Days 11 & 12: "Oceans of Orange Juice"

Many years ago, when we lived in Winlaw, R played General Sigfried Von Konningsvald in "Happy Birthday, Wanda June" by Kurt Vonnegut, and one of his few lines referenced "oceans of orange juice". So today we are in Bakersfield, swimming in that same ocean. There are a couple of really nice RV resorts here, but we like to stay at the Orange Grove RV Park, (nice, but not a resort) so called because it's smack-dab in the middle of an orange grove and one of the perks of staying here is that you get to pick the oranges. H is beside himself. We hadn't even hooked up yesterday afternoon when we got in, and H was busy picking. And then he thrilled himself by squeezing oceans of orange juice. All by himself. Drinks all around! Very cool for a kid from Canada. The oranges are at their best right now and the juice is delicious.

However -- El Nino: 14, Woodwards: 2. It is raining. Again. It truly was a beautiful sunset in Chowchilla, but nothing to get attached to, apparently. It poured that night, then held off long enough for us to get set up in Bakersfield, before pouring again last night, and as I write this, it's pouring some more. AND if El Nino didn't have enough recognition already, there is a HUGE front coming in today that the weather office is predicting will bring high winds, gusting to 75 mph for tomorrow, our travel day. They advise high-profile vehicles to stay off the highways in the desert and mountain slopes. That would be us. Sandstorms can be highly problematic in the desert. Flying debris is highly problematic anywhere. No thanks. So we will stay here tomorrow and swim in the oceans of orange juice.

Our trip down Hwy 99 yesterday was uneventful -- we did note great improvements to the road in most places, with just a few bumpy, pot-holed stretches remaining. Stopped at a very impressive roadside stop just south of Tulare. (Has it come to this, that I get blown away by a Roadside Stop? Apparently. Many pictures. Sorry. I was just so impressed. )

Philip S Raine Rest Area, south of Tulare

OMG! Architecture!

Lots of cool stuff to look at

Really interesting panels on all kinds of subjects

Including this photo on a panel about birds

 Saw some interesting signs: "Prisoners $62,300. Education: $9,100" and "My baby gave me hope and helped me heal" from  a group called Teen Mothers From Assault, and "Railroads or Water?" Also saw three young men lined up against a wall surrounded by cop cars, lots of really barebones housing, lots of feedlots, orchards, and a gigantic Kraft factory. A peek into a culture as we pass by.

The latest in aerodynamic trucking?

After we left Chowchilla, we learned that The Fossil Discovery Center of Madera County lives there and that in the 1990s workers found a mammoth tusk that led to the discovery of 15,000 bones and fossils from animals that lived in the area a half a million years ago. How cool is that? Never thought that Chowchilla would be a destination, but we'll make time for it next trip.

And then there's the underground garden in Fresno. Fresno? A destination? In the early 1900s a man named Forestiere built a whole subterranean enclave based on the catacombs in Rome that included gardens and housing. Gotta see it! Half a million people live in Fresno. I think we'll be stopping there next time, too. Turns out, what with this ugly windstorm forecast, we could have stopped there this time. But. We didn't.

So, as I write this the rain is lightening up. We have peacocks to see. Geocaches to find. And then there's that ocean of orange juice.

Day 10: We're in Chowchilla!

OK, I've lost track. I'm behind on my blogging. I don't really know what day it is unless I look it up. My photos are in disarray. But here's the thing. It's been raining. Almost every day since we left home. Not all the time. Not most of the day yesterday. But a lot. And we're in California. Think drought. Except it's not all that dry anymore. And, I know, it's a good thing. We passed a sign today -- large red letters -- "PRAY FOR RAIN". It's serious, I know. So I'm being selfish when I wish it wouldn't rain so much. But there you have it. I'm glad for the farmers. And the people of California in general. Even the ones with swimming pools. But I have been thinking that just a teensy bit of sunshine would be nice.

AND, as it happens, we are in Chowchilla tonight, and although the day began with a rainstorm, there is actually a sunset to behold. Imagine! Yes, Toto, there really is a California.

We left Clear Lake yesterday -- scattered rain showers, of course -- and, I have to say, we left a bit sadly. H definitely wanted to stay longer. After all, he found his first geocache here!! Yay! Just down the road from our RV park, at the front of a unique B&B where guests sleep in railway cars.

Hayden's first geocache find! Unique, for sure, but a cache!

He really liked it there, and so did I. So did all of us. There is nothing like, as I have said before, a summer resort area in the winter time. You get a feel for the bones of a place without all the mad boaters and wild partygoers, without all the shouting and too much beer, without the trinket sellers and sashayers. We didn't get to delve in too deep -- okay, not deeply at all -- in fact, all we had was a shallow, skim-the-surface kind of impression -- but Clear Lake has a nice easy-going feel to it. A lot of funky mobile home parks, a lot of vineyards, lots of stilted docks yearning out into the water -- reminding me of the Bayou, even though I've never been there. You know, we just liked it. It's a place where you could spend some good time.

Clear Lake

Dock on Clear Lake

More docks on Clear Lake

Fishing

But onward and southward. So we took Highway 20 east over to the I-5, through rolling hills with acres of seriously burned out trees from wildfires past, scattered ranches and on to Sacramento. Big mistake, Sacramento. If you have a few days, Sacramento is definitely worth a stop, and we did that once in the past when we did some great birding, saw the Old Town, had a nice walk along the American River. But for a one-nighter -- bad decision. The freeway traffic is unbelievably horrendous. Even at one o'clock in the afternoon it was bumper to bumper on our route to the Cal-Expo RV Park, which is a gravel parking lot with hookups, (and hot showers, I have to admit)-- so, great if you like that sort of thing, but absolutely no charm or personality. And it rained. Enough said.

We headed out this morning -- traffic wasn't quite so bad, but still thick and fast. We didn't like it, again. Headed south on the 99, through Stockton, Modesto and Merced. I guess everybody knows this, but you get the sense that people here do an awful lot of shopping driving -- lots of malls and crowded freeways with just a smattering of farmland --vineyards, orchards, feedlots -- on that route. The highway seems to have been repaved in many places, so the potholes are fewer, which is good. But, oh my. A lot of small towns that look beat up and defeated, signs from farmers demanding water justice, no birds at all -- it's a little unsettling.

Water!

For the past few days we have been trying to connect with Time-Warner Cable to arrange for wifi in Palm Springs. A big company, right? Unbelievably difficult to buy what they're selling. If anyone needed proof that the Trump is right when he talks about America falling apart, this would be a good one. Took A & H three days of tag teaming, on the phone and on the internet, talking to several people, some of whom did not speak English very well, none of whom were actually in Palm Springs, to buy service for a month. And every rep they talked to had a different story about what was possible. Incredibly frustrating. But amazing that a corporation that large could be running so poorly on the ground. Makes ya wonder. Finally, today, they ended up talking to two different guys, one in Texas, one in Colorado, and were able to order the service. We'll see what we get. But, c'mon . . .

Chowchilla is about half-way between Sacramento and Bakersfield. When we pulled in, the sun began to shine. There are birds here, and palm trees, and an actual sunset. We're smiling.

Our first genuine California sunset -- in Chowchilla.

Days 8 & 9: Clear Lake, CA

Our stay in Fortuna was brief -- the Riverwalk is a nice enough RV park, close to the river, and a great jumping off point for exploring, but we didn't.

Yesterday we drove from Fortuna to Clear Lake, a fairly easy day down 101 through redwood groves and small towns, often along the Eel River.

The Trees of Mystery roadside attraction on Hwy 101.  Paul and Babe still pulling them in, a bit of nostalgia.

The Eel River along Highway 101.

Our destination this day was yet another last-minute change, made on the fly -- to Nice on Clear Lake, instead of Ukiah -- but a good one. We found ourselves at the Aurora RV Park in Nice, at the northeastern end of Clear Lake. We've heard lots about Clear Lake, but never stopped here before. This is the largest freshwater lake that is entirely in California. (Tahoe is bigger, but shares shoreline with Nevada). A very popular place in summer, it's a nice place to visit in the winter.

Our park is under renovation, so a bit funky in places, but we are right on the edge of the water so the view is lovely and the manager is wildly enthusiastic. And the birds! The birds!!!. On a walk over to the playground nearby we saw coots, some strange geese, pied grebes and a pair of Western Grebes engaged in an amazing dance -- like a ballet, in perfect unison, long necks weaving and turning together. Loved it.  Later just a few steps from the RV there were mergansers, more grebes, and buffleheads.

A dock in Nice.

I think this may be Mountain Mahogany, embellished by lichen.

R & H at a playground just down the road from the RV Park.

Clear California skies!!

Friendly tree at the playground in Nice.

We decided to spend the day here and we were rewarded by a beautiful sunny day, temperatures in the 60s. We drove part way around the lake, stopping at Rodman Nature Preserve and on through the small town of Lakeport and pretty farmland -- lots of vineyards -- to Clear Lake State Park where we had a lovely walk. We saw an amazing array of birds including western bluebirds, ruddy ducks, acorn woodpeckers, turkey vultures, pied grebes, yellow-rumped warblers, coots, buffleheads, and I think a few I've forgotten, as well as many Western pond turtles. Altogether a fine day of nature stuff.

Acorn Woodpecker at Clear Lake SP

H checking out the osprey nest at Rodman Nature Preserve, Clear Lake

Western pond turtles, Clear Lake SP

 We did make our first attempt at geocaching in a while, which H was very excited about. I think he was hoping for a pirates chest of gold buried in the sand. Unforunately, not only was there no gold, no chest, and no sand, but we couldn't find the altoid tin that was the geocache. We were within 10 feet of it according to the GPS, but going the extra 10 feet either led us into traffic or down the steepside of a garbage-strewn embankment to the lake. We gave up. Still, it was cool to dig out the geocaching GPS and try to remember how to do it -- not completely successful, but we'll get there. Fun to see H so keen as well.

The name of this geocache site is "A Perfect Place". Couldn't find the cache, but perfect view of Clear Lake.

 This definitely a place to return to -- lots more to see and do.

Day 7 Crescent City to Fortuna

Now that we're in semi-Rush mode, I'm having to live with the disappointment of missing out on some of the things I've been looking forward to, such as the beaches and some birding spots at Crescent City, the elk, and a visit with Annie in Arcata. Originally we were going to spend 2 or 3 nights in an RV place near Orick, where the elk are abundant and there are several lagoons, redwoods, and untold delights. However, we gave up that stop when we decided to go with the five-hour-two-hour day. So when we left Crescent City we were headed to Benbow, CA, a little further down the road.

The stretch of 101 between Crescent City and Klamath is a little hairy, winding through redwood forests and up and down grades at the edge of high drop-offs with rocky ocean below. They're always working on this stretch of road it seems, and it's the only part of the whole trip I've been a little nervous about, what with all the weather. This day many signs saying "Sunken Road", many crews  out in force, shoring up road that had fallen or was about to fall into nothingness. A white knuckler for sure. But the fact that the crews were there gave some assurance. Someone knows about this. Someone is taking care of it. We hope.

Lots of "Sunken Road" signs and lots of crews.

But past Klamath the road is wide and friendly, even though the sunshine we started out with had disappeared, and we were into misty rain.

Del Norte Coast

 We started seeing lots of signs about elk and just before Orick, we stopped at Elk Meadows, where we have often seen elk grazing. Today, alas, there were none, but we stopped anyway and had some lunch and went on a little walk around and about. Saw many robins and many northern flickers and beautiful mossy trees and a pond -- perfect for elk, but still no sign of the furry ones.

Trilliam Falls creek,  Elk Meadows

The photographer

Redwood hiding in the woods at Elk Meadow

H tries to convince us that following a wet, narrow, rock trail up the hill is a good idea.

So back onto the 101 and then just around the next bend -- elk!!! In the trees. Lounging about. Nibbling. Chatting and laughing amongst themselves. Hahaha, silly tourists. We were over here the whole time! See ya! Wouldn't want to be ya!

This is a great area and on the original itinerary we were going to spend several days here, exploring trails through the redwoods, birding at the lagoons, being one with the elk. However.

On down the road, catching glimpses of buffleheads and others on a lagoon, surf pounding on the other side, more elk, and then -- adding insult to injury -- even more at the Elk Country RV Park, where we were once, sigh, slated to stop.

The elk at Elk Country RV Park -- from the bus as we drive by.

But after spending all that time waiting for elk to show up at Elk Meadows, we decided that our  Benbow destination was unreasonable, and so decided to stop at Fortuna after all. Even though Arcata is only a half hour away, it was late when we got in, and so still didn't get to visit with Annie. "Next time."

And now it's the next morning and we're trying desperately for that elusive "early start". On to Ukiah!

Big wave

Thanks to our friend Val for sending along this link about a "sneaker" wave that hit Bastendorff Beach over the weekend. Not sure exactly when this happened, but we were there on Friday and almost stopped on Saturday on our way back from Sunset Bay, one beach over.

https://www.facebook.com/epochtimes/posts/10153820165769266

At one point when we were at Bastendorff, Ron and Hayden were walking out to the water to throw rocks -- number one on our list of Things To Do on Our Big Trip -- and Ron said "I think I see a big one out there, Hayden." Hayden got a horrified look on his face and turned and ran all the way back to the dry sand yelling all the way and nothing could stop him. Maybe he knew something . . .

Day 6: Coos Bay to Crescent City.

A rethink of the travel plans last night. We're changing to two-hour days. With generous stops for lunch. Long live the five-hour two-hour day! It's our plan to help H learn patience. And us all to learn patience. And how to travel with a four-year-old. And to face reality. And so on. So we adapt.

In an effort to burn off some of that kid energy, A & H began the day with a swim in the pool, while R and I got ready to  move on. I have developed an affinity for Coos Bay after pretty much whizzing through the last three or four trips, so this time we'd scheduled a two-or-three-day stopover here, and I was a bit disappointed to be moving on so soon. But adaptation is in the air and we did some neat things while we were hear and added a few things to the list for next time--the 1930s buildings in the downtown, a few parks, some geocaching, more time at the beaches in better weather, exploring the South Slough Estuary and an interesting-looking guitar store near the Arago Highway --  but no more buffets.

So off we went at the crack of 10:30, heading out into wicked rain with a forecast  of sunny skies this afternoon. Despite the rain, the scenery was the usual wonderful Oregon coast stuff--pounding surf, picturesque/menacing rocks and outcroppings, dunes, miles of sandy beaches, and so on. We stopped

Path through the dunes at Ophir Wayside SP.

Walk on the beach at Ophir Wayside SP.

View from Ophir Wayside SP.

at a nifty wayside near Ophir for a designated lunch break where we managed a quick walk on the beach during a break in the rain. And then back on the bus and more rain. And then more rain. And then some wind. And then more rain. No sun.

Hwy 101 near Humbug Mountain SP

Entered California (in the rain) where the agricultural inspectors confiscated two lemons and a lime, but complimented us on our fine-looking scab-free avacados. Despite losing the limes, we all cheered when we passed the "Welcome to California" sign. There were times in the not so distant past (like a week and a half ago) when it seemed this day would never come. Perseverance furthers.

Welcome to Crescent City in the rain, tsunami sign upper right.

We're all hooked up for the night at the Crescent City municipal RV park, right on the harbour, where the winds are blowing (up to 40kmph tonight, we hear), and we try to forget about the Tsunami of '62 or whenever that was. (See? I've forgotten already. Actually, it was 2011. But I had to look it up. And while I did that, of course, I read that Crescent City has been hit  by tsunamis 34 times since 1934. They call it a "tsunami magnet." Don't tell the others.)

Day 5: Coos Bay

Crazy day for weather. Wild wind last night, so raucous it woke us up, but no signs of it this morning. In fact, blue skies appeared early, as forecast, but it's been off and on all day. Not to be deterred, we set off to explore Cape Arago Highway, anyway, a very lovely piece of road that winds along the water south from Coos Bay out to Cape Arago. Very scenic.

A&H at Cape Arago Lookout

Cape Arago Lookout

At the end of the road the views are spectacular, and as at Umqua Lighthouse SP yesterday, on days when the conditions are right, you can see whales passing by. Conditions weren't right today, but we did see many seals and sea lions lounging about on the rocks of Shell Island, as if they were poolside in Palm Beach, not perched on jagged rocks with Pacific Ocean surf crashing wildly all around them. A few cormorants, gulls, and a heron were also enjoying a bracing day at the beach, so we got a little birding in as well.

Just another day at the beach.

The sea lion on the rock is actually asleep and the rock is actually 20-30 feet above the waterline.

Then a stop at Sunset Bay where a few hardy surfers were riding the waves and A & H built a noteworthy sand structure and chased a few waves themselves.

On the way home we stopped at Charleston for some clam chowder, which was tasty, but not The Perfect Bowl. So the search will continue for that.

And what visit to a casino would be complete with out a meal at the buffet? OK, we know, a visit to the casino isn't really mandatory at all, but here we are, and for some reason H has become enamoured with the buffet concept, although no one knows why. The buffet (7.99 -- Saturday night only, kids under 5 are free) was more popular than we had imagined, and when we arrived the dining room was already full and people were lined up half way around the casino waiting to get at it. We decided to give it a pass, but H was distraught, inconsolable, beyond destroyed at the thought of missing this opportunity he had been waiting for his whole life. So we waited. And waited. And waited. And finally entered the hallowed doors of the buffet. You can imagine how delicious it was. Do not ask for details. A feels she can probably wait another 20 years before going to another one. I'd probably say 30, but that's being glib. H, on the other hand, was thrilled. And for someone who can be a loud, rude, uncooperative wacko at the drop of a hat, he was brilliantly mannered and completely charming the whole time. Is this all it takes? A $7.99-all-you-can-eat buffet?

Note to self: . . . what? I don't know what is learned from this. I guess it's about motivation. If the prize is worth it, anything can happen. (Trump? Really?)