2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

Photo link:

https://goo.gl/photos/t4NngHRgZG9WhqGY7

Monday, May 29^th – Friday, June 2^nd  
Crater Lake RV Park, Prospect, Oregon

After spending seven weeks in California, we finally crossed the border into Oregon. On the coastal drive out of northern California, the views still included redwood trees in the forest and rocky coastal waters. The weather was still rainy and foggy. We were ready to leave behind the gloom and fog.  We headed back eastward toward Crater Lake.

The first Oregon destination was in the Crater Lake National Park area. We camped at an RV park that is about 20 miles from Crater Lake. This RV park lies inside the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, near the small mountain town of Prospect. This little town was once a prosperous gold mining area. The local people were very friendly and helpful.

The forest was filled with many hiking trails, with overlooks of the Rogue River and waterfalls. There were even trails right out of the RV park that we enjoyed. The premier trails were those that followed the Rogue River. This is another raging river that is filled with the record snowmelt. It’s so amazing to see the power of the water flow in the river. The trails included a gorge lookout from the highway bridge, Avenue of Giant Boulders, Mill Creek Falls, Barr Creek Falls, and various Rogue Gorge viewpoints from short hikes. There were so many places and not enough time.

We visited Crater Lake National Park for one day. We took the dogs with us as we didn’t want to leave them alone for too many hours. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States at 1943’ and was created by volcanic activity. The lake is in a caldera created 7700 years ago when the Mt. Mazama volcano collapsed following a major eruption. Later eruptions created Wizard Island within the lake. Crater Lake is also part of the Cascades Volcanic Arc, which stretches from Lassen Volcano in northern California, to Oregon’s Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson, Washington’s Mt. Saint Helens and Mt. Rainier, and others up into Canada.

When we visited, there was still so much snow on the ground and only about one eight of the rim road was open. They were just beginning to plow the remainder of the rim road. We were able to go to the Visitor Center for information, drive to the Rim Village, and visit the Rim Lodge (where we had our lunch with a lake view). The only hiking trail open was the Discovery Point trail on the southwest side; even though this part of the road was plowed, hikers had to walk on the road about a mile to get to the trailhead. The good thing about this visit was that it was not crowded; however, since the access was so limited it was disappointing to not be able to drive the complete rim road and do some hikes. We were lucky that the weather was sunny and there was not fog on the lake, which is common this time of year. It was still an amazing visit and the views were spectacular. I think it is better to visit later in summer when there is no snow!

Our Oregon adventures continue!

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Northern California, Orland (valley) & Arcata (coast)

Photo link:
https://goo.gl/photos/wvibcXJXrThtTTfG6

Wednesday, May 17^th – Sunday, May 21^st

Black Butte Lake, Orland, California

The Army Corps campground at Black Butte Lake was remote, quiet and beautiful. It reminded us of the last ACOE campground at Lake Hensley, only prettier. It was nice to relax by the lakeside for a while. The town of Orland was nearby and proved handy for shopping and fuel. There were some decent mountain biking trails around the lake, which we did enjoy riding. The first couple of days the weather was very nice, high temps in the 70’s; however, the remainder of the days became very warm with highs in the upper 80’s. It would not have been so bad, but the campground had no electric hookups. So we depended on our generator to keep our battery charged, forget about any air conditioning. We spent most of the day outside in the shade, which was bearable. At least it cooled down at night. While we were there, our RV battery went dead so Kurt had to go into Orland and purchase a new one. Thank God for Tractor Supply! Since it was too warm to engage in many activities, we used our time to take care of some maintenance issues and then relax. Kurt did take the kayak out on the lake for paddling and fishing. After five days there, we were ready to move back to the California coast.

Monday, May 22^nd – Sunday, May 28^th

Mad River Rapids RV Park, Arcata, California

Again, we had to cross back over the coastal mountains to get to Arcata, which is just north of Eureka. This drive was on decent mountain roads, but there were several delays due to road repairs and one major landslide causing a one way lane. The drive took us about an hour longer than normal. The first day we drove around the area to check out the beach and the surrounding area. The dogs had a blast running on the beach again. We found there was again a lot of agriculture along the coast. We found a nice hiking/biking trail and the beaches were dog friendly. The Mad River passed through town on its way to the Pacific.

The northern California coast is all about the redwood trees. The RV park in Arcata was located midway between Humboldt Redwood State Park to the south and the Redwoods National Park to the north. The weather was chilly and cooler on the coast. We first went south to Humboldt to drive the “Avenue of the Giants”. This part of the coast is not as rocky with cliffs as some further south. This scenic drive is about 31 miles in length, driving a two lane road among the giant redwood trees. There were several trails to get back in the woods. The forest floor was covered in giant ferns and was very green and moist. We took the dogs with us for the drive and on a few hikes. We didn’t drive the complete length, but still spent most of the day on this tour. On our way back to the campground, we drove through a small coastal town called Ferndale. This was founded in the 1850’s and was built in Victorian style, which was popular at that time. The well preserved homes and buildings are beautiful.

Another day we headed north to the Redwoods National Park. This was a huge coastal redwood forest with the biggest redwoods on earth. There were a couple of amazing hikes among the trees and waterfalls. On the drive back south, we drove the road that went right along the ocean. The views and rocky formations were stunning. As usual during our time in this area the skies were cloudy, and it was windy and chilly. The locals told us this time of year is their rainy season, they call it “June and Gloom”. Wow, we had no idea. The sun did peek out a little, but not every day.

On Memorial Day weekend each year, the city of Arcata hosts an annual event called Kinetic Sculpture Race. Contestants have to build artistic vehicles that must be driven on the road and also be able to float and navigate in the water. Kurt went down to watch the crazy event. The town was packed for this annual event to watch the amazing creations.

This was an amazing part of California which is filled with diverse environments; from dry deserts, to high mountains, fertile valleys, coastal mountains and amazing Pacific coastlines and beaches. After 7 ½ weeks in California, it was exciting to move on to Oregon. Looking forward to some different places to see there.

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Photo link:
https://goo.gl/photos/YdvmFkhBph3Xoc8T9

Friday, May 12^th – Tuesday, May 16^th

Zephyr Cove RV Resort, Zephyr Cove, Nevada

Reluctantly we left Lake Hensley, as we had a relaxing time there. We headed back out into the valley and north on I-5, skirted around Sacramento and then headed west on Highway 50, which took us into the south end of Lake Tahoe and to our ultimate destination of Zephyr Cove RV Resort on the Nevada side. As we approached the foothills and then started climbing up the mountain road towards South Lake Tahoe, we drove the mountain roads through a beautiful forest and around to the southeast side of the lake to Zephyr Cove. The altitude change was from the valley at around 500’ to almost 6400’ at the lake. We didn’t realize how much it affected us until we both woke up in the middle of the first night with headaches. Some ibuprofen was an easy fix. After we had setup our RV that first evening, we walked over to the resort’s private beach. It was really beautiful with great sunsets and we could see it from our campsite.

The next day we drove the scenic road around the south side of the lake, through the town of South Lake Tahoe on the California side, stopping at Emerald Bay, and up to Meeks Bay on the west shore. As you cross the state line from California to Nevada, the multi-story casinos rise from the ground. The drive was very enjoyable, even though there was a lot of traffic. And it wasn’t even on season yet. There were still a lot of closures of Forest campgrounds, recreation areas and trails, due to the snow still in the mountains.

We were disappointed that we were not able to ride any mountain bikes trails, as they either still had snow on them or were muddy from the snowmelt. So we were able to hike a nice trail just to the north of our campground. There is a huge rock outcropping called Cave Rock where there is a tunnel for the road. We took the dogs and hiked this trail which was mostly dirt, until at the base of rock where it was rock scrambling up to the top. We all enjoyed the hike and the views were spectacular.

The first couple of days the weather was nice, 60’s for highs and low 50’s. The remainder of the days we were there it turned really cold, with highs in the 40’s and lows in the upper 20’s. It did snow a couple of days, but not enough to stick to the ground. It was still very frigid for us and the dogs. They were really glad to have sweaters and we were glad we had heavy jackets and gloves. We made the best of the weather and still enjoyed being outside.

There was a paved bikeway on the California side, which mostly followed the lake, with some areas through preserves and some through town. We rode several miles and even back into an area called the Tahoe Keys. This was a series of small inlands with houses and marinas. There was a public beach around the Keys where we were able to get some great pictures of the lakeshore and mountains.

After five days we were ready to get out of the cold and head back to California and some warmer weather. We really enjoyed Lake Tahoe, especially the amazing views of the lake and mountains. It would be fun to visit there in the summer and enjoy all the summer sports and being on the lake.

Our drive out of the lake was around the east side scenic road heading north, which is mostly part of a Nevada State Park. Then up around the lake and through Truckee California. From there we headed back on I-80 west to another Army Corp lake which is a stopover heading back to the coast and where we just needed to relax.

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Yosemite National Park

Photo link:

https://goo.gl/photos/2JWqtBRyQ9VSesCU6

Sunday, May 7^th – Thursday, May 11^th

Hidden View Campground, Hensley Lake, California

The drive to Yosemite area took us back to the San Juaquin Valley, north through Fresno and up to Hensley Lake. This Army Corps campground is 40 miles southwest of the main entrance to Yosemite, which was the closest campground we could find with availability. But that was okay, because we loved this campground on the lake. It was so quiet and peaceful. We had already planned a one day drive into the park to visit all the sights we could. We have begun to cringe when we enter National Parks, as they are now so crowded and parking space is a premium to find. We knew this would be the same at Yosemite and it’s not even on summer season. There were still closed roads on the northern side of the park and some areas in the mountains still had snow on the ground. But the crowds were still there. We have found that many of the people are foreigners, mostly from Europe and Asia. We just have learned to deal with the record crowds and enjoy what we can of our beautiful National Parks.

After spending a relaxing full day at the lake, the next day we headed up to Yosemite. We took the dogs with us as we knew it would probably be at least a 10 hour day. The drive up the mountains was not so winding, but the traffic was heavy. As we entered the park, we found there were still a few roads closed, due to the winter storms that caused some major road damage. The main road entrance was closed to one lane, as the two bridges crossing the Merced River were now temporary, as the previous ones had been damaged. It would have been nice if this had shown up on the website alerts; this extended our drive by about an hour. After we finally entered the park we drove into the Yosemite Valley, the main area to view the special attractions in the park. After finding a parking space, we walked with the dogs along the main paved walking/biking trail. There we viewed Bridalveil Falls and Kurt was able to hike back on the trail to get a closer view. Dogs are not allowed on any unpaved trails in the park, one of our pet peeves about National Parks. As we drove through the main road in the valley, we were able to pull over on street parking and view El Capitan, Half Dome and other falls. There were a few falls that are usually not there, but due to the heavy snowfall and the early heat wave, there were more falls to enjoy. We brought a picnic lunch and found a river “beach” picnic area. We stopped there with the dogs and had a peaceful time. As the afternoon passed, we stopped on our way out at Yosemite Falls, Upper and Lower. Kurt was able to hike up to the Lower Falls and get some great views of the falls and the valley. I stayed with the boys in the truck, we did walk around the area and by the river. We decided to leave the park by the south entrance of Wawona, so we could see the park from a different perspective. What a pleasant surprise! The park was labeled Tunnel View, which we had no idea what that meant. Prior to the mountain tunnel, there is a huge parking lot and a viewing overlook back toward the Yosemite Valley. This was the place where Ansel Adams photographed his iconic pictures of El Capitan and Bridalveil Falls. WOW, we were so glad we took this southern exit; otherwise, we would never had known about this spectacular view. I think they should label this area as Valley View, not Tunnel View… As we headed south on this road, it quickly became a major winding mountain road. It was beautiful, but very tiring. This took us longer to get back to camp than we expected. It was almost 9pm by the time we arrived. All four of us were exhausted and hungry (except the dogs because I had taken their dinner with us), but we survived. I still have to say it was worth the time and effort to see this amazing National Park. Now we can check this off our bucket list!

We spent two more days relaxing at the campground and riding the trails. It was so nice to just chill out and enjoy the beautiful lake. Now we were ready to move northeast to Lake Tahoe. So excited to see this place!

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Sequoia National Park

Photo link:

https://goo.gl/photos/XxRkKhLwAjo1VA8N7

Monday, May 1^st – Saturday, May 6^th 

Three Rivers Hideaway RV Park, Three Rivers, California

We drove east from the coast toward Sequoia National Park, through some beautiful mountain valleys, then down to the “central valley”, passing through many agricultural and industrial areas. This area is the San Joaquin Valley, which is known as one of the largest agricultural areas in the country.  As we neared the eastern side of the valley we thought we saw huge clouds in the distance, when we realized this was snow covered Sierra Nevada Mountains. Wow, we didn’t know that these mountains were so high and still had snow. We entered the town of Three Rivers and setup our RV in a park just 3 miles from the entrance to the Park. This was a neat little mountain town, no cell service except in the south side of town.

We spent one day in Sequoia, visiting all the iconic huge trees. Even though we were close to the Park entrance, the drive up into the mountains was a winding, switchback mountain road for 24 miles. We visited the Sentinel Tree, General Sherman Tree and the Giant Forest of Sequoias.  The Giant Forest Museum was interesting to learn all about these special, ancient trees. It was amazing to view such huge trees and to learn about the life and ages of the trees. The General Sherman is the largest tree in the world by volume. Our hikes around the trees were easy, 1-3 miles in length. The northern portion of the Park was still closed due to snow on the ground and some road closures. That was okay for us, as we saw the main attraction trees. Kurt also hiked up to the peak of Moro Rock, where the views of the Sierra Nevada’s were spectacular. After a few hours of “sequoia gazing” we returned to the RV Park. It was a long day, and driving the winding mountain roads was very tiring. Anyway, we did enjoy the trees and the beautiful mountains.

Another feature in the area is the Kaweah River. With the massive snows and early warm weather, the snowmelt had turned the Kaweah River and its three forks into a raging, white water, dangerous rivers. While we were there, a local 18 year old man slipped into the river and was found the next day downstream. Very tragic for his family, so many people do not understand the power of these raging rivers. The Park ended up closing all river access to protect people from the danger. Our RV park was right on the Kaweah Middle Fork. There was a “swimming hole” on a side section of the river. We did take the dogs down to that beach and hang out a few times, but the water was extremely cold and we didn’t let the dogs go near the river part. In the days we were there, the river rose about 2 feet at the swimming hole.

There were mountain biking/hiking trails a couple of miles from the RV park. We drove up in the foothill mountains and spent two days there biking and another day we took the dogs for a hike. We all enjoyed the activities there and got some exercise.

Another day, Kurt drove back into the lower part of Sequoia NP to hike the Marble Falls Trail. He hiked up the mountain on the trail the followed the river. There were several waterfall cascades and then Marble Falls at the top of the trail. The pictures are amazing, as the surrounding rocks on the side of the falls are bright, white marble. Very different from other waterfalls we have seen.

Kaweah Lake is downstream of the convergence of the three forks into the Kaweah River. We spent our last day on this lake at the Slickrock Recreation Area. We took the dogs and a picnic lunch to the lake. Kurt took the kayak and did paddle around a little. We had a nice day with beautiful weather. After six days visiting this area, we were ready to move on to Yosemite National Park.

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Morro Bay, California

Photo link:
https://goo.gl/photos/9jVx1hUVWZh5oVDz8

Monday, April 24^th – Saturday, April 29^th

Morro Strand RV Park, Morro Bay, California

As we drove on the 101 north out of the Santa Ynez valley, we passed through the cities of Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo, then on highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) over to Morro Bay. What an amazing coastal community! We stayed at an RV park that was a short walk down to the beach and a 1 mile bicycle ride to town. This is one of the few remaining “beach towns” that feels like it’s stuck in the 70’s. The town lies along the bay and the harbor is filled with commercial fishing boats, restaurants and shops along the harbor shore. What a quaint little town filled with friendly people. The first evening we walked the dogs down to the beach and let them run off leash. Luca went crazy and ran way down the beach, then turned around and ran back. He was in doggie heaven! Kody (Kruzer) even went wild and ran around like crazy. The wind was blowing about 30mph and got them all wound up, they had so much fun! The premier landmark is the huge rock at the beach named Morro Rock, by Juan Cabrillo. He was the same Portuguese explorer that first landed at San Diego. South of the Rock is a long expanse of high sand dunes that create the bay and more beaches. The beach with the Rock and the harbor town was such a wonderful surprise!

The next day we drove south to the Montana de Oro State Park, which lies along the coast. There were mountain bike trails there and a great bike path along the shore. Our first stop was at Spooner Bay, where there is a beautiful crescent beach with rocky cliffs. We rode our bikes along the Bluff Trail for over 2 miles, then headed back. The wind was so strong, at some points we felt like we would be blown over; but fortunately the wind was blowing from the ocean to the shore. We stopped at several areas to view the incredible cliffs, beaches, tide pools, and the mountains just to the east. It was actually very chilly due to the cold wind, but very enjoyable.

One of our dreams for California was to drive north on the Pacific Coast Highway 1 (PCH) up to Big Sur. We found out that some sections of the road were closed due to the winter storms that caused mud and rockslides; even the iconic Pfeiffer Big Sur Bridge was damaged so badly that it had to be demolished and is in the process of being rebuilt. What a bummer. However, we were able to drive up to Ragged Point, which is the most southerly part of the Big Sur coastline. It was beautiful and gave us a good feel for what the Big Sur looks like. Along the way we stopped in several areas; including Moonstone Beach, with its black sand, the Piedras Lighthouse, and the Elephant Seal Rookery. Some areas along the drive were covered in fog, so the views were diminished.

We spent another day back at Montana de Oro SP to ride the mountain bike trails. Boy, were we surprised at such well-designed trails that made the ride so much more enjoyable. Even though the elevation gain was several hundred feet, the ascents were not so difficult because of the switchbacks. I rode further than I thought was possible and enjoyed the incredible views back towards the ocean. While Kurt was still riding I headed back to the trailhead and visited an historic ranch house on the property. The Spooners were the original settlers there who were involved with gold mining and cattle ranching. The stories were amazing of these brave people who came to the California Coast to start a new life. Also, their property overlooked the view of the bay. This property was eventually purchased by the state which now manages the park.

Another bucket list item we were able to check off was a visit to the Hearst Castle! This property is along the coast about 40 miles north of Morro Bay, near a small historical fishing village of San Simeon. Looking east up at the mountains, the Castle is visible from the highway. William Randolph Hearst built this amazing home on the top of a hill where his family had setup a camp when he was a child. He loved this part of the coast so much that we decided to build something really grand for his family. The tour started with a museum and some history of the family. Wow, to be that wealthy back then to afford their lifestyle was amazing. The Hearst’s gained their riches in gold mining and then cattle ranching, and eventually in the newspaper business. The Castle is magnificent, with its European architecture, antiquities and designs. The gardens on the property were extremely gorgeous and filled with amazing statuary. There were three exquisite guest houses surrounding the Castle. He was like many rich moguls at the time and loved to entertain guests, among them many movie stars (he owned some movie studios and also the newspapers) and friends from back east. He even built a landing strip down near the shore so he could fly in his guests! He only lived there for about 13 years before he passed away. After that, the estate donated the house and surrounding 128 square miles to the state. It is now managed by the California State Parks. We truly enjoyed the tour, learning the history and visiting San Simeon. If you are ever in the central coast of California, do not miss this tour!

On our last day, we rode our bikes into Morro Bay for breakfast and to explore the town. At the wharfs, we found a group of sea otters hanging out in the warm waters, some with babies at their side. It was fascinating to watch them sleeping, eating and playing with the pups. We could have watched them for hours.  As we rode our bikes back toward the RV park, we noticed a huge gathering by Morro Rock with kites flying everywhere. What a surprise, there was a Kite Festival going on at the beach! Wow, we stopped by there and watched the kite flying competition and all the attendees with their amazing kites. The competitors flew their kites choreographed to music, some of the presentations were with multiple kites in synchronization.  We rode back to the RV and walked the dogs down to the beach, viewing the event from the north side. We had never seen anything like this, only in California! So much fun, what a delightful day at the beach.

Our stay at Morro Bay was so enjoyable, one of our favorites. We really loved the quaint little harbor town, a hidden gem. It was not busy like so many other places in California. This is a place we would definitely visit if we are ever in California again. Another destination that we didn’t want to leave so soon.

Our California adventure continues as we head northeast to Sequoia National Park.

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Santa Barbara, California

Photo link:
https://goo.gl/photos/mguT2yCRPmG4sRDY9

Tuesday, April 18^th – Sunday, April 23^rd

Cachuma Lake County Park – Santa Barbara, California

The next destination of Santa Barbara brought us back to the west coast of California. We drove the back highways and stayed north of the Los Angeles area. The highways took us through a huge valley north of the Angeles National Forest, through the Santa Clarita area, then to the coast. Another amazing, scenic drive. At this point the coast runs east and west along Santa Barbara County. After driving through part of Santa Barbara, the highway headed over the Santa Ynez Mountains to Cachuma Lake. This huge lake is a Santa Barbara County Park. There were over 400 campsites, cabins and yurts.

The next day we headed down to the shore to check out the city and beaches. The drive was on a small mountain road, winding down along huge estates, vineyards and hillsides filled with tree groves. What a beautiful city! We noticed right away that this is a very upscale area. Palm Beach has nothing on this town. Also, we noticed that no buildings were higher than three stories! It was wonderful to not see high rise buildings anywhere.  The Spanish/Mediterranean architecture of almost all buildings was a nice touch. The beaches were beautiful and they are all dog friendly. There was a paved bike/walk trail all along the beach, which we rode one day. There were parks and cafes along the beachside also. There was an area on the west beach that rose up to craggy cliffs, it was a great view.

Offshore of Santa Barbara there are several islands, The Channel Islands National Park. There are ferries to a couple of the larger islands. These are all preserved, even fishing within a few miles of the shores is not allowed. It’s so strange to look out over the Pacific and see mountains! We also noticed the haze along the coast and the islands. We were told that this is due to smog from the California cities and even from across the ocean.

Another thing we noticed were the oil rigs offshore. These are now not operational, as they were shut down many years ago. The huge city marina there is home to a large commercial fishing fleet. The Steams Wharf is a huge pier where one can drive their vehicle. There are numerous shops and restaurants. We rode our bikes onto the wharf and saw amazing views back toward the city and mountains.

Another day we took the dogs down to Goleta Beach State Park, where we could let them run off leash. It was a gorgeous day and we all had a nice time.

At the lake found the Sweetwater Trail, a nice mountain biking/hiking trail along the lakeshore. It turned out to be a challenging, 2.5 mile trail with steep, rocky ascents and descents. This trail was our activity for two days. The views were amazing with mountains to the north and south. Kurt hiked a trail in the Santa Ynez Mountains, near the campground. The Tequepis Trail follows ridges up to the peak of Tower Mountain, where there were 360 degree views. He took some great photos up there.

We truly enjoyed the Santa Barbara area and the valley where we camped. It was one of the most gorgeous places we have been so far. It certainly is a great place to visit, but I don’t think I could live here. We thought taxes were high in Palm Beach County, everything is so expensive to live here. Again, we hated to leave so soon, but we were heading to see more of the coast. Next stop, Morro Bay.