August 11, Bridgeport CA

The drive from Graeagle to Bridgeport CA was 170 miles. We are finding that that is a good driving day. It is a steady mental exercise to tow our 5^th wheel. We had ourselves weighed at the trip’s start and came in at 21,000 pounds, total. That is 2000 under what Ford says is the most total combined weight our truck is designed for.  But… you surely feel the weight as a driver.  I have found that glimpses of our drive- by scenery are all I can afford. There is a need for the sake of safety and preservation to stay focused on the road, its condition, the terrain, all vehicles, coming intersections and that staple of the USA roadways, the idiot driver. All of it makes for fatigue for the mind after time. Ah, OK, That’s enough RV driving school.

On to Bridgeport: If you have never taken US 395 from Reno south along the eastern side of the Sierras, please try to do so. The Sierras came up from the ancient, developing earth as a wedge, short high side on the East sloping down westward, ( with notable bumps, potholes and puddles along the way),  to the Great Central Valley of CA.  395 takes you down the majestic eastern side of these Sierra Mountains.  The access from 395 to so much high country beauty is as amazing as it is convenient.  For example, yesterday we drove from our camp spot by the Bridgeport Reservoir to the East Yosemite entrance out of Lee Vining up Tioga Pass, just 45 miles.  Talk about notable bumps, potholes and puddles. Tuolumne, Tenaya Lake, Olmstead Point, all within a very comfortable days outing.

As with Graeagle, all the natural lakes and ponds we saw at Yosemite were full, rivers flowing nicely.  By comparison, the Reservoir we are staying at in Bridgeport has retreated so that there is no longer boating access and a large grassy plain has evolved from what was once manmade lake.  This is common now in CA as we see so many reservoirs so depleted.  Hmmmm…, could one surmise Nature is better at handling Nature’s weather whims and ways than man?  Go figure!

More Graeagle

Graeagle CA, the Mohawk Valley, and more. Early August, 2015

Knucklehead moved on after our first couple of days in Clio. We stayed on for 5 more nights, including a 2 night visit by our daughter and her fine family. Our young granddaughters were also able to have along special friends. We had a wonderful time all together and enjoyed the area’s stunning beauty. At 5500 feet above the sea, the Mohawk Valley is a large, healthy High Sierra masterpiece. It is a Mecca for hikers, golfers, ( I had a dozen courses within an hour’s drive, most 45 minutes and less), bikers, fishing&boating folk and all currently for good cause. California is in a drought, but it is not evident here. This is a part of the Sierra that has an abundance of natural lakes.  We saw some and they were all full. Creeks were flowing and the vegetation everywhere was rich and in a healthy state of natural color.  Our camp here has embedded fond memories for our trip, and we’ve just begun.

Knucklehead

Knucklehead

RE: Our newest next door neighbors here at Rivers Edge RV Park in Clio CA.  A Nice couple with an unusual dog.

The pooch is very large and drooly. As soon as they were set into their campsite, Ms. walked over to us bubbling with chattiness, and the dog. Here’s the opening delivery, “He’s a Mastiff/Boxer mix gentle as the dope that he is. Don’t be frightened by his size.  I call my husband Knucklehead so I decided to call the dog the same.”

What does a traveling blogger do with material like this if not to share it? Knucklehead is a wonderful sight to see. He looks just like a gooey mouthed canine version of Edgar Bergen’s comical puppet character, Mortimer Snerd.  And, he is a dope. You can just tell by the way he moves and sounds. For example, imagine the sound a 4 ton boulder might make as it would slide to a halt into a giant mound of Jello. I hear a mmuffflurp kind of sound and that is Knucklehead’s bark, ”mmufflurp”, followed by  the Ms. saying “No barking, Knucklehead”. Barking? Is that what “mmufflurp” is?

 I love the dog. Would I want to share my RV with him? Nooooooooo.  But, they are nice neighbors.

Why our RV is called Vilia

Why our RV is called Vilia.....

Bob had the Randels as next door neighbors since he was born....Janises  were very close to them....we always visited with them  whenever we went to Connecticut....Mrs. Randel always did  scrapbooks for all her trips and I loved looking at them  with her.....In the 1960s they had a Motorhome.....they  travelled with it but often put it on a piece of property in  the woods in Vermont that they owned....( good sense of  humers....they cleared the property of some trees, leaving  the stumps...and named the property  "Stumphenge".....They named the Motorhme,  Vilia....which is from a Wagner Opera and means "witch  of the woods"....Bob's parents often visited the  Randels in Vilia in the summer....so we always heard lots of  Vilia tales....long ago we talked to Randels about our  buying a motor home....and told them we would name ours  Vilia....In the 1990s, when the Randels were in their 80s,  they sold their MH....and shipped us their set of Corelle  dishes that they used in their MH....I hate the pattern (blue) but we use them anyway as we feel the spirit of the  Randels is always with us in our travels....The Randels were  so nice....when Bob was 8 years old Jeff Randel went away to  college, leaving his full set of drums in the Randel's  basement....The Randels let Bob come over anytime to play  the drums....he spent hours there, teaching himself the  drums....can you imagine....you get rid of your drumming son  and you let the kid next door pound on the drums in your  house....They were Saints!

Campsites

We have been gone one month now, One month from St Helena. We have been staying close to Sacramento for the last few weeks to stay close to family there. Dear family it is.
As we have learned, in our current camping experiences and prior test runs done since our Vilia purchase in August 2014, many RV parks are glorified parking lots. A place to park while visiting area attractions, or just a place to drop anchor while in transit. Not the charm and/or home feel of a neighborhood or resort.
We have encountered a few so far that have reinforced the reason we are doing what we are doing and Rivers Edge near Graeagle CA defines it all well.  That is where we landed yesterday for a week's stay . Enjoy the photos below, taken from our campsite.. (not snow...gravel, if you were wondering...!). Just a very pretty place to be.

Fire

The California fires have received much national press. The state does burn often with it's typical dry summers. With the current drought, it is all intensified. The so called Rocky fire, 60,000+ acres as of today, is burning about a 45 minute drive from St Helena. I happened across some photos of it, two dramatic ones posted here.

We’re not in Napa Valley

In the course of our wanderings and camp stays around the Sacramento area, we visited the small Sierra foothills town of Volcano. This tiny burg was so named by the gold crazed “49’rs” due to the exposed areas of ancient lava nearby. We stopped for lunch at the sole café in town and were quite surprised at the prices. I can’t recall seeing a glass of wine for $2.50 at any time living in Napa valley!