#35 California Coast

As we were moseying west last August to meet up with friends at MacKerricher State Park we stopped for lunch at this spot.













MacKerricher State Park with Margaret, Anita, Sherian & Marrilee.





View from bicycle path at MacKerricher

#34 Bodega Bay

We made reservations to go camping at Doran Beach Regional Park with our friends, Margaret, Anita & Trisha, months in advance. We chose to camp out on the jetty so we would have water on both sides. We were escaping from mid August heat and it was the perfect place to go.









Kite flying is a big deal here and Anita was right out there with the best of them. That gal can fly a kite!I There is a wonderful shop in town called Candy & Kites where we went for some things Anita needed for her kite. It was such a fun experience. They had not only kites but fantastic whirligigs (not sure what they are really called) that decorate any outside area and are propelled by the wind.















Margaret & Anita have been coming here for years so they know the area well. Margaret gave us the grande tour which was wonderful! We took a drive up a mountain where we got great ocean and campsite views.





















We are still in Grass Valley where Kae is recovering from her surgery which went very well. She has started PT and she's anxious to get back on the road again as am I.

We hope you all had a love filled Thanksgiving!

#33 Just a little catch up here to let you know what we’re up to. 

We are actually back in Grass Valley. We had been having trouble with a sink drain right from the beginning of our adventure. We tried EVERYTHING to unclog the drain to no avail so we decided we’d come home and take the Pod to our favorite RV fixer people, Affordable RV in Newcastle. Turned out there was no clog at all; the drain pipe melted. That’s right, melted. The technician at Affordable said there was a design flaw-evidently pipe too close to the catalytic converter. It took 14 years to melt but I’m happy it is fixed. The Affordable people said it would take a whole day to fix it and they were having scheduling problems trying to find a whole day because it was the busiest time of the year. We had planned to visit our friends, Monta & Don, in Denver so we decided to use some frequent flyer miles and flew to Denver for a wonderful week long visit and we left the Pod to be repaired. So great to return and have it fixed!

We have remained in Grass Valley because Kae had been having some trouble with her right hand-numbness, pain & losing her grip. Yes, Vice Grip Grimes is losing her grip. Went to see doctor Winni who sent her to an orthopedic surgeon to check out her hand. After some nerve testing it was decided that she had and entrapped ulna nerve & carpal tunnel. She will have surgery this coming Thursday 11/7 so we’ll probably remain here until the end of December so she has proper post op care & PT.

This blog post is one of our stops on the way back from Idaho. We stayed at Jedediah Smith State Park near Crescent City CA. We’ve been there before and really love the setting. Only a few days there then a couple of days at Humboldt Redwoods State Park where we hopped in the car and drove the Avenue of the Giants. Such grand and beautiful trees. 

Avenue of the Giants

#32 Diamond Lake, Crater Lake & Haystack Reservoir

It was now time to head south for Oregon & then Jedediah Smith SP in CA but we had many miles to cover and we were looking for an inexpensive (AKA cheap) place to spend the night. I looked at one of my camping apps which told of a free camping spot. Free camping is always good. So we hopped onto Hwy. 97 through Yakima and ended up for the night at the Toppenish Casino. I called ahead to make sure the app was correct (We didn’t want to be asked to leave at 2:00 in the morning like at the Walmart in Reno) and that we could stay overnight in the parking lot. They said that was true and gave us directions to check in with security upon our arrival. Well…..staying in the parking lot would have been just fine but it was close to 99 degrees all night so we had to run the A/C. We joined the casino membership club so we could get 2 smorgasbord dinners for 1. The price was okay but the food wasn’t very good. I think indigestion kept us awake more than the sound of the A/C. 

Next day we decided we wanted to see Crater Lake again but they were doing renovations in the park and camping was not available so we learned about Diamond Lake which had many campgrounds with hundreds of sites so we thought that since we were traveling mid week and that there were plenty of sites that there would be no problem arriving without a reservation. Sound familiar?? WELL we didn’t know about the Diamond Lake Festival. Who knew there was an annual square dancing festival at Diamond Lake? Actually hundreds of people knew so the campgrounds were pretty full. We finally found a lovely site and thanked the travel gods, again. Diamond Lake is a popular fishing lake and some fellow campers we met brought us fresh trout for dinner one evening. What a treat!! The other great thing about Diamond Lake is that it is only a 30 minute drive from Crater Lake. 

Crater Lake National Park is in the Cascade Mountains of southern Oregon. It’s known for its namesake Crater Lake. Native Americans witnessed its formation 7,700 years ago when a violent eruption triggered the collapse of Mount Mazama. Scientists marvel at its purity: fed by rain and snow. It’s the deepest lake in the USA (1148 ft.) and one of the most pristine on earth.

Diamond Lake

Crater Lake

Our next stop on our journey back to California was Haystack Reservoir near Redmond OR. The last time we were near Redmond was when were in Madras OR to witness the Great American Eclipse in 2017. Since we only have a few pictures of the reservoir we decided to throw in an eclipse pic.