Christmas @ Chula Vista RV Resort

We left on Thursday morning to spend the Christmas holiday at Chula Vista RV Resort just south of San Diego, Ca.  We were a little concerned about the weather as it had been raining alot over the last week.

We didn't need to worry as it turned out to be a very nice weekend with sunshine and nice weather.  We did get a little rain on Saturday night but it was gone by the time we got up on Sunday.

The Resort is nice and sites are not hugh but okay.  There were several Prevosts parked in Resort and several motorhomes from different states.  I think they were snowbirds staying with the warmer weather.

The weekend was very peaceful and we just relaxed and enjoyed, Robin cooked and Buddee and I did lots of walking around and checking out all the high end rigs in the park.

The Marina and a park was right behind the campground and a nice place to go for walks.  The park had ducks and we walked along the Marina.

The park had a potluck for Christmas with them furnishing the Ham and everyone that signed up to bring a side dish.  We had a Kansas City Prime Rib that Robin's Aunt had sent us for Christmas so we were kinda set on having that for Christmas Dinner.  It turned out just perfect and left overs for a few sandwiches next week, yum!

Christmas lights

Thanksgiving in Pahrump, NV 2010

We decided to spend Thanksgiving this year in Pahrump, NV at Terribles Lakeside RV Resort and Casino.  We really like this Resort it is also very close the Death Valley where we like to take day trips sightseeing in the area. 
We arrived at Terribles about noon on Thanksgiving day got checked in, and gassed up for our return trip home. We had Site #92 right on the lake, great spot.  We got setup and Robin baked an apple pie for dessert.  She didn't cook Turkey this year and we went to the casino for their Thanksgiving buffet.  The food is pretty good, not a large variety but good.  Turkey,dressing,gravy & sweet potatoes are all I need.  Later that evening we had pie for dessert.  The temps were a bit chilly so we unhooked the water hose for the night, as we did every night we were there.

The next morning was in the 20's so using on board water overnight had been a good idea.  We were meeting a couple of friends from Minnesota that were checking in on Friday.  They showed up about 1pm with their popup.  They had two heaters with them to keep them warm.  We sat around and visited and Robin made fried rice and orange chicken for dinner and pie for dessert.

Saturday, chilly again, upper teens.  We decided on a road trip to Beatty, Nv and the ghost town of Rhyolite, NV. lots of desert scenery.  The sun was out and temps in the mid 50's. 
When we got back to the Resort we fed and walked the dogs and went to the casino for prime rib buffet.  It was a good day.  Some time during the night it started to rain, but by morning it had cleared up to be nice an sunny. 

Sunday we packed up and were on the road by 8:30.  We saw lots of RV's leaving the desert area around the Dumont Dunes.  There is alot of dry camping in that area and lots of ATV's having a ball running around the area.  When we got to the I15 at Baker the traffic was already getting pretty heavy.  A couple of times we were down to 30 mph or slower for a couple of miles and then it would open up again.  The closer we got to home the more windy it became.  Even with the wind and traffic we were home by 2pm.

Another great weekend with friends we hadn't seen in a long time.

South Carlsbad SB

We just returned from a weekend at the beach, South Carlsbad SB.  It was a perfect weekend.  I don't think we saw a cloud all weekend.  The campground is located on the bluffs overlooking the beach.  Some of the campsites are large enough that it is not unusual to see two RV's parked in one site.  The campground allows three vehicles per site.

We spent the weekend doing absolutely nothing.  Robin did cook up a Dutch Oven pork chops and potatoes dish that was very tasty.  Otherwise it was sitting around the campfire in the evening and during the day a couple of dog walks and napping in the chair.

I have posted a couple of pictures hope you enjoy them.

Yucaipa County Park & Oak Glen

We took off early from work on Friday and headed out to check out the apple picking as it is the season. 
We picked a campground we hadn't stayed at before, The Yucaipa Regional Park has a small campground of under 50 sites with full hookups.  It turned out to be a great little campground.  Lots of space between the campsites and lots of green grass. The site pads and patio area are paved.  We will definitely be going back there again.
The Oak Glen area has lots of apple farms and shops and stores that sell everything and anything containing apples.  It was a little cloudy with a few sprinkles on the way up to the campground.  Saturday turned out to be a nice day. 
We took a drive up to the Oak Glen area and so did everyone else it seems.  This time of the year you can go pick you own apples from one or many of the apple farms in the area.  We decided to support the local labor force and bought them already picked.  We stopped at several of the shops and stores in the area.  We also stopped at a local fresh produce stand and stocked up the next week.  Good thing we didn't have much in the RV frig.

Grand Canyon Sept 2010

We took a couple of extra days for Labor Day weekend and headed for the Grand Canyon for a couple of days.  The weather was beautiful, low 80's and lots of sunshine.  We drove the 500 miles in one day with both of us doing some driving.

We stayed at the Trailer Village Campground right inside the park.  It was very close to the South Rim which was great.  The campground had full hookups with cable TV.  The cell service was great also.

I don't think there is a way to describe the Grand Canyon to do it justice.  You just have to see it to believe the scoop of that "Big Ditch".  We took a drive down the Desert View Drive to the tower overlooking the canyon. 

We also stopped at the Tusayan Museum and ruins.

We did a little tour of the Bright Angel Lodge and surroundings, the lodge is on the rims edge.

We didn't get to see a close up of the Condor's that live in the canyon, though we did see a couple of them riding some of the wind currents in the distance.

Our trip home was two days and we stopped in Needles overnight at the Riverview RV Resort on the Colorado River.  We had a site facing the river.  Great site, but it was hot and humid, so unless you were in the water you pretty much stayed in your air conditioned coach.  The next morning we were up and outa there headed home.

Grand Canyon

Dogs in river

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Hwy 395 & Lake Tahoe Trip-July 2010

We took a week and drove up Hwy 395 to Lake Tahoe.  Our first stop was an overnight at the Boulder Creek RV Resort three miles south of Lone Pine.  Mt Whitney could be seen in the distance.  The weather was a little warm, I think about 103 degrees.  Needless to say we ran the AC all night, good thing it works well.  We took a short drive through the Alabama Hills outside of Lone Pine.  This area was used to make alot of western movies.
Movies made in Lone Pine
We then made our way up to Mt Whitney.  Much cooler up there, about 80 degrees, big difference.  There is really a sharp contrast in landscape from Lone Pine to Mt Whitney...the highest point in the contiguous United States.

The next day we were on our way to Crowley Lake for the night.  Robin's family did alot of camping in this area when she was growing up.  Convict Lake, Owens Valley are all in this area, which is where they did lots of camping and fishing.  We toured the area for the day.

Day Three we headed out continuing up the 395, one of the stops was Mono Lake. The Mono Lake Story.  We also drove by Topez Lake, Topaz lake is feed by the famous West Walker river, well known for it's great fishing from the last Saturday of April through the last day of October. We stopped for lunch at Walker Burger in Walker, noted for it's root beer freezes, I can attest they are pretty good.  Our stop this night was the Carson Valley RV Resort and Casino in Minden, NV, we went and enjoyed a nice dinner and a little gambling, very little.  Needless to say, I didn't get rich.

The next day we headed into South Lake Tahoe, spending three nights at the Tahoe Valley Campground.  We spent a couple of days visiting with Robin's relatives, as they had rented a house on the lake.  We also took a trip around the lake.  We had a good visit and really enjoyed our time there.

Friday we packed up and headed for home with an overnight stop in Bakersfield RV Resort.  We usually stay there whenever we are coming from that direction.  Saturday we headed over the hill and home.

We had a great time and really enjoyed seeing the sights and visiting with everyone.

Every campground we stayed, I would recommend to anyone traveling the area.
Hope you enjoy the pictures

Kings Canyon, Sequoia NP

Kings Canyon National Park preserves a huge unspoiled and beautiful area of the central Sierra Nevada mountains, containing several deep glaciated canyons, countless lakes, pools, meadows and waterfalls, and over 20 peaks that exceed 13,000 feet. The park also shelters six groves of giant sequoia trees, found near the southern boundary which is shared with Sequoia National Park; the two are administered as one unit, and have similar scenery except that Sequoia has more of the huge trees.

This was a weekend of viewing nature at it's best. The canyon was blooming with colors and the creeks and rivers were high with water. This is an amazing place. We were "WOWED".

Hope you enjoy and pictures and video.

Kings Canyon Vid

Silent Valley RV Resort, April, 2010

Silent Valley is an exclusive private recreational vehicle resort located in the San Jacinto Mountains between Banning and Idyllwild. We are at an elevation of 3500 feet, and the weather is generally mild throughout the year. Our location is only two hours from San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange County.

This was our third visit to this campground, we always enjoy it, I don't know why we don't go more. It is still considered off season so the campground wasn't very full. It fact you could park just about anywhere you wanted to. We had a nice quiet weekend. We even went to their on site resturant for dinner Friday and Saturday.

Saturday we decided to take a drive up to Idllywild, about 6000 ft. We could see the snow on the peaks as we drove up to the campground on Friday.

Idyllwild is nestled in the San Jacinto mountains. Set among tall pines, sweet smelling cedars and Legendary rocks. The town has kept its "small town" atmosphere. Locally owned shops and restaurants are all you will find here. Come and experience the peace and quiet of Idyllwild.

We had a good time playing in the snow and enjoying the sunny day. Another great weekend of camping.
Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Easter weekend @ Santee Lakes, Santee, Ca

Easter weekend started on Good Friday for us, so we took advantage of the three day weekend and headed out to do a little local camping.
We spent three days and two night at Santee Lakes near San Diego, this was our second visit. We had a campsite on the lake, number six I think.
Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve is convenient adventure on 190 acres and seven lakes nestled in the foothills just 20 minutes from San Diego.
It is a very nice campground around two of the lakes on site. The lake side sites are great, good size and right next to the water. The main part of the campground in some areas are kind of cramped and not as nice.
The wifi is good and Verizon has good cell service.

We spent most of the weekend just sitting and watching the ducks swim by and people fishing, didn't see anyone catch anything.
The weather was okay, comfortable in the morning early afternoon and evening. It the middle of the afternoon the wind would come up and get a little chilly.
I have posted a few duck pictures, hope you enjoy.

Also a short vid.
Wildlife on lake

KQ Ranch and Borrego Springs for flower blooming

We headed up to KQ Ranch RV Resort for the weekend.  We arrived late Friday afternoon to a cold wind and cloudy skies.

This secluded 5-star RV and camping resort is located just 40 miles east of San Diego. Only 4 miles south of Julian's charming downtown district, the resort has access to the Pacific Crest and California riding and hiking trails. This makes the secluded K.Q. Ranch located in San Diego County a perfect choice for all RV, equestrian, and nature enthusiasts.

Our intent was to head out Saturday morning to Borrego Springs and see if any flowers were blooming.  Saturday we rose to sunshine which turned into fog and wind.  We were hoping that the weather would change as we drove down the hill and it did.  It was breezy but the sun was out and it was nice.  We did see some blooming along the way.
We also stopped and checked out some the the local sculptures that are located along the road into Borrego Springs,

History is unfolding in a town already filled with its own unique historical milestones, Borrego Springs with the first placement of the Gomphotherium free standing art structures. These creatures lived in the area about 3 million years ago.
Dennis Avery, land owner of Galleta Meadows Estates in Borrego Springs envisioned the idea of adding 'free standing art' to his property with original steel welded sculptures created by 'Perris Jurassic Park' owner/artist/welder Ricardo Breceda based in Perris, California.

Enjoy the pictures and video.

Video

SAL Feb 2010 Trailer Trash Rally

This rally is held at San Antonio Lake north of Paso Robles, Ca.  We had been going to this rally for the last two years.  They have one in the spring and one in the fall, October.  We take the 101 highway thats goes along the coast the through some wine country.  This year the theme was "trailer trash prom"  I decided the best way for me to help was to watch from the sidelines.  I did manage to capture a little video and a couple of pictures.
Hope you enjoy.
Trailer Trash Prom night

QUARTZSITE, AZ. 2010

Vid of rain in Quartzsite

First let me say that this was our first trip to Quartzsite. I must say that seeing it for the first time Quartzsite in January is more of an "experience" than it is a place.


For those of you that have never been there, in January and sometimes longer this little town of about 3,000 turns into a swapmeet/rally/fair and more. It is the Sturgis of RV's. I have heard that numbers reach into the 100,000's. The surrounding area is Desert BLM land and cheap camping, no frills, just park in the desert.


Since this was our first trip we decided to stay in town at Rice Ranch campground with full hookups. Since the weather was iffy we are glad we did.


Karen, a friend from Fargo, ND had flown into California and joined us on this trip. She is also responsible for alot of the pictures and video in the slideshow.


We arrived about 9am in the rain on Thursday Jan 21st. We got checked in and setup and then the downpour started. Everything in the MH started up fine except for the water heater. We called the dealer back in CA and they suggested several things, none worked. So we went squishing off in the rain to find a repair man. Lots around, but we checked at the campground office to get a recommedation. After an hour standing in the rain it finally fired up. Condensation had built up. Once we got it dried out it was fine. We stayed in on Thursday watched a movie and played on the internet.


Friday we woke to a cloudy and breezy day, but dry. Off we went to check out the sites. Swapmeets all over the place. We started at the big tent where all the RV "stuff" you can't live without was located. Spent the day at various swapmeets, lot's of walking, there are food vendors all over the place so we had to check out some smoked turkey legs and we stopped and brought BBQ ribs and pulled pork and tri-tip for dinner. Yum!


Saturday, the weather was sunny and warmer, more walking and swapmeeting. We were invited to dinner at a friend of Karen's who winters in the area. Steak and baked potato, good stuff.


Sunday, time to pack up and head home. Nice day and sunshine on the way home. Snow on the hills in the Palm Springs area from all the storms.


I have to say we really enjoyed the weekend and we will probably be going back next year. Just seeing all the people and RV's from all over the country was cool. I like to people watch so I really enjoyed the weekend.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Valley of Fire day trip

Valley of Fire State Park is located only six miles from Lake Mead and 55 miles northeast of Las Vegas via Interstate 15 and on exit 75. Valley of Fire is Nevada's oldest and largest state park, dedicated 1935. The valley derives its name from the red sandstone formations and the stark beauty of the Mojave Desert. Ancient trees and early man are represented throughout the park by areas of petrified wood and 3,000 year-old Indian petroglyph.

The road through the park is only about 23 miles long, but there is lots to look at in those miles. It took us most of the day to see everything. The pictures taken give you and idea of the formations throughout the park.

Death Valley day trip

The first of our two day trips took us to Death Valley. I had really never seen much of the area. Needless to say there is lots more than just desert to see. We traveled from Pahrump to Scotty's Castle. Lots of landscape to see and the pictures will say it alot better than I can explain it. The day stayed mostly cloudly and cool. Enjoy the slideshow. I think the landscape is just awesome in the area we covered.

Terrible's RV Resort and Casino, Pahrump, NV.

This is going to be a three part entry for the New Years weekend. This one will review the RV resort and the next two will be a day trip to Death Valley and a day trip to Valley of Fire state park in NV.

Terrible's is located about three miles outside the town of Pahrump,NV.
This park is very well maintained, we had a nice pull thru site with full hookups. There is a lake in the middle of the park and a variety of ducks are there enjoying it. The park has alot of old machinery through out the park to give it a nice touch. The sites have a cement pad extended out in the picnic area. Campfires are allowed if you bring your own firepit and it has legs so it is off the ground. Nice view of the mountains. The Resort has a casino and restaurant and buffet. The food is good and we ate there every night. Several TV stations from Las Vegas can be picked up by the roof antenna. Cell service is good and my netcard worked well. Wifi is available for a fee.