#87 – December 2021 – California

December 2021 – California    

This month we followed the plan we cancelled in 2020 when Covid was climbing through the roof and vaccines weren’t available. If it sounds familiar, it is the plan we have followed every December for five years: Salt Lake City to Simi Valley, on to Meadowbrook, and finally to Hemet for Xmas. 

We've tried to make the trip from SLC to Simi in two days, staying one night in a casino parking lot on the NV/CA state line. That's two very long days, and we are just not willing to do that anymore. Sand Hollow State Park in Hurricane, UT makes a good stop for the first night. Although it's a bit off the interstate, we have ususally been able to get one of the large pull through sites in the hill section. This year, we had to take a site in the ATV section on the other side of the lake. The site itself was fine, but the constant buzz and roar of those things became really annoying.

The casino we used to stay in at the NV line on the second night appears to be permanently closed, and alternatives are sparse on the stretch of I15 from Las Vegas to Barstow. After beating up Google Maps and various RV camping web sites, we decided to try the Mad Greek Café parking lot in Baker. The surroundings looked a little sketchy, but several trucks coming and going kept us company all night. One of the local gendarmes took a really, really long break in his cruiser under the tree next door, so security wasn’t a problem. We must have caught the cook at the Greek on an off night, though, because the food was pretty lousy. I ate there on a motorcycle trip to Death Valley many years ago and don't remember it to be quite as disappointing.

We took advantage of a relatively short final day to leave I15 in Barstow to avoid the Cajon Pass and I210. We took CA58 across to CA14. It’s several miles longer but the stress level is much lower. It’s also much easier than the alternative route via CA18 to CA14, too. Getting through Victorville on CA18 is no fun.

Rare-ish Red Shouldered Hawk
patrolled Tapo campground

Tapo Canyon County Park Campground in Simi Valley was the first place we stayed when we hit the road in 2014 and we have come back every year since, barring last year. The park price keeps going up and the showers are barely warm, but it’s about the only place to stay that let’s us visit friends in Thousand Oaks and Pasadena. Simi also has a Trader Joe’s and a Costco which let’s us overlook many other deficiencies.

It was so good to see everyone again. You may recall that we were lucky to see Judy, and Janie and Rick this summer as our paths crossed during our travels, but even six months seems like a long time between visits. Not seeing Kathryn and Jay, and Mary and Sam for two years was really much, much too long. We had so much to catch up on!

Judy organized a trip to LA to see the Van Gough digital multimedia show followed by lunch in Beverly Hills. Both were great fun, especially the show. It used the same computer controlled HD technology as the similar one that we saw in SLC, with equally spectacular results. The layout of the interior spaces in the two venues was quite different. That meant that there were unique viewing perspectives that one site offered that the other couldn’t match; both were very interesting. See more pictures below.

Having to show both vaccination cards and photo ids was annoying until I thought it thru and talked to one of the security folks, then it made sense and I became a firm supporter. The stories he shared about people trying to cheat the regulations were pretty disheartening. Dispite the hassles of getting around downtown LA, don't miss it if you are anywhere nearby or discover other venues on the tour. Thanks, Judy. 

Our time in Simi seemed to just fly by, and then it was time to head south to Meadowbrook RV Park in Perris, close to Lake Elsinore. I used to think nothing of driving the coach in SoCal, but it no longer has any appeal to me. The lanes must have gotten narrower and the traffic more aggressive in the past two years. I can do it without issues, but it takes 100% concentration and there are way, way too many thoughtless drivers in cars and in big trucks here. Ok, rant over.

Our original plan was to stay in Meadowbrook for two weeks, including Xmas week, and make the 50 mile round trip to visit family in Hemet whenever something was going on. It is much less expensive to stay there than at the Golden Village park in Hemet, and much closer than Jojoba Hills in Aguanga. The traffic on CA74 has gotten worse in two years, because it only took a couple of trips to realize that this plan wasn’t going to work. The only feasible park in Hemet is Golden Village Palms RV Resort. There were no online deals, so Kayeanne got on the phone and called the park office. It turned out that they were offering a 33% discount on weekly rates, including Xmas week. We quickly signed up and cancelled the second week at Meadowbrook.

Meadowbrook is the closest park we can find to visit Christine, Ed and Zack in San Juan Capistrano. It has been two years since we last saw them, too. We had hoped to meet them on the road this year, but issues with their business kept them anchored at home while that all got sorted out. It was so good to spend an afternoon and evening with them. Schroeder got to come, too, and had the run of the house, which he took full advantage of.  

Christine and Zack with bowl

Kayeanne brought her renown Covid Cupcakes for dessert at their house a few days before Xmas. We had such a good time that we forgot the frosting bowl. As much as we like that bowl we weren’t going to drive all the way back to get it. We’d miss it, but it wasn’t a family heirloom. Then Christine had a great idea: Zack just got his pilot’s license and wanted to do a practice flight, so they would deliver the bowl and meet us for lunch at the Hemet airport. Plan! Everything went fine, we got the bowl, and then their plane wouldn’t start. The flying club diverted another one to pick them up, so it all ended happily.

Golden Village Palms RV Resort does live up to its name: it actually is a resort, with pools, a spa, a health club, immaculately maintained spacious grounds, live entertainment, and an activity director. Apparently their season doesn’t begin until January because the place was less than half full, hence the deal. It is a great place to stay, but not at full price!

After all we’ve collectively been through this year, it was great to get together with Chris, Paul, Brenda, Katy and Ed for Xmas. We really missed seeing them last year. Paul, Brenda and Katy just moved into their new house, and Chris just finished putting lovely new floors throughout hers, so the holiday venues were especially festive this year. I cooked my dad’s traditional Xmas day fried bread for breakfast and was rewarded with lots of great stuff, including several new books that I am looking forward to reading, soon.

We also got together with Ted and Judy. We’ve known them for over 40 years (good grief), since before either of us had kids. They were headed to Las Vegas that day and very graciously detoured at least a couple of hours to meet us for lunch. I hope we can spend a lot more time with them soon.

We pulled out of Hemet on December 29^th. We took our usual beating on I10 through Banning and Palm Desert (don’t get me started on CA’s roads) and gratefully turned off on US86 to get to I8. We decided to push on through Yuma this year to even out the two-day drive to Benson. A little research popped up the Oasis RV Park at Aztec Hills in Dateland, AZ, just about half way between Hemet and Benson. Dateland is barely a spot on the map, so we were a little skeptical of the glowing reviews for this place but they were right, it is a real gem of a park. The next day we rolled into the SKP Saguaro Co-op and were soon settled in.

We treated ourselves to an extravagant bottle of good champagne to toast in the long anticipated New Year. I am surprised to report that we both made it to midnight.

I really enjoyed reading Slouching Toward Nirvana by Charles Bukowski. Thanks Cory. I also reread Amor Towles Rules of Civility and enjoyed it even more. 

I am falling behind on the wines, or more accurately, we are discovering new ones faster than I can list them. I really like Petite Syrahs and here are two that I recently enjoyed:
    Michael David Petite Syrah – NV CA
    Shannon Ridge Petite Sirah - 2019
I discovered an old friend at Trader Joe's in Simi:
    Rancho Sisquoc River Red - 2020. If you see it, be sure to try it.

More soon,

Bob

 

 

#86 – November 2021 – OR, NV, CA (briefly), UT

#86 – November 2021 – OR, NV, CA (briefly), UT

Eugene turned into a study of extremes. We really enjoyed spending time with Sharon and Gary. We ate good food together, went to interesting places, and had a great time. They have been in Eugene long enough to get to know it pretty well. I especially enjoyed walking with Gary one morning at Dorris Ranch, a working filbert nut farm that is also a national historic site and public park. Miles of trails wind through nut orchards separated by stands of mature forest. The property is immaculate, a testament to how it is valued by the many people who use it. The setting along the Willamette River is really worth making time to see. We had such a good time with them that we added four more days to our stay, and would have stayed even longer but couldn’t get space. When Oregon State plays football at home, every RV park is sold out months in advance.

We went to the Farmers Market one morning. At Gary’s urging, I bought a loaf of  sourdough bread at the Creswell Bakery booth. It was so good that we stopped at the bakery in Creswell to get more when we headed south a week later. Creswell is about 35 miles from Eugene. If you are in the area, be sure to stop, it’s well-worth the calories.

We also went to the Day of the Dead exhibit at the Maude Kerns Art Center. It took some pushing and tugging to get me to go, but once I got there I found it pretty fascinating. We caught the last day of that exhibit, but be sure to check the Kerns’ schedule. They put on similar short programs all year.

The other reason to visit Eugene was to get some work done on the coach. I think I mentioned that we had developed a diesel leak in the generator that I suspected was in the fuel return hose. We also hadn’t had the chassis inspected and lubricated in two years, because we missed our annual visit to Kaiser Brake and Alignment last year due to Covid closures.

We went to Kaiser first, and everything seemed fine, until they pointed out that we had unusual tire wear issues. A blow out on a 26 ton coach will be expensive, and can also be quite dangerous. Coach tires are usually replaced every seven years. We were in the sixth year on this set, so I wasn’t budgeting for them this year. But, I don’t skimp on tires or brakes, so we now have new tires, a $4,800 surprise.

Fall in Eugene

A couple of days later we took Ripley to Cummins Coach Care in Coburg. It turned out that I was right, the fuel return line had simply worn out where it passed through the frame that the generator is mounted on.  You can’t see where it is routed, you have to make the repair by feel. It took one of the techs less than an hour to replace it, so practice clearly counts

Cummins had a late cancellation, so we were able to get the 120,000 mile engine service done that day, too. The first service beyond fluid changes on our Cummins ISM engine is called “running the rack”, where the valve, injector and Jake brake clearances in the cylinder head are checked and adjusted. That service costs about $300 in a truck, but $500 in our coach because the access to half of the cylinder head is through a hatch in the closet floor. I haven’t noticed any change in how the engine runs, but the Jake brake performance is noticeably better.

Schroeder was mesmerized. Geese were
everywhere at VotR

With real regret we left Gary and Sharon and started the first leg of the trip to spend Thanksgiving with Liesa and Cory in Salt Lake. The first stop was Valley of the Rogue State Park, just south of Grant's Pass. I think this is our third visit to VotR. We were able to reserve the best spot in the park, F27, a huge site on the back row as far as possible from the noise of I5. Schroeder clearly remembered the park, too. He headed right for the field where the cows were grazing the last time we were here.

We like this park, but this year it was our second choice. We prefer to stay in Ashland at Emigrant Lake County Park, but the whole park was reserved for forest fire evacuees. Either park is an easy drive from Eugene, and there is nothing second-rate about VotR. We’d spent enough time in Grant's Pass and Medford that we didn’t feel like we needed to see more so we went wine tasting instead. 

The park is about as close to the center of the Southern Oregon Wine Region as you can get. There must be more than a hundred wineries in four districts within fifty miles. After some research on Google, we picked the Applegate Valley, and Devitt Winery and Augustino Estate and Vineyard in particular.

Devitt is a very small, rustic, family operation. The founders’ grandson took over the business a few years ago. He does everything from planting and harvesting grapes, carpentry and wine making, to manning the tasting room. We had a nice time talking to him and the other visitors  while tasting a few of his wines. Schroeder was also welcome in the tasting room and quickly made himself at home. The wines were drinkable but not noteworthy, but we bought a couple of bottles to support his hard work. That said, we’d go again for the ambiance and company, if not the wine.

Augustino is on the other end of the spectrum. It’s a big operation with two tasting rooms, event spaces, a kitchen, outdoor patios with heaters, servers, and relentless sales pressure. The woman running the place shouldn’t be. Despite her vocal claims otherwise, I thought the wines were pretty lousy and overpriced, so we didn’t buy any. The food was good, though. It was just overpriced.

I don't like traveling. I am not happy

Like the past couple of years, cold weather and early snow forecasts dictated that we take the southern route to Salt Lake. We prefer to cross Oregon on US 20 or US 26, but boondocking at this time of year risks running the batteries flat to keep the heat on all night. That means we need to find RV parks with electric hookups at reasonable mileage intervals. Several RV parks in central Oregon are closed for the season by now, so route planning is a challenge. Heading south to Reno and crossing Nevada on I80 adds about 100 miles to the trip, but it avoids the coldest weather and we can find parks with hookups where we need them.

Our first stop was Days End RV Park on US 395 in Standish California. This is a small, family owned park about 10 miles north of Susanville. Most of the spaces are taken by long term residents, but they have a dozen or so large pull thru sites reserved for folks traveling through. “Large pull thru sites” are exactly what we look for so we don’t have to take the car off the dolly. The park was spotless, the price was reasonable and we just fit in the site.

Day two ended in Fernley Nevada at the Desert Rose RV Park. This is a much bigger park, but the spaces weren’t long enough to leave the car connected, so we took the opportunity to do a little shopping. The showers at this park are terrific.

The third day was a bit of a grind, as we decide to push harder and get to Salt Lake a day early. We stayed the night at Valley View RV Park in Elko last November and decided to try it again. This place is pretty run down and most of the residents are clearly long term. The pull thru spaces for transients are narrow and much too short, but the roads are wide and no one has a problem with us sticking way out. The price is certainly right, too: $15 a night for 50 amp power is great.

We are always happy to pull into the Pony Express RV Resort in North Salt Lake, about 8 miles from Liesa’s apartment in downtown Salt Lake City. The place is very well kept and the staff is always pleasant and helpful. The facilities are all you could ask for, there is plenty of space to walk Schroeder and all the services we need are close by. Unfortunately, it is quite expensive and the limited options are equally pricey.

We had one more coach service to complete, so one morning we disconnected and went across town to Smith Power, the regional service center for Allison Transmissions. It was time to change 36 quarts of oil and a couple of filters in the transmission. The service itself was straightforward, but the whole experience was very frustrating. They don’t make appointments for routine services, so when we arrived we were put in the queue. We came early and were told we were second in line. Four hours later, after some prodding, we finally got pulled into the service bay. The whole service took 45 minutes, but then I had to wait over a half an hour to get a bill! Needless to say, I was not a happy customer, and they knew it  The service people seem to know what they are doing, but the front office is truly screwed up. We won’t be back.

We were very happy to see Liesa and Cory. Even though she joined us for a few days in June in New Hampshire it still seemed like it had been a long time. We hadn’t seen Cory in a year. Cory’s family graciously invited us to Thanksgiving dinner in Clearfield, about 30 miles north of the city. We had a great time and just stuffed ourselves on really good food. His mother knows no restraint when it comes to side dishes. Her corn casserole and mac ‘n cheese were especially good.

Cory and Liesa work non-traditional schedules, so when they both have the same day off, we make plans. We met at their place in downtown Salt Lake one afternoon for lunch and a walk. We set out for Mexican food, and decided to try a new place that turned out a bit sub-par. The food notwithstanding, we had a great time. Trying to decipher Cory’s very Southern jargon is fun. 

Liesa strongly suggested that we see the “From Monet to Kandinsky” exhibit at The Leonardo Museum.  I’m not sure how to describe this, but think of 40 computer controlled HD projectors showing moving images of fabulous art across every wall and floor in a space that has square walls, mirrored walls and not-square walls. The visuals and the music were just amazing. If this comes anywhere near you, be sure to go. 

Liesa also suggested that we visit the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium in Draper Utah. No one is going to confuse it with SeaWorld, but we had fun. Lots of fish, some penguins, colorful birds, a sloth (?) and a hodgepodge of tropical plants, reptiles and a few spiders made it a somewhat confusing but pleasant experience. I’m glad we went midweek, because the number of kids there on weekends must be overwhelming.

Did I mention how cold it was in Salt Lake? Brilliantly clear, sunny skies and starry nights meant chilly days and nighttime temperatures that usually fell into the 20’s. When we arrived at Pony Express and plugged in the utilities, I broke out the heated water hose and I’m glad I did; we needed it. We both agreed that we are wusses; we were sorry to leave Liesa, but couldn’t wait to head south. 

On the first of December we started our flight to warmer climes.

We will spend December in California, then on to Arizona.

Trader Joe’s and Costco in Eugene really excel in their wine offerings, and we took full advantage. Here are three that I really liked:
    Trader Joe's Reserve Shiraz 2018 - Barossa - Australia
    Paso A Paso Tempranillo 2018 – Spain - Costco
    iLauri Bajo Montepulciano D'Abruzzo – Italy -Trader Joe’s

Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the making of Microsoft by James Wallace & Jim Erickson is an older book, covering Gates and his company from inception through 1992. You probably need to have been in the computer business in that period to find it interesting.

More soon,

Bob

 

Gary, Sharon and Kayeanne at DotD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sloth was bashful, this guy wasn't

 

 

 

 

 

#85 - October 2021 – Nehalem OR

October 2021 – Nehalem OR

It’s October, so for the seventh year we are camp hosts at Nehalem Bay State Park. I think we both finally felt like the cross country trip was over. We still have about 2,000 miles to go to actually close the loop back to Benson, but it doesn’t seem so far now.

The trip up the coast from Cape Blanco went smoothly. We even nailed docking the coach into site A2; it only took us two attempts this year. We hadn’t finished settling in when the first camper wanted to buy firewood. We have worked with the same ranger team and a couple of the other camp hosts for several years, so once we picked up the keys and dug out our snazzy brown official Oregon State Park Volunteer vests we were open for business.

The last few years the weather here was pretty warm and sunny, and we were lulled into forgetting where we were: the infamous north Oregon coast in the fall. This year reminded us what the real “normal” is: unremitting rain, wind, chilly and overcast. I think we had maybe six days all month when it didn’t rain, and then it really blew. The wind was so strong one night that we pulled in the slides. The next day we asked the rangers to cut down a tree next to the coach. It was moving so much that we expected it to fall on us. Last year they took down two trees that threatened to fall on us, and I think this is the one we thought might be next. 

It gets really windy 

During a brief lull, I pulled the coach out of the site and a crew dropped the tree,
cut it up and hauled it away. We were back in the site and hooked up in less than 30 minutes, feeling much safer. Unfortunately, in all the excitement we forgot to take pictures.

After so many years in the same place at the same time, we start to recognize some of the campers and they remember us, too. One extended family has reserved the same four sites every year we’ve been here. The matriarch of the clan seems to do nothing but cook all week. We helped them with some small issue last year and she sent us some of her clam chowder, which is the best I’ve ever eaten. Just before they pulled out this year, once again she sent over a half a gallon of really outstanding chowder. Kayeanne sent her back some whipped cream-frosted chocolate cupcakes (excellent!!) that, I’m happy to say, she thought a fair trade. She asked for the recipe. Boy, that chowder was good.

Kayeanne took this beautiful picture

One clear evening we headed to the beach near sunset to scatter Lucy’s ashes. She so loved this place that it seemed like the right time. We sat on some driftwood and drank a little wine while we reminisced about our lovely girl. As the sun set we let her free. I swear I saw her running toward the sun in joyous bounds. Schroeder clearly saw something, too, so I’m sure she was there. Boy, do we miss her.

Really big trees!

After so many years, you’d think we had seen most of what  there was to see in
this area. For some reason we’d never been to Oswald West State Park, despite it being part of the same park management unit and just 10 miles or so from Nehalem Bay. We’ve driven right through it  at least a dozen times headed north to Seaside, Cannon Beach, Warrenton and Astoria. In fact, we were driving by it to go to Costco in Warrenton when we decided that enough was enough: we were going to see what we were missing.  

As soon as we headed down the trail to the beach, it was clear why this park is one of the most popular in Oregon. Just look at the pictures! The Short Sand Creek Trail is the most direct route to Short Sand Beach and the picturesque cove that surrounds it. The trail follows the creek as it winds through huge Sitka Spruce, western red cedar and western hemlock trees that tower overhead. The white sand beach is embraced by steep headlands covered in trees. The tide line has large tangles of driftwood that are twisted and weathered into fantastic shapes. The northern part of the cove is a well known surf spot and a number of surfers took advantage of the rare sunshine the day we visited. If you are in the area, be sure to visit. There are miles of trails in the park that wind through the forests and lead to beautiful, sweeping coastal vistas.

Schroeder loves the beach

Nehalem Bay State Park is usually sold out every weekend at this time of year. The first two weeks of October are also very popular if the weather is reasonable. This year, not so much. Oregonians are hardy folk, and don’t let a little rain interfere with their fun. The weather this year, though, really put a damper on things. Folks would arrive for a week's stay decked out in their foul weather gear and wearing determined smiles and pull out a couple of days early, defeated by the wind and rain. Camping is supposed to be fun, and only the most determined and prepared folks seemed to be having any.  

 I did get in a few fires

This month seemed to fly by. We weren’t especially busy, there weren’t any drunks to contend with, no epic parking failures to unsnarl, not even any loud parties running too late. For whatever reason, it was suddenly time to go. We pulled out on the 31^st to spend a week in Eugene getting some coach repairs done and visiting with Sharon and Gary Sams. We also need a Trader Joe’s and Costco resupply.

Speaking of wine, here are a few that we enjoyed:

Costco currently sells a wooden box of four French Bordeaux’s that each carry a 90 or 91 point rating. The box sells for $30, or $7.50 a bottle! I liked all of them, and just bought two more boxes. The boxes we bought contain:

Bel Ormeau Bordeau 2018

Chateuax Thomas Bordeaux 2018

Haute le Valette Bordeaux 2018

Chateau de Lyde Bordeaux 2018

Kayeanne also liked:
Brancott Sauv Blanc 2020 NZ
Allan Scott Sauv Blanc 2020 NZ

 

No books to report this month. I’m becoming illiterate, I guess.

From Eugene we will make our way to Salt Lake to spend Thanksgiving with Liesa, then on to California for December

More soon,

Bob

More pictures below:

Short Beach at Oswald West State Park 

Happy campers. Kayeanne took this one, too

Pure joy

More trees at Oswald West

It's a gale but this Lab needs his ball time

#84 - September 2021 – CO, UT, NV, OR

 September 2021 –  CO, UT, NV, OR

A guy out walking his llamas isn't
something you see every day

In 2015, we passed right through Gunnison Colorado on our way to the Lottis Creek Campground in the Gunnison National Forest. From there we visited Crested Butte and explored the forest but never got back to Gunnison. This year we stayed in Gunnison and focused on the town. There is a lot to see and do there and in the surrounding areas. We stayed at the Palisades Senior RV Park, about six blocks from downtown, on the grounds of the county senior care and services facility. The whole area is quiet, secure and immaculately maintained by volunteers and work campers. This is a great place, but it is small and reservations are hard to get, so book early. It is also only open from mid-May to mid-September. 

Gunnison seems to be a pretty open, friendly town. It’s big enough to have one or two of most services. It appears to be pretty prosperous, too. We didn’t see any signs of civic neglect, and the overall appearance was quite attractive. It’s also a college town, which we always think makes it more vibrant and interesting. Western Colorado University has an attractive campus right down town. With 2,900 students and a couple of hundred faculty, it fits into town without being the focus of the town.

I didn’t look at the map very carefully when we were in Ridgway. I guess I assumed that the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park would be near the town of Gunnison. Actually, it is much, much closer to Ridgway. Despite the 160 mile round trip, we were determined to see it. If you ever get close, make the effort to go. The Grand Canyon is certainly majestic, but this place is just as impressive. It is not as commercialized as the more famous canyon and sees far less traffic, making it a much more personal and pleasurable visit. The pictures don’t come close to the experience of actually being there. With better planning, accessing the bottom is possible, which must be really spectacular; next trip I’ll do a better job.

The Pioneer Museum in Gunnison is a large, eclectic accumulation of items that
are grouped together in a sprawling complex of 30 buildings, barns and sheds housing everything from a locomotive to hundreds of dolls. Two of the largest buildings are dedicated to an extensive car collection that is notable for it’s overall lack of… notability. Most of the vehicles are simply well preserved old cars with little-to-no automotive significance. Someone just took really good care of one and gave it to the museum when they died or stopped driving. That said, I spent most of an afternoon wandering around. The old fire engine and a Cat bulldozer were highlights for me.

Like the museum in Meeker, pianos and parlor organs seemed to be popular donations, but Gunnison has so many that they are packed in too closely to walk through. None of them are playable, so I guess it doesn’t matter that all you can see is an array of water stained and delaminating veneer. As you would imagine, the collection includes lots of old farming and logging equipment, too. Again, none of it has been restored, just cleaned up and parked. If patina is your thing, this place is for you. Only open from May to October, it’s worth a visit.

Tourists went nuts, the locals just went about their business

We decided to revisit Crested Butte. We enjoyed seeing it for the first time several years ago and this trip we were lucky to stumble into the weekly street market. Unfortunately, we got there a few minutes before closing, so a number of the vendors were packing up or had already gone. I did manage to grab the last sourdough bagels as the baker’s booth was being dismantled. They were excellent; I wish they’d had more.

Crested Butte is an unabashed tourist trap that is growing like a weed. Townhouses, condos and houses are under construction in many places in and around town. It seems like every other shop on main street is a restaurant, a bar, a pizza place or an ice cream shop. The other stores sell high end outdoor and leisure wear or expensive, lavishly logo’d sports gear. As popular as this town is during the summer, I can only imagine what getting around must be like once the ski season kicks off and all the rentals fill up. The skiing must be terrific.

We had a few days before we were due in Durango to meet some old friends from Thousand Oaks. On the spur of the moment, we checked the NFS reservation system and found one site that we could fit in at Lottis Creek Campground, one of our top five all-time favorite places. We could only get it for two days, so we booked two additional days in Palisades to catch up on laundry and clean the coach before heading to Durango.

You may recall that we were camped at Lottis Creek when the bear wandered by as Kayeanne and Lucy were sitting outside reading and napping, and pandemonium ensued throughout the campground. We didn’t see any bears this trip, but Lottis Creek is just as lovely, quiet and spectacular as we remembered it. Pictures completely fail to capture the size and subtle colors of the walls of the canyon that the campground is in. At night I think you could hear a sneeze a mile away. Two days was just not long enough, but I’m really glad we decided to go.

There are three feasible routes from Gunnison to Durango. I’ve ridden two of them on motorcycle trips, so we chose the third. I’d ride US 550 or CO 149 thru Lake City anytime, but both would be pretty intense in the coach. Instead, we made a long loop to the east consisting of US 50 - CO 114 – US 285 - CO 112 - US 160 over Wolf Creek Pass and thru Pagosa Springs to Durango. There were some sections that held my attention, but it was a good route.

Junction Creek NFS Campground converted from reservations to FCFS the day
after we arrived. We couldn’t reserve a site with electric hookup, so I got one without, hoping to get one of the power sites when the current occupants left. It worked like a charm. The dust hadn’t settled behind the departing campers the next morning when we backed in, plugged in and set up housekeeping.

Junction Creek is a real gem of a campground that has three real negatives: no dump station, limited water access to refill tanks, and one of the worst access roads we have ever seen. The first two items limit how long we can comfortably stay, but the last one turned out to be the worst. The road is over two miles of dust and ruts. It was so bad that we went straight to a car wash every time we left the campground just to hose off the dust so we could see. The rough surface may have damaged one of our tire pressure monitors, too.

John, Rick, us, Cheryl and Janie 

Anyway, those issues notwithstanding, we had a great time. We like Durango, but the reason we came this year was to visit with close friends Janie and Rick Fellows and Cheryl and John Clement. What with Covid disruptions and our travels, we hadn’t seen Janie and Rick for a couple of years or John and Cheryl since 2015.

Well, we had a ball. Lots of great food, very, very good company and a fair amount of wine and song just can’t be beat. One morning we took the Durango to Silverton train with Janie and Rick. It was just as spectacular as we remembered it. John and Cheryl drove up to meet us for lunch. Cheryl is very familiar with Silverton and having an experienced local guide certainly made for a far better experience than our last trip here.

Train from Durango to Silverton - this is a tame section

Waiting for the ladies to shop              Kayeanne's pic

One day we wandered the length of main street in old town Durango. I think we toured every shop but fatigue tends to fog my memory. We stopped in to the Strater Hotel, a well preserved, still operating example of the finest in 1890's-era accommodations. It reminded me of the Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee, AZ, built in roughly the same era and style. The Strater's most famous and long term guest was Louis L'Amour.

On the last night of our visit, everyone gathered around the campfire at our site. John brought his ukulele and led us in song after song as the sun set and night fell in the forest. That is a night that I will remember for a long time. I hope we can all get together again, soon.

We were sorry to leave such good friends, but we had a schedule to keep. We pulled out of Durango and headed northwest to Cape Blanco State Park in Port Orford, Oregon, to spend a week with Leslie and Ray Friebershauser at the state park where we met in 2019. We were all hosts at Cape Blanco Lighthouse that spring, giving tours and regaling visitors with tales of life on the Oregon coast in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. They also spent a couple of months at our park in Benson the following winter. Ray’s help was invaluable when I had to replace some of the siding on the casita.

We had Cave Lake to ourselves

It’s about 1,500 miles from Durango to Port Orford. Using interstate highways is supposedly faster but, as usual, we (I) picked a more “scenic” route. In my defense, this time it was actually shorter, if not faster. Anyway, from Durango we headed to Richfield, Utah, which has an RV-friendly Walmart, reasonably priced diesel fuel and convenient propane access. Rested and all fueled up, we pushed on through Moab to Cave Lake State Park just south of Ely, Nevada to dry camp in the parking lot near the dam. We don't fit in any of the campsites. They still charged us $20, which I thought was excessive. We should have left early to beat the ranger’s morning rounds.

We picked up US 50 in Ely and headed west to Reno. It is too far to do that in one day, so we needed an overnight spot somewhere near Austin, NV. Nothing sounded promising, but we took a chance and pulled into the Bob Scott NFS Campground and were early enough to get one of the two spaces in this very small park that are big enough for our rig. We didn’t even have to disconnect the car. With our Senior Pass it was just $5, a much, much better value than Cave Lake. It is a beautiful setting, and quieter than I expected given how close it was to the road. Schroeder really liked it, too. Unfortunately, we both forgot to take pictures. 

I’ve long wanted to cross Nevada on US 50, which was called “the loneliest road in America” by Life Magazine in 1986. I don’t think it still deserves that distinction, but there are many long stretches without any sign of habitation except the fences that keep the beefs (or, "beeves", really, look it up) off the boulevard. Kayeanne was pretty bored with it, so it was good that we had cell coverage most of the way.

After three days of dry camping, we wanted a couple of nights with full hookups, and the laundry had been piling up since we left Gunnison. Gold Ranch Casino RV Park in Verdi, NV, just west of Reno had everything we needed, so we dropped anchor there for a couple of nights. We did the laundry, dumped the sewer, refilled the water, restocked at Trader Joe’s and enjoyed our first sushi in weeks. Ah, all of life’s basics fulfilled in just two days, so on to Oregon.

Verdi to Port Orford can be done in two days if you put your mind to it, so we decided to go for it to spend an extra day with Ray and Leslie. I laid out a route that avoided the fire areas and most of I5. Klamath Falls turned out to be just about half way, so we spent the night at the Klamath County Fairgrounds RV Park, which is an exaggeration for a large gravel lot with hookups. What it lacked in ambiance it made up for in convenience. I think there were five campers that night, giving all of us lots of elbow room.

Rolling into Port Orford the next afternoon felt very familiar. We spent two months at Cape Blanco State Park in the spring of 2019 giving tours of the lighthouse, and came to really like Port Orford. One supermarket, one gas station, a half dozen or so restaurants and a food co-op pretty much describes the town that is small enough that US 101 passes right thru without a traffic light or a stop sign. Despite that it has a pretty fair art gallery, an interesting Coast Guard station museum and two great state parks. And, of course, the not-to-be-missed lighthouse when Covid relents. Not bad for a town of about 1,200 people.

Ray and Leslie are once again working in the park, but the lighthouse tours are a Covid casualty, so they are camp hosts, cleaning cabins and selling firewood this year. The four camp sites that are usually reserved for the lighthouse hosts are now available FCFS, and Leslie grabbed one for us that came open the day we arrived. Host sites are the only ones in the park that have sewer connections, which was pretty critical because we wanted to stay a full week and the park doesn’t have a dump station. Despite their work schedules, we got to spend a lot of time with our friends.

This park is truly one of the gems in the Oregon system, even with the lighthouse closure. I went on and on about it in blogs #55 and #56, and suffice it to say it hasn’t changed one bit, except the weather is sure better in the fall than it is in the spring! Schroeder clearly remembered it, too. He led me right to the trails, the horse camp and the group camp areas that he and Lucy thoroughly inspected a couple of years ago.

A couple of our favorite places to eat had closed down, but the Golden Harvest was just as good as we remembered. They still make the best roast turkey and stuffing that I have eaten outside of my kitchen (or Paul Wiklund's, too, I must admit) and they have added a bulgogi entrée that was very good, too. The lemon blueberry cookies, though, are one of my all-time favorite things to eat, and were just as good as ever. When Ray’s Market restarts their smoker after Covid, be sure to try their brisket sandwiches and the ribs.

Bandon is the “big” town about 25 miles or so north of the park. Fish tacos at Tony’s with a double helping of their secret sauce was terrific. When we tried to walk it off, though, we stumbled across Cranberry Sweets and More which we had to check out. Cranberry is not what I think of when I’m looking for sweets, but this place really merits its 5-star reviews. We didn’t try everything, but the tea cookies were delicious, even the cranberry ones.

Da Gurls had a ball

Sooner than we hoped, it was time to leave Ray and Leslie, and head to Nehalem Bay State Park for our seventh season as camp hosts. 

Some of the wines we discovered this month include:
Chateau St. Michelle Horse Haven Sauvignon Blanc 2018 – Kayeanne really liked it
Santa Ema Reserve Cab 2018 - Val Chile – Very good
Rough Day Cab – Romania - Maybe the best cheap wine I’ve had in quite awhile
Juan Gil Jumilla 2018 – Spain - Very, very good. Total Wine may have it.

More soon,

Bob

 

Black Canyon

Lottis Creek

Schroeder remembers Cape Blanco

Crested Butte

Hiking at Cave Lake

Junction Creek

Silverton