23 Saturday Mar 2024
Posted in Uncategorized
I’m a dedicated trip planner/researcher. So, I was a little surprised when I saw I would be going close to the Rainbow Basin Natural Area and knew nothing about. I had to stop and explore, and I was happy I did.
20 Wednesday Mar 2024
Posted in Uncategorized
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For years I had wanted to see a super bloom at Carrizo Plains. I would be somewhat close to the area, so I checked the wildflower bloom forecasts on-line. Everything I read was positive, so off I went.
15 Friday Mar 2024
Posted in Uncategorized
I was headed to Field Van in Fresno without campground reservations and soon to discover that there wasn’t a camping site within 100 miles to be had. No problem, I checked my resources and found Tumey Hills, a BLM site that allowed disperse camping. Great. I was getting tired of campgrounds.
13 Wednesday Mar 2024
Posted in Uncategorized
I had heard about seeing elephant seals at Point Reyes. I had to investigate. Sure enough, big males and pups where there laying on the beach. Watching them was like watching paint dry. But the outstanding docent volunteers explained the life of the seals and made the visit memorable. I will go back if I’m ever in the area.
13 Wednesday Mar 2024
Posted in Uncategorized
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In my quest to get to Santa Rosa, I drove south on I-5 and turned west at Williams, CA and ventured southwest to the Doran County Park via Calistoga. I spend the night at the Sycamore Grove USFS campground by Red Bluff. I had stopped there in 2021 and found it enjoyable. It didn’t disappoint me on this trip. I walked the loop trail.
08 Friday Mar 2024
Posted in Uncategorized
I headed off on my spring trip – heading south along I-5, not anywhere close to the middle of nowhere. But sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Along the way I managed to see some wonderful grist mills. Where things were powered by water and used belts and pullies to transfer the power through the mill. Ah, mechanically engineering by the common man before technology.
24 Sunday Apr 2022
Posted in Spring 2022
There I was, sitting in my trailer during a dust storm in Mina, Nevada surfing the internet. And I read that someone had visited the ancient Bristlecone Pines in the White Mountains weeks ago. What? Could this be correct? It was.
I’ve always wanted to see the ancient Bristlecone Pine trees, ever since I heard about them. They are the oldest known living plant on earth. Some are older than 4,000 years old. They live at 10,000 feet elevation where the snow doesn’t leave the roads until June usually. When I left on this trip, I didn’t think there was any possibility that I could see them. I was too early in the year for the roads to be open. And then I heard it was possible to drive to the trees. My travel plans got flipped, instead of going north, I headed south to Big Pine.
07 Sunday Mar 2021
Posted in Winter 2021
Tags
Artist Drive, California, Death Valley, Keane Wonder Mill, Mosaic Canyon, Salt Creek, Titus Canyon, Twenty Mule Team Road
I had read that Death Valley was big. I knew Death Valley was big. I knew that it was over 5,000 feet between the valley floor and some view points. But until I saw it, it didn’t sink in. It is impressive. And I only saw a portion of Death Valley.
I happened to be in Death Valley during a hot period. Highs near 85 degrees. Too hot to leave the dogs behind or in the truck except for early in the morning. So most of my exploring was by driving. I thought of this as my introduction and recon trip to Death Valley; saving places to explore for the next trip. Here are a few things I saw.
02 Tuesday Mar 2021
Posted in camping site, Winter 2021
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Searching for the perfect camping spot, I drove on a road with my trailer that I shouldn’t have been on. As I usually do before my travels, I research where I can potentially camp before I leave. I had found a good camping spot that looked like it fit into the middle of nowhere category. I wouldn’t have to stay in the Death Valley National Park’s parking lot campground at Stovepipe Wells. But somehow in my research I missed the information that it was not a good road to travel with a trailer. I’m puzzled how I missed that critical information because I am typically very cautious. But I missed it.
28 Sunday Feb 2021
Posted in Winter 2021
Tags
I picked a warm sunny day to head up into the Panamint Range of Death Valley. This would be an easy day to see some of the top tourist sights. My first introduction to Death Valley. I headed up the Wildrose Canyon aiming to see the charcoal kilns. My first surprise was to see broad somewhat flat valleys on top. I had created in my mind an image of steep sharp valleys. That image was so very wrong.
searching for the middle of nowhere 