On to California

The last night in Oregon involved every campground being full and a frustrated late-night decision to camp in a free parking lot rather than a KOA parking lot campground, so on to California!

Burney Falls

After a stop at the nicest rest area in America (Randall Collier, I don’t know who you are, but thank you), we set course for Lassen National Park. Along the way we passed a sign for Burney Falls, which was advertised as “not the biggest falls in California, but possibly the prettiest.” How could we pass up that bit of advertising? As it turned out, a lot of people felt the same way, but we managed to find a parking spot (the joys and challenges of driving even a small RV!), and took ourselves on the 1.2 mile loop hike. After discovering that the park designers really had picked the best spot for the falls overlook, right next to the parking lot, we had lunch and got back on the road to Lassen.

This time of year the park is still snowed in and the through-road is closed, but you can get into the first parking area and hike around Manzanita Lake. The lady at the entrance booth told us we’d have the park all to ourselves, which sounded exciting, but turned out to be a bit of an exaggeration. Still, there was plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the view.

On the way out, we stopped to take in the view of Mt. Lassen across the lake, and were asked for a corkscrew by a couple who had remembered the wine, but forgot to bring anything to open it with. Our first request for aid from a fellow traveler! Also, screw tops are your friend!

Because most campgrounds are still closed for the year, we decided to try “dispursed” camping in the forest that night, which involved a nail-biting trip up a narrow, windy Forest Service road, and a lot of prayers that the area wasn’t currently being logged. We ended up high in the clouds above Lake Almanor, and decidedly alone. After a dinner of BBQ’d hamburgers that we hoped wouldn’t attract every bear and mountain lion in the area, we breathed a sigh of relief that we’d found a level camping spot without calling AAA to be pulled from a mountainside, and turned in.

The next day involved a long day of driving, and closer proximity to Fresno than I would ever wish for, but we arrived at Yosemite in time to be greeted by the setting sun lighting up Bridalveil Fall and the Merced River, far below us in the valley.

Yosemite deserves its own post, so join us next time for that! To see more pictures, and stay current with where we are, check us out on Instagram.

Oregon

If you tried the Instagram link and had problems with it, please try again. I’ve changed a setting that should make it easy to view the photos without having an account.

As a side note, the Instagram photos will generally be taken with my phone while the photos posted here will be from my camera, so there shouldn’t be much duplication.

Now, let’s get caught up.  After our trip to Long Beach, we headed south through Astoria to the Oregon coast. Along the road we pulled into a scenic overlook, while a smaller RV pulled in from the other direction, heading for the same parking space. Once we all had ourselves sorted, we got out to find that the other RV was being driven by someone who had worked seasonally in the Art Prep department. Small world! He gave us some recommendations for trails he had hiked along the coast, we exchanged travel stories, and went on our way.

View from the end of the Cape Lookout trail

Our first hike was the Cape Lookout trail, just under 5 miles round trip. It was a moderately easy trail that was made a little more challenging by a long section with mud pits, and the fact that I was wearing sandals, the only shoes that wouldn’t rub on the raw spots on my feet from clamming. Soggy wet feet and abrasive sand are not always the best combination.

I told Tom that I hoped a whale was waiting to greet us at the end of the trail, and while I meant that it should be on a bench with a welcome sign, the one swimming by was almost as good. After that, they came every 20 minutes or so, sometimes alone, sometimes a mother and calf. It was hard to tear ourselves away – just one more! – but eventually we headed back to the RV.

Pair of diving California grey whales

Unexpected Side Trip

That night we realized that the faint whiff from the fridge was ammonia, which is the death knell (or smell) of an RV fridge. We learned that like most things, they just don’t build them like they used to, and their lifespan can be relatively short. We were lucky enough to find a fridge repair specialist about an hour east of us, and while he didn’t hold out a lot of hope for a fast turnaround repair, he agreed to take a look at the fridge the next day. Because one of the side effects of a failing fridge is catastrophic fire, we turned it off and took ourselves to the nearest store for coolers.

The next day, Friday, we drove to Albany, Oregon to find out if we could get the fridge repaired, or if we would have to spring for a new one. Because a small RV fridge can cost more than a really nice home fridge, we had our fingers crossed. Our fridge expert had plans to leave on a trip of his own in a couple days, and usually didn’t attempt repairs without having several days, but one look at our pitiful faces and he agreed to give it a try.

Luckily, he had the right cooling unit in stock, and with Tom's help had the whole thing pulled out and disassembled in no time. I settled down at his desk to do some work of my own and stay out of the way. Four hours later we had a new, beefy cooling unit and after profuse thanks, were on our way. We still couldn’t use the fridge for a few days while the gasses redistributed themselves, but not having to deal with coolers for the next three months was worth it. What an amazing guy!

Next up, California.

 

We're on the road! Finally!

We've been traveling for three weeks now, and it's been busy, but great. We started with a family trip to the Washington coast, staying at Cape Disappointment near Long Beach. We dug some delicious razor clams (got our limit the first day!), ate good food, and explored the beach.

Next, we headed down the Oregon coast, had an unexpected repair to make to the RV, then spent 5 nights in Yosemite. After Yosemite came the California coast – home away from home – and a lot of miles logged walking on the beach. We're about to head inland, and a longer post will come soon.

In the meantime, check out the Instagram link to the right for pictures (click on a picture for captions, if you're so inclined).