Sacramento

When it comes to camping in Fort Bragg, the ideal solution would be to have a helicopter bring the moose in and then come to pick it up and take it away. With our helicopter in the shop, we were left to resort to Highway 20 out of the place. We've written about this stretch of highway before. It wasn't fun then and it still isn't so. But, today, we added another twisty, turning leg and continued on CA-20 from 101 to I-5. That's 100 miles of white knuckle driving in one day. Tons of fun!

Along the way along Highway 20 we did catch a glimpse or two of Clear Lake. A few years back we spent a very fun weekend here. Now we're wondering why we didn't return. (Was it the curvy roads, perhaps?)

When we finally reached the long, wide, straight stretch of highway otherwise known as I-5, we let out a cheer. Then we made a beeline for Capitol West RV Park in Sacramento. We wedged the moose into its spot in this urban-but-quite-suitable-for-an-overnight-or-two park. This destination park served as a the spot of a special meetup. See that diesel pusher parked right behind us? It belongs to our newest friends, Sandy and John.

Sandy and John left Wisconsin at the beginning of the year and have spent the last three months in the Golden State. We really enjoyed meeting this very fun couple and look forward to seeing them down the road soon.

Of course, we met the other member of their family: KoKo. We're the first to admit that we're cat people. But, KoKo is definitely our kind of dog.

Yesterday, the four of us ventured a bit east to catch up with our friend Gypsy, who has settled into new digs here in Sacramento. We met Gypsy the first time in February 2009 here in Sacramento. Then, we caught up with her at Butte Lake in Mt. Lassen a year ago. We met once more when she passed through Kansas City last September, and we caught up again in Swannanoa, NC in November. It was wonderful to see our cross-country travel buddy again. We look forward to seeing her down the road.

After a couple of fun and restful nights in Sacramento, something tells me we're in for more curves tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Back to Fort Bragg

We've spent our holiday weekend here, in the peaceful (and sometimes rainy, foggy, cool and windy) confines of Pomo Campground in Fort Bragg. This very popular park was filled to the brim with families enjoying the unofficial first weekend of Summer. This is the view out our front window in a rare moment when the lawn was not filled with kids.

We are parked next door to a site we occupied here on our first visit a year-and-a-half ago. It's very nice to be back.

The purpose of our visit to this coastal town was to join friends Robert and Marie for one of their twice a year abalone camping trips. Robert and Marie were parked just across Highway 101 in their new blue bus. It's a beauty! They were joined by several camping buddies who spent the weekend diving for, cleaning, preparing and enjoying fresh abalone. We enjoyed lots of good conversation and laughter around the campfire.

We ventured into town to do a bit of exploring. While Paul washed the squirrel, I checked out a local quilt show. (Can you believe Paul passed on that?)

The quilt show was setup in three buildings in a three-block area. In each venue, visitors were encouraged to vote for their favorite quilt. This colorful quilt, entitled Kumbaya, got my first vote.

This quilt featured "framed" photos of the quilter's family, with an explanation of each. I'm sure it is a treasured family heirloom.

This quilt received top honors for best hand applique and best hand quilting. All of that handwork earned it my vote. It's beautiful!

All I could say about this quilt was "WOW!"

With quilting fans meandering the sidewalks of Fort Bragg all weekend, many merchants created window displays to tempt quilters to come inside. These cute little socks got me...almost!

In between enjoying abalone with friends and admiring quilts, I finished off my California fabric selections for our future quilt. These four fabrics are definitely very "California". Don't you think?

Our very popular park is peaceful once again, as most of the campers headed home today. We're treating ourselves to one more night here on the coast before we head inland tomorrow.

Napa

Welcome to Napa - a beautiful town nestled in a quiet valley surrounded by vineyards and wineries. These last few days, though, Napa has been all about rain. Lots of it.

We've visited more than our fair share of wineries in the valley over the last several years, so we're not really disappointed. Spending a few quiet days here at the Napa Valley Expo is just the ticket we needed to recuperate a bit after our fun-filled weekend. The highlight of our days here in wine country was a visit from Winnie friend Sue, who is a Napa local. She treated us to a tour of town and a scenic drive up Highway 29 to Rutherford Grill, where we enjoyed a very tasty lunch.

We've enjoyed our place in wine country. Now it's time to move to our place on the coast for a few days.

How great is that?

Morgan Hill Revisited

What a weekend! We returned to Morgan Hill for another gathering with our Winnebago Club, The Chardonnay Travelers. We served as co-wagonmasters for the weekend along with fellow members Mary and Bob. Official club photographer Jan sent us this collage. Isn't it wonderful?

Our home for the weekend was Coyote Valley Resort. We loved it the last time we were here and still do. The only thing we would have changed was the weather. It was chilly and windy. We even had a few raindrops!

One of the activities we planned for the weekend was a geocaching outing. After a brief introduction to the game, Paul led a group of enthusiastic new cachers on a hunt for five geocaches. This first find was right outside the park.

One evening we all ventured out to a nearby steakhouse. Doesn't this well fed and watered group look happy?

The folks at the other end of our table look equally satisfied!

It was great fun getting together with these good folks again. It had been nearly a year since we've seen them. We look forward to meeting up with several members in Iowa. And, you just never know where and when you might run into a Chardonnay Traveler on the road.

Thanks, gang, for a very fun weekend.

Pleasanton

Our two-and-a-half week stay at the Pleasanton fairgrounds flew by. With all kinds of appointments to tend to, we were pretty much always on the run. We did manage to make time to see a few friends and have a little fun. (Although we sure didn't take many pictures!) We had a great time catching up with friends Cindy and Rick. We spent an afternoon introducing them to geocaching. Here they are at their first find, a virtual cache not far from the fairgrounds. (The sculpture is part of the cache, so I was trying - without much success - to include that in the photo.)

This picture just makes me smile. And, yes, there was a cache back there.

On Mother's Day, we joined long time friends Jean and Kevin for an early morning hike near Mt. Diablo. The highlight of the trek was this amazing rainbow.

Along the trail I just had to snap these California poppies! After all, you just have to stop and smell the flowers, right?

We didn't get to see everyone or do everything we had hoped while we were here. So, I guess we'll just have to come back! Of course, our friends can always meet us on the road somewhere. Y'all are always welcome!

Back to California

After three nights of sitting in Kingman, we were ready to roll early yesterday. We were on the interstate at 7:00, which is some kind of personal record for us. An hour or so later we crossed into California. One second later the highway went to heck!

Oh, yes! How quickly we forget! Driving in California is all about potholes and crazy drivers. And, when you're driving across the desert you can add a healthy dose of wind to that mix. Have we missed it? Nope!

Our moose crossed the desert with ease and climbed up and over the Tehachapi Pass like a champ. Soon after we arrived in Bakersfield and rolled into the Orange Grove RV Park for a one night stay. The park is aptly named. Bullwinkle is surrounded by orange trees! Each winter the park encourages guests to pick all of the oranges they can eat. (I think we'll have to come back!)

One of the things we've always loved about the drive up I-5 from Bakersfield to the Bay Area is passing by miles and miles of fruit and nut orchards. (California really is the land of fruits and nuts!) For decades, much of the food that landed on family tables came from this part of the state. This lush Central Valley was one of the things that made me proud to be a Californian.

How quickly things can change.

As we headed north on I-5, we couldn't believe our eyes. Instead of rich green rows of trees and vineyards, we saw acres and acres of fallow land. Each barren farm sported yellow signs like this one, which read: "Congress Created Dust Bowl." Most of the few orchards that remain are in various stages of distress. Some were in the process of removing the trees and plowing up the ground.

Dismayed at this sad sight, I Googled the words on the yellow signs and started to piece things together. There are two sides to every story, and this is no exception. But, between drought, federal legislation to protect a two-inch fish in California's Delta and food prices, thousands of people are in the Central Valley are without work. The state's agricultural economy has literally dried up. Unemployment is up to 45% in some parts of the Central Valley. Instead of producing food for the world, California has quickly become a major importer of produce.

No matter which side you're on, this sucks.

With nothing but bone-dry land and tumbleweeds to look at, we turned our attention to the wind. We faced a pretty stiff headwind most of the day.

You know it's windy in the Bay Area when the windmills on the Altamont Pass are all cranking. Today was one of those days.

We timed our arrival to the Bay Area on Saturday, thinking traffic might not be too bad. We thought wrong. Interstate 580 was as nutty as we remember. And, see that safety zone Paul tried to keep in front of the moose? It was filled with at least two cars right after I snapped this photo. And, there's nothing like the feeling of having a lane-splitting motorcyclist squeeze between your motorhome and the car in the next lane while you're cruising down a busy freeway in the wind.

Welcome back!

Mt. Shasta

We're settling in for our second night after an incredibly restful day in this beautiful spot in very Northern California.  

We're staying at the Mt. Shasta KOA, which is a rustic-feeling campground in the shadow of this majestic mountain. It's a nice place, within walking distance of the very quaint little town. Our chief complaint is very spotty wifi.

What did we do today? Well, basically nothing. And, that was absolutely perfect.

Tomorrow morning we're off to Bend, OR.

Oakland

Lots of things are in motion around here. So, Bullwinkle is spending a few days in Oakland. We're hanging out at the home of our dear friends P and J, who offered us some driveway space and a handy 30 amp hookup.

We're enjoying gorgeous weather, stunning views and great company. Plus, they even threw us a party!

We're hitting the road tomorrow.

Chico

We spent the weekend in beautiful (and unbearably hot) Chico, California. Yes, this was the temperature at just about 5 PM yesterday. Needless to say, our Saturday Happy Hour was held in the cool comfort of our rolling home, where our trusty basement air kept things nice and comfortable.  (OK. We'll confess that the thermometer was in the sun when this picture was taken. The official high was somewhere north of 105 degrees for the day. True, it was a dry heat. But, it was still HOT!)

The reason for our visit to this toasty town was an outing of the Chardonnay Travelers, our chapter of the Winnebago-Itasca Travelers club. Our home for the weekend was the Almond Tree RV Park, a very lovely and friendly park that we highly recommend. (But, please, come when it's cooler!) This was a very special weekend for us, as it marked the first anniversary of our chance meeting with these good people on the day we took delivery of our moose. It's also the last outing we'll be able to attend for quite some time, as Bullwinkle's Travels will be taking us far and away for awhile. As always, we enjoyed the fun, food and great conversation that comes with spending a weekend with these good people. We look forward to seeing them somewhere down the road and wish them all safe travels.

There are lots of things to do in Chico. And, someday we'd like to do them. But, when the temperature soars over the century mark, the best thing to do is chill. And, that's exactly what we did. 

We're home again, but not for long. Much more to come.

Leaving Shingletown

We're back home after our few days in the mountains. As we left the campground, we made our what seemed like thousandth trip down the road to Shingletown. 

As we approached "town" for the last time, we snapped a quick picture. As you can see, this booming metropolis is really nothing more than a wide spot in the road. But, to us, this closest spot with cell service, served as our vital link with the civilized world.

Thanks, Shingletown!

Burney Falls

When you're camping in the mountains, the must-see sights can be rather far away. On this gorgeous day, we stretched our road tripping to a 100-mile round trip to McArthur-Burney Falls State Park. The centerpiece of the park is the 129-foot Burney Falls. We hiked down to and up and around the falls, shooting many pictures along the way. It was one of those places where people take pictures of each other. A lovely couple took this picture of another lovely couple.

Burney Falls is fed by Burney Creek. As we crossed the bridge over the picturesque creek, we snapped a picture. The 1.5-mile hike was a great way to spend the afternoon as we exercised our bodies and our shutter fingers.

Once again, our attention was drawn to big things, like the falls, and the small things in the park. This bee was very busy this afternoon!

Was this far away spot worth a long drive on a beautiful afternoon? Absolutely!

Butte Lake

We wandered far from our cozy campground today and made a 65-mile road trip to this beautiful spot. Butte Lake is located in the Northeast corner of Mt. Lassen Volcanic National Park. The volcanic remains appear to "spill" into the lake.

Our Jeep Rocky really enjoyed the trip down Butte Lake Road, a six-mile gravel road that winds through the forest and sometimes feels more like a washboard than a road.

We had a very good reason for making this long and rough drive. We came to see Marty, our fulltime RVing friend we caught up with in Sacramento earlier this year. She's serving as a camphost at the Butte Lake Campground. (Doesn't she look official?) This campground is as gorgeous as it is rustic. No hookups for campers and it's many miles to anything that begins to resemble civilization, which explains why we were just visiting.

We sat in this beautiful rustic campground and caught up. P spent a minute showing Marty his new iphone. The funny thing about this picture is we were miles and miles from cell service. So, at this location, this little apple was pretty much a paperweight.

After a couple of hours of great conversation, we left Marty to do her afternoon rounds and we headed back to our campground, with new appreciation for our full hookups. We look forward to seeing this special friend down the road.