One person's art is another's trash...
Seen along the county road we were traveling in rural SE Sacramento

Happiness...says it all....

Spending some nice time in quintessential California places...

Spending some nice time in quintessential California places...Lovely lakes...trails thru the grasslands....one at Rancho Seco outside Sacramento...Warm and clear...and has something Coffee Pond that doesn't have....an abandoned nuclear reactor....did give me a bit of pause to go in water...but we didn't glow afterwards...fun times with Sanchezes in their backyard....and some nice RV meals....In Jackson Ca in foothils of the Sierras...Gold Country...

A carpet spot and ants

I noticed our first carpet stain, a dime sized smudge from some unknown source. It told me I was home. Dirt happens at home.  Our domicile is currently Jackson, about 45 miles east of Sacramento. The RV park is part of a casino here, The Jackson Rancheria. It is one of the highest rated parks in CA and the reasons are obvious once here. Clean, well groomed, wonderful views of the Sierra foothills, great pool area, nice golf putting green and…a bocce court! Places like this make you feel that you are staying at a resort hotel, but, as said above, we are home.

Oh…ants.  In the course of researching our venture I came across numerous references to pest management.  One stated it is not a matter of if; it is when you get invaded by ants. Prior to this camp we were at Rancho Seco, a very nice park managed by the Sac Municipal Utility District, which goes by the entertaining acronym of SMUD. I noticed when setting up there was much ant activity. I packed diamotaceous earth for these incidents. It is a white powdery “dirt” that is left by the process of fill and evaporate in certain seasonal or rain event lake beds. Many insects will not cross it, ants included. It is non toxic, the only warning being do not breath the dust.  So I lightly dusted the area and it worked for a couple of days. Then, doing my now habitual walk around Vilia, I saw the marching column hiking along our power cord. Time for the Raid! But, enough had invaded that we are still finding the occasional straggler a week later. As long as there is no queen around, I am ok to be the mighty conqueror and employ the thumb squash. 

Watch Out Above

July 20, 2015

Clearance

There is a new dimension to driving with pulling a 5^th wheel  RV, and that is up.  We are measured at 13’ high, when not hooked up to the truck. That goes down a bit when connected with the weight factor on the truck bed. However, we are relying on a measuring tape dropped down from the roof high point by our dealer. This is not an exact science. On wooded roads, I am now always looking up.                                                     

En route to the Sacramento area from Monterey, we decided to take a scenic route along part of the Sacramento River via CA state route 160. It is a lovely road but we did not research all that well. At one point, we were directed by our navigation to cross over the river and it was an old bridge with 13’3” clearance. I opted out. Things can happen over time. If they resurfaced the road, it can add an inch or two or three and the crews often will not measure again and change signs. Too close for comfort. So we went a few extra miles only to find a 13’ 5” bridge. Slowly I inched forward hoping not to hear a crunching sound. We made it! 13’ 5” is my new clearance standard. Now, Cathy could have climbed up on the roof and communicated via our walkie talkies what it looked like as we went past our high point, the bridges low point, but, I would not do that and so would not ask her to do that! Another notch in the Vilia Adventures gun handle!

We are staying 3 weeks in the Sac area to embrace our daughter’s family and her wonderful 3 girls, our grand girls, before we head east for our month of August in southern Utah.  I need to share something from the youngest, three year old Ceiba. A car treat for the three sisters is a piece of gum to chew. We were all in the van together a couple of days ago and Ceiba could not decide if she wanted “experimint” or “pepperoni mint” flavor. Have to say, that did crack me up. Still does.

Dolphins at Marina State Beach

July 15, 2015

Dolphins.

The nearby beach at Marina State Beach is a beauty. Large sand dunes, reminiscent of Wellfleet on Cape Cod. The other morning I went early as it was an unusually warm morning for the Monterey Bay area. Within minutes of being there saw a pod of about a dozen dolphins off to the left. Scanning the water, it turned out to be about eight of these pods near and far. Their behavior suggested they were feeding and it was great to watch. They were frenzied at times, jumping over each other, diving aggressively, creating much splashing. At one point a pod came close enough that I could hear them chattering amongst themselves. It pretty much sounded like, “hey these fish are mine, and yours are over there”. To top it off, I saw a whale breach three times off towards the horizon. First time ever seeing that in CA.

Being here reminded me of a comment I heard from a local once some years back. I was here for business and while tasting wines, (I spent my working years in the wine trade), with a restaurateur, I made the comment about what a great part of California this was. His retort…”This is not California, this is Monterey”.  I can understand the viewpoint.   

July 9 to July 15, 2015 Monterey Peninsula

A spectacular part of California...An RV park right on the ocean, a bike ride on 17 mile drive, a hike in Molera State Park and a lunch at Nepenthe were highlights.....Loving this!!  Cathy

The Big Adventure begins....July 2 to July 8....At Skyline Park..

The Big Adventure begins....July 2 to July 8....At Skyline Park...fun to be a tourist in Napa and St Helena!

Goodbye House....we sure had good times there!!!

Summary of the Janis RV Trip Aug 2015 to Dec 2017

Summary of the Janis RV Trip
Aug 2015 to Dec 2017

Aug 2015 California
Sept & Oct 2015 Utah
Oct & Nov 2015 Arizona & New Mexico
Dec 2015 and
Jan&Feb 2016 Tucson area, Az
March 2016 Texas
April 2016 Arkansas & Oklahoma
May 2016 Colorado
June, July & Aug 2016 Wyoming and Montana
Sept & Oct 2016 So Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois
Nov 2016 Kentucky, Tennesse, Alabama
Dec 2016 & Jan &
Feb 2017 Florida
March, April
& May 2017 Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina
June 2017 New Jersey
July & Aug 2017 Maine
Sept, Oct & Nov 2017 New England following peak leaf season
Dec 2017 North Carolina

Roll-Away Party June 27 2015

Thanks to all who came to our Rolling-Away Party....We will miss you all terribly!!! Come visit us "on the road"!!