The western US in the new rig, fulltime! Just the facts Maam!

Im replying to this so I can follow your journey. Plus I love reading both your and Diane's writings.

We will be up in the northwest sometime during the summer. Planning on Oregon coast in early August then up to Spokane for a week or so. At this point nothing is set in stone yet. Hoping we can hook up somewhere to meet and say hi, other wise, we will wave as we go past.

SeilerBird said:

Wow, Sea Cliff, my old stomping grounds. Beautiful beach. I hope you are going to take in the Monterey Aquarium while you are in the area, one of the best in the country.

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Yep, Sea Cliff is fabulous for camping right on the beach. I just wish they weren't deferring the overall maintenance so much. It has so much potential, but is looking kinda run down.

cadee2c said:

Im replying to this so I can follow your journey. Plus I love reading both your and Diane's writings.

We will be up in the northwest sometime during the summer. Planning on Oregon coast in early August then up to Spokane for a week or so. At this point nothing is set in stone yet. Hoping we can hook up somewhere to meet and say hi, other wise, we will wave as we go past.

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Thanks Caryl! Yeah, we will be doing a similar pattern, we just may cross paths.  Diane has listed a bit of the itinerary on her blog under the tab of that name. 

Looking forward to following along, Marty. 

When you venture out to Missouri, if you decide you might like to cross the Mississippi into IL again, you're welcome to visit our neck of the woods.  Since your last visit, the following have occurred:

-We moved to a new place on 8 scenic acres overlooking  the Rock River, with 50A electric hookup, water, and options for disposing of grey water; you'd be welcome to camp gratis for as long as you'd like (no mayflies like your site on the river a couple years ago)
-We got a different old car in which to squire you around. 

Regardless of whether you make it during this season's travels, you and Diane are always welcome in the future.

Edit:  Discharging of firearms can be arranged.

Thanks Scott! We are not sure what the plans are after Branson, but if we decide to go east you will be the first to know!  I would love to see the new car! 

SargeW said:

  I would love to see the new car!

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It's a little better at highway speeds than the '25. 

Enjoy Branson!  It's been at least 25 years since we've been there, but we really enjoyed it.  Hopefully you have a chance to get out on the lake.  The Ozark Mountains really are beautiful.  Depending on the time of year, I'd consider a trip south into Arkansas.  They have some really great state parks.  A couple years ago, we stayed at Lake Ouachita SP, which had been recently renovated with FHU and paved sites.  (Diane's dream)

SargeW---Thanks for the tip on Yanks RV Park.  We are making our annual trip to Santa Cruz, CA in May.  We usually stay at Wine Country RV Park in Paso Robles but we might try Yanks.  I lived in Santa Cruz from 1960 to 1999 so I know the area fairly well.  We are planning to stay about 6 weeks in Santa Cruz.  A friend of mine owns a machine shop on the west side and we stay in his parking lot every year. 

Funny you should mention Wine Country RV mac, that is the next entry!


We have stayed here at this park many times through the years, and have a ?love/hate? relationship with it.  We love that it is central to many of the local wineries in the area, and overall is a nice well appointed park.  The roads are paved but the sites vary quite a bit as far as design and amenities. 

They span the whole spectrum from dirt/DG sites and grass, to concrete pads and patio's.  Of course the cost for each level bumps up, so it can really depend on what you are willing to pay for. Many of the sites will have a RV parking area just big enough for your RV, but if your RV has slide outs, the outside space is limited.  We were excited to come back this time to check out the ?new? section that recently opened up.  It was built in a lower area that used to be a RV storage area when owned by the previous owners. (It is now part of a large RV conglomerate named ?Sun Resorts?)  The new area looks nice, but again some odd design choices were made.

We had site # 178 at the back side of the loop.  As we pulled into the loop I first noticed that the roads are fairly narrow. There are back in sites all around the outside of the loop with pull throughs in the center.  We had a back in site and after unhooking the Jeep Diane started guiding me back.  This was when the narrow roads really became obvious.  Our 40' rig was barely able to make the turn and even so I had to use the site of the pull through across from me to make it in. Hopefully a vehicle won't be parked there when we leave, or getting out may be difficult.  Once in the site, we  just fit due to a block wall in the back. Our front end is about less than two feet back of the curb line.  I don't think a 42 or 45' coach would get in the sites at the end of the loop.

Because the site was so short overall, we pulled the Jeep to the back of the site on the patio to give us some space outside to hang out with friends. Hooking up the sewer was an adventure too. The utilities are set in a concrete strip which is not unusual, but the sewer connection is set about 4? below the top of the concrete in a funnel shaped hole. Curious because if you do get a sewer elbow down in the hole, it's near impossible to then get the hose on.  I finally had to tilt the sewer elbow to get it close to the dump, which  now wasn't making a real tight seal. Not my favorite way hook up sewer.

The other thing you can't miss is the presence of many new park models have been added in many of the existing RV spots. In the older existing area, and the brand new area. They must be having great success getting folks staying here without RV's.

But in spite of all of this there are a lot of nice features about the park. There is an outdoor pub area, a place for a live band and picnic area, the regular pool and spa area plus an adult only spa up the hill a bit.  A small work out room, laundry and meeting room.  There are 3 fenced dog areas, and a game room.  All facilities are handicapped accessible. 

The prices are all over the place depending on the kind of site you choose. We had a premium deluxe site that was about $80 a day. It can be more on weekends and when they have events. The ?cottages? start at about $165 a night with the same pricing scale.  Wifi is available, but our on board internet was sketchy due to location of the park, and our site location.  BTW, the sites that are lower in the park are generally quieter than ones up the hill because of the location of Highway 46 that runs next to the park.

Yep, we love it, and hate it.

Pic 1) Our site at the back of the loop. We just fit, and the Jeep is parked in the back of the site.
Pic 2) From the back looking forward you can see the front of the loop, and the string of Cottages on the right.
Pic 3) Our site is one of the Premium Deluxe sites, but the RV pad is still dirt/DG. The patio is decent size, but that dirt strip is where there will soon be another RV.

I wanted to add a nearby location to visit if you are in the area of Wine Country RV.  About a half mile down  the road from the park is the Estrella Warbirds Museum & Woodland Auto Display.  This was the first time I have visited the museum although I have intended to many times. This time I went with a buddy of mine and had a great time! Not only do they have a great display of some older and some current fighter planes,  there is also military trucks and transports, many of which you can walk into or look inside. 

The museum is separated into various areas and buildings, so it's easy to go from one to the other and see different ?subjects? on display.  The one I didn't expect to be so cool was the 3 buildings of the Woodland auto display.  There  you can see antique cars, old muscle cars, and even a great collection of Nascar racers and flat track mini's.  The one that really floored me was the red 1954 Corvette.

We also had the good fortune of going on a slow day and had ?Mike?, a docent all to ourselves giving us a private tour and education of many of the cars there.  Mike was a wealth of information, and when he started talking about the Corvette, we were riveted to his story. 

I remember some  time ago reading an article in a local news paper that had  an article on an old Corvette that was found in a old barn somewhere that had been  preserved from the elements.  The story didn't have pictures though, so I read it and moved on.  It  turns out that this was the car in the article. 

This car is the ?Holy Grail? of Corvette's because of it's condition.  At the beginning of the story, Mike  prompted us to look at the odometer.  There proudly displayed on the shiny brand new looking instrument panel was the the analog odometer displaying 6.7 miles! The whole car is pristine, and even sits on the original rubber, and interior is flawless.

The story goes that a farmer in the Midwest bought the car and drove it home, 2 miles to his farm. He put it in his barn, and then painstakingly wrapped it like a Christmas present in layers of thick padding. There is sat undisturbed for 50 years. When the owner died, the family just wanting to dispose of the farm, put it all up for auction.  The current owner, Richard Woodland,  had attended the auction looking for any items of interest. Walking around the property with the auctioneer, they went into the dusty old barn.  Starting to look under the layers of padding, the front of the car was visible, covered with about a inch of dust.  The auctioneer believed it was just an old T-bird.  Woodland immediately recognized the emblem on the front of the car, and talked the auctioneer into taking $50,000 for it on the spot without ever taking off the rest of the pads. 

Woodland ordered a car transport and took it back to his restoration shop in Ca.  A few days later he got a call to come to the shop to see the car. He was afraid he was going to find significant damage or rust requiring extensive restoration.  Instead there sat the car as it is seen today. Woodland drove it the 4 miles to shop, where it wound up in is extensive collection. 

Representatives from the Corvette Hall Of Fame in Kentucky have visited the car in Paso Robles, and have offered Woodland 5 million dollars for it. To his point Woodland has declined their offer. 

So if you are in the area and are taking a break from wine tasting, the museum is a great way to spend an afternoon.  Admission was $12, or $10 if you are 60 or over.  Even if you are not a car nut, there is lots of stuff there to interest you.  There is even a vintage 1929 ?REO Speedwagon Camper? on display.  (Yep, that's where the music group ?Reo Speedwagon? got there name). 

Here are a few pics to pique your interest.

Pic 1) The odometer of the 54' Corvette
Pic 2) The front view of the Vette
Pic 3) Rear view of Vette
PIc 4) Info plaque of Vette
Pic 5) Front of REO Speedwagon
Pic 6) Wagon front view
Pic 7) Inside roof view of Wagon
Pic 8) Inside rear view
Pic 9) Inside driver position
Pic 10) Info plaque of REO Speedwagon

That place looks really interesting Marty. Will put it in my list! Love the corvette story.

It really is Jackie.  I have seen the sign for the place several times as it has a sign advertising it when you make the turn off of Highway 46 onto Airport Road where the entrance for the RV park is. I made a mental note that I wanted to check it out one day, but in the back of my mind I just pictured a bunch of dusty, rusty old planes sitting in a dirt lot. 

Boy was I wrong.  It is very well done, and there is much to see including WWII uniforms and equipment, and even motorcycles.  I will have to go back now just so I can finish looking in the other buildings as well.

We have moved to the Santa Cruz area and are up in the Redwoods.  I will be posting about this park soon. We just got back from a 5.5 mile hike!

SargeW said:

It really is Jackie.  I have seen the sign for the place several times as it has a sign advertising it when you make the turn off of Highway 46 onto Airport Road where the entrance for the RV park is. I made a mental note that I wanted to check it out one day, but in the back of my mind I just pictured a bunch of dusty, rusty old planes sitting in a dirt lot. 

Boy was I wrong.  It is very well done, and there is much to see including WWII uniforms and equipment, and even motorcycles.  I will have to go back now just so I can finish looking in the other buildings as well.

We have moved to the Santa Cruz area and are up in the Redwoods.  I will be posting about this park soon. We just got back from a 5.5 mile hike

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That's a long walk for an old guy Marty!

He's probably napping.

I would be ?

Marty hope you got some photos of the small trees....

I get tired when I drive that far.

Alpena Jeff said:

He's probably napping.

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Correct on all counts Jeff! And not just the distance, but we climbed over 800' to a lookout observation deck!  It was about 2 hours total, and I am feeling it tonight. But the effort was worth it. Diane got some great pics I will put up shortly. Even our site at the RV park has 5 redwoods over 200' tall.  Just humbling. 

After leaving wine country we headed north again for a change of scenery. So we traded grape vines for 200' tall redwoods.  This is not a big park, about 100 sites total and that includes about a dozen tent sites.  The park does live up to it's name though, massive redwood trees, some 300' tall and thousands of years old are throughout the park. We had 5 in our site alone.  We picked this park not only because it has full hook ups, but also because it has a variety of sites that can fit a rig of our size.  In fact a 45' rig would fit in some of the sites. 

The park is a bit short on amenities, no pool or spa, no workout room, and the playground is a basketball hoop, and a tether ball pole. There is a clubhouse with a pool table and an up-rite piano, and river access on the back of the park to the San Lorenzo River. The park is pet friendly, but there is no dedicated dog area.  Many of the sites are pretty close together as they did their best to make as many spots as possible in a small park.  Diane made the reservation 4 months ago and was able to get us one of the nicest sites in the park.  Our site, #62 would easily fit a 45' rig. The curb side of the site has the redwoods and a large buffer area to boot.

Due to the giant redwoods satellite reception was impossible.  It did inspire me to break out my old Direct TV DVR I had been carrying around and figure out how to be able to play some of the hundreds of old TV shows we had recorded on it.  There is cable TV here, 25 channels to be exact.  Picture quality ranged from good to fair.  WiFi was also free, but the ability of it to keep up with the demand was sketchy. Our dual provider WiFi  also struggled here at times.  There are two sets of restrooms, one set is handicapped accessible, the other is not due to small doors and a 6? step into the shower area.

In spite of all this, I liked the park because of the ambiance provided by the giant trees and river flowing in the back. We paid $55 a night, but the sites that back up to the river are $10 more. Only one or two river sites are big rig friendly. There is a steep slope to get down to  the river that can be tricky.

Right next door to this park is the Henry Cowell Redwood State Park which also has a campground but is all dry camping.  The campground fees at the state park are $35 a night. We walked through the campground during one of our hike's (a six miler). Interestingly there were almost no redwoods in the park.  It is loaded with old oak trees though.  Unfortunately many overhang the roads, so I would never take the Bus into the park.  And most of the sites were way small for a 40' rig. They looked to be in the 25-30' length range with 3' vertical logs at the rear, so extending over the back of the pad is not possible.  Hiking in the park was fantastic though. The trails vary in length and difficulty, and range from paved dog friendly paths, to soft sand. The first one we did was 5.5 miles, and climbed up to 805 feet in elevation. It was strenuous but worth it. They charged a $10 entry fee per car into park, or a $190 annual pass. We paid the $10.

The last day we took a narrow gauge old log hauling train from ?Roaring Camp Railroads? for a 40 minute ride to the top of Bear Mountain (a hill really).  The train yard station is right next to the park, but not really a part of it. But they still charge $10 to park, but once there you can walk into the state park for no charge. The train ride itself was $29 a person (less $2 if you have a coupon) .  The train is a 1911 steam/diesel fired locomotive, and  pulls several open and partially covered passenger cars. The train steams up the mountain at a blazing 5-10 mph due to the steep grades, some as much as 10%.  But it takes you right through the massive redwood trees and the conductor narrates some of it's colorful history.  But if you go, sit towards the back where it's not as loud as being next to the engine.  All in all is was great fun.  During the summer months there is also a train that will take you to the beach to the Santa Cruz boardwalk.  After the train ride we stopped at a local eatery named the ?Cowboy Bar and Grill? which is right down the street from the RV park.  The food was good, and the d?cor is as you may expect from the name. But what I didn't expect was the ?unique? entry door to the restaurant. I must say I have never seen another one like it....

Pic 1) Our site #62. Diane has a good eye for a great pic.
Pic 2) A nice bit of privacy in our site. This is an end site looking in from the road.
Pic 3) That little fence is the edge of the next site.
Pic 4) Hiking, where am I again?
Pic 5) View from top of observation deck. That is Santa Cruz harbor in the background.
Pic 6) Our train ride to the top of Bear Mountain.
Pic 7) The Cowboy Bar and Grill
Pic 8) The entrance door "art". 

Thanks for another great update and photos. The train sounds like a lovely thing to do.

Another great read Marty and Diane. Please keep them coming!

Diane's most recent blog post just went live with more info and way more pics.

Thanks Marty. I get to live vicariously thru you're travels until it's my turn.