Millers' Time

February 9: The Orange Grove park was close to the freeway and also train tracks so I could hear the train whistle in the night a few times. However, the bed has a ceiling vent with a fan in it so I turned that on exhaust and it made for good white noise to disguise the traffic noise.

Misty did better last night but still did more meowing than normal. Maybe she does it at home in other parts of the house and I just don’t hear it. I also kept hearing her trying to open the cupboard doors but, being an RV, they don’t open easily. Oh, and I saw another woman across from me with a cat on a leash!

The morning dawned bright and clear again. Well, as clear as it probably gets around here with all the smog. All the big rigs started taking off around 8:00. I think there were way more than 50 that came in last night. When I was leaving I saw a ton more. I got ready and left my site about 9:30, earlier than I thought but I woke up early today.

Before going to get propane, I had used my new step stool to try to unhook the tanks. Of course, everything was too tight for me and the wrench I had was too small. So, I just hoped the person helping me would be able to deal with it. It was a huge pain the the ass! Even the guy said so. The propane tanks are too high on the camper, he also had to use the step stool. In the picture below, the bottom of the tank is about 4 1/2 feet high.

Then he had problems with the screws being too tight. We both got wrenches and I turned the one on the bottom and he on the top. He was finally able to get the tanks down and fill them. He had to get a good swing on the tanks to get them back up high enough. He advised, and I agreed, that I should only open the outer one, and when it runs out get it filled quickly. Lol.

I used a lot of propane for heat the first two weeks at night and in the mornings. I would turn it off when I went to bed but used it to warm up in the mornings. It still gets cool at night but warms up quick enough that I don’t think I will turn it on again until back up in the north on the way home.

I found a park down by the Salton Sea about 4 hours away according to Google maps. Of course it is always longer than that. The drive was pretty good for the most part. The scenery was chaparral and desert. It was a lot browner than the area I drove through out of Yosemite.

Okay, I am going to go on a bit of a rant here about the highway signage and drivers here in California. The speed limits on the back roads are usually much higher than I think you would see in Washington, at least 55 mph. However, very few of them ever have a speed limit sign until you see one that says 40 mph zone ahead. Then after going thru that area, it will have a sign that says end of 40 mph, but no new sign saying what the actual speed limit is. I have just gone 55 for the most part.

The freeways are mostly 65 – 70 mph but everyone goes 10 – 20 mph more than that! I usually run about speed limit or up to 5 mph over unless passing, then I speed up. But I see people going at least 90 and they are also the ones that zip back and forth across the lanes. Then every once in a while someone will be in the lane next to the fast lane going 60.

The other thing I have noticed is that the speed limit for trucks and vehicles pulling trailers is usually 55. Do you think they ever go that slow? Hell, no. I don’t really have a problem with that but I find it interesting that they don’t get pulled over more often. I have only seen one car pulled over and that was today. But when going up to Yosemite I saw a cop with lights on following someone coming in the opposite direction but there was no where to pull over. It was kind of funny.

But my all time favorite is people who don’t use cruise control. I understand not using it in heavy traffic, but when you are on a wide open freeway? I always use mine and will pass someone and have them pass me two or three times. And they say Washingtonians are bad drivers.

I made it to the Oasis Palms RV Resort around 3:00. So I was on the road about 5 hours. Misty was good but my sciatica was acting up and I couldn’t wait to get here. The man who checked me in was nice and joked around a bit. When I told him it was just me and the cat he said this was dog territory. I replied that everywhere I have been has been dog territory. He said he had seen one cat on a leash, wonder if it was the same one I saw.

Then he got in his little utility vehicle and drove me to my spot. This place has grass all around and quite a few palm and fruit trees. There is a pool, jacuzzi, pond stocked with tilapia and catfish, a recreation room with a bunch of stuff in it, and I don’t know what else. Pretty nice. Except I have seen 3 or 4 dogs running around not on leashes. There is even a dog run here but obviously, these dogs are special. Maybe Misty will get a good swipe in tomorrow.

I called my friends, Yvonne and Simon Josowitz, who are staying in the Palm Springs area for a month. I am only about 30 minutes away so after talking to them I decided to also stay here Saturday night and they will come for a visit tomorrow.

Oh, and another Misty update. I put her on a leash as soon as I got here and even though it is grassy all around there is a bit of dirt under a little bush next to the camper. She, of course, rolled in it and proceeded to dig a hole. She also manages to get herself wrapped around everything the wrong way so I am constantly untangling her. Someone walked by fairly close so she jumped back into the camper and looked out the door for a while, then went to sleep on her bed.

I sat outside and read social media and started this post. There were a few flies around but then closer to sundown a lot of little bugs started coming around so I finally went into the camper and shut the screen door. One fly inside is driving me crazy, but as Darrel would say, “It is a short drive.” (Finally killed that one. Yay!)

There was a Happy Hour across the pond by a fire pit with lots of firewood around 4:30. Being the social butterfly that I am I stayed in the camper. Later, there was karaoke in the rec room next to me. I was watching the Olympics so didn’t join in. I am sure if Darrel had been with me I would have gone with him to these events. And, if I was staying for a long time like most of these people I would eventually check it out.

I watched the Olympic skating last night and tonight I watched the opening ceremony. It is funny. The very first night I managed to figure out the TV and FireTV and got them working together. Haven’t been able to do it since then so have watched everything on my iPad.

February 7 & 8: I left Yosemite around 10:30 Wednesday morning. I had planned on walking up to Mirror Lake prior to leaving since the trailhead was close to my camp site. I walked over to the trailhead parking area and walked all around looking for a sign. There was one place where there were two posts that looked like it might be the start of a trail, but after climbing up a ways it dead ended and obviously wasn’t the right place.

I kept looking and found a trail along the road. I followed it a little way and it forked. I had no way of knowing which was the proper trail. Again, lack of signage in the park was a problem. Finally, I decided ‘to hell with it’ and went back and took off. I had to be out of the camp site by noon and was afraid if I went up the wrong trail I might not make it back in time.

I stopped by the Village where I had cell signal and looked for the route out. A different route than the way in along hwy 140 into Merced. Thank goodness, as I didn’t want to be braking through S curves at 25 miles an hour again. It was actually a pretty nice drive. The surrounding country was beautiful, rolling hills and had a lot of green on the ground and plenty of cattle. I imagine the green doesn’t last long as the weather warms up and dries out. It was totally different than the type of green hills in Washington. These were pretty treeless and rocky.

I kind of thought of stopping in Merced to get something to eat and figure out where to stay but the highway came up before the town, so I followed it. After 4 hours of driving, I was starving and saw a sign for In-n-Out so swung in there and had a burger for the first time in months. It was good but the fries were not very good at all. After eating, I sat in the parking lot and tried to find a place to stay. Not having wifi in Yellowstone I hadn’t been able to do any research. The parks I did find didn’t seem to have very good reviews so I decided to try a state park. It was the Colonel Allensworth Historical Park.

I got there around 3:30, dumped the waste water and pulled into a site. There were no hookups but I was fine with that as long as I had been able to dump. The camp host was a really nice woman. I was the only person in the park. She said there had been two the night before. She gave me some information about the park and pointed out a picture of her and two other women in period dress. She said she wasn’t bragging, but she was also a docent.

It was pretty fascinating, actually. The town of Allensworth had been started around 1906 by a former slave who had run away and joined the Union Army. He ended up retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel, the first African American to do so. He started the town as an all African American town. Sadly, they ran into water issues and then the Colonel got hit by a motorcycle in another town and killed. After that the town kind of went down hill. They have been restoring the town and it is now a historical park.

I went to fix a drink and noticed the fridge control was flashing with an F and an A. I had no idea what that meant as, of course, I had no manuals. So, I decided to start the generator to power it up and the generator wouldn’t start. I went out and checked, sure enough I was out of propane. There are two big tanks but I had been using the heater a lot the whole trip as it got pretty darn cold at night. Plus, it seems like the propane in the little bottle in the old boat lasted for years so I wasn’t expecting this.

Well, I didn’t want everything in the fridge and freezer to melt so I loaded up and took off for another park that was about 20 miles away. The sun was down and it was getting dark. Siri took me on back roads to get there and I pulled into the next park and quickly hooked up in the pitch black after 6:00. It had been a long day.

Misty by this time was so done with traveling. I had left her in the camper for the short run, which I hadn’t done before. As soon as I opened the door she tried to jump out. I grabbed her harness and pulled her back in to clip on the leash. First thing she did was roll in the dirt. Then she went to the end of the leash, per usual. After getting everything settled, I went over to get her and put her in the camper and close it up for the night. She tried to run away from me! Couldn’t get far as she was at the end of her leash, literally and figuratively. Once in the camper she stood at the door and meowed and meowed. She did it off and on all night.

I decided we both needed a break on Thursday so didn’t plan on going far. I found a park east of Bakersfield, Orange Grove RV Park. It literally has orange trees all over and a grove next door. And it is okay to pick the oranges. The trees have oranges on them but they are too high. They do have ‘pickers’ by the office so I might have to get one and try to get a few oranges.

From the last park to this one I drove along back roads through lots of vineyards and fruit or nut trees for about 20 miles before getting on the highway again. Very flat land. I arrived at the park around 1:00. I obviously needed propane but they only do it from 7:00 – 11:00 AM. So, I went into East Bakersfield and got a step ladder so I could get to the top of the propane tanks, being short doesn’t pay with this camper. I also bought a small BBQ since I had forgotten mine at home.

As soon as I got Misty out of the truck, she rolled in the dirt again. Her fur just soaks up the dust and sand! She had been pretty good on the way but it was only about 2 hours of driving. She went into the camper shortly after and stayed in there for rest of the night even though I had the leash on her and the door was open. I think she is tired of traveling.

Siri and I have had a few arguments. On the way here she had me exit the highway and told me to go on a road for 9 miles. But after a block or so she turned me around and had me go back on the highway. Then she took me through the trashy back streets of Bakersfield to the Home Depot, but brought me back through the nicer part. Go figure. There have been a couple other times where she has done something similar.

A man just came over and was checking out my Fox Landing steps and is going to come back to take a picture. Turns out he was from Everett and used to work for Amgen, a pharmaceutical company on Elliot Bay. He sat and yakked at me for a while then abruptly left.

I am going to BBQ some chicken thighs tonight, and probably microwave a sweet potato and some veggies since I can’t use the stove until tomorrow. (Update: The damn BBQ wouldn’t light. I had followed directions and the sparking/burning unit was preassembled so I didn’t have anything to do with it. I used my fire starter lighter and could hear and smell the propane, but it just wouldn’t start. It was starting to get dark, so I left it and warmed up my last Chile rellenos.)

It has been sunny and warm again today. Last night got pretty cold so probably will again tonight. Once the sun has been up for a couple hours, the camper warms right up.

There was no one around me when I parked but now, a little after 5:00, probably 30 – 50 more RVs have come in. Almost everyone has a dog and there is one somewhere inside a vehicle who barks constantly. Pretty faint but I can’t imagine having a dog bark like that in such an enclosed space. This is a huge park with a lot of amenities. Everything is very well kept, they even have coffee and donuts every morning!

I was going to stay around Indio tomorrow but a lot of the parks are pretty hoity-toity and expensive. The one I found that I wanted to stay at didn’t have any opening this weekend. So, I guess I will end up having a couple places in mind for various distances and see how Misty and I do.

February 5 & 6: Yosemite National Park is probably the most visually amazing place I have ever been. I walk around looking upwards all the time. Yes, I am getting a crick in my neck.

Getting here was not so fun. It was almost 3 hours of narrow, winding, two lane roads. And that was before I got into the park itself. Amazing scenery all around but it was hard to see much of it because I was so busy watching the road.

Darrel was probably one of the few people who knew how much I hate narrow roads with a cliff to the side of you. The many times we went over Chinook Pass my palms and feet would sweat. And I swear he would drive extra close to my side of the road just to freak me out.

Well, I was doing the driving this time and, yes, my palms were sweating at times. The worst part was going down from 6,000 feet on the winding road with speed limits of 25 – 35 mpg. The signage could have been better for turn outs and/or view points. By the time you came upon them it was too late to pull in. I was trying to be a conscientious driver and pull over whenever there was a car riding my ass.

I finally managed to slow down and turn in at one view point where you could see some of the fabulous granite formations. When I got out, I could smell the brakes and then I saw smoke coming from the driver side. Freaked me out, to be sure. I went and took pictures then walked around the truck. Nothing was smoking anymore, but I was pretty leery about driving the rest of the way down the mountain.

No one was behind me so I went very, very slowly and used the low gears to slow down at curves instead of the brakes. Luckily, it was only a few miles until I got to Yosemite Valley.

I made it to Upper Pines campground and pulled up to check in. Misty had been a good little trooper for the 4 hours of driving but when I opened the window to talk to the ranger, she was ready to get out of that truck. I had a hold of her harness and then put on her leash, but she was crawling all over me trying to get out.

The ranger said there had been a bear spotted a few hundred yards from there a couple hours earlier and that there was a family of coyotes living in the park that might be interested in Misty! She said the coyotes would come right up to your fire and sit like they were a member of the family. When I do let Misty out of the camper I always have her on a leash and stay with her for the most part. I would be extra cautious here.

I found my spot and got set up. There were quite a few open campsites around me and no one next to me on either side. The campground is surrounded by towering sequoias. It was still light out but there were so many trees that the campsite was in the shade and was very cool. I went inside, warmed up leftover Chile rellenos, listened to my book on tape, watched another episode of Altered Carbon and went to be early.

The morning dawned bright and clear. I had my coffee then walked around a bit to get oriented. At one point I heard a noise and looked and saw a Pileated Woodpecker a few yards away at the base of a tree. Then I saw another one on the tree next to it. They looked huge! We have them in Seattle and last summer I saw three on the utility pole outside the house. That was the first time I had ever seen them before. These didn’t seem to mind that I was just a few feet away they were so intent on their feeding.

The park has a shuttle service that has around 24 stops all over. I had read all the brochures and guides I was given and wanted to take the shuttle to various places around the park. I was so glad there was a shuttle since it is a pain to get the camper all ready to drive again and then come back to the same spot. I have really enjoyed staying for two nights in the same place the past few days.

I packed my backpack with maps, money, and water and walked to the Half Dome Village to catch the shuttle around 10:00. They come along about every 10 minutes at that time of day. I went to the Yosemite Village and got off. I started at the Ansel Adams gallery and spent quite a time there looking at all his amazing photographs. Then went through the Visitor Center and Bookstore. It has exhibits that show how Yosemite’s landscape was formed and information about the flora an fauna.

The Yosemite Museum Indian Cultural Exhibit was quite fascinating. It had a lot of traditional baskets, headdresses, clothing, and other things. Behind the museum there was a walking tour of a Indian village with signs telling about the various trees and plants and their uses by the Indians. Very interesting.

After that I walked to the Lodge past the Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. I thought to get lunch at the Lodge but it was like a cafeteria style with lots of pre-packaged foods so I passed it by. I caught the shuttle to the Majestic Yosemite Hotel. A beautiful old building with a grand sitting room with views out into the trees and upwards at the craggy peaks and granite domes.

I had lunch in the Majestic Bar. It had a more limited menu than the dining room but was less expensive too. I had a cup of spinach and vegetable soup and a vegetarian flatbread wrap with arugula, peppers and mushrooms. Both were very good.

The day was sunny and clear and for a short time around the Yosemite Village I had a signal on my phone. The temperature said it was 68. I talked to one man who said this was totally unusual for this time of year. A woman I had talked to back in Jackson said the same thing. She said that it was usually in the 30s there in February but was in the 70s and supposed to get to 79 later this week. (BTW, I had a comment that I hadn’t said where my last stop was. It was the Jackson Rancheria casino RV park. Jackson, California is about an hour or so east of Sacramento.)

I took the shuttle back to Half Dome Village and walked around there. It has a lot of tent cabins but I don’t think it was open yet as I didn’t see any action in any of them. There was one building that had a veranda with old wooden rocking chairs on it that I found very quaint.

I went into the store which had groceries, prepackaged foods like salads and sandwiches, camping supplies, and clothing. I bought a Yosemite t-shirt as a memento, then walked back to the camper. I think Misty had spent her day sleeping, as usual.

I built a fire and really felt like I was camping. There is cut wood all around the campground. Most of it is fairly new cut and seemed fairly wet but I had found a lot of small dry pieces and a few larger ones that seemed fairly dry. It is funny they have all the wood around but the rules say not to gather wood, pine cones or needles. That was one rule I didn’t follow and neither did anyone else from the looks of it.

I had Misty out with me and she was walking around a bit on her leash. There are large ravens around and one was above me cawing quite loudly. Pretty soon, he had called in about ten of his friends. They were circling around above me and Misty making a lot of noise. The man in the camp behind me came over to see what all the fuss was about. We figured it was Misty attracting their attention. They didn’t do any dive bombing and he said maybe it is because she is sleek black like them.

I ended up picking her up and holding her then we went for a walkabout on the leash. The crows totally lost interest and left. She actually did very well this time, trotting along with her head and tail up instead of slinking. That is until I wanted to head back then she dug her paws in and I had to carry her.

After sitting around the fire and eating the last of the leftover Mexican burritos, I went into the camper for the night. At one point, I opened the back door to make sure the fire was died down and saw a coyote loping through a few feet away. He just looked at me and kept going.

It was a great day.

Yesterday, January 31, I took off around 11:00 after a fairly peaceful night. Watched the first of the series Electric Dreams on Amazon (thank you FireTV.) It was ok. I think it is modeled after Black Mirror which I liked quite a lot.

I couldn’t decide where I wanted to go. Was thinking about going to the Redwood National Forest area as it is another place I have never seen. But I also wanted to check out Ashland and there was a good quilt store there. The route to the Redwoods took off at Grant’s Pass. I pulled off there and picked up a few things I still needed. (I can’t figure out why I can’t find Comet or something like it. I have looked in 2 Fred Meyer and one Ray’s and no luck. Shouldn’t it be on the same aisle as all the other cleaning products??!!)

After looking at the map, I decided not to go to Redwoods and headed towards Ashland. I had found an RV park east of there that had pretty good reviews. When I found it I was more than a little surprised. It was a trashy permanent RV type place, not a ‘campground.’ I drove through and back out again. There was another one somewhere close by but there was no cell service so I couldn’t look it up and just headed back to the freeway.

I ended up going across the Siskiyou Pass and into California before I knew it. I found another campground not too far past the border. It was east of the freeway about 7 miles. Lots of ranch land and down a curvy, two lane road. I saw a deer on the left side of the road and slowed down, but the only other car I saw on the road was coming towards me and didn’t see it until it leapt out in front of him. He was able to stop in time but from the carcasses and bones along the road, many people don’t stop in time. I went very slowly the rest of the way.

The campground/rv park was along the Klamath river. Big paved spot with full hookups. I parked and went to the office and checked in. There was no cell service but the lady told me that if I had an emergency to come back and rouse her and I could use the landline.

It was really a nice setting. Maybe 6 total vehicles there. Two looked like long term stays. I put Misty on the leash and took her outside but it was fairly cool so I didn’t stay out long. She is so funny when I put the leash on her. She walks with her belly dragging the ground like she has the weight of the world on her back. I call her Slinky when she does that.

I had leftovers for dinner and listened to my book on tape but ended up in bed really early. I slept pretty darn good too for about 9 hours. Misty did get a bit rambunctious around 5:30 for a while but then settled down.

After having my first cup of coffee this morning, I put her back on the leash and we walked around for a while. I hooked the leash onto a pole and was in the camper when she came running up the steps and into the camper. I went out to unhook the leash as she couldn’t go too far in, and there was a woman from the closest RV walking over. She had come over to see the cat but that was why Misty had run away. She is usually very friendly but she is still too skittish on this trip.

I talked with the woman for a bit. They were from Oakland and had been there for 3 days. Her husband is a fisherman. I had noticed a truck pulling a drift boat stop and drop him off yesterday. I guess he caught 3 steelhead. I had told her I hadn’t figured out where to attach the water directly into the camper yet and she said to be sure and use a regulator as they hadn’t used one at one point and sprang leaks due to high pressure. Don’t need any more of those!

As I was unplugging and getting ready to leave I found the place where you attach the hose. Then when I was getting the non-potable water hose out to clean the sewer hose I found a regulator that had never been used. I am in the water business now! I still use a Brita for drinking water and coffee because the water tastes like plastic.

The neighbor’s husband came over while I was packing up to tell me about a place they really like to go to by the Salton Sea. It is called Fountain of Youth and sounds like quite the place. It has hot springs and all kinds of activities. Doesn’t really sound like my kind of place, but, you never know. I might have to check it out.

It was a beautiful morning and I decided I wasn’t going to go far today and just enjoy the lack of rain. After getting to a place with cell service I looked up campgrounds. Most of the state parks aren’t open for the year yet. I really wanted someplace close to Mt. Shasta since it was so awesome looking. But I couldn’t find a place I wanted to stay so headed towards Redding. I am at Lakeshore Villa RV Park. It is okay but not as nice as the website, etc. make it out to be. Haven’t seen a lake. But I haven’t walked around yet. It might be at the opposite end of the park from where I am or may not be close at all. I also heard a really loud noise like a large airplane going low overhead, then saw a train go by. No mention anywhere of being near railroad tracks and it is pretty close to the freeway.

Put Misty out on her leash, got my chair and small table out, got some cheese, crackers, and veggies, poured a small glass of wine, and sat in the sun. It must be 70 degrees or warmer. It is nice to be out of the rain and into the sunshine.

Misty is so funny. She will go as far as the leash allows then lay down. She might move around some but always as far as she can go. My biggest worry with her is that she will get used to jumping out of camper or truck and get away. I am very careful to put leash on her before opening the door, but things happen. Not sure what she would do.

Tomorrow I am heading to the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area to a campground there. Will stay one or two nights depending on how much I like it. I checked online and they have availability but when I tried to reserve it wouldn’t allow me to start Friday. I called and you have to allow 48 hours. So I went on to get Saturday night and when I went to check out, it was going to be a $7.99 reservation fee! The campsites are already expensive so I didn’t want to add $8 to it! I called and they said first come first served without reservations. So, I will take my chance.

I want to be somewhere with internet on Sunday so I can watch the Super Bowl. Don’t know if there is cell reception at the Folsom area so it may be a couple of days before I post again.