Pismo Beach Trip

Friday, August 24:  Great trip over, very little traffic and made very good time considering we have to travel no faster than 55 MPH in CA with a trailer.  We left home around 3pm and delivered my work so I can take Monday off.  It was sunny around 70 degrees when we arrived in Pismo but we could see the fabulous fog on most of the horizon, love that fog! We had the trailer parked and leveled about 7pm.  Oh how Oceano Campground has changed since our last visit here.  It is a disappointment and we probably won’t come back to this specific campground unless we can secure an outside loop site. This place used to have a lot of trees and shrubs but now it is almost bare.  We did ask the ranger what happened (he looked about 16!) I’m not sure he would even know… but he said a big storm came through last year and put over a few of the trees.  Well, more than “a few” are missing. Anyway, things change and we know now.  I suspect we will choose Sunset State Beach for our next ocean trip and then see how much it has changed as well.  After set up we decided we wanted to eat out so we slipped into some warmer clothing and headed out for dinner.  We ate at Old Juan's Cantina, which has a good reputation, delicious food, and is just down the street from the campground entrance.  From there we drove back up to Pismo, parked and walked along the pier.  It was lovely, even in the dark.  I am surprised at how few people are actually in town on a Friday night, even with school in I would think Friday would be busy.  No line at Splash Café.

Saturday, August 25:  Awoke to a lovely day, it isn’t as cold as I thought it would be, not as cold as the Sequoias by any means.  After our coffee and breakfast we headed out on the trail to the beach, the change is…it is a road now!  Well a sand road that only allows authorized vehicles (state vehicles) and foot traffic.  It is firmly packed and easier to walk on that the trail of the past.  The fog receded as we walked and was shining bright as we walked along the beach.  We saw lots of Razor Clam shells and broken Sand Dollar shells.  I remember once when we were here with the kids we found so many Sand Dollar shells, it must have been the right time of the year.  There were lots of seagulls and many long billed Curlews. Too bad we didn’t have the binoculars (safely back in the trailer of course!) because there was quite a feeding frenzy far out beyond the waves.  We chatted with a woman walking her dogs and she said she saw dolphins this morning and she thought there would be a whale come up by the feeding.  who used to live in Manteca, she and her husband moved here when they retired.  Sounds like a GREAT idea to me!!!  We went a different direction on the walk back and stopped for a burger, a new burger place that just opened call Beach Burger.  We got there just in time too because the crowd hit after we sat down.  Good burgers, good prices.  When we got back we perused the small visitors center and chatted with the volunteers, they moved from the central valley as well…There’s a pattern here!  Relaxing, reading, and giving tours of our trailer to at least four of our “neighbors” who came knocking!  They loved it.  One guy wants to buy a older used one and rebuild from the inside out.  There’s an old Airstream in camp and that’s exactly what they did.  Deb and Sam arrived after 9pm, we were getting a little concerned about them but they did stop to eat so that took extra time.  They are safely here, all set up and after chips and dip we were off to bed.

Sunday, August 26:  Deb fixed John a delicious breakfast sandwich and I had some cream of wheat she fixed, they do a lot of cooking when camping!  We got the quick and easy route. After that the unfortunate incident occurred.  A camp volunteer came around to say they were in a handicapped site (we wondered why it was so large and paved!) and of course they are not handicapped so it was a problem.  However, he said whoever checked them in last night should have noticed that and it was okay, they could stay as two other handicapped sites were empty.  Shortly later he returned to say that was not the case and he was sorry but they had to move.  To where?  He didn’t know…so we asked him to send along a supervisor so it could be resolved.  The a very rude woman arrived with quite an attitude.  She told us we were breaking the law and we needed to get out in no uncertain terms.  We tried to tell her the reservation did not say it was a handicapped space when we secured and paid for it, she didn’t care and it was not her problem.  We asked if she was the supervisor (surely not with this attitude) and she was not and we asked again for a supervisor.  Not long after THREE vehicles arrived to descend upon us.  Thankfully one was the supervisor.  He began to be as short with us as the woman, who stood close by with a grin, but as soon as we explained what she told us his attitude changed to be a bit kinder.  There is a bit more to the story, the part about the woman still wanting to “set us straight” but we asked her to please leave as we were discussing it with the supervisor.  There was a third person in black who may have been the police but I’m not sure.  He asked her to back off as well and she didn’t want to but after a few attempts on his part, she did.  The supervisor said he would go check on what sites they have for “such situations” and be back to us in a few minutes.  He was back in about 10 minutes and they secured campsite 81, which was a BEAUTIFUL site on the lagoon.  It was a pain for them to move, but not too bad.  They worst part of it all was being treated like a criminal element of society when 6-8 weeks ago you have, in good faith, paid over $75. to secure the site!!  It didn’t need to be handled that way at all.  There were many empty sites, and still were when we left on Wednesday.  The first woman could have asked nicely, realized a mistake had happened and even offered to assist, which would have taken much less time overall.  I will certainly re-think our membership renewal at the end of the month for the California State Park Foundation.  So, past that blip this morning we had a nice day.  We went into Pismo and headed for Splash Café.  There was a line but not as long as it is sometimes, it goes fast too.  Deb and Sam shopped a bit and we stood in line, texting them when we got to the door.  Steamers were delicious, as was the clam chowder, but the fish and chips were not so great; not crispy and not too hot either.  Anyway, the chowder is the draw! We continued to walk on the pier, perused shops, and spend most of the afternoon there.  On the way back we stopped for some firewood that was a good price, then drove through North Beach State Park.  We stayed there once some years ago but it seems quite improved with a lot of pull in sites and nice sites on the outer loops that have sand dunes.  We will try to make a Pismo trip with better planning next time so we get the prime campsites!  we stopped at Old Juan’s Cantina again and had appetizers and margaritas.  After that Deb and I walked back to camp (it’s close) and John and Sam took the van back.  We played Yahtzee into the night.  No dinner for us after all!  The big lunch at Splash and the appetizers at Old Juan’s we all we could handle.  Too bad I brought those steaks with us!!! 

Monday, August 27:  Sadly Deb and Sam have to leave today.  After a delicious breakfast (for John too!) they got packed up and we took a little drive to see where the County Campground is that Deb and I noticed a sign for when we walked back from Old Juan’s Cantina yesterday.  It is very close to the State Park with better rates for full hookups.  The unfortunate part is there is little other space for kids to play or explore.  It is a decent alternative though.  We got information for making reservations should we want to do so.  When we got back we all had lunch together and then played a little Yahtzee, we had to finish out the scoring sheet! As it was Sam was the big winner, even though John had the single highest game.  While we played different rangers returned to tell them they must be out of the site by noon.  Of course that is the case but with all the empty campground and no reservation for their site (it remained empty the duration of our stay) it would have been nice for them to allow them to park there another hour.  They moved their rig outside the park to the street and John drove them back in.  We gave them a ride back out when they left as well.  We went on to the town of Grover Beach and got windshield wiper replacement blades, which we discovered were sorely needed on our trip over here!  The rest of the day we relaxed and went to sleep early.

Tuesday, August 28: It was nice, foggy, and cold when we woke up this morning.  We hung around camp most of the morning and early afternoon since I had gastric upset.  Later on we walked to the beach and spent the rest of the day walking there, picking up shells, watching people catch fish and finally seeing the delightful sunset.  Back to camp for a bite to eat, cards, reading and off to sleep for our last night.  Some battery issues have reoccurred and we need to really get that straightened out before our next trip. 

Wednesday, August 29:  Our wake up call this am was the garbage truck.  Since we are right next to the bins there was no way it would be quiet!  It was dark so I don’t know what time it was but we did go back to sleep anyway.  Up at 7:30am, time to pack it up after breakfast.  No fog this morning, just a little sunshine.  Our trip home was uneventful and after a gas stop in Atascadero and lunch at In N Out, then a pit stop at McDonald’s in Kettleman City, and finally a stop to pick up my work in Fresno we were home by 3pm. 

Park Rangers:  I recall park rangers being a strong, reliable vision of respect and kindness.  If you had a question or concern, they were the ones to go to.  There was always an answer and a seemingly joy to serve their public.  It is sad this does not seem to be the case and our grandchildren will not have the wonderful memories from the past with the staff at our State Parks.  I will say all the ones we have had recent interaction with in the Nat’l Park System have still been very nice. There seems to be a general thread of arrogance running rampant though the population of rangers at the Pismo Dune area.  I’m sure there are some nice ones, we just didn’t meet them.  We met some lovely volunteers and camp hosts.  

Back to the Sequoias, July 27-30, 2012

July 27:  Decided at the last minute we would head up to the Sequoias today.  We have no A/C in the van because the compression clutch or something like that went out.  Anyway it is okay to drive if we don’t use the A/C, heat, or fan and we won’t need any of that up here.  The drive up was uneventful, very little traffic.  Deb, Sam, and family will join us tomorrow along with the Hutchinson’s (Sam’s sister Linda and family).  Now when we were up here a month ago we asked about weekend availability w/o reservations.  A ranger at the visitors center told us they never fill up, they weren’t even full on Memorial Day weekend.  Well, this weekend must be a different story.  We thought we would go to Azalea and easily find 3 spots together.  That was not the case, it was almost full!  Then we went through Crystal Springs as well, to no avail!  Now we were getting concerned and back tracked a very short distance to Sunset and after taking each loop we were blessed enough to find 3 spots that will work.  This was around 3pm.  By 8pm they put up a sign that the campground was full but in reality there are 2 spaces left.  It was certainly misleading for them to tell us it never fills up!  Perhaps they meant down in the canyon but that’s another 45 minutes to get down there and it’s hotter down there as well.  Anyway, we have the spaces and paid an extra day to hold them, it was only right. 

It was delightfully cool at 70-71 degrees when we arrived.  We set up camp and had some leftovers we brought from home for our dinner.  We have a westward view down toward the valley this time,  If it was clear we could see the valley but there is a thick blanket of gray obscuring our view.  Yes, we breathe that every day…ugh.  It was still a lovely view as the sun became a deeper orange by the minute as it slid behind the trees and out of sight.  It’s quite chilly at 9pm and for no reason we are tired so we retreated into our little bungalow and read our way to sleep tonight. 

July 28:  This morning while drinking our coffee we watched the chipmunks at play, they are busy, fast little creatures!  After breakfast we drove over to Lodgepole to see what was there.  It was a lovely drive with great views along the way.  We took a short side trip on the back road into Hume, we wanted to see Ten Mile camp and Landslide camp, both on Ten Mile Road.  We found some good firewood along the way and picked up a bunch of pine cones as well.  We continued toward Lodgepole and stopped at Stony Creek along the way, there is a campground by that name but there is also a small lodge, gas, small grocery right nearby.  That campground was also full there.  The road was one lane along the way as it was either washed out or they are just rebuilding a portion of it, not sure which. We stopped along the way and ate a picnic lunch.  When we got to Lodgepole we went to the visitors center, looked all around, and watched a movie about the bears in the park.  It was an interesting, short video.  I didn’t know that Grizzly bears once roamed California from the coast, through the central valley, and up into the Sierras.  They were hunted to extinction because they were so dangerous to the population.  The last one killed in the park was 1920 and the last one seen in the park was 1923. Another thing I am embarrassed to say I didn’t know was that the bear on the CA flag is a Grizzly bear!  I always thought it was the California Brown Bear.  How in the world did I not know that!!!  We headed back and relaxed, ate dinner, played cards and waited for the DeLa Pena’s to arrive. They arrived about 8:40pm and set up pretty quickly.  Soren and Spencer immediately headed in back of the campground where there is complete open space, they love it up here.  Unfortunately, Mike and Linda had car trouble and had to go back and get a different vehicle.  They arrived very late, we were in bed but they apparently got all set up easily enough. 

July 29:  Good night’s sleep and enjoyed our coffee this morning before the DeLa Pena’s cooked a huge meal for brunch; eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, peaches, juice, etc.  After that was cleaned up and we were all ready we headed to the visitor’s center and looked around there.  They were going to go down to Boyden Caverns but it is expensive and they will do that another time.  Instead we took the little trail in and around the General Grant tree and that seemed enough to satisfy everyone.  A quick stop at the market for an ice cream was in order since it is a warm 76 degrees here this afternoon.  Back to the camp and everyone took a little rest and had snacks. later cooking yet another big meal, we just had watermelon!  You know with kids you have to have a lot of meals and food going all the time. It was such a beautiful evening.  The fire was going and the moon was so bright.  However, we did some star gazing easily enough just a little bit away from the campground.  We totally forgot about the 8:30 pm campfire presentation!  Next time…

July 30:  Uneventful trip home.  Arrived just before noon.  Unfortunately last night out trailer battery went dead.  We aren’t sure why since we used it 4 days before and still had power left.  John will check it out.  We think perhaps we should not leave the water pump on all the time, only when we want to use it.  That makes sense but since it wasn’t a problem before we didn’t consider it.  Thankful John brought along the Power Station.  We bought ours at Costco for around $65.  This one is new, our previous one flat wore out after 8+ years.  That little thing is one of the best items we own, trailer or not! 

Pismo Beach, Oceano

We made reservations for Pismo on Aug 24-29.  It will be a nice get away from the heat.  I also tried to find a place to go for a few days next week, not far, and cooler but so far Sequoia will be our only option.  The last time we went to Pismo I think the camping fee was $20. per night, now it is $35.  That is no hookups.  We do get $2. off as seniors, which brings it to $33. 

Magazine Cover

I found this nice little photo of the Casita on RV West Magazine cover from Jan-Feb 2011.  I like the bike rack in the back, but we already have one for the back of the van.  It used to work with the pop-up but not sure it will work with our new set up.  Another thing to check…

Sequoia and Kings Canyon - June 21-24, 2012

Thursday, June 21:  We didn’t leave home until 10:55 am but that was okay, 94 degrees at home! I had to drop off my work and stop at the store for a few last minute things. Our drive up was uneventful and there was very little traffic. We did pull over for a few times for those who want to travel faster on these mountainous roads. We were surprised to see a queue at the entry gate. They are making some improvements and looks like they are going to build new entry kiosks. Hopefully, there will be more lanes and less waiting. However, it only took about 10 minutes there. It was refreshingly cool at 69 degrees! We were to Princess campground, six miles past Grant’s Grove at 12:35 pm so that was pretty good time despite the short wait at the entrance of the park. Our campsite is very nice and quite level so it didn’t take long to be completely set up. John unhooked and leveled, lowered jacks while I prepared lunch inside. We ate our lunch of taco salad and a delightful glass of Syrah (a friend gave us a bottle to celebrate our first trip!). We ate at the table outside, that’s what we like to do best. After lunch and a little reading we ventured back up the road to Grant’s Grove to see what might have changed since our last visit, probably 8-9 years ago! We were gathering some information and surprised to hear that there are always open campsites, even on weekends. The Ranger told us the campgrounds weren’t even full on Memorial Day weekend. With a $20 entrance fee, I can understand that. It is a free entrance fee for Senior with the Golden Age passport and anyone can buy and annual pass for $30. We used to do that when we came up here a lot more often with the kids and also church camps at Hume Lake. Anyway we looked at the other camps and took some photos for Deb as she was interested. We headed back to camp to fix dinner. Tonight it was pork chops, mushrooms, and salad with fresh crisp sweet red peppers. Dishes are done, things put away, we are cozy in our little trailer as the temperature drops.

We don’t have phone service in our campground, I believe because it is on the way heading down into Kings Canyon. We did have 4G full service up at Grant’s Grove. The campsites nearer to Grant’s Grove (Sunset, Azalea, and Crystal Creek) all had service, either 3G or 4G. They also have flush toilets, where as Princess does not. However, most but not all the other campsites seem to be closer together than they are at Princess. We are self contained anyway, so it doesn’t matter. Of course we have a list of things to remember next time!

Friday, June 22:  After a quick breakfast of oatmeal and a banana and delicious coffee from the unbreakable press we were off to Kings Canyon. Oh yes, I did pack our picnic lunch as well. Our plan was for the first stop to be Boyden Cavern and our timing was perfect for the 11 am tour. We were there quite early and after buying tickets (no senior discounts, AAA 10%) we poked around a bit taking a few pictures and such. The tour was interesting even if a repeat for both of us. It is a beautiful place and the young Ranger did a good job narrating.

From there we headed down to the floor of the canyon. We found a nice place along the river and ate our picnic lunch, watching for fish in the river. We didn’t see any. There are many wild flowers still in bloom and the Buckeye is in bloom as well. It got hazier as we went. Eventually we could smell smoke so certainly it was a fire. The smoke was blowing into Kings Canyon from Redwood Canyon. What a disappointment this would be for people if it was their first time here. The views were mostly spoiled by the smoke hanging in the valley. Nonetheless, we had a nice drive and took a dirt road on the opposite side of the river to come back, in hopes of seeing some wildlife, only birds, but it too was a nice drive. This portion of our drive came out to paved road at the stables. We took a left back to Cedar Village, which wasn’t much. The bridge was either washed out or destroyed to make a new bridge. I recalled a little market place there, which no longer exists I guess. They do have laundry facilities and token operated showers. We took the loop back, back tracked and drove through three of the four campgrounds, one is still closed and will reopen in another week. There are just a handful of sites right along the river. Other than that it seems about 10 degrees warmer down here, even at this high elevation.

Heading back out of the canyon we took most turnouts to enjoy the lovely views, despite the smoke. We took our last detour of the day into the Hume Lake campground. There is just a few sites there that back up to the lake itself. We also swung through the Christian Camp, with hordes of people, mostly teens. Looks like they are all having a lot of fun. We went as far as Sandy’s Cove and then headed back. The day was rounded out with cards and dinner by the campfire, then reading ourselves to sleep.

Saturday, June 23:  Today we are going to take just a few short side trips so we have enough gas left to make it home.  There are few gas stations in the park.  In retrospect we should have gotten a little gas either at Hume Lake or on our way back up yesterday. 

Our first stop was by the General Grant parking area so we could make a couple of phone calls and check messages.  We didn’t walk to the actual General Grant this time.  However, we took another dirt road trip out to Chicago Stump trailhead.  There is a giant stump there, first known as the General Noble Tree, that was cut down and portions above the cut were taken to Chicago World’s Fair, what a waste because people still did not believe the size of the tree at that time and thought it was a hoax.  It is a short, easy walk to the stump from the little parking area.  We saw only 2 other vehicles the whole time, very secluded and nice.  There are stumps all over in the meadows, sad to see but at least they are preserved now.  Our drive took a few hours and then we spent the rest of the day playing cards and relaxing.  Sadly, I am getting a sore throat, I think it might be all the pine pollen.  It seems colder tonight and I cooked a one pan meal inside to warm us up! 

Sunday, June 24:  It is a snap to pack it all up and head out.  They have a dump station at the Princess campground with a $10. fee.  This seemed like a better plan than free at Paul Everts in So. Fresno because we would have to make a special trip.  This way it is all done.  As John took care of that I wiped the bathroom all down with disinfectant wipes and we are set for the next outing.  We made a brief stop at the visitor’s center on the way out and found out the fire is still burning in Redwood Canyon.  We were shocked to see the gray haze thick over the valley as we descended. At least it isn’t hot at home.  We made it back in 1.5 hours even with a stop for gas.  The trailer is all put away now, food unloaded, laundry done!  Boy, the van needs a bath inside and out! 

Heading Out!

Tomorrow morning we will head out to the Giant Sequoias, just 1.5 hours from home.  A little 3-night test run with our new home-away-from-home!  Temps are supposed to be 40’s to 70’s and we are eager to enjoy that! 

All Set

Beds are made and ready to go!  Bathroom is stocked and we know how to use it (taking notes along though!)  We’re very happy with the way everything turned out!  Now I need to make a little shopping list for our short, upcoming trip!