JACT 2021 ROAD TRIP PART 3 OF 3 - YOSEMITE, BEACHES, ELK & LAND SLIDES
Welcome to JACT Ventures & the part 3 conclusion of our 3,500-mile two-week road trip this year. We pick upon this blog, on day 10, leaving Mesa, AZ, to head west & make our way to CA. Traveling with us on this epic adventure are my 70+-year-old parents, who really had some highs & lows on their first travel trailer experience. I'm pretty confident they'll decline the next invite LOL.!
Connie Keller
Gary Keller
It was a short travel day of only 5 hours to our next stop at Desert Springs, CA. Perfect, really… & a preferable rule to live by on the road, not to drive more than 5 hours or past 5 o'clock on any given day. Just remember - I can't drive 55! As we left Arizona, I was sad to leave the desert behind, but as we pulled into the Palm Springs / Joshua Tree KOA, I realized we had one afternoon left to enjoy it. All four of us had a great day all around, but it was really topped off by the appearance of a unique little visitor!
“I can’t drive 55!”
By now, James & I have a good setup routine down. He takes care of all of the hookups & I take care of the slide-outs, indoor & outdoor rugs, chairs & most important - mixing drinks! The four of us were sitting outside with the dogs, enjoying our cocktails, when a funny little bird trotted into our camp. "It's a roadrunner!" I exclaimed with joy. Mom & dad had never seen one! Dad just laughed at the cute little guy & mom chased it around, yelling "BEEP BEEP" with utter happiness. I love road runners & was so thankful this character showed up for my parents to meet. He is the star of this blog's YouTube video - click the link to watch!
The next day did not go so smoothly. This was our first trip towing our new 36’ Momentum 31G toy hauler. It did not occur to me when I routed our journey that Google maps could take us places we should not be - the fastest route is not always best for big rigs! We were headed to Yosemite Lakes Thousand Trails Campground & on our 10 hr drive, we found ourselves going up Smith Station Rd. The roadsigns warned us not to pull anything longer than 36 feet, so we were okay. We just climbed up the curvy mountain road extremely slow, with deathly drop-offs scaring the hell out of my mother on one side & the rock walls within inches of the trailer on the other. We were lucky no traffic came down as James took wide turns around blind corners to avoid damage!
We pulled into camp by 6:30pm, found our check-in envelope directing us to pick our site. We set up quickly, then Bar-B-Que’d dinner. The Kellers & their Australian Shepherd Lincoln went to bed early, mom exhausted from her frightful ride.
James, our Border Collie Chase & I stood around the campfire reflecting on the day’s travels. She reminded us how we left the canopy door up for her to potentially jump out on the freeway near LA. Once discovered, We opened both the truck window & canopy window to keep her attention on us. Thankfully both dogs stayed safe for the 30-minutes until we pulled off to close the hatch.
Our fire crackled in the half-filled campground & the stars shone brightly while a breeze swayed the tips of the pine trees around us. Just outside the glow from our fire, a drifting piece of garbage slowly tumbled from camp to camp. As it passed by, Chase turned to look at it. Suddenly James & I both realized it was NOT garbage & simultaneously exclaimed, “SKUNK”! We both yelled for Chase, alarming her AND the skunk, both certain they were in trouble. The little guy scurried away, never to be seen again & Chase went to bed, LOL.
The following morning James & I left for our one-day exploration of Yosemite National Park. I wish mom & dad would have joined us, but they needed a day off from driving. However, James & I loved exploring it together. Two documentaries we watched beforehand made our adventure even more exciting. Ken Burn’s documentary National Parks details the lifelong work John Muir performed to save this park for the people. We had also watched Free Solo, the nail-biting inspirational documentary on Alex Honnold, who free climbed the 3,000-foot face of El Capitan… one of the most incredible athletic feats of all time! We stood at the base of the great rock with hearts racing as we thought about climbing up without any ropes. AMAZING!
We ate lunch at the visitor center, watched a black bear stroll leisurely across a meadow, & we dozed on a warm rock on the edge of a rushing river. Overall a memorable day. We want to spend more time at this park, hiking & shooting photos, & so we plan to return someday. By mid-afternoon, we decided to drive back to camp to hang out with my parents & the dogs. Later I drove mom up the road to a gift shop where we had fun together picking out Yosemite pajama sweatsuits.
Wed March 31st we made a mad 10 hr dash again, westward over more mountains to HWY 101. This was day 12 of our trip & mom was just totally exhausted. After hours of winding thru the mountains she shared how terrified she was that we were going to drive off the mountain. Dad made fun of her which didn’t help. I made the strategic move to put on music I knew she could sing along with, a little Kris Kristofferson to help her make through the trip. It worked, I could tell if helped relieve some of her stress.
I myself often have passenger anxiety for no rational reason & it occurred to me that more than likely it is because as a child, mom would freak out while dad drove us camping. I remember them arguing, then mom & I getting out of the car to continue walking up a dirt road to camp. I think she’s the one who created my own fear!
James delivered us all safely to our next destination, where we were greeted at Elk Country RV Park entrance by about 50 head of Roosevelt Elk. They are smaller than our Rocky Mtn Elk up north but magnificent to see up close just the same. The RV Park has stringent rules to follow, & it is not a good idea to walk your dog anywhere near them. James had Chase on the leash & passed by too close against my warnings.
A young cow charged them, eyes focused on Chase. I yelled & she tucked her tail in fear while James sort of shielded her… well, the cow stopped at least. This fur baby momma was furious with her husband, but thankfully there was no contact. I was a little on edge afterward & alarmed the following morning to find my mom outside drinking coffee with Elk all around her. I can laugh now since there were no more incidents & overall, it was an awesome experience for all of us!
We spent two nights at Elk Country & on our rest day, we took both dogs to the beach. Lincoln's first time seeing the ocean! She wasn't impressed. Chase loved it except when James took her too far out where she got rolled by a crashing wave. It's on the video, & I laugh at how fast he turns to see if I had been watching. He knew he was in trouble again! LOL
We left Elk Country excited for the short drive up the coast on Hwy 101 to our last RV Park in Coos Bay, OR. I made a mistake that morning by commenting on how good our luck had been with traffic for this road trip. Everybody yelled at me for saying anything because now we were jinxed. Well, they were right. We stopped for the essential selfie in Klamath, CA, at the Trees of Mystery with Paul Bunyan & Babe the Blue Ox. We continued down the road maybe a mile & then came to a complete standstill.
Just 7 weeks earlier, on Valentine's Day, there was a mudslide across HWY 101 south of Crescent City on the Last Chance Grade. We were delayed in traffic for about 90 minutes as one lane at a time would alternate opening for passage. We stepped out of the truck several times, laughed at the buzzards circling above us, used the restroom in the trailer (SO convenient!) & even flew the drone to get some footage (included on our video).
By the time we were thru, we all were looking forward to a drink at the next destination… so we made one final pit stop before arriving. Before leaving CA to cross into OR, there is a well-stocked liquor store with great prices. We all spent some money at ALL STAR Liquors, thanks to our stressful delay! LOL
We arrived at the Oceanside RV Park at 5:10pm, excited for some seafood planned for the night. The resort assured us there were 3 restaurants offering delivery, so we decided not to unhook the trailer & just order food in. The robust coastal wind prevented us from setting up chairs outside for cocktails, so after walking the dogs & taking a quick peek at the beach, we settled in with our drinks inside the trailer.
We chose our dinners off the menu provided at check-in & tried calling in. NUMBER DISCONNECTED! I checked Facebook & called another number, NO ANSWER. So then we switched from seafood to Pizza - NO DELIVERY. We had zero luck getting any food, & since we were drinking, driving was not an option. This was the last night of our trip & my inventory was gone, so we all ended up eating cereal for dinner. Poor planning on my part - I always need to have a backup plan!
On April 3rd, our last morning of the trip, we were all worn out & ready to get home. I was a sad mom hadn't enjoyed it more…realizing how much her age now affects her activities. I'm almost always the first up to walk the dogs each morning, but mom is close behind me while our men sleep soundly. Today there happened to be a beautiful sunrise & the two of us walked down to the beach together.
We enjoyed this quiet & beautiful moment together… content with life & the love we share. It was a memorable end to our trip. We made it home safe later that day & quickly returned to all of our daily routines. Somewhat maddening for James & me, who crave adventure, but comforting for these two 70+-year-olds who are so dear to me.
Thanks for joining us on this year's road trip. Hopefully, you can use some of our mishaps to avoid making the same mistakes as us. The most important thing is to get out there & live life to the fullest! Even mistakes make great memories! Start planning your own adventure now, make the decision to do something, set the date, then GO DO IT! #JACTventures