More than time to catch up

Now that we have fully transitioned from our Kadey Krogen 42 to an Outdoors RV trailer and truck, it is time to do a little catch up!

Erben Renewal the KK42 was officially sold the end of March and has been renamed.  So, we christened our ORV “Erben Renewal” and have launched ourselves on a six-month jaunt through the western states of California, Oregon, Washington and a corner of Nevada (where we rest today).

Pismo LINE for famous Cinnamon Buns

View from stairs at Wilmar Ave - toward Pismo Pier

checking the wiring???

Winery Visiting!

Paul taught Steve to SURF ----burrrr

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Getting Settled

The winter was spent near our son Paul and his wife Amanda in Le Sage RV park just on the edge of Pismo Beach, CA. We occupied ourselves with RV tweeking projects (Steve did those) while I tried to find places for all the “stuff” we hauled west from the trawler.  For sure the trailer has a lot less storage room – even using the giant truck bed which is now covered and full of “tubs”. In our spare time we hiked the lovely Pismo Preserve as well as beach walks a short block from our door. We also made socially distanced trips to nearby trails and tourist haunts like Santa Barbara and Solvang. Visited a few wineries and Steve took up surfing with Paul and Amanda! Having grown up in the congested Los Angeles/Long Beach area, the relatively uncrowded Central Coast was delightful.  It also didn’t hurt to have the kids and their puppy, Ziggy, nearby as well as the beach plus "mildish" winter weather.

Zig grew so quickly over the winter! He has mastered stairs.

Hiking with the kid and Ziggy

Pismo is famous for its clams

Bluffs near the kids house

Walking in Cambria at Moonstone Beach

Elephant Seals

MORRO ROCK

To ease us away from Pismo which by mid-March was becoming a bit too busy with tourists, we moved for a week up to Morro Bay where we located across from their beach in a nice RV park – a view of Morro Rock.  Although we had visited Morro several times over the winter, it was nice to have a more leisurely visit with time to explore the shops as well as the oyster fish market and make side trips to the shops in Cambria.

Bluff trail in Bakersfield

Old Worth's is now an Antique Mall!

Still with the classic lunch counter

Got a few buttons!!!

Nice touch - camped behind the Host's boat!

Our next stop was Bakersfield with an overnight at Harvest Host Stanger Winery a little east of Atascadero. Our host provided a private wine tasting that was delicious and tempting. A few bottles fell into our trailer. We lingered a few days in Bakersfield to let the weather warm up a little before heading to Isabella Lake and a week on US Forest Service land.  This area is on the edge of the Sequoia National Monument, but the road up to the “trail of giants” was still snowed in. We did manage to find several hikes in the area as well as the antique stores in Kernville.  Sadly, the Kern River Audubon Bird Sanctuary was also still closed due to Covid restrictions.

Sunset at Lake Isabella

Our trailer is on the far shore

Steve found a mine!

This was our first dry camping – totally off the grid – and a test of our “gear” i.e. solar etc. for the coming months. The shops in Lake Isabella were a couple miles away and during our stay Steve made so many trips to the local ACE that the cashier knew him by name. We also liked the truly socially distanced camping at the lake – even on the busy weekend, no other rig was anywhere near us. We also like that it was free with our Golden Park Pass although the high-tech dump cost us $10.

Dispersed Camping at its best!

It was a good thing all systems were go since we left Isabella for 9 days in the BLM Alabama Hills behind Lone Pine on Hwy 395. (Eastern California) These strange lumpy formations in the shadow of Mt Whitney have been the location for hundreds of movies. While most of them were Westerns like the Lone Ranger, they also include more recent films like Star Trek Generations and Django Unchained. So, we had to visit the Western Film museum which is in Lone Pine.

Fascinating Old Time Cameras 

During our stay we also took a day trip to Death Valley which included a couple of the big sights like the Badwaters and the spectacular Artists Pallet drive. On our return we walked into Darwin Falls and 4-wheeled it on the back way into Darwin. Steve was just testing out his new truck and happily reports his satisfaction after an hour on the twisty, bumpy and steep track. It is a far cry from the old days when we had to stop and engage the hubs to have 4-wheel drive. Darwin itself is an interesting collection of establishments – apparently an art colony next to the old mine that built the town – who knew.

Lunch in Death Valley

Darwin Falls

Track to Darwin

Darwin PO

Although access to the Whitney Portal was still closed for the season, we were able to drive up the road and then walk on up. It was “hiking” on a road, but the altitude and steepness still made it a good effort, and the view was well worth the struggle. The contrast to the Alabama Hills “desert” like conditions was remarkable in the few short miles up to the Portal area. There are also several options for “walks” in the hills – some among the famous canyons used for those old films. The sandy trail conditions made them plenty challenging for me. Steve had no fear getting in position for a photo shoot.  Our “parking spot” had a good view of one of the popular rock-climbing walls in the area. But, again this was a great area for camp sites well spread apart.

Closer view of mountains from Whitney Portal Rd

A bonus for us was meeting two groups of other ORV owners who shared tips and ideas all in outdoor “socially distanced” visiting.  (Even though Steve and I both managed to get vaccinated before leaving Pismo, we continue to follow the safe practices that have kept us healthy.)

From Lone Pine we had a long day to the Mono Vista RV park in Lee Vining, CA. (Well the 3 hours did include a stop in Bishop for groceries!)  Also, we did indeed have a sliver of a view of the lake from our windows. It was a tiny bit early in the season, so some of the best hikes were not open and the June Lake ski lifts were still working. However, we managed to tromp through the small snow piles to make the trip into Parker Lake – although I did some serious sliding on the way back down.  Should have had a sled!  On walks to the Mono Lake view points, we were rewarded with interesting angles on the tufa formations both on land and in the lake. Reflections of the surrounding snow-capped mountains were also mesmerizing. In summer the lake is feeding ground for migrating birds, we were too early to see many varieties although Steve spotted a Red-breasted Sapsucker on a tree next to the RV park.

TUFA at Mono Lake

on a calm day

Otherwise, we were lucky with the weather and had a great trip into Bodie State Historic Park. This destination was one of the reasons I booked a stop here. I was depressed when the Caltrans website reported the road still closed for the winter, but fortunately the camp host informed us that was not correct.  It is a fascinating collection of moldering buildings from the era of gold and silver mining in the Bodie hills.  Gold was discovered by Mr. Bodey in 1861 but not seriously mined until the late 70s and 80s. In fact, it was still producing precious metals until 1942. So, the buildings represent a wide range of styles and condition. The huge complex of over 150 buildings is being preserved in a state of “arrested decay” rather than being restored. While visitors can’t enter structures, we could peer through many windows at hints of life here from the early 1880s through the 1940s. We were fortunate to spend a beautiful sunny morning there and did not have to get a taste of the harsh winter weather that took Mr. Bodey’s life.  Just a few of our pics:

Northward we continue but have now paid the price for rushing the season. It snowed on us this morning – then broke to allow a loop through Gardnerville, Minden and Genoa, NV back to Topaz Lake and is now sleeting again.  Glad to have both our propane heater and fireplace plus the 4-season insulation of this trailer.  The weatherman promises this will most likely be the end of winter!  We have our fingers crossed.

PS  Teddy has made the transition flawlessly!

He has explored every locker

Enjoys being groomed outdoors - Lake Isabella