San Francisco

--Pier 39 Sea Lyons
--Looking out to Alcatraz and Angel Island
--F-line street car

 

 

 

We left out hearts in San Francisco!

When we met Deirdre and Mel in our Escapee Park in Benson, AZ, little did we imagine that they would share their love of 20+ years in downtown San Francisco with us. After riding the Harley in over the Golden Gate Bridge and finding a safe place to park, we toured Mel and Deirdre's spacious and elegant 3th floor Hyde St. home. Mel then led the hike up and down those hilly streets, pointing out the cultural diversity of neighborhoods, the famous monuments, the handsome architecture, the cable cars that move on a track by grabbing and releasing a moving cable underground, the street cars that stay connected to an electric line above their track and much more. We caught our breath and relaxed over Bohemian sourdough sandwiches. As Darcy was reciting the names of the crabbing boats along Fisherman's Wharf, a shrub leaped up and growled. We had just been scared by one of the infamous street entertainers, Bush Man. Pier 39 was alive with visitors and the everpresent sea lions who sunbathe on the floats and bray/bark as they jostle one another for position. Then it was time to make the uphill trip home. Wally is certain we trekked ten miles! Deirdre revived us with many of her fabulous culinary treats as that delightful day came to an end. The next morning, having gained our bearings, we bid our dear friends goodbye and rode the Harley to Fisherman's Wharf. We joined the throngs and rode a cable car to Union Square, strolled around and then rode a street car back. It was time to savor dungeoness crab cakes and fish and chips. M-m-m good! The rest of the afternoon was spent on the four Hyde Street Historic Ships being restored in the San Francisco Maritime Historic Park. Five quarters in the parking meter held our space for five hours...not bad. As we passed the Presidio and crossed over San Francisco Bay, we could feel the pull of the city. What a great place!

San Francisco

--Mel and Deirdre
--Darcy at the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park
--"Bushman"
--Wally and Darcy at Pier 39

 

 

 

 

Yosemite National Park

Park Sierra in Coarsegold, CA is a sister Co-op Escapee Park to our Benson, AZ Saguaro Park. Using it as a staging ground, we left our riglet at 2,000 ft elevation and headed out on the Harley for the 4,000-6,100 ft elevations of Yosemite Nat'l Park 26 miles away. Just 175 miles from San Francisco and open year round, Yosemite Valley draws large crowds... car loads and RVs of Americans, bus loads of foreign visitors, rental RVs of foreign visitors. We haven't heard much English being spoken in our nat'l parks. We entered through the south entrance and almost immediately reunited with the BIG TREES of the Mariposa Grove. It is hard to wrap your mind around how BIG they are...35+ft in diameter at the base, 275+ft tall and still 25+ft in diameter at the crown!

We were dressed in many layers, topped with leather chaps and jackets, but we were not prepared for the gripping chill at 6,000 ft. By the time we zig-zagged our way north to Yosemite Valley, our hands and faces were numb and our inner core was aching. We searched out sun-dappled spots from which to appreciate the sheer mass of El Capitan, the powerful plunge of Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, the unusual features of mighty Half Dome and the far-flung spray and mist of Bridal Veil Falls.

By the time we traveled 2 hours on the famous gold rush trail RT.49 back to the Coarsegold area, we had been out in the elements or 9 hours. B-r-r-r! The steaming choices at a wonderful Chinese restaurant revived us and a local couple dining next to us warmed us with their hospitality. How can you improve on a day like that?

Yosemite NationalPark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park

California is so diverse....Yesterday we were in the high desert at 4000+ feet with little that is green but still very beautiful....Today we are due west but over the Sierra Nevada Mountain range where all of the rain falls. Everything here is green and lush with crops growing everywhere. Oranges, nuts, olives, peaches, cherries and lots of grapes. Mostly raisin grapes I think..Envision driving through a grove of orange trees in blossom...The smell is a sweetness you can't describe until you have been there. We stayed at an Elks Club in Visalia a town filled with the most colorful blooming plants. From here we rode the motorcycle to Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks. We left sea level at 90 degrees and were traveling in the park with snow banks all around us. We can tell you about the big trees.We can show you pictures but all of this does not tell the story. They are magnificant! It takes 25 people holding hands to surround the base of the General Grant tree. These trees can be 3000 years old, 40' at the base, 275' tall and still growing. It was hard to keep the bike on the road when you see them...You see a stand of huge pines and in the middle you see a reddish velvety monster trunk dwarfing everything. In the park we got to take a couple short hikes to view the back country. We were lucky that we were early as there were not many people in the parks. We took a back road home as short cut. Little did we know that it would be 31 miles of hair pin turns! What fun on a bike...scraped the pegs many times. The Tail of the Dragon in NC has nothing on Rt CA 245!

 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Bishop, CA High Desert Cowboy Country

For the past two days we have been shown the Insider's View of the Eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada Range and the Western slopes of California's White Mountains. My school friend from Lincoln, ME, Donna(Bates)and her husband Chris Boone have lived in the Bishop, CA area for 30+ years. They are excellent guides since they love to hike, 4X4, fish, hunt and explore in all directions. Mt. Tom rises above their valley and its snow-capped peak tops the view out their prow-shaped great room window. While Donna tended to her Nurse Practitioner Family Practice in the a.m., Chris squired us in his beloved Jeep Cherokee to, up and through the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the Inyo Nat'l Forest in the White Mountains. Surrounded by snow at 10,000 ft, we touched the spikey cones and fragrant needles of gnarled trees that survive for a thousand years and more. Donna joined us for a 3-hour afternoon ride up Rt 395 past the skier's paradise Mammoth Mtn, to pristine Convict Lake filling with snow melt, to the Fish and Game trout hatchery where Chris once worked, to briney Mono Lake Basin with its tufa calcium carbonate formations. We look forward to seeing Donna and Chris back in Maine this summer. They welcome guests to nearby Grand Lake Wilderness Retreat on Junior Bay from mid-May to September. Note: Los Angeles, 250 miles away, has owned all the water rights to this area since the late 1800's. Aqueducts collect and carry away the snow melt that runs into the rivers and creeks, leaving the lakes greatly depleted. How does any group claim the rights to the snow? That's like owning the air!

Death Valley to Bishop

We left the valley early in the morning to make the climb over "no name pass". Coming from the east coast, we find this pass thing is new to us but most important as there are many a rig on the side of the road as a result of overheating or transmission problems. We took our time and make it just fine. "No name" was a break at 5000' through the higher range. It was a 10 mile climb to the summit and then a gradual decent to the valley floor at 4200'. We stopped in Lone Pine for breakfast. We knew we were in CA when the price for breakfast was $25.00 in the local cafe! Maybe we were paying for the view of Mt Whitney the highest peak in te lower 48. Many of the cowboy movies made in the late 40's and early 50's were filmed in the Alabama Hills here in Lone Pine. Stopped at the visitors center and learned how the LA water district owns all the water rights in this area....All the run off from the mountains goes to the creeks and then they all go to the aquaduct to LA. Doesn't seem right to me????? Then drove up the valley to Bishop to visit Darcy's childhood chum from Lincoln, Maine. Parked the rig at the Casino operated by the Piaute Indian Nation.

 
 
 

Death Valley -2

We rode today another 165 miles across the valley.We took an alternate route over Wild Rose pass to the valley floor at Stovepipe Wells. Destination today Scotty's Castle a camp in the desert for Albert Johnson, a wealthy businessman from Chicago. It is modern in todays world so you can imagine what it was like in the 1930's. It had electricity, solar hot water, evaporative air conditioning and all the perks of the day. The only trouble is that it was out in the middle of nowhere...How did they do that? AH QUE DICHA! Oh What Joy!

 

Death Valley

We left our riglet on the west side of 4500 ft Towne Pass (9% grades for 6 miles!) and rode 165 miles on the Harley. At one point we were at 5400 ft Dante's View looking down at sizzling Badwater Basin,the lowest point in the U.S. (282 ft below sea level) and across at snow-capped Telescope Peak (11,050 ft) that towers directly above it. WOW!

 

Jojoba Hills -Death Valley

We left the beautiful Southern California mountains and headed for the high desert of Death Valley. If you interested in glider flying Warner Springs is the place.There must have been at least 100 planes on the field. I would like to go back and spend a week-end watching the action there...From there on through Palm Desert, Palm Springs and then up through the high desert to Death Valley. You can't imagine the number of wind mills in Palm Springs....there must be a thousand of them! We then went past Joshua Tree National Park but saw many of the Joshua trees on the way. We overnighted at Ridgecrest at the fairgrounds before going on to Panamint Springs on the outside of Death Valley National Park.

Borrego Springs to Jojoba Hills

Another part of our trip is to visit all of the Escapees(SKPs) parks on the west coast. Tonight we visited Jojoba Hills the So Ca park. We had a personal tour..and the park is a first class resort. I'm still partial to our friendly park in Benson.

Slab City to Borrego Springs

We had been told that there was a great hike in Borrego Springs so it has been on our list of things to do. We left the Slabs went around the south of the Salton Sea and then headed northwest to Anza Borrego Springs State Park. We arrived late in the day so only got a short hike in before nightfall. Thursday morning we hiked the Palm Canyon Trail...about 4 miles. It was a beautiful mountainous hike ending at a oasis of palms and a running brook that appeared our of nowhere. We had a slight mishap...Darcy slipped, even with 2 hiking poles and fell landing on a boulder pile hurting her pride and her left hand..It is getting better as the swelling goes down. I have been her able bodied assistant but she says I can take clothes off much better than I can put them on!

Palm Canyon at Borrego Springs,Ca

 
 
 

 
 

"Slab City", Niland,Ca

Have you ever seen the movie"Into the Wild"? There is a scene that takes place in a remote desert spot where RV'ers and others hang out. Having spent time at Quartzsite and in organized campgrounds this place just attracted my attention. Onto the web I went to see if it was real...It is more than real! "The last place that is free." An ex Marine base that was active from 1942-1948. Later abandoned ergo "The Slabs". All that is left are the slabs that were the foundations for the administrative infrastructure as the Marines all stayed in tents. The community started arriving in the mid-60's. Not one that everyone would want to be a part of, but one that everyone could be a part of. For more of the history go to www.slabcity.org. It is said that one trip to Slab City and you are addicted. We arrived mid day and drove around looking for a spot to park for the night. The area encompasses in ranch terms a section, 640 acres or 1 mile by 1 mile so you can spend a while hunting if you want. We found a spot that looked ok and stopped. We then went walking around to scope the place out. The Traveling Pals club, a club for single people, The Oasis Club, an place for eating and drinking...and a small library were nearby. These were spots for people to gather to socialize. Alaskan Linda had volunteered to put on a lasagna dinner for the next night. We were soon asked to join a campfire ring by Professor Mike, who rode around on a powered beer cooler. Soon several others joined in..Darcy brought over Cheryls chocolate chip cookies...You would have thought they had died and gone to heaven. Cooking was probably not high on their priorities. Probably beer was number 1.
We saw people from all walks of life from prosperous millionaires to happy go lucky paupers camping side by side. They will mingle for the season and then go on their separate ways. We talked with people in their 80's to people in their teens. It is truly an anthropological experience. There is a current documentary on the fine arts circuit called "Below Sea Level" See it if you can.. Will we return? Sure hope so..

 

Quartzsite ---Slab City

Our plan was to head for Niland,CA the home of "The Slabs". A plan is only a plan! I take medicine for cholesterol every day. If it wasn't for Darcy I would never remember to take it! Low and behold I had no more to take and the nearest Wal-Mart was in Yuma....a slight detour. Only a hundred miles out of the way.Leaving Yuma on I-8 across the bottom of the Salton Sea always amazes me. We often say" Did you think California was going to look like this?" It is like we were back in Saudi again....The sand dunes are spectular...a little smaller than those in Saudi but still great. Makes me want to have a dune buggy again......Then just a little further on and fields and fields of hay.....not hay like in Maine where it is half weeds just hay....beautiful fields of hay for miles and miles. Can you imagine throwing all that hay into a wagon? One man and a truck....It is a combination tractor and flat bed truck. As the truck goes down the fields it has a pick-up chute off to the rifgt side. After picking up the bale an arm places it on the truck. When a hundred or so bales are neately piled the truck then takes it back to the pile and off loads it. The marvels of technology an corporate farms. I kept wondering where all this hay was going until we came to the largest feed lot I have ever seen. Black and white cows everywhere! We sure love meat! Enough of hay.