lot of bigger and cheaper options, I definitely wanted something go-anywhere-small that was easy to drive and park, and Roadtreks are by far the best of the camper vans out there. I went to one of the few Roadtrek dealers in Northern California over Thanksgiving weekend and finally saw them "in person" and was sold, figuratively speaking. The real sale came the other day when I went to an RV show nearby.I'll probably pick it up next week, but my head's already spinning with where to go, what to take, how I'll downsize most everything I use in daily life, how my daughter will be able to get along and afford solo living (she'll go on a few overnight & local trips with me before I start The Big One), and how I'm going to wangle the payments until I get a share of my dad's condo that we hope to sell in the spring. But in spite of all these hurdles, I'm confident it'll work out somehow, and I'm excited as this next phase of my life begins to take form. This won't be an elaborate website but will simply focus on where I've been, where I'm going, and what I find out there. I'm grateful that I work online so I can do that from anywhere I have internet access, as well as stay in touch with everyone I know, and I look forward to going on the road with you, my readers, old friends and new. |
entries latest october/november 2013 ~ brannan island, pinnacles march 2013 ~ capitol reef, arches, moab, donner march 2013 ~ virgin river gorge, zion, bryce, anasazi january 2013 ~ pinnacles, peacocks, omelettes, lassen june 2012 ~ burney falls, death valley, turkeys may 2011 ~ delta, eucalyptus, redwoods march/april 2011 ~ diablo, morgan hill, delta, chabot february 2011 ~ sundial, shasta, river road, delta, olema january 2011 ~ columbia, chabot, diablo, preparations much more to come, hopefully low frills I'm not set up for comments, blogrolls, profiles and the like, but please follow and/or talk to me on Twitter. I'm also on Facebook but it's pretty much focused on my Big Brother site Hamsterwatch, and anyway, I prefer the short attention span aspect of Twitter follow me on Instagram where most of my travel pics show up in a timelier manner than they do here  about me I believe the essence of a person is what counts, and that comes out through words, actions, and creations, not vital stats. Also, since I'll be on my own out there on the open road, I'm not real keen on making myself too visible. Suffice to say I'm a crotchety, intuitive, decrepid old lady who's equally appreciative of life's basics and its complexity. I like unicorns, rainbows and long walks on the beach reality tv, documentaries & unique movies of all types, memorable fiction, being awestruck, and nature's majesty. I do financial transcription work as well as running websites of my own and for a few clients. Serial killers fascinate me. I have an adorable little papillon dog but I only make her wear clothes on special occasions. Or when it's very cold. Send a Free Valentine's Day eCard with American Greetings The Sims 3 Late Night Expansion Pack - Buy Today! Shopping for an RV? FIND what you're looking for at RVT.com! Search over 35,000 new and pre-owned units in-stock, nationwide Birthday eCards from American Greetings Try FREE! |
||
|
|||
All content Copyright © 2011-13 EverlastingRoadtrip.com