August 16-20 Homeward Bound!

Homeward Bound! Stopped on the Olympic Peninsula still with smokey skies and then headed down the beautiful Hood Canal along 101 southward. Smoke and fire followed me all the way home as the Redding Fire was still burning and the burned out lands along the Hornbrook area was a reminder of earlier fires in July. I could not even see the hills along the side of the road much less Mount Shasta. Boondocked overnight near Portland at Starks Twin Oaks Airport visiting friends who were pilots there! A first! And for something completely different, the luxurious Seven Feathers RV Park north of Ashland. Finally arrived at Vinnie’s Airstream Repair south of Sacramento to leave Arion off to get a NEW AIR CONDITIONER! Never again will I have to sweat out a smokey 109 degree night without AC!

Next stop? Houston (NOT in the Airstream…) to see my new Grandson, Jack Walter Dundas Bonebrake. A new era is born!

August 14-15 Leaving Canada

I had procured a ferry reservation for August 15 from Victoria to Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula, so enjoyed a beautiful drive back across Highway 4 to Rathtrevor and down to Victoria by 1pm to go through Customs and make the 3pm ferry. They are much tougher going back into the US, so once again, I had to toss out all my fresh fruits and vegetables and wait in line for a tight fit into the belly of the boat before crossing back to the US. This was my third ferry crossing in two weeks! Arion is getting to be a pro!

August 12 Pacific Rim National Park

Pacific Rim National Park is impossible to get a camping reservation in August, but is an easy day trip from Ucluelet. Highlights were the long wooden decked path to Schooner Beach and the surfers at Long Beach, despite the warnings for Wolves and Bears. I made the possibly lethal mistake of letting my dogs off the leash, and was immediately reprimanded by the Park Ranger who hiked up to me and warmed me that my tiny dogs were “wolf bait” so leash them up quickly!

August 12 Tofino

Tofino is the last outpost on the road to the West Coast. Hip and touristy, it is a mecca for surfers and kayakers who use this as a launch for visits to nearby islands for hot springs and whale watching. I was able to do neither as I had dogs in the car, but I was able to enjoy “Tofino time” which slowed things down a bit! The highlight was a beautiful walk out to Toquino Park Beach from the south end of town. The stacks reflected in the tide pools are a never ending source of beauty…

August 11 Wild Pacific Trail

Best day in Ucluelet was an evening hike on the Wild Pacific Trail. The highlight was Amphitrite Lighthouse built in 1915 like a tank, to withstand the huge waves that wash over the point in the winter storms.

August 10-14 Ucluelet

The roads to the Pacific West Coast of Vancouver Island are limited to ONE! Highway 4 is a beautiful road passing by blue mountain lakes and ending at Tofino and Ucluelet, and the Pacific West Rim National Park. I stayed in the RV Park by the harbor in Ucluelet where for some reason that no one could adequately explain to me, there were lots of Germans. Probably close to 70% of the tourists I met there were German. Highlights were the Raven Lady Food Truck for the best fried oysters I have ever tasted (and I am a connoisseur), the Floathouse Restaurant where I discovered that the average person gets 32 miles to the gallon, and the beautiful boat harbor with sunsets made even more stunning by the smoke from the wildfires on the Island.

August 8-10 Rathtrevor Beach

LOVED this place! Canada knows how to do a State Park! The beach was on the Salish Sea, inland waterway between Vancouver Island and the Mainland in British Columbia. There were bike pathways everywhere so you could technically leave the car hitched up to the trailer and get everywhere you need to go by bike. The water was warmed by the shallow sands, for swimming at high tides. I took Nokomis the canoe out for a spin on the crystal clear green waters of the Salish Sea for a memorable canoe trip. Worth bringing her just for this day!

August 3-8

I was able to procure a spot in a large campground near Nanaimo for five nights to make up for the time that would have been spent on Galiano Island. This was an accomplishment because it just so happened that August 6 is Canada’s biggest summer holiday, and everything was full! But I enjoyed the time at The Living Forest Campground, with full hookups (!) The dogs and I took daily walks in the area and decided that our favorite was a place called Eagle Point. The second time there, I heard what sounded like a very large bird, then saw a bald eagle swoop right over my head! I immediately herded the pups and leashed them up close to me, as I have seen an Eagle scoop up a duck for dinner, and my dogs are not much bigger. Other highlights were watching the Tubers on Lake Cowichan and getting caught up in a protest demonstration between the Neo Nazi group, “Soldiers of Odin,” and the denizens of the large tent city near the harbor. 300 people are living there and apparently there has been a big increase in crime. The Soldiers of Odin took it upon themselves to harass the tent dwellers and try to get them to leave, and the local population was up in arms.

The fires continue to be of concern as a large wildfire raged in the hills just west of Nanaimo making the sunsets very red and smokey. This seems to be the new “normal?”

Two dining highlights in the Nanaimo area are the Calico Cat for afternoon tea and The Crow and the Gate pub, which looks like it just fell out of the Cotswolds! Great food at both!

As I prepared to head north to my next stop en route to the West Coast, I got a call in the middle of the night from my daughter. She was in labor with my new grandson, six weeks early! So I cancelled my plans to drive further north and got the first ferry reservation from Victoria that left mid day, on August 15. Still time to head to Rathtrevor Beach and a few days in Ucluelet on the West Coast but only half the time on the Vancouver Island as planned. But SO excited to see my new grandson! Plan D!

August 1 - 3

Thanks to Eric’s friend, Sunny, I was able to get a place in a small campground , McDonald Park, near Sidney for the first two nights on the island while I figured out what to do next. I spent an afternoon at Butchart Gardens which was astoundingly beautiful, if a bit crowded due to the holiday. In the evening, Sunny introduced me to the lovely town of Sidney where we grabbed delicious street food at “Market Night” and then she invited me to have dinner with her on her beautiful 40’ wooden sloop, Raven. This was a highlight of the trip so far. Such a gorgeous boat! Sunny and her husband, Joe, had sailed Raven up and down the North West waterways for thirty years, exploring petroglyphs and native sites as well as the natural beauty of these islands. Plan C was working out!

Left the area taking the Brentwood Harbor Ferry for a shortcut to the west. Arion’s second ferry ride! We got on with the truckers and Harley riders and they were great fun to ride with! They gave me some tips on good places to see and better roads for the trailer. Love riding with the big boys!

July 27-August 1

Enjoyed several lovely cool days on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula, at Crescent Beach and Salt Creek Recreation Area. Explored Crescent Lake, Hurricane Ridge, Murdock Beach with its intriguing fossils and the Lyre River area. The Joyce Museum was a highlight, where the volunteer docent, Margaret, filled me in on Joyce Daze, a pie festival that happens the first weekend of August, and some of the local points of interest such as Murdock Beach. On August 1, I was getting ready to board the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria when I got a message from my friend, Eric, whom I had planned to visit on Galiano Island for the first week of August and found out that he was heading south for emergency surgery for kidney stones! Time for Plan C!

July 23-27

Arrived at JGW RV Park in Redding the first night to discover that the AC was not working! I had tested it before leaving and it wasn’t cooling well, but the compressor was coming on and it seemed ok. But I soon found out that the compressor shut off after five minutes and was essentially useless! It was 109 degrees outside and 104 inside! Too hot for dogs and humans alike! But decided to drive north and try to get it fixed. An omen of things to come was the miles of burnt out country around Hornbrook road with a barn painted in red, “God Bless our Firefighters!” Next stop was Ashland, where I rented a hotel to escape the heat and the unbreathable air from the Carr Fire smoke that cancelled the outdoor play I was supposed to see! Talked to Vinnie at North Bay Airstream and he encouraged me to not waste time trying to get the AC fixed, just push NORTH where I would not need it. So I cancelled my planned stopover in Bend and ended up at Crescent Beach RV park on the Olympic peninsula where it was cool and clear. Time to embrace Plan B!

March 5 - en route

Ajo - stopped for gas here and photographed a mural that sums up this town... 10 miles from the end of the world and Ajo twelve miles from there! 

Passed an enormous cattle ranch en route from Ajo to Yuma.  I saw what looked like miles and miles of Black.  Then realized it was cattle packed into an enormous area fed by feeding troughs.  It was distant from the highway so I couldn’t get a picture or see what kind of cattle they were... but it gave me a feeling of not wanting to eat beef around here. 

Kofa Ko-op in Yuma

One night stop over at this quintessential RV Park in Yuma.  Escapees members only.  Very friendly and inexpensive for full hook ups!  I was met ten minutes after arrival by a woman named Joanne, with a pink floppy hat, driving a scooter, with a welcome package!  They parked me next to a little cactus garden with gnomes, painted rocks and garden animals.  Small but lovely heated pool where I took a swim at sunset. Also has an enormous fenced in dog run where I let Machu and Coco off leash for the first time in a while.  It said “55 and over” but most of the people in the park seemed to be “70 and over...” Yearly Unorganized Migration of the Aged... That sums up Yuma!

March 3-5 - Meeting Fellow Travelers

One of the best things about this lifestyle is meeting friends and fellow travelers along the road.  Met Tom "Nomad" @rovertravels who was my neighbor in the campground.  Lovely evening talking about travels, computers, photography... Will keep in touch.  

And Greg from Port Townsend, WA whose “Gypsy Caravan” was absolutely amazing.  Greg built the entire trailer himself.

March 3-5 - Saguaro Cactus and Nursery Trees

“Nursery Trees” is the nickname for the Palo Verde as they act as caretakers to the young Saguaro cacti.  The ranger told me that the birds in the Palo Verde Trees drop the Saguaro seeds and the tree gives shade that nurtures the young cactus plant.  The Saguaro grows very tall and can live more than 200 years.  As it grows, its roots spread out in a radius of its height, 4 inches deep into the sand.  The roots absorb all the water (Cactus are 90% water!) and eventually kill the Palo Verde tree.  So though the branches look like an embrace, it is a deadly one!

Usually the branches of the Saguaro turn upward.  But if they are damaged when first forming, by birds, or breakage, they will twist into weird and eerie shapes - making them appear to be dancing old men in the desert landscape. 

March 2 - Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Got to Gilbert Ray around 9am and there was already a long line of RV’s waiting to get into the park.  They were turning everyone away.  Apparently only the people who got there before 8am would get places that night!  The ranger told me it had been like this for the past three weeks.  He said the only place he had heard where I might camp for the night was the Casino.  I decided to leave Tucson.  I had really wanted to see the Biosphere at Oracle about an hour away, but there was simply nowhere to camp.

So I drove two hours east to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.  The southern border of the Park borders Mexico, so there is a big presence of Border Patrol and apparently not safe to wander out of the Campground and Public areas.  But the campground, Twin Peaks, is wonderful!  $8 a night with my America Pass for dry camping with a dump and drinking water refill station and water throughout the campground.  All pull-throughs with concrete pads, picnic tables, grills and plenty of space and privacy between sites.  Nice bathrooms even with solar showers (use late in the afternoon!). I decided to stay three nights and enjoy the beautiful vistas, amazing cactus varieties (organ pipe, saguaro, cholla, ocotillo, barrel, prickly pear - 28 species altogether!) and interesting new birds to see.  The calm and beauty here reminded me what I love about this kind of travel.  My little trailer gets me to places I would never be able to stay in otherwise, and with the comfort of my own bed, good food and wine, and my dogs by my side.  At night, someone nearby brought out a guitar and serenaded us with acoustic guitar and songs.  Love this place!

Mostly did short walks around the campground as the signs warning about smugglers and “illegal activities” as soon as you got off the path, were a bit off putting.   But the scenery was beautiful.  The sunsets amazing.  Cherry red skies punctuated with saguaro, Organ Pipe and Ocotillo Cactus.

March 1 - Snyder Hill BLM

Got to the Tucson area and drove to Gilbert Ray Regional Park, in the mountains west of Tucson, a bit after 4pm, and the office was closed up tight with a big NO VACANCY sign out front.  So I made it too late.  Drove down the mountain and tried a couple of RV resorts in the are, but everywhere was NO VACANCY.  All the offices were closed and it was getting dark.  And I had nowhere to camp for the night!  A kind staff person at one of the RV Parks (my backup) told me where the Snyder Hill BLM land was south of Tucson Mountain Park, so I found it and managed to get a place for the night although it was very crowded and felt a bit sketchy.  But I had no choice.  So I locked up tight for the night and determined to get to Gilbert Ray early enough in the morning to get a spot there.  Full moon!  Worm moon, as there will be a Blue Moon at the end of the month..

March 1, 2018 - Taliesin West and Frank Lloyd Wright

Left Sedona as early as I could this morning (9:30!) to get to Taliesin in time to do a tour and still get to Tucson in time to find a campsite at Gilbert Ray Campground in the Tucson Saguaro Park.  Arrived around noon but had to wait until 12:45 for a tour.  Fascinating and well worth going out of my way and waiting for a tour.  Despite the huge crowds!

Frank Lloyd Wright moved to Arizona in 1937 for his health, with his wife, Olgivanna.  He bought 640 acres of land outside of Scottsdale for $12/acre and started to bring his “students” to Taliesin West for the winters, along with his family.  The Students paid $650/year which was very expensive (Harvard at the time was $300/yr) and did the major work of building his homes, both East (the original Taliesin in Wisconsin) and West.  “Taliesin” means “shining brow” in Welsh, as both of his homes were built on the “brow of a hill.”  Wright pioneered the idea of “organic architecture” building with three material:  stone, redwood and canvas, the latter two being quite impractical for the desert and are now replaced with steel and glass, which Olgivanna championed.  The final result is a “Desert Winter Camp” with much open space, low ceilings (Wright was only 5’8” tall) and an emphasis on living close to the ground, in homage to the desert location. 

Frank Lloyd Wright loved doors as an entryway from one space into another.  These were mostly red, his favorite color and few straight walls.  “Nature does not have vertical planes,” he said...

The 65 ft. long Garden room at Taliesin West is low slung with gutters in the roof beams to absorb the rain from the notoriously leaking roof.  Everything in the room was designed by Wright, with the artwork also selected for each spot from his collection.  The Taliesin wing chairs are made of plywood, low to the ground and not very comfortable. He had an impressive collection of Asian art including the 12 Chinese wall sculptures that were purchased broken and repaired by his Students. 

Wright’s bedroom and that of his wife, Olgivanna, were modest.  Money was always short and Wright worked up to the time of his death at age 91 in 1959.  Despite his fame, Wright was not very good with money, often even borrowing from clients.

The symbol for Taliesin West came from a Hohokam rock inscription found on the property and moved to the entrance way.  Wright said it reminded him of two hands clapping.

February 28, 2018

Last day in Sedona.  Woke up to inches of snow covering everything.  Spent day catching up on computer work.

When the sun came out in the afternoon, warming up the snowfall from the morning, I decided to go one last time to the Red Rock Slabs at Crescent Moon Park to see Cathedral Rock once more.  The snow melt had created lovely puddles all over the red slabs, so I got down on my knees and photographed the reflection of the setting sunlit Cathedral spires, reflected in the puddles in the rocks.  “Puddle Shots...”. They look like huge lakes in the photos.  A lesson in looking for beauty in the humblest places.  

Had dinner at Ayurvedic Organic Eatery, ChocolaTree.  An experience.  Delicious mushroom dish with rice and yams. 

February 27 - Montezuma Well

Montezuma Well, near the "Castle"  was also home to Sinaguan peoples, and built into the cliffside of a limestone sink with a natural spring fed lake of several acres down below.  It is completely hidden by the high surrounding ridge and quite a surprise to see this beautiful verdant lake hidden in the dry desert terrain. Several cliff dwellings are built into the limestone cliffs.  There were 100-150 people living here between 1125 and 1400 until they suddenly, mysteriously disappeared.

February 27 - Montezuma Castle

Driving north from Arcosanti, I stopped in to see Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well.  The “Castle” is a five story 20 room dwelling in the cliffside above the Verde River, built by Sinaguan cultures between 1100 and 1300.  Relics of shells, obsidian, and pottery that came for far distant places indicated that this land was part of an active trade route.  The name Montezuma was given by early American settlers who falsely imagined that Aztecs must have built these elaborate structures.  Driving through the town, I saw that everything was named Montezuma.  Several roads, the cafe, the car repair shop, etc.  All for the wrong tribe.

February 27 - Arcosanti

Arcosanti was my destination today.  An urban “arcology” experiment in the desert between Sedona and Phoenix, it was started in 1970 by Frank Lloyd Wright disciple, Paolo Soleri after his internship at Taliesin with Wright. Now on nearly 5000 acres of privately owned and public land, Arcosanti is still only 15% realized after four decades of work and experiment.  Soleri’s vision was to house an urban center of 5000 people in the desert, where shopping center, restaurants, libraries, workshops and all urban needs were concentrated in a multilevel series of buildings minimizing personal space to maximize public space. Soleri promoted that the car and suburban living served to alienate and stress people, while urban spaces created easier walking distances and more social interaction.  Our guide, Wray, took us thorough the ceramic and bronze casting studios where interns and residents create the Soleri designed bells that are sold internationally and support 60% of Arcosanti’s needs.  About 100 students, interns and other residents live in Arcosanti today, the youngest being seven and the oldest, 73 years old.

February 26 - Upper Red Rock Loop

By far the most beautiful views of Cathedral Rock are seen just along the road on Upper Red Rock Loop.  A drive along there at sunset rewards you with dramatic views of the spires in the brilliant reds of the setting sun.

February 26 - Red Rock State Park

The best thing about Red Rock State park is Oak Creek, meandering through it.  I saw a Gila Woodpecker and perhaps a Pyrrhuloxia?  (It may have been a female cardinal, though... ) And many other beautiful birds near the Visitor Center.  The Park is fairly small and has large palatial homes within visibility of its main trails, which is a bit off putting.  Also NO PETS, not even in the parking lot.  And it closes at five a good hour before sunset.  There were some lovely views of Cathedral Rock from a distance, but nothing like the stunning beauty of Crescent Moon Regional Park yesterday. The better views were from the roadside on the way home, on Upper Red Rock Loop.

February 26 - Chapel of the Holy Cross

I left Bell Rock and traveled a few miles north to the Chapel of the Holy Cross, vision of sculptor, Marguerite Brunswig Staude.  She originally envisioned a huge sculptural chapel above Bucharest on the Danube, but WWII put an end to that.  Frank Lloyd Wright saw her designs and was interested in her project.  But eventually she decided to build it in Sedona, where she already owned a ranch.  She hired the architects, Anshen and Allen in 1953 and after three years of procuring permits and construction, the ninety foot high cross was constructed in a 250 foot spire located inside a 1000 foot high butte.  The site is supposed to be another of Sedona’s vortexes, but there was a different type of meditation here.   The inside of the chapel was reverentially quiet.  I lit a candle for David and the flame stayed typically understated.

The huge mansion directly below it?  Perhaps this is where God lives?

February 26 - Bell Rock

The last of the four major Sedona vortexes was Bell Rock.  And actually, the easiest to get to.  There is a parking lot right on 179 just a few miles south of Sedona that leads to an easy trail to Bell Rock.   I approached the Rock and decided to climb the cliffside to find a place to sit quietly away from all of the people on the trail and see what I could feel.  I found a shaded spot under a juniper tree and meditated for quite a while which was calming, but I couldn’t feel the Vortex.  What I could feel was the energy of the people.  Planes flying overhead, the steady flow of traffic on 179 and the constant conversation of the people on the trail below me.  I realized that perhaps this is the energy of the Vortex!  Perhaps it is the energy of all the people who are attracted to these amazing sculptures in the red rock desert.  Perhaps the energy of the Vortex is the Human energy they attract.  I have seen the Vortex and we are it!

February 25 - Castle Rock Vortex

The afternoon led to to my third Vortex search.  This time to where Oak Creek comes closest to the majestic Cathedral Rock at Crescent Moon Regional Park, off 89A West.  I wandered down to the water’s edge and noticed that the formations kept changing according to my point of view.  You could photograph Cathedral Rock from a hundred different spots and always show a different form.  The Spires are prominent from some angles and completely obscured from others, rendering the Cathedral as a mere round Knoll.  There is a lovely open section of red slab rock where Oak Creek comes closest, reflecting Cathedral Rock in its waters.  A bit further there are hundreds of Vortex Stone cairns piled up on Red Rocks to mark the Vortex.  At one point there was no one around me and I definitely felt the energy.  Almost dizzying in the silence.  I found a small green mirrored stone with a spiral painted on it in the dirt at my feet. It came home with me as a talisman of the vortex energy.  On my way back, I came to the large Red Slabs by the creekside and noticed that Cathedral Rock was reflected in the pools of water left by the melting snow on the rocks.  Reminding me to look for beauty always in the less obvious places.  These were my favorite memories of this sacred place.

February 25 - Oak Creek Canyon 

A sunny morning in the campground. Started the day with a drive up 89A North through Oak Creek Canyon.  A famously beautiful drive.  Would be even more appealing in summer when the cool shade of the trees and rock pools were at a premium.  Stopped at West Fork Trailhead to check out this trail renowned for its high canyons and rock pool beauty.  The trail crosses the creek and meanders along a gorgeous apple tree filled meadow.  In 1870, a small cabin was built here by “Bear” Howard, so named because he killed every grizzly bear in Oak Creek Canyon after a friend was mauled to death by a bear.  Some of the bears were killed with only his knife, according to legend.  The Thomas family enlarged his cabin and planted the acres of apple trees here in the Valley which must be heavenly in spring with white blossoms replacing the snow. In 1923, photographer Carl Mayhew came to the Valley and rebuilt the cabin as the elegant but rustic, Mayhew Lodge, hosting famous actors and artists by the Mayhew family until 1968, when the land was purchased by the Coconino National Forest.  

Beyond the remains of the Lodge, its cliffside swimming pool and other outbuildings, the West Fork Trail turns up into the Canyon, apparently crossing the Creek 13 times before it ends.  Beautiful red rock pools reflect high sandstone and granite cliffs as the trail meanders up the Canyon.  I could only see the beginning of this due to the deep snow and icy conditions, but already awe inspiring with icicles hanging from the cliffside over pools of icy water.

February 24 - Sedona - Third Anniversary of David’s death

Airport Mesa 

Woke up this morning and door was frozen shut!  Had to use shoulder leverage to get it open!  But a beautiful day to remember David...  Off to seek the Vortexes! Went first to Airport Mesa and had to park in the Parking lot at the top of the mesa and walk down .6 mile to the saddle where the center of the Vortex is.  The path down to the saddle was snow covered and still wet.  At the saddle, I found several twisted Juniper trees that supposedly grow this way in response to the vortex of energy that twists their trunks.  It was true that in other places, I did not see these same kinds of extreme twisting.  Other Juniper trees grew fairly straight, or at least not twisted in the way that these were.  I sat beneath the trees and despite the presence of the other “tourists”, I felt the calm of the warm sun reaching deep inside me.  The beauty of the distant views and the Red Rocks surrounding this place is mesmerizing.  It is no wonder it is considered a sacred place.  I realized I felt David’s presence because I wanted to, not because he was reaching out.  I was reaching in.

February 23 - Sedona - snow day!

Spent the morning updating my website blog.  Snowing on and off.  Cold outside, but warm inside, thanks to my PuraFlame electric heater and full hookups hear at Rancho Sedona.    Pretty happy and content. However, dogs were not thrilled... they are California Pups.  Stayed in all day today and caught up on computer and mail.  Low temp was 20 degrees!

February 22, 2018

Rancho Sedona RV Campground

Driving into Sedona was breathtaking.  All the photographs in the world cannot prepare you for the beauty of these Red Rocks.  It was a honey golden sunset, so after leaving the trailer in the Rancho Sedona Campground, I drove out west of the City and was just awestruck by the beauty.  Can’t wait to come back here and explore.  

Checked into the Campground, site 68, backing right onto Oak Creek, and a short walk to Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village with restaurants, galleries, etc.  The Campground itself is beautiful and immaculately maintained.  Very high end with beautiful bathrooms and showers, lovely grassy gathering areas and the sites, although fairly close together, all have their own private patios.  There are a LOT of rules here.  Barking dogs not allowed.  Neither are generators (at all!) Nor are grills and RV paraphernalia allowed to be left around on your site.  No one is allowed to sit outside (and make noise) after ten pm.  I am in the “Adults Only” area (hope I qualify!)  At first all the rules are off-putting.  But then I realized that this will make it a much more pleasant place to stay for me... Nothing worse than parking next to a huge RV running its generator for hours while the numerous inhabitants sit outside watching sports on their exterior TV!  This usually drives me inside my trailer to escape.  And constitutes some of the main reasons I don’t usually like to stay in RV parks.  So I am good with these rules!  This should be a great place to stay for a week!

Temperatures went down to 20 degrees at night, but I ran the PuraFlame at minimum all night and it kept the Airstream at the perfect temperature.  Dogs and I woke in the morning warm and happy.

February 21, 2018

My first time staying at a KOA! Got to Salome, AZ in mid afternoon in time for a swim in their small but nicely heated pool.  Met a few other nice people there... Barb and Ray from Vancouver, Jan from Alaska and a couple from Port Angelus, Washington.  The talk was of Alaska, where everyone was heading in the summer.  For a KOA in the middle of the desert, this was a friendly place.  Not far from Quartzsite and Wickenburg.  Site 115, next to the Cactus Garden and the Chuckwagon gave me plenty of privacy although all of the sites were pretty close together and the whole place was a gravel parking lot.  There was an open desert behind the Park where dogs could run free, as long as you kept an eye out for snakes!  I kept mine tethered.. They don’t know anything about snakes.  And I don’t want them to find out.  Pretty cold again at night, but at least I had electric hookups and could run my PuraFlame heater.

February 21, 2018

Interesting drive through miles of desert along HWY 62, to get to Arizona.  Leaving Twenty Nine Palms, I saw a sign that said, “Next service, 100 miles.”  And they weren’t kidding.  Luckily I had filled up with gas in 29 Palms and just put the car on cruise control and enjoyed the ride.  About 50 miles past 29 Palms, there was a railroad crossing and I couldn’t believe what I saw next.  An abandoned gas station hung with old shoes, bordered by a long fence just covered in what appeared to be thousands of pairs of shoes, along with underwear, and various other items of weird clothing.  Desert Art?  I turned around and parked for a closer look.  There was a burned out foundation of what was once a house with clothing and shoes hung everywhere.  At the back, a big sign that read AWARE.  I researched it and found out that there had originally been a large Tamarisk Tree there, named for the road, The Rice Shoe Tree, where people started hanging cast off shoes, until it burned down in 2003.  The fence and the gas station have replaced it.  So now it is the Rice Shoe Fence. Weird...

February 20, 2018

Indian Cove, Joshua Tree

Decided to leave Sawtooth Canyon early to get to Joshua Tree by 11:30 and was able to check in then, Site 61, with no problem.  Went for a walk down in the “wash” and saw a male Phainopepla.  Then several more appeared, a female, too.  My new Swarovski 10x32 binoculars are wonderful.  Best birding and all round bins I have ever had.  Read that the Serrano, Cahuilla and Chemehuevi peopled these areas before the white settlers took it away from them.  Also learned about the medicinal properties of creosote bush, desert willow and other plants.  Came back and took dogs for a long walk around another loop - Sites 23-39 which are a bit more private and some more spacious, although most here would be a tight squeeze for any trailer or RV.  Best sites were 30-36 which get a lot more sun in winter. Warmer weather would favor 23-29 for shade.  One of my neighbors dug a trench in the sand in front of his front tire, and drove into it to level out!  Worked great if you are in a sandy area and have no levelers... Clam chowder for dinner.  Early to bed to prepare to drive to Salome, AZ tomorrow.  Don’t want to risk getting snowed in here!

Using my "Buddha Board" to keep things in perspective with the cold temperatures and crazy weather.  I am not taking this trip.  The trip is taking me.  So I might as well relax and roll with the punches.  I know I can handle it.

February 19, 2018

Another four plus hour drive after a morning swim and wonderful breakfast at Harris Ranch.  Terrible winds.  Freezing cold.  Temps in the 30’s.  And a crazy dust storm traveling through Boron, CA.  Arrived in Sawtooth Canyon, south of Barstow around 3pm.  Wonderful BLM campground.  With vault toilets and good access right off of 247, en route to Joshua Tree.  I seem to have run into a “cold spell...”. Really windy and cold.  Trying out my new catalytic heater for the first time tonight.  SO glad I have it! Met Christine from Stuttgart, and her husband, Sam and friend,  Ryan in their wonderful Avion truck camper, dated around 1970.  Looks like an Airstream truck camper!  A lot of the original detailing.  Just wonderful and roomy, with wet bath at the entrance and 3 burner stove with oven!  They are climbers.  @free_and_offbeat. Heading to Joshua Tree after this.  This is a wonderful free BLM campground.  Cell service if you move up and out behind the rocks.

Turned heater off for the night and it was super cold.  I kept both dogs in bed with me.  Woke up in the morning with temps 30 degrees INSIDE the Airstream and 20 degrees outside.  Had to crank up the house heater to get the temp up and then catalytic heater took over.  Got warm pretty quickly.  Christine, Sam and Ryan were climbing the rocks behind me as I had my morning cappuccino.  Decided to leave early to get to Joshua Tree and hopefully warmer temperatures.

February 18, 2018

Back on the road again!  After a four month hiatus while the Airstream was @Vinnie’s NorthBay Airstream getting a new catalytic heater, new fridge, new mattress, Easy start to make my AC start without the power “surge” which always trips my breakers, new faucet so I can finally wash my pans, new 14” wheels and tires for a bit more road clearance, and the usual year end maintenance issues... Now I am finally ready to go!  With what seems like a new upgraded Airstream!

Harrris Ranch - first stop.  Four plus hours drive from West Marin.  I find out that I can park in the parking lot for free and stay in the Airstream if I like - while still enjoying a great dinner at the restaurant.  But I opt for a room which entitles me to swim in their Olympic style heated pool.  One of my favorite pools in California.  HUGE and I am still the only one swimming there at this time of year!  A wonderful dinner at the Grill, where I meet Soraya Luna, who is designing consoles for aviation for the Navy nearby.  A great conversation and shared dinner reminds me why I love traveling solo… I always meet interesting people when on my own!

October 9, 2017

We woke up on Monday morning after a rocking windy night, to the smell of smoke.  It was then we heard of the massive fires that had sprung up overnight in Sonoma,  Napa and Mendocino counties.  Many people in the Rally had homes there, so people started pulling out to try to get back.  I stayed another day, but when I finally left on Tuesday, Highway 37 was burned black around the turnoff to Sonoma.  I got home to hear about evacuations and homes of friends destroyed.  I keep the Airstream packed and ready to go until the rains finally bring us some relief.  I hope this is not our new “normal…”

October 8, 2017

A great benefit of an Airstream Rally is getting to tour lots of people’s Airstream trailers.  This was my favorite part of the Rally!  And my favorite Airstream was the 1967 Overlander owned by my friends, Debra and Barbara.  They bought it as a “tear down” and gutted it completely.   It took several years to renovate it with a composting toilet, spacious kitchen and the most beautiful Spanish style lighting that casts shadows on the walls to look like tree branches.  I LOVE this trailer!

October 8, 2017

My friends, Barbara and Debra, took me to the Mokelumne River to try our luck at panning for gold.  Barbara explained to me that the best deposits usually end up on the downstream side of the largest rocks, as they are swirled there by the currents and gold being the heaviest of all the materials, will usually sink into the sands behind the rocks.  They lent me a ridged gold pan and we waded into the ice cold water.  But I forgot the cold quite soon as I started seeing tiny flecks of gold appear in the bottom of my sand as I filtered out all of the coarser materials.  What fun!  I got the bug, and ended up joining the Gold Prospectors Association of America and am now a badge and permit carrying member giving me the right to pan for gold in many of the claims held by the GPAA and described in the thick guidebook sent to me with my membership - along with a cool hat and badge to make it official.  There will be MORE about this down the line…

October 7, 2017

Volcano is one of many charming mining towns around Jackson.  Most were founded in 1848 and Volcano is no exception.  It was named by the miners for its Volcanic appearance.  It was the home of the first California rental library and first little theatre in the state, which still exists today as an active outdoor amphitheater.   The Country Store, operated since 1850 is owned by the charismatic Debbie Dunn.  The Volcano Union Inn has a great outdoor restaurant and charming bar inside with a fireplace made of myriads of different minerals for a Goldrush mosaic.

October 6-10, 2017

My first big Airstream Rally!  I joined the Northern California Airstreamers Facebook Group because they have no membership, dues, or events.  The only rules are:  No Rules and Show up!  That suits my temperament perfectly!  Sixty rigs took over the Jackson Rancheria RV Park in the Foothills of the Sierras in the Gold mining area.  A high end RV Park with large heated pool, full hookups, lovely landscaping and views out to the hills all around made me reconsider the stereotype of an RV Park.  This one is very nice!  I met some great people from all over Northern California and many kindred souls.  We were welcomed the first night at Franco’s Margarita Party and had huge potlucks every night.  The camaraderie was genuine and fun.  Looking forward to the next gathering of this tribe!

October 4, 2017

I stumbled across Coloma today and the site where James Marshall discovered gold at Sutters Mill in 1848, in the valley known by the Nisenan Indians as the Cullumah.   Marshall saw flecks of gold in the tailrace of Sutter’s sawmill on the south fork of the American River in the foothills of the Sierra, 45 miles from Sacramento.  This discovery sparked the greatest mass movement of people in the Western Hemisphere and changed the face of California and the new nation. 

I visited the site in the River where gold was discovered, and walking back up the bank, found a strange chair carved out of a tree stump.   How old was this chair?  Did it date from the Gold Rush days?  Was it carved by a miner to overlook the operations?  I couldn’t find anyone to answer my questions.  But it is a prominent throne today to look over this historic site that changed the lives of millions of people.

October 3, 2017

I decided to forego my planned stop near Lake Tahoe, as Weather Underground told me night time temperatures would be in the low 20’s.  That is outside my comfort zone.  During the day I am fine with my propane heater, but it is not safe to sleep with it on at night.  So I opted for Sly Park Recreation Area on Jenkinson Lake in the foothills of the Eastern Sierra.  Arriving, I found there were few sites available and everything shadowed in dense tree cover.  No solar for sure, and difficult to find a level spot for the trailer.  So I left.  But it was already 3pm thanks to several road work delays in the Tahoe area.  I used my Campendium App and found a review for a place that was wide open and looked great on the north side of Folsom Lake near Sacramento.  A good hour away, but it looked worth the drive.  After almost an hour on small winding roads, I saw a sign that said that the campground was CLOSED!  Yikes!  It was getting late!  Hurriedly, I used my Allstays App (which told me that the campground closed October 1) and found another site on the south side of the Lake open all year.  So I drove another 40 minutes on the same winding roads and finally reached the much more urban Beals Point Campground.  Despite the fact that it was mid week in October, most of the dry camping spots were taken and I ended up paying $46 for an RV site with hookups!  But it was after five, getting dark and I was tired after what should have been a short day of driving.  Grateful to have electric and water and my first real shower in ten days… 

Lessons learned?  Always leave enough time for things to go wrong, and have a back up plan.  And check more than one camping apps thoroughly to see if there are closure dates when camping off season.

October 2, 2017

Fort Churchill was built on the Carson River in 1860 primarily to protect access to the Comstock Mine and the new Silver miners who were flocking to the area from the California Gold Mines.  The area near Silver Springs was on the Pony Express from St. Joseph to Sacramento, as well as a branch of the California Trail.  The Fort protected these vital trails for the pioneers, traveling through lands historically belonging to the Paiute, Washo and Shoshone tribes.  The Fort was abandoned in 1870.  How poignant that the ruins still remain after only ten years of habitation, whereas the Paiutes lived here for thousands of years and left not a trace.

A small cemetery attests to the difficulty of the Nevada frontier.  There are eight graves in one plot.  The father died in his fifties in 1884.  The mother died at age 43, but not before bearing six children who all died in infancy and early childhood.

October 1, 2017

16,000 years ago, most of western Nevada was under more than 100 feet of water.  Pyramid Lake, Walker Lake and Lake Lahontan Reservoir are remnants of this prehistoric body of water.   Today Lake Lahontan is a large reservoir on the Carson River with many coves and camping areas along its 69 miles of shoreline.  Bald eagles are said to nest here, although I did not see any.  I did have three very aggressive Canada geese try to attack Machu and Coco several times, however!    The Lake is beautiful at this time of year with Cottonwoods turning gold in the setting sun.  There aren’t many people because it is pretty windy and cold now.  But signs abound that there were a lot more people here in the warmer weather, as I saw numerous campfire rings and remnants of picnics along the shoreline.  There is a developed campground at Silver Springs Beach #7, but the other ten “beaches” along the west side are open for dispersed camping and I did see a few RV’s that had ventured down to the water’s edge.  A beautiful spot for a couple of days, despite the wind.

A word to the wise, the fish here are contaminated by mercury, as are the fish in most of the lakes and rivers in Western Nevada.  The chief source of the mercury is the Comstock Mine, a silver mother lode discovered 1859 and responsible for Nevada’s name as the Silver State.  Silver made many families very wealthy including the Hearst family of publishing fame.  Silver is still mined today at Gold Hill by Comstock Mining Inc.

September 28-30, 2017

Friday was a glorious day to hike up the Canyon along a cascade of waterfalls with Mount Fitzgerald off in the distance beckoning the way.  It was a fairly steep climb and I had to get back to meet my friends, Eric and Dick, who were driving up from Elko to cook dinner together in my campsite before returning to Elko for the night.  Eric brought chicken to grill with sweet peppers and salad, and I provided graham cracker, chocolate, marshmallow semores for dessert.  We used my expanding campfire forks to spear the marshmallows over the mesquite coals.   Thank you Streamin’ Freedom for this hot tip!  

Rain fell on the Airstream all night and when I woke in the morning, it was turning to sleet.  The night time temperatures were supposed to drop to the low twenties for the next few nights with snow predicted on Tuesday.  So I decided to pack up and leave.  The advantage of traveling in an Airstream is that if you don’t like the weather, you just hitch up and move!

On my way out, I saw a group of men looking through scopes.  I asked if they had seen a mountain goat.  Yes!  They had a giant Billy Goat in the viewfinder!  I asked if they were photographers and they said they did take photos, but preferred to hunt them!  Shocked, I asked how many goats were killed each year.  They explained that five lottery tickets were given to hunters each year and they were highly prized.  I said I hoped they missed.  They laughed and said I shouldn’t judge before tasting goat meat.  The best ever!  I said I still hoped they missed.  They let me look into the scope anyway, and I saw three large Billy Goats.  I hope those goats figure out a way to camouflage better, as their white coats stuck out like a sore thumb on the rocky mountainsides.  The hunters waved me off with smiles as I pulled the trailer out of the campground and down the mountain road, back toward the western sun.

September 28, 2017

I was driving down the road, listening to Jessica Bruder’s new book, Nomadland, about “Vandwellers” and “Fulltimers”, like those I met at the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous.  It is a long four hour drive, pulling a trailer from Rye Patch State Park to Thomas Canyon Campground in the Ruby Mountains in Eastern Nevada.  The northern Nevada mountain landscape is bare and dramatic:  craggy golden grass covered low hills in an ever rolling landscape.  The road lulls me into the torpor of constant movement.  I don’t want to stop.  I just want to keep going.  What is it that pulls me, and so many others, to constantly be on the move?  

Bruce Chatwin wrote about man’s inherent nomadic nature.  It is bred into our bones from our earliest days.  Those who could successfully migrate would survive.  Those who stayed in place succumbed to drought, disease, wars and the other plagues of mankind.  The mass migrations of people today from the Middle East and Northern Africa to the prosperous Western European countries testifies to this as an ongoing modern dilemma.

At the end of my drive, I pulled the trailer up the Lamoille Canyon to the Thomas Canyon Campground, to be greeted by warm sunshine turning the surrounding craggy peaks golden red, and a man with a scope looking for Mountain Goats on the rocks above the campground.  It looks like a good place to stop for a few days.

September 27, 2017

What a beautiful little stopover along the dearth of habitat lining Nevada I-80’s parade of bare mountain landscape, unaesthetic RV parks, motels and gas stations.  This green oasis follows I-80 for a few miles along the north side of the highway, with two campgrounds at the south eastern end near the dam.  The River sites are the most picturesque and I found a spot right on the river so level that I didn’t even have to unhitch.  Some sites have adjacent water to connect to and one site has full hookups with sewer.  Blue herons, deer, turkey vultures, lots of the usual characters.  The Bar at the entrance, advertised as “open most of the time,”  apparently has the “best pizza west of Chicago.”  

I met some friendly campers there, including John Adams who made me oatmeal with peaches and gave me an eponymous gold dollar coin and some sweet sage to remember the high desert as I headed to the snowy mountains in the east.

Donner Lake

September 26, 2017

On the road again.  I love this way of travel.  Pulling a trailer, I don't like to travel more than 200 miles a day.  That is four - five hours of totally immersed road concentration.  Time slows.  You end up stopping in places you wouldn't if you were flying down the freeway at 70mph for 7-8 hours a day.  More stops.  More interesting places that become a part of your life journey.  Tonight is Donner Lake.  Just a stopover along my route to Eastern Nevada.  Never been here.  So beautiful.  So grateful to have the time to travel at this pace and experience life more slowly, more deeply...

August 25, 2017

Last night on the Road!  Colusa is a good stopping point along I-5 before reentry into the Bay area.  There is a well kept City park in the middle of town.  I walked to the Farmer’s market to get supplies for dinner, and went to a concert on the lawn in the evening.  Decided to skip the Duck calling contest as announced for the weekend, and head home to West Marin the next day.  New adventures will be calling in the Fall!

August 23, 2017

On the way home from the Eclipse, I stopped at the R Ranch on the Klamath River to visit my friend, Bill.  R Ranch is a 5000 acre preserve that you can buy into as a time share for RV’s and trailers.  We camped right on the River with the sound of rushing water offsetting the heat and smoke from the forest fires coming south from the Oregon Coast, near where I had been camping on my way up!  Bill took me rafting on the Klamath, which was a sweet and easy ride.  Ospreys nested in a couple of spots along the River and it was a beautiful retreat after the eclipse excitement. 

August 21, 2017

The morning of the eclipse was a bit foggy, so I drove up to Waldport on the Southern end of the Totality zone and headed inland.  By Tidewater, the sun was coming out and I found a spot along Highway 34 next to a wide Valley to watch the eclipse.  By 9:15, the road was full of cars!  For an hour leading up to the eclipse, I watched it through my eclipse binoculars and photographed it with special lens protection filters for my camera.  When the Totality came at 10:12am, I saw the Diamond ring and the corona, but very briefly, as it was less than a minute!  The temperature dropped 20 degrees in five minutes!  Dogs were barking and stars were visible in the sky!  It was truly magical and I was so glad that I had taken the trouble to drive to the Totality zone.  It made all the difference…

August 18, 2017

I picked the Oregon Dunes, the largest expanse of Coastal Dunes in the country, as a place to camp with easy access to the Totality zone of the Eclipse, after checking Weather Underground to see that the Coast was going to be pretty clear on August 21.  It was the only place with a reservable spot during the Eclipse.  And an OHV campground.  Did not know what that meant, but I found out!  The first afternoon, I thought maybe there was a racetrack nearby!  It was pretty noisy!  Then found out the OHV means Off Highway Vehicles, which apparently the Oregon Dunes are famous for!  What to do?  I was going to be here for FOUR DAYS!  So the next day I went out to the Beach and made friends with Bill, Gary and their families.  They told me all about their ATV’s and how much fun it was to get far off the road to places that would take days to hike to!  It made the noise in the evenings easier to live with picturing the fun they were having far off up the beach in places I would never see.. 

August 17, 2017

Spent a day on Cape Arago minutes from the Campground.  Shore Acres State Park has a delightful garden.  It was built around 1910 by Louis Simpson, a timber magnate, and given to the State in 1942 as a public park.  The original mansion burned in 1921 and a second mansion was razed in 1948 after falling into a state of disrepair.  Today there are a few lovely outbuildings and a beautiful garden with fish pond and stunning views of a sea lion colony from the cliffs.  I walked down to the water’s edge on a paved footpath and had the beach to myself.

August 16, 2017

Stopped for a couple of days in this large State Park, near Coos Bay, OR.  Reading the Essential Tales of Chekhov edited by Richard Ford.  Coco loves it.  Feeling very independent after fixing the arm of the hanging flat screen.  Who knew that there are TWO sizes of Allen wrenches?  Metric, which I had, and Imperial, which I needed to fix this.  Now own both sets!  A Girl needs a full set of tools!

August 15, 2017

Another one night stop en route to Oregon at Harris Beach State Park.  I often stay here on trips up to the Oregon Coast, as there are usually open spots and I was able to obtain one with electrical and water hookups before heading to dry camping for the next few days.  There are a couple of nice beaches here, with a lovely trail down through the Cliffs.  The beach to the north is usually more crowded on hot days.  But the more private beach to the south has a separate entry trail in the southern part of the campground. 

August 14, 2017

Heading north en route to Oregon to see the Eclipse!  First night stopped at Richardson Grove on the South Fork of the Eel River.  Great campsites right on the River!  I had a private swimming hole to escape the heat, right behind my campsite.  Dogs approved!

May 23, 2017

I love camping at Gerstle Cove Campground in Salt Point State Park - only two hours from home, but close to the ocean in one of the most beautiful parts of the California coast.  What could be better?  Going with friends!  So close to home, it is not difficult to have people join me for a couple of nights.  But what to do about accommodations?  My Airstream is really a one or two person max (if they are very cozy!) trailer.  I have been able to invite friends along to camp with me by offering a "glamping tent" for their accommodation!  I provide a roomy tent, with a Navajo rug on the floor, cots and air mattresses to sleep on, and even a propane heater or battery driven fan, depending upon the weather!  It is wonderful to share the campfire at night, cook together and hike during the day.  On the occasions when the temperature drops or the weather turns nasty?  Well, we always have the Airstream dinette to use for those chilly mornings or rainy evenings.. And when night time falls, everyone has their own space to sleep in.  Yes, nothing could be better...

My guest tent: Eureka Copper Canyon

May 12, 2017

After several weeks of digging out my driveway, building a retaining wall, installing electric and water hookups and hinging the front gate to make a wider opening, I am finally able to bring Arion home to rest!  It is wonderful to have the Airstream here in Forest Knolls to work on her, top off the batteries, and pack her up before a trip.  So much easier than when I had her parked at the Sausalito Boat Yard.  Before each trip, I had to make several visits 40 minutes each way to prep her, fill the water tank, clean the solar panels, etc.  So glad to have her home!

April 8, 2017

My first Airstream Rally! Not!  When a huge storm was predicted for my first gathering with the amazing Northern California Airstreamers Group, I was in a quandry.  After fighting rainstorms in January for a month, then six weeks at Vince’s for roof leak repairs, I was loathe to bring Arion to a floodplain for camping over the weekend of April 6-9 at Olema Campground, only a ten minute drive from my new home in West Marin.  So I decided to go in with friends, Debra and Barbara, Airstreamers who live one block away from me and were also watching the weather.  We had a great time Friday night at the Meet and Greet and Saturday at the Potluck!  It is not an exaggeration to say that Airstreamers are a FUN crowd!  Especially Northern California Airstreamers!  I met some great people and despite the flooding, which was intense, a huge crowd showed up!  Including those of us who were virtual participants!  Can’t wait for the next rally in Jackson Rancheria when hopefully I can bring my Airstream along!

January 26, 2017

A short way out of town, before Montezuma Valley Road starts to climb up the mountain toward Ranchita, lies Hell Hole Canyon.  It was apparently named by a Cowboy who said that trying to rustle cows out of the cactus covered rocky canyon was like trying to pull them out of a hell hole.  The Valley Floor is traversed by a 5 mile round trip hike to Maidenhair Falls, through thorny underbrush and rocky ravines.  After reading the description, I opted for climbing up the side of the canyon through a veritable cactus garden of barrel and cholla cactus, ocotillo and chuparosa among many others.  At the top of the ridge, Borrego Springs stretched out sparsely across the Valley floor.  I thought it must be like Palm Springs was fifty years ago.  Spunky, quirky, arty and a haven for rugged individualists seeking an alternative to life in the concrete jungles.  It was my last day in the desert before taking Arion back on the highway through LA and up the I-5 home to Marin County.  I was already yearning for my next trip.

January 25, 2017

The trailhead to Palm Canyon was just a short walk from the Borrego Palm Canyon Campground.  Tall Desert Fan Palms, or California Fan Palms, graced the entrance to the Canyon.  Fan Palms are known for growing near water sources and earthquake faults.  The California Fan Palm is the only Palm tree native to Western North America.  The fan shaped leaves spread from the top of the tree while old dead leaves hang down against the trunk, for which reason it is sometimes called the Petticoat Palm.  The Cahuilla Indians used the fruit of the Fan Palm for flour and to make sweet beverages.  They used the leaves for weaving mats and thatching.  I made my way up into the Canyon through cactus and rocky land watching it get greener as I gained altitude.  All of a sudden, I felt a stirring just a few feet a way.  There was a large Bighorn Ram coming toward me slowly picking his way through the budding green.  He was not bothered by my presence at all.  He grazed along and then wound his way off toward the stream beside us.  Over the next hour’s walk, I saw four Bighorn Rams in this beautiful Canyon oasis.  Anza Borrego is one of the last refuges of the Peninsular Bighorn Sheep.  About 200 make their home here.  I assumed that they must be seen quite commonly if I had seen four in one afternoon.  But my Airstream neighbors, who had been coming to this same Canyon for twenty years, said they had only ever seen one once!  I felt truly lucky to shared my afternoon with these magnificent animals.

January 24, 2017

A friend told me about a friend of hers living in Borrego Springs in a Trailer Park.  When I passed by the Desert Sands Vintage Trailer Park, I knew that had to be the one.  It was.  Her friend had run a restaurant in Juneau, Alaska most of her life and recently moved to Haines.  On a winter’s visit to Borrego Springs she saw this Trailer Park and fell in love with it.  She bought a charming vintage trailer there on the spot.  Borrego Springs is a great place for Artists, Writers and Alternative Life Seekers.  It is certainly affordable and yet offers a small Art Museum, three great restaurants, several galleries with a First Friday opening night and hundreds of miles of hiking and dispersed camping in nearby Anza Borrego State Park.  There are many solo women living in the Desert Sands Trailer Park.  My new friend had made a deck behind her trailer with a sunken claw foot tub, large rain shower and a perfect view of the mountains in the distance.  A perfect antidote to the Alaskan winter.

January 24, 2017

Anza Borrego Desert State Park is the largest State Park in California.  Borrego means Bighorn Sheep, for which this Park is famous.  It encompasses 600,000 acres, with 500 miles of dirt roads, 12 designated wilderness areas and 110 miles of hiking trails.  Dispersed camping for free is possible throughout most of the Park.  It is a campers paradise with four developed campgrounds, 175 total sites and primitive campgrounds with even more places to camp.  I decided to venture out in a brief period of sun and head up the mountain into the Park to see how the rains had greened the desert landscape.  I was surprised to find rather deep snow on the ground and drove into a snow storm when I got up into the high mountain area.  The final sign of winter, was a larger than life Yeti in front of the General Store in Ranchita!  I finally had to turn around and come back down the mountain in order not to get stuck in the snow.  I talked to the Rangers at the Visitor’s Center and they told me that they expected a record breaking desert bloom this year, probably in early March, and the commensurate record breaking crowds of people coming to see it.  But January was definitely way too early.  With snow on the ground in the mountains, it would be a while before it would be warm enough for wild flowers.

January 24, 2017

The first thing I wanted to see in Borrego Springs was the famous sculptures by Ricardo Breceda.  Over 130 of them dot the landscape around Borrego Springs, mostly in Galleta Meadows just north of town.  The late Dennis Avery owned the Galleta Meadows Estate and commissioned Breceda to create these large metal sculptures inspired by creatures that roamed the desert around Borrego Springs tens of thousands of years ago.  Everywhere you drive around Borrego Springs, you see these amazing sculptures.   A whole field of horses, a parade of camels, two gargantuan sloths, a giant grasshopper and scorpion facing each other, and the piece de resistance, a 350 foot Sea Serpent apparently swimming through the sand and crossing the road as you drive past.  With all the rain, there were puddles around the sculptures reflecting the work.  Magical creatures, clouds and newly green trees came together in the mirroring pools as a metaphor to art in the desert…

January 23, 2017

After nearly two weeks of Palm Springs and the crowds of Quartzsite, I was ready for some quiet nature and hiking.  Yet another storm was approaching so I left the Colorado River area and headed southwest to Borrego Springs.  the road took me through the Imperial Sand Dunes near Glamis on Hwy 78 which was stunning.  It felt like the Sahara, with sands shifting across the highway, almost obliterating the road as I drove.  As soon as I arrived at the wonderful Borrego Palm Canyon State Park Campground, the heavens opened and it POURED!  We had quite a night of high winds and heavy rains.  Borrego Palm Canyon has full hookups for $35 a night which was a fabulous retreat from the storms.  I woke the next morning to rainbows and snow on top of the hills behind me.  Not exactly what I had pictured for the desert in southern California, almost to the Mexican Border! It rained all day the first day there, and after nearly 48 hours of blustering storms, the sun finally came out and I could leave the trailer to see what the desert had to offer.  My Airstream neighbors had already seen my pictures (of them) on Instagram, so we exchanged trailer tours and enjoyed the camaraderie of Airstream travelers.

January 20, 2017

I spent two days at the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous - a highlight of the trip.  The RTR was started in 2010 by Bob Wells of http://www.cheaprvliving.com/ as a way for Vandwellers to connect and share information about how they survive on the road, and share social time for two weeks (the limit of time you can camp in one spot for free on BLM land) in Quartzsite, Arizona in January, when Rv’ers gather in the desert for the Big RV show and other events.  This year there were over 600 people at the RTR, including all the well known YouTubers I have learned from over the past two years:  CamperVan Kevin, Ausia of Pandamonium, Adventure Van Man, and Carolyn’s RV Life to name just a few.  There was a lot of filming going on during the event!  The emphasis was on boondocking, or free camping on BLM and National Forest Land and how to survive as a nomad with work camping, internet and other mobile work, etc.  I attended the Women’s Meeting, with many solo women living full time in their vans and trailers.  Security was discussed with many tips such as what to do when someone knocks on your door in the middle of the night: Yell out, “Pete, Get the gun!” and make your site look well lived in with hammocks, 2 or 3 chairs, and a large pair of men’s boots by the door.  Another great event was the presentation by Tamra from California Survival School: https://www.casurvival.com/ Tamra taught us what to do if we were stranded far off the road in order to survive until help could come.  She taught us how to make a fire with a bow drill and the Rule of 3’s: You can survive for 3 hrs in extreme weather, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food.  So work on that FIRE!

January 19, 2017

Another huge storm pursued me out of Palm Springs as I drove out on I-10 in heavy rain toward Quartzsite, Arizona.  I wanted to attend The Rubber Tramp Rendezvous that was already happening there:  Van Dwellers and Small Trailers, mostly people full timing in their RV’s.  But they were gathering in Scadden Wash and that did not bode well for me pulling a trailer through what could be a flash flood.  So I opted to camp nearby in Blythe, California where I could get water and electric hookups to see me through the storms predicted for the next few days.  I found the Mayflower Regional Park right on the Colorado River with a genial group of people parked close together in a grassy setting.  The hookups were funky but did the job and I met several interesting people, including a wonderful night around a fire pit, sharing stories and veiled political allusions.  “I don’t LIKE the guy, but I think we should just give him a chance..” and “I don’t like him either, but my health insurance is killing me and I voted for a change.” This is why I left the Bay Area in a trailer.  I wanted to get out of my bubble and hear what the rest of the country is thinking.  One couple was living in Alaska in the summer and in their large trailer in the Southwest birding and exploring nature reserves in the winter.  They pointed out the Vermillion Flycatcher that inhabited the park.  A first for me!  I spent the rainy days cozy in the trailer with my WIFI Ranger Booster connecting me to the outside world.

January 18, 2017

An old friend of mine from England invited me to dinner at her home in Pioneertown.  Pioneertown?  Last time I saw her was in East London… But I had heard of Pappy and Harriet’s - a famous music bar known for impromptu concerts by the likes of Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin and musicians from the Coachella Festival.  And Pioneertown did not disappoint.  Up a scenic road from Yucca Valley, it was built as a motion picture set in the 1940’s by Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.  It was designed for the actors to live there while filming.  There is a six lane Bowling Alley which is the oldest in continuous use in California.  Unfortunately I was there on a Wednesday and at this time of year, it is definitely a Weekend place. Pappy and Harriet’s was closed as was almost everything else.  But there was still interesting art to be seen in every corner!  Installations inspired by Noah Purifoy and other desert assemblage “artists” were to be found all over the area.

January 18, 2017

I do not wish to be an artist, I only wish that art enables me to be.  
Noah Purifoy, 1963

Born in Alabama in 1917, Noah Purifoy lived and worked most of his life in Los Angeles and Joshua Tree California, where he died in 2004.  He was a prominent figure in the LA Art world and the founding director of the Watts Towers Art Center.  Noah was active in the Black Artists movement that came out of the Watts Rebellion of 1965.  After working for the California Arts Council for 11 years in the late 1980’s, he moved to a ten acre parcel of land north of Joshua Tree and started to build his Outdoor Desert Art Museum of Assemblage Sculpture created entirely from junk and scraps that he found in the desert around him.  He dedicated his entire life to the found object, using art as a tool for social change.  The Museum is now run by the Noah Purifoy Foundation and can be visited anytime.  It is simply out in the middle of the desert, at the end of a long dirt road, for all to meander and be inspired.  http://www.noahpurifoy.com/

January 12, 2017

The initial reason for the trip was to attend the Palm Springs Film Festivals with my friends, Don and Barbara, and a few other friends of theirs.  Saw eleven films in five days!  My faves were Hippopotamus, Behind the Clouds and Toni Erdman.  See The Best of Fest here:  https://www.psfilmfest.org/2017-ps-film-festival/best-of-fest.  I stayed in the Happy Traveler Vintage RV Park.  Wonderful place!  Lots of vintage trailers, Airstreams and escapees from LA and San Francisco.  The HT/RVP had great showers, a small not so great pool and small, but very privately screened spaces.  It would be hard to get a big rig into, but there were plenty of them there.  A neighbor of mine had a 1953 Spartan Manor Trailer with two Great Danes inside!  The location was the best part as it was an easy walk or bike ride into town center.  Great friendly feeling here with serious decorations, all lit up at night!  $325 / week.  $975 per month off peak. The Palm Springs Art Museum was impressive, especially the contemporary collection on the top floor.  The last day I took a hike up to Tahquitz Falls, a short walk from the RV Park.  This was the home of a “band of hippies” numbering as many as 600 that were living here in the early 70’s.  Today it is pristine, quiet and a beautiful respite from the lights of Palm Springs.

January 9, 2017

January rains sent me off to southern California to escape the winds and the wet.  I traveled down I-5 as far as I could get in order to escape one of the big storms that has been pummeling us this winter.  Stopped the first night at Harris Ranch, which allows people with trailers and motor homes to park in their lot.  The second night was at Castaic Lake Recreation Area.  Only $20 with bathrooms, pay shower and lakeside camping.  There are three camping areas.  The one at the end is the most picturesque, quiet and roomy but unpaved.  I decided to stay in the second paved lot because of the rain.  This would be a great place for a couple of nights as a stopover on an I-5 traveling day, but I would choose the last camping area next time.  The dogs loved walking by the lake off leash as there was almost no one there.  There is an RV Park in Castaic Lake where you can dump tanks and fill up on propane for a small fee.

December 22, 2016

After Plaskett Creek, I drove down to San Simeon Creek to visit Hearst Castle for the first time.   My primary goal however, was to photograph the Elephant Seals of Piedras Blancas as the females were coming onto the beaches there to have their pups.  This colony is one of the newest on the California Coast, which has grown from its beginning in 1995 to over 22,000 seals, spread over a six mile coastal area today. And it did not disappoint.  Newborn pups were squealing and trying to stay out of the way of the 5,000 lb. males, fighting over the females.  The return of the Northern Elephant Seal to California after being hunted nearly to extinction in the last century, is a heart warming story.  I photographed the setting Winter Solstice Sun over the ocean on the last day before the storms blew in once again and Machu, Coco and I hunkereddown in the Airstream.  My newly installed Wifi Ranger and WeBoost Cellular booster allowed us to stream my downloaded Netflix films and books on Audible while listening to the rain patter on the tin roof. Bliss.

December 20, 2016

Fortunately I had a sunny day to drive down windy Highway One to Big Sur in December.  There were major forest fires in Big Sur in the fall of 2016, causing most of the state park areas to be closed for hiking and camping, including Julia Pfeiffer Campground, the largest in the area.  So I drove further south to the Los Padres national Forest.  Kirk Creek Campground, on a bluff overlooking the Pacific,  is the most desirable, but was fully booked, so I camped a few miles south at Plaskett Creek, which has a lovely fire road up to a high bluff above the campground where you can see for miles up and down the coast. Again, dry camping, with mixed weather, I was glad to have my Buddy Heater, using propane canisters to keep me and the dogs warm and cozy without depleting my house batteries with the trailer heater.

November 21, 2016

With a new solar panel now installed for 200 watts of power, and a lighter hitch and sway bar mount to make hitching up much more girl friendly, I took off in November to “dry camp” (without external water or electric hookups) at Sunset Beach State Park, on Monterey Bay, close to Watsonville and Moss Landing.  Unhitching the trailer, I was free to drive my car around the countryside, photograph the sea otters at Moss Landing and check out the plastic lined “organic farms” in the area. The sunsets were incredible from the bluff behind my campsite, overlooking the ocean. 

October 25, 2016

Half Moon Bay State Beach was the closest coastal destination I could find to my home in Marin, where I could still get electric and water hookups to weather the storms that were imminent upon my departure.  At $50 a night ($350 per week) it is expensive for a State Park.  But right on the coast and not far from home appealed for the first time pulling the trailer, especially in the pouring rain.  Driving through San Francisco I discovered an important thing about pulling a trailer that is wider than your car.  DO NOT DRIVE IN THE RIGHT LANE!   I got my first dent on the passenger side, where the extended mirror of a delivery truck parked in the right lane caught the side of my trailer. Now I drive only in the middle lane.  Despite the rain, I was cozy and dry fixing dinner in Arion’s kitchen!  The beach was only steps away from the campground and watching the geese flying south over the ocean was mesmerizing. 

October 20, 2016

I named her Arion, after the silver winged horse, child of Demeter and Poseidon.  I could pull her with my 2017 VW Touareg, which is also my every day car.   I asked Vince at A to Z Motorsto order me another solar panel for a total of 200 watts on the roof.   Replaced the Marine battery (85amp hours) with two, six volt AGM batteries wired in sequence for one 220 amp 12 volt total!  Good to go!  So pulled her home from Winters to the Sausalito Boatyard, where I now house her. And the fun began!  New duvet, pillows, rugs, and various hooks attached with extra strong VHB tape.  Dogs moved in under the Dinette and settled in for the ride.  Now she was ready to go on her Maiden Voyage!

August 31, 2016

After traipsing all over the West Coast in a pop up camper for nearly two years I realized I needed a BATHROOM! Trailers definitely seemed the way to go.  Leave your rig in a campground and off you go in a car!  After seeing a 16 ft. Bambi Airstream in a campground, I knew that was the answer.  I could manage it on my own and pull it with an SUV, and have my own bathroom with a shower!  In August of 2016, I finally found just what I was looking for.  A 2008, 16 ft. Bambi International Signature Airstream.  This model had double wrap around panoramic windows, only made from 2008-2012 in this size.  When I saw it, I knew this was IT!  A whole new world was opening up to me!