Author: bearcruzer

July 22^nd

We decided to ride down to Charleston, a small fishing port.  We rode down from our campground to the frontage road along the beach and north for a couple of miles to the Town.  As we rode over the draw bridge that crossed the inlet to the port we looked over the side and saw dozens of people sloshing though the mud flats with shovels, rakes, and buckets.  Clamming.  The clams they were finding were 3-4 inches across.  We also rode through a boat yard and saw some very sad forgotten old trollers and sailboats in various stages of being reclaimed by the elements.    On the commercial fishing pier we met a lady who’s family was one of those clamming.   She gave us some recommendations of stops to make along the coast on our journey north.  We also spent some time talking with a fisherman who was on the pier filleting fish for anyone for a fee and watched a seal hanging out under the pier waiting for a free meal.    As we were talking with him a young girl named Jessie was walking by and heard us say we were from Pagosa Springs.  It turns out she is from Durango and her father works for the BLM in Bayfield.   She is studying Marine Biology at the Oceanographic Institute in Charleston.  Small World.  We rode back to the campground and headed, where else, North.  Just above Charleston we traveled through Coos Bay, OR.  We both really liked the feel of this larger Port Town.  It also happened that we arrived on Market day and the Main St through town was closed and we stopped and enjoyed a wonderful walk through their farmers market.  See additional pics in MORE PHOTOS.   Because the scenery was so spectacular, we didn’t make it very far up the Oregon Coast before we stopped at Beverly Beach for the evening and enjoyed a walk on the beach before dinner.  Beverly Beach had an ancient knurled driftwood stump that had washed up on the beach that was 15 ft across and dated at 4100 years old.

July 21^st

We traveled from Del Norte up into Oregon today.  We got a call from our Friend Carl Pitts yesterday who informed us he will be traveling up to Washington from Pagosa Springs and would like to meet up with us during our travels.  We will attempt to tie in with him sometime this weekend.   We find our pace has slowed greatly as we travel the coast of Oregon.  The scenery is spectacular and the people very friendly.  Sort of like Pagosa at the Sea.   Oregon seems to be very aware and vocal in regards to environmental and socio-economic issues and its radio ads encourage people to contact their senators and congressmen.    It is a refreshing change to hear advertising that makes an effort to educate and support green economic strategy at the local level as well as social causes.  We traveled the coast and were planning to stop in Bandon, but the local campground was full.  We pressed on and read about a campground near Charleston, just south of Coos Bay OR.     It took us 32 miles off the main route but was well worth the extra miles.  We pulled into a almost full but well maintained county campground with everything from hot showers to horseshoe pits and fish/clam cleaning stations.   We camped in the group area of the back 40 and thought we would have to share the area with the boy scouts who had many of the sites reserved but they never did show up.   Since we had power at this camp we watched a movie that Cindy & Kerry had loaned us called “The Edukators” on my computer.  It was really good. Thanks to both of you.

July 20^th

The morning greeted us with the sound of the river and birdsong.   We dressed and walked up to the upper part of the campground and gathered a pint of blackberries to add to our granola for breakfast.    We consulted our maps and continued our journey west and then north toward the Redwood National Park.  Our destination for today was the Redwood National Park along the Northern CA coast.   We stopped in Trinidad….why? Well, we wanted to see another Trinidad.  We followed signs to Trinidad state beach and took their 1 mile hike around the head.   The majority of our driving along the CA coast continues to be blanketed with fog but what it lacks in photo opps it more than makes up for in cool and comfortable hiking conditions.   We walked the beach and then the fishing pier in this small but picturesque harbor.   On our way out of town we stopped at a fish market and bought some salmon fresh out of the smoker to add to our pantry as well as a halibut filet for dinner.   We will have some great meals and snacks in the coming days.  We continued our journey and stopped at the Visitor center located just south of Redwood National Park.  We overheard the ranger telling people that there were only a few campsites left at a couple of the State campgrounds.  We headed out immediately  and ended up at Del Norte Coastal Redwood State Park.   We got one of 8 spots that was available….as I have said before,  affordable camping spots within state parks are difficult to come by this time of year.  We  settled in and went for a hike along the trestle loop around the campground.  Pieces of the trestle are all at remain of the system used to transport the huge trees to the mills for lumber.    We were amazed to think that we were hiking through a new growth forest.   OK not that new, but it was dwarfed compared the stumps of old growth trees that had been cut down in the 1920’s Some of the stumps were more that 15 ft in diameter.   They may not be the biggest as far as diameter goes but they do boast them as the tallest trees in North America at 370 ft.   Giant Sequoia’s only get to 320 ft.   It is difficult to see the top of them when standing at the base.  

July 19^th – 

We woke up early and tried to access the WiFi at the Campground without success.  We have found this to be one of our more challenging tasks during our journey.    We had made arrangements to meet up with James and Jeanine for breakfast before they headed home to San Mateo just south of San Francisco and back to work……we feel for your guys, really we do!   We said our goodbyes and headed out.   Our plan today was to travel west back towards the coast and then drive north again.  We drove northwest staying off the interstate for most of the drive and passed through Redding.  We then proceeded to head west over Hwy 299 through the Trinity Alps Wilderness back to the Coast.   The Temp was in the 90’s- 100’s this far inland and we stopped and by about 6:00pm we were ready to stop at one of the many campgrounds along that route.    We pulled into Hayden Flats Campground right along the main branch of the Trinity River.   We initially pulled into the upper campground not realizing there was another section closer to the river.  We took a walk and quickly realized our error and moved our motor home down to the lower section of the campground just few hundred yards down the road and just above the river.   As we piled out the motor home the primary objective was to walk down to the river to cool off.  We were excited to find that there was a beautiful little sandy beach just below the campground with a great swimming hole.   The water temperature was cool, not cold, and extremely refreshing.   Over dinner we talked about walking back up to the upper campground where we had seen a number of large patches of wild blackberries to gather some for our breakfast tomorrow. Tucker was right,  he told us we would be hitting the coast during blackberry season.   

July 18^th

We rode our bicycles over to James and Jeanine’s camp this morning.  Upon arrival we were delighted to hear that they did have space available to take us along on their raft trip.   We visited for a little while and then rode back to our camp to prepare to Raft the South Fork Gorge of the American River.   We changed into our swimsuits and shorts and slathered on the Sunscreen.    James ran the shuttle and then returned to our campground to pick us up.   We helped prepare the rafts for the trip. We had one large raft that held 7 of us and then 4 two man rafts (duckies) for the rest of us.  This is one of the most commercially rafted sections of the River and we had to maneuver with other groups to line up to go through the more treacherous sections of the River.  It felt like rush hour on the Freeway on some of the stretches of the river.   We started out in the large raft.    We traveled about 7 miles down the American River and through some class 3 rapids.  Crystal was tossed out of the raft and went swimming twice during the journey and at least 3 of the duckies also took turns swimming.   We stopped along the river to swim and cool off.  A few of the braver took turns jumping off of Gorilla Head Rock into the river.   About 1/2 way through our journey we, a few of the duckie riders were ready for a break after swimming and pinballing off of boulders,  so Mike and I jumped into one of the duckies and really had a great time riding the remainder of the river.  I must admit I felt more at home in the Duckie than I did in the larger raft.  Ok, so I’m a control freak.  I admit it. One of James friends Rob who was a virgin River Rafter had some really great analogies and referred to the Fun Factor of the trip as ”better than 3 ski masks and a bank”.    Our trip ended just above Folsom Lake and Jet Skis were available for a reasonable fee to tow us to the take out.  Otherwise it was about 45 minutes of paddling to get there.  It was worth the $10.00 for all of us.   We broke down the rafts and headed back to James and Jeanine’s Camp where we had a couple of coldies and nursed our bumps and bruises and toasted the awesome day together on the River.  Thanks to all of James and Janine’s fantastic friends for allowing us to share their day.    I must have told Mike at least a half dozen times today what a great time I had.

July 17th   

We traveled North with a plan of stopping in San Mateo or San Francisco and seeing Crystal’s brother James and sister-in-law Jeanine.   But the best laid plans as they say….. We got hold of Jamie only to find out that he and Jeanine were leaving to go rafting with friends along the South Fork of the American River.   We attempted to contact our friend Victoria Dawson who lives on Pier 39 in San Francisco but she too would not be available until Tuesday.   So we altered our plans and called James back to find out exactly where he and Jeanine were camping and told him we would come to him if he didn’t mind us crashing his camping trip and visit with them when they weren’t rafting.   He told us to come on out and gave us information as to where they would be staying.   We punched the campgrounds location into the Garmin and off we headed to Coloma, CA just north of Placerville.   Gold Country.   We contacted the campground where James was staying but they were already full.   We called another campground in the same area only to hear that they too were full.   We broke out the AAA Campbook and the Woodall’s Camping guide and made a couple more telephone calls in the hope of finding something close to where James and Jeanine were staying.  We finally got a call back from Coloma Resort to tell us that they did have availability and would reserve us a spot.  WE WERE IN!  and only a few miles from James and Jeanine. Yeah!   We arrived without incident and were initially put into a very small camp spot with no shade.  The temp was topping out around 103 and so we took a quick walk around the campground and then when into the office to see about moving.    We were able to move to a nicer spot under a tree and away from the busy pool area.  Yes this is one of those camps that has a pool, activities for the family, and of course the obligatory fake western town scene and gift shop.  The employees were very nice and we met some terrific people who come here year after year.    We called J&J and finally got through to them to tell them where we were staying.    They got a late start and were stuck in traffic for about 5 hours.  Yuck!    They were just setting up so we drove the Creampuff over to their camp and enjoyed a few beers and cooked up some hamburgers.  It is really great having your house with you everywhere you go.    We talked about their planned trip down the American River and they told us there might be a possibility of us being able to go with them if the rest of their party didn’t show.    We told them we would bike over to their camp in the morning to visit and see them off either way, but here’s hoping there’s a no show by a couple of their friends.

July 16^th

We traveled North again up through Morro Bay past Hearst Castle and along the Coast to Big Sur.   As we drove up the coast we were hoping to get to see some of the dramatic scenery along the coastline up to Big Sur.  We did get to catch glimpses but a marine layer of fog obscured the view for most of the drive.   We did stop at and got watch a bunch of Elephant Seals Males lounging on the beach.  They come down to this beach from Alaska to molt.  Most of these guys weighed in at 3000 – 5000 lbs.  They entertained us with their antics. Maneuvering for the most comfortable position in the pile of their friends, throwing sand up over  them with their flippers and battling in the surf to establish dominance. Their battle cries sound like giant long belches.  You can learn more about them at http://www.elephantseal.org.     We continued our journey on up the coast as we had learned a valuable lesson.  When traveling in CA,  Travel Early & Stop Early to find a Camp spot and enjoy your stay.   We travelled up to Big Sur and made it there before noon.  The State Park campgrounds  were already full but there was a space available for one night at a local private campground called the Fernwood Resort.   It was a lovely spot right next to the creek and we had a great afternoon of bicycling.  We rode from the campground down to the beach.   A round trip of about 8 miles.  Only half of which was uphill!  A great ride through Sycamore Canyon led us down to Pfeiffer /Big Sur State Beach.  It was definitely worth the effort as we were rewarded with beautiful soft sand and dramatic arched rocks and crashing surf.   I made Mike pose for a couples pic.  He was a little more accommodating this time and even smiled.  It must be because we were on a beach.   We rode back to camp and grilled some salmon and veggies for dinner.  It was cool and comfortable sleeping and we even had to break our fleece in the evening and the next morning. 

July 15^th 

We drove north and traveled along the California Coast Hwy 101 and then Hwy 1 enjoying the scenery.    We passed right by Vandenberg AFB and wondered if Sage might end up there someday.    We really enjoyed the coast drive and the farm lands we traveled through.    As the day turned to evening we tried to find a camping spot along the coast but to no avail everything was full.  It is hard to believe that Arnold is thinking about shutting down the State Parks.  Every park that we visited the campgrounds were full.   We stopped at a hospital parking lot but it was so busy that we drove on until we ended up at the Wonderful  “Walmart” Resort and Camping Lot in beautiful Paso Robles at about 10pm and crashed for the evening.  Nothin but the best for us, but really it wasn’t half bad, level and pretty darn quiet. 

July 14 – July 15^th     

Visit with Symons/Galassi Family

We left Fullerton and drove up to Pasadena to meet up with Crystal’s Cousin Deb, and her Husband Dave and their children Nico, Peter, & Marina at Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Jim’s home to take the kids swimming.    Uncle Jim is a retired Presbyterian Minister and he and Aunt Marilyn have a wonderful Duplex Apt in a retirement complex owned by the Church.   They have wonderful amenities including a pool and tennis.    When we arrived we walked the Kids over to the pool.  They were so cute in there swim suits and floaties and they were so excited.  Our best laid plans were dashed as we approached the gate to find a sign reading “Pool Closed until Thursday for Maintenance”   Talk about some tears and long  faces and cries about life not being fair.   Deb attempted to find a public pool but to no avail.  We were able to round up a couple of squirt bottles and there are at least  3 hoses that reached Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Jim’s front yard so………The water fight was on!  Smiles returned and a great cooling time was had by all, even those who hadn’t planned on getting wet.   We had a wonderful Mexican food dinner from a place called Lupita’s.   Uncle Jim recommended some sights to see along the Olympic Peninsula where he grew up.    We drove back to Deb and Dave house a few miles from Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Jim’s and spent the night with them.  It was great to get to catch up a little as we really did not get to spend much time talking with them at the wedding.    The next morning  Deb & the Kids took us to Huntington Gardens.   It was a beautiful research botanic garden in Pasadena.  We really enjoyed getting to see some of the Kid’s favorite areas including the Desert Garden, the Chinese Garden, and the Japanese Garden.  We bought the kids the book “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss to remember our adventure together at the gardens as Crystal was quoting excerpts from it during our tour.    We said our goodbyes to the Galassi Family and pressed on North.  

July 12- 14^th

Visit with Cindy, Kerry & Boys

We drove from Prescott to Fullerton CA. to visit with Cindy, Kerry, Cameron, & Cristovan.   As we traveled to their home we came through the desert and got out first blast of really hot weather.  Whew!  It was good though as we will need to reacclimatize to the heat and when we get into the tropics the humidity as well.    We stopped at Hadley’s Orchards I introduced Michael to their famous Date Shakes.  Hey we have to do a couple of tourist things right?!  We traveled on into smoggy SoCal.  Coming in on Sunday was really a breeze as far as the traffic and we had no delays reaching our destination.  We parked in Cindy and Kerry’s Driveway with only inches to spare and had to climb in and out of the camper through the driver’s side front door.   We spent the next couple of days laughing and visiting with them.  Cam and Chris where also there for the week and so we got to spend time with them as well.    We had some great walks and Cindy and Kerry showed us around downtown Fullerton and introduced us to some of their friends.   Kerry is still trying to figure out a way to move to Pagosa Springs and has recently seen that one of our friend s back home is looking for an engineer.  We gave have hooked the two of them up via facebook and who knows where those positive thoughts may lead.  Good Luck!   Thanks  to you guys for opening your heart and home to us.