Pausing in Paso Robles

We've come over the hills from Moro Bay and the ocean traveling easterly to Paso Robles in a rare and greatly appreciated rain storm.  It was not a significant amount of moisture, but they will take anything they can get out here.

Paso Robles is a nice stay where we settle into one of the premier parks we are able to enjoy in California during our work travels. The town itself specializes in vineyards with lots of focus on tasting rooms and wine related gift shops for the tourists who come here to experience the wine industry.  We've not had an opportunity to visit either this year, but nevertheless there have been some nice scenes to record here.  We also made a trip across Route 46 through an area we have never traveled through before to visit a park further east near Interstate-5 in a little town called Lost Hills. But more on that later...

The vines are just getting started along their wire rows winding their way over rolling hills like pinstripes.  The color and amount of the grape vine leaves varies depending upon the grape variety.  Some varieties put out much thicker foliage than others.  Some have very dark leaves while others are a very light green.  Looking at some of the wineries, I am reminded of a couple of Hollywood love stories that revolved around vineyards.  It is intriguing to imagine what it would be like to own and operate such an endeavor.  I suspect more work physically than I could complete at this age (well at least until I got into better shape.)

We heard the story of one vineyard here that has rewarded their workers with some vines of their own to cultivate and then from what they grow they produce their own wine for sale.  They are given the opportunity to sell their wine and any profits go toward a fund to cover their medical needs in an emergency.  The idea was born when one of the workers had a son who needed medical care for a heart defect.  Since then their employees have successfully marketed their wine creations building production each year.  It is a win-win for everyone involved.  Hurray for the owner who had the foresight to come up with a plan to protect those who are integral to his own business success.  Need I say more?  No, you can surmise the benefits to all who are involved.

We also passed an interesting, life size iron sculpture here of a stagecoach and horses.  We saw it in a horse pasture with a real horse standing next to it.  The photo we took doesn't show the real horse, but it is a nice example of what talented people here have created.  We toured a beautiful sculpture park here last year that I posted photos of in early May called "Sculptera" that you may recall.

On the way to Lost Hills, we saw come pretty terrain, a huge oil field, the almond trees of Pacific Almond and a blimp.  The latter was rather a surprise as it headed easterly above us.  Most people know that California produces 90% of the world's almond supply.  It is amazing to see them growing in almost desert-like conditions.  With a 25 percent mandatory reduction in irrigation, I have to wonder if the orchards will survive.  It is a sad proposition to think the abundant crops California traditionally produced may be curtailed or worse go away altogether.

 

Well, I am going to copy Snoopy and catch some sleep before tomorrow gets here and we hit the road for the next stop.  Check-in soon and we'll update you on the next few miles up the road as we head for Monterey and back on the coast by the end of the week. 

Morro Bay by the Rock

We are in Morro Bay tonight.  This is one of our favorite destinations on the Central Coast of California.  The small and quaint fishing town, striking scenery, the Pacific Ocean roaring against the shore and Hearst Castle just up the road make this a great stop.  The locals will also encourage you to take the winery tour and play a round of golf on the town’s public course.  There are galleries and antique stores to peruse and fishing boats and kayakers to admire down by the bay.  If we were to hang around for next weekend, we could even take in a vintage car show.  This weekend there is a kite festival.  The consistent wind here down by the ocean makes flying a kite predictable.  But we’ll be gone by then.

We are about twenty miles north of San Luis Obispo and roughly 200 miles south of San Francisco at this location.  En route today, we passed California Polytechnic Institute just north of San Luis Obispo and something called a Men’s Colony (a fancy name for a men’s prison.)  I don’t remember either of these from last year’s trip through this area, so each day presents something new to see.  The Morro Rock is predictably the same. 

As tourists, we obviously are not the first to travel to Morro Bay.  We viewed an old photo today of those who preceded us to see the volcanic Morro Rock in the 1800s.  Archaeological studies have shown the Chumash Native Americans preceded these individuals as early as 47 centuries before the birth of Christ to hunt and fish along these shores!  The Spaniards came in 1587, claiming the land here for Spain.  No doubt over all of these centuries, many have come to this harbor and gazed at the 576-foot Morro Rock and longed to know the others who passed by these shores before them.

We’ll hope for some sun and a little more warmth tomorrow for some additional photos.  A supply of taffy from the waterfront is in order.  Maybe even a cup of hot coffee down by the beach before we start work.  If we come back this way in the fall, I hope to linger here and explore a little longer.  Then I may be able to tell you more precisely what it is that draws both of us to Morro Bay.  Look carefully below and you will see two people on the beach.  Their size compared to the portion of the Morro Rock showing in the background will give you an idea of just how massive this rock sitting in the ocean here is!

Playing in Pismo

While walking to wake up on an early morning stroll through our campground today, a hint of the prior evening's entertainment is revealed-chairs in a circle around a now defunct campfire.  What stories were shared? What tales were told?  Did you know there is a wine called Happy Camper that comes in versions of Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet?  It is true.  Was it shared here?

Did you know also that photographing red is the most difficult color of all?  Yes, it is true.  In the early morning, muted light before the sun rises and while the marine layer of clouds still linger over head, it is possible to photograph red.  The only thing that would have been better would have been to capture in this shot one of the hummingbirds that favor this bottle brush tree.  Alas, they have slept in today.

This flower looks like a cousin to the bottle brush tree.  I don't know the name of the shrub it was on but its shape, color and look are similar to the former.  It took looks good in this light as well.

This old fellow stands next to our coach.  It is beautiful and majestic.  It reaches up to the sky with silver arms and I know it stood here long before there was an RV park beneath its branches.  The ocean winds have shaped its arms and it rises far above the highest RV roof.  Above us, it can talk to the sky and reach out to embrace the winds.  With luck it will stand here another hundred years and another old woman will look up at it like me in awe.

Reflected in the spotless hubcap of our coach, we played (as we are often tempted to do whenever our cameras are in hand) trying to capture a different sort of image.  Jimmy's idea; but then he's often the creative one in our family when it comes to photography.  It worked.

A really nice day.  Relaxing, fun, some nice pictures.  Life is sweet.

Dunes at Sunset

The dunes of Oceano, California at Pacific Dunes RV Resort are so special.  They draw you into them to play in the soft beige sand no matter what your age.  We hit the sand just before sunset.  Awesome! 

We were not alone.  Another couple well ahead of us far out on the dunes were drawing in the sand, taking photographs and laughing, too.  Two women with cocktails strolled next to us initially then veered off to the left to see the sunset from a closer bluff.  We had further to go in our minds toward the ridge, a glimpse of the ocean and the setting sun.  After several minutes, we looked back to see the women who’d achieved their destination.  A man and his dog, J.J. and “Rocky” after a long day’s work of cleaning our coach, were out unwinding tight muscles in the yielding sand also.  Enjoying a mental massage, if not a physical one, both dog and man seemed content to end their day in this marvel of nature.

 

Our time was constrained by the sun slipping down into the Pacific.  There was no way I really wanted to be out there forging my way back through the sand in the dark.  So we turned and returned to the coach followed by all of our other companions.  It was a good way to end a long and busy day.  Our time here has come and gone again.  Sadly, we have no time to linger this year.  But I am assured that there are many more events down the road that will capture our camera and our attention.  That only leaves us with the opportunity to get going and find them.  For that we are both ready!  And we will be leaving in a very nice looking, clean coach.

 

 

Lunch with a View

Some days it pays to go to work.  Even on days when you work longer than usual.  This scene was our view for lunch today.  Not hard to take.  It sure makes peanut butter and jelly taste better and I like them for lunch occasionally anyway.  The surfers, dog walkers and sun worshipers were out in force.  We all enjoyed the moment no matter why we were there.

  I know why people live in California.

When we got home, our coach was beautifully clean.  J.J. supervised by his dog "Rocky" had scrubbed it to perfection and all the dirt from Florida to here was magically gone.  J.J. probably would not appreciate "magically" - he worked very hard.  But to us it was magic!

Bits and Pieces

Today’s adventure was really about some cute scenes not so much the trip to inspect yet another park.  The photos speak for themselves almost.  We drove up to Santa Margarita Lake and back.  I remembered this trip from the latter portion of it through meadows with huge oak trees.  Some of the trees are struggling with the drought, but overall there are mile after mile of them sharing the meadows with cattle, horseback riders and us whizzing by in our cars.   It was a beautiful day with clear skies and sun.  Away from the water, we did not even require a light jacket. 

We passed through a small town on the way just before the KOA that was our destination.  I saw a dream house I could live in with a wonderful front porch that shared a bit of the owner’s dreams.  On either side of three colorful pots of flowers sitting on a table there were placed in perfect spacing tiny statuettes of a lighthouse, a truck and a train.  Not chaotic-as a child would leave them in play, but decorative.  Behind this display were two white rockers.  Who lives there?  Do they come out onto the porch on a hot afternoon or early in the cool evening air to watch the world go by?  Separated from the busy world of the street before them across a white picket fence, do they know the serene world they project of a time and place long since lost to most of us?  I don’t know.  But I envision myself on that porch and I can taste a cool glass of lemonade in my hand as I watch the world pass by…

There was a poke to the price of gas these days creeping up to greet all of those hitting the road for a longed for vacation behind the wheel and it brought a smile to our lips.  How funny, how universal the thought.

 There were silver skeletons of trees that have given up in the struggle against the drought.  They seemed like characters from a Harry Potter story waiting to come alive in the dusk.  I can imagine them dancing around together before me in the moonlight with eerie music filtering in from the dark fields beyond them.

Maybe this is where some of the stories and their characters are born in the imagination of those of us who feel compelled to write. 

 

Wake Up, Smell the Coffee

We did wake up and smell the coffee today.  It just wasn’t at El Capitan Beach State Park.  You see the State Park charges $9 to get in (we hesitated to pay that for a ten minute stroll on the beach with our own coffee.)  We got there 15-minutes before the park opened so a huge metal gate blocked the easiest way to park near the water.

The older lady who worked the guard shack reluctantly allowed us to do a “drive-through” for 5 minutes through the camping section for a glimpse of the water.  We did see a lot of almost awake, happy campers sitting around picnic tables with their hands wrapped around a cup of coffee, but not much water nor beach.  We saw a couple of cute dogs too. 

My vision of walking on grayish sand dodging cold Pacific water creeping up toward my toes quickly evaporated.  We made the guard shack lady happy I suppose-if she noticed when we cruised back by her while leaving the park.

Then we were back to the RV and starting up the coast toward the end point of Oceano, CA and Pacific Dunes RV Park.  We’ll stay here for three nights after making two inspections along the way.  The dunes are too wide to reach the ocean (at least for our old bodies.)  But they are a delight in and of themselves.  I hope in this harried schedule of work we are keeping, to at least walk out into the dunes once.  Maybe with that cup of coffee early some morning…

City of Arts and Flowers

We also traveled to Lompoc to see a public park today.  Lompoc is the city of "Arts and Flowers" and was long known as the flower seed capital of the world.  Traveling out U.S. Hwy 1 from U.S. Hwy 101, you traverse a beautiful canyon valley-the Santa Ynez Valley, that eventually opens out to this little city by the sea (Lompoc was named for the Spanish term for lagoon.) 

It is a place where people retire because it is economical and the community survives because it is adjacent to Vandenberg Air Force Base.  They are developing their winery business here too with a commercial area that has been transformed into “Wine Ghetto” [did you know that the term ghetto means:  (adj.) jury-rigged, improvised, or home-made (usually with extremely cheap or sub-standard components), yet still deserving of an odd sense of respect from ghetto dwellers and non-ghetto dwellers alike-according to Urban Dictionary.]  

The town turned a commercial area into a series of wine tasting venues and local wineries have created beautiful gift shops and tasting rooms in the former commercial buildings.  The town is also known for hosting the largest dog show west of the Mississippi once a year.  It was slated to become the western location for launches of the shuttle until the Challenger launch disaster in Cape Canaveral occurred.  

Today a Flower Festival was going on in one of the city parks.  The flowers here reminded me of La Connor, WA tulips.  We could not resist photographing them.  We ate lunch by a lake in a park adjacent to the city’s RV Park and watched the ducks chase each other (spring is in the air I presume…) it was nice being outside and taking a few minutes from work to enjoy doing nothing.  I am going to research more on this city and I’ll let you know what we learn.

Perks of the Job

There are certainly advantages to what we do for a living in the summer.  We get to stay in some lovely RV parks.  The last two days we have been at Ocean Mesa RV Resort at El Capitan.  This park is situated across U.S. 101 from the beach and you can see the Pacific Ocean from the park with the Catalina Islands beyond. 

The park has a gorgeous pool area that includes a hot tub and heated pool.  There is a path through the woods to another camping area (tents and cabins version) that includes a beautiful store and a second snack bar/gift shop combo just beyond that are both tempting to my wallet.  Luckily limited space in an RV made me control myself. 

One of the new things in camping are “glamour tents” which in no way resemble traditional camping.  They come equipped with queen beds, mini-refrigerators and microwave ovens, and TVs.  Think hotel suite in a tent.  The per night price is beyond our discretionary spending, but it could easily compete with the RV except that we have a bathroom, full kitchen and running water!  Yup, I’ll stick with ours.  But it is fun to have full rein to stroll about the grounds of this mega resort and enjoy its amenities. 

The tenting area is built back into a canyon and they don’t allow cars up into the canyon.  Well, except for a trip up to drop off your stuff and then a return trip to pick it up from your cabin or tent.  Environmentally conscious of the impact of cars, management limits their use.  They do lots of other things to protect the trees, ferns and fauna here as well.  The park opens out to a half-mile road leading directly to the beach and the Pacific Ocean with a view of the Channel Islands that include Catalina Island visible in the distance. 

We leave here in the morning, but I hope to wake up early enough to take the car over to the beach to see the water in the morning light with a cup of coffee.  Wish you were here to join me.

Tale of Two Toilets

Jimmy and I took an unexpected day off due to food poisoning after lunch at a fast food restaurant last Sunday (restaurant chain and location to remain unnamed.)  I might add it will be a long time before I look a burger and fries in the face again!  I knew better.  There is a reason to stick to healthy, home cooked meals…

The photo below shows a recent “arrangement” we saw in an RV Park recently.  We were wishing we had the same facilities as these in our coach during our “day off” or at least a bath and a half!  

    

Snow and Wind

We drove up to Tehachapi to see three parks.  Tehachapi is 35 miles east-southeast of Bakersfield and west of Mojave.  It is still winter up there at 3,970 feet above sea level.  One park we went to called Indian Hills Ranch still has snow on the hills above it.  It was cold!  I suspect we will see more of that in the future although the snow pack in California is very, very light.

With California Governor Brown’s new water restrictions and the general reaction to the lack of water by the population here, we can see California adjusting to its new reality.  One has to wonder how long it will be before the production of agriculture will migrate back to seasonal production in other areas of the country and how much of what we accept as normal produce year round will become a thing of fond memory?  By the time we reached Santa Paula, we could see that the farmers are working hard to provide us with everything from strawberries and cabbages to oranges and lemons.  All of which have been plucked from the earth and trees by back breaking work.  It causes me to pause and be grateful for what I take for granted pushing a grocery cart.

One thing California is getting right are acres and acres of wind generators in remote areas.  We passed hundreds of them all working away making electricity with the free source of energy created by the wind and bothering no one by their presence in the process.  Pretty awesome!

Return to Shoshone

During our stay in Barstow, we drove north and east to Shoshone.  This is one of my most anticipated journeys.  There is something about the hot springs and the feeling of being in an area that again is a true oasis on the edge of Death Valley that intrigues me.  This year we learned about the Shoshone Pupfish they have discovered in small pools of warm spring water near the RV Park we inspect in Shoshone.  These fish herald from the Ice Age and are found nowhere else on earth because this species is on the verge of extinction.  The male fish is a beautiful blue hue we viewed in a five minute stroll up a path located near the swimming pool to see them.  (Sorry you can't see them in the pool pictured below.  Check out this link to see them.)

The other thing I learned is that the early Native American Paiute settlers in this area grew bountiful crops they were willing to share with migrating American settlers who came to the area in 1910.  The current population of 31 maintains the town consisting of a general store, a Post Office, a Museum, an Inn, a café, the RV Park and five birding trails where up to twenty varieties of birds can be seen during the year on a thirty-minute walk.

I want to return here again and stay longer for more exploration and to make a day trip to a portion of nearby Death Valley National Park.  I want to leave early enough to see the sun rise over the lowest point in North America at Badwater.  Then continue further north to find Natural Bridge-a rock formation where erosion created a span across canyon walls and finally follow a nine-mile route along Artist’s Drive to catch an afternoon view of Artist’s Palette where minerals in the rocks create a striking array of colors.  For that I will bring you photos.  Lots of them!

Here also we discovered the world's tallest thermometer in Baker, California.  It was a sight to behold. 

Shady Lane

On from Victorville, we enjoyed a stay in Barstow.  This desert town is a railroad and Interstate hub and enjoys the economic benefits of both.  One of my favorite things about this stay is the RV Park-Shady Lane with its three brothers who carry on what their parents started in the desert here.  We enjoy their company and the bit of oasis they have created with the park.

It is here that I witnessed the tiniest hummingbirds I have ever seen.  At first I thought they were moths until I paid attention to their attraction to flowers at the park’s entrance.  We were out for a walk right after dinner as the sun began setting and enjoyed watching them hustle for their last minute chance at nectar.  The owner’s have an office with a totem pole in front that may date from the inception of the park.  I love it and the visits with the owner we have experienced there.

Unfortunately, we may not see them again as the park is on the verge of selling and then they will hit the road in an RV like us.  Well, you never know, maybe we will pass each other on the road one day.  One can make wishes that come true you know… 

This Teddy Bear on wheels enjoyed the park too!

Outrageous

Since San Diego we have traveled east to Victorville where we began this year’s work journey.  This is such an arid and dry area that they are already fighting brush fires.  We saw the smoke from one while we were there and heard about it on the news that night.

Another thing that amazed and outraged me, as a taxpayer was an entire area of military base housing formerly of George Air Force Base just left to disintegrate in the desert winds across from the Federal Prison in Victorville.  We saw it’s broken windows, graffiti covered walls and caving in roofs from the coach as we passed by the high walls surrounding the former homes.

I understand the cost/benefit argument the military probably promulgated when they left the area. The local people were left to survive on their own after years of depending upon a base-promoted good economy.  The resulting hardships are still evident.  But rather than allow these homes to disintegrate, why not give them back to the community to create if nothing else, homes for young people or the elderly who need a start in life or a place to securely end life not worrying about a roof over their heads or maybe even a mortgage before the homes reached this stage?  Well, you get my point.  Enough said.

Because I wasn't fast enough to get pictures as we passed, check out these photos and comments by another person who regrets the situation just like me by clicking here.  It is mind boggling!  Reading the comments on this site I learned even more:

"Despite its designation as a superfund site (because of ground contamination from toxic and radioactive materials like jet fuel, metals and other contaminants), it is abandoned, neglected, and becoming consumed by nature."

Learning the government left behind a contaminated site it has yet to cleanup explains why we wouldn't move our young people nor the elderly in there.  But to me it makes the site and the situation even more outrageous.

Now I'll step off my soapbox...