December, 2016
We arrived at Tapo County Park
in Simi Valley
with a strong sense of déjà vu. This is our fifth trip to this park and we are
more than familiar with it. Unfortunately the camp hosts were the same folks
that were here on our last visit, who zealously enforce rules that are simply
silly, especially with the sever drought conditions. I hope they move on before
our next visit.
 |
| Assembly is the reverse of ..... |
What makes returning to Tapo worthwhile is seeing the
friends we have missed all year. The week flew by and I’m glad we don’t carry a
scale because I’m sure I put on several pounds!
The day after we arrived I noticed water running out of the
bottom of the big slide, a very bad thing to see. The kitchen is in the slide
and the leak appeared right under where the sink is located, making that the
prime suspect. The cabinet under the sink was dry but after removing a panel
and the backs of two cabinets we found the problem: the flexible hose that
connects the rigid sink drain pipe through the slide wall to the grey tank had
split. Years of opening and closing the slide had finally broken it where it
was glued into one of the end collars.
Getting to it was one thing, but figuring out how to repair
it wasn’t readily apparent. I called the Monaco coach support line and one
of the techs walked me through the repair, pointing out the one critical step
that I wouldn’t have figured out otherwise. It took two trips to Home Depot for
the parts because I over-thought the process the first time and had to start
all over again the next day to get it right.
We discovered Jojoba
Hills SKP
Park in Aguanga , CA Meadowbrook Park
Jojoba Hills SKP Park (JHSP) is located about 20 miles from
Temecula on highway 78, a winding, two lane road where the local residents
really fly. That is about the only drawback to JHSP. About 300 large sites are
spread across over 70 acres of rolling hills. The huge clubhouse houses a very
large heated pool, two spas, meeting/dining room, card rooms, library, pool
hall, exercise room, quilting room, etc., etc. There are four pickle ball
courts, an air gun range, a pottery and a workshop large enough to back an RV
into equipped with all the tools you need to do about anything desired. The
park also abuts thousands of acres of BLM land, offering miles of trails to
explore with the dogs.
JHSP was designed and built entirely by volunteers, the
original lessees. It is immaculately maintained and appears to be very, very
well managed. Its only real drawback is the lack of a WIFI system. If it wasn’t
located in southern California
we would seriously consider getting on the waiting list for a lot.
Beyond the park itself, the main reason we come here is to spend
Xmas with Kayeanne ’s side of the
family who live in Hemet ,
about 25 miles away. One evening we drove to Riverside with Chris, Paul and Brenda to see
the holiday light show that the city puts on every year. The historic Mission
Inn is the centerpiece of downtown Riverside
and the focal point of the lights and decorations. It was certainly worth seeing,
but the crowds were almost impenetrable. We finally fought our way back to the
car and made our escape. We all agreed that we won’t be back anytime soon.
 |
| Deck the halls, however modest |
On the 22nd we took down most of the decorations and
lights in the coach and moved over to Meadowbrook RV Park in Perris. We spent a
month there in 2014 and were pleased to see that it hadn’t changed much. The
park is tucked into a small valley and offers large sites, full hookups, a
large off-leash dog area and several short walking trails around the rim of the
valley. It is quiet and has good access to shopping and services. It is also
very reasonably priced. It’s closer to Hemet
than JHSP, a plus for Xmas access. It is much closer to visit Ed and Christine
Woznicki’s place in San Juan Capistrano
for what has become our traditional holiday get-together with them.
This year Xmas was even better because Liesa drove down from
St. George. We certainly missed her last year. Xmas eve at Paul and Brenda’s was
highlighted by Kayeanne ’s excellent chili
rellano casserole. Xmas day at Chris’s house was a little chaotic with the Lucy
and Schroeder, Liesa’s dog Beckham and Chris’s two dogs, Patches and Morgan making
it lively and noisy.
 |
| The dogs are very happy to be back |
After a month in SoCal with all the running around and the Xmas
excitement, we were really ready to hit the road again, so on the 27th
we headed east to the Saguaro SKP Park in Benson , AZ. Yuma and all went according to plan until we tried
to start the generator and it didn’t. It reluctantly fired on the third
attempt. When we aren’t plugged into electric power at an RV park, the
generator provides AC power and keeps the batteries charged. When dry camping
we usually run it a couple of hours morning and evening to cook and to be sure
the batteries are fully charged, especially for the night.
As I wrote last year, Saguaro is the park we measure all
others by. This is our third visit and pulling up to the office feels a little
like a homecoming. We joined the “hot list” two years ago to get our own site
and are slowly working our way into contention. We might get one next year.
 |
| Cosmo and me: old guys can still party! |
We’ll be in Benson at the Saguaro SKP
Park
More soon,
Bob
