We're off on a 2 month RV trip, longest one this year! The plan is to spend about a month in California then off to Pahrump, Nevada for another month. We needed a break from our busy lives in Hawaii. We'll be meeting up with some friends, so this trip should be a good one.
Just an overnight stop for us at Oasis RV Park in Boron, California. Nothing fancy, just a place to plug in because it's very hot.
Passport America is accepted here so full hook ups for $23, good deal.
We're staying 3 nights at Pismo Beach State Park, Oceano Campground. Only electric and water hook ups, total price $166. Pretty nice park, very good location. I've been sick for the past few days with excessive coughing so we didn't do much. Just trying to rest and get better.
We took a walk along the pier, ate lunch at Cat Cafe, and had yummy cinnamon rolls from West Cinnamon Rolls. We also spent a day in Santa Maria replacing our rear brake pads on the truck.
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| Walking on the pier |
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| Lunch at Cats Cafe |
Here at Pismo Beach, vehicles are allowed on the beach. It's very busy. We didn't feel like driving in the sand but we spent some time watching.
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| Sunset on Pismo Beach |
05 Sep Pismo Beach - Morro Bay 29 miles 1 hour
We're at Morro Strand RV Park in Morro Bay for 4 nights. This campground is nothing special. Full hook ups, total price $338. Little expensive but very good location to Morro Rock and town.
On our first day there, we heard mexican music blasting and when we looked outside there was a van selling tamales. We ended up buying some and it was the best tamales we've ever had. So good!
We took a drive along the Pacific Coast Highway. We made some stops along the way. Elephant Seal Vista Point viewing area, where thousands of Elephant Seals can be seen was pretty awesome. Moonstone Beach Drive was a two mile oceanfront roadway that parallels the shoreline. Nice boardwalks to walk on and enjoy the scenery.
Ragged Point offers some of the best scenery. We stopped for lunch and enjoyed panoramic views from the patio. Ragged Point is the gateway to Big Sur, if offers some of the first cliffside driving heading north. We went a little past this point and turned around. What a beautiful drive!
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| Views from Ragged Point |
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| Portal to Big Sur |
One day we took a walk into town, about 1 1/2 miles from our campground. Very nice scenic walk along the beach, right past Morro Rock.
Morro Bay is a very quaint fishing village, a little touristy but still very enjoyable. We had an awesome lunch at Giovanni's. Fish & chips and clam chowder.....so good!
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| Lunch with a view |
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| Morro Rock at sunset |
We also made time for a bike ride around the area. It was a chilly, foggy day but decided to go for it. We rode to Morro Rock and even with the fog, a lot of people were hanging out.
09 Sep Morro Bay - Salinas, Ca 136 miles 4 hours
We're staying at Laguna Seca Recreation Area in Salinas, California.
We'll be here for 5 nights. It's water and electric for $57 per night. This is the cheapest place I could find in the area. It's about 15 minutes from Monterey so good location. We're in site #77 which overlooks Laguna Seca Raceway, pretty cool. On the other side of us is a view of a beautiful valley. No major events this week so even though there's cars and motorcycles practicing during the day, it's very quiet at night.
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| Our campsite overlooks the racetrack |
11 Sept Point Lobos State Natural Reserve
Impeccably maintained, breathtaking beautiful state park. The beauty of this place is impossible to describe.
We came right after the park opened at 8am. After paying $9 (senior rate) to enter, we headed to Bird Island. There are several beautiful and well maintained hiking paths. Most are flat but there are some steps in places but overall easy trails for most people.
On the way to the Bird Island overlook, you pass between woods and sea, high above two white, sandy beaches. China Cove's sparkling jade-green waters are framed by hanging, cliff side gardens.
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| Bird Island |
As you walk the loop on Pelican Point you pass wildflower displays, that change seasonally. Here you overlook Bird Island, which becomes a large sea bird colony in spring and summer. Hundreds of Brandt's Cormorants nest close together on the flat part of the island. Lots of sea otters resting among swirling canopies of giant kelp.
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| Pelican Point |
Cypress Grove Trail goes from Sea Lion Point and winds through a forest of ancient cypress trees and woods to cliffs with dramatic and spectacular ocean views.
Parking fills up quickly. We got there right after 8am and when we left around 1030am the main entrance was closed because the parking lot was full. People had to park down the road and walk in.
12 Sep Carmel & Monterey
We met up with our friends Wes and Georgene from Hawaii that are visiting. We took a drive out on the Pacific Coast Highway for some sightseeing. We were unable to stop at Bixby Bridge because it was very crowded. Our goal was to go to McWay Falls but the fog was so thick and visibility was very poor, we had to turn around.
We headed to Carmel Beach and took a 2 mile walk along Scenic Road. Very nice walking path with a beautiful beach on one side and multi million dollar homes on the other side of the road. Then we went to Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey and walked around. We ended up having lunch at Old Fisherman's Grotto which had very good chowder bowls.
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| Cute candy store in Carmel |
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| Fisherman's Wharf |
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| Wes, Dawn, Joe on our Carmel Beach walk |
13 Sep Cannery Row and 17 Mile Drive
We picked up our friends this morning and drove out to Cannery Row. We walked along the waterfront street, did some shopping, and read about the area. Cannery Row was home to a number of now defunct sardine canneries. First opened in 1908, others joined and profited during the two World Wars, but a sardine shortage led to their failure. The last sardine cannery closed in 1973. Entrepreneurs resurrected Cannery Row as a tourist attraction.
Next was a drive on the 17-Mile Drive, one of the most famous scenic drives in the world. Cost was $12. This is a scenic road through Pebble Beach and Pacific Grove on the Monterey Peninsula. Much of the drive hugs the Pacific coastline and passes famous golf courses, mansions, and scenic attractions.
We made a stop at Pebble Beach visitors center and walked over to Pebble Beach Golf Links. This is the location of some major golf tournaments, so beautiful.
Another stop was the Lone Cypress. For more than 250 years, the world famous Lone Cypress has braved the elements atop its rocky pedestal overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
We had a great time hanging out with Wes & Georgene for a few days. They're very interested in the RV lifestyle, can't wait for them to join us on the road.
14 Sept Salinas - Greenfield 45 miles 1 hour
We're staying 3 nights at Yanks Resort in Greenfield, California. It's a very nice RV park out in the boonies. Kind of expensive here, $95 per night.
Our friends, Janelle & Mike who lives in California, drove out to hang out with us for the day. We had a nice breakfast then we drove out to Pinnacles National Park. Joe wasn't feeling good so he stayed home. The west entrance to Pinnacles is about 30 minutes from our campground. We did a short hike on the Prewett Point Trail then drove to the end of the road for another hike. We did part of the Balconies Trail, so beautiful.
The parks namesake, Pinnacles, reach toward the sky in stark contrast to rolling hills. These remnants from distant volcanoes create a striking, varied landscape that has attracted people for thousands of years and supports diverse life.
We extended our stay here at Yanks Resort, so that's another $95. We're both feeling kind of sick. I've had a cold for 3 week now but it's getting better. I think Joe caught my cold because he's feeling real sick. Other than a visit to Pinnacles National Park, we just rested and nursed our colds.
18 Sept Greenfield - Three Rivers 194 miles 5 hours
We're at Horse Creek Campground in Three Rivers, California for 4 nights. This is a COE park and it's dry camping. Our senior rate is $10 per night. We have a very nice site with plenty of room. There's only a few sites that are level and big enough for us. We got lucky with site #35.
19 Sept Sequoia National Park
We drove to Sequoia National Park this morning. Once you pass the gate to the park, you start climbing up the mountain. Our first stop was General Sherman, we climbed to 6500 feet and it took about 45 minutes. This road is very curvy and windy, got to go slow.
The hike to General Sherman was only 1/2 mile but it was all downhill. General Sherman is really something. We walked around the area and admired General Sherman and all the other giant sequoias. We're both not feeling well so on the hike back up, we had to take our time and had to take a lot of breaks.
21 Sept Kings Canyon National Park
Today we drove to Kings Canyon National Park. It's a far drive from our campground, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. We got an early start, we left at 0630.
Our first stop was General Grant. By the time we got there it was just before 0800. Was very cold, probably low 50's. This tree is incredible, the whole area was just awesome. There wasn't a lot of people when we first arrived so we got to enjoy some quiet time. By the time we were done, about 45 minutes later, it started to get very, very crowded. So glad we started early.
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| General Grant in the morning sun |
We went to the visitors center in Grant Village and had breakfast in the restaurant. Then we drove to the east side of Kings Canyon. Very beautiful and scenic but a very long drive. It took over an hour to get out there. The road into the canyon is very windy and curvy all the way down the mountain into the canyon. We stopped at Grizzly Falls and Roaring River Falls. Both were very short hikes but because we're still sick, that was enough for us.
22 Sept Horse Creek Campground - Three Rivers Hideaway 8 miles
Just a few miles down the road today. Three Rivers Hideaway has full hookups for $64 per night. Pretty tight site but its convenient to the entrance of Sequoia National Park about 4 miles away. After dry camping for 4 nights it's nice to have full hookups.
We spent another day at Sequoia and managed to do a lot. We drove through Tunnel Log, that was pretty cool. Took a drive to Moro rock. Too bad we're not feeling too good, that would have been a great hike.
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| Driving through Tunnel Log |
We went to visit the Giant Forest Museum to learn about these amazing trees. From there we hiked the Big Tree Trail. About 2 miles, pretty easy. Amazing scenery, walking among these giant trees. Our last stop was the Lodgepole Visitors Center to get my passport stamp.
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| The Sentinel |
The Sentinel, a 2,200 year old sequoia is a monster compared to most trees. But in this land of giants, The Sentinel, is just average.
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| Can you see Joe in the corner? |
Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park has been on my bucket list for a long time. So happy we finally got to do it. Not happy that we're both still sick because it prevented us from doing all the hikes I wanted to do but we still managed to explore and enjoyed the parks.
We're so happy our friends Georgene & Wes from Hawaii and Janelle & Mike from California could spend some time with us in on this trip.
25 Sept Three Rivers, CA - Pahrump, NV 443 miles 10 hours
Today was a very long drive to Pahrump. We made some stops along the way so it took us 10 hours to get here. We're at Wine Ridge RV Resort for a month. The monthly rate is $550 and electric is charged separately. We're in site #610.
Our friends Donna & Goody drove in from Arizona with their RV and spent a few days here. Winky and Leslie drove from Las Vegas to spend the day with us. So fun catching up and talking story.
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| Leslie, Donna, Dawn |
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| Winky, Dawn, Joe |
We've been here a few times. It's a nice place with pickleball courts and two pools. Over the years, we've made pickleball friends and was looking forward to playing and getting together with them. But sad to say, we learned that this place doesn't allow the locals to play here anymore. I can't even invite a guest to play. It all worked out, we just go out to the park in town and play there. I don't think we'll come back to Wine Ridge next time. There's new owners and management is just not the same. That's okay, there's other places in Pahrump that we can stay at.
26 Oct Pahrump - Las Vegas 63 miles 2 1/2 hours
We're at Las Vegas RV Resort for 2 nights. We paid for a deluxe site but I forgot to ask to be close to the pool. We were way in the back by the dog park. Cost for 2 nights, full hook ups $106.81.
Spent the time here cleaning the RV and getting it ready for storage.
2 nights comp at Sunset Station then flying back to Hawaii.
We had a nice 2 month vacation. Too bad we were both sick in September and most of October. We still managed to do a lot and it was a nice break from home.
On this trip we put 1,351 miles on the RV and 1,892 miles on the truck.
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