Labor Day Family Camping

 September 3-7, 2020

Deb, Sam, John, Sharon and Julie went up on Thursday, Sep 3 for the Labor Day Weekend. Steven, Saira, and Jayden came Friday, Sep 4 in the evening. Jeff and Miranda arrived Saturday, Sep 5. We  all went home Monday morning. We camped near Chicago Stump because most of the campgrounds are still closed due to Covid-19. Those that are open are full. This is forest land with no facilities and free to park and camp where you choose. We had plenty of room but the smoke got bad by Sunday evening. There are many fires in California. This is because we don't properly manage our forests so when there it a fire it burns out of control. After arriving home, we heard many homes were completely destroyed further North-East than where we were camping. It is tragic. Anyway, we had a nice camping trip enjoying card games and Yahtzee. We ate good food and enjoyed each others company. While it was still warm up there, it was not near as hot as it was at home. As I said, the smoke was alarming. I never saw the sky so gray up there. Usually it is clear with blue skies even if it is smoggy or hazy down in the valley. This time we had a some blue sky on Thursday, we even saw a lot of stars that night. Friday was lovely as well. However, Saturday afternoon the wind got as fierce as we have seen it up there. We were right on a knoll above a canyon, so we attributed it to that location. The bad news was, it sent in the smoke. Sunday the smoke became even worse. By evening we decided to pack some things up in case a ranger came and told us to leave. We really didn't know where the fire was at this point because we have no cell service.  

We did some wine tasting with the wine Sierra and Matt will have at their wedding, delicious!

Good food, good fun with games (Phase 10 and Yahtzee) as well!

We assumed the fire was not close or we would be asked to evacuate already. Monday morning when we got up the cars, chairs, tables, and even things under the canopy were covered with ash. It easily swept off before we packed the rest up and headed home. Coming down the hill or back to service, we found out this is the Creek fire and Auberry and surrounding areas are being evacuated. 

Wishon Trip

June 18-22,  2020: Since campgrounds are still closed across CA we were unable to go on our annual Father's Day trip to the coast. Instead most of up decided to go up to Wishon and camp free in one of the spots Jeff has been frequenting for 20+ years. We parked our rig overnight in front of Jeff's neighbor's house so we could get an early start. Jeff helped pack the last of our things and off we went. Jeff got up there first and secured us a great spot. It wasn't the exact one he wanted but we thought it was just so lovely, refreshing, and spacious! I forgot to pack a bottle of red wine to eat with our steaks so we made a quick trip to the little Wishon Village market and bought some Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon. It was surprisingly good. Miranda helped with cooking the steaks. We did baked potatoes in the microwave and I had grilled vegetables I brought from home. 

Miranda took a lot of fun photographs. She wandered out of the camp and found a swampy area where the Shooting Star was discovered. She and Julie found some specimens that are not even on our charts! She has a good eye and is becoming quite the photographer. I will say it takes the pressure off of me to not be the only one taking pictures! 

Jeff and his friend Brandon have been coming up here for 20 years. They first dug out this fire pit and others in different locations. Of course they have been added to over the years,. One year someone made this bench and left it behind for others to enjoy. Though this was not the family camping trip we all planned for at the coast, it was a lovely place to camp and have quality time with most of the family. The "colored" fire was really the best we ever had. 

On Friday the DLPs arrived around noon, then SS&J arrived around 7p. This is Jayden's first camping trip and their first trip in the tent trailer. Everyone pitched in helping with setting up. Then we relaxed and had a great dinner that we prepared at home and simply warmed up, plus cooking the green beans up here. 

Saturday the guys did some shooting with multiple guns and bow and arrows. We also had great food and fellowship around the campsite. 

Sunday: Big breakfast the next morning. Campfire Fun. Steven, Saria and Jayden headed home. The rest of us will head home tomorrow. 

There was a lot to clean up when arriving home. Lots of dust up there but well worth the enjoyable trip.

Indigney

May  24: Today we will move to Indigney Reserve. We almost hate leaving this lovely spot. The drive was not long to get to Indigney. The beginning of the drive from Atwater brought a very bumpy and poor quality road, but  not for too long. The Sonora area is so pretty and fresh. Arriving at Indigney we are warmly greeted and directed as to where to park. A nice location under some big shade trees at the end of their gravel parking lot. They have huge lawn area and a amp picnic tables under a separate area with a canopy of trees to keep it shaded. They make mostly ciders, not my favorite but they are tasty. They also make some brandy, vodka, lemoncello, and Orangcello. Their tasting room and gift shop are closed, no surprises. However, they did give some outdoor tastes and of course you can buy their products. This 160 acre ranch, of course has apple orchards! Along with the Park atmosphere there are also tree lined paths, a covered bridge, and a 2 1/2 mile hiking  trail passing an old mine and offering views of Phoenix Lake. We didn't go on the path but we saw a lot of people appreciating it. 

After settling in we decided to have lunch. Today they have Smokin Hot Meats N Treats food truck on site. The food was amazing! We also got a glass of cider to have with lunch. We ate at one of their picnic tables and thoroughly enjoyed everything. We have enough left over to snack on tonight. The rest of the day was spent playing Rummikub and enjoying our lovely spot. It is warm but under the trees with a  little breeze it is pleasant. 

May 25: Deb & Sam left today. It was very quiet compared to the weekend. We relaxed, read, I worked on photos, played some cards, and had an enjoyable day. Heading home tomorrow morning. 

Corbin Cash

May 23: We got up and enjoyed coffee and breakfast with June. We met Deb & Sam at Corbin Cash Distillary around noon. June followed us to Corbin Cash to join us for lunch, which was pizza we picked up in Modesto. I also had a bagged salad from our fridge. Corbin Cash is a lovely place. They actually had some tastings and served drinks, but no food was being served. The location is amidst lovely peach orchards on one side which was so homey to me. Tony enjoyed walking the orchard rows.

The other side of where we parked was a lovely and spacious garden. The other side of the garden was the tasting room. We were invited to bring our own food, snacks, games, etc to their seating area and enjoy ourselves. We did just that. What a friendly place. They have horseshoes and other games on or around the spacious grounds. We hope to come back because once things are "back to normal" they have live music and food will be served. Surprisingly, they had gallons of hand sanitizer for sale! A great find these days of shortages.

43 Ranch & June's House

May 21: So this morning we had a plan to head to 43 Ranch. Before going there we knew we wanted to dump our tanks and also refill water if possible. We Googled for a place to dump and it said there was a sanitation plant about 1.5 miles from us with a dump station so we figured we would try it. As we drove in we passed a worker leaving and asked. Nope. There is a dump station  at  the main plant a few miles further down the road. We headed there. Upon arrival it looked pretty deserted, then we  saw a sign. "No RV Dump Station" - Back on 101 for us and to the Chevron Station that claims to have a dump station. We arrived and wouldn't you know that a gas truck was deploying his load and parked right in front of the Dump Station. We waited, ate lunch at the McDonald's, filled our gas tanks, then waited for a second truck to move - Finally we can make our way to the RV Dump Station. No options for fresh water for our tank but we have quite a bit left. We called ahead as requested, 43 Ranch is ready for us. We were warmly welcomed and invited to park anywhere we liked. It is dry but nicely landscaped. The tasting room is closed, we'll see what the day brings.

As the afternoon progressed we walked around the area appreciating the landscape. They even have a Tesla charging station here! I loved the swing in the big tree. It looks like there is a fire pit being made and there is a long picnic table outside of the tasting room. Another RV arrived, then the owners arrived. The owners Greg & Cindy are a delightful couple. The Ranch has been in their family since the 1600's, they are fifth & sixth generations operating this ranch. The decor inside the tasting room reflects this and the photos of the ancestors were intriguing. They gave us a lovely olive oil tasting and a tour of the olive press area. It was an educational, tasty, and enjoyable afternoon. We bought olive oil and some lovely soap. The wind really picked up but it was still a very pleasant stay. I was surprising how quite 101 was in during the night.  

May 22: We left around 9a. We have several hours drive to make it to June in Modesto this afternoon. I am eager to see her and visit. It was a lovely drive up 101, I haven't been on that stretch of the highway for years. The various agriculture views were captivating. We forget just how much of our state is "feeding the world" and how hard it can be. We cut off 101 and took a less traveled road to Atwater before picking up 99 and on to June's. She had snacks and dinner waiting for us, as usual. We parked in front of her house with no issues. It was really great since we could  enjoy some wine and not worry about driving or anything. So much fun! Her friendship means more that she can know. 

Nichols Winery & Cellars

May 20: We were going to leave our spot about 10a but left later due to the crowded situation. We are in no rush anyway. We told Nichols Winery & Cellars that we would be  there at noon and we were even a little early. We  had read the reviews so we were not surprised. Plus Keith, the owner, told us it was just a parking lot with no view. It is fine. The outside is pretty delapadated but inside his little tasting room it is colorful and inviting. He gave us a wine tasting and we bought a hefty supply of Zinfindel to last us for some time to come. He has artwork on the walls and stacked around, all for sale. There are decorated boxes and other things for sale as well. He has this fancy menu that was served somewhere around here when his wines were served. The menu is signed by Julia Childs, not sure when but she has been dead for some time now. He has a huge storage room with wine. I was a little concerned about that and quality control, but we already bought the wine so it was too late too reconsider. This place looks like it was a nice little stop at one time but it is lacking now, which is too bad because Keith is a nice guy and the wine was good. No complaints from us, it appears to be a very safe place to spend the night. 

Bon Niche Cellars

May 19: We slept pretty late today so we had breakfast and headed out. We need GPS to get where we are going today but before that we want to go into Paso Robles to a CVS Pharmacy or something and get Tony some Benedryl. He is itching quite a bit, not sure why. We also got some bug spray because there seems to be a lot of earwigs in some areas. After CVS we spotted a Taco Bell in the same parking lot so I went in there and got us some lunch to eat in the Jeep, no inside dining of course. Now we are set to make our way to Bon Niche Cellars. Some of the road here was quite rough and for sure crooked along the way but following the GPS we got here just fine. We did call Melani ahead as requested. She thought we were coming on Saturday, not today! However, she said come anyway that she had room. What a sweet gal, also a Navy Veteran. The wines are pricey here but we still bought 4 bottles because 1) We are staying here free 2) Supporting a small business 3) She is a Veteran. Two more rigs much larger than ours, showed up as well. However, everyone fit in the field that is a parking area. I spent the afternoon working on photos and this blog while John read. We do have fantastic views! We ended up watching more NCIS DVDs and enjoying the sunset, then off to bed. The other guests had pretty large rigs. Unfortunately, they are not good drivers. One of the guys jack-knifed his rig and broke a tail light. One of them also ran their generator all night long starting about 10p and ending about 9a. It didn't bother us much but I wonder about this friend right next to him. Not my problem of course. 

Rio Seco

May 17: Today we moved a few miles to Rio Seco Winery, it was very close. They also have a small but quaint tasting room, which we went into to buy wine and a lovely patio area, in fact a couple patio areas with picnic tables. There was supposed to be live music tonight but it is not happening because they are actually closed due to Covid-19. No tasting either. There are lovely trees and landscaping by the house. Anyway, I am ahead of myself. Upon arrival we couldn't find anyone but another Harvest Hosts camper who told us were to park. However, just after that an elderly gentleman showed up and said since there were two of us and someone would be in the house tonight, we should park in the field. That was fine with us. It would have been nicer because of the dog to not have the stickers but it was okay. We got settled in and Deb and Sam decided to stay another night. Deb and I walked up and bought some wine to go with our lunch. They were going to go home today after having lunch with us. They brought partially grilled hamburgers and we warmed them up just right in the microwave. After lunch we all decided to take a little rest. We joined them in their trailer later in the afternoon having snacks and playing Rummikub again until bedtime. I forgot to say we had a little bit of rain and a beautiful rainbow in the afternoon as well. Just enough rain to settle the dust and make it quite refreshing. 

May 18: We awoke to the sounds of rain but it didn't last and turned out to be a very nice day. Deb and Sam left around 1p to head home. We ate lunch and watched NCIS DVDs the rest of the day while also reading, and doing a little house cleaning. It was a quiet day but enjoyable. We noticed other campers arrive, one stayed up by the house and another along the patio by the trees. We also noticed, this is not really a house but more like rooms to stay. There appear to be rooms numbered 1-4 like a motel. Really not sure about that but something to check into for the future. We would love to come back here for one of their events. 

Tobin James Cellars

May 15: It was a nice drive over with no issues. Deb and Sam are going with us and actually left before we did. It seems to take us longer to get ready all the time. We parked in a big mowed, field under right by some impressive old Oak Trees. After settling in we walked over to the winery, social distanced, and bought a case of wine and 4 travel plastic glasses. Deb bought a shirt. Their tasting room, what we saw of  it, looked very nice with a gift  shop and everything. We bought one of the bottles chilled and sat on their pretty patio and enjoyed that before walking back over to our camping spot. The rest  of  the evening was nice weather and so comfortable that we sat outside playing Rummikub until bedtime. 

May 16: The next morning Sam and Deb drove us over to Morro Bay for a view of the ocean. It was sad to drive by Morro Strand State Park and see it vacant, other than the hosts. We got lunch at Giovanni's since we love their seafood. We more or less social distanced in the line as we waited to purchase, take away only. We drove back to a public park that  was open and ate there at a picnic table. The oysters were especially good. It is strange that they have the bathrooms at the park locked. Yet they have a porta potty set up and a hand washing station. I don't  see the logic there. I guess the porta potty people come and  clean that and the city employees stay home collecting their regular pay? We also saw a sign where NO BIKES on the trails due to Covid-19 but yet people are allowed to walk on the trails... no commen sense required I guess. The ocean views were great and we headed back toward James Tobin. We had snacks and played Rummikub again until bedtime. 

Harvest Hosts

Due to the Covid-19 virus all our state and Nat'l campgrounds are closed. It is very discouraging. Meanwhile, Deb and Sam joined something called Harvest Hosts. This is a group where farms, wineries, breweries, golf courses, and other places allow you to spend one night free. By staying they do ask you you to support the venue by purchasing something. That's not a problem. Anyway, due to not finding anything else, we joined and we have several nights booked. Most of the venues are not open but they will allow you to stay anyway and I'm sure they will sell us a bottle or two of wine. Anyway, we are heading out tomorrow.