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| >> April 12, 2011 >>> Lost hikers and Cub scouts  We did an overnight last weekend and our first repeat destination: we headed back up to Mt. Diablo, as it's close enough that I didn't have to buy gas. This time we stayed in a different campground than the van's maiden voyage. Then we were near the summit; this time we were just partway up, near Rock City, a collection of huge sandstone formations that are great fun to climb around on, even for non-climbers like me. This is a view from below and behind some of them.With spring on the way, the campground was nearly full - quite a change from the mostly deserted areas we've been so far. We got a nice site and although there are no hook-ups there, I'm a lot more familiar with the power systems than I was the first time so between the battery and generator, all went well on that front. Our site was at one of the many trailheads on the mountain, and we had a slow but steady stream of hikers and bicyclists go past us. It was kind of surprising how many of them stopped to ask for directions: "Where's the Summit Trail?" "Where's the South Gate?" "Where's my car?" At least three of these groups had kids with them.. kind of scary, but I guess they all got out okay as there weren't any news stories about lost hikers.  A big site below us had a group of six little boys, about 8 or 9 years old, and three dads. I'm guessing it was a Cub scout outing or similar. The kids were having the time of their lives running around, whooping & hollering. Come nightfall, I built a roaring fire in our firepit and sat out watching it and listening to the boys playing hide 'n seek - you know if the moms were there, they wouldn't be doing that at 9pm!They'd run up here, then over there, then they'd find whoever was hiding and they'd all scream. Then I'd see six little LED flashlights dance around in the darkness and fly back down the hill to start over again. They kept it up for a few hours, far too loud and far too late, but I didn't mind as they were so funny. I was also having fun with my fire. We were a lot more relaxed, as demonstrated by Trixie the dog and her princess-style camping. On Sunday everyone packed up and went home, and we had the whole campground to ourselves. We debated staying another night but decided against it, and headed back down the mountain and back home. >> Aril 2, 2011 >>> A babbling brook  Trixie has turned out to be quite a good traveler - at least once we're parked. She still doesn't like being on the road and won't go to sleep until we stop moving, but she makes up for it by catching naps when things are quiet, and she sleeps hard at night. I think she'd make a good ad for Roadtrek, don't you?Between torrential rainfall, a wedding, and rising gas prices, we hadn't been out in the van for awhile, but I had an appointment in San Jose on Friday to get it serviced so off we went. I had a list of odds & ends I wanted looked at or fixed, as usually happens with a new RV (or most any vehicle for that matter), and some items that had been ordered as part of my RV show special package were waiting to be installed. I now have an additional closet/cupboard that interchanges with the third seat behind the passenger, so I can fit out the van convertibly for trips depending whether I need storage space or seating. I also got detachable window screens for the side door and rear cargo doors, so I have a lot more bug-free ventilation than before. We wanted to get into the repair place as early as possible so we stayed at a San Jose mobile home park Friday night. It was mostly permanent residents with just a couple overnight RV spots, and while it wasn't in the best location, it was nice inside the complex. It was very quiet and very cute, like a miniature neighborhood, and everyone was friendly. It was a very warm afternoon & evening, so I cranked up my A/C for the first time and discovered it works great. In the morning we went off to the RV repair place and killed a couple hours at Kelley Park while they got us fixed up. There were about 100 people there working to set up a garden show so we had lots of activity to watch as we roamed around the history park reading plaques on the old buildings.  Then we headed south to Morgan Hill and a beautiful RV park called Oak Dell, which also has mostly perm to semi-perm residents. The owners went out of their way to ensure we had everything we needed including free wi-fi, and again all the neighbors we've spoken with are nice - that seems to be the way with RV folks in general. We have a true "babbling brook" behind us thanks to the massive rainfall of the last few weeks, and the sound really adds to the relaxed atmosphere of this place, and there are dozens of bird feeders around so there are lots of feathered friends to watch. Yesterday was super hot so the A/C came in handy again, but today (Saturday) is much nicer so we decided to stay over a second night.>> March 13, 2011 >>> Evacuated!  I came across an offer on the web for a private campground in the Sacramento Delta that offers two free nights in exchange for a tour and sales pitch, similar to a vacation timeshare. I really don't have much interest in buying a membership but I'm all for a free stay, so we headed out.It was a pretty nice park, although the grassy sites were quite wet, at least in the free/guest zone. We soon muddied up the little mat we put out at the door, and tracked a lot of muck and wet grass inside even though we were trying to be careful not to. Trixie the papillon stayed mostly inside the van and had to be carried over the grass to the gravel paths to do her business, or her furry feet would have become mud mops. But we dealt with all that, and settled in for the night.  I watched a DVD (starting season 6 of "Weeds") then checked in to Twitter before turning in, and learned about the devastating earthquake and tsunami happening in Japan. I also learned San Francisco was under a tsunami warning for around 8am. We were camped on the Sacramento River, which connects directly to San Franciso Bay, and we were quite a few feet lower than the river flowing on the other side of the ancient levee we were next to. So I set my phone alarm clock for 6am to check status.At 5am there was a knock on our door and the manager told us they were evacuating the park as a precaution. (That was the first time somebody had knocked on our door, and I discovered Trixie barks at a door knock in the van just like she does at home.) He said we could go into Lodi to wait it out, but I didn't want to be stuck there (like the song) if things got bad, so we decided to just go home. We just had to unplug and drive away, but it was a bigger ordeal for all the folks in their big rigs, many of whom are permanent residents and hadn't moved their RVs in some time. Back home, I watched the drama unfold in Japan as well as the California coast. I don't think there was any real tsunami impact to the Delta, but the Crescent City and Santa Cruz harbors got hit pretty hard. All in all, it was a different experience, a free night, and I didn't even have to stay strong through the sales pitch. My heart goes out to all affected by the disaster. I was lucky enough to be able to visit Japan many years ago, and will never forget what kind, humble, and generous people they are. >> March 6, 2011 >>> A tweetup, plus Cujo  With gas heading back to $4 a gallon and a 30-gallon tank, I figured we'd stick close to home, so we returned to Anthony Chabot Regional Park in the Oakland/Hayward hills. We went out Thursday & Friday nights since rain was due Saturday, and we went to the same section as last time. It was easier this time, since that trip was about learning how some of the van systems work. Two deer walked up the road past us after we settled in, and we saw a flock of wild turkeys poking around the hillside.There were only two other RVs camping Thursday night and hardly any traffic to & from the tent camping area, but a few folks started arriving Friday including a visitor to our campsite: Hamsterwatcher and Twitter/Facebook pal Julie lives nearby so came out for the afternoon, bearing Peet's coffee! It was great meeting her and we had a nice time relaxing and chatting among the fragrant eucalyptus trees.  We took a walk down to the tent area (mostly empty still) and were amazed at how big, nice, and spread out it is. We also enjoyed watching other campers arrive and unpack. One of them had brought everything from home in his pop-up trailer, including two bicycles and a full size gas grill. Another Roadtrek pulled in pretty close to us, and also tossed out a lot of cargo. They had a medium-large white dog who went ballistic when we walked by with Trixie, barking out of control and pulling & twisting on its rope, which its owner was barely able to hold onto. It also barked whenever anyone came near them, and they were next to the restrooms so a lot of people did. Later Hank Williams Jr. began to find his way from their site to ours.After Julie went home, the music quieted down some but both of the overloaded sites were like beacons of light when darkness fell. Luckily they were far enough away that that didn't bother us, but when I stepped out to hit the restroom around 1am, I was surprised to see some legs when I swung my flashlight around. At first I thought it was a deer but quickly saw it was that obnoxious and scary dog, wandering around loose! Luckily Trixie had already been out for her last pee of the night, and I decided I didn't have to go that badly, so I ran back inside and locked us all in. It's unbelievable how crazy some dog owners are. I wanted to report them but the ranger kiosk was closed when we left the next day. But I take comfort that the rain came on schedule - a lot of it - and they and their awful dog got drenched. |
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. |
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