Tehachapi, CA

[garyb1st]

But I never thought about staying near the lake--I didn't even know there was such a place there as an RV camp. Do you remember the name of the place you stayed? And is there anything else you can tell me about that area?

There are several Forest Service campgrounds along Roosevelt Lake off AZ 188. All are in the Tonto National Forest. In total, there are 347 campsites. We're at Windy Hill which has 165 sites. Some campgrounds are closed for the season. No electric but water spigots and a dump station.

Campground is maybe 10 minutes from the Northern entrance of the Apache Trail. We did the trail from the Apache Junction side a year ago and drove as far as we could. Road was closed after a point due to landslides. It h as since reopened. It would be an interesting cycle ride. Steep cliffs so not for the faint of heart.

Before you get to the Apache Trail area, there are cliff dwellings at the Tonto National Monument. They are only a mile from the campground entrance. There are two hikes to the dwelling. One requires a reservation and we learned yesterday they are already booked up for the season. The other is a self-guided hike. It is shorter but much steeper. We did it last year and I needed to sit and rest several times.

 

[Jackiemac]

We have camped at the Mogollon Rim several times. It's a beautiful place. Woods Canyon Lake is lovely and we even caught a few fish.

 

[DonTom]

Today was a perfect day for motorcycle riding here in Tehachapi. I rode all over the place today.

One place I will mention here is the place to view the famous loop train track. My GPS was off by MANY miles. A web search only mentions the road, which is long, hilly & very twisty, and trying to find anywhere where they give the coordinates doesn't exist, from what I could tell.

But I marked it on my motorcycle GPS for the parking right across the street from the view place and I took a few pictures as well.

So if anybody here wants to find it, either bookmark this message or put this in your GPS:

N035.194903°
W118.535026°

Which will be here (first photo on top--the flags show the view spot):

I didn't wait around for a train to come unlike the others there were doing. I have seen trains before, so did some more riding around in the hills.

-Don- Tehachapi, CA

 

[DonTom]

Some campgrounds are closed for the season.

Too hot there already?

It sure is a nice day here today, opposite of the last time I was here in Tehachapi.

But I leave here in the morning. I would stay here longer, but I have things to do in Reno in a few days after I dump this motorhome off in Auburn, CA.

I will surely stay in Tehachapi longer on my next stay here, perhaps in the summer so I can check out the camp here which is at a higher elevation (~6K') than here (4,168').

-Don- Tehachapi, CA

 

[No cats]

There are some amazing places not too far from tehachapi. You may want to bring a gas powered motorcycle next time. I've spent a lot of time exploring the area in my youth and considered buying property there many years ago.

There are some old ranches and wagon trails going to bodfish and lake isabella. From Lake Isabella follow the Kern river up hwy 99 towards roads end and Johnsondale. I've camped there many times. Past Johnsondale, there are many camping areas and some water rock slides near a by's scout camp.

Keep going to where 99 ends and meets hwy M-50 and M-90. Take a right on M-90 and eventually you'll end up in the land of the sequoias.

There were some bad fires there a few years back so you'll see that too. It can be a long round trip, but you can turn around any time.

 

[DonTom]

From Lake Isabella follow the Kern river up hwy 99 towards roads end and Johnsondale.

I have been to all those places years ago, either on a motorcycle or in a car.

The last time I was in Johnsondale, CA, the entire place was for sale. I have never seen a town for sale before. That was back in the 1980's IIRC.

I assume they found a buyer.

It's a hassle to load up a gas motorcycle on an RV hitch ramp, but I have done it before. The main reason I bring my smallest electric is because it can power itself up the ramp--no clutch to bother with and can easily go at less than a half MPH. And it is light enough. The only other motorcycle I could use would be my 2002 Suzuki DR200SE, which has a 3.5-gallon gas tank for the little 199 cc engine.

-Don- Tehachapi, CA

 

[garyb1st]

Too hot there already?

In the week we've been here, the highs have been in the low to mid 70's. Evenings have been in the mid 40s to low 50s. For those that haven't followed, I'm referring to Roosevelt Lake, AZ and not Tehachapi.

 

[DonTom]

In the week we've been here, the highs have been in the low to mid 70's. Evenings have been in the mid 40s to low 50s. For those that haven't followed, I'm referring to Roosevelt Lake, AZ and not Tehachapi.

But when was that?

-Don- Tehachapi, CA

 

[garyb1st]

We're here now. Been here for 8 days and leaving Tuesday for parts unknown.