We Be Coming Round The Mountains!

Highland Peak in CA

 March 21 - 26

     It's amazing the things you see and learn about when you least expect it. Driving through the High Sierras in Eastern California, we expected to see some beautiful scenery along the way, but we were surprised at how much more aware of our history and our environment we would become. Just as visiting Manzanar was an eye opener of the treatment of some of our own citizens during WWII, visiting Mono Lake  was a living example of how we manipulate our environment, only to mess up the ecosystems of an area.
    Mono Lake is a large high desert saline soda lake. Having no outlet, high levels of salt accumulated and created an productive ecosystem based on brine shrimp that thrived in its waters, and provided critical nesting habitats for two million annual migratory birds that fed on the shrimp. In 1941, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power began diverting Mono Lake's tributary streams 350 miles south to meet the growing water demands of Los Angeles. Deprived of its freshwater sources, the volume of Mono Lake halved, while its salinity doubled. Unable to adapt to these changing conditions within such a short period of time, the ecosystem began to collapse.   Photosynthetic rates of algae, the base of the food chain, were reduced while reproductive abilities of brine shrimp became impaired.
     In 1978 The Mono Lake Committee formed to fight for the protection and restoration of Mono Lake. Today, Mono Basin restoration is aimed at restoring natural processes and ecological function. Because water will continue to be diverted to L.A., the Mono Basin resources will not be completely restored. The lake will still be 25 feet lower than its pre-diversion level.

1962, After the lake had dropped 25 vertical feet.

.

1968

1995, Over 40 vertical feet drop.

I took this picture, which still shows that even though restoration has begun the lake is still but a puddle. Notice the salt along the shore.

    Continuing our drive North we cross into Nevada, bypassing Lake Tahoe, and heading
into Carson City where we spend a night in a casino parking lot. Might have been free if we had stayed in the MH, but no, we just had to go inside. We know our limits, so all was well....this is the largest town we have seen since leaving LA, so we wanted to get out and do something. 
     Mid-morning start (early for us) takes us through Reno and a trek through the mountains toward Sacramento, CA. We like to get parked before dark, so we pull into Dutch Flat Resort in the foothills before reaching Sacramento. Resort must have been someones idea of a joke. When we asked about the laundry mat they advertised, we were told that it burnt down several years back. Guided down a steep hill, we attempted to get level on a dirt site that was anything but flat. It was sunny when we pulled in, but down in the hole where we were parked you could barely even see the sky through the trees, so darkness soon overtook the light making for an early nightfall. And then the rain came. If it wasn't dark and gloomy enough being in this shaded camping hole, the cold rain made it seem like late fall, rather than late spring. As it was determined to rain nonstop for a couple days, we decided to just stay put and work on inside projects until the sun returned....which it finally did in about 48 hours.  Before leaving the area, we took advantage of the sunshine to explore a little of the community hidden in the hills east of Sacramento. And of course that  meant we should check to see if there were any geocaches in the area....with several to choose from we
we selected what seemed to be an easy 'park and grab'. 

Red Finds the Geocache!

     Well, for it to be an easy find  we sure covered a lot of ground looking for it. However, as many caches do, this one was placed with the objective being to educate about the surrounding area. Once more I learned of human manipulation of mother nature, and how the landscape has changed because of it. In this case, however, I don't feel the concern expressed by the person who hid the cache. The stated concern is about how hydrolic mining created a man made valley with a depth of over 300'  where there was not one before. Gold was mined ,here, washing down a quarter million yards of gravel by the Bloomfield Gravel Co.  Very little gold was mined, as they were moving twelve million parts of gravel to get one part of gold. Not a great haul for the damage it created in the surrounding area; however I enjoy watching the show 'Gold Rush', so I'm not sure where I stand on this.

Beautiful Lake near Dutch Flat

Hanging by it's Roots

     Landing in Sacramento for a couple days we settle into a great little park with a lot of long term park model residents. My hope is to connect with my cousins Dave and Robert while we are here. When I call Dave, he is home from work sick with the flu...not a good start. He ask me to call back the next day and we will hope he is feeling well enough to get together.  Calling back the next day, I reach  Dave's wife Shayron, and the plan is made to call us back with a time and place to meet for dinner. Unfortunately I never heard back, so I'm thinking they had a lot going on with the kids and we kind of got lost in the shuffle. No problem, we will get back in touch next time we come through....whenever that might be. So after chilling for a couple days in Sacramento and enjoying the beautiful sunny warm weather, we are ready to start on the final leg of our trip to Tahuya, WA. 

The Bee-Gals,
   Kathy and Kathy     

California, Here We Come! - March 2015

California State Line at Sunset

March 17 - 18

October 2014 - St. Louis Airport

  Well, it's been since last October that we saw our son Aaron when we took him to St. Louis Airport to go west and start a new life for himself. Pretty brave for a kid who was bounced around from one foster family to another the first 16 years of his life, and yet maybe that made it a bit easier for him to start over once more on his own. He is now in Claremont, CA and  driving for LYFT, one of those new companies that make getting a ride as simple as opening an app on your phone. Things sure do change, don't they? It was an uneasy feeling seeing him just fly off to who knows where with little if any arrangements made on the other end, but that was his wish.

Kathy, Red, Aaron, Ron - Claremont, CA

     Finally we have a chance to stop in and check on him and see how he's doing. It will be a short visit because of his work schedule, but at least we can see him for a bit. Currently he's rooming with a friend; actually a very nice gentleman who took it upon himself to let Aaron stay until he could get on his feet. Seemed like a strange situation when he first told us about it, but after meeting Ron we feel very comfortable and in fact a little envious of his setup. Ron lives in a very nice area, close to everything. Now it will be Aaron's turn to come visit when we get to Washington, and I'm sure he will. 

Mar 18 - 21

     Leaving the LA area we opt to leave I-5 and take the high road North. Just adding a  little variety to the ride by getting off the interstate for a bit. Heading up RT 14 we  settle in at Sonoro RV Park, in the tiny town of Inyokern. Not alot here, but just down the road from the somewhat larger community of Ridgecrest. Surrounded by desert, the town is next to China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center. Pretty desolate area, but probably a good place to test bombs, drones, ect. Didn't go to their museum, and probably will later wish we had. One thing we keep needing to remind ourselves; stop and see what you can...you may not be coming back this way again.

     
    It's March and it's hot up here in the high desert.  But that's ok, because I think it may still be pretty cool when we get to Washington. That's about another week away, so we will enjoy the sunshine and warm temps.

Traveling north on  RT-14 we continue to be in awe by the scenery. Approaching Lone Pine, it feels like we are driving through an old western movie set. Then I realize, that we actually are! Parallel to Lone Pine are the Alabama Hills, an area of boulders and hills that were the setting more many western movies and TV shows, like" Maverick", "High Sierra", "Gunga Din", and "Rawhide".

Lone Pine

Boulders in Movie Flats area.

    Farther North along an extremely barren desert landscape we come upon the site of Manzanar, a WWII relocation camp for Japanese Americans. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese Citizens were forced to live in 10 relocation centers spread across the country.  Begun in March of 1942, this relocation center was completed within six weeks. On March 21 the first 82 Japanese Americans made the 220-mile trip by bus from Los Angeles. By July Manzanar's population was nearly 10,000. Over 90 percent of the evacuees were from the Los Angeles area. Manzanar is now a National Historic site; what remains of the 500+ acre encampment are sparse ruins of barracks, victory gardens and memorials. There is a driving tour which directs you to the various areas of the camp, and a visitors center which houses a museum of artifacts, relics, pictures and stories of those whose lives were interrupted when their own country imprisoned them out of fear. 

Entrance to Manzanar Relocation Camp

Manzanar Memorial

 

 

 

  The Bee-gals,

    Kathy and Kathy (Red)

                              

Off to Phoenix! - March 2015

March 14 - 17

Celia's back patio in Phoenix, AZ

     Our stay in Benson, AZ at the SKP park was great! Great people, beautiful park and it allowed us to enjoy the area while getting repairs completed on our RV. Now it's back on the road to visit with friends in the Phoenix area. Destination, Pioneer Village RV Park, on I-17 just North of Phoenix. Parks stay pretty full with snowbirds this time of year, so

Our friend Rose painted these chairs for Celia. Love them!

locating a spot to spend a couple days wasn't easy. On the way we drive through what feels like a monsoon. It rained so hard the road disappeared; scary, but it stopped almost as quickly as it started...weird. 

     Pioneer Village RV Park is very large and sits surrounded by desert (what would you expect?) a ways from the city. We are warned not to go out walking at night, due to the javelinas in the area. We didn't see one, but were told stories of how people and their pets have been attacked by these beasts that look like giant wild boars. Don't have to tell us twice!

   Feels like a reunion, visiting with our friends Celia, Cindy, Sue, Kim and Warren, and John. Celia was a neighbor and owned a gift shop a few doors down from our business in Quincy and moved to Phoenix two years ago...we are excited to finally get to visit! What a cool place she has...this is definitely a great place to spend winter months! Kim and Warren spend winters at their home here, and summers at their home back in Illinois. Cindy happens to be here visiting sister Celia, and Sue, who owns the restaurant next door to our business, is here staying with Kim and Warren, so our timing couldn't be better to see everyone. I think this could become an annual reunion as long as we are in the western half of the country....that could be awhile!  It's just a couple days visit here as we have to continue our journey North to our job  site, but our last night here is quite memorable as we are showered with gifts, good wishes and good food at a gathering at Kim and Warren's. We leave with our new 'dammit doll' in hand, along with Arizona T-Shirts, coin laundromat change, hiking sticks, place mats, and other gifts too numerous to mention. Wow! We love you all, and can't wait to return next winter...hopefully for a longer visit!

Last night before moving on.

The Bee-Gals,

Kathy and Kathy (Red)
  

Caverns of Sonora - March 2015

Mar 1 - 10th

    Heading West on I-10 through West Texas we see mostly desert and some hills. Short day today on the road, as our stopping point is only a few hours away at Caverns of Sonora. We enjoy visiting show caves, and this one pretty unique from the brochure. Located about 10 miles off the route we arrive at the caverns in the late afternoon in time to settle in at their RV Park for the night with plans to tour the cave in the morning. The RV Park is small, but every spot is filled with campers planning to tour the cave. Looking out the front window we watch dozens of deer come in the camp and wander amidst the peacocks and ducks resident at the desert park. We have experienced some dark and clear night  skies traveling through the desert, but tonight's sky show is abundantly filled with stars. 

    The morning tour of the caverns starts at 10:00AM, so we take time to get the RV ready for take off once the tour is over. We got a chance to chat with two of the couples that were workamping at the caverns; one couple is from Canada and primarily  sign on with show caves when spending their winters south in the US. This park is very isolated, located in the desert about 10 miles away from anything. Not sure I would really want to spend a season in such a remote area with only a couple of other workampers for companions. As for the tour, it was phenomenal; this is a beautiful jewel cave, and our tour guide (workamper from Canada) was extremely knowledgeable. The tour lasted almost 2 hours and included a lot of steps in it's mile plus distance. Probably the most spectacular show cave I've visited . 

    Back on I-10 we continue West, and with our late afternoon start, we stop after only a couple of hours in Balmorhea, TX at the Saddleback RV Park. Located just off the interstate, this park is simply a sand lot with RV spots separated by cacti and rows of rocks. Nothing else in the area but an old convenience store and a deserted building that used to be restaurant. Just an overnite stop. 

    Continuing our trek, we get away early for a change and drive most of the morning to finally get through Texas. Our goal is to get through El Paso and into New Mexico before late afternoon. El Paso is probably a wonderful place to visit, but we really want to get through the area and on toward our destination, Benson, AZ.
     
     Traveling through New Mexico, we see desert and not much else, as we are just
traveling I-10 and making our way onward to Arizona. Having traveled through this area once before, we bypass the the exit which would have taken us up to Las Cruces and Silver City; both places we enjoyed visiting many years back. This time, however, we have other plans in other places. 
     
     Stopping in Benson, AZ, our plan was to stay at the Red Barn RV Park, which is a park we stayed in 17 years ago. The managers were a couple, he from Hawaii, and she from Taiwan. We stayed there a few days and really enjoyed them and their hospitality made the stay very memorable. This time, however, we did find that the park was still there, but the ownership had changed and this owner had the personality of a rock, so after a night we will find another place in the area to call home for a few days.
      Wandering down the main drag of Benson we see a sign for RV Repair, and one of our goals in stopping here was to see if we could find a place to check out our motorhome. We think we may have another exhaust manifold problem on the opposite side from the previous fix done in Florida. We have been on a lot of rough roads, and the noise sounds sorely familiar. Stopping in at the RV Repair shop we meet Ken, who we immediately like, and tell him our situation. He is familiar with our chassis (workhorse) and can look at it tomorrow first thing.
      After dropping off the motorhome at the RV Shop, we spend the wait time looking for some geocaches in the area. We can't believe how many are located in the area, which just shows the amount of interest there is here in the hobby. It's always a good way to explore parts of an area that you would never see otherwise.
A couple of our finds took some real thought by the owners to place. A couple were placed pretty far out into the desert, and we also found two in a historic cemetery in town. Then we get the much anticipated phone call from the mechanic telling us to come back to the shop to receive the diagnoses. First of all, we were right about the noise we were hearing; there is a broken bolt on the right side where the exhaust manifold attaches. We need to replace the seal, and that has to be ordered. Of course it's Friday, so nothing is going to happen until at least Monday. Since he has the MH there we decide to have him change the oil and do some other maintenance that needs done like plugs and wires, etc. Not cheap, but much more reasonable than if we had waited until we got to Phoenix. Now to find another RV Park. Ken mentioned that he thought the Escapee Park down the way had a deal where you could stay a week for $50 if you were not a member but would consider becoming one. We call, and yep that is the deal....and they have a spot for us, so off we go to check in at Saguaro SKP RV Park. 

   The bee-gals,
     Kathy and Kathy(Red)

Bloggers Meet and Eat

Feb 26 - 28, 2015

Fellow blogger, Becky, and her friend Julie

Note: On my previous post about the Quiet Texas RV Park, I failed to include the website for this cool campground. Check it out at www.QTRVpark.com and if you are in the area, I think you would enjoy this park while you visit the area around San Antonio, TX.

    Leaving Hondo, TX we move just about 50 miles North to get closer to a mutually convenient spot to meet fellow blogger Becky Schade.  If you would like to read about her experiences and perspective on the RV life, check out her blog at www.interstellarorchard. I think you will find it to be both informative and entertaining as she depicts life on the road from in intelligent young twentysomething's perspective. She shares some thought provoking perceptions on the importance of living a fulfilling life doing what you love.  For those of us who have retired, it is something we planned for and waited to do, where as Becky has decided to live the dream now, and works temporary jobs to meet her income needs.

It works, and she seems very happy and able to manage her time and money.

     So, after settling in at a campground near Kerrville, TX. we  make contact with Becky to set a time to meet for dinner in Fredricksburg. She and her friend Julie are currently working at Enchanted Rock State Park north of there, so it will be about the same drive time for both of us to get to Mommasita's Restaurant. I have connected with her previously, so this was not just a spontaneous phone call to get together. Meeting at the restaurant, we recognized each other pretty quick and enjoyed a nice dinner while chatting about her RV life and ours. Living in a little Casita pull behind, she has worked at numerous parks, festivals, and Amazon's Camperforce. We are just beginning to try our hand at workamping, so it was nice to hear about some of her experiences. After a nice dinner and pictures, of course, we said our farewells and hope to meet up again sometime down the road. Enjoyed the visit, Becky...we wish you nothing but the best!

Interesting shop in Ingram, TX

Interesting collection of ... stuff!

 The Bee-Gals,
               Kathy and Kathy

And yeah, Sam helps write the blog...guess the cat's out of the bag..