Carpe Dory (2)

Good ol dependable Barstow KOA

The trip home went from a three day jump to two, so that we could avoid as much weather as possible. When you’re talking about covering 500+ miles, you have to look at weather reports for multiple places if you are trying to game things. What we were seeing across the board was a break from the storms on Friday. I knew I wanted to position us so that we could get over the Tehachapi pass on that day. So Barstow, here we come on Thursday.

“Is the lake higher, do you think?”

We woke to heavy rain and it wasn’t looking like it was going to let up for a while. Since the trek to Barstow would only take 3-4 hours, we could wait out the deluge for a while. As long as the roads didn’t close on us, it would be best to let the strongest part of the system move through. So we hung out until around 11, watching old episodes of “thirtysomething” on the iPad to pass the time. By the way, that was a really good show. We used to watch it in our twenties, but I can appreciate it more now. Very well written stuff.

Somewhere on 247, showing signs of water, water everywhere

We emerged from Dory to hitch up when it was only a light drizzle, as did all the other campers in the campground. I wanted to take surface streets rather than the interstate, for as long as possible because I really hate driving highways in weather. Except for a five mile stint on 10, I mostly got my wish. There was a period of dense fog and low visibility up through Morongo Valley on highway 62, but it paled in comparison to the fog on 247 all the way to Lucerne Valley. The only thing that kept me from panicking was that everyone collectively agreed to go super slow. I was very grateful for that. I just kept tail lights of the RV ahead of me in sight, and the person following me kept their headlights just in view. I don’t know what the visibility distance was there, but it was dangerous.

Not easy to get a shot with no OHVs in the frame

Thankfully, the fog finally lifted and we made it all the way to Barstow before sunset. We definitely ruled out the idea of staying in Sawtooth Canyon. It is all unpaved out there and would have been muddy at best. No, for times like these, KOAs are great. There are hookups and the sites are level enough usually that you don’t need to unhitch. This would offer us an easy morning departure. I didn’t want to commit to driving the whole 400 miles back home the next day, but that would mean I could take advantage of the Friday break in weather and be free from rain or wind driving the whole way. Appealing.

Fiery sunset

There’s not much to do in the way of exercise around the KOA, so Richard just walked to the ghost town and back. That got him a good six miles and he also got to witness a very nice sunset on the way. We walked together to Penny’s Diner for dinner, and that was great.

And good ol dependable Penny’s

We were rolling around 8am the next morning, and would have left earlier except it was foggy. It burned off more or less by 8 and wasn’t too bad leaving Barstow. By the time we hit the pass, there were blue skies overhead. Challenge #1 accomplished. The more I drove, the more I wanted to push through because it was so much nicer not driving in weather. We passed by Harris Ranch and kept going. Then we passed San Luis Reservoir. At that point, we were committed to getting home.

It was around seven and a half hours and over 400 miles in the car that day. That’s not my favorite way to travel, but we earned two weekend days to relax at home before going back to work, and we got to bask in being inside and not towing while the rain came down all weekend. We were happy to see the cat too.

Home with cat is nice too

Great winter break. We got to do some familiar stuff, try some new stuff, and catch up with a very dear friend. We learned things along the way which should serve us well in the future. Meanwhile, the west coast got a good dousing. That is good news for the reservoirs and bodes well for a super bloom in the spring. It was not so great for all the people who got flooded, or impacted by mudslides. Extreme weather is the new normal, but we’re thankful for all we got to do and see.

Total miles from Lake Cahuilla: 144.7, 3 hours 58 min, 15.9 mpg. Site 66 hookups. Good cell. Walking distance to Penny’s. Level enough to not unhitch.

Not the Plan

Much of this post concerns our ongoing struggles with Plan A Alex. To understand Plan A Alex, you have to understand the “Unthinkables” (now called “UnthinkaBots”), a curriculum created by Michelle Garcia Winner and Pamela Crooke, PhD, which teaches young children, especially those on the Autism Spectrum, about Social Thinking using self regulation strategies personified by a variety of characters. To teach social thinking, it is important to understand when our brains are getting stuck and be able to identify the ways our thinking patterns are interfering with our ability to self regulate and think flexibly. Characters like “Rock Brain,” “Worry Wall,” “Topic Twistermeister,” can get into our brains sometimes and make us get stuck, like with doing things one way, or focusing on worry, or jumping around topics, just to name a few. Each Unthinkable has its own characteristics, or Bot powers, and it is helpful to know their particular qualities so we can use specific strategies to defeat them. There are specific “Thinkables” who pair with their counterparts, and they allow our brains to self regulate and navigate away from getting stuck. Like, “Focus Tron” helps you stay on task and defeats “Brain Eater,” or “T-Flex” helps you flex your thinking and defeats “Rock Brain” when you are being too rigid. Get it? I’ve used the curriculum a lot over the years and I have found it to be extremely helpful. Oftentimes, students like to come up with their own original Unthinkable and Thinkable pairs to help them understand a specific way their brains are getting stuck.

Also not the Plan

One of the things that inevitably happens when Richard and I are on long trips is we unwind and analyze the whys and hows of when things don’t go so well. That way, we get a little better at traveling every time we go out. Something we have been identifying as an area of frequent stress is Richard’s tendency to get stuck on things like completing the whole hike, no matter how difficult, or worrying about getting a site in a first come first serve campground. We were thinking it was about exercise, or fear of the unknown, and those are factors for sure, but what we thought about this trip was the tendency to get fixated on following through with Plan A, even if Plans B-Z are equally acceptable.

Having a nice, though chilly, time in Joshua Tree, waiting for Richard to confirm abandonment of Plan A

This is where Plan A Alex comes in, and he appeared center stage on the move from Cottonwood to Hidden Valley in Joshua Tree. We knew already that moving to a non reservable campground would trigger both of us, so we had a couple of vague backup plans at the ready. When we arrived at Hidden Valley, it was packed with rock climbing campers. No way would we be getting an open site. In addition, the campsites are very small and very tippy; not great for trailers. There are one or two sites that could have worked for Dory, but honestly, it was so packed with people, we would have not liked it. Also, it was so cold and windy, I would have been kind of bummed if we had found a site. But after taking a super slo-mo lap through the very tight loop, I could tell Richard was glitching. There was another loop we could have tried, but I did not want to drag Dory through any more. Instead, I drove a little ways down the road and pulled over where she was safe. I sent Richard out on foot to go back and verify there were no sites. This was strategic, in that I knew it would help him to walk, and I didn’t want there to be lingering doubts over whether we coulda woulda been able to stay there. Sure enough, he came back reporting it was crazy packed and way too snug.

Not the Plan has a nice lake, with playgrounds, pickleball and basketball courts, and cool wildlife.

With that established, we continued the long drive through Joshua Tree, aiming for the campground on the other side of the park; Black Rock Canyon. Joshua Tree is a huge park, so driving all the way through from Cottonwood meant driving over sixty miles. Arriving there, we also verified there were no sites available. At that point, we were on our phones, looking at reservation apps like AllStays. We had previously tossed around the idea of staying near Palm Springs, and we were successful at finding a place in the vicinity that seemed ok. We called and made the reservations over the phone for the next three nights. With that solved, we went back to the town of Yucca Valley to get groceries and then headed back down to Palm Springs. We noted that the line to get into the park through the Yucca Valley entrance was at least a mile long. Had Plan A succeeded, we would have left the park to get groceries, only to face an hour long wait to get back in.

Horse statue in the middle of the desert for unknown reasons

That was a long day of staying flexible! The result was, I think, far preferable to Plan A because it was easily twenty degrees warmer down in the valley, and we got a decent site in a decent county park, with hookups and cell service. Like, had I known both options ahead of time, I would have voted for 60s over 40s without thinking too much, nor caring too much what the campground looked like. What helped navigate the day a whole lot was being aware of how each of us was processing the shifting expectations. Plan A Alex was using all his powers, but Multiple Plan Marvin was invented to keep him at bay. Multiple Plan Marvin helps you by giving you lots of options and reminds you that most of them can be just as good. We arrived at the county park campground with time to spare before sunset and Richard went on a partial hike (he didn’t even need to do the whole green line) right out of the campground. He took his headlamp and navigated the trail very well, even after sunset. That night hike would never have come up as a Plan A, but he really enjoyed it.

Doing La Quinta in La Quinta

The other fun part about where we landed was that it is in the town of La Quinta. You see, every night before going to bed, we put our coffee packets out for the next morning. We use a little plastic basket and set them on the table. For years, we have called this action “La Quinta” because it looks like something you would find in a nice mid range hotel where they set up little hospitality packets and put them in a basket for you. We never ask, “Did you put the coffee packets out?” Instead, we say, “Can you do La Quinta?” or “Have you done La Quinta?” So now, we got to do La Quinta in La Quinta.

That’s a lot of palms!

We had pretty good weather the next day, so we drove to Palm Springs to check it out. Parking in a downtown garage, we got the bikes out and rode to Indian Canyons to see Palm Canyon. There is a $12 per person entry fee to get in, but once inside, there are three canyon areas and lots of trails to explore. We were interested in seeing the big palm oasis at the top of the valley. This grove boasts the world’s largest stand of California Fan Palm trees, numbering over 3,000 trees. I believe it. The grove just keeps going on and on. It is definitely worth seeing. We took a loop trail up through the forest floor, and a return along the canyon ridges with sweeping views of the whole valley. That is a great trail.

Downtown Palm Springs

In the afternoon, we rode back to town and decided to walk up and down the main drag and check out places to get a treat. That we did, with a stop at Brandini Toffee where they were passing out generous samples of their toffee popcorn. Yum that was good! But also rather expensive. We went a few stores down to the Ben & Jerry’s. The person at the counter sold me on Marshmallow Sky, which is a blue colored base with chunks of chocolate chip and chocolate cookie dough. We noted both places for dessert potential and went and got pizza slices at Bill’s Pizza. Their crust is buttery and delicious and their slices huge. Great dinner for not too much money. Ben & Jerry’s won for dessert and we drove back to Dory after a great day.

Cove to Lake Trail

The next day, Richard showed me the trail he found, which goes from the county park at Lake Cahuilla to the next valley over, called the Cove. Along the way, you pass a little horse statue, which Richard says is nicely lit at night, using the tiniest little solar lantern. It’s a nice six mile out and back desert hike with mountain views and lots of Ocotillo dotting the hillsides. We got back just under the start of the rainy period, catching sight of a Bald Eagle hanging out in the campground trees. After that, it was time to stay inside and be thankful for hookups so we could run our little space heater.

Heron chillin

Instagram Irma tugged at me a little with the idea of driving back to Anza Borrego to look again at the winter wildflower bloom on Henderson Canyon Road and see if I could find a Desert Lily. But once it started raining, Weather Wimp Wanda had no trouble convincing me I didn’t want to get stuck in any flash floods. As it turns out, there was lots of flooding in Anza Borrego, so that was a good call. Desert Lillies can be photographed by other people and enjoyed by me without putting myself in crazy situations.

Bald Eagle chillin

We kept our eyes on the weather, calculating when we wanted to start tracking back home. Some serious downpours were heading our way, so it was a game of stop and go to find the breaks and make a dash. We were happy to hunker down where we were. It may not have been where we set out to be, but Plan A Alex can take a seat for this round because we had a great time.

Total miles from Cottonwood (with 100 mile loop through Joshua Tree): 125.9, 6 hours 38 min, 18.7 mpg. Site 57 hookups. Ok free dump, but with low curb. One side has gap in curb where you can lay a dump hose. Opening is small. No potable water at dump, so fill in site. Excellent cell for both.

Great campground at the south end of Joshua Tree NP

Traveling can be psychologically fascinating sometimes. It can be frustrating sometimes too, but if you figure out how to unravel the glitches, you can uncover some deep stuff. I mean, at one point during this stay, I was figuring out the evolutionary benefits of the drive to acquire living room furniture while Richard was out speed hiking a loop trail in order to satisfy his drive to complete planned tasks because he’s got some toes on the Autism spectrum. I’ll get into how this leads to inventing our own “Thinkables” and “Unthinkables” in the next blog post, but we are currently doing really well working together to plan activities, knowing our own particular triggers and how they play off each other.

Box Canyon

We had a big glitch on the first full day in this park. Getting there from Anza Borrego worked well though. Last time, Richard planned to bike up Box Canyon to the campground, but I hadn’t realized that by dawdling in the morning, I was feeding his anxiety about whether he would be able to successfully complete that plan. It built for him, silently in his head, until he had a panic attack. I was blissfully looking at landscaping designs on my phone, completely unaware until it was too late. This time, we knew what to do to prevent all of that. We left plenty early, I reassured him I was ok by stopping along the way to let him pass, and he had a really enjoyable ride. He said it was the first time in a long time he had been able to let go and just vibe on what he was experiencing in the moment. Successful execution of a plan!

SAGing

The next day, we had a loose plan to do a nine mile hike out to the Lost Palms Oasis. I was looking forward to spending time with him and figured a long hike like that would be plenty for his activity needs. Then he suggested he could start the day by doing a three mile loop on his own before we set out together, and that set me off. It took us all day to uncover what happened there and we did not do the long hike. We did do the three mile loop together though, after we’d pushed through the defensiveness and were ready to let our guards down.

Mastodon Mines Loop Trail

In a nutshell, I have some baked in land mines regarding feeling physically inadequate. I’m pretty sure growing up hiking with my dad laid a lot of that programming down. I’ve worked really hard to improve my health and hiking stamina, but I cannot possibly keep up with Richard. So there are booby traps there if I feel that what I can do is simply not enough. Meanwhile, Richard has a very hard time being flexible about “Plan A” once it has been set. He worries whenever it seems like something might impede his ability to finish the plan and he basically goes full throttle until the mission is complete. He was actually trying to make it so that he could chill the hell out on the long hike with me by completing a shorter one first so he could get that “Plan A” box checked. But I read it as “nine miles at a slow pace is not enough.” Then boom, we’re both defensive and not communicating well.

Pretty blue Desertbells

At the end of the day, we were back working together and we reset to do the long hike plan the next day. He needed me to help with the executive functioning piece around what time he would need to leave and be back in order for us to leave with enough time to hike the long hike at my pace. It all sounded achievable, and we set ourselves up for the best chances for success.

Lost Palms Oasis

This is a beautiful hike, with a nice reward at the end. It is long, to be sure. We took issue with some of the mile markers because they did not seem to align with what our watches were saying in terms of mileage. We paid super close attention to the numbers on the way back, and actually, the posted signs are not too far off. Maybe the 2.5 miles to the oasis sign is under, but only by like .3 or .4 miles. We were all ready to be Karens and complain to management, but we can stand down. One thing to know is that AllTrails and Guru Maps show the trail continuing past the “Welcome to the Lost Palms Oasis” sign. I don’t think those are sanctioned trails, and so the mileage markers will not reflect going all the way down to the canyon floor. That added another half mile or so. Not a huge deal, but good to factor into calculations.

Beautiful clear skies, though windy and kinda cold

That was a great day! It felt satisfying not only because it was a big hike to tick off, but also because of the couples therapy work we had to do to make it happy for both of us. The trail is dotted with some wildflowers and offers incredible views of the Salton Sea on some of the high points. Some of it is wash walking, and some of it is along steep and narrow rocky ridges. It was well signed (despite our complaining) and easy to follow. The final unsanctioned scramble down to the floor is not any of that. It is tricky and hard to follow the best informal path, but did not present a scramble I could not do. We didn’t stay long because it was awfully windy and cold that day, but we got our bragging rights and earned our trophies.

All smiles, all good!

As Joshua Tree campgrounds go, this one is the most chill. It is a far drive from the central part of the park, but there is no line of cars or kiosk to get through. There are far fewer people down at the south entrance and it generally feels like a more relaxing place to stay than any of the campgrounds in the middle. It is also a lot lower, so temperatures will be ten degrees lower there than at Jumbo Rocks. This is particularly good to know in the winter. We watched with awe as a bike tourer set up in the site next to us, just sleeping on the cold cold ground and stripping naked for any to see as he was gearing up in the morning. Meanwhile, we ran the heater while sipping lattes, and waiting for the water heater to finish so I could take a hot shower. Every time we return to a place, we get a little better at it. This was a good therapeutic stay.

Total miles from Anza Borrego: 81.5, 3 hours 45 min with sagging, 15.7 mpg. Site A16. Great back in site. Prefer this over pull along sites on outside of loops. Some are very short, but this one fit us just fine. No cell service for either. No wifi anywhere. Good solar, but it’s winter, so ran generator on night 3. Good dump with potable water.

Merry Christmas!

This is a Christmas tradition we really love. When we are super lucky, we get to enjoy our stay with a Canadian Christmas present, on special delivery, all the way from Quebec. His name is Francois, and we got to spend Christmas with him in the desert. The other tradition we love is to rent fat tire e-bikes from iBikeBorrego. All of these things made for a fabulous stay. 

The timing of our arrival could not have been more perfect. The entire west coast got hit with a historic atmospheric river and many towns experienced significant damage. It was not a good idea to travel on Christmas and we were safely ensconced in our campground when it got some mild rain from the monster system. I was curious whether getting a little bit of moisture would result in catastrophic flash flooding, but really nothing happened. It was an excellent place to be.

Meep Meep! We did hear lots of coyotes at night, so there must be an ACME outlet out here somewhere.

We got there in perfect time to check in, having made only one stop to get gas and a personal pizza, split two ways at the $5 Pizza Place. It was $8.99. We had a couple of glorious days of sun and T-shirt temperatures and we appreciated that fully. Richard walked down to the Borrego Springs Center Market for a good walk and a few groceries while I set Dory up in her Christmas attire. I was delighted by a Roadrunner passing right through the site. Meep meep! Dinner that night was pancakes, sausage, and eggs on the grill. 

If you survive the rock scrambling and are able to navigate the unmarked route, all your hard work is rewarded with… a no water waterfall. Well, maybe it runs sometimes. Maybe that’s why they call it “Hellhole.”

The next day Richard headed out on a long hike up Hellhole Canyon. I have done that hike before and remembered that getting to the palm oasis and waterfall involved relentless rock scrambling. The rest of the hike traverses a wide wash, climbing steadily uphill until you get cut off by the fallen boulders. I wasn’t especially interested in that one, so Richard got to do his fast pace morning cardio while I showered and leisurely got ready to start the day. He was successful at locating not only the palm oasis, but also the nonexistent waterfall. I drove over to the trailhead parking area to save him from the return trip back to the campground and met him a little ways up the trail. 

New sculptures!

From there, we drove over to do The Slot. Along the way, I spotted the new additions to the Ricardo Breceda desert sculptures: a roadrunner and a rattlesnake. These sculptures appear all over the desert in Borrego Springs. There are two main areas where you can find them and these new ones are located on the south side, just off of Borrego Springs Road. There are various displays out there, with Velociraptors, horses, giant eagles, and elephants. Super cool to see new ones.

The Slot

The Slot is a fun hike through a narrow slot canyon. You have to drive about four miles off road to get to the trailhead, but any car can do it. As you walk slowly downhill through the canyon, the walls rise and close in on you until you have to turn sideways in some places to squeeze through. There was only one place I remember where you have to get down a rocky step of a couple of feet. The rest was easy hiking. Eventually, the walls open back up and you can keep going along the wash for miles. We stopped when we saw the road named The Drop Off descending sharply into the valley floor. Last time we were here, we got to watch a car slipping and sliding and smoking its way desperately back up that slide. It made it, but ooh boy I would not would have wanted to be a passenger or the driver on that adventure. On our way back to the campground, we stopped at a gallery downtown to see how much a small velociraptor statue would be and I chickened out. Too rich for my blood to get a quirky backyard ornament. I also had no real way of getting one home in the car. The velociraptor search continues. 

Convenient shelter from a short period of mild rain. Could have ridden it out, but we are weather wimps, so …

On December 23rd, we got our bikes delivered! We knew the rain would be coming in soon, but we rolled the dice and headed out toward Coyote Canyon, hoping it wouldn’t be too bad. The Weather app made, and revised, all kinds of predictions for the day. As it turned out, we got rained on for about two hours in the middle of the day. We were well on our way out to Henderson Canyon to look at wildflowers when the rain started becoming more than a drizzle. We found shelter in a thatched roof fruit stand and ate our lunch very very slowly until the rain finally stopped. While we waited, we were fascinated by watching the air patterns play with a stream of thick, billowing smoke, coming off of a brush burn from a nearby farm. At times, the smoke layer would be pushed downward into a distinctive horizontal ribbon. Then suddenly, it seemed as though a pressure system lifted, and all of the smoke dispersed into the sky. We were entertained, but mostly we were dry.

E-biking in the sandy canyon

Coyote Canyon was an absolute blast. I remembered my sand biking tips from last time (thanks blog!) and worked that throttle like a pro. The rain disappears instantly when it hits sandy washes and we saw no evidence of any water on the road. The sand was nice and packed down, making the riding smoother, but there were some wash boardy sections and some rocky sections. Going across one of the wash boards knocked a screw loose from my bike’s fender. As there was no hope of finding it, I stole a screw from the unused bike cage and made a note to apologize to Ed. We cleared the first water crossing with no problem and made it to the second crossing this time. There, we bailed because the water was pretty dauntingly deep. We’d had an excellent time and rode all the way back to Dory for nappy time.

Best way to close out the year!

Our Canadian Christmas present came by a little while later and we were so happy to see him again. He has been on the road for a couple of weeks on vacation and showed us pictures of some stunning off road camping spots, all across the southwest. He’s got a super sweet Safari Condo van, and he really puts those through their paces. We caught up and enjoyed blended margaritas together until it was time to call it a night.

Pre-rain in the palm canyon

Christmas Eve day brought the most rain of our stay. Richard and I got in a quick hike up to the Palm Canyon Oasis before it became significant. There were all kinds of signs at the trailhead warning us about both too much heat, and too much water. I was kind of concerned about being in a narrow canyon in the event of a flash flood, but there were plenty of places you could get up onto high ground if that had occurred. The storm also turned out to be a nothing burger where we were, so the worry was unnecessary. We tried to coax Francois along, but he was busy spending the day chilling and catching up on sleep after a long time on the road. We made it all the way up and back to the mouth of the canyon before the rain started. After dinner, we hung out with Francois in his van and I learned a wealth of information about Gin & Tonics.

Looking cool and happy in the desert sun

Finally on Christmas Day, the sun came back out. We took advantage of it by doing a repeat visit to Coyote Canyon, this time with Francois. We showed him the flowers, and the desert sculptures, and took the very same route up the road to the second water crossing. There was no real difference in the condition of the road following the rains. One place had a little water to get through that wasn’t there before, but there was no evidence of flash flooding. We shared turkey hot dogs and stuffing on the grill, because we are classy people and wanted to impress him with our haute cuisine. He, having worked as a sous chef before his job at Safari Condo, brought a delicious orzo salad. We laughed, talked about cat ownership, and told tales over a bottle of Rombauer. He had an early morning ahead of him and many miles to cover, so we said a fond farewell and look forward to the next time we get to hang with our Canadian family member. Sure do love that guy!

Rahr

I really love this place. The distinctive scent of Creosote, especially after a rain, is so tied to my sensory memory that it always makes me happy to be there. Something about the colors of the rocky mountains against the sunset sky brings me joy the way few other places do. I think we could do the same activities over and over again and not get tired of it. Christmas is an excellent time to visit, especially if temperatures at home are in the down jacket zone. We were legit hot for a while there. Weather reports showed it raining for a week nonstop at home, so we lucked out big time with only a minor blip in an otherwise blue sky Christmas. I feel bad for the communities that really got hit. That was a bad storm and you just never know where the weather is going bring destruction. This Christmas, we are especially grateful for our dear friends and communities, near and far. Merry Christmas!

Total mies from Owl Canyon: 203.7, 5 hours 19 min, 16.3 mpg. Site 31 full hookups. Excellent cell service. Free dump, but it has a low curb. Dump in site was better and didn’t require long hose. Bike rental: Ed Whipple with iBikeBorrego. Great guy and great ebikes!

Nice place with a tricky trail

Well hmm. We come away from this stay with mixed feelings about the campground. On the one hand, it is very beautiful and peaceful and remote. It’s a five mile drive on an unpaved road to get there, but the road is not too bad. It’s wash boardy for sure, and will shake the flocking off your holiday tree. We also found two screws on the floor that had come loose from the underside of the microwave cabinet, plus the Fantastic Fan remote had fallen down and now something is ratting inside. But otherwise, there was no unfixable damage, so it’s definitely doable for Dory.

Unpaved approach

There was one place in the road, just before the sites, that had a nasty crack in the middle. We were just able to scoot past it by keeping as far left as possible. If the rains have opened that up any farther, it would present a significant barrier to entry or exit. There were hardly any other campers, so we selected a site that had a nice view and seemed to be nosing into the wind.

Cool cave along the trail

We were in high spirits and headed out to the Owl Canyon trail right after getting settled in. We’ve done that trail before and I was eager to take a look at the rocks that stopped me last time. As hikes go, it’s a scenic walk up a rocky wash, where there is a short little side trip through a cave on your right, about a mile up the trail. The colors of the rocky cliffs are pretty and there was no one else on the trail.

Impasse (for me)

Sure enough, we found the spot where I noped out before, and cutting to the chase, noped out harder this time. We had been thinking maybe Richard could offer his knee to get me up a tall smooth chute, but looking at it again made us both realize that would never work. First off, it’s way too high for a knee assist to help. Second, the base of it was full of water this time. The approach Richard took on the left was still too risky for my blood. I simply don’t trust that my feet wouldn’t slip, or that my hands would have the strength to hold onto the rock if they did. It would be a big enough fall that some part of my body would definitely hurt, and after trying again and again to get up the courage to cross over, I realized there was really nothing in this for me to push myself through it. The trail on the other side just gets worse with scrambling. And even if it didn’t, I wouldn’t enjoy it because I’d be fixated on how I was going to get back down. 

Pro relationship tip of the day: never say to your scared hiking partner, “No problem! It’s so easy!” unless or until they themselves have made it through.

I reminded Richard that “overcoming challenges” is not one of my core values, but as it is one of his, he was welcome to keep going while I stayed behind and had a snack. He went on ahead, determined to get to the end of the “green line,” meaning, the route on AllTrails marking the full length of the trail. 

Even if I’d made it over the first challenge, this one immediately followed.

We learned a couple of things from this experience, none of which work in favor of staying at that campground again. First, I now know how to use satellite texting. I just got a new phone with this feature, so part of my time was spent trying to figure out how to turn it on and use it. When there is no cell service, both of our phones can now connect to satellites to send messages to each other, like to say we’re not lost and are not injured, even though we’ve been gone for forty five minutes. For, you know, example.

And then this one, which Richard says is the hardest of all of them.

Next, if Richard has been sitting in a car for five hours, things are not good, just as a default state. He’s like a Border Collie who has to run all day long or he chews up the furniture. Once you let him out of the car, he’s going to have a very hard time slowing down. And if he has in mind a particular trail he wants to do, he means all of it. Whatever the green line says is what he’s going to do, regardless of what obstacles stand in the way. This means I’d better be damn careful if I try to do something with him. Better idea is to just let him go blow off steam at his crazy ass pace while I stay behind and entertain myself. When there’s no cell service, that’s a little harder for me, but still better than feeling like dead weight being pulled along by a sled dog.

At the end of it, you get a so so view. But you do get bragging rights if you made it this far.

Because of all of this, the Owl Canyon Campground might not be a great choice for us after a long drive. The only other trail on the menu is over seven miles along the Rainbow Basin, and if arriving later in the afternoon, would be impossible to do before dark. We could always make it a two night stay, but that still leaves the question of: how to you run the Collie when you get there? Really, the only viable option is for me to walk about two miles until the first impasse and then walk down without him so I’m not waiting there with no service for about an hour, worrying he’s in trouble.

Still, it’s a lovely and very peaceful campground.

Otherwise, the campground is really nice, so this is all kind of a shame. There is just enough cell service from the campground to do most things. If I had waited in the campground, he could satellite text me his status. I could always stay in Dory and do things. Or I can take up knitting. It was worth it at least to figure all of this out and know how it could be done better in the future. This, plus Calico and the KOA, give us three options when stopping in Barstow. The one that’s left to explore is the Sawtooth Canyon BLM. Options for Barstow are good to have, since this is always a good stopping point when traveling to the deserts. One more travel day and no rain so far.

Total miles from Harris Ranch: 237.7, 5 hours 17 min. Site 29. No reservations. $6 per night. No water, no dump, no electricity. Road was dodgy in one place and is probably worse now, after the storms.

If the launch to holiday travel was a scented candle…

The anticipation of long breaks in the school year calendar hangs in the air for weeks in advance. Teachers know the exact daily, even hourly, countdown, as do many of the students. The last Friday before break is filled with performances, celebrations, and largely non-academic chill time until early dismissal at 12:15. We were eagerly packed and ready to go the night before, so all we had to do was discharge any essential duties before hitting the road to get to the long stretch on I5 south.

Getting to the deserts requires about three longish travel days for us. We’ve done it in two, but that’s pushing our car time tolerances. The best rhythm we have found so far is to go between 150-200 miles on the first day, then around two hundred the next two. There are not a whole lot of choices of places to stay, given that cadence, but we have come to appreciate doing an overnight at Harris Ranch, aka “cowschwitz.” This is a mega ranch in the middle of California’s Central Valley, not near to anything in particular, which is a blessing for all concerned.

As you approach the ranch, you know it’s coming miles before you see it. Unmistakable wafts of ammonia begin to infuse the car, despite all vents being closed. They quickly grow into an eye watering sensory experience that makes you definitely question whether this is a good idea. Happily, the winds were carrying the aromas away from the resort, which lies five or so miles to the south of the killing fields. There were only nuanced hints of cow pee permeating the air when we arrived.

No more hotel parking lot camping

The most exciting part about staying at the resort, besides the barbecue, is knowing you’re going to be in a parking lot. They have been building a brand new RV campground for a while now, but it did not look open for business quite yet. Either that, or no one was willing to pay for pull through hookup sites when they could stay for free in an empty lot. Campers used to be able to park in the hotel parking lot for free, but now they have signs saying that is a no no. It’s an open question how long they will let people use the lot by the charging station, but it must bring in business for them, so I don’t see why they would ever ban it. 

Resort gift shop got a makeover

We are among the many RVers who find a spot and then go have dinner. In December, all of their impressive collection of Christmas decor comes out. They’ve redesigned their gift store so it’s a little less crammed with knick knacks, but the good ol barbecue gas station take out place is the same. You can order world class sides of a variety of grilled or smoked meats, along with classic fixins. I have settled on white cheddar mashed potatoes and gravy, with rice pilaf as my go to selection, while Richard lands on the baked beans and coleslaw..We share a side of ribs, if they’re available, and either Tri Tip, or brisket. It’s always perfect.

The award for best gas station food on I5 goes to Harris Ranch

Then we walk around a little, and privatize for the night, watching holiday movies on the big screen to welcome the official start of our vacation. We have upgraded our rear projector screen material and the picture is much snappier. For Christmas, I got a pair of camping slippers and a rechargeable blender that was mentioned by Altoistes at the last Altogather. I have a protein powder shake every single day for breakfast and I far prefer a blended version over the spring ball in a shaker. It also makes a mean margarita. It is a Ninja Blast Portable Blender, for curious minds wanting to know.

Most excellent Christmas present!

We’re on our way south, hoping to beat the upcoming storms. As it was, we got away from home with little time to spare before it began raining there. Weather forecasts suggest we will make it to our first long stay before the excitement hits. We were passed by an Alto on the road and we all waved wildly at each other. We don’t know who they were or where they are going, but we wish them safe travels and calm weather. Happy holidays, y’all!

Total miles: 168.3, 3 hours 38 min, 17.7 mpg. Empty lot behind Shell. Free, no services, but public restroom adjacent to the lot. Excellent cell service and right by gas. *Francois: I used the word “nuanced” just for you.

Endlessly beautiful weather

What a great week! There is so much to be thankful for, and Morro Bay really showered us with all of its gifts. We could not have had better weather, that’s for sure. Now that we have arrived back home, we are freezing. It was all about the blue, sunny skies and beach weather for eight days.

Very nice site

We stopped to dump holding tanks at the main state park campground on our way from Morro Strand. Timing is a little tricky when you are moving such short distances, because you are likely to arrive before 2pm check in time. Some parks are sticklers for no early check ins, and some don’t care if you move in, as long as the previous campers are out of the site. We pulled in around noon and saw that there was a car, but no tent or camping gear, in our site. We also saw a guy talking to the camp host and we thought he might have temporarily parked his car while he was trying to communicate something to the host. I found a safe spot to pull Dory out of the way and we just waited. Our assumption was correct, and as soon as the guy was done gesticulating, he had either found satisfaction, or had given up. He got in his car and left, so we just pulled right on in. There is no kiosk at Montana de Oro, so as long as the host is cool, you’re fine.

Pretty kitty!

We had plenty of time on the day, so we went out and hiked the bluff trail. We saw all kinds of fun wildlife, starting with a big kitty! A beautiful bobcat was just sauntering along the trail, maybe fifty feet ahead of us. He pulled off the trail eventually and groups of hikers moved calmly past him while he just hung out. So cool!

Dolphins!

Out in the water, we caught sight of a dolphin pod, slowly making their way through the kelp forests just offshore. I thought at first they might be orcas, but Richard had his binoculars out and said nope, definitely dolphins.

Peahen hanging out with us

The birds are abundant all over the park, and besides the ubiquitous pelicans, we saw lots of quail. What was not expected was to see a peahen running around the campground. I’m not sure what her story is, but she was funny. I’ve never seen a peahen or peacock run around before, but she seemed to have taken up the job of campground security guard. She was chasing crows like a bar bouncer, and when she wasn’t keeping out the riffraff, she wandered in and out of sites, pecking at things, and generally supervising the campers.

Grilling up the feast

We moved on Thanksgiving Day, an intentional decision that Richard did a good job remembering. I believed it was a pretty good bet he would exclaim, at least once, “What?! We’re moving on Thanksgiving Day?? Why are we doing that?” even though he fully took part in that decision when we made the reservations. But no! He filed that away in his long term memory and didn’t come at me with shocked incredulousness a single time.

Nailed it

We have been looking forward to Thanksgiving turkey hot dogs for a long time. I must say, I think we nailed it. We had cranberry sauce to go on top, and sides of grill baked stuffing and broccoli. For dessert, Richard made a cherry cobbler that was to die for. He used left over buttermilk in the cobbler topping, and sour cherry spread, plus cinnamon and lemon juice, in the compote. Man that was good! We felt very thankful indeed.

Point Buchon trail views

The next day, we spent the whole morning hiking the Point Buchon trail. They limit entry to the privately owned PG&E land, but Richard was the second person on the list, arriving before 9am. You need to sign in and listen to a schpiel about staying only on the trail before you are allowed in. The area is only open to the public on Thursday through Monday, so we planned our stay accordingly. It is an absolutely gorgeous trail that hugs the bluffs, and then takes you gently up a rise to a Windy Point, where you can see the soon to be decommissioned nuclear power plant.

Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in the distance

As we were taking a snack break, Richard gave a start and said, “What was that??” I’m always the wrong person to be asked that question. He said it was an enormous boom followed by a rumbling that didn’t sound like anything he had ever heard. He felt the vibration in his body and couldn’t imagine what it could have been. I heard nothing, felt nothing, but believed him. We wondered whether it was coming from the power plant, or from Vandenberg Air Force Base, further to the south. Later when we had cell service, we looked it up and it turns out it was a rocket launch! He thinks he saw some funny cloud trails in the sky. I saw nothing. Missed the whole thing.

Surfing otter

I did not, however, miss the otters rolling around in the water! Nor did I miss seeing a herd of seals leaping up and down along the surface of the water, bee lining for somewhere in a hurry.

Wayward Bakery – YUM

For our last day in Morro Bay, we rode out of the park and into Los Osos. There we tried a new bakery: Wayward Baking. Ooh boy, it was good. We split a ham and cheese croissant, a chocolate croissant, a piece of coffee cake, and a chocolate cookie. The croissants were buttery and flaky, the kind where you’re guaranteed to be covered in flakes. The cheese was a sharp Swiss, in generous portions and paired perfectly with the thinly sliced ham. The coffee cake had tons of cinnamon and was dense and moist. We hit this place one last time before leaving town the next morning. The eclairs are also outstanding, with lots of custard in a Madelein-like shell, topped with thick chocolate icing.

Feeling refreshed after a nap and ready for one last sunset

After returning to Dory, I decided I needed a nap. This was when I had started to feel the effects of under caffeination and I basically put myself in a time out before I said or did anything outwardly cranky. That was a good call and I enjoyed my nap time thoroughly. While I was rebooting, Richard went up and down the Valencia Peak trail. He said there were tons of butterflies at the top, which made him laugh, remembering the unfortunate person who never reached the summit of Lassen Peak because she had a literal butterfly phobia. What an unexpected barrier to an already daunting activity.

Pelicans flying low across the blue green waves

We walked out to see one last sunset and reflect on how well this trip went. Each of the three parks has its own completely different feel. Morro Strand is right there on the beach and has a very party time atmosphere. It is conveniently located between Morro Bay and Cayucos, so it has all the benefits of town life; cute shops and restaurants, plus excellent cell service. Montana de Oro is the opposite. It feels much more like you are in nature. The views are incredible, but cell service is not a given. You might be able to check in with the world out on the bluffs, but you will get a nice disconnect from the world while you’re there. Morro Bay State Park Campground is sort of in between. It has a woodsy setting and proximity to the slough, but just enough amenities to keep you entertained. It is not too far to walk to the boardwalk business strip downtown (maybe one and a half miles each way), where you can grab dinner or a treat, but when you return to your site, you are removed from the sounds of cars.

Richard casting a spell on one of the pastries

We didn’t have electric hookups in any of the sites, but there are some that get reserved fast in the main campground. That would have been handy for bike battery charging, but we pulled out the generator and also used an outlet in a bathroom to top up.

Thank you Morro Bay!

Coffee was the obvious unexpected hitch. We did well I think with plan B, but cleaning up coffee grounds reminds Richard why he chose the Techimpex in the first place. He is highly motivated to fix it. Even if it doesn’t explode, the moka pot does not make as good an espresso. Otherwise, all systems performed as expected. It was a perfect week and we are profoundly thankful for our life with Dory(s). Happy Thanksgiving!

Total miles from Morro Strand: 15.5, 12.7 mpg, 1 hour 28 min with dump at Morro Bay. Site 19 no hookups. Sometimes 1 bar LTE, better for ATT than Verizon. Some solar in the middle of the day. No dump. Potable water from tanks; no running water. Vault toilets.

Parking lot camping at its finest

This was our second stop in Morro Bay and it has a very different vibe. We stayed once before when the main campground closed down due to downed power lines. I’m not sure why we never came back. Perhaps we poo-poo’ed the cementness of the sites, but it kind of reminded us of Seacliff. That is also a campground we initially poo-poo’ed, but then came to love, before it got washed out to sea. You are right next to the sandy beach, but in this case, you’ve got a bit more of a buffer zone in the form of low dunes and brush. Our site had a little tunnel through the bushes where you could set up your chairs and watch the ocean.

As long as you’re ok with neighbors, it’s a lot of fun

Like Seacliff, it has a party feel and lots of people seem to arrange site reservations so they can be next to each other. We were between two families with kids, who told us they were “friends.” We felt kinda bad being in between them, and also wondered if our site would end up being the hang out middle ground for all the children. As soon as an adult from the “friends” family appeared, I offered to trade sites with them. He informed me they actually had only met the night before, but that the kids loved their daughter and had kind of adopted her. So no guilt at being between them.

Fun little succulent garden along Morro Strand State Beach

Richard rode from campground to campground and the first thing we did after getting set up was walk along the beach. You can go all the way from the rock to Cayucos and stay on sand pretty much the whole time. That’s around a five mile stretch of romantic beach walking. We went up to Cayucos and back, feeling very romantic and commenting on how much the area has to offer.

Bike riding up Highway 1; heron with Hearst Castle in the background

The next day we drove up the highway to Cambria, another cute little town along the coast. Here we parked and got our bikes out. The plan was to ride up highway one as far as the San Simeon elephant seal beach. The wind was in our faces the whole time, which was less of a problem for my ebike than for Richard’s human powered bike. But he is a determined human, and we made it all the way up. We passed Hearst Castle along the way, which was visible up on the hills, with all of its palm trees making it especially stand out. We also rode along Moonstone Beach, a prestigious drive outside of Cambria, made up almost entirely of little hotels, each with views of the ocean, fire pits, and Adirondack chairs facing the sunset.

Cambria is super fun

After our ride, we checked out Cambria a bit. We found our ice cream hit at a place called Sweet Offerings. They serve ice cream from Harmony Valley Creamery and it was very good. The tiny town of Harmony boasts a population of 18 and is located off highway 1 to the south of Cambria. The creamery has limited hours of operation, so this gave us the chance to taste their wares without making a special trip. We also did a little browsing of stores. There is a wide array of shops, each with their own eclectic collection of offerings. One odd little place had everything from metal velociraptors, to seashells, to garden gnomes, to old license plates. I’m in the market for a velociraptor, but not ready to pay $800 for one.

Morro Rock by moonlight

After sunset, we walked on the beach the other way, ending up at the rock. I was shocked at how nice a picture the iPhone got of it in the low light. It is fun walking on the beach in the dark, where you can hear, but not see, the waves. We remarked on how we are both still scarred by seeing “Jaws” when we were way too young and had to consciously remind ourselves there is no such thing as land sharks.

Views from Harmony Headlands

The last day of this day was spent hiking in Harmony Headlands. There is a nice trail that goes through a little canyon and out to the beach. Along the way, you pass by a mysterious abandoned cabin, that seems to have been used maybe by park service employees. The door had been locked, but was broken and open. I admit we were curious, but also a little creeped out. There was an empty cup sitting on a table inside and we were pretty sure a serial killer was hiding in there somewhere. The beach was very nice though. After that jaunt, I dropped Richard off in Cayucos so he could get in a ride up and down Old Creek road. I returned to Dory to blog and stare at the ocean.

Pretty sweet spot

In the afternoon, Richard spent some time trying to examine the espresso machine. It didn’t seem to be working right that morning, so he wanted to verify there was a problem. It’s been a while since I’ve written about the espresso machine because it has worked like a little Italian champ this whole time. We got this machine from an Italian company who made specialty espresso machines for yachts. This has crossover for us because, on a yacht, you have to rely on 12v power, and, if you are Italian (or us), you are very particular about your morning coffee experience. It uses ESE coffee pods, so there is no need to grind beans. Each pod is vacuum sealed, so the coffee does not go stale. It is a relatively simple system, but once a part goes, it’s not as though you can go out and get a new one. The last time we had to problem solve, Richard was on the phone with Italians, speaking twenty years forgotten Italian. This time, there was no one to talk to because the company has ceased to be. Shame.

The mysterious innards of the Techimpex: an Italian 12v espresso machine

We do have a backup plan, which involves a little stovetop espresso pot. It has been years since we’ve used it, so it takes a few tries to refresh the memory on how this all works. The first morning’s attempt resulted in exploding espresso. Like, I heard the explosion without my hearing aides in. What you do is open up a coffee pod and put the grounds into a little compartment in the middle. You put water in the bottom, turn on the stove, and wait. Normal operation does not suggest waiting until it explodes and shoots steam and coffee grounds all over the kitchen, but that was our “how does this work again?” batch. We were able to get coffee out of that, despite the loss of whatever shot out the side, and it was only a bit crunchy.

Backup plan; with excitement, and some coffee

Richard had the rest of the trip to Google “exploding moka pot” and adjust his technique. Top tips: do not tamp the grounds, do not overfill with coffee, use low heat. By the fourth morning, he had it pretty well down. I do think you have to use more coffee pods than you do for straight espresso, because after three moka mornings, I was feeling tired and cranky. I think what I was experiencing was mild under caffeination. Same difference, but at least you can solve that problem by adding more coffee pods.

You know it’s a good day when you have to pare down your sunset pictures to fewer than twelve.

We had a couple of favorite Blue Apron recreation dinners while we were there, and went out to Tacos El Viejon one night. We both really enjoyed that and got in one last romantic walk on the beach afterwards. Next, we move to the last state park campground in the area to complete the trifecta. Love this place!

Total miles from the state park (plus dumping): 6.2, 14 min, 11.5 mpg. Site 21, no hookups, no dump. Parking lot sites on pavement. Some sites by ocean, some in the middle of the parking lot. Few with direct ocean views, but most have access through bushes. Pull along or slotted in the full hookups section. Excellent cell, great solar.

First of three Morro Bay campgrounds after a long, two month camping gap

We are feeling thankful and looking forward to a long planned fancy dinner of turkey hot dogs on the grill for our Thanksgiving feast. In the meantime, Dory1 has been very busy in her home campground. We have been entertaining way more than we are used to, and that has been tons of fun. Dory not only makes a perfect beverage bar, but also a very comfortable guest room. We have had a couple of back yard sleepovers ourselves, and it’s not too different from real camping. It has the bonus of having excellent campground wifi and a cute cat. Obviously we had to watch “Finding Nemo” as an inaugural event. And the upside/downside of having her so well stocked as a bar is that I am learning all about how to make mixed drinks. I am also trying to be mindful of not becoming a total alcoholic. I did not know Gin & tonics and Mochatinis were so delicious. Dangerous.

When you no longer have to worry about towing, those cabinets make excellent cocktail glass hangers.

Back in Dory2 for actual “camping,” now that we are aligned and on the same vacation schedule, it is very exciting to have the whole Thanksgiving week off, free and clear. We love Morro Bay and just decided to bop around the three state parks, spending three nights in each one. Our first stop is the state park campground just outside of town. It is easily walking distance and is the one that has the dump.

Dinner out. Vacations rock. (see what I did there?)

We started off with a nice al fresco dinner at Giovanni’s for chowder and shrimp tacos. Ice cream for dessert at Kelli’s, and a lovely sunset viewed from the pier. Otters bobbed around in the water, some with fluffy babies on their tummies. The fun thing about otter babies is you can apparently set them down on the surface of the water and they will just float around until you are ready to deal with them. Momma gets to have a nice bath and baby otter sleeps away, looking alarmingly like a dead something, or a small log, not going anywhere. We saw it move around when momma pulled it onto her tummy, so that was a relief.

It’s a view that dares you not to take a picture. Come on, you know you want to.

We stayed long enough to watch the sunset from the pier. I’ll bet this rock has been photographed at sunset a record number of times. I don’t care. I snapped some shots anyway. It’s kind of too picturesque not to point your phone at it.

Cerro Cabrillo is steep.

The next day we tried a new hike up to the top of Cerro Cabrillo and paid for it for several days afterwards. We didn’t really read the trail description and underestimated how tricky the climb down would be. It is only about three miles total, out and back, but it’s the half mile up, and then down, that gets you. It is very steep and the trail is made up of loose decomposing rock, deeply rutted by runoff water in many sections. It made footing dodgy, which became more of an issue going down. I spent of lot of the descent crouched way down, or scooting on my butt in the slickest places. I can tell you precisely which muscles those are because the fronts of my thighs were sore for days. I’m ok now, but oof. I don’t think I’d do that hike again. There were nice views from the top and Richard did the final rock scramble to get to where you can see the bay and the rock. Didn’t seem worth the risk to me, so I waited and had no FOMO. Later, Richard did a trail to the lower cerro, and he said that was way easier and definitely the one to do.

Spooner Ranch Visitor Center at Montana de Oro

The next day we biked to Montana de Oro, which will be the last place we stay. It’s a beautiful ride through eucalyptus lined hills and culminating in spectacular coastal views. We had a bite to eat at the visitor center and then rode back to town. We checked out the grocery store and hit Dolly’s Donuts, where we enjoyed an apple fritter and a lemon filled, powder sugar coated, raised pocket of delight.

The Rock up close.

Last, we rode through town and out to touch Morro Rock. There is a nice bike trail that goes along from the rock to the wharf, and all the way to Morro Strand, which will be the second place we stay. Weather could not be more perfect, following a rainy week. That was lucky and we appreciate it.

Another day, another sunset

From here we move down the road five miles to Morro Strand. We haven’t gotten tired of this place yet. It’s definitely got enough to do to entertain us for a whole week. And it’s the perfect balance of nature and town, so you can get anything you need, without having to feel like you’re in a crowd.

Total miles: 232.5, 4 hours 35 min, 16.5 mpg. Site 102 no hookups. Good cell for both. 10$ dump with potable water. Bathrooms have outlets to charge bike battery.