Going Home

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

With a soft drizzle on the roof overnight, the sleeping was good. But around 6 a.m. it changed to flakes. What a wet mess when all we wanted to do was enjoy a nice trip! Maybe we will rethink this late October travel. Last year it was hurricane Sandy chasing us out, and this year we again got chased out by weather.

Barney talked to a guy in the rest area that had come down from Idaho, and he said all the high spots on the road were snowy. He was going across Donner, pulling a trailer, and just didn’t know what he was going into!

We went on a couple hours to Winnemucca where we stopped for some breakfast, then just hit the road home and didn’t run into any more weather.

It sounds like there was nasty weather at our back with damaging high winds and lots of snow, and we are happy to be out of there and home for a while.

It was a different kind of trip than our usual, and we only got a few park stamps. I’m sure it won’t be too long before one of us is getting the itch to go again.

What a difference a day makes!

Monday, October 28, 2013

The elevation change had done us some good. We were about 2500 feet lower than in Sequoia, and the precipitation on the campers overnight was rain. We were in a spot under the trees, and it dripped kind of heavy on the roofs overnight, but we were cozy. We always feel bad for the tenters in that kind of weather.

After some breakfast, we went back up the road about a mile to the Wawona VC where we got a couple of stamps in our books. The ranger there was less than encouraging! To go on into the Yosemite valley we had to go up a couple thousand feet, and it was snowing and the road was narrow with sheer drop offs. Chains or 4 wheel drive were required. Not a problem since we both have 4 wheel drive, but it did not sound inviting. To go back out the way we came in would only be about a thousand foot climb, but he had come in that way with 4 wheel drive and still spun out along the way.

We decided not to just stay put, but to back track and get out of this mess as soon as we could. We took it very slow, and passed several busy chain up areas for those going the opposite direction. The snow plows were busy on the park roads, and at the last chain up area we saw chains were required, with several state troopers to enforce them. It must have been getting a lot worse behind us, and we were happy to get out of it.

Back down in the valley, the sun was shining and it was warm, but we didn’t waste any time in shooting through the area and up over Donner pass. It was snowing there as well, and the sanding trucks were out spitting little rocks at us, but were keeping the roads cleared.

We at last stopped on the other side for something to eat, and then went on to the first rest area we found, but it was another 80 miles. Again driving after dark, but at least we knew where we were going, and it wasn’t snowing any more.

Sequoia National Park

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Our first stop this morning was the Foothills Visitor Center in Sequoia National Park. After getting our books stamped and looking around the center, we went across the street to the picnic area and fixed some breakfast. The sun felt great as we enjoyed eating outside. We soon had some company in the trees, and had four or five acorn woodpeckers wanting some of our food. They were somewhat aggressive and wished they could get inside the campers for some food.

After breakfast we went on up the road that is not advised for vehicles over 22 feet long. We are only a foot or two longer than that, and we were not prohibited, so on we went.  It wasn’t too scary because there were nice rock guardrails, and lots of trees so you couldn’t see any sheer drop off. It was a long slow grind to the top! There were many very tight switchbacks, but we took it slow and made it just fine. We used lots of turn outs to let traffic go by us and some just to stop and see the sights such as tunnel rock, where you could see the old road had gone through. That would have been the end of our travels without the road going around it.

Soon we came to the Giant Forest section of the park. There are several groves of sequoias throughout the park, but this is the most accessible.

We stopped at the Giant Forest museum and VC where the Sentinel tree is located. There is a line in the pavement that shows how far it would be to climb it. There were some interesting displays in the VC, one being a jar smaller than a quart mason jar that had 91,000 sequoia seeds in it. Another was a large wheel that shows how little chance there is for a sequoia to survive when it sprouts from a seed.

The sequoia is larger around, but the redwood trees are taller.

Continuing on down the road, we stopped at another VC for a stamp, but it was closed for the season, so we went on to Kings Canyon NP. We were very fortunate to be there the day we were because the next day they expected snow. While in the Kings Canyon VC we saw that forecast, and decided to get on down to a lower elevation while we had the chance, rather than find a camping spot up there. We did not take the one hour drive out along the canyon, but scurried on down the road toward Fresno.

We stopped at a Wendy’s in Clovis for something to keep us going, and then took 41 out toward Yosemite National Park. It was dark as we entered the park, and the sign at the entrance said Tioga pass was closed. We had hoped to get across the next morning. There was a campground about five miles down the road from the entrance, so we found that and did our best to wind up in a real campsite in the complete darkness! Not a light in the whole campground area, and really hard to do by headlights, but we got settled in and crashed. It had been a long day!

Stress!

Saturday, October 26, 2013

We haven’t been taking as many pictures as we should, so don’t have any of all the rabbits around the Dripping Springs campground. They were scurrying around in the underbrush.

This morning started with a very stressful drive. We got on I15 in Temecula, and two hours later emerged from the southern California freeway system mostly unscathed, but with probably several years off our life span! We do not like city driving! And it wasn’t even rush hour traffic. As soon as we turned off I215 onto 395 near Victorville, we found a dusty pull off and tried to recuperate. It took a while for us to wind down. Give us the slow life!

We drove 395 to Kramer Junction and turned west on 58 toward Bakersfield, going through Mojave and over Tehachapi pass. There were a large number of airplanes at the Mojave airport because it is one of the desert bone yards for old planes. It would probably be interesting to see, but we drove on by.

Buzzing right through Bakersfield, we again found a dusty area to pull off and fix some lunch, then enjoyed the quieter driving through miles and miles of citrus groves, on our trek toward Sequoia National Park. We went up through the town of Lindsay, and its olive groves, and then up into the foothills. The whole area was mostly citrus, with olives and some nuts.

We came to a dam and Lake Kaweah, and discovered a Corps of Engineers (COE) campground. We found a couple of sites there just before dark, so settled in. We didn’t have hookups, but there were showers and we all took advantage of that.

It had been a long day, and we were ready for some quiet.

The Desert

Friday, October 25, 2013

Okay, since we are home now I guess it’s time to catch up on our wild adventures! We last saw you in Joshua Tree National Park. Let’s see if I can remember back that far.

On Friday morning, October 25, as soon as the sun rose above the high hill to our east, it started to warm up and we enjoyed breakfast at the picnic table and talked about what we would do. We started out by crossing Interstate 10 and continued on toward Mecca, CA on 168. It wound down a little canyon that was quite nice. There was a lot of evidence of the flash floods that rip through the area, but it was dry as we went through.

Mecca is in the Choachella valley, and as we came out of the canyon it  opened up to a huge agricultural valley. We were wishing for an outlet farm market, but none to be found. Barney said it was because it is all commercial fields. We saw lots of date palms, and they were interesting with the date bunches all covered with paper. We passed by a large field of probably bell peppers, and just enjoyed seeing the whole valley.

Going south along the Salton Sea, we turned west on S22. That was quite an experience. It must be somewhat like driving the Alaska Highway with its frost heaves. I thought it seemed like broken springs road. Really bounced us around, and kind of disturbed everything inside the campers! It goes through the Anza Borrego desert, and there were quite a few people camping anywhere they pleased. One section was for off road vehicles, and there were lots of vehicles there, and as we went on down the road, there was evidence of more going to join them!

The VC at the Anza Borrego State Park was our destination where we obtained the stamp we were after. We enjoyed the VC. The staff was very friendly and we enjoyed the movie and looking around.

It was too early in the day, and quite warm, so we didn’t camp out there, but went winding up and up and up the hill. It must have been 10 miles of climbing around tight turns. We hadn’t seen any restriction signs, but didn’t envy the larger rigs going by heading down the hill. Hope they had good brakes!

Eventually we found a small campground nestled in the oak trees, and called it a day. We were just outside Temecula, CA, and went into Old Town looking for the Olive Oil store, but didn’t bother to find a parking spot. It was much too touristy for us. We did stop and top off the tanks, and found something to fuel us up too before heading back to the campground. It was very quiet and peaceful, and we turned in early.

Parting of the Ways, Part II

Monday, September 30, 2013

Monday morning found the Flintstones headed for the home of Pebbles, in southern California. There was a soft rain shower in progress as we pulled out. It didn’t last long, but somehow it helped get us all the way to Winnemucca with only a couple of bugs on our windshield. We made a fuel, lunch, and a WalMart stop there, taking our time but also knowing we wanted to get to Walker Lake before dark.

Well, we finally made Walker Lake (Hawthorne, Nevada) while it was still daylight. We have been wanting to find a camping spot there on several recent trips, but always get there after dark. We checked out a free spot, but were not thoroughly impressed, so went on to a nicer area where we had to pay all of $3.00 for the night (with geezer card). We found a great spot close to the lake, and sat outside for a while enjoying the sunset and then the moonlight on the lake. There were very few lights around, so we enjoyed star gazing and waited until we saw a shooter before going in.

Leaving the next morning, we found a fuel station in Hawthorne, and then drove west on a road we had not taken before that took us over to the north side of Mono Lake. It was about 60 miles, and we saw three vehicles over the entire length. It was fairly new asphalt, and a really nice trip.

We stopped at the VC at Mono Lake for a pit stop, and the sign at the entrance said it was closed. We didn’t know if it was too early, or because of our great government, but sure enough, they were the cause – We were welcomed to the shutdown. Lucky for us, we have our own facility with us, unlike others who were also stopping there.

As we continued on we saw every VC locked up tight, so proceeded to see Pebbles. She arrived home from the hospital shortly after we got there. We  were there to give “child care,” and stayed three weeks doing just that. By the time we left she was off pain meds and driving, so it was safe for us to go.

On Sunday, October 6, we drove into Barstow for Ethan’s dedication. We sure enjoyed getting to know our great grandson! What a sweet and cute little boy. The next day we took Pebbles to Loma Linda Hospital for her follow up appointment, and it was good news all the way around. We are thankful.

While holding down the fort there, we helped with several projects Pebbles was working on and created a few too, lazed around a lot, and probably caused Rocco to gain a few pounds. He thinks of our rig as the food truck, and at least tries to follow us in every time we head out there. For a pug, he sure can jump.

On Thursday, October 24, we headed out to meet up with the Rubbles at Joshua Tree National Park. Since they were leaving Phoenix about the same time, we had a fairly equal trip for the day – except we got behind a military convoy on a two lane road with lots of no passing zones. We finally made it around them, and zoomed along our way before finding another one!

Just before arriving at Kramer Junction, we got past the lead vehicle of the second convoy, but then had to stop for fuel, and wouldn’t you know it, they went the same direction we were headed, so we caught up to them again! After miles and miles, they finally all pulled over. I’m sure they had at least a mile of traffic behind them, going 35 miles an hour. Frustrating!

Other than that it was uneventful, but stressful getting through traffic onto Interstate 10 headed east. We got a call from the Rubbles’ and they were about a half hour ahead of us. We met up at the Cottonwood campground in Joshua Tree NP,  enjoyed lunch together and just sat around enjoying their company, the desert air, and then the star show after dark.

On to more adventures tomorrow!

Parting of the Ways, Part I

Rubble Chronicles

Sept. & Oct 2013

These are the Rubble chronicles beginning on September 25, 2013, when we departed our permanent cave and struck off for the 3 Musketeers abode in Missouri. Our journey took us across I-80 where we were beset by a snow storm from Evanston, WY to Lyman, WY. Our journey continued east on I-80 then to route 2 and south on I-29, east on route 36 thence south on route 63 to Houston, MO to the abode of the 3 Musketeers.

While there we removed the unused furnace from the house, removed the old floor from the closet/hall and a bedroom of the little house and replaced it with one that will be more serviceable. Barney did his usual slash and burn thing cleaning up trees and brush around the place. We burned 2 big piles of branches and old flooring. Several doors got trimmed and made functional again. Betty, Terri and Stewart picked up a pickup load of walnuts which were taken to the processor by Betty and Connie. The Saturday before we left we went to Branson and the College of the Ozarks to visit the kids. We visited Terri at the greenhouse, on campus, where she works and had lunch with the kids and their friends in the cafeteria. Later in the evening we went out to dinner at a Mexican place in Branson that was very enjoyable.

Betty’s brother and his wife were able to come down from Chicago for a couple of days. It was very good to see them and have a short visit. We visited Betty’s cousin in Licking and on our way out of town stopped to see her aunt in Springfield.

We left Houston on October 20^th headed for Mesa, AZ where we spent a couple of days with Barney’s brother Lee and his family. Then we headed out for Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California to meet up with the Flintstones and continue our adventure.