Crashing Waves, Giant Trees & One Happy Dog

Wow! The power and grandeur of the Pacific Ocean! I don't think there's anything like it that compares. I can remember as a child, crying when our weekend was over and it was time to go home. I had so much fun at the beach that I never wanted to leave.

Last week we left Chico, CA and made our way across a winding Hwy 299 to the ocean. Both Duane & I were excited to be back on the Pacific Coast. Our first evening there, we checked out Trinidad Beach and hiked a really cool trail up, over and around a big hill. From there we were able to overlook the town, the bay and the beach below the cliffs. We got our first taste of that clean ocean air and Maggie got her feet wet in the surf for the first time ever. I think she loved it from then on. 

Not knowing what kind of accommodations would be available or how crowded the parks would be, we called ahead and booked the Azalea Glen RV Park, in Trinidad. It ended up being a charming little park, nestled in the lush trees and beautiful Azalea & Rhododendrons that grow at least 20 feet tall. The owners had planted rows of hedges between each RV site, creating nice privacy. They had built the cutest fenced in dog area and there was a pretty pond on the property, full of frogs that made their presence known each night. 

On Saturday, we did a lot of driving around, checking out Eureka (where Duane was born), Arcata and Fortuna, where we had a great visit with Duane's Aunt Glo. We discovered a beautiful beach on the little island of Samoa. It didn't look like very many locals used it and we could see for miles in either direction. We let Maggie run, and run she did! She thoroughly enjoyed chasing birds and getting them to fly, then run again while they chased her. She was free! She ran to play with a couple of dogs that were fetching rocks in the water. She was so happy playing, then took off chasing birds again! It was really fun watching her be so happy! 

The next day we started making our way north up Hwy 101. The weather was fabulous! We'd been able to keep the coats put away and actually spent the day in short sleeves. There are so many gorgeous places to stop that overlooked the shoreline. 

Everywhere, there was beauty! There's almost a tropical feel here because of the moist air and thick foliage. We stopped several times to hike in the Redwoods and take scenic side roads. Even though both of us have seen them many times before, we were still in awe and blown away by how gigantic these ancient trees are, and how small they made us feel. I commented that if it had been 37 years since we were there, those trees have 37 more rings than the last time we saw them. 

We stopped at a state park in Brookings, Oregon and hiked the trail down to where the water was crashing onto the shore. Every twist and turn of the trail gave us sneak peaks until we reached the bottom and could just stand and admire the view. The water was such a brilliant blue, the waves intense.

(This rock is about 30 feet tall and reminded me of a bird)

Our plan was to spend the night along the Sixes River in a BLM campground we'd heard about on a blog we follow. The directions were great and we found the road off Hwy 101 without an issue. However, as soon as we made the turn onto the road we saw a sign for the campground, with a CLOSED sign hanging below it. We already knew from the blog this was a narrow and winding road for four miles to the campground. With our big rig there was nowhere to turn around, leaving us no choice but to drive all the way to the campground before finding a wide spot to turn around. We found the campground to be a beautiful grassy spot along the river that would have been perfect, if only the gate wasn't locked! 

Since we've gotten pretty good at altering our plans (jello, you know) we quickly rerouted back a few miles to Cape Blanco State Park. The wind was blowing quite hard by then and Duane got out at one campsite, just to quickly get back into the truck and look for another place more protected. The site we chose was beautiful,  tucked deep in the woods, with a trail to the bluff overlooking the coast just behind our camp. We were home! The next morning we thought we'd visit the Cape Blanco Lighthouse before leaving the park. When we drove out to the bluff that looked out on the lighthouse it was completely socked in with fog and the wind was whipping. The lighthouse came in and out of view as the wet mist billowed in. The road looked too narrow for us. Not knowing if there would be adequate room for us to turn around once we got there, we decided not to make the drive. We also chose not to walk it either in the blowing, misty fog. We said goodbye to Cape Blanco and continued north. Happy to have seen it from afar the evening before.

We only drove about 140 miles the next day, finding ourselves in Newport, Oregon in the late afternoon. Since we'd had such good success with the state park the night before we decided to try another. We pulled into South Beach State Park and immediately found a wonderful spot to settle in. This park was even nicer than the last one! We had great neighbors on either side of us. Maggie approved of their dogs so life was good! There were wonderful trails and we headed out to the beach. Maggie again got in a terrific run and must have checked out most of the jellyfish that had washed ashore. She ran and ran, jumping and playing like a puppy. Even though the wind was blowing hard we totally enjoyed our walk and Maggie's run.

Today the weather has settled in and we've decided we'll probably head inland. We walked out to the beach one more time this morning and saw the Yaquina Lighthouse across the water. Again the fog was rolling in and out and as we walked back to our camp it became heavy enough to almost be considered rain. We visited the lighthouse just north of Newport on our way out of town. The lighthouse might be beautiful, but the heavy mist and wind by this point had made it much less enjoyable to walk around outside. It was hard to get photos with our heads pointed down to keep the wind and water out of our faces! The interpretive center was really nice though and I bought a cool shirt.

We're in Tillamook, Oregon tonight. We watched cheese being made and packaged, ate our share of samples and delighted in a huge bowl of ice cream at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. I had been there before, many years ago and Duane had never been there. It's really interesting seeing how a product we see in the stores is produced. 

This brings us to the present time. We're parked right beside a giant old cargo plane, outside the Tillamook Air Museum. The wind is still blowing hard and every once in awhile the trailer rocks from the big gusts. This is home for the night. We want to tour the museum in the morning before leaving town and leaving the ocean to head inland.

Both of us want to come back soon and spend more time on the Pacific Coast. It's a place we can't seem to get enough of.  Just like when I was a little girl, I'll leave a small portion of my heart behind, until we return again. This time it won't be me that cries when it's time to leave. However, I think Maggie might.

Jello!

Have you ever heard the quote that says "The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray"?
I found a variety of sites online that describe the meaning as such, that no matter how well we plan, something can still very likely go wrong. To have a plan B. I think our friend Lora has a much more appropriate meaning: "Now that you're a full-timer, all your plans are made of Jello.

Plans of Jello pretty much describe how our last week has gone. After leaving Mesa a week ago we've had one thing right after another come up that's made us change our plans. First there was a total screw up with our appointment for having new tires installed on our truck and fifth wheel. Long story short, we got them on the truck, but had to make a separate appointment for the trailer, which was to be Friday morning.

Our next scheduled appointment before leaving town was to have solar panels installed, which went very well, but took almost a full day longer than expected, making us arrive late for our second tire appointment. Duane called to see if we should still come in. The guy said yes, that he'd rather work late Friday night, rather then have us come Saturday. With much excitement to finally be on the road, we drove as quickly as we safely could in Friday late afternoon traffic.

Without going into too much detail, the condensed story is that once we got to the tire shop the installer discovered that the person at the first tire appointment had stripped out our lug nuts and they couldn't put the new tires on until they ordered new lug nuts. Which meant nothing would happen until Monday.

Fortunately we'd made arrangements to stay in visitor parking in our friend's park in Surprise. This was all well and good, giving us a place to park, however we were having a relaxing morning, then realized we had a violation taped to our rig, because our slides were out! Well dang! We finished what we were doing, then ran our slides back in and left, leaving our rig in visitor parking. We let Duane & Cecilia know we hadn't made it out of Arizona yet. They were happy to have us and we spent an awesome Easter weekend with them. Had we left town on time, we wouldn't have been able to do that. We wouldn't have shared in the neighborhood Easter egg hunt and hug our family again, after our original goodbyes had already been said the week before. Sunday night we spent back in our fifth wheel, and woke up to yet another violation for having our slides out! We pulled out of the park (before causing any more problems) and headed back to the tire shop for our third time!

Third time's a charm right? While keeping our fingers crossed that things would go well at the tire shop, we made the most of our delay by visiting Bob & Dee in Cave Creek . We had a great afternoon with them. Dee & I went fun shopping and left the guys home to hang out. Late afternoon we got the call that our tires were actually done. We quickly got back to the shop, hooked up and headed out of town. Though almost a week late leaving the Phoenix area, we were excited to be on the road and heading west.

We only drove a few hours that night and found a sweet boondocking site about a half mile off the interstate, just about 30 miles from the CA border, near Quartzsite, AZ.  Boondocking, for those of you that might not know, is dry camping, or camping in unimproved places without any hookups. We had the place to ourselves. The stars were brilliant that night as we walked out through the desert. It was nice to be on our way at last.

Joshua Tree National Park. Our original plan was to spend several nights camping, hiking and exploring Joshua Tree, one of our national treasures. After starting our drive so late we decided to revise our plan and just drive through. The drive from south to north through the park gave us just enough of a glimpse that we will return when we have more time. It's very unique and has its own beauty. Our shortened plan was that once we were on the north end, we'd find a place to stay, unhook and return to the park and hike awhile. However, the wind was blowing pretty hard by then and we decided to forgo stopping and continue up the highway. We said goodbye to Joshua Tree as we passed by the north entrance and kept driving.

Here are a few photos within the park. These strange trees are Joshua Trees. Really a part of the yucca family, their roots are more like those of grass. In this harsh environment they only grow about one inch per year.

The wind got stronger and stronger as we drove. Finally we pulled off into a truck stop we'd learned about through one of our boondocking resources. The wind was howling by then and Duane backed us in between two semi's, hoping they would provide a bit of shelter from the wind gusts, which we heard were now about 60mph. No such luck, but by then we weren't leaving. We spent the night being rocked, not so gently by the winds and listened to the big rigs coming and going throughout the night. From the looks of it, the wind must blow through most of the time. Garbage of all kinds littered everything around, as far as we could see. It was not one of our most pleasant stops, but it worked in a pinch.

Our plan all along had been that after our visit to Joshua Tree National Park, we'd head north up Hwy 395 as far as Reno, then go back into Northern California by way of I-80. When we woke up in the truck stop there was snow on the mountaintops all around us. A late season storm seemed to have come through and the more we looked into our route, it seemed it was highly likely we'd run into snow the farther north we were going. Once again we got out the maps and rerouted.

To avoid hitting snow, or at the least, extreme cold weather, we chose to head straight up California, by way of I-5. The wind picked up again right after we got up. Maggie took forever finding a place to poop, and Duane was not at all happy staying out in the bitter cold wind while she decided where to go. We got everything ready to leave and when I started to run our kitchen side slide in (our entire kitchen wall) it jammed. This is the same slide we had the gear replaced on right after we got the fifth wheel in October. Are you kidding me? Duane had to push from the outside while I held the button to get it in. Finally though, we were on our way. Well, just one more stop. Duane wanted to add air to the trailer tires so he pulled up to the air station at the truck stop. He stood out there in the blowing wind, trying and trying, but the pump wouldn't get the tires anymore inflated than they already were. No wonder the attendant offered the air for free, rather than making Duane pay. It was not a good start to the day.

Interstate 5 is not smooth. Years of wear and tear, improper maintenance, quick fixes rather than resurfacing has caused it to be very rough. The scenery was pretty, but the ride itself was anything but enjoyable. In the afternoon while bouncing along we heard a thump toward the back of the truck. Duane looked up and said "did you put a bag of trash back there?" Well yes, and I intended to throw it away as soon as I found a place that morning. In all the frustration I had forgotten and it had torn open. What we heard must have been a can hitting the bed of the pickup. We stopped and I got to climb around (under the 5th wheel hitch) and pick up all the garbage that was now strewn all over. I don't think anything actually flew out, but it was a mess.

We belong to a wonderful RV organization called Harvest Hosts. The couple that started Harvest Hosts brought the concept back from Europe and began their business of networking RVers with local wineries, breweries, farms, museums, etc. These local businesses offer RVers an overnight place to stay, in exchange for showing off what it is they do. It's a terrific way to learn about their businesses, take tours and meet awesome people. All they ask in return is that you buy something they sell. I'd much rather buy a bottle of wine than pay for a camping space with the same amount of money!

Once our route had changed I looked through our Harvest Host directory and found a couple of wineries along our way. We started thinking about staying at one of those for the night. Upon checking out the website, we realized one was a pretty large establishment and actually said RVers were welcome to stay, that they had plenty of room. They even had rooms for rent. We thought that would probably be our stopping point for the day and we wouldn't need much advanced notice there. In the afternoon I began calling but got no answer. I left a message, emailed their contact person, and called again. Nothing. OK, I know it's late notice now, but I decided to call the smaller winery. I got a very friendly lady on the phone and asked if they had room for us. She said she did, but they were going out with friends for the evening and wouldn't be around. We were welcome to come stay in their parking lot, but wouldn't really get a tour of their winery. Well, that was the point really, so we started thinking of another plan.

We knew the Escapees RV Club, which we are members, had a co-op park on Hwy 41, going toward Yosemite Nat'l Park. It wasn't too far out of our way so at 3:30 I called. I was told to come on in. The office was closing at 4pm, but someone would be around until 5:00 that could help get us settled in. We pulled in at 4:55.

We were welcomed into Park Sierra as if we were long lost friends, and this place is beautiful. Being a co-op means everyone in here owns their lot and only Escapees members are allowed to stay. Pride of ownership is evident everywhere. We told the guy helping us that we didn't really need hookups and he informed us that if we boondock, it's free. He took us in his golf cart and showed us the perfect spot. He says we could have the run of the park, use of all facilities; club house, showers, laundry, dog park, internet, everything for our zero dollars spent.

We settled in, took a long walk through a portion of the park, enjoyed a glass of wine on our private park bench, looking out over the gorgeous foothills of the Sierras. After a totally miserable day this was our reward. Had we stuck to our plan we would never have been in this area and would never have had this opportunity. We will not forget this place.

Here's some photos from around the park. The last one is Maggie happily exploring the dog park.

The best laid plans in our future will be made of Jello. Sometimes it will set up solid, while other times our plans may be a runny mess at best. This morning when we go through our routine of securing everything for the days drive, the slide won't retract on it's own. Duane will need to push it in from the outside. The difference is that we don't have expectations that it will retract and we'll take it in stride. I will never set a bag of trash in the back of the pickup bed again, intending to throw it away before we leave town. We have a fresh perspective on the day and a renewed faith in the universe and the powers that be. This is the lifestyle we have chosen and we're loving it. Our lives are enriched through the detours we make as we travel along. It's all part of our journey.

Besides, Duane always says "Be flexible but not limp". Get it?

Home Is Where You Park It

The saying goes "there's no place like home", a phrase we've always believed meant home has to be an actual place. For most people that's probably all they've ever considered and that's ok. Yet, there's a subculture of us folks out there, born with a little more wanderlust, that have chosen to sell our homes and most belongings, simplify our lives and take life on the road. For Duane & I, the concept of full time RVing appealed to us from the first day we started exploring what it was all about. This blog is going to be a journal of our adventures. We are officially full-timers.

Since selling our house and becoming full-timers, we never really leave home. Sure, we may travel from state to state, and stay in places hundreds of miles from where we stayed the night before, but we're always home. We sleep in our own bed at night, watch TV in our own living room, cook in our own kitchen and live our lives in our own space. Maggie knows where she'll be sleeping at night!

The difference for us is where we park. What we see out our windows might be a beautiful desert landscape one week and an ocean shore the next. We could be enjoying ourselves next to a mountain stream for a few days, then find ourselves having our morning coffee in a gravel pit after a nightly stopover. Yet everywhere we go, we're home.

What is Home anyway? When we look back at our lives and think of all the events that have taken place, bringing us to where we are now, it's not really the house we're thinking of when we think about "home". It's the experiences, the friends and family, the family dog, everyone and everything that's enriched our lives along the way that we really remember. So for us, home isn't so much a dwelling that keeps us secure, home is where we store our memories. Home is our journey.

We've spent the last six months in Mesa, AZ, at Sun Life RV Resort. It's been a wonderful place to be for the winter. We've thoroughly enjoyed living close to Duane, Cecilia, Liam & Emily (more on them later). Over the winter we've learned a lot and we've made great friends. We've learned the workings of our fifth wheel and we've learned the stories of other folks out there, living in some sort of a house on wheels, making memories along the way. Most importantly, we've learned the two of us are still best friends and we can easily live together in a very small space and get along.

As I began writing this post, we were parked at an RV repair shop while our new solar electric system was being installed. We slept well in our own bed, safe within the locked, chain linked compound next to a few other RVers who were having work done too. Just for one night those people were our neighbors.

We still have some work to be done before leaving Arizona, so our good friends John & Lora Newby made arrangements for us to stay in visitor parking in Happy Trails RV Park. It's a beautiful spot, right next to the golf course, post office and activity center in the resort. The sun is shining, it's another spectacular day in the desert, and we're home.

When we leave Arizona, our short term plan is to take the next six weeks driving back to Alaska. We've made arrangements to be parked in one of the school parking lots in Wasilla for the summer. Since it doesn't get dark in Alaska in the summer it leaves a lot of time for mischievous youth to vandalize schools for something to do. Our job will mainly be to provide a presence that might make someone think twice before wreaking havoc. In return, we'll be provided with a place to stay with water and electrical hookups for the summer. Not a bad deal in our opinion.

What happens after summer? We're working on a few things. You'll have to check back often to see what we're up to. There's a great big country out there just waiting to be explored. We intend to experience as much of it as we possibly can.

There's a saying that states "It's the journey, not the destination that matters" and in our case it's true. We hope you'll enjoy reading along as we begin our journey. We hope it's a long, long time before we reach our destination, while we're Haulin' Home.