July 26-30: MORRO STRAND STATE BEACH CAMPGROUND

When we moved to San Jose and had family staying behind in LA, we got out a map (google maps in printed out form) and made a decision as a family that we would meet in the middle every year. Morro Bay was just about equal distance from where everyone lived at the time and hence started an annual tradition of over 40 years. 

So here we are at the beach with Morro Rock in our midst. (and mist)

Our chosen "hyper-extended" family includes dearest people with the smartest and most beautiful children, it's no wonder that is a crazy fabulous time, worth driving three thousand plus miles to attend.

The campground is literally a parking lot with median strips for tents. However, it's right on the beach and it's a beautiful beach. 

The large mass in the foreground is Morro Rock. According to Senior Google: "Portuguese explorer, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo named the rock "El Morro" in 1542. In Spanish "Morro" means crown shaped hill. Morro Rock, sometimes called the "Gibraltar of the Pacific," is the last peak of the Nine Sisters, which extend from San Luis Obispo to Morro Bay."

Roger posted this picture of the trailer and truck on Facebook.

At first, not a single person asked about the person sitting in the chair. Stanley worked hard not to be offended.

But then, the kids started to talk to him as they walked, rode bikes, and skateboarded by. He felt better. Maybe this trip with Gramma and Grampa Gruben would be fun after all.

Henk on the beach, my favorite cocktail

Perfect weather, a loving chosen family, and the California beach. What more could you ask for?

Such a peaceful, lovely, restful experience. Thank you Morro Bay and thank you chosen family for including us in your tribe.

Coyote Valley RV Resort

So we are in Morro Bay tonight, but this post is about the place we left today in  Morgan Hill, CA.

We would give it 4.5 out of 5 stars, It was really nice with the exception of two things that I observed. I'll address those first and get to the good stuff after. 

Issue #1

The spaces are wide and level but way too close to each other (around 2 feet), so when the guy next door was talking on speaker phone at 6am, we learned all his business.

Issue #2

The laundry is disgusting.

Even after I wiped out the scum on the door seal, it was still moldy and slimy. The whole place had a gas station men's room vibe.

There were several machines out of order and it was just generally gross. Really, they would be better to not have a laundry if they are not going to maintain it.

Now, the good stuff

There are hiking paths through beautiful easy-incline parts of Coyote Valley. it was too hot and we were too busy to enjoy them. There are all kinds of accommodations for dogs, including a large fenced "pee" area and lots of community green space.

Quiet time seems to be strictly enforced and although there were far more travelers with dogs than without, only a random bark was heard now and then.

The pool is clean and not a strong smell of chlorine. The store has a good supply of basics and all kinds of ice cream.

The non-maintained laundry was surprising because the rest of the park and other facilities were really nice and obviously cared for. The people who run the front desk and those who escort you to your site are very friendly and ready to help you with any issues with a genuine smile.

Bottomline: Coyote Valley RV Resort (opens new window) is a great place to stay, but do your laundry elsewhere.

Morgan Hill Visit

Here we are enjoying 1/2 of our grandkids (3 out of 6). The heat, not so much. We were able to escape with the "two middles" the other day and we went to the antique store and got homemade ice cream afterwards. 

I love teenagers that love getting birthday gifts from an antique store. Hayden got a Harris Tweed coat, which will come in handy at MSU this winter. The yarn from the llama farm is the right color for a hat to go with it. 

Sam found some wonderful framed paintings for their bedroom wall's blank spaces.

Justin found a chain maille bracelet for Audrey to go with the chain maille shirt she is making.

I found a cute little enameled box for Chrissie (their mom) and Hayden found me a $5 jacket that is really cute.

We are making a "prayer flag" type thingee of each of the states & provinces we have been to in the trailer. 19 so far and will add more as we cross the country again to head home.  But not before visiting more loved ones in San Jose, Pine Mountain Club, and North Hollywood.

We will be taking the [hotter], southern route home, so we will likely be using the generator. We even ordered an auxiliary fuel tank so it can run all night if necessary. It is supposed to be delivered to our niece's house in North Hollywood, our last stop in California.

Tomorrow, we check out of Coyote Valley RV Resort (CVRV) and I will post more with photos of the place once we get to Morro Strand State Beach with how and what we liked and didn't like about CVRV. Mostly, we liked it and would stay there again.

Stop 8: Coyote RV Resort, Morgan Hill, California

 

We were here at Coyote Valley RV Resort for 5 days. It's down the street from Justin & family in Morgan Hill. 

Wow. As great as it looks from the pics online, it is even nicer. AND the people here are really nice and friendly and very welcoming.

SPaces are well maintained and level and we had no neighbors on either side, so we had very peaceful night's sleep each night.

The quiet hours are strictly enforced, which is also nice when there are so many dogs.

The store and check in desk are very nice and occupied by friendly and competent people.

They said we should come to S'mores night tomorrow night. We probably won't since I want to get as much time with grandkids and kids as possible. (Also, I hate s'mores--shh)

The first day, Roger dropped me at the kids' house and took the truck to get fixed (window and tail pipe). 

Do not consider doing laundry here, though. The washers were filthy and there were several out of order, one with no door.

This surprised me since everything else is so well cared for.

Stop 7: New Frontier RV Park

So here we are in Winnemucca, Nevada. 

The drive today was spectacular.

Driving through the salt lake riverbeds was really interesting.

We saw smooth green mountains, jagged mountains with bluffs, brushy prairies, and some gorgeous green valleys. We really do have an awesome planet.

So we got to the RV park at about 4:30. Okay. Nothing about this place seems memorable. Maybe it's just because I am so frickin' hot. 

We now realize how great the newish air conditioning in the old truck works. We were comfy all day.

The park is functional and nice enough I guess. We tend to stay away from people, so we didn't hang out in the main building. They had nothing but beer in their wall of refrigeration. Stuff like Bud, bud light, and the like. Their beer choices kinda reflected the mood of the place. Nothing special. They weren't rude. Just not really very friendly. We're just not used to zero small talk--especially with someone who you are giving your money to.

I think she had it in her head that we had one of those campers on the back of the truck because she gave me a little attitude when I attempted to clarify as concisely as I could that we had a trailer. She replied, "You should NOT detach the truck from the camper."

So the park has full hookup spaces, picnic tables, etc. For the pull-through spaces, Instead of gravel, the spaces are blacktop. This meant taking FOREVER (about 2 hours, but seemed like forever) to cool off the trailer. In fact, even after hooking up ASAP and running the AC full on, it actually got hotter inside before it finally cooled off. It was in the 90s when we got here. The trailer went up to 105 before it went back down to 75. I know my cooking didn't help, but geesh. 

I didn't take pics because we really just wanted to get cooled off and go to bed. Dinner was a blur. Oh yeah I had the rest of my grilled cheese and tomato basil soup from last night and I made Roger tomato sauce from the Creamery with sausage from Steckler's, some fresh garlic (my own grown from home) on rice noodles.

Tomorrow is a Looong day and we want to get an early start. Well, a long day for us. It will probably be 8 hours depending on how long we stop for lunch.

California, here we come!  

STOP 6: Pear Tree Llama Farm

 

What a wonderful day! 

We got up early and Roger made scrambled eggs from Old Farm Truck and sausage from Steckler's, then we cleaned up, buttoned up, and were on the road not feeling rushed for a change. It was a cool morning after an even cooler night, so we slept pretty well. Journey RV park (last stop) was very quiet. We would recommend this place, too.

The views moving through Wyoming were spectacular. I tried to get shots, but the windows were so dirty from bug smashing, that I couldn't get a decent pic for this blog.

Again, photos are nothing like the real thing.

So we pulled into Pear Tree around 4:30. We were greeted by Jerry right at the gate who was very friendly and sweet. We were just in time to feed the llamas. Normally, they eat the grasses on their 40-acre spread. They do not get feed in the warm months, but they are getting their nails clipped by the vet in the morning and it's easier to not have to catch them for that. So we fed them to get them into their barn and small fenced area. 

We also were greeted by Darby, the sheep dog used to herd the llamas. Darby has never met a stranger. He was by my side most of the rest of the trip when I wasn't in the trailer. If you know me, you know that my cat (Amelia Pond) does not allow me to be a dog person. So, don't tell Ami, but I really like Darby.

This morning, I asked him to smile and he (I swear) started laughing.

There are 13 individuals, each with their own distinct personalities. Some pushy, some shy, one is very judgemental. All of them beautys. I got to feed them "treats" from my hand, which is weird because they only have teeth on the bottom and just a split lip on top so it feels like two thumbs scooping the food from your palm.

Katie introduced each of them to me, but of course I have to refer to the website (opens new browser) to remind my old lady brain.  Each of them wonderful in their own way.

But my fav is Danny. I love his one blue left eye and one dark brown. He tried to hog all the food and I think it was the attention as much as the treat. He also LOVED getting his back scratched.

Katie used to show them, but it got too much so she just sells the hair and has it spun.

We bought some yarn after a teleconference with our daughter-in-law to get the right stuff. Then, we bought a rug with hair (not wool as with sheep) from my favorite, "Mandan" (Danny for short) and his mother.

After purchasing our skeins and rug, we headed into town to the local creamery-->

...and bought fresh non-homogenized milk, some cheeses, and grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato basil soup to go.  

Mid-Way is the cutest little upscale village, with adorable houses everywhere. You can tell it's the location of many well-off family second homes.

Lawns clearly manicured by the gardener. Kinda an alpine feel, I guess from being between two large ski areas, with two large reservoirs and a river alongside.

We reminded ourselves how much it snows and how cold it gets before getting ideas of maybe a little place of our own. It's just that cute.

We filled up the tank and headed back to enjoy our dinner from the creamery. 

Stop 5: Journey RV, Laramie, WY

It's funny how you can learn to truly appreciate that nothing went wrong today. At least we couldn't think of anything.

We got an early start and said goodbye to the winery. It was a very quiet night and the only thing that some might find as a negative is there is an occasional whiff of manure. But it's in farm country, so that's going to happen. Didn't bother us, but we thought we should mention it for those reading this blog for info about the Harvest Host campsites. 

So, tonight we are in Laramie, Wyoming at Journey RV park, right next to the highway. We got here a little after 2:30pm because of the early start and the time change. So we had time to chill and get a little more organized. It was kinda hot when we got here, but not enough to use the AC. 

Maybe it was in the 80s. It's supposed to get chilly tonight. More of the same tomorrow in Utah. It's a very nice, well-maintained park. The office people were welcoming. It looks like there may be some residents, but mostly transients like us.

The sky here is amazing! There were storms raging all around us and here we were in this island of sunshine. You could see the rain pouring down in sheets. Much of it was disappearing before it hit the ground.

The humidity here is 11% so the rain was evaporating in mid-air. In some parts of the sky, it almost looked like aurora borealis in deep shades of grey and blue. This picture does not do it justice. Once in a while, you'd hear thunder or get a few sprinkles of sun shower rain.

We were surprised at the elevation of the state of Nebraska. For some reason, we equated flat land with low land. Wyoming is even higher at 7200 feet. 

Dinner was steak (yup, from Steckler's) over salad. The last of the cucumbers from our home garden, celery, tomato, onion. Roger added some Steckler's cheddar cheese. Pita bread from Old Farm Truck as well.

We went for a walk after dinner just to get the kinks out. This place is really nice. The spaces are all pull through with full hookups, picnic tables and really nice fire pits with benches. Some trees, but not too many for those of us with solar panels.

Nice little gardens here and there. A HUGE fenced park where dogs are allowed and picnic tables here and there. 

These roses look recently planted. Even the trash collection dumpster locations are tidy.

So, yeah, I'd recommend this place.

Stop Four: Mac's Creek Winery and Cidery

Left early this morning 9am-ish and drove through an horrendous storm. I opened up the trailer at our first gas stop to find the entire floor very, very wet and so was anything and everything that was on the floor, including in the bottom storage compartments. We found out that our wheel well on the passenger side leaks VERY badly.  There was a recent Facebook post from someone that had the same year (2023) and had this problem, so I knew it was the wheel well and not just the door needing weather stripping. The trailer is under warranty, so there may be a trip back to Quebec City in our future. I'm okay with that. Just hope for no more flooding on this trip.

Oh, and the tail pipe fell off. We took the truck to the garage before we left to get it "gone through" and $4380 later, (replaced upper control arms, rear axle shafts and front drive shaft), apparently they didn't notice the rusty and falling off tail pipe.

Luckily, this also can wait (like the window regulator) until we get to California, but GEEZE guys. 

So those were the fun mishaps of day four. I am beginning to think this is just how our road trips are going to be. A fresh hell every day. We are talking more and more about taking next year off and staying home.  Day cruises on Volta and maybe one or two overnights in the trailer close to home. 

It's like watching the Lucy Show. (dating myself, I know.)

Anyhow...

The Winery/Cidery was super crowded with some kind of event, so we had no wine, cider, or anything. We walked in to check in and were basically told to park on the gravel and no need to check in or anything. (?) There was a sign saying there were no snacks or anything because they were having a private event.  

It looked nice, but way too crowded to even hang around inside. The event was apparently over at 5pm and they closed and locked the doors, so the $20+ we were supposed to spend didn't get spent. So, at least the alcohol free trip has continued, at least for tonight.

It is really beautiful and quiet here, though. There is only one other camper and there is room for many. 

We have our generator and Roger tested it out so it will work great to keep us cool all night as it is not going to cool off as much as it did in MO last night. The generator is amazingly quiet and was not maxed out when Roger tested it running the AC. So there's that.

Now, just to figure out where to put all the stuff that we were storing in the flooded compartments. They are dried out now, thanks to the extreme heat and lots of towels.

This is a really pretty place. Too bad no tasting room--why we left early to get here before they closed at 5. 

We are having a wonderful time in spite of the mishaps. I think we have come to take it all in stride.

UPDATE: After a late dinner of chicken breast garam masala (chicken from Steckler Farms again), we walked around the grounds of the tasting room. It was really nice. Several concrete circles with fire pits in the center and permanent benches all around. There is a small covered stage where they apparently have live music. It would be very cool after dark, but alas they close at 5--way before sunset. We again, were surrounded by thousands of fireflies that lended an air of magic to our evening stroll. It was nice having all this to ourselves (practically)

STOP 3: KOA Oak Grove, MO (just outside Kansas CIty)

There was a great storm last night in Indiana with rhythmic rain hitting the roof and helping us sleep. We could leave a little later with the time change working in our favor. 

It was crazy wet and windy, but we had to put things away, so we ended up soaked to the bone.

Roger found Jerry to say goodbye and we were off again.

So we arrived at the KOA early afternoon with plenty of time to set up and chill. 

The mobile data is pretty strong here for AT&T, so the fact that their WIFI is crappy doesn't matter.

It's an otherwise VERY nice KOA. I have not stayed at a "bad" one yet. This one is right next to the freeway. But we will have the vent fan going all night and it should drown out the traffic.  It has cooled off enough to not need the AC.

Roger figured out the water heater and told me all about it, but my old brain can't remember enough to bore you with my vast water heater knowledge. If you have an Alto and really need to know, say so in the comments and I will have him reply.

We got here early so we went shopping. We bought a new very nice pump-out hose and then went to Aldi to get blue cheese stuffed olives (for our fake martinis), tortillas, Balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Oh, and bananas and apples. We had not fresh fruit and we were in need. I had canned pinto beans and we thawed out some chicken breasts from yesterday's farm stop.  We had beans & chicken with the cheese also from Steckler's and today's purchased [corn] tortillas.  With tomato and fresh onion. Hot sauce and we were good to go. Another great meal on the road. By the way, Aldi is weird. It seems somehow soulless. Like a mini costco or something.

Anyhow, I got the awning up right away while Roger was connecting connections. 

Roger was able to fix the bathroom door and with our new septic hose, we are back in happycamperland. 

We had our alcohol-free cocktails in our chairs under the awning and on our Doctor Who themed rug in our little folding chairs.  Our construction site fans kept us cool and bug free. Then I took my much needed shower and we planned the next day.

Tomorrow is a winery/cidery, another Harvest Host spot. Hope they have non-alcohol stuff, too. 

STOP TWO: Steckler Grassfed Farm in Dale, Indiana

It took us longer to get here than we had hoped, but we made it just before 6pm (instead of 4:30 as planned). We are still on Eastern TIme, but very close to Central. There was road construction, lots of steep hills and again stopping for gas more than we would like.

Dinner tonight is salad with cucumbers from my garden at home, organic celery, vidalia onion, tomatoes from Old Farm Truck and best of all, filets from our Steckler meat stash. OMG this beef is DEE-licious and so tender. Jerry runs his farm much like Pollyface farms in Swope, VA and knows the methods well. We stocked up on meats for most of the rest of the trip. I am so pleased with how much the little freezer holds. (It's "bigger on the inside", too)

This little smiling pup was ridiculously adorable. He looked half doberman-half dachshund and continually smiling. We pulled up and he jumped right in the truck and sat on my seat. I quickly removed him. DO NOT want Ami detecting any dog smell next time she rides in the truck

Camping here is gorgeous (again, will add images when we get to the KOA tomorrow and have a wifi connection. (still hotspotting from my phone).  Jerry has a circular slab, just the right size for the T.A.R.D.I.S. 

We're watching an amazing sunset out the BFW (big front window). Yes, it's hot (many have asked me), but Jerry has a power hookup with just enough juice for us to run the AC, so we are cozy and cool. This is a Harvest Host spot, but for an extra $20, you can have electric, too!

AND Jerry couldn't be nicer. We got lamb, pork, chicken and beef. He also has cheese, although he is getting out of the diary business. So the cheese is that much more precious. We have some local bakery bread we brought from home that will go great with that cheese. 

Okay, so now for the mishaps of the day...  It's always somethin'

The CO alarm is still misbehaving. We think it's getting set off by road exhaust and definitely gas fumes at the our fill up stops. Every time we stop, it's beeping. Sometimes it does not come back on after we push the button. Today, it came back on after pushing the button, so I removed the fuse. The fuse is back in now and it's quiet and glowing steady green (which is good). Hopefully, keeping the fan on all night (like last night) will keep it from waking us at least.

AND the bathroom door kept opening on the road, so I grabbed one of the keys and locked it. THEN we could not get it unlocked and had to do the credit card trick to open it. (Roger's early life of crime paid off!) He will take the mechanism off and see if he can fix it, but it was a tense for a moment since we BOTH needed that door open ASAP, if you get my drift.

One of us (not me) left the closet unlatched so when we stopped for gas... Well, let's just say, DON'T DO THAT. I scooped everything up and stuffed it back in as best I could and maybe tomorrow, if we actually get an early start and get to KOA tomorrow early enough, I will repack, oh and look for the set of fuses Roger thinks he may have put in that closet as well. But my shower comes first.

Oh and we already need a new blackwater pump out hose as the existing one has pinholes, which as you can imagine, does not present a pleasant experience. (I saved the best mishap for last). Roger was very glad that we have a nice little shower.

First Stop: Beckley Coal Mining Museum

So far, only one minor mishap...  Well, okay maybe more than one.  But all is good now-ish. 

Let's start with that and then move on to good stuff.

Sunrise the first day from our waterfront

We were about ten minutes out from our first gas stop and we suddenly heard a shuffling sound and a blast of hot air from the back.  The window regulator went out on the passenger back window. (argh!) So, we pulled over and Roger got the duct tape from his tool box (probably the most used "tool" in it) and we are hoping the tape holds until we get to California where we will be settled for a few days and can get the regulator fixed. And we will. We have an appointment on July 21 in Morgan Hill.

Here we are at Northern Tool

Also, the CO alarm was beeping when we stopped at Northern Tool, but when I pressed the button and moved some potential culprits away from the sensor, it did not come back on... Until we stopped for gas and heard it back on again. So we (Roger) removed the fuse and voila! problem "solved."

So, right now, we are sitting in space #6 at the Coal Mine Museum camping area and it's REALLY nice. We got here around 4pm. Had lots of sunshine and it was not too terribly hot.  As we were about to cook dinner, a storm rolled in and we are now enjoying a wonderful rain storm (thunder and all--but not too close) while we have our farm fresh corn from home and a wonderful steak--all from Old Farm Truck (opens new browser) back home. I would take a picture, but it's all gone now. Oh, and I made us a couple of "mid-towns", which are Manhattan cocktails with fake bourbon (Spiritless Kentucky74), and real sweet vermouth.  YUM ("Uptowns" are with fake vermouth as well.)

So, since we left later than planned, AND had to stop for gas more than predicted. We only got about NINE miles per gallon when we usually get over twice that-even pulling the T.A.R.D.I.S. There was alot of mountain climbing. AND we had to stop in Glen Allen to buy that generator. BUT the one we originally were going to get was too small (Roger figured that out this morning) so we had to negotiate cancelling our original order and bought THIS ONE instead. It's more expensive, but peace of mind is worth everything. With this heat these days, we just didn't want to take the chance of not being able to cool off the trailer once we stopped--especially the southern route back home through the Mojave.

So, back to the Beckley Coal Mine Museum in West VIrginia. 

The storm is supposed to clear by morning, so we can do the tour, etc. if we decide to. 

There are lots of interesting buildings and some self-guided tour stuff. This place really is beautiful and we have FULL hookups (septic, water, power).

A very well maintained rain garden was among the wonderful little spots to check out on the grounds.

Although there were a lot of people--not just camping, but visiting the museum and walking along the self-guided tour paths. 

We were not right on top of each other and it was quiet (except for the storm) and peaceful. Beckley Coal Mining Museum was a wonderful surprise and great first stop on our long trek.

That's us up that hill - lots of cool walking paths with a shortcut to the Museum

UPDATE: 9pm OMG you guys! Fireflies EVERYWHERE. In the rain. SO cool!