Category: Airstream

Out of California and Into Oregon (again)

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment

We had spent a lot of time in the Central California Valley. It was dry and hot and dusty everywhere we had been for most of June and it seemed to be staying that way for July. Our truck was dirty, our camper was dirty, and it was driving us crazy. While we were at Hidden View Aaron decided to hand wash the truck and Airstream with the campground water. That was a mistake. The water was very hard, it was very hot and the truck and camper became covered in hard water spots. The water at Lake of the Springs was no better and made the spots worse. And now, we were at a campground that had no hookups, so washing them again was not an option.

Christie Campground was to be our last California campground for about a month. It had a great paved bike trail around Eagle Lake. We were there for about 5 days dry camping (no hookups). It was a peaceful and quiet campground in the Lassen Volcanic National Forest. We really enjoyed our stay. One thing I regret not getting pictures of is the wildfire damage that we saw as we were leaving the national forest. California wildfires are on the news quite often, especially in the summer. It is sad to see the aftermath of burnt trees, blackened hills and and the remains of what now can only be imagined as once beautiful.

Our next stop was in Grant’s Pass, Oregon on the Rogue River. We were staying at a county park with full hookups again. While we were at the grocery store we picked up some vinegar. We had researched and learned that a vinegar/water mixture would remove all the hard water spots. We also picked up some car wax to apply to the Airstream and the truck. We set to work again and hand washed the camper and the truck each morning. We did small sections at a time so we could wash, dry and wax before the sun would dry it and leave spots everywhere again.

The Airstream and truck were shiny again. The Rogue River was beautiful. We really enjoyed the campground. The sites were a bit close together for our liking, but had trees and shrubbery which made our site feel private. One night, we sat outside and listened to our neighbor sing and play his guitar. We watched small kids riding their bikes. We were close to town, so we did some shopping and treated ourselves to Dairy Queen. It was a good week. And then, it was time to head further north and closer to Wenatchee (again).

Lions, Tires and Trees, OH MY!

~ Wandering Cindi ~ Leave a comment

The 4th of July was approaching and we had 2 reservations at Hidden View Campground. The first site we had for 5 days and this site had electricity and water. The site we would have to move to after those days had no hookups at all. It was hot! Our AC was struggling to keep up and the upcoming weekend was forecast to get even hotter. We decided to see if we could find somewhere else to stay that had hookups available and was, hopefully, a bit cooler.

Hidden View really is a great place, but even the ranger we spoke with agreed that the 4th of July holiday was going to be hot and miserable.

We searched and searched. The holiday was almost here, and we didn’t think we would find anything. We decided to check Thousand Trails and see if there was anything available. Why not give it a second chance? We weren’t impressed with the first campground we stayed at but, maybe there were others that are better. We found availability at their Lake of the Springs over the holiday week and decided to give it a try.

We packed it up and hit the road again. As we were cruising up the interstate we heard a loud BOOM! Of course, this BOOM happened right around Stockton, CA. Not the ideal area to be stranded or stuck.

Again, I think someone was looking out for us. It happened just before an exit, and there was a paint store with a large parking lot just off of the exit ramp. Since the camper has duel axels, we were able to limp into the parking lot and get the spare put on the trailer. Then, we were back on our way. Our anniversary was coming up in 9 days, and we decided that new tires for the Airstream would be our gift to each other. The gift for a 24th anniversary is supposed to be opals, but we decided rubber would do the trick.

We made it to Lake of the Springs and set out to pick a campsite. Of course it was a holiday weekend/week and all the best spots were taken. We finally found a pretty secluded spot, parked the camper and strategized how we were going to go about getting the tires replaced without having to haul the camper and hour each way into town. We decided to take in two at a time. We could use the other two tires and the spare to keep the camper stabilized. We did the first 2 on a Saturday and the last two on the following Monday.

Lake of the Springs had no lake! Well, it had a lake that had been drained due to dam repair. There was a severe fire danger, so NO campfires and NO fireworks allowed. Happy 4th of July…there was an onsite laundromat.

These trees mesmerized me…very cool and unique looking.

A few of the campgrounds we have stayed at had cats that would roam around, and as a running joke we called them mountain lions. Well, the ones that visited us at this site were not campground kitties pretending to be mountain lions…they were real mountain lions! I haven’t uploaded a video before, so hopefully this one plays!

If you look, there are 3 that walk behind our camper! The last one seems like it was scoping it out, or just couldn’t figure out the sound of our snoring. Aaron and I slept through this and didn’t know it had happened until we saw the video the next morning. I am so glad we have the cameras because that is the only way I want to view that type of wildlife.

We saw a few deer and a few baby deer, and I will always wonder how many of the babies mafe it to adulthood and how many became a meal for the mountain lions. After our stay at the no lake, Lake of the Springs, it was time to start slowly heading north. We had about 3 weeks or so to get back to Wenatchee, WA for Aaron’s job. We packed it up on the 5th of July and started heading north again.

Yosemite Valley at Yosemite National Park

~ Wandering Cindi ~ 1 Comment

I’m keeping my words short and sweet with this post. We got up REALLY early and headed to Yosemite, FINALLY! We loaded up the bikes and hit the road. We were both grateful we had the bikes. We would not have seen nearly the amount of things we did if we had just parked and walked. We got there about 7-7:30 a.m. and the parking in Yosemite Valley was already getting crowded. We found a spot, jumped on the bikes, and started taking in the beauty of Yosemite Valley. We got back to the truck about 11:30 and the parking lots were overflowing, cars were parked in places they shouldn’t have been, and the crowds were thick. It was time for us to head out. I can’t wait to go back and explore other parts of the park. This was just a tiny portion, and an incredible portion it was!

This first set of photos I took with the camera.

This second set I took with my phone.

This third set is from Aaron’s phone

The 4th of July was coming up and we were revisiting Hidden View and giving A Thousand Trails a second try. We had our fingers crossed that we would like this campground better than the last (they are free).

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Lake

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Aaron and I were looking forward to Flat Pine Lake. The drive was a shorter one, maybe about three hours. We were excited to plug into some electricity, taking long, hot showers, and having the afternoon to settle into our home for the week. The drive had some mountain roads, which can be challenging, but we had driven part of it before and we really weren’t concerned. And then it happened. Going down an incline on a four lane highway, the overheat alarm started sounding and lighting up the dashboard, The low charge alarm for the battery went off, and we lost power steering all at the same time. Thankfully, it happened just before a scenic lookout on the side of the road, and Aaron was able to pull over into the lookout parking lot. It was a very difficult task for him to control the truck and the trailer with no power and no power steering. Someone was looking out for us that day!

We got out of the truck, opened the hood and saw that the serpentine belt had shredded. This belt is used for the radiator, the power steering, and the alternator. We called roadside assistance, and while we were waiting to hear back from them, we started looking for a mobile mechanic. It was going to be much easier to have the repair done there than having the truck and camper towed, or having the truck towed and having to leave the camper behind. We really didn’t want to leave our home on the side of a highway. We found a mobile mechanic who would go pick up a new belt, unwind and clean out what was left of the original belt, and get the new one in place. This all took time; it was not an easy repair. The mechanic got us back up and running and we were so very, very grateful.

At least we had a beautiful view of a reservoir while we waited and, we could fix ourselves a sandwich.

We made it to Pine Flat Lake just as it was getting dark. Our short day had turned into a long day, but we made it! The campground was up a very windy mountain road, and our site was quite narrow. This was a most challenging day for Aaron, and he did an amazing job! I was and am so thankful for his driving and towing and camper parking skills.

If you look really close you can see the Airstream at the top of the hill on the left.

We weren’t the only ones that enjoyed the view of the lake from our site. This squirrel really enjoyed sunning on the rock just outside the camper, and watching us through the windows.

We were close to Yosemite again and this time we were going to go! Next week’s post will be all Yosemite Valley!

Buckhorn at Black Butte Lake

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We made it to Buckhorn Campground on Memorial Day. We were about half an hour early for check-in time, but a good hour and a half past check-out time. We figured our spot would be open and available…nope. There was another open spot diagonal from where we were supposed to be, so we parked there to wait for the people to leave. It was weird. There was no one there, but the door to their camper was wide open. So we waited and waited. Finally, a ranger was able to call them and they came back, packed up and hit the road. It was Memorial Day, and they were just having fun on the lake and lost track of (or didn’t care about) time. This was the first time that had happened and it was a bit awkward. It all worked out in the end.

We settled in for 2 weeks. We really hadn’t stayed 2 weeks at most places, and it was nice to really settle in for a while. This campground had no hook-ups. Our solar panels did great, there was a water spigot just up the hill, and we used the generator to run the air conditioner when it got really hot.

We saw quite a few deer, especially during the week when there weren’t as many campers around. I didn’t get pictures of every one, but we saw at least one every day except for 2 or 3 days out of 14.

There were bike trails around the campground. We decided the middle of a super hot day was the perfect (worst) time to take a ride. The first 2 trails were nice, not too difficult. Then we decided one more wouldn’t be a bad idea. Well, it was the most technically challenging of the three (for me anyway). My legs were tired from the other two trails we had been on, and it was so hot! I was miserable, over heating, and exhausted. Aaron could have done this trail in no time. With me, it took a really long time. I found out that I am more of a paved bike path type of girl. I really have no mountain biking experience, and am not a confident rider. But I survived, a good bit sore and bruised, but I survived.

We had quiet days and busy days, but mostly quiet and relaxing days. Mother Nature basically told me to kiss her ass while I was taking pictures of a dove that really liked the tree beside our camper. I cleaned up other people’s trash around the water spigot and our site, and spent a lot of time playing with my camera and reading and relaxing in the shade.

After our 2 weeks were up we had a one night stay in Fremont so Aaron could do a few things at the office. This campground had full hookups, so we both took super long showers, cranked the AC up, and then it was time to head to Pine Flat Lake for another 2 week stay. But this time, we had 2 weeks of electricity and water hookups and Father’s Day and Aaron’s birthday.