Winter Road Trip to California

5 - 19 February 2012

5 Feb, Sun - C.J. and I thought we were escaping the gloom of the Pacific Northwest for the gleam of sunny southern California, but the skies were clear when we pulled out of North Bend sometime after 1300.  We made it down to Vancouver before having to stop for gas at Andresen Costco (3.39) about three miles off I-5 in Vancouver.  The route to Dave and Janet's was still in our memory - good thing because we couldn't think of the address (6700 SW Canyon Drive) so the GPS was no help.  We had a nice visit, catching up on the several years since we had gotten together.

6 Feb, Mon - We left shortly after 0900 to stop at a Michaels in Beaverton to get a scrapbook.  Then we cruised down I-5 mostly in sunshine stopping for gas at Medford Costco (3.41). I checked the front tires for tread and decided that we'd be fine if we didn't run into a bunch of snow on the road - and how likely would that be since we were heading for California, right? Of course, as soon as we climbed up Mt. Ashland, we saw snow alongside the road and encountered strong winds.  No snow across to Weed, but at Shasta and beyond there was a surprisingly large amount of snow on the ground along the road (which was bare and dry).  We finally ran out of the wind and stopped for the night at a Walmart behind the outlet mall in Anderson. We were the only RV in with a bunch of trucks, but by morning there were a few motorhomes and trailers.


7 Feb, Tues - Up at 0715 but cooking oatmeal in a double-boiler takes a long time so we weren't on the road until 0915. There had been rain overnight and it was still drizzling - welcome to California. We stopped to visit Bill F in Williams for about 25 minutes (He had a medical appointment to get to.) Gas at Dunnigan Petro with a Good Sam/Petro/Flying J discount card (2 cents off per gal, 3.51). We continued S on I-5 to Modesto and then E on Yosemite Blvd/CA 132 to Coulterville

Snuffs scoping out a bear locker

(no gas) then up through the foothills on Greely Hill Road.  We were sort of surprised to find not one but two gas stations there and filled up with what we thought was very expensive gas (3.79). The road wound up and down through pine forest with lots of deer until we intersected CA 120 and climbed to 4900ft at the Yosemite entrance station (manned, even in the off-season). Just past the gate we turned into Hodgdon Meadow campground where we were the only campers (!). It was still drizzling and pretty cold but there was water in the (heated) rest rooms (and electricity - could have charged a cell phone).

O'Shaunessy Dam at Hetch Hetchy

C.J. at the Ahwanee

8 Feb, Wed - Up at 0715 to blue sky but continued cold. Nice to have the furnace for the occasional shots of heat before bedtime and during breakfast (although, the range itself warms things up pretty well while cooking). Leaving the trailer behind but stowed and ready for travel, we drove back out of the park and into the Stanislaus National Forest. Evergreen Road took us past the Evergreen Inn Resort and Camp Mather, a San Francisco City Park family camp, to the entrance station for the Hetch Hetchy section of Yosemite. After a 5100 ft high point it was slightly downhill for the next several miles along the old RR grade used to haul materials for the O'Shaunessy Dam which flooded the Hetch Hetchy Valley in the early 1900's after the SF earthquake (which had shown how inadequate the city water supply was at that time). We started hiking by crossing the dam and walking through a 100 yd tunnel to the trail that paralleled the lake shore. At 2.7 mi we passed Wapama Falls on several bridges and went another 1/4 mi or so to a lunch spot with a good view of the falls and back down the lake to the dam.  Heading back in pleasant to hot sunshine we passed the only people we had seen on the trail all day and returned to the Trooper. The ranger on duty at the entrance station thought that we would be able to find a camp site in the Valley so we finished packing up and were on the road by 1505.  We climbed to 6200 ft at Crane Flat and had some nice views of the Valley as we descended to the floor at 4000 ft. As predicted, Upper Pines CG had vacancies, lots of vacancies, but it was dark and cold already.  We set up and then drove over to Curry Village to pay for our one night ($10). Then we drove to Yosemite Village, and on a whim parked at the Ahwanee Hotel where we spent an hour in front of the huge fireplace charging computers with C.J. working on her Tennessee Treetoppers article for the magazine. (No free wi-fi unless you were a guest, however).  At 1800 we went back to our dark, cold campsite where C.J. cleaned up a bit and I filled our water container at the dump station.

Lost Arrow near Upper Yosemite Falls

9 Feb, Thu - I turned the heat on at 0715 and the trailer warmed right up so we were up, breakfasted and packed up in time to be at the Yosemite Falls trailhead at Camp 4 by 0955. Passing several school groups on the 60-plus switchbacks, we reached Columbia Rock in an hour, about one mile and 1000 ft elevation gain. It had a great view up the Valley. Getting off the trail we stopped for a snack a short distance below the Rock at another good viewpoint, but a Yosemite guide leading a dozen fifth graders and parents knew about the spot, too, and arrived to have lunch with her charges. It took us almost as long to get down but neither of us had any knee problems even though the trail really reminded me of Mt. Si. We were on our way out of the Valley by 1410 with a stop to walk to the base of Bridalveil Fall and another, briefer stop at Wawona Tunnel View. We passed over Chinquapin Summit (6000) where the road to Badger Pass ski area and Glacier Point takes off. There was quite a bit of snow

Yosemite Valley from Wawona Tunnel

 but it did not quite cover all the ground.  We passed the Wawona CG (lots of room) and the

Self portrait at Columbia Rock, Yosemite

Wawona Hotel (closed for the season) and exited the park at Mariposa. There were long downgrades to the San Joaquin Valley, Fresno, and Visalia (gas stop at Costco (3.59) and groceries including a rotisserie chicken). Past Bakersfield as it was getting dark we started to climb over the 4100ft Tehachapi Pass and down to Mojave (2750 ft) and the Passport America Sierra Trails RV Park for the night (time for a shower and some internet use). On the weather radio we heard that today's temperature of 76 deg. had broken the previous high record for Feb 9 in Bakersfield. [Maybe that was why we had to run the A/C driving through the San Joaquin Valley and Mojave Desert.]

10 Feb, Fri - We were up a bit earlier (0645) than usual hoping to get to Marshal early enough to fly so we had a breakfast of granola and scones before hitting the road around 0830. There was lots of desert along the north edge of Edwards AFB; then we turned S on US 395. [What do the 125,000 people who live in Adelanto DO?] We got to the Andy Jackson Air Park around 1045 and ran into Wayne Maxwell who showed us how camping works now that there are three terraces for RVs above the landing zone. We drove Wayne to launch (no room in either of the shuttles since this was the first day in six weeks that looked flyable) stopping for gas along the way (3.67) at a cash-only station. It was already soarable at noon and I launched right after Wayne who toplanded to do an adjustment. The air was thermally and rough; I got up

G at Andy Jackson Air Park, Marshal TO on skyline

100 ft over and then down as low as 500 ft below, then regained to several hundred feet over. I spent most of the time on Cloud Peak but it wasn't enough fun to continue and I landed before an hour was up (:50). Barb, Wayne's wife, was kind enough to drive the Trooper down.  There were lots of people flying, hang and para, although most of the hang gliders were launching at Crestline. C.J. got to 5600 ft from the 4000 ft launch (LZ at 1700') and flew for an hour and a half.  Later we went into town to get some cash at an ATM.  Back at the LZ, C.J. worked with her computer plugged in at the LZ (free wi-fi, too) while I finished my book relaxing in the trailer which never got really hot.  We heard on the weather radio that there are supposed to be strong winds from Saturday at 1000 to Sun 1000. I tied down the roof just in case. I had some problem connecting to the wi-fi because I had an old protocol saved from the last time we were here. The next morning someone helped me delete the old file. C.J. had no trouble with her new Mac.

"Shower in a tank"

11 Feb, Sat - Up at 0815 to fog which changed to drizzle then light rain. 
We had a leisurely breakfast of Welsh griddlecakes. Clouds were low but there was a sun break around 1115. Wayne asked us if we wanted to take the shuttle up at noon (You have to call ahead to reserve a spot.) but neither of us felt inclined so we hung out in the trailer and LZ shelter through showers and decreasing temperatures. Finally by 1700 we needed to turn  on the furnace for a while. (Not a problem because the voltage reading on the battery was staying around 12.8). C.J. made good progress with her TTT article and I got my computer connected to the wi-fi []. The plan for Sunday is to go visit Davis and Belinda; winds are supposed to be strong same as today when it never happened.

12 Feb, Sun - We got up early enough (0715) to have a meal of scrambled eggs. By 0915 or so we were on our way to Cathedral City near Palm Springs. We ran into into a traffic jam on I-10 near Banning where construction had blocked the three right lanes leaving only one lane.  Looking at the westbound traffic we could see the backup there extended for miles.The delay put us at Cathedral RV Park around 1100 where we found the Oz Report World Headquarters, Davis and Belinda's new fifth-wheel with a storage area/garage/office in the rear. Nice rig! After a tour and some chatting we all headed over to Las Casuelas Nuevas, a very nice Mexican restaurant. The weather on the east side of the Sierra was nice enough that we could sit outside on the shaded patio sheltered from the wind we had noted when we broke out of the clouds just past Banning Pass. The buffet brunch included omelets and waffles as well as prime rib, large prawns, salmon, taco-makings, enchiladas and chil rellenos. There were platters of fresh fruit and choco-bananas with coconut. And there was also a wide choice of dessert items including two flans, cheesecakes, and ice cream.  The prime rib and prawns were excellent. After we returned to the RV park C.J. shared her Israel scrapbook with Belinda while Davis used his "ice machine" to treat his shoulder which was still recovering from surgery to re-attach a torn ligament.  Davis used his smartphone to check out traffic on I-10 - still a mess. So, after getting gas (Valero, 3.73; forgot to check if there was a Costco; there was and it was right on our route), we took CA 74 south and west from Palm Desert through the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto National Monument and over a high (4900') pass, near Hemet Lake and descended through a pine forest to a dry, rocky canyon.  Our route took us past the Soboba Indian Reservation (and flying site) and back to I-10 at Beaumont. We stopped at the Ralphs  on University Pkwy for a few grocery items. Back at the Flight Park, I tried to get our little generator running to charge the trailer battery but it would not start - probably old gas. We weren't hungry enough to make a regular dinner after that big brunch.

13 Feb, Mon - It was raining when we finally got up after 8 so we went looking for a library or somewhere

Barb and C.J. below 'The 750', LZ below

we could hang out with internet access.  Library hours at the nearest branch we went to had been curtailed (1500-2000) due to budget cuts. So we tried the Cal State campus but there was a parking fee. We ended up at a Starbucks on Univ Pkwy where C.J. found a seat and an electrical outlet in the busy shop. I went out and wandered around the small shopping area eventually settling for "free" wi-fi at McDonalds without any outlets.  After I ran my battery down, I went back to a much-less busy Starbucks to charge up and catch up on email. We hung out there until 1400 when we returned to the trailer for lunch. Afterward we hiked to the 750 launch with Barb Maxwell who showed us several routes. No PG were flying but a couple of HG had launched from the 750 earlier. We ran into some rain spits on the way up but the real rain (along with some small hail) did not begin until we were within 100 yds of camp. The rest of the day and evening were cold and rainy; the thing about it always being warm and sunny in southern California wasn't working for us.

14 Feb, Tues - Up at 0715 as the sun warmed the trailer (whoo hoo!). We charged our computers and C.J. worked on editing until it was time to get ready to go up to fly. I wrote a check for camping and day use ($40) and paid Joe, the shuttle guy, $20 - flying here is pretty expensive. Launch winds were light and somewhat switchy and it took me two tries to get off. Lift was abundant under the 6000' cloudbase over the mountain and I climbed for a while before crossing to Cloud Pk. It took me a while to get up but conditions were less turbulent than on Friday (or I had gained some "bump tolerance"). I flew beyond "Regionals", where the Wills guys (Ken Howells and Mike) were setting up their test flights, to Devils Canyon then back to the east of launch. Eventually I flew out front and found more lift and had to search out some sink to circle in to get down. Winds were switchy in the LZ and I came in from the W and landed in the SE corner while another pilot landed from the NE toward the SW. C.J. had landed a bit before me and we hung out in the sunshine with the other pilots until most people had landed (but not Dean Stratton who was over Pine Mtn last I saw him. C.J. worked on some more editing at the LZ while I took a shower in the converted tank up near the ranch house. The evening was clear and promised to be cold, but later the clouds rolled in and kept the temps from plummeting. [Good thing, because we hadn't charged the trailer battery since last Friday and were getting a little concerned about how much we could run the furnace...no problem so far running it as little as we did.]

15 Feb, Wed - We got up at 0700 and had a quick breakfast of granola before we packed everything away. We were on the road by 0830 and stopped for gas at Costco (3.73) just off the 210 at Sierra. Then we continued west past Cucamonga (still shrouded in clouds) and Kagel (likewise) until we hit I-5 and started

Descending The Grapevine

up The Grapevine. Electronic signs stated "Snow through Grapevine" but there was no sign of snow. But then we ran into rain, mixed rain and snow, and at the summit of 4100' Tejon Pass, snow. Descending, the road was icy and the windshield was getting coated with ice. We saw a car that had skidded into the median barrier being pushed out of the traffic by a CSP car. We continued down in low gear with the trucks - no problem with the trailer. (I couldn't decide whether to disable the brake controller or not and just left it on as usual.) By the bottom of The Grapevine we had gotten out of the snow and shortly afterward the sky cleared. Then it was a long boring ride up the flat valley with a stop for gas (4.02!) along the way and another stop in Patterson to mail C.J. and Chris's Rat Race entries. Traffic was surprisingly light for East Bay rush hour on I-580 until we got to the big merges near Hayward where the 880 comes in from the south and even that wasn't too bad. We crossed the San Rafael-Richmond Bridge ($10.50!) and took Sir Francis Drake to Larkspur and BonAir to pick up a pizza at Papa Murphy's. Wally met us on Bolinas with the parking permit for the trailer which we left on the street. It was 1900 before we ate and Ginny didn't get home from work until after 2130.

Ginny, Mom F, C.J. at Alma Via

16 Feb, Thu - C.J. and I hung out and got caught up on email while Ginny went to deal with her mom's podiatrist appointment and Wally went out to pick up a new knee brace. Around 1500 we drove over to Alma Via, Mom F's nursing home. After a tour with Ginny and visiting Mom, C.J. and I took a walk through the nearby Northgate Mall. Later we met G&W and Mom for dinner in the main dining room of Alma Via. On the way back to Ginny and Wally's I picked up a few gallons of gas at a new high price ($4.05), hopefully enough to get to Costco in Fairfield or Vacaville on our way home Saturday.



17 Feb, Fri - Both Ginny and Wally had to work today so we just hung around until 1330 or so when we went into San Rafael to Orchard Supply to get a wrought iron support for hanging a hummingbird feeder outside Mom's window. We returned to Gin's (after getting a few more gallons of gas) and didn't head over to Alma Via until after 1600. When we got there, we found a TGIF party in the main lounge with wine, cheese, crackers and fruit. We were late for dinner in the main dining room but tonight Mom finished her whole meal unlike last night (and I knew enough to order an extra entree of the small-appetite-portioned meal). C.J. installed the scrapbook-style "who-am-I" composites in the frames outside her mom's room. Wally had gotten stuck in traffic (westbound lanes of the Bay Bridge were closed for maintenance or something) and didn't make it to dinner but was home by the time we got back. He was rested enough to get his new custom surfboard out to show us.

18 Feb, Sat - Wally had to work so he left pretty early. We got out after 0930 and breakfast with Ginny. We drove the usual route stopping at Costco Vacaville for gas ($3.79) and supplies (bread, rum, oranges, and maple syrup for Ginny). We stopped also for a few minutes at Williams to check out a space above Bill's counter for a possible spice cabinet [Bill was off at a shooting competition somewhere.] with Ginny who had arrived at the airport not long after we got there. We bought gas at Safeway in Redding ($3.81) and continued on in sunshine until we ran into a snow shower going over Shasta. Just inside the Oregon border we hit a real winter storm and only got out of it as we descended toward Ashland. We filled the Trooper again at Costco Medford ($3.46, five cents higher than two weeks earlier) and drove north in the dark to Canyonville to "camp" in the new rest stop above the Seven Feathers Casino. - pretty chilly so we ran the furnace several times before, during and after dinner. The rest stop has a nearby restroom building unlike the casino dry-camp RV area we parked in two years ago. For a rest area it was very lightly used - there were two trucks parked down at one end and we heard only one other truck come in for a quick stop. Later we found that there a a truck parking area on a lower terrace behind the service station.

19 Feb, Sun - I woke up at 0715 and reached over to turn on the heat because it was pretty cold inside (the thermometer showed 40 deg), only to find that all we got was cold air - apparently the propane tank was empty (last filled in Bath, NY, in mid October...). I checked by lighting the stove: yup, there was a flame for only a few seconds. That meant no hot breakfast as well as no heat.  So we packed up and were on our way by 0830 heading for Roseburg. After much indecision, we stopped at a McDonalds for cocoa and  Egg McGriddles (not as good as Egg McMuffins). We had sunny weather as we motored north, made a gas stop at Costco Wilsonville ($3.46) and again at Covington ($3.44). We ran into a rain squall south of Olympia where we hit a rest area and made some sandwiches. We were home by 1545 and unpacked the car and trailer. C.J. cleaned the fridge and I scrubbed out the porta-potti. The battery showed 12.8v even though we ran the refrigerator on 12v power all day.