Portrero Campground, CA

This was located just a few miles from Tecate, Baja where we crossed into Baja. There is nowhere to park a large motor home at the crossing so we drove to the border in the jeep and walked across. We needed to get visitor visas. The MX immigration office was not well marked, but we located it. The officer spoke very limited English. We got the necessary paperwork and then had to walk downhill several blocks to the bank to pay for the visa. We waited, in what we hoped, was the correct line for over an hour. Note, do not go to the bank on the last day or first of the month when everyone gets paid. Again, the cashier spoke limited English. Tom attempted to get cash from the ATM with no success. We hope that another bank will take our debit card or we will have a short Baja experience. This is the first time we came across Dan and Lisa who run “Baja Amigos RV Caravan Tours.” They were a great help with telling us which RV places were better to stay at on our trip south.

El Cajun, CA

We picked up the foot for the jack. The bolt that came with the foot didn't fit! Tom went to town and purchased several bolts in the hopes that one would work because the bolt store closed at noon on Saturdays. He wouldn't be able to get back if he had selected the wrong one. So now we have an assortment, in case we need them. The resort had a swimming pool and hot tub. Nice to relax in, while we did our laundry.

Bristlecone, CA

This was a day trip from Keough's Hot Springs. They sit high in the mountains at 10,000 feet. It was cold, but the view was fantastic. Some of the trees are 4,000 years old. The visitor center had burned down and was in the process of being rebuilt. We attempted to continue higher on a dirt road to see another stand of trees, but after 5 miles and another 4 to go, decided it probably wasn't worth the slow bumping along.

Keough's Hot Springs, CA

Oh, so nice to be able to soak. We spent a couple of days here. The board we used to put under the jack finally split. The weight that is put on these jacks are amazing. The camper next to us was the son-in-law of the owners and he ran and got an old mower blade to put under the jack. We used it until El Cajon, much stronger than a board. The owners have placed many old tractors, wagons and such around. They had tents on platforms you could rent. The insides had queen size beds, a desk and portable heater. There were firepits and they supplied wood which were held in the old mine buckets There were some old, what used to be paved roads just prior to the hot springs where people were boon docking. One lady was in a small motor home and had been traveling with her dog for a year and no specific place to be.

Bodie State Park, CA

Old post box

This town sits at 8,000 feet and is about 30 miles from Mono Lake on a gravel road. This is an old silver mining town. There were many people visiting the site, especially since there were no camping facilities and they closed the town down at dark. I was in hog heaven taking pictures, as were many other people. The camera buffs were out in full force. I could have stayed a couple of days looking around. Some of the buildings still had furniture, but you couldn't go into the buildings. There is a museum, which happened to be closed the day we were there. One building was an old Oddfellows Hall. Don't think that group even exists any more. A place to come back to and spend more time.

Mono Lake, CA

The lake looked so blue driving down the hill into town. The pillars (tufa formations) coming out of the lake were a stark contrast to the lake color. I again wanted to kayak  around to explore these interesting formations. But not this time, we were headed to Bodie State Park. The lake has been dropping in depth because Los Angeles has been withdrawing from the lake and it has become salter because there is less volume of water. There is now a effort to bring the water up 10 feet. This will not be a quick fix, the time line is 10 years. The lake fluctuates, the rain and snow also are a factor as to how much the lake rises. It would be interesting to come back in 10 years and see the changes that have taken place. The day after we left we understand it turned really cold.

Lava National Monument, CA

Looking Out

One of those small spaces

If you are a spelunker, theses caves would definitely be fun. The campground had, maybe 5 campers in two sections. It was very quiet, the stars glowed at   night. Driving around we felt we were on another  world, so quiet and the landscape looked like  something out of a si-fi movie. In any of the caves I was the only one there. A flashlight was a necessity and you could get a good one from the visitor center, which of coarse I didn't do, not realizing just how dark and lonely it would be in the caves. My flashlight was a small maglight which left many nook and crannies in the dark and not much glow on the uneven ground to walk on. I didn't make it very far into the caves, a little to dark for my taste. The caves were rated by easy, medium and difficult. The easy ones were enough for me. There were still many boulders to climb over and tunnels that were small. There were many places I looked down a hole and said, no I'm not climbing down there. One cave had ladders to climb down into levels below. Too dark for me! A buddy would have been nice. Tom was sitting in the car reading while I explored or hiked the trails to a cave.

Starting Out

We purchased the motor home at the end of January 2011, so it is still a new experience for us, different from towing a trailer. We now also have a car in tow, which makes the rig 60'. We now really have to watch the corners to make sure everything clears. Tom loves the fact that he doesn't have to go outside to crank the levels down. He now just pushes a button and if it's not right he can push another couple of buttons. That implies, however, that we have all the levels and feet. Somewhere between home and Albany, OR we discovered we had lost a foot. We had to order one from the factory as the RV places didn't have one. Now, where to have it delivered, as we had no set plans and no specific towns we where going to stop at. Our last stop in a city before we cross into Baja was at El Cajun, so that seemed the logical place to pick it up. Tom called an RV store in El Cajun and they were willing to order the part and have it waiting for us when we got to town. In the mean time we put a board under the jack.

In lower OR there is a Hwy 66 that crosses over to CA Lava Beds, which seemed like a shortcut. As we turn onto the road it said not recommended for vehicles over 60'. OK, we are not over 60'. The road twisted and turned and was what we thought at the time narrow. Have you ever ridden in the passenger side of a motor home? I was looking straight down the cliff, could not see the road or white line. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. 

Klamath River

 

At the crest of Hwy 66 we came across Klamath River. I was itching to get the kayak out and paddle. But, we were on a time frame and the campgrounds were closed waiting for snow. We came across this sign giving some history. (You will have to enlarge to read it, but I found it interesting.)