"No fish in California, Mean Green and Fiery Red, Christmas in Joshua Tree"

Ahhhh-   My home town of San Diego!  It feels so good and so right to be back in the city where I grew up.  I have only the fondest memories of my childhood and well into adulthood.  This is the city where a kind, family oriented Navy man met a young beautiful transplant from Massachusetts.  San Diego is where they married and settled down to raise four children.
Perry and I met here and bought our first house in Santee (a suburb of San Diego), just two blocks from the very active Santee Lakes.  We now are back after all these years in our fifth wheel at a site directly on the water where Perry is excited to go fishing in the newly stocked lakes. I leave him to his manly fishing duties while I spend some long overdue time with my sister, Jean.  She owns a children's theater who would be performing a holiday show the first weekend we were there.  These amazing talented performers brought me to tears as their finale of the Holiday Show was "Let There Be Peace On Earth."  Sung with such purity and innocence and thinking how we need more of this in our world.  Thanks Jean.....beautiful (as always) production, making me feel so proud of your dedication to these kids!  Perry continued to fish as I visited with my best friend, after attending to the necessary Christmas shopping.  One night we went to watch my brother sing and play guitar with his band.  They were awesome playing songs from the early 70's to fairly current rock and roll. Perry decided this night that we needed to sharpen our dancing skills by hitting the dance floor and show our lack of coordination.  We hit the dance floor and suddenly others joined us, mostly likely out of sympathy.  We DID have fun dancing, listening to great rock-n-roll and visiting with my nieces that were there. Our grand finale in San Diego, was enjoying the Laguna Mountains with Jeanie and Jeff . Staying the night in their house heated by a wood burning stove, we played a competitive game of corn hole followed by a walk on the dirt road trying to avoid ice and snow.  Daisy and Gracie were worn out after much needed mountainous freedom!

Mean Green and Fiery Red!

The rain continued to pour on this Thursday that I was to meet a good friend for lunch in a soon to be crowded and popular mall.  It was one week before Christmas and I wanted to be sure to get a parking spot, so I got there in plenty of time and was one of three cars in a lot of about twenty five spaces.  As I sat in the parking lot waiting for my friend to arrive, I felt my rental car slightly move.  As I looked over I saw as woman in a neon green car stare at me as she continued to pull into her narrow space.  She was no more than  three inches from my car and I was unable to open my door.  I rolled down my window as she continued to stare at me and I mentioned that it felt like she hit my car.  She screamed expletives at me and told me to show her where she hit me.  The scrape was on my rented Jeep side door but continued to deny it was because of her.  I explained that the car had been inspected by the rental agency and it wasn't there before.  She continued to scream as I stood there in disbelief.  Perry has said in the past to treat hostility with kindness and keeping that in mind, I wished her a "Merry Christmas".  She was infuriated and continued with her expletives.  At this, I decided (with fear of retaliation) to move my car.  Upset and somewhat shaken, I  told myself  I wouldn't let his miserable person try to ruin my day much less a holiday that I love.  Her colors of  red and green weren't my Christmas colors of red and green.  Her neon green car and bright red face were soon a distant memory with no financial consequence for the superficial scrape on the rental car.

We spent a lot of time with immediate family,  and friends that were like family but our amazing time in my hometown was coming to an end.  I felt fortunate to spend time with my two aunts, many other family members, friends and especially my sister and brother. We hugged them and said our goodbyes knowing we most likely wouldn't be back to my hometown of San Diego for at least a year.   It was time to head to Joshua Tree to join our kids and Taylor for Christmas!


Christmas in Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree was a place we all decided to spend our Christmas together.  It wasn't too far from where everyone lives and convenient for Perry and I to hop on Interstate 10 to head out of California.  We found the R.V. park in the high desert with no one around us.  The site we hooked up at had no power so we were told to try another site.  It seemed to work but we wouldn't be spending more than two nights there due to the fact we rented a house for the next four days.  Ahhh.....the house!  Following our GPS, we decided to find the house prior to checking in which took us up a dirt, rough road.  Of course we should have learned by now that a GPS usually takes you the fastest route.  The house was about what we expected, plopped in the middle of the desert with a chain link fence.  This fence later proved to be a life saver as we could let the dogs have room to roam freely.  We weren't checking in until the next day and being a travel day we looked for a pizza place.  The few that we found were either closed or didn't look to desirable.  We stopped at the local saloon and enjoyed a great meal.  Joshua Tree is considered somewhat "eclectic" and "hippyish" but it wouldn't take long for us to embrace this town. Back at the RV park , once again we were at a site where the electricity didn't work and speaking to an employee there, he had informed us they were "obviously" having problems.  It was a cold, rainy night but Perry got creative running an extension cord to an 110 amp outlet which provided us with heat from a space heater.
The next morning we packed up wanting to get to the house long before the kids.  They were leaving after work which meant they wouldn't arrive until long after dark and it was raining.  There are no words to describe the house, other than "eclectic".  The family room room was decorated from the 70's;  a yellow floral couch, bright orange shag rug, skulls, clown faces and many antiques.  One bedroom had a mannequin shag lamp, sad clown face and creepy dolls (this would be Kaylyn's room), another room had more 70's decorations and more clown faces made with bones and a lot of amazing antiques. This place was strange but yet warm and endearing.  We embraced it and it turned out to be the most memorable Christmas! We got there in time to stock the refrigerator, unpack, put up some Christmas decorations and start the wood burning fireplace.  The kids surprised us arriving two hours earlier than  expected which I was happy about since the rain and cold were about to arrive.  In all the excitement, Daisy somehow ran into a cactus so David pulled the needles out with pliers.  No worse for the wear, she continued to enjoy her open space and run freely.  That night we enjoyed catching up over a nice spaghetti dinner.
 The next day was full of adventure by first off finding a brewery that David read up on.  It was in the middle of nowhere (pretty much like everything else).  The place was called Landers Brew Company and it was the first time we were to be with our youngest legally drinking his first beer.  I joked with the bartender to "please" check his ID since he just recently turned 21.  Oh, that bartender....(Phil) quite the character!  He was from U.K. and we weren't quite sure if he was bored, drinking the day away or if this was part of his personality (he was full of personality)!  He talked our ears off and we're thinking he was just  happy to have people there, especially six of us at once.  It was a pretty rough and rustic place with an old honky-tonk style piano and a guitar.  Brandon enjoys playing the piano so he entertained us while David strummed the guitar.  It's hard to describe this unique experience other than to say this was the beginning of a different and interesting stay here in Joshua Tree.  Our next stop, (also in the town of Landers) was at a unique dome like structure called "The Integratron".  It was built in 1959 for the purpose of rejuvenation and time travel and is now used for relaxation and for a fee you can enjoy a "perfect sound bath".  It peaked our curiosity so we had to see this popular structure visited by many musicians for its perfect sound.  Moving on, we went to see the a large 5800 square foot boulder called of all things "Giant Rock" which is known to be the largest free standing boulder in the world.  Of course our outdoor grown kids couldn't wait to do some boulder climbing.
 The next day was Christmas Eve and we had to find our Christmas Tree which we all agreed should be something small and simple and we found just that.....a cute little 31/2 ft. tree and it looked even smaller once we placed on top of the truck.  We attended Church that evening at a very small but beautifully decorated church with the priest being quite the character.  It seems like everyone here never lacked character and the priest was no different as he processed out at the end of mass with his dogs.  Well......it IS Joshua Tree and we were ready to take on our next long-awaited adventure......Pappy's and Harriets!  We had heard so much about this unique venue mostly because Paul McCartney had a surprise concert there two months earlier.  Pappy's and Harriets is a restaurant that has well known artists on occasion and it's quirky "hippyish" style, so this was on all of our "to do" lists.   Perry surprised all of us with gifts of matching Bomba socks and bee-emoji  t-shirts for the girls and bee-keeper shirts for the guys.  My husband, had to make sure we didn't feel out of place?!  We lovingly all wore our thoughtful gifts and went to the famous restaurant.  Unfortunately, being Christmas Eve there were no performers scheduled but we got our pictures taken on the stage where Paul McCartney played.  Later, the traditional Christmas Eve traditional PJ's (this year they were matching) were distributed and welcomed on this cold night.  The rest of Christmas Eve was spent visiting and enjoying each others company.
 Christmas Day we hiked and later drove into Joshua Tree National Park.  Joshua Trees are by far the most unique but yet beautiful trees scattered throughout the desert and with all the recent rain, in the distance were the snow covered San Bernadino mountains.  It was such a beautiful sight!  That night we played games and built gingerbread houses in teams.  Brandon and I were on the same team and building them was a lot harder than I thought (all part of the fun)!

December 26th- I wasn't looking forward to this day after Christmas when our kids and Taylor were leaving for home.  After packing up our belongings, we went to a pizza place before heading our separate ways.  One of the owners of  2 Guys Pies told us what it was like attending the Paul McCartney performance at Pappy's and Harriets and how Paul McCartney requested all animal heads be covered since he's vegan. The day we pulled away from our house and said  our "good-byes" to our kids and Taylor was not easy,  but somehow I knew this "good-bye" was going to be harder since we were leaving California for a year.  It was!  David and Taylor (our wine and back-yard buddies);  these two that have a beautiful future ahead of them with David our loving oldest, hugging with tears in his eyes.  Kaylyn, our sweet loving daughter who now directs her attention to her horse, Bandit,  hugged also with teary eyes, knowing our unbreakable mother-daughter bond will always be there!  Brandon (our youngest) who has such a beautiful spirit, gave me a hug of a lifetime that I will never forget!  Our memories, our love, our family!!  I cried as we said our good-byes asking God to keep them safe and healthy.  We hope to see one another throughout the year!
Perry and I returned to the fifth wheel with temperatures nearing 32 degrees and still no power, we gathered up every jacket and blanket necessary to stay warm.

Joshua Tree will go down in the Schmidt Family History as a memorable place and now it's time for us to start our adventures across America!

My sister and founder/director of Young Actors' Theater

My brother's band "Virtual Image"

Family friends

Dinner with my friend Debbie and her husband

Yes-a selfie while having fun in the Laguna Mountains

                              Christmas in Joshua Tree

Our traditional Christmas Tree (minus several feet)

                                                                           

Our first night together

Landers Brewery with Phil (rt.) and a local (far left)

     

  Landers' Brewery with Phil The Bartender

The Integratron

In front of the worlds' largest free standing boulder

Christmas Eve Mass

Matching socks for Pappy's and Harriets

Christmas Day

Boulder climbing

                                                                       

 

Teaming up for Gingerbread House Building

Thank You for reading this blog and viewing our fun Joshua Tree pictures!


Next-  The Mojave Desert, a sick Coonhound,  Prong-horned antelope,  Tombstone and the OK Corral, wine tasting and Mel!

Election Day, Butterflies, The Treasure Hunter and a NASA Turkey?!

November 8th thru early December

Tuesday, November 8th, 2016

For the majority of the nation, this day was a very important day.  Who would be elected President;Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump?  This day was more than election day, it would have been my Mom's birthday but it was also travel day from Three Rivers to Paso Robles.  I was anxious to get there knowing I'd be seeing David, Taylor and Kaylyn.  Perry kept reminding me of our patriotic duty, obligation and birth given right to vote, but for the first time since I was eighteen I had thought of NOT voting. My conscience got the better of me and after settling into our RV park, we found a polling booth in Paso not far from where we were staying and did our civic duty!  Ah democracy....!  After casting our votes it was off to find a place for our traditional, travel day pizza.

Butterflies and the Treasure Hunter!

The next day we were ready to venture towards Cambria and San Simeon, driving past green, rolling hills.  We packed the binoculars in hopes of finding elephant seals but after several stops and a little research we realized we were a few weeks early in the season.  Continuing down HWY 1, we took in the most scenic and breathtaking views of the ocean on the left and Hearst Castle zebras on the right. The Hearst park and winery were beckoning and the dogs needed to get out for a walk.  We sat outside on a warm sunny fall afternoon drinking a glass of red wine when we spotted thousands of monarch butterflies. One actually flew in front of my face but I welcomed it with a smile.  My Mom always said after she was gone, to let us know she was okay she'd give us a sign of a butterfly.  At her funeral we released dozens of monarchs and now the day after her birthday, I took these beautiful winged multi-colored creatures as a sign.
We ran the dogs along the beach with no one in sight until we came across an interesting man in his thirties with a metal detector.  We asked if he found anything which sparked a good forty-five minute conversation about treasure hunting. He introduced himself as Ty and said he works on shipwreck sites (e.g. The Beeswax and Wallula) sunk off the coast of Oregon and Washington state. This well educated professional treasure hunter went on to tell us of a find with his metal detector which was a revolutionary coin worth $9,000.  He fascinated Perry and I with his many stories of his "ancient" finds and worldwide excavations.  We referred to him as a professional treasure hunter but yet with his many stories reminded me of a modern day Indiana Jones.  The tide quickly moved in so we said our "goodbyes" and moved on.

The beautiful rolling green hills and fine wineries beckoned us for the next couple of days before the kids arrived.  David was to surprise Taylor for her birthday by bringing her to Paso Robles not knowing we'd be there.  In the meantime, we visited four small wineries (where dogs were allowed) and agreed this beautiful countryside is a place we could picture ourselves living for a year or two while figuring out our place of permanent residence.  Perry has a knack for picking great wines and Paso has just that!  David surprised Taylor at Opolo Winery where Perry and I were and not much later, Kaylyn had driven to Paso.  Ahhh.....life is good!  Almost my entire family (Brandon still in college) , beautiful countryside and fabulous wines! The next day, we took advantage of Rover.com and brought the dogs to a sitter for the day. Off we went back to Cambria, San Simeon and the cute town of Harmony (pop.16)a finale was sunset at Daou a  mountain top winery   Our fun time at Paso was coming to a close and hating to see the kids leave, we knew we'd be seeing them the following week as we worked our way to southern California (NAS Point Mugu) for Thanksgiving.

Perry being retired Navy allows us to stay on all military bases which I like because they're well kept and safe.  Our next stay was at a National Guard Base in San Luis Obispo where the only sign of any sort of activity were the new recruits singing as they ran  in unison.  The beauty of Paso Robles was amazing and I didn't think our next stay could measure up.  I was wrong because the Pacific Ocean, especially Morro Bay were breathtaking (I mean this literally).  It was so cold and windy, a nice cup of hot clam chowder were beckoning.  Earlier, we were walking the dogs near the ocean and struck up a conversation with a nice gal who was also walking her dog.  She mentioned a beach a mile down the road where you could take dogs off their leashes.  Gracie and Daisy were so happy to run freely and we always hope this will tire them out so we can leave them for an hour or two at night with hopes of a little "dog parental freedom"!  We love our dogs but to them, the four of us are all a pack and they're not happy unless we're all together.  Before long, there was a young family on the beach with two Great Danes off their leashes and because of their intimidating size, Perry decided to put Gracie on her leash.  She doesn't tolerate other dogs as well as Daisy.  One of the dogs became aggressive with her and picked her up in his mouth off the ground, shaking her vigorously by her back hips. I was nearly in tears and eventually the owner was able to free her.  Thankfully she was okay, just a little sore.  After our soup, we walked past a bakery that advertised "fresh baked dog cookies".  They deserved a little love and care and a nice baked biscuit after Gracie's ordeal!
San Luis Obispo has their own share of fine wineries and one of them is Edna Valley (our fifth-wheels namesake and one of our favorite chardonnays). The day before we were to drive to Ventura County for Thanksgiving, we visited Edna Valley(and a few others) and enjoyed a glass of their chardonnay.

 Perry retired from NAS Point Mugu in 2003 but Ventura County is where we continued to raise our kids. There are so many memories here and so happy to be back in our own neighborhood, ready to see our kids and friends  A little over a month into our adventures (so many to date), we are finally getting faster at the hitching, take down process. Perry's true skills were tested when we were assigned our spot on base near the ocean. Space number 124 was "a stones throw" from the ocean but it proved a little tricky to back into because there wasn't room to maneuver.  Thankfully, a kind neighbor helped direct us in ......let the fun begin here at Pt. Mugu!
 There were many walks on the beach,. A large group not far from us gathered for the Thanksgiving holiday and sang every night around campfires.  David and Taylor were anxious to have us at their place in Woodland Hills and to see their new patio set, and of course Perry and I wanted to visit Kaylyn and her new young horse "Bandit".  Brandon flew in for Thanksgiving the Friday before and finally we were all together spending family time together.
On one of our many walks along the beach, we came across a memorial for Alaska Air Flight 261 that crashed (nearest point was the location at Pt. Mugu) in 2000 where 88 people lost their lives. There was an estuary close by where daily we spotted over a hundred sea lions, cranes, egrets, pelicans and herons.  Not a bad thing to wake up to each day not to mention the beautiful sunsets each night!

Thanksgiving

We rented a room in the hotel on base so the kids could stay nearby for Thanksgiving.  I was excited to prepare dinner for my family and this was going to be a true "cook" test in the fifth wheel oven.  I love shopping at the base commissary because the selection and the prices are great.  Here you don't pay for grocery bags like other grocery stores in California.  I found my turkey and its brining bag which  read "made for the U.S military by NASA".  I was excited knowing I was using an official thick, fool-proof bag for my small 13 pound stuffed turkey.  Here we go, the turkey was stuffed and into the NASA bag it went! My timing seemed to be okay considering I had all the other sides to prepare while the turkey cooked.  In it went at 350` on an unstable aluminum pan that BARELY fit into the tiny oven but I was excited to think I was cooking an entire Thanksgiving meal for my family in this tiny kitchen.  In years gone by, we would have a traditional dinner at a lovely decorated table but this year but it would be at a picnic table!  Our view of the ocean and knowing we were all together made it all worthwhile.  After an hour of the turkey being in the oven, I figured I'd better check it and boy I'm glad I did!  The plastic bag had melted to the sides of the oven and looked like shrink wrap against the 13lb. bird. I panicked and quickly (not that quickly) tried to remove it from the oven but the flimsy aluminum pan wasn't cooperating. It took three of us to carefully remove the bird and painstakingly remove the plastic.  Thankfully all plastic was removed but had I not checked it when I did, it would have been a vegetarian Thanksgiving. It took me over a week to clean the oven! In the future, I know now not to confuse a brining bag with a cooking bag!  David brought pies and the rest of the food was delicious and we were ALL together.  Friends joined us later that night for desert around the campfire.

What I will miss about Point Mugu-

Each day on base at 8:00am we were awakened by reveille and a blasted version of "The Star Spangled Banner" and throughout the day various jets including E2C Hawkeyes flying overhead practicing their touch and gos. Kaylyn and I walked the dogs one afternoon and spotted something in the ocean.  It turns out there were several sea lions with their heads popping out looking at us (it appeared that way) that reminded me of periscopes.  We also enjoyed pods of dolphins putting on a show for us almost daily.
When we first arrived on base, I was informed by the security guard at the entrance that my military ID had expired and to "get it renewed immediately".  I referred to my new "friend" as "ol cranky pants". Each time we passed through the entrance he had such a mean, stern face but a couple times we were able to make him smile.....my personal challenge! To drive off base at Point Mugu and go anywhere took you along miles of farmland.  Such a peaceful drive, although the air was not always pleasant due to the fertilizer.
We visited the Huntington Library in Pasadena and got to see paintings by Renoir and Van Gogh and original paintings of Blue Boy and Pinky. The original Gutenberg Bible was on display as well.   I highly recommend visiting this beautiful place. I couldn't resist showing a picture of Perry at the museum with his arm carefully surrounding a Madagascar palm.

(side-note)-In 1994 Perry purchased a three inch Madagascar palm at K-Mart and over the years watched it grow taller than he is but he had to donate it to Apricot Lane Farms after we moved.  I'm sure he misses his little gem!

This completed our trip before heading to San Diego for Christmas.

                                                                                                   

The surprise at Opolo Vineyard

San Simeon Beach

Gracie on the beach before the attack

                                               

Morro Bay

Our fifth-wheel namesake

Rough day on the beach

                                                  

The new patio set!

Hearst park with castle in background

Waiting for the show of sea lions and dolphins

Thanksgiving! Turkey et al!

Special connection with grand-horse

Kaylyn and Bandit

Missing his Madagascar Palm

Next-  "No fish in California", Mean Green /Fiery Red and                        Christmas in Joshua Tree!

TECHNOLOGY (LACK OF), THREE RIVERS.......AND CLANCY!

November 2016

Three Rivers is nearly at the top of my list as far as "fond memories", small town settings and beautiful surroundings.  We were so busy taking in all the sights that we weren't too concerned about our lack of TV or internet (we had the jetpack which used all our data so... no Netflix for us), however not to be able to check in with family proved difficult plus there were e-mails to catch up on. To remedy this, we drove into Visalia (pop. 128,000) where we found a Starbucks with free wi-fi. The dogs were with us so we sat outside on a corner but still within wi-fi reach.  Phone calls were made and e-mails answered all within in an hour but that was all we could handle.  Had Three Rivers affected us in a way that the noise of foot traffic and cars were too much?  I believe so as we couldn't wait to pack up the dogs and head back to our fifth-wheel by the creek, under the trees. In town that afternoon we stopped at the renowned candy store

Reimers to pick up a few souvenirs.

The next morning, I was walking Gracie and had to dispose of the "poop bag" in the bear resistant trash can when an elderly gentleman said to me "I can't believe you can lift the top of that"! He was walking his dog and we struck up a nice conversation about his military duty in the Marines with tours in the Korean War and World War 11. He shared how he met his wife and talked about the book he published.  We talked for awhile and I was so intrigued by this lovely man, that I told him Perry and I would stop by later to purchase his book.  He and his wife live full time in a double trailer along the river. His name is Clancy and his wife, Gail.
A few hours later we walked along the creek until we spotted a home with a screened in porch just as he described.  Prior to our visit, Clancy wanted to warn us his wife had Alzheimer's in the event she seemed confused.  Without apprehension we knocked on the door and were warmly greeted by Clancy's equally delightful, counterpart Gail. Having our undivided attention, we listened to his interesting life long stories, admired Gail's needlepoint and admired Clancy's paintings and beautiful baskets he weaves out of pine needles.  They invited Perry and I to stay for a glass of wine but told them we would take them up on their offer when we got back from town.  Jokingly, Clancy asked us to bring back some chocolate from Reimers and how could we say "no" to our new, delightful friends?  Is it because my Mom would have been 86 the next day and being around them made me miss my own parents? It's hard to say but I'm better off for having known them if only for a day!  We were to return to hear more stories and a couple hours we did just that and shared a glass of wine.  Gail did show some signs of Alzheimers such as reminding me of the year she gave me the necklace around my neck.  Of course I went along with it and Clancy told us she couldn't remember us being there earlier in the day.  We hugged them as we left after promises to keep in touch and Clancy said he'd join us in the morning for coffee at our place before we left Three Rivers.

The next morning, I felt sad to leave my dear friend Clancy, but yet it was time to move on to Paso Robles for a little wine tasting.  I was excited to get there knowing we'd be seeing our son, David, his girlfriend, Taylor and our daughter, Kaylyn.


THOUGHTS ON OUR FIRST TWO MONTHS OF RV TRAVELING FULL TIME!

Selling our house, leaving our adult children and our jobs and deciding to take on the exciting idea of traveling full time has been just that.....exciting!  The places we have been so far and the people we have already met is an indication of what the next year will bring!  It was easier than I thought to leave a rather large home and live in a lovely but SMALL fifth wheel.  I'd like to list a few thoughts.

1.  We're spending LOTS of time together and though we do almost everything together, we also              respect each others need for privacy or just "alone" time!
2.  The days of showering with full water pressure are over and quick (lather up, rinse off) showers          are the new thing! Side note.....Perry chooses to use the RV park showers because he likes the            larger space and "full-flow"!
3.  No washer/dryer in the fifth-wheel which means I collect quarters to visit the RV laundry facility        once a week. Don't care for laundry but it has to get done!
4.  I've learned to do with less.  Fewer clothes, shoes, make-up......it's simplified things quite a bit.
5.  Cooking and cleaning dishes are simplified.  We like to cook but we use food that's on hand and          shop when needed.  We do enjoy eating out and well....using paper plates (no dishwasher)!
6.  There is no garbage disposal ...minor inconvenience but no big deal.
7.  There are no monthly bills to pay (mortgage, utility, etc.)
8.  We have met so many nice, friendly people of all ages who are full time RVers.
9.  The beautiful places in California we've seen in two months have given me a new love and respect      for this state.
10. The people we've met along the way have made this trip (so far) well worth it!  It's a big, beautiful      country and we hope to see as much as we can over the next year!

Next..........Voting, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, NAS Point Mugu and Thanksgiving!

Clancy and Gail

Clancy, Gail and their dog "Pooch"

Our quiet spot in Three Rivers

Three Rivers, Two National Parks and One Bear!

Monday 10-31-16


Human vs. GPS error

Our three hour drive towards Three Rivers was uneventful until we had to look for our turnoff, North Fork drive.  As we got closer, I plugged the address into the GPS on my phone but service is spotty and I've been given the job by "the driver" to be navigator.  The "driver" should have fired me because I inadvertently typed in South Fork drive instead of north.  Here we go up a narrow windy road and not even a half mile into it did I realize my mistake.  Luckily, we found an area to turn around Papi and Edna (no easy task for the total length of approx. 50 ft.)!  I stood in the middle of the road to help navigate Perry around logs, ditches and a fence.  Fortunate for us, a man was working outside watching us struggle and was kind enough to direct us to North Fork.
Three Rivers is at the foothills of the Sequoias surrounded by mountains, trees and supposedly bears!  Sequoia RV Park is in a small area called "Kaweah" and as the sign stated as we pulled in, Elevation 960 and 480 Souls!  I looked at Perry as we entered the wilderness "Are these 480 souls alive or dead"? After all....it is Halloween!  We found our spot, unhitched and went into town for our new tradition of pizza on travel day.  The next day we explored a nearby area called Slick Rock and Perry attempted to fish in the river outside our campsite without any luck.....too many rocks.  We sat outside enjoying the creek right outside our site and the beautiful fall evening and before long our neighbor who was from Washington state joined us in conversation.  He told us of he and his wife's plan to tour the U.S. in their 40 plus foot R.V.  We enjoyed talking to Craig and Lisa and hope our paths will cross again somewhere across the U.S.  Soon after, a small jeep drove up and a friendly, salty character was selling firewood for $10 a bundle.  Our fire was kicking up and soon we were joined by a younger, tall, thin man and his girlfriend who proclaimed themselves to be "gypsies".  They were a year into their relationship, decided to sell everything and travel.  YIKES......sounds like Perry and I?  They had no agenda and were living in a tent trailer but were a fun couple to be around.  I had my reservations about Chris since he took to Daisy but also felt comfortable in disciplining her when she got overly excited.  I liked Beth but it was time to cut this party short!  We had to get up early to head to the Sequoias and Kings Canyon.

Thursday 11-3-16

We couldn't wait to visit Kings Canyon since David and Taylor loved it so much.  It was a good two hours to get there and UP the mountain roads we went with not a word spoken between us.  I don't think either one of us care for heights.....the what ifs?  We know the end result will be worth it and it was!  Kings Canyon is amazing however, being that we were here in the off season a lot of hiking and picnic areas were closed.  We heard so much about Hume Lake and the General Grant tree in the Sequoias.  First stop was the Visitors' Center with verbal directions to the General Grant tree.  According to the volunteer "it is only one third mile from here".  Since you can't bring dogs on national park trails, we made the dogs comfortable in Papi and set foot to see the General Grant tree.  Oh yes......bear whistle neatly tucked away in my pocket.  The trail led us to small signs that said "General Grant" with the arrow pointing in the proper direction.  With not a soul in sight we walked for a good mile, wondering if the fallen tree in front of us was the famous tree and this continued a couple of times on the trail until we determined something didn't feel right!  There was a creepy silence in the air and I knew the bears were somewhere in the not so far off distance.  We walked until we saw a paved road and "yes"  cars....civilization!  This road led us back to the truck and as we drove further down the road,  there was a large sign that pointed to the General Grant tree.  We determined the woman volunteer in the visitors' center meant one third mile driving distance....not walking!  Good old General Grant tree was not the fallen tree on our path but the one near the parking lot with dozens of tourists taking pictures of the second largest tree in the world!  We moved on in search of  Hume Lake .  We followed the signs and noticed there weren't any cars heading in the same direction to the lake.  Did the rest of the people know something we didn't?  Apparently, because it was just US and the speeding Fed Ex truck on the single lane, steep narrow road with an amazing canyon view and the 1,000 foot unsecured drop off.  Traveling at 10 mph we made it to Hume Lake that had NO WATER?! How could that be since so many people I've talked to fairly recently, had been there ?  Upon our safe return, we  were told the dam in the lake was being repaired.  Okay everyday can't be perfect!  Up the road we went in search of recommended Cedar Grove, also in Kings Canyon.  We were at the summit and looking down the windy, stark road when Perry and I decided it was best to head back "home", but not before stopping to let the dogs do their thing.  Perry took them on a trail that took them out of my sight and I thought they were taking long.  Here I am in the middle of nowhere and after twenty minutes the dogs came running back towards me and the truck with no leashes and no Perry. ( I could NOT drive the truck down 6500 feet if my husband didn't come back).  Thankfully, ten minutes after the dogs ran back, here comes Perry!  He figured the dogs got an uneasy feeling when they came across fresh beat scat.  GLAD to get out of here figuring each day brings a different adventure.  We didn't get to see all of Kings Canyon but couldn't wait to get back to buy our $10 firewood and plan our trip to Sequoia National Park the next day.  What a day!

Sequoia National Park
11-4-16

Somehow I knew this day would be different than yesterday.  The drive (according to our neighbor Craig) is easy and scenic!  He was right about it being scenic but NOT easy!  The entrance to the park was only a few miles from where we were staying and our first stop was Tunnel Rock.  Years ago cars would travel up the mountain under Tunnel Rock.  Next stop was Hospital Rock which had petroglyphs (prehistoric stories carved into rock) and a rock where Native American women ground acorns into flour in time creating shallow "bowls" into the rocks .  Next to this was the "bear warning" sign.  Time to head UP the mountain......focus......don't look down!  As beautiful and somewhat scary as this drive was, I managed to looked down and saw a tiny little spec which was actually a car working it's way up the mountain.  Next stop.....Moro Rock, then General Sherman (the largest tree in the world).   As we got out of the car to hike to Moro Rock, people we were putting their food in the bear proof containers....bears?!  I decided to use the restroom before heading out to the highest point and all I could think of were bears!  This narrow-minded ridiculous thinking led me into the "mens" restroom. Hopefully only Perry knew (he pointed it out) !  Gracie and Daisy didn't like being left behind and they sure let us know it by barking.  The climb up was extremely steep but the top of the rock is supposed to have the most amazing view of the Sierra Nevada's (including Mount Whitney). After two-thirds up, I decided to head back and keep the dogs company.  Off to the General Sherman tree.....guaranteed we learned our lesson after yesterdays trip to General Grant.  We began the hike down to the famous tree reading signs along the way warning hikers of the intense climb back up. People were heading back up the mountain (out of breath) and Perry made the comment "if that old man can make it, you can make it".  As they passed us, we noticed the "old man" was actually a woman in her fifties with a hat!  Thankfully he quietly made the comment where only I could hear it. The tree was definitely worth the hike......what a magnificent tree!  We stopped at a visitor's center once again, where I got a brilliant lesson on the sequoias from one of the rangers that also informed me that at this time of year, the bears are heading down to Three Rivers looking to store up on food in preparation for hibernation.   Wait.......Three Rivers is where we're staying?! Trying to forget about what I just heard, we enjoyed a nice sandwich (much better than the other day) reminding each other to clean up to avoid bear "temptation".  I need to face my phobias and see a bear.......well our treacherous non-verbal, lean to the left trip down the mountain brought us to a black bear off the side of the road.  A couple cars had stopped to take pictures and once we were able to stop the bear had crossed to the other side.  I was able to see it close up about 5 feet away and luckily I was in the truck!

We enjoyed a nice, relaxing dinner at the River View restaurant and again made friends with a lovely couple that were entertained by our dogs. Soon another couple walks up acknowledging our dogs as we ate on the patio.  After a good hike, we all needed a break....the

other couple were the two women passing us earlier on the General Grant trail.....(the woman with the hat)!  They couldn't have been nicer!   Another fun, memorable day!

Next.........our last few days in Three Rivers and......Clancy!

View of  Mount Whitney from Moro Rock

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Hospital Rock

Twin Sisters-Sequoia  National Park

General Sherman Tree