What a trip! An amazing place, South Africa. We simply must go back to experience more of this inspiring, beautiful country. And, there are a lot of "caravan parks" and easy RV rentals on the coast. (I don't think we'd be brave enough to camp where there are lions, leopards, et al, although we saw people doing it in Botswana.....)
A selection of photos, categorized by place and subject matter at our Mobile Me Gallery.
A Non-RV Adventure: AFRICA!
Some of you know that we are soon to be off on a once-in-a-lifetime sojourn to South Africa (with a few days at Victoria Falls/Zimbabwe and a few in Chobe/Botswana). Because Rocksie can't come with us, we shan't be blogging here. We hope to be able to post a photo a day on Facebook (wifi connections willing), but our group has a blog here.
The name, BTW, is a little something I came up with to name our group, which was initially a group of 8 folks from all over Northern California (wine country) who wanted to go on safari (the rhino part). Here's our group's logo, which we've all put on various articles of clothing, luggage tags, and traveling cards to give out:
The name, BTW, is a little something I came up with to name our group, which was initially a group of 8 folks from all over Northern California (wine country) who wanted to go on safari (the rhino part). Here's our group's logo, which we've all put on various articles of clothing, luggage tags, and traveling cards to give out:
Babe Boondocking at Mammoth Pool
I don't know what it is about blogging right now, but I've not been into it. (My blog buddy Nancy is going through the same doldrums, so perhaps it's something seasonal, astrological, or just a simple malaise.....) I'm thinking that it might be Facebook's fault. On that site, the feedback is so immediate and so chatty. Here, it's kind of a one-way street--posting off into the ether.... But, I do know that I have a few readers, and I've been called to task for not sharing last weekend....
What a blast we had at Mammoth Pool NFS. Terrible campground, as campgrounds go, but fabulous experience nonetheless. (The detail-laden campground review can be found here. If you're up for boondocking in a totally off the beaten path place, this is it for you.)
The best part was the great group of gals we were camping with. 9 others, plus us, plus 4 dogs and 2 kayaks and 2 fishing poles made for an always-interesting experience. We had a lawyer, real-estate investor, social services worker, marine biologist, retired police chief, physical therapist, home inspector, college professor, etc., etc., etc. Good campfire stories and good fodder for playing storytelling games like: Tell 3 things about yourself, but one is a lie. It's always fun to get to know cool people. Somehow, we never got a whole-group photo, but here is part of the contingent:
We sure missed our Nicky boy, but were actually rather relieved he wasn't there. It was too hot and there were waaaaay too many other dogs (most of the time off leash) for him. Plus, he hated getting wet and that was pretty much all there was to do.
And the Pomeranian was actually the best doggie camper of them all! Tuckered out at the end of the day....
We basically spent 3 days taking turns making meals, dipping (sometimes skinny--hence the few photos posted here) in the pools made by the enormous granite boulders in the river to cool off (temps were close to 100 each day), kayaking/fishing, and hiking.
Oh, and having an adult beverage or two.....
And catch a few crawdaddies (yes, Louisiana kinfolk, we have them in California, apparently, too!)
All the other gals of "L Troop" were tent camping, so they HAD to go to the river to cool off/clean off. We finally broke down Sunday night and showered in our RV. We took our ration of grief for smelling good.
The big hit of the weekend was our first attempt at cooking with a Dutch oven in the campfire. We made a "Dump Cake," which is basically 4 cups of berries with a box of white cake mix (the kind with pudding in it) dumped on top, and a 20-oz 7-up poured over the whole thing. (I forgot the 7-up and used diet Ginger Ale to great effect.) Then hot coals on top (20 or so) and just a few underneath for about 1/2 hour. Whipped cream is also crucial. The pot was empty in a hurry. No pictures because it was pitch black by dessert time.
There's talk of making it an annual event. Sign us up!
We sure missed our Nicky boy, but were actually rather relieved he wasn't there. It was too hot and there were waaaaay too many other dogs (most of the time off leash) for him. Plus, he hated getting wet and that was pretty much all there was to do.
And the Pomeranian was actually the best doggie camper of them all! Tuckered out at the end of the day....
We basically spent 3 days taking turns making meals, dipping (sometimes skinny--hence the few photos posted here) in the pools made by the enormous granite boulders in the river to cool off (temps were close to 100 each day), kayaking/fishing, and hiking.
Oh, and having an adult beverage or two.....
And catch a few crawdaddies (yes, Louisiana kinfolk, we have them in California, apparently, too!)
All the other gals of "L Troop" were tent camping, so they HAD to go to the river to cool off/clean off. We finally broke down Sunday night and showered in our RV. We took our ration of grief for smelling good.
The big hit of the weekend was our first attempt at cooking with a Dutch oven in the campfire. We made a "Dump Cake," which is basically 4 cups of berries with a box of white cake mix (the kind with pudding in it) dumped on top, and a 20-oz 7-up poured over the whole thing. (I forgot the 7-up and used diet Ginger Ale to great effect.) Then hot coals on top (20 or so) and just a few underneath for about 1/2 hour. Whipped cream is also crucial. The pot was empty in a hurry. No pictures because it was pitch black by dessert time.
There's talk of making it an annual event. Sign us up!
Looking Forward
I realize we haven't posted in forever, but that's because we've been staying close to home or, in my case, using the #*$& airlines to visit my folks in Florida this summer (goodness, but I hate flying) and this blog is supposed to be reserved for our RV travel....
We were staying off the road this summer because (a) we aren't keen high-season campers and (b) our big trip to Africa this fall is where we're focusing our resources.
However, we've been invited to join a very nice group of gals on a camping trip to Mammoth Pools National Forest up in the Sierra Nevada over Labor Day. From the NFS:
We'll be boondocking as the sole RVers, while the rest of the gang will be tent camping. I'll finally get to test out my Dutch oven since there'll be a crowd to cook for AND someone handier than I to start and tend the fire. And we'll be traveling relatively lightly--no dog, just weekend provisions--so I can justify bringing the cast iron ;-)
Then, we are lining up the following trips:
Napa Valley for Halloween (Boethe State Park) with our friend from Chicago. We've never camped 3 to the coach, but we'll give it a shot. Think we'll drive up our Honda Element separately so we can do some mountainous touring/tasting.
Another visit to my parents' home in Florida, with a possible detour in Illinois for my 30th HS reunion, if they decide to hold it over Thanksgiving. Dicey weather, but what the heck. We haven't decided what we'll see on this trip (our 4th?) to the East Coast and back....
And, if the 3 to the coach trip goes well, we promised another friend (as her 50th birthday present) to take her to the Grand Canyon; it's on her bucket list. Thinking Feb/March....
And we keep looking at next spring/summer: Alaska or all the way over to New England/Maritime Provinces? So many considerations. An Alaskan cruise, with rental car/hotel extension to see Denali sure sounds easier. But then there's the 4th of July bash in D.C. we don't want to miss--our college buddy's returning from yet another tour of Iraq. Can't miss that.
So much to think about! In the meantime, we did take Rocksie on an exercise tour that got out of hand--just meant to make a little country Sunday drive, but we forgot that our road (Carmel Valley Road, or G16) takes many, many miles to reach Hwy 101. Our little loop was over 100 miles, but it was a beautiful drive,
we got to fill up Rocksie's tank (since we were recently reminded to store her full to avoid algae growth!), and we tried out driving around without Nick.
On that note, we are starting to investigate sources for a new German shepherd to come into our home around the first of the year....
We were staying off the road this summer because (a) we aren't keen high-season campers and (b) our big trip to Africa this fall is where we're focusing our resources.
However, we've been invited to join a very nice group of gals on a camping trip to Mammoth Pools National Forest up in the Sierra Nevada over Labor Day. From the NFS:
We'll be boondocking as the sole RVers, while the rest of the gang will be tent camping. I'll finally get to test out my Dutch oven since there'll be a crowd to cook for AND someone handier than I to start and tend the fire. And we'll be traveling relatively lightly--no dog, just weekend provisions--so I can justify bringing the cast iron ;-)
Then, we are lining up the following trips:
Napa Valley for Halloween (Boethe State Park) with our friend from Chicago. We've never camped 3 to the coach, but we'll give it a shot. Think we'll drive up our Honda Element separately so we can do some mountainous touring/tasting.
Another visit to my parents' home in Florida, with a possible detour in Illinois for my 30th HS reunion, if they decide to hold it over Thanksgiving. Dicey weather, but what the heck. We haven't decided what we'll see on this trip (our 4th?) to the East Coast and back....
And, if the 3 to the coach trip goes well, we promised another friend (as her 50th birthday present) to take her to the Grand Canyon; it's on her bucket list. Thinking Feb/March....
And we keep looking at next spring/summer: Alaska or all the way over to New England/Maritime Provinces? So many considerations. An Alaskan cruise, with rental car/hotel extension to see Denali sure sounds easier. But then there's the 4th of July bash in D.C. we don't want to miss--our college buddy's returning from yet another tour of Iraq. Can't miss that.
So much to think about! In the meantime, we did take Rocksie on an exercise tour that got out of hand--just meant to make a little country Sunday drive, but we forgot that our road (Carmel Valley Road, or G16) takes many, many miles to reach Hwy 101. Our little loop was over 100 miles, but it was a beautiful drive,
we got to fill up Rocksie's tank (since we were recently reminded to store her full to avoid algae growth!), and we tried out driving around without Nick.
On that note, we are starting to investigate sources for a new German shepherd to come into our home around the first of the year....
How are we ever gonna camp again?
Very sad news to report. Our RV security alarm and all-around best camper, Nick the mighty German shepherd, was diagnosed with bone cancer on July 2nd. We said goodbye to him July 8th.
How will we ever go camping without him? We bought the darn RV just for him, after all. He thought it was his big shiny kennel. You couldn't ask for a better traveling dog--he just loved getting into the RV and he so looked forward every day to 3-4PM when we'd pull into a (preferably leafy) state park. He'd wake up from his day-long nap, play ball, have dinner al fresco (weather permitting), and enjoy the new surroundings. What a great life. New trees to sniff and p-mail to read at every new stop.
Here's Nick in his morning till mid-afternoon riding spot: the front dinette seat, looking out through the windshield to see if any tree-lined roads (the kind that lead to state parks) are coming....
He wasn't generally allowed to be in his traveling seat when we were eating, but this was just too cute.
And he was always up for a nap:
I think this is my favorite portrait--on an iPhone, even. Taken April 2010 at Great Sand Dunes National Park. (Nick never liked those mean ole national parks with their dog restrictions. Give him a state park any day.)
Such a good camper:
And he loved going for rides at home in the car, too. Always on guard duty.
We will miss you, Nicky boy. No dog will ever fill your collar.
Spring 2010 Wrap Up
Distance/time: just about 6,000 miles in 40 days.
Average camping fee: $30.42 (our highest and first over budget!). Only 1 night of boondocking (Usery Mtn SP for $10) and no free driveway camping this trip. We took the cushy route and had electric and water every night. I sure do prefer the quiet electric space heater to that loud propane one....
Maintenance: 6-hour, expensive oil change in ABQ on the way home, and replaced marker light cover at RV shop in Tucson on the way out. Now we have to tackle a host of little things that have gone awry: a broken window shade, a broken water compartment door handle, dirty HVAC and engine air filters, and the inevitable plethora of loose (or fallen out) screws.
Fuel Economy: 15.2 mpg. Wayyyy windy this trip, plus ole leadfoot (me) couldn't keep it to 55-62 always.... We had a number of days when we wanted to make miles rather than explore; that always bumps up the speed. We averaged $2.58 per gallon, but paid as much as $3.29 getting out of and back into California.
National Parks and Monuments:
1. Great Sand Dunes National Park (finally!)
2. Big Bend National Park (probably first and last visit to this "remotest" national park in the lower 48)
3. Petroglyph National Monument (revisited)
4. Hot Springs National Park (revisited)
5. New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park
6. Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (Lafayette, LA)
7. Vicksburg National Military Park
Favorite State/County Parks:
On this trip, we liked both Texas and Louisiana state parks a whole lot. Texas drives us a bit nuts with each park being a different price. We paid, variously, $14, $17, $20, and $25 for no apparent reason except, perhaps, proximity (or not) to urban areas. Same amenities, though. We just loved Blanco SP in Hill Country, though. Our idea of a perfect park: huge, grassy sites; shade trees; water/electric and a convenient dump station; nice restrooms; sound of running water from the creek; a variety of activities (free fishing, good geocaching); and the ability to walk to restaurants and shops. All for $17/night. We'll be back!
Given the poor condition of Louisiana's state roads (which a Reader's Digest article just this month listed as the worst in the nation--no kidding!), we didn't expect a lot from their state parks, but we were pleasantly surprised. We will be staying at more of these parks next time we're visiting and/or passing through.
Favorite vehicle:
Best meal: Oooh, this is tough given the variety of amazing foods we got to try, but the Louisiana Bistro's "Feed Me" dinner probably takes the cake. Also, getting to enjoy the Cajun crawfish dinner provided by our neighbors at Hot Springs NP was a big treat, too.
Best pie: Royer's Round Top. Hands down. We are definitely ordering some of these for the big party we want to throw this summer.
Most educational tourist attraction: Tie between the Queen Mine tour in Bisbee, AZ and the Balloon Museum in Albuquerque. We knew next to nothing about either topic, but had a lot of fun learning at these places.
Most challenging activity: Hiking up the mountain in Hot Springs National Park and into the canyon at Big Bend. We were, for the most part, a bit on the lazy side this spring.
Most fun: Watching the Cubbies spring training games with our good friend.
Biggest surprises: How much it was still winter in Colorado in mid-April AND how much we liked staying at the Sky Ute Casino--our first Indian casino RV visit. Oh, and the 5-minute sheep delay....
Prettiest sunsets: East and North Texas state parks
This trip's weather challenge: Wind!!! Tailwinds out of California, dust storm in Big Bend, big cross winds across Texas, and severe wind warnings in New Mexico. No other storms to speak of, except that little bit of snow at the beginning of the trip. Couldn't ask for better weather, really.
Average camping fee: $30.42 (our highest and first over budget!). Only 1 night of boondocking (Usery Mtn SP for $10) and no free driveway camping this trip. We took the cushy route and had electric and water every night. I sure do prefer the quiet electric space heater to that loud propane one....
Maintenance: 6-hour, expensive oil change in ABQ on the way home, and replaced marker light cover at RV shop in Tucson on the way out. Now we have to tackle a host of little things that have gone awry: a broken window shade, a broken water compartment door handle, dirty HVAC and engine air filters, and the inevitable plethora of loose (or fallen out) screws.
Fuel Economy: 15.2 mpg. Wayyyy windy this trip, plus ole leadfoot (me) couldn't keep it to 55-62 always.... We had a number of days when we wanted to make miles rather than explore; that always bumps up the speed. We averaged $2.58 per gallon, but paid as much as $3.29 getting out of and back into California.
National Parks and Monuments:
1. Great Sand Dunes National Park (finally!)
2. Big Bend National Park (probably first and last visit to this "remotest" national park in the lower 48)
3. Petroglyph National Monument (revisited)
4. Hot Springs National Park (revisited)
5. New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park
6. Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (Lafayette, LA)
7. Vicksburg National Military Park
Favorite State/County Parks:
On this trip, we liked both Texas and Louisiana state parks a whole lot. Texas drives us a bit nuts with each park being a different price. We paid, variously, $14, $17, $20, and $25 for no apparent reason except, perhaps, proximity (or not) to urban areas. Same amenities, though. We just loved Blanco SP in Hill Country, though. Our idea of a perfect park: huge, grassy sites; shade trees; water/electric and a convenient dump station; nice restrooms; sound of running water from the creek; a variety of activities (free fishing, good geocaching); and the ability to walk to restaurants and shops. All for $17/night. We'll be back!
Given the poor condition of Louisiana's state roads (which a Reader's Digest article just this month listed as the worst in the nation--no kidding!), we didn't expect a lot from their state parks, but we were pleasantly surprised. We will be staying at more of these parks next time we're visiting and/or passing through.
Favorite vehicle:
Best meal: Oooh, this is tough given the variety of amazing foods we got to try, but the Louisiana Bistro's "Feed Me" dinner probably takes the cake. Also, getting to enjoy the Cajun crawfish dinner provided by our neighbors at Hot Springs NP was a big treat, too.
Best pie: Royer's Round Top. Hands down. We are definitely ordering some of these for the big party we want to throw this summer.
Most educational tourist attraction: Tie between the Queen Mine tour in Bisbee, AZ and the Balloon Museum in Albuquerque. We knew next to nothing about either topic, but had a lot of fun learning at these places.
Most challenging activity: Hiking up the mountain in Hot Springs National Park and into the canyon at Big Bend. We were, for the most part, a bit on the lazy side this spring.
Most fun: Watching the Cubbies spring training games with our good friend.
Biggest surprises: How much it was still winter in Colorado in mid-April AND how much we liked staying at the Sky Ute Casino--our first Indian casino RV visit. Oh, and the 5-minute sheep delay....
Prettiest sunsets: East and North Texas state parks
This trip's weather challenge: Wind!!! Tailwinds out of California, dust storm in Big Bend, big cross winds across Texas, and severe wind warnings in New Mexico. No other storms to speak of, except that little bit of snow at the beginning of the trip. Couldn't ask for better weather, really.
Time to Go Home
We spent Wednesday morning at Coronado State Monument, a lovely little park with the most amazing artifacts. We've been to so many sites--Canyon de Chelly, Mesa Verde, Bandelier, Montezuma, et al--and have never seen what this little park has: the finest kiva murals in the world. Amazing pieces of art and well preserved and displayed. (No photography allowed.)
Plus, the setting--along the Rio Grande--was just lovely. We had a nice time walking the trails. Well, the humans did. The dog wasn't pleased about cactus and rocks, as per usual.
We then embarked on an important task to finish: hiding a "geocoin" in a cache near or inside Petroglyph National Monument. A gal we met geocaching last January gave us this coin, whose mission is to travel to all the national parks in the U.S. We have been photographing the coin at all the national parks we've visited: Big Bend, Hot Springs, Great Sand Dunes and it was time to plant it for someone else to find and carry to a new spot. We had wanted to leave it in Colorado, but the poor AT&T reception made us unable to use the GPS to locate a good spot. So, it was New Mexico for the coin.
We returned to Petroglyph, since we knew where that was and it was sort of a "park" (we are hoping "national monuments" count in the game). We photographed the coin in the park
then we had to drive to another end of the park to find the cache where we could leave the coin. I had to drop Lisa off (no safe parking) and find an unobtrusive place to park in a not-very-nearby neighborhood covered in "Report Suspect Persons" signs and patrolled by the local gendarmes. I don't know which was more challenging--having Lisa find the cache in the lava field or finding a place to wait for her. It all turned out, though. The pressure is off. Oh, wait. Lisa has now picked up another travel coin from our stop tonight in Arizona. Now we'll have to take it around and find it a new home....
We ended up checking into our tried-and-true RV park on I-40 early in the afternoon, thinking we'd catch up on some TV via the Internet. Drats--no 3G. Turned in early so we could be up and out of the park before 7AM to be at our oil change appointment, bright and early and first in line.
Suffice to say, after 6 hours and 10 minutes, we weren't happy campers. I think my biggest disappointment is that we thought we had finally found a competent dealer, albeit one 1000 miles from home, that we could rely on since we had had such great service from them last fall. But this time, in this new location, it was just a series of lousy customer service moves. The manager did call me later that day, after I had made my disappointment known to the assistant manager before leaving.
A very disappointing day, and one that shows what happens when you start letting thoughts of home creep into your trip. It. Is. Time. To. Go Home....NOW. So, we finally hit the road in early afternoon, skipping any tourist sites along the way (putting Acoma back on the list along with Catwalks) and skipping our fun idea of going US 60 through Pie Town. It was just too late in the day to attempt that because there were just too many long stretches of nothing in case we needed to stop.
So, we took boring old I-40 and made it to Meteor Crater Park outside of Winslow. We're here with about 25 El Monte rental RVs full of Finns. Yes, folks from Finland. Very interesting group.
We expect tomorrow to be a big push day--perhaps to Bakersfield--and then Saturday cruise on home. Next post will be the wrap-up post from home.
Plus, the setting--along the Rio Grande--was just lovely. We had a nice time walking the trails. Well, the humans did. The dog wasn't pleased about cactus and rocks, as per usual.
We then embarked on an important task to finish: hiding a "geocoin" in a cache near or inside Petroglyph National Monument. A gal we met geocaching last January gave us this coin, whose mission is to travel to all the national parks in the U.S. We have been photographing the coin at all the national parks we've visited: Big Bend, Hot Springs, Great Sand Dunes and it was time to plant it for someone else to find and carry to a new spot. We had wanted to leave it in Colorado, but the poor AT&T reception made us unable to use the GPS to locate a good spot. So, it was New Mexico for the coin.
We returned to Petroglyph, since we knew where that was and it was sort of a "park" (we are hoping "national monuments" count in the game). We photographed the coin in the park
then we had to drive to another end of the park to find the cache where we could leave the coin. I had to drop Lisa off (no safe parking) and find an unobtrusive place to park in a not-very-nearby neighborhood covered in "Report Suspect Persons" signs and patrolled by the local gendarmes. I don't know which was more challenging--having Lisa find the cache in the lava field or finding a place to wait for her. It all turned out, though. The pressure is off. Oh, wait. Lisa has now picked up another travel coin from our stop tonight in Arizona. Now we'll have to take it around and find it a new home....
We ended up checking into our tried-and-true RV park on I-40 early in the afternoon, thinking we'd catch up on some TV via the Internet. Drats--no 3G. Turned in early so we could be up and out of the park before 7AM to be at our oil change appointment, bright and early and first in line.
Suffice to say, after 6 hours and 10 minutes, we weren't happy campers. I think my biggest disappointment is that we thought we had finally found a competent dealer, albeit one 1000 miles from home, that we could rely on since we had had such great service from them last fall. But this time, in this new location, it was just a series of lousy customer service moves. The manager did call me later that day, after I had made my disappointment known to the assistant manager before leaving.
A very disappointing day, and one that shows what happens when you start letting thoughts of home creep into your trip. It. Is. Time. To. Go Home....NOW. So, we finally hit the road in early afternoon, skipping any tourist sites along the way (putting Acoma back on the list along with Catwalks) and skipping our fun idea of going US 60 through Pie Town. It was just too late in the day to attempt that because there were just too many long stretches of nothing in case we needed to stop.
So, we took boring old I-40 and made it to Meteor Crater Park outside of Winslow. We're here with about 25 El Monte rental RVs full of Finns. Yes, folks from Finland. Very interesting group.
We expect tomorrow to be a big push day--perhaps to Bakersfield--and then Saturday cruise on home. Next post will be the wrap-up post from home.
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