I do so love to drive our RV. Our
little Excursion is responsive; needing only the lightest touch on
the steering wheel and I often describe driving the rig to my wife as
more of a dance and never a chore. Unfortunately the dances on our
trip to the south have been more of a rumba than a smooth waltz with
only short patches of smooth pavement scattered among a predominantly
cracked and potholed highway.
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| Hyped as the "Trees of Mystery" (Not sure why) |
Over the past three days we've covered
over 800 miles and I would love to say we've seen some stunning
scenery and all sorts of critters but... It rained. It rained from
the north. It rained from the south. Well, you get the idea; it was
wet.
We had originally intended to travel
the Avenue of the Giants and see the giant redwoods but, you guessed
it, weathered out. I'm sure we could have taken the drive but we were
getting a slushy rain and the temperature was taking a nose dive
– so there will be other chances. The glimpses we did see along
the 101 were enough of a tease to ensure our return someday.
I for
one would really like to see the north end of these southbound elk.
Our first stop was in the dark gloom
just before sunset outside of Willits, CA at the Golden Rule RV Park
and while I would like to write a review, I can't. It was dark, rainy
and what I'm sure is a fine RV park just off the Old Highway 101 but
for us it was a break from watching the windshield wipers going back
and forth.
We survived the spaghetti mess that is
San Francisco crossing the Richmond bridge and running through the
outskirts of Oakland and Alameda on our second day. We even spotted
Coast Guard Island, looking nothing like the place where I went to
boot camp nearly (gasp) 40 years ago.
We eventually made it to I-5, which is
long, straight, bumpy, smooth and for the most part windy. Oh, and
did I mention rain? Yes, it was raining – AGAIN. No wait, again
implies it stopped at one point, I should say it was raining STILL.
Near Coalinga is the Sommerville Almond
Tree RV park. Located sort of behind the Jayne Truck Stop, the park
offers a respite from what can best be described as a most boring
stretch of I-5. The truck stop is old style, not one of those fancy
travel plazas where it looks like a big shopping mall and during our
stay, appeared overlooked as a place you can do a semi-quiet dry
camp. I mention this stop because for just a brief moment the rain
stopped and the clouds cleared away for the beginnings of what was
going to be a wondrous sunset. I was in the process of getting the
camera out when the pitter patter rain drops began again to strike
the roof of the rig. Before I could get to the edge of the park to
take the planned sunset shot over the almond trees, the spill gates
were opened and within what I swear was less than a blink we were
back to full monsoon conditions.
Ah, our final day of travel. Our goal
has been to get within one day of travel from the Escapees
Convergence this month and the Soledad Canyon Thousand Trails park
meets our goal. The only obstacle? The Grapevine. (Yes, I know NOW
there's a probably better route, yesterday? Not so much.)
So, in the rain we began the long grade
into the Grapevine. Traffic was light probably due to the weather and
those on the road were actually driving as if there actually were
hazardous conditions. Rain drops became larger and larger as we went
into the mountains and just as we were reaching Gorman – snow.
The road to our campground brought us
through the town of Acton, whose main street was covered by flood
waters 4 to 6 inches deep in places. There were some minor rock
slides to wend around and the ever present fear we may get stuck in a
place where we could not turn around. Obviously we did make it will
be sitting still for about a week as we take a break.
Oh, and the sun did rise today. I leave you with a shot of the San Gabriels dusted in snow.
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