More California Wanderings (Central Coast, Wineries, Earthquake, Dinosaurs, and the Beautiful Redwoods

Petaluma, Myers Flat, and Klamath California) 50's, sunny days most of the time)

"The Clearest Way Into the Universe

Is Through a Forest Wilderness"

John Muir

John, me, Evan, and Debbie at Coppola's

We are now in northern Washington, but I wanted to take a moment to catch up with some of our travels. Our friends, Evan and Debbie, noticed on Facebook we were traveling near them and reached out to us. They offered to show us some of their favorite places near San Francisco. We enthusiastically said YES!!! They are Presidents of our Newmar Fulltiming Club and used to live in this area.

Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge

We joined them at the Petaluma Elks Lodge. This involved driving the motorhome over the Golden Gate Bridge. Evan gave us great directions on how to navigate through this busy city.  The Elks Lodge has a great campground with full hookups in a nice neighborhood surrounded by wineries and a great birding area.  Wow!  We had a great time together and the weather was glorious. Here are a few pictures of the places we explored together.






We toured three wineries (Kendall Jackson, Francis Coppola, and one which specialized in port). The wine tastings are more expensive in this area, however, if you buy wine it's oftentimes waived. Our lunch at Coppola's was delicious.

Wine tasting at Francis Coppola winery

Kendall Jackson Winery

Francis Coppola

We spent another wonderful day visiting the coastline and seeing some beautiful views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Evan and Debbie told us so much about this area. When Evan was younger he drove tour buses to many of these highlights. It was a wonderful day and it was so great to spend time with them. We would not have been able to see as much if we had traveled here by ourselves.

The coastline here is very rugged and the waves crash and swirl around the rock outcroppings. What a spectacular area and as you can see the weather really cooperated with our visit.

We stopped at Point Reyes National Park to take a short hike to where you can definitely see the San Andres Fault line from the 1906 earthquake.  A section of fence moved 16 feet demonstrating the immense power of the earthquake. It is such a peaceful place now with a very violent history.

Thank you Evan and Debbie for taking the time to show us this beautiful area. We hope to meet you back here again.

We then headed to see the California Redwood State and National Parks. To really see this area well it required staying in two different campgrounds. Our first stay was near the Avenue of the Giants. The forest here is dense and tall and the trees are California Redwoods. Although not as large as the ones in Sequoia they are much taller (on average 350 feet). It was a fairy land of ferns and walking down the trails offered a quiet respite.

We stayed for three nights at the Giant Redwoods RV Park. It did not have the best reviews but the location was good. We took a chance and stayed here. It's under new management now and we found the campground to be much better than expected.

Beautiful gardens and dining area at Loletta

The weather was very rainy so we took a couple of day trips to pretty Victorian towns called Eureka and Ferndale. We enjoyed both of these towns and stopped at a famous cheese factory called Loletta (it has a grilled cheese bar) and picked up pastries from Humboldt Sweets. If you are ever in the area be sure to stop - so delicious. We loved driving by the beautifully restored Victorian homes too. They must be such a labor of love and money.

From here we went to Klamath and explored another park of the Redwood State and National Park. Here the Redwoods had a much denser undergrowth. It is nearer the coast and has a different climate with a different result.

One day we drove out to the Gold Bluff Beach. It's a jeep worthy trip and a deeply rutted road but well worth the effort. What was really special was hiking out to the Fern Canyon. This was the site of one of Jurassic Park movies. You walk down the river bed into a fairyland of ferns and small waterfalls. We loved this hike and is one of our all time favorites. Our pictures do not captures it's real charm.

Our next post will bring us along the Oregon Coast. Be sure to check back soon.

Fun Time At A Newmar Rally - Cascade Idaho

Cascade, Idaho (76 degrees, clear blue skies, nice breeze)

"IDAHO

more than just potatoes.

well okay, not really

but the potatoes 

sure are real good"

seen on a t-shirt in a gift shop

BIitner Vineyards

This is our first visit to Idaho and there sure is more here than potatoes but we have seen some large fields of them growing. In fact, Idaho farmers grow lots of crops such as wheat, sugar beets, grapes, alfalfa, and even mint. We started off in Caldwell and fell in love with the fields and vineyards and tried a couple of some delicious wines along the Sunnyslope Wine Trail. The soil is very sandy, fertile, and  has to be irrigated.a lot.

These cows found a fun way to cool of

Williamson Orchards and Vineyards

After a couple of days we headed up to Cascade Idaho. On the way we went through some very desolate landscape which was eventually enlivened by the rapids of the Payette River. As the elevation rose we entered cooling pine forests. The temperature dropped 20 degrees from where we started in Caldwell.

Crazy rapids of the Payette River

We came here for the Idaho Newmar Rally. We decided to join Newmar's Kountry Klub after touring the factory in Indiana. Each state usually offers a rally at a reasonable cost and every other month we receive a magazine packed full of some nice options.  This is our first rally and 14 rigs attended. Our campground is called Arrowhead RV Resort and is known for the wood carving classes on the premises. They also offer jewelry and art classes. It's a very scenic campground on the banks of the Payette River made more complete with a nice boat launch.

Our rally hosts are Terry and Linda and on the first night cooked a prime rib dinner for all the attendees in their home located in Cascade. Wow! Now that is a great way to start a rally. They have a beautiful home which accommodated everyone. The dinner was delicious and the pleasant environment helped  everyone got acquainted very quickly.

Top of totem pole

The next day the campground carvers showed us all about the work they do each season. The carvers, who stay here in the summer, will teach you how to make small wooden items or even a totem pole if you are so inclined. It was very interesting. They provide all the supplies and the cost is really reasonable. Many of the campers are here for a month or more working on their projects. There are over 80 totem poles all over the property. I really, really liked the manger creche made by one of the carvers. The detail was amazing.

Small totem poles 

Manger is made from a dried gourd

Alligator Totem pole being installed

One afternoon we took a nice drive up to a very scenic overlook and radar tower. after feasting on huckleberry pancakes for breakfast. Let's just say we ate really well thanks to our great hosts and all their planning.

On our own we drove around the beautiful Cascade Lake and with a few friends even went to a very nice Gold Fork Hot Spring. This is the second time we have tried a hot spring. They are just wonderful. Do you have a favorite one?

Cascade Lake

Gold Fork Hot Spring

There were five pools of varying degrees

Young pizza loving base player 

We enjoyed meeting everyone in the group. Most were from the surrounding western states.

One evening at the campground a fun three piece band entertained us and other campers. They were great!

Great evening by the river

The rally lasted for four days and the time went by quickly. Most everyone is attending the national rally in Pueblo Colorado in September. Over 450 rigs have signed up so far. We will be attending a full time rally prior to the Pueblo rally. Stay tuned.

We decided to stay a little longer and explore more of the area. Our rally leaders joined us on a nice paddle trip down the Payette River. They dropped off their truck at the take out and we put in at the campground. It was about a four hour easy paddle. There was a fairly quick current which made paddling easy. This section does not have any rapids.

Bald Eagle

Linda and Terry our rally leaders

On our own the following day we drove to McCall and spent a nice afternoon exploring the lake, Ponderosa State Park, and McCall RV campground recommended to us by others. It's a picturesque town with lots of shops and restaurants.

Bear Beach

Payette Lake

Ponderosa State Park

The Ponderosa State Park has a beautiful overlook of the lake and a nice campground with full hook ups. We liked it. The McCall Campground and RV Park was also very nice and more satellite friendly with beautiful landscaping.

Our first Newmar rally was a five star event. Terry and Linda really know how to organize a great rally. Thank you so much! We are now on our way back to Boise. Our jeep windshield needs to be replaced due to a long crack. Cummins is also going to probably replace our thermostat. Baloo the Bus has been overheating climbing up the mountains. Afterwards Salmon Idaho will be our next stop for ten days. We are meeting up with our dear friends Jann and Barry. Check back soon and thanks for stopping by. Happy Trails!