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San Benito
After a longer than expected stopover at home, we finally set off on the next leg of our journey. Our first stop was intended to be just a quick weekend visit at the Thousand Trails in San Benito, but the friends we had hoped to rendezvous with were forced to cancel their plans, and after seeing the area, we decided to extend our stay for the full 14 day limit. The campground is full of mature sycamores and stately cork oaks and has a resident herd of deer that can be found near the camp store at almost any time of day. There is a large clubhouse with all the…
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Snowflower
Thousand Trails Snowflower is one of the closest to home and surrounded by the majestic exposed granite of the high sierra, but I’ll have second thoughts about coming back.
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Yosemite Summer ’23
After a short but productive stop over back home, we couldn’t wait to get back in the camper. Sacramento has a way of reminding us why we became gypsies in the first place. On our way out of town, it seemed like everything was trying to stop us from getting out. The valve in the shower that our brand new tenants need to use suddenly stopped working, Dottie needed an urgent vet visit, and somebody tried to steal our Kia. Apparently Kia theft is all the rage these days, but the would-be thief was relegated by their incompetence to the role of vandal, as all the damage they caused didn’t…
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Rancho Notso Grande
Long hauls are tough with a 2-year-old on board, so we like to break up the drive wherever we can. On the way from Soledad Canyon to Yosemite Lakes, we found another Harvest Host for an overnight stop near Hanford, CA. Rancho Notso Grande is an orchard and berry farm with a roadside farm stand and a steady stream of boondocking visitors. The owner took us on his golf cart for a tour of the farm and a sampling of his wares. It was too early in the season for pick-your-own berries, but he offered an assortment of wines, jams, vinegar, and meat from lamb raised on the farm. We…
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Soledad Canyon
From Vegas we headed south on I-15 and finally crossed back into California after seven months on the road. I have never seen so much greenery on this stretch of desert. We took CA-18 west out of Victorville which becomes CA-138 (Pearblossom Hwy). This route skirts just to the north of the San Gabriel mountains, which separate the Mojave Desert from the LA basin. Once near Palmdale, we veered south toward the town of Acton and our destination, Thousand Trails Soledad Canyon. The campground is so named for the canyon in which it is located, which follows the Santa Clara River through the Angeles National Forest to Santa Clarita. I…
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Union Valley ’22
For our first official camping trip in the new RV, we took it somewhere that has been part of my family tradition for over 30 years. The annual camping trip to Union Valley lined up perfectly with our new purchase, but there was just one problem. The camper we chose is a Behemoth, and I am a total n00b to driving a truck and trailer. This year was different because our traditional campground was closed for renovations. Instead we booked a large group site at a campground on the other side of the lake. Still, there were already several RVs in the lot from our group and the campground advises…
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