Author: Alissa

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Altogathers are maybe my favorite thing of all things. At least they are up at the top in the leaderboard of fun. I think the one thing I am looking forward to the most about the idea of some day retirement is the idea of being able to join more of these all over the US and Canada. Just the fact that you see a whole bunch of Altos as you pull into the campground is exciting. But the connections you make with people you may or may not have ever met is the part I like the most.

Once again, we got to be neighbors with Leo and Brenda. Leo takes care of all of the reservation details as the “Wagonmaster” with the campground. He handles keeping track of who is coming and who has paid. His is the crucial job. That, and bringing a Solo Stove for group campfires.

My job is to create the activity schedule, hoping to achieve a good balance between organized group gatherings, and ample free time to explore the Pt. Reyes area. It helps that a very talented Altoiste put together an impressive booklet of Area Attractions back in 2022. I used that again as a guide for people visiting from near and far. Richard and I spent our first chunk of free time bicycling to Heart’s Desire Beach on Tomales Bay. It’s a lovely ride with not too much traffic along Sir Francis Drake.

On our way back, we stopped in Pt. Reyes Station to pick up some fresh bread for our first group dinner. This cute town has everything you might need for groceries, baked goods, (of course) ice cream, or little crafty stores for gifts. It’s on the higher end in terms of priciness, but it was worth it.

If you want a really outstanding pot luck experience, invite some Altoistes. For every shared meal, there was a dizzying array of all kinds of delicious foods. I can’t name a favorite, but there were pasta salads, finger foods, dips and salsas, nacho makings, even deviled eggs! Our contribution was an artichoke dip that I baked over indirect heat on the WeberQ, and paired with freshly bought baguettes. Fabulous time!

The next morning I was busy prepping our contribution for that night’s pot luck: slow cooker chili. Everything worked perfectly for this dish, except that it made so much, the slow cooker started to overflow. The solution for that was fairly easy: have some chili for lunch. Meanwhile, I prepped little biscuit balls with chocolate and marshmallows inside. These got rolled in melted butter and coated in crushed Graham Crackers. That part was prepped at home. The finished balls all went into a plastic bag and into the fridge until it was time to bake. It’s a time consuming undertaking, but again, worth the effort.

We had just enough free time left in the day to drive out to the lighthouse. On our way, I spotted the Instagram famous tunnel of Cypress trees that leads to an old radio station. We stopped and walked out to the building, which has been preserved and serves as a museum with volunteers who will tell you anything you want to know about old time radio. The equipment has been painstakingly cared for, with a whole room full of dot matrix printers that were used to capture any and all intercepted communications. Mostly, the chatter was mundane in nature, like transmissions regarding cargo ship locations. Sometimes though, there were emergencies out off the coast, and this radio station was responsible for relaying the information to the coast guard. Fascinating stuff.

We then drove out to Pt. Reyes and walked all the way down to the lighthouse. There are signs warning you to be good and sure you are in shape to make it back up. Once at the bottom, you get to see a one-of-its-kind fresnel lens light beacon. These kinds of artifacts can’t be repaired anymore, as there are so few remaining, and even fewer people who have the expertise to handle them. For modern lighthouse functionality, there is an electronic system. Back in the day though, there was a steam powered generator that blew the fog horns and kept the beacon lit. Fun fact: the reason this light house is down so many steps is because this is the foggiest spot on any coastline besides a couple of places in Oregon, Washington, Maine, and New Foundland. Putting it 313 steps down, meant it could (sometimes) be under the fog layer.

We made it back in time for the big pot luck feast. Again, everything was delicious and very impressive. Steve, who traveled all the way from New York, cooked up a really incredible gumbo. He says it’s all in the roux, which is an impressive statement for someone who has been on the road for a month.

After dinner, we all took part in a mystery gift exchange. Having played these a lot at school staff parties, I can tell you, Altoistes are much nicer than teachers. There was minimal stealing involved and no organized crime rings (“you steal that for me, and I’ll steal this for you”). Teachers, it seems, are brutal, man. As it happened, I was the one picking name tags out of a container for who went next. As the names kept coming out, I got increasingly nervous and self conscious that I hadn’t yet picked myself. If I could have cheated my name to come out at the beginning, I seriously would have. But no, whose name came out absolutely last, thereby having the best chance at getting the best gift? Mine. Yep. Did I squander my suspicious luck? Did I use my good fortune for the good of others, by stealing something so someone else could steal back the thing they really wanted? Nope. As soon as the Altoiste made stained glass R-series came out, any chance at being a good samaritan was erased. Yeah, get out of my way, that’s mine.

Campfires took place every night between Leo’s and our campsites. People brought their own camping chairs as ever widening circles formed around the flames. Stories were shared to the sound of laughter and crackling wood. Richard became enamored of the Solo Stove, which is a boon for me. I’ve wanted one for some time, but seeing as how we never light fires when we camp, it’s been hard to justify. However, with our backyard now in shape to welcome guests, and with the very real possibility that Dory1 will actually make it back there in the near future, we went ahead and got one. They are handy little fire pits because they channel air up through the side and bottom vents, which burns the wood faster and hotter. That eliminates almost all of the smoke. It also means once you get down to the embers, you can put the lid on to safely snuff it out. We could theoretically take it camping with us, but actually the thing I’m looking forward to is using it in our Dory campground at home.

Our last organized gathering was a breakfast of champions. Again, I was impressed by the array of goodies, as well as the clever way so many Altoistes cook on the road. I’m remembering the strawberry rhubarb cake right now and making a note to get the recipe. We took one last group photo and said farewell to a couple of people who headed out that day. Happily, many stayed for one last night.

It was a great call to stay Sunday night. That gave us the rest of the day to have fun with no deadline for return. We found a road whose name Richard does not want me to share. He feels this is a gem of a find and he doesn’t want to ruin it by me sharing it with all of my dozen followers. Fine. There’s a little road off Sir Francis Drake that goes up, up, up about five miles until it dead ends at a communication tower. You get some really nice views from up there. We had to imagine most of the views because there was a thick layer of fog all along the coast. It was a great ride though, and Richard saw a mountain lion as he was descending!

We shared one last campfire with drinks, laughs, and many hidden talents (like doing accents!) that only come out in these kinds of circumstances. Hoowee that was fun! We came home exhausted and happy. We needed another day to recover, but hadn’t planned for that. Leo and I are thinking we could make this an every two year standing event. Every year is a lot, but every two is doable. I wouldn’t choose any other place for a nearby campground. It’s got plenty of amenities and does a really good job with big groups. They host T@b rallies and Airstream rallies too.

I came away with great memories, and a couple of new things I need to purchase (like the rechargeable Ninja blender! Why has no one told me about this before?!). I wish I came away with a better memory of people’s names. I need to study ahead of time next time. I now have most of them down I think, but that is after the fact. I guess that is why name tags are important. I might remember that you raise llamas and had a crazy time camping during a rainstorm on the lost coast, but ask me your name?? Oh god.. it starts with A… B… C… It’ll be a while till I get to you, Vicki with llamas. But I sure did have a great time getting to know everything about you (except your name on immediate recall).

Total miles: 64.4, 16.0 mpg, 2 hours 11 min. Site 127 electric & water hookups. Dump $20 with curb (we skipped). Pretty good cell service, but not as good as you’d think. Didn’t always work, but there is good campground wifi when you can hit it. Clubhouse for gatherings has stove, oven, fridge, big freezer, lots of folding tables and chairs.

We have reserved, and cancelled, reservations way out on the Jetty at Doran beach multiple times. Reservations are really hard to get, so it’s always a bummer to let them go. But if Bodega Bay is windy, cold, or rainy, the jetty is going to get the worst of it. Even during the days of toughing out any and all camping weather, we have bailed on the jetty. But not this time!

We left a hot and toasty home, with temperatures in the 90s, drove two hours west, and landed in jacket weather. It was chilly and very foggy in Bodega Bay, which was most welcome. We took a nice walk along the beach wearing down jackets even. The weekend’s entertainment was watching pelicans dive nose first into the water, making huge splashes on impact. We couldn’t figure out how they could possibly spot fish from above, so we Googled it. Apparently they are not launching targeted strikes. They just nose dive and slap the water with their wings. They have air bubbles in their feathers, which protects them from the impact, but any fish within a few feet of the shock wave will get tiny concussions, get disoriented, and float to the surface. Like pelicans are using their bodies as water bombs to stun their dinner. Did not know that. And I’m glad I’m not a pelican.

On Saturday we hiked the Pinnacle Gulch loop trail which connects with the Shorttail Gulch trail via the beach. It’s best if you do this loop at low tide so you don’t get cut off by the water, but we scooted past the narrowest stretch of sand about an hour before high tide and made it without getting wet. We had a lovely picnic on a driftwood pile and then headed back to the staging area.

For dinner, I was really looking forward to going out. August is a long ass month for two school district employees who don’t get paid until Sept 1. We had just enough saved funds to have a splurge at Fishetarian and even get dessert afterward. We split the shrimp tacos and an “adult” grilled cheese with fries. The adult part is only exciting in the sense that you get fancy asiago and fontina cheese, with fig spread and roasted red onions. We stopped in Rocker Oysterfeller’s for a soft serve for dessert and it was surprisingly worth the steep price of $6 for a rather small swirl. It was so creamy and rich though, that we had no regrets.

We walked from Dory to dinner, and back, which was almost two and a half miles each way. We stopped and chatted with a park ranger on the way back, who told us that locals and folks in the know refer to Doran Beach as “Blowdega.” That makes sense to me and makes me feel like not quite such a wuss for having bailed so many times.

I’m glad we finally got there. It was too foggy to enjoy ocean views, but at least we weren’t getting sand blasted. Camping weekends are always dependably joyful and Bodega Bay never disappoints. We’re filling up the non camping weekends with fun day trips to pull some of that joy into home life. Work in progress but we’re getting better at it. Next outing will be for the Olema Altogather and I’m very much looking forward to that!

Total miles: 80.9, 15.3 mpg, 2 hours 32 min. Site 108 Jetty, no hookups. Great cell. Solar. Dump $10 but didn’t use it. Felt superior about that and gloated as we drove past the dump line.

This is where we close out Summer 25. We had initially thought to try to get into Yosemite for a last hurrah, but it looked too crazy and crowded. I had made reservations for an in between stop at Lake McClure that would have given us hookups between the two national parks, but the forecast said it would be hot and we wanted to end on a national park high, so we cancelled and ended the trip with Sequoia/Kings. It’s funny how much we don’t mind the idea of going home now. We used to push it to the last possible minute, but now we welcome a little bit of down time at home before the school year starts. We attribute much of this change to Richard’s new job. No more dreading the return to work life. Also of critical significance is the addition of the ADU, making cohabitation with our daughter a non issue. But before that last travel day, we got in a ton of activities in a really big double park.

The four thousand foot climb from Sequoia RV to Azalea campground in Kings Canyon had me spooked. I am not a fan of deathy drives and I got triggered the night before about what was to come. I looked at Google street view and watched some YouTube videos to get a sense of the road. I’m not sure if that helped or hindered, but I was certainly ready for the turns with no guard rail and no shoulder. I employed a new calming strategy by incessantly humming “Under Pressure” in my head. Besides that, I just went slow and kept my eye on the yellow line. As a note to my future self: 180 between Cat Haven and 245 is not that bad. It’s not your favorite, but it’s only about seven miles with short sections of no guard rail. You won’t like it, but soon a guard rail will appear, or some trees, or a bank between you and the edge. You did it before, you can do it again, you’ll be fine.

Once we got to the Grant Grove Visitor Center area, the tense driving was over and I pulled into the parking area at the campground so we could get our bearings. We did check to see if our site was open, but it was early and the previous occupants hadn’t left yet. No problem, we just explored the market and visitor center for an hour or so. Richard had good cell service, and while I didn’t, I was pleased to find good wifi at the gift store. Richard also found Mint It’s Its at the market and got me one cause I totally deserved it.

We set up in our pull along site by making a u-turn so Dory’s door would not open into the campground loop road. It’s a lovely, peaceful campground and we were way back at the end, so there weren’t too many people driving past. It was a bit tight to fit the car in and not stick out, but we managed.

We had a lot of time on the day, so Richard suggested we ride down to Hume Lake, making a loop that took us up Hume Lake Road at the end. That was a great idea because I’d seen pictures of that, and figured I would like driving it even less. It’s awesome when you can preview those roads on a bike. We went down General’s Highway for a couple of miles before we got to the turn off for Ten Mile Road. This is a totally normal, non deathy road that takes you the long way to Hume Lake. It was a big descent, but not steep, just an effortless roll for about five miles.

We saw the road that leads to Bearskin Meadow and waved. About twenty years ago, we came to Bearskin Meadow to attend the Diabetes Youth Families (DYF) family camp. This was the first summer after our daughter had been diagnosed with Type 1 (formerly juvenile) diabetes and the DYF camp was a life saver. They have summer camps at Bearskin Meadow and other camp opportunities in the Bay Area throughout the year. These are magical places where kids with Type 1 can connect with other kids in an environment where checking your blood sugar, changing your pump site, and counting carbs is what everyone else is doing. It was a transformative and memorable experience for our family, but honestly we didn’t remember a single thing about the rest of Kings Canyon. I think maybe we did day trips, but it was all a blank slate.

We arrived at Hume Lake surprised to see hustle and bustle and a number of lodges and stores, plus tons of people. It was unlike a typical resort area, and the prominent and centrally located chapel clued us in to the fact that this was a massive Christian camp. We popped in to the market to see what they had, which was unusually well stocked with candy things: automated shake dispensers, a Jelly Belly wall, Dippin Dots, and a very well stocked ice cream coffin. We noticed that most of the people hustling and bustling were teens and kids. I’ll bet the store does very well. They also host one of the few gas stations in the area. There’s another one located further south on General’s Highway at Stony Creek. Or you can go back down to Dunlap. Gas here is a thing, so don’t come with an empty tank.

We climbed up Hume Lake Road, which I think I could do in a car, but why would I? It is narrow and has drop offs, but there’s room for two cars to get past each other. Going downhill wouldn’t be a problem because you’re against the slope. Lots of people seemed to be driving that road as the preferred way in and out of Hume Lake. From there, it’s a trudge on highway 180 to get back to Azalea. We passed by Princess campground and stopped to look at their dump. There is no dump at Azalea or Sunset, so it would be a six mile commitment. We noted it for the future. We also stopped at an overlook where you can see the twisty road descending down into the canyon. That was on the agenda for later in the week.

I made a dinner of chicken and sesame brown rice with broccoli and sambal peach sauce. I figured, we’re in bear territory, might as well let them know we’ve arrived. After dinner we walked down to nearby Grant Grove, where we could see the General Grant tree. This sequoia is the second largest tree by volume in the world. General Sherman, thirty miles to the south, takes the title of biggest tree in the world. General Grant has a wider ground circumference, measured at 107 feet! Its height is 268.1 feet, while General Sherman’s height is 274.9. The tallest tree in the world, Hyperion, is actually a cousin species to the giant sequoias, and towers at an unbelievable 380.8 feet. That one is located near the coast in Redwood National Forest. The giant sequoias have similar features, but they go wide and massive. Some of their upper branches are the size of whole trees. Someone described them as “elephants and broccoli,” and that about sums it up. But really big elephants and broccoli.

The next day began with a long drive south, along General’s Highway. We stopped at Stony Creek to make sure we could get gas there if needed. Yes we could. It’s a 24/7 automated pay pump. We also noted what food they had, knowing it would be a long day and we’d be wanting dinner.

On we drove to the Lodgepole Visitor Center. This is sort of the central hub for Sequoia National Park. Sequoia and Kings Canyon are laid out piecemeal, with forest service land, and some private land, in between. There are two main ways to get to Lodgepole, either switchbacking up from Three Rivers, or going up 180 from Fresno and cutting south near Grant Grove. Considering how daunting all this mountain driving is, to me anyway, there was certainly no lack of cars at Lodgepole. There were a lot of services here, including showers, a store, restaurant, and … ice cream! (take a shot)

We drove a short distance to get to the trailhead parking for the General Sherman tree. Yes. That is one big tree. You have to crane your head back to see the top and it’s hard to capture it in pictures. Also hard was finding a moment when there weren’t people taking selfies by the name plaque.

We took a loop trail that got us away from the crowds and passed through the “Senate” and “House” groves. The trail is named “Congress Trail” and I get what they’re going for. The two stands of trees do seem like an imposing and majestic gathering of god like figures, making decisions of import, sharing space and ecosystem, perfectly balancing their own growth with the needs of their symbiotic, inextricably intertwined, community. Shame that any words associated with government have fallen so far from that lofty ideal. I took a picture of a tree once tall and proud, whose top had been obliterated, probably by lightning. And another picture of a clusterfuck of fallen giants, toppling over each other and knocking down their counterparts. Those images seem far more apropos for the titles.

My absolute favorite part of the trail was spotting a Yellow Bellied Marmot. He had his butt to us for a long while, figuring he was invisible and we would walk on by. I was patient though and when he turned around, he looked just like that meme of the marmot screaming, “ALLAN!” He amused me greatly.

It was time for us to head toward our scheduled event of the day. Crystal Cave has been closed to the public for the past four years, but is now open for tours. We made reservations months ago, knowing only that it would be a long drive from Azalea to get there. We later knew that it would also be an exciting drive from the turnoff on General’s Highway, six and a half miles down a narrow road with a couple of short gravel sections. They said to allow a half hour from the Lodgepole area for travel, so we planned our departure accordingly. Before the turnoff, it was already narrow and I was trying to make the journey as palatable as possible for Richard, who seemed to always be on the edgy side in the passenger seat. Any time I had a clear line of sight and no oncoming traffic, I scooted over the middle line to give him some respite. There was a car behind me, but it wasn’t until I turned to go to Crystal Cave and he flashed his blue and red lights that I realized he was a ranger. I pulled over, thankfully against a bank rather than a cliff, and the ranger told me he’d stopped me because I was going over the middle line. Fair accusation, but I was doing so very carefully, and with reasonable purpose. I didn’t argue and he let me off with a warning, which I appreciated. We hadn’t lost too much time from the incident, but I needed to not dilly dally the rest of the way down. Richard sort of stumbled out of the car when we got there, with ten minutes to spare before the tour. Later he chatted with the cave volunteers and recounted what had happened. They all knew this particular ranger and said the middle line was totally his thing and he stops people all the time. I mean, I’m all for safety, so if people are getting into head on collisions from not staying on their side, I get the vigilance. On some of these roads though, there is no middle line and I wonder how many people go off the edge.

The tour itself begins with a half mile hike down, down, down until you get to the tour guide at the entrance to the cave. Tours are scheduled throughout the day with groups of 25-30 people at a time. We booked the last tour of the day, which turned out to be a great idea since it meant almost no oncoming traffic on the way back up. The tours are run by the Sequoia Parks Conservancy, and they do a fantastic job. You have to book tours through their online reservation system and gives you a specific date and time. You can’t get into the cave without a tour reservation.

The cave walk itself is easy and paved, taking you through several large rooms with tons of cave decorations. This is a marble cave and the first I’ve seen with running water streams. Water is how these caves form and this one is still developing. It is super cool. I took a plethora of pictures, but my favorite cave feature was a collection of “fairy ponds,” or little pools that have built up over time. I also liked the dragon shaped feature in the last room. It was a highlight and a must do on any visit. Even the hike down and back up is lovely, with several attractive waterfalls and informational kiosks to stare at while you catch your breath on the uphill.

Our day was not done yet though! We topped it off by hiking up Moro Rock. I’d seen pictures of it and had heard there were stairs and handrails the whole way, but when we pulled around the corner to see a gigantic slab of granite sticking straight up into the sky, I gaped, “We’re not going up that are we?!” Yes we were, and yes I did. No regrets and I recommend it. Yes there are a bazillion stairs and steps, but guard rails or solid rock at your side the entire time. Just before reaching the top, a little voice in my head said I should definitely not be up this high. I stared directly and only at the steps in front of my feet, and kept going, one step after another. Eventually you come to the wide open space at the top. Mind you, if there hadn’t been guard rails, I would have had a panic attack right there. But I was able to cling to those suckers all the way to the end. I only let go long enough to let someone take our picture. It was a thrilling experience with an unmatchable view. I would do it again.

After a jam packed day, we were looking at an hour’s drive back to Dory and it was already nearly seven o’clock. Richard had the prescience to know this would happen, so we had already checked out the dinner possibilities at Lodgepole. We enjoyed a grilled cheese, chicken wrap, fries, and, you know it, ice cream. What a great day.

With only two days down on a five day stay, we decided to spend the next day riding down, then back up Kings Canyon Scenic Byway. We only went as far as the bottom of the canyon, which you reach at Boyden Cavern. We parked on the road just after the Hume Lake Road turnoff and started coasting down from there. It’s an exhilarating thirteen miles, with 3660 feet in elevation change. It’s good to have disc brakes for this, which I do and Richard doesn’t. The turns are sharp and the edges perilous. They do have low rock walls along a good portion of the lower section, giving you a sense of protection, but more importantly, blocking your view of the river and canyon way down below. On a bike, no problem. I don’t even mind stopping to look over the wall. Later in the car I wasn’t so thrilled with the drive back up. But on this day, it was all about the joy of biking it. Of course, Richard had all the hard work to do, but my little legs were doing some pedaling too, assisted though they were. We saw a sign saying “Caution Ice – Cream on the way.” This was a lie. We noticed the tiny shipping container with an order window was open the next day, so maybe they run on weekends only. Richard had to work hard to get back to the car, so we celebrated with treats at the Grant Grove Market, and then napped. Dinner was Romesco chicken with poblano, olives, and couscous.

Two more days to go! We followed our bike exploration of the canyon with a drive down. That drive was all fine. I let Richard out at Boyden canyon and sagged him ten miles to the Cedar Grove Visitor Center. This is another central hub of the park, though much more rustic and no cell service or wifi anywhere. The road is simply spectacular. It follows the south fork of the Kings River the whole way. It is just waterfall and rapids, one after another. Sometimes the river will open up and calm down, where people fish. You do not want to go swimming or boating in this river.

At the visitor center, we put Richard’s bike in the car and drove to the end of the road and parked. From there, we picked up the Mist Falls trail. You start with an easy walk on the Paradise Valley trail. This goes on for about two miles. We ran into a couple on that trail we had randomly seen twice before on this trip. We saw them first at Lake Isabella, where they were confused about how to get a site. We saw them again at a scenic overlook on the General’s Highway. This time we introduced ourselves properly. Monica and Oliver were on a two month van rental vacation from Germany and were taking in all the best California highlights. They get five stars for route planning and they even scored a site at Kirk Creek. Well done! Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip.

We entered a marshy area of the trail, where river reeds were growing, thick in the bogs. Just out of the corner of my eye, I caught something brown and fuzzy moving ahead, maybe fifty yards from us. I stopped and barked sharply to Richard, “Sweetie. Back up, back up, back up.” The bear did not seem alarmed by our presence, but we were alarmed by the presence of a very friend shaped cub, following along after mama. Goddamn they’re cute, but our hearts were in our throats until they disappeared into the thick reeds. We breathed a sigh of relief. Well, well, that was our adventure for the day, wasn’t it? We continued on. I got no pictures. I had regret.

After two miles, we saw a sign pointing to the left, which means start going uphill to follow the bend in the river. The trail comes close to the river in places, then backs away, but you can always hear it rushing along to your right. There was a group at the junction who I excitedly reported to about the bears. We kept climbing up, another 2.7 miles until we at last came to the falls. It is breathtaking and cool to get sprayed by the mist if you sit at the bottom. We stopped and snacked a good long time before heading back down.

Just a little bit before hitting the trail junction, we came upon a couple who had just seen a rattlesnake cross the path. They pointed out where is was coiled up, hiding in the reeds. Well, well! This has certainly been the day for adventure hasn’t it?

Shortly after that, Richard came around a bend in the trail. He did not immediately recognize what was happening. I saw the whole thing, but it took me a minute to make sense of what I was seeing. Imagine the most adorable ball of brown fluff, with cute little rounded ears, doing a legit swan dive into the air, fluffy arms outstretched before it hits the water like a cannonball, generating a huge splashing sound and sprays of water, shooting right into Richard’d face. It was right in front of him, probably sitting happily on a rock by the stream, when it got startled by his sudden appearance. All Richard knew was that he was getting splashed by something huge hitting the water a couple of feet away. He definitely screamed. I had my phone out and was backing away so fast, with no thought of trying to take a picture, that I fell over backwards and my phone went flying. Richard spotted mama further away, but not that much further, in the water. He started calling out, “GO AWAY BEAR! GET OUT OF HERE!” I was scared he was going to piss her off, but he was following the directions perfectly on one of the signs posted by the visitor center. After a few moments of complete chaos, mama seemed unfazed, Richard stopped yelling, little cub climbed out of the water on the opposite shore, a fully soaked baby bear, and we just panted. I got up and found my phone. The rattlesnake couple caught up to us and we all looked at mama bear cautiously. As she moved farther away, we decided it was ok to move past her on the trail. I did try to snap a couple of pictures, but, you guys, nothing comes close to the image of a swan diving bear cub less than ten feet from you. That’s it. No more adventure. We’d had plenty.

As I noted, the drive up and out of the canyon was not my favorite. It came at the end of a long day though, so that didn’t help. It’s the section above the canyon that got to me, with endless climb and edgy switchbacks. I was a tired monkey by the time we got back to Dory.

At last we reach our final day in the park. We had decided by this time to head home the next day in order to end our summer trip on a new-to-us national park experience. Being that it was a Saturday, we smartly avoided all of the touristy destinations and hiked the trails from the campground. We did a loop that took us past Grant Grove, then to a lookout over Sequoia Lake. Along the way we saw the “Dead Giant” tree, which was not as interesting as the weird human made mobile hanging from a tree next to it. We later asked a ranger and apparently it is some kind of experiment, possibly monitoring insects. Cool. It’s a Grand Canyon hike down to Ella Falls, which means you do all the climbing on the second half. It was a good seven and a half mile hike with twelve hundred feet of elevation. It takes you eventually through Sunset campground and then to the Grant Village area. Another day, another It’s It. Then it was back to Dory for our final meal on the road. This time it was a delicious Kung Pao chicken with broccoli and roasted peanuts for crunch. It was delicious, but the cornstarch coating on the chicken adhered to the pan. It was lucky we were going to be able to wash that baby at home.

This was a long post for a long stay in an action packed national park. Two of them, actually. This was our first visit (since we don’t remember the actual first), and we think we have a good sense of the park now. The driving is a lot, at least for me, but not a deal breaker by any means. It’s like highway 1 in the roller coaster section. You just have to get used to it. Once you know what to expect, it gets easier. I liked where we stayed in Azalea. It’s centrally located to the canyon and you can day trip down to the Lodgepole area. Lodgepole was by far the most crowded part of the park. You can stay down in the canyon at Sentinel campground, but boy, I’d have to really psych myself up for taking Dory down and back up out of there. The canyon is the most visually stunning, and the most remote and relaxed. It is just beautiful. I would happily do every single thing we did again. Five days was a nice long stay to experience the park, but because of our shower habits, we did need to go dump at Princess campground in the middle. That wasn’t so bad. Thus ends our eleventh summer out in a Dory. Thanks for following along! It’ll be a few weeks before we’re out again, but this summer was one for the books.

Total miles from Sequoia RV: 27.0, 9.4 mpg (100% uphill), 1 hour 6 min. Site 56 no hookups, pull along site. Great solar. Good cell most of the time for Verizon, but no service for ATT except an occasional tease of 1 bar of 5g that did nothing. Only one bathroom in campground. No dump. Princess campground 6 miles away has a good dump station with potable water fill. Normally costs $20/use, but pay station was broken, so it was free.

This is just a quick post to say that this place exists. It’s fine. It’s weird. But it’s in a convenient location and it has electric hookups that work. It’s right across from a gas station, which is important if you’re heading up to Sequoia or Kings Canyon. It does not look as nice in person as it does on its website, but that’s marketing for you. There was no one to check anyone in, so it was a choose your own site situation. The map showed a dump at site 46, but really it was just that you sort of pull through site 46 and use their sewer outlet. Confusing. But it worked. Hookups are way at the back of the sites but our power cord reached. All things considered, it was fine, but for $60 a night you’re paying for the location.

For us, it was good to stop here. Coming down from Lake Isabella and stopping in Bakersfield for shopping was a six hour travel day. We were also wanting to gas and charge up before climbing five thousand feet. It was only another twenty miles into the park, but that’s an exciting drive best saved for the morning after a good night’s sleep. If we come back, we want to check out Project Survival Cat Haven. It is just up the road from the RV park and it looks super cool. We got there too late in the day to visit and it closes at 4. It is a 93 acre facility housing large cats, some rare and endangered. Note to self to keep that in mind and arrange a tour next time we’re up that way. Richard also notes he would like to figure out how to ride 245 some day.

Total miles from Boulder Gulch: 161.5, 17.3 mpg, 6 hours 10 min with shopping stop in Bakersfield. Site 84. Electric and water hookups. There was a sewer outlet but the hole was too small. There is a pseudo dump by pulling through site 46 and using the outlet there. It is marked on the campground map, but not indicated any other way. Hookups are located at the back of the sites, so some seemed like they would be too far from the pad. Not a lot of sites with shade. Self check in. Good cell service for both.

Have you ever had that moment on a trip where you go, “Wait. Who’s idea was this?” And if it was probably your idea, you go, “Wait. What was my thinking there?” I know we put a lot of thought and discussion into summer trips, and every year we learn something new. I find it hard to believe that the new thing we needed to learn this year was that it gets hot in July. I think we were taking that into account and were intentionally booking things at higher elevations for that reason. But Lake Isabella is right around two thousand feet and definitely not high enough to be saved from July temperatures. I think we were also trying to save money by not staying at private places with hookups. Maybe the lesson here is that sometimes the extra money is worth it.

But here we were. It was in the mid to upper 90s and we were going to give it our best shot. The reservations at this Forest Service campground are not site specific, so you have to find what you can when you get there. Oh right, we also learned that Saturdays are more crowded than other days. I feel that is not a new lesson either, but perhaps something that needed to slap us in the face so we consider that for future planning. Being a Saturday, all the places with nice shade were taken by the people who came on Friday. The campground loop road is narrow, with a maze of one way loops, so I wasn’t into doing a lot of circles to find the one with comparatively most shade. I took one with at least a shady sitting area and set about doing all the things we could to cool Dory off as much as possible for a two night stay. I pulled out the Aluminet to shade the sides, opened everything, closed the blackout curtains, ran 12v fans. Then we sat in our Nemo chairs outside and basked in internet connectivity.

For the next day, our original plan was to bike around the lake, but Richard was noticing how much more traffic there is on a Saturday in July as compared to the last time we were here on a Thursday in January. That idea kind of got set aside. We decided to run the generator, partly to help Dory’s batteries keep up with the refrigerator, but also to recharge my bike batteries in case we did any riding at all the next day. As we were wrestling with ideas, the campground host went by and shouted that we were the only ones in the campground. We took her likely meaning as, “Why are you not being normal people? Do you not know that there is a lake right over there?” She wasn’t wrong. Most of Bakersfield probably flocks to Lake Isabella on hot Saturdays specifically so they can get in the lake. But not us. Nope.

It took us a while to get off our butts the next morning, but the rising temperatures more or less forced the issue of what were we going to do for the day. We ended up driving a ways up the Kern River to check out the road conditions. We drove just about to the end of the section where Sierra Way follows the curves of the Kern before heading up into the mountains. We had enough information to say that it might be fun to ride part of that. We found a shady spot, parked, got out our bikes, and rode six miles up the road.

The Kern river is very bouldery and dramatic. Here and there it widens and slows enough to create little swimming holes. The road was rough and patched in places, but not too bad, and there wasn’t much traffic. What cars there were gave us a wide berth when they passed. We went a tiny bit up Sherman Pass Road, something Richard has heard of as an intense ride, but we weren’t prepared for that kind of effort. Instead, we turned around and just rode mostly downhill back to the car.

There are a couple of private campgrounds along the way, and a little tiny town called Riverkern, which had some stores, a couple of food places, and lodging. All in all, it’s a very inviting area. We saw many cars parked along the side of the road or in Day Use areas or Forest Service campgrounds, with people frolicking in the coolness of the river. We didn’t stop and do that, but I have no clear explanation as to why. At least when you’re biking, you cool yourself off by creating your own breeze, especially when coasting downhill. Our out and back was enough for Richard’s activity needs, and it was pushing 1 o’clock and high 90 degrees. Time to stop.

We had passed through the larger lakeside town of Kernville and noted two things: it looked fun and old timey, and it had an ice cream shop. Perfect place to sit in air conditioning for as long as we were allowed by the management. The mint chip by the way was quite good. The place is called Something Sweeter and you should go. We managed to linger for about an hour.

With the only other option being loitering in the local Von’s Market, we decided to be like normal people and get our asses in the lake. We had brought our swimming suits, so that wasn’t an issue. For me it was that these upper arms and legs absolutely never see rays of sunlight. I had to frost myself with so much sun screen, it left residue on the car seat. For Richard it’s that lakes are ew. I have no photos to prove we got our dainty bodies in the ew lake, so you’ll have to take my word for it. You’re welcome.

There are no trees around most of the lake, and I didn’t want to sit in the sun. Somehow I imagined we would be swimming or something, but even I was reluctant to plunge in because, ew. What turned out to be nice was finding a tall rock with a patch of shade right in a spot that was sandy rather than muddy. There we could sit with our legs and butts in the water, being amused by little fishies and gradually deciding that the ew wasn’t all that bad. And you know what? Sitting in a lake has a decidedly cooling effect. Who knew? We were able to tolerate that for the rest of the afternoon. We then went back to Dory and did another brand new thing for us: we used the outdoor shower for outdoor showering! We barely remembered Dory comes equipped with this handy piece of equipment and it was perfect for rinsing off the ew.

I had the energy to make a nice dinner of southern spiced chicken with hot sauce snow peas and bell pepper, over golden raisin rice. Yum. By then it was cooling off nicely. We were proud of ourselves.

Richard had found a hike that he took me on for sunset. It is the Isabella Peak trail, which goes about a mile and a half up, to get a really nice view of the whole lake. The dam looks like a really big pile of rocks. I’m assuming it’s a well engineered pile of rocks. We got back down to camp just as the last light of day was fading, triumphant heat warriors, overcoming the challenge that thousands of people go out of their way to experience every hot Saturday of the summer. Yay us.

For future trip planning, we want to remember to check elevation for potential heat once we hit July. We honestly have been so lucky with the weather this summer. This is only the second stay that’s been uncomfortable, and neither time was bad enough to make us bail and get a hookup site somewhere. We also want to remember to notice where we’re staying on a Saturday. This campground emptied out completely on Sunday. We could have had our pick of any shady site we wanted. Plus, the traffic wasn’t nearly as bad. Just something to keep in mind. Trip planning is hard though, and I think we did a pretty damn good job for the most part.

Total miles from Alabama Hills: 127.8, 18.1 mpg, 4 hours 34 min. Site 39 no hookups. Excellent cell signal. Water spigots, flush toilets, no dump, trash & recycling.