2017 Pacific Coast Trip - San Diego, California

Photo link:

https://goo.gl/photos/HJELeCjHhdhYTG737

Tuesday, April 4^th - Monday, April 10^th  

Mission Bay RV Park – San Diego, California

The drive to San Diego took us across the southernmost desert of California and then over mountains through the Cleveland National Forest. Wow, we had no idea there was a major mountain range to cross. There were several windmill farms in the valleys, along with growing communities with homes dotting the mountainsides and valleys. Again, we saw more new urban sprawl outside of a major city. The drive was through a different environment than we have seen before. As we descended the mountains and entered the urban areas, the population (housing) density was even more incredible. Houses on top of mesas, on sides of mountains and along the highway.  Finally, we arrived in Mission Bay, such a gorgeous area of San Diego.

We stayed a week at Mission Bay RV Park. This park was our choice due to the location (on Mission Bay waterfront) and the amenities. There was a walk path along the bay where we were able to walk our dogs with a waterfront view.

The first day we headed out for a drive around the area and to visit the Cabrillo National Monument. This monument honors the landing by Juan Cabrillo, being the first European to discover the west coast of America. We were so surprised to find an amazing peninsula with high elevation and rocky cliffs. This property is also occupied by the US Navy, with various naval institutions operating there. The views of San Diego are spectacular! On the Oceanside, there are whale viewing areas for the winter migrations. Anyone visiting this area should drive up there to see the beauty and views. We drove through many areas of San Diego heading back to Mission Bay.

Another day we headed north to the Carmel Valley (not to be confused with Carmel By the Sea near Monterey). This is a sprawling valley with many housing communities. Black Mountain Community Park is located there, which has a mountain bike trail system. We rode several miles and enjoyed the views from the trails. From there, we headed over to La Jolla, a community along the elevated, rocky coast. It is very upscale and is the location where Scripps Research institutions were founded. The coast was incredible with high rocky cliffs, tide pools, beaches and coves where seals and sea lions were hanging out. It was a beautiful day and we truly enjoyed walking along the shore.

We discovered there is a trolley (actually a train) public transportation, so we found a parking place near the station, which happened to be next to Old Town San Diego. First we walked through the historic area, viewing the buildings and learning about the founding of San Diego. We also had a great lunch from a taco stand, authentic Mexican tacos and salsa. After that we got back on the train and took it to San Ysidro at the Mexican border. Kurt just wanted to see the border and he saw that the traffic going into Mexico was miles long and was told that if we entered then the return could take up to a couple of hours waiting in line in immigration. Fortunately, we did not cross over to Mexico, I just was not excited about going into Tijuana. On the way back, we decided to get off the train in downtown San Diego.  We walked around checking out the area, what a nice clean city. We were impressed. Anyway, the train trip was long and we finally got back to our truck to return to camp. It was a long but fun day.

The next day we took our bikes down to Pacific Beach and rode the beach boardwalk from the north end down to the inlet at Mission Beach. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun people watching. The beaches are so different here from those in south Florida. After returning to camp we took the dogs to Dog Beach, on the south side of the inlet at Mission Beach. This is an off-leash, dog designated beach. Our boys had so much fun running, sniffing and playing with any dog who wanted to play. It was one of the nicest beaches for dogs we have seen, other than our Jupiter Beach at home.

One afternoon we decided to take the dogs to a beachside area called Sunset Cliffs. This is on the south side of San Diego and has a walk path along the several miles. The dogs enjoyed the walk and we all had fun. Again, the coast line beaches are so amazing with the big waves, cliffs, rocky ledges and great views.

Our last day there we decided to go to the world renowned San Diego Zoo. We don’t normally go to zoos, but this was the San Diego Zoo! And we didn’t know if we would ever make it back out here someday. It was worth the price and we spent most of the day there observing the wonderful animal habitats and looking at species we had never seen before.  Our favorite exhibit was the meerkats! A few years ago we watched a series on NatGeo called Meerkat Manor, so we were already biased about this sweet little animals.

We were sad to leave San Diego, but again, California is a big state and there is still so much to see! On to Joshua Tree National Park.

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Yuma, Arizona

Photo link:

https://goo.gl/photos/j96UN1gYANbqBbg26

Thursday, March 30^th - Tuesday, April 3^rd 

Riverfront RV Park - Yuma, Arizona

As a stopover heading toward California, we stayed in Yuma for five days. Yuma is located at the extreme southwest corner of Arizona where the state borders California just north of the Mexican border. We were very surprised to see that this is such a huge city, spread out for miles around the desert area and the green Colorado River valley. The area was desert environment and very flat. The only mountains were very distant. We saw extensive agriculture within the valley and were surprised to find out that winter lettuce is one of their largest crops, along with wheat, alfalfa and melons. Because of the climate, agriculture is a year round business. The development of a major irrigation system drawing water from the Colorado River, the valley is very fertile and productive. Also, the city is full of RV parks, since many north westerners spend their winters in Yuma.

Yuma also has a very large military presence. The military installations include the Marine Corp Air Station and the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Grounds. Because of this, we observed many aircraft flying around the area, from fighter jets to large bombers and helicopters.

We quickly found out that there are not many outdoor adventures around the area. We did find a mountain bike park in the desert, but after riding just a few miles, it was a big disappointment. So most of our days there were spent exploring the town. The city has many bicycle trails and green parks. One day we rode our bikes on a trail that passed right by the RV park. We were able to ride into town, explore some historical parks and see the Colorado Crossing location. The historic Yuma Territorial Prison is now a State Park and part of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area. The Colorado Crossing is historic as most frontier explorers and settlers passed through here heading to California. At that time the Colorado was a huge rushing river and the crossing was dangerous. Many settlers had to leave many of their belongings in Yuma, since it was difficult to carry them all across the river in their covered wagons. Because of this, there are many antiquities remaining in the area.

The fortunate (or unfortunate) event was that our grey water tank valve broke while we were in the park. Kurt spent a whole day working on this and was able to get the parts at a nearby RV parts store (fortunately for all the RV’s in Yuma) and was able to replace the valves for all the tanks. This was a nasty job to do, but he saved a few hundred dollars by not having a repairman come out and fix it. Now he can add RV plumbing to his retirement resume J …

We were very ready to move on to California and enjoy the great weather and beautiful landscapes. On to San Diego!

2017 Pacific Coast Trip – Tucson, Arizona

Photo link:

https://goo.gl/photos/kHUQbZas5WsJuFs9A

Thursday, March 23^rd  – Wednesday, March 29^th

Catalina State Park – Tucson, Arizona

The drive from New Mexico to Arizona was spectacular, as we chose to drive highway 60, a back road mountain drive. After spending a night at the Walmart parking lot in Show Low, Arizona, we woke up to a very cold morning and snow falling. Wow, we knew it was cold, but snow in March? However, Show Low is at a high altitude of 6345’. The scenic drive from Show Low to Globe, Arizona was one of the most beautiful and surprising drives we have ever taken. We passed over high altitude mountains, through a few passes and two major canyons. The first view to take our breath away was Corduroy Canyon, with multi-colored reds and browns along the canyon walls. Further along the road we passed through the Salt River Canyon, which was even bigger and longer. At a rest stop down in the canyon, we were able to view the river up close. This area was used for white water rafting and kayaking. We watched a few paddlers receiving training for an upcoming white water trip. After a few hours, the road wound out of the mountains and down into the Tucson Valley. We finally arrived at Catalina State Park, at the base of the Catalina foothills. We stayed at this park back in 2014 when were in Tucson. We love it there!

While there, we hiked some amazing trails in the park. The longest, most challenging trail is the Romero Canyon trail, which I hiked by myself, while Kurt mountain biked at the Golder Ranch. Kurt hiked Romero Canyon on the next day. Another day, I hiked my favorite trail, Montrose Pools, a smaller canyon with a creek flowing down through the canyon with multiple small waterfalls and water pools. The hike was challenging with steep climbs, rock scrambling and trying to follow the trail among the rocks and water. It was very enjoyable on a beautiful day in the mountains.

We also mountain biked at Tucson Mountain Park, on some great desert trails. After biking, we stopped at the Saguaro National Park Visitor Center. The Saguaro (sa-WAH-ro) cactus are unique to southern Arizona in the Sonoran Desert. This time the Saguaro were not yet in bloom, too early in the season. In 2014 when we were here, they were in full bloom with gorgeous white flowers on the very tops of the cactus arms.

On our last day there, we went back to the Golder Ranch trails. The weather was perfect for riding; sunny and a little chilly. We both rode trails that we enjoyed. At one point, I took a wrong turn and ended up in a field where cattle were grazing. No problem, until I realized I was not on the right trail, turned around and on the way back, a young black cow was standing right in the middle of the trail facing me. We had a standoff for a few minutes before he decided to move along off the trail.  Whew! I didn’t want to stand out there much longer, it was a little nerve racking. Anyway, I got back on track and really had fun on the rest of the ride.

Now it was time to continue westward. The next stop will be in Yuma, Arizona where we have never been.

2017 - Pacific Coast Trip - New Mexico

2017 Pacific Coast Trip  - Elephant Butte Lake, New Mexico

Photo link:

https://goo.gl/photos/aM19J9gdxTmszTV66

Friday, March 10^th  – Tuesday, March 13^th  

Elephant Butte State Park, New Mexico

After spending an overnight stop in El Paso Texas (in a parking lot of Sam’s Club), we headed north into New Mexico. Our plans changed slightly and we ended up camping at Elephant Butte State Park, near the town of Truth or Consequences. This park lies on the west bank of the reservoir along the Rio Grande River, where it flows south through New Mexico. What a delight to find such a nice state park with a wonderful campground overlooking the lake. We stayed there three days and totally enjoyed it. If we would have known how nice it was, we would have booked more nights and moved our scheduled days out. I remember when as a child we lived in El Paso and our parents took us to Elephant Butte for a vacation, but my memories are a little fuzzy.

The park has several miles of hiking/biking trails, through a desert environment. The trails were well used and maintained. We biked several miles on the Lakeside Trail, the Dam Trail and also the shorter Luchini Trail. The weather was perfect, highs in the 70’s and sunny. The views of the lake were spectacular and the moon rise/sunsets were even better. There were a couple of sand bars where you could drive out onto. Some people even had their RVs and camped out there. On a couple of afternoons, we drove the truck down on the sandbar and let the dogs run off leash, while we snacked and enjoyed happy hour. It was so relaxing and fun. When we come back to New Mexico someday, we will certainly stay there for more days.

2017 Pacific Coast Trip – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Photo link:

https://goo.gl/photos/b1YSFePgaWdjeYDR6

Tuesday, March 14^th  – Tuesday, March 21^st  

Coronado Village, Albuquerque, New Mexico

After our enjoyable time at Elephant Butte, we headed north to Albuquerque, where my nieces and their families live. We scheduled eight nights there and stayed in a really nice RV/Mobile home community. This was a great find, as it was a well maintained community with great amenities and a convenient location.

The first couple of days we spend mountain biking in the Sandia Foothills, at Elena Gallego Park (part of the Albuquerque Open Spaces recreation areas.) What a great location for hiking, biking and picnicking. The mountain biking trails were extensive, with all levels of abilities (novice to advanced riders). To top it all off, the views and surrounding mountains were so amazing.  One day Kurt rode with my nephew, Jim, and they went to trails on the east side of Sandia Mountain. These trails were more advanced and challenging. Kurt was so happy to ride with another guy that enjoys riding these types of trails.

My niece, Erin, is a lobbyist at the New Mexico Legislature. She introduced a bill to create the Teresa Muffolletto Brain Aneurysm Awareness Day of March 19^th, the day my sister Terrie passed away last year from a ruptured brain aneurysm. Some of the family was able to travel up to Santa Fe to sit as guests for the House vote. The bill passed unanimously, a good day for a tribute to Teresa. It was a great honor.

On Sunday, March 19^th, the whole family gathered together to go to Bandelier National Monument, one of my sister Terrie’s favorite places for hiking and viewing ancient Indian dwelling ruins. This day was the one year anniversary of her passing, so we hiked there in her memory and knew her spirit was with us. It was great to be with the family and spend this special time together. Bandelier is in the mountains near Los Alamos (where the Los Alamos National Laboratory is located). On the way out, we stopped by White Rock Overlook. This is in the small town of White Rock and is part of a city park. My father, Bruce, loved this place so much that he always stayed up there when he came to New Mexico. After his passing, my sisters spread his ashes off the overlook cliff which was his wish and very fitting for his love of the area. We went out to the overlook to enjoy the views and a special place.

One day, Kurt and I drove down to Old Town Albuquerque, where Kurt had never visited. It is the historic area of the city and is well preserved. There are many historic buildings, shops and restaurants there. We had a great Mexican food lunch. We walked around the plaza and looked at some of the shops. It was a beautiful day to walk around the town.

On our last day, I planned a family picnic day at Elena Gallegos Park in the Sandia Foothills. While there the family could hike, bike or relax in a great park. We had a nice day, grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, relaxed and had fun. Kurt and Jim rode the mountain bike trails and enjoyed them. I left that day with heavy heart knowing that it will be at least a year before I can visit my family there again. These nieces and their children are special to me, as the descendants of my sister Terrie.

On our way out of New Mexico, we decided to take the back mountain roads toward Arizona. We were able to visit the Very Large Array (VLA) National Radio Astronomy Observatory, in a remote area of western New Mexico. This laboratory consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped configuration on the Plains of San Agustin fifty miles west of Socorro, New Mexico. We drove back into this remote scientific lab to see the amazing instruments that collect radio frequencies from around the universe and convert them to visible images that we have all seen in science shows. Kurt was so excited to see this, he always wanted to visit there.

After a long day of driving we finally made it into Arizona. Stay tuned for the updates on our Arizona adventures.

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - Big Bend National Park

Photo link:

https://goo.gl/photos/FdZ9EXzt7HnkgGzz6

Saturday, March 4^th – Thursday, March 9^th

Rio Grande Village RV Campground

The drive to Big Bend National Park required a one night stopover in Ft. Stockton, Texas. From there the drive was 150 miles south into the park that exists along the Mexican border. As we drove south, the amazing mountains of Big Bend came into view and finally we arrived at the Rio Grande Village, where the RV campground and another non-hookup campground are located. This area is right along the Rio Grande and the Mexican border. There was a Visitor Center, well stocked camp store, fuel (including diesel), and good Wi-Fi access. The views were stunning from any location in the park. Our hikes included the Boquillas Canyon trail along the Rio Grande, the Rio Grande Overlook/Hot Springs trail, the Window Trail in the Chisos Mountains, the Rio Grande Nature Trail on the east side of the campgrounds, and Kurt hiked the 12 mile South Rim Trail around the Chisos Mountains. The day that Kurt did this hike, I stayed back at camp with the dogs; early that morning a huge wind blew through the valley, ultimately ended up as a dust storm. All day long there were sustained winds of about 40 mph, gusting up to 60mph. The park is so vast that the wind wasn’t even noticed in the Chisos Mountains.

We also drove the beautiful scenic drive on the western side of the park to historic areas with remains of settlers’ ranches and an old store, which is now a Visitors Center. The Santa Elena Canyon was also on the westernmost side of the park. On one exploratory drive, we went back into the historic hot springs along the Rio Grande, where there were remains of a resort from the 1800’s. There was a bath house over the hot springs, now the walls are gone and visitors to the park can soak in the hot, mineral waters there.

One day we decided to “cross the border” and visit the village of Boquillas del Carmen. We easily went through Mexican customs/immigration using our passports. Upon returning, the U.S. immigration was just as easy. They used an electronic system where we inserted our passports, a phone call came in from an agent in El Paso and using cameras asked a few questions, then we were allowed back in the good old USA. However, we did have a fun time in the village, had a very good Mexican lunch and tequila/beer. Most of the villagers make a living selling their hand-made crafts to the tourists. Without tourism there, the little village could not exist. The people were very friendly and welcomed tourism. On our last day there, we were able to get Kurt on the Rio Grande River, he was just wanting to kayak that river so much. We drove down a 30 mile gravel road to the put-in, then he paddled back to a boat ramp that was near the campground and I picked him up there.

Wow, all I can say is this is the most amazing, vast desert wilderness we have seen. So many different eco-systems, terrain and mountain geology. We are so glad we didn’t drive by Big Bend this time. It was a wonderful surprise, not at all what we expected. We highly recommend our friends and family to visit there (they even have a lodge for non-campers), but stay at least six days. There is so much to see and do.

Next, we are headed into New Mexico to visit some places we’ve never been and spend some time with my family in Albuquerque.

2017 - Pacific Coast Trip - Canyon Lake, Texas

Photo link:

https://goo.gl/photos/mEeha7S8Bui595XaA

Friday, February 24^th – Thursday, March 2nd

Cranes Mill Campground – Canyon Lake, Texas

We drove through the eastern side of Hill Country, a lovely part of Texas. The destination was Canyon Lake, just northeast of San Antonio and halfway to Austin. This beautiful, blue, clear water lake is a dammed reservoir of the Guadalupe River run by the Army Corps. We setup in Cranes Mill campground, the only ACOE one still open on this lake. In 2014 and 2015, there were major floods in this area, which wiped out many lakeside recreational parks, including two ACOE campgrounds. The sites were very spacious and all had a view of the lake. There was a fishing pier next to the campground and a boat launch just down the road. Again, the Army Corps campground met all of our expectations.

On the north side of the lake is a peninsula with the Madrone Trails mountain biking and hiking system. We headed up there on the second day to find several miles of very rocky trails with many drops and elevation changes. These trails are so different from any we’ve ridden. The geology in this region is all limestone base, with a desert atmosphere. We rode the trails as best as possible, but they were not the fun flowing trails that we really enjoy.

Hiking trails were mostly non-existent here, other than the Madrone Trails. A couple of days we made our own hiking trail by taking the dogs over to a closed tent camping area and let them run off leash. We all enjoyed the walk around the lake shore.

Another day we drove east to San Marcos, where there are more mountain biking trails. This system at Purgatory Creek was well designed and maintained, but still very rocky single-track. There were some “moderate” trails that were filled with huge, volcanic rock that was mostly impossible for me to ride, so I hiked my bike through many of these trails. However, there were trails through forested areas and open fields, a little more interesting and fun. We enjoyed these trails and got a good workout.

Kurt did put his kayak in the lake and paddled around while fishing, which he always enjoys. The Guadalupe River runs through this region, upstream and downstream of the dam. We drove around the area looking for kayak put-ins and take-outs. We quickly found that most of the river bank lands are privately owned, with little or no public access. It is a beautiful river and is famous for fly-fishing. But basically, to get on the river you must pay an outfitter and you cannot use your own equipment. So disappointing.

This stop also allowed us some down-time, relaxing and hanging out around camp. This is such a beautiful place, we definitely would consider returning here if we ever come this way again.

From here we are heading to Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas. So excited to explore this park and see what it has in store for us.

2017 Pacific Coast Trip - East Texas

Photo link:

https://goo.gl/photos/4cNQ2rzdseAHfnBV6

Monday, February 13^th – Saturday, February 18^th

Village Creek State Park – near Beaumont, TX

The drive to Village Creek S.P. was a long day. It was a familiar drive and campground, as we had camped there in 2014. This Texas S.P. is very nice with a great paddling creek running through it. The creek winds through the forest and has many white sandbars along the way. We were able to paddle an 8 mile section of the creek with an RV couple who also had a kayak, so we ran our own shuttle from put-in to take-out. There were many hiking/biking trails throughout the park, which we enjoyed with the dogs and a few times riding our bikes. This park was also in the process of repairing flood damage that had occurred in the last couple of years. While there we did eat out for Valentine’s Day at a local Mexican restaurant in Lumberton, the nearest town. Again, we noticed the growth in the area since 2014. We keep seeing this population/building boom in places where we have been before. It seems that one day we will have to move back out to the boonies to get away from the sprawling cities and towns. After six days there, we continued westward to a new adventure in Texas.

Sunday, February 19^th – Thursday, February 23^rd  

Bastrop State Park – Bastrop, Texas (southeast of Austin)

We found this State Park while looking for nearby great mountain biking trails. Also, this was a highly rated State Park campground, with full hook-ups for our RV. We were able to schedule a full week, with the plan for a lot of hiking and mountain biking. After taking the back roads like we prefer to do, we arrived at the park, where we were able to see the effects of the “Lost Pines Forest” fire in 2012. The fire burned 34,000 acres and destroyed 1660 homes during a bad drought period. It has been known as one of the worst fires in the state. The forest is beginning to regrow, but very slowly. There used to be a golf course on the property, which was also destroyed during the drought and fire.

The dogs enjoyed hiking off leash with us in the park, the trails were along the steep hills and were mostly rocky, red dirt and mud. The whole park was very hilly with steep roads. The campground is well maintained with spacious campsites. The second day there we drove over to the mountain bike trails, Rocky Hill Ranch, near Smithville. After arriving we checked in and paid the small fee. There were no other riders there and we proceeded onto the trails. After about 3 miles of riding the trails we rode back into a forest area, where we found the trails extremely muddy and not rideable. Our tires were caked with about 1-2 inches of red mud, making it impossible to ride; plus it is a known rule not to ride muddy trails as it will destroy them. There had been a couple of previous days with a lot of rain. So we turned around and headed back to the truck. Wow, what a disappointment, we had planned to ride there at least three days. As a side note, while looking at the satellite view of the trails, we noticed a huge field with carved out letters, LUEKE. We googled this and found out this was on an adjacent ranch and is the farmers name. He carved the letters by removing pine trees for cattle grazing and left the letters for his name. It was designed so precisely, that NASA uses this view to measure photos taken from the ISS space station. If you want more information on this interesting story, check it out:  http://www.cntraveler.com/story/the-luecke-farm-landmark-you-can-see-from-space

The remainder of the week, we drove around through the Hill Country, hiked some more trails and rode bikes around the park. We also used the time to get some maintenance done, work on/clean our bikes, shopping, laundry and a night of great TexMex food. We really enjoyed the town of Bastrop, which was much bigger than expected. Texas seems to also be growing in population and development. However, the Hill Country around the area is so beautiful. This wouldn’t be a bad place to live, as long you one is out in the country.

On to our next adventure in Texas, it’s a big state!