|
| |
Click on a picture to see a larger image
Some of this page is still under
construction...
|
This was an adventure even before we
left. Sometime in May, Bill took the RV & trailer to Flagstaff for some
routine maintenance. When he went to pick it up the primary door latch
would not release. This left the only method of entrance or exit as the
driver's side door. This is loosely termed a method of entry /exit by
some person with a great sense of humor - and very long legs. There is a
small slot on the side where you are supposed to place your foot -
presuming you can lift your leg far enough off the ground to reach it.
And let's not even think about how to use it to get out - and hope you
don't need to do this in the middle of the night!
It took several trips to Prescott (at
least an hour each way) to order the part, and get it installed, and
several weeks. It's a complicated, and not very interesting story. The
original plan was to leave just after Memorial Day and return just
before Independence Day, just over 4 weeks. This would allow for high
trails to be open and avoid the major holiday weekends and vacation
crowds. We finally left June 19 and returned July 9. Our route took us
to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks; Yosemite National Park (with
a side trip to Mono Lake); and to wine country and the mid / Northern
California coast.
The only up-side to the delay was being
in town for Debbi's aunt Miriam's (elegant) 80th birthday celebration.
See Miriam's 80th birthday for more. |
| First stop:
Temeculah, CA When you just stay one night, you don't even get into the
"park". Our campsite was one left turn from the entrance. We just pulled
in about 7:30 pm and pulled out the next morning. No muss, no fuss. Also
no campfire, trees, or any of the other things one associates with
camping. This was a very long day, and too many miles, but we didn't
want to stop in the Mohave Desert as the overnight "cool down"
temperatures hover somewhere over 100°. Other than Interstate, we got to
see a huge collection of windmills (no pictures) |
picture of RV at Indian Hill |
| |
The next day
we traveled to Visalia, CA. This was the closest location we could find
to Sequoia that had RV hookups. It was about an hour to the park
entrance, then another hour within the park to the visitor center. Lots
of driving. We had a huge adventure getting to our "camp" which was
really a Mobile Home Park. They use cement slabs where no one has placed
a "park model" and rent them to RV'ers. We have done this before and
it's... interesting. Not at all like camping, but they usually have a
pool, internet access, and laundry facilities. |
| As we turned
in to the entrance, the tongue of the trailer dug into the pavement
(high crown road, steep entry drive). This is a really long story -
about 45 minutes of trying to get unstuck while fully blocking westbound
traffic and partially blocking eastbound traffic. Lots of folks stopped
to help, some were more useful than others. Our tire service plan
doesn't cover this! The forward motion of the RV pulled the trailer
hitch tight and after unloading the car (while FULLY blocking traffic)
we were unable to release the tension enough to undo the hitch clamping
mechanism. We needed to lift the rear end of the RV to relieve the
tension. After about 40 frustrating minutes, a gentleman stopped (and
asked all the same questions that every one else did: have you tried
this...that.... And looked over and under... and then asked "don't you
have hydraulic leveling on this unit". DUH! Press the button, the
levelers descend and when they reach the ground they LIFT THE REAR OF
THE RV! Thank you sir! |
picture of rv stuck in
road |
picture of removal operation |
close-up |
finally, in our home away from home |
Sequoia National Park
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
Kings Canyon National Park
|
On to Kings Canyon.
Neither of us had every heard of KC, but it's just north of Sequoia and
they are managed as one park. The Kings River, waterfalls, and views
were spectacular |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
Yosemite National Park
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Half Dome |
El Capitan (Tutokanula) |
John Muir & Theodore Roosevelt discussed
preservation of our national natural wonders |
 |
 |
 |
| Just us and a few hundred thousand of our
closest friends |
Bridal Veil Falls |
Sentinel Dome |
 |
 |
 |
| Tioga Lake |
Lembert Dome |
At Tioga Pass, elevation 9945 |
 |
 |
 |
| It's the end of June! |
How many people does it take to hold onto
a Sequoia tree? |
Flood level 1997 |
 |
 |
 |
| El Cap and Half Dome |
Nevada Falls from Glacier Point |
Wildlife! |
Mono Lake
|
On the far side of Tioga Pass, outside
Lee Vining, CA |
During the Great Race in 2006 we worked a
timing control "above" Mono Lake, but never had time to check out the
lake up close. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Salts precipitated out of the
water at the site of underground springs created this Tufa, which WAS
submerged until San Francisco started siphoning off water. Eventually,
the siphoning was stopped or reduced but the water level has not
recovered. |
Wineries
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Which way to a winery? |
Well, that's not exactly true! |
|
 |
 |
 |
| Hook & Ladder |
Castello di amorosa |
Great Hall of Castello - we thought we
were back in Italy |
 |
 |
 |
| |
Ferrari-Carigno |
Official greeter |
Coast
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Harbor Seals make their home where the
Russian River meets the Pacific |
It's a long and winding road |
Very different from the Atlantic coast
which eases down to the water, the Pacific is all cliffs and rocks. |
 |
 |
 |
| We thought we were seeing
things... these cows are on the cliff side of the road. On the other
side is a steep cliff! |
| |
 |
 |
| |
They tell us those are seals. We could
hear them, but not really see them |
|
|
