Potholes State Park, Othello, WA, USA – Nov. 28-30, 2011

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Well we traded in the rain and wind of Western Washington for the sunshine and wind of the Eastern side.  The temperature only reached about 45 during the day and dropped to below freezing at night, but we loved the sun and the blue sky of Eastern Washington.  We stayed three nights at the Potholes State Park Campground which promised water, sewer and electric, although the foremost was missing at the pitch.  (Water is available at the main gate during winter.)

We were nice and toasty with the electric hook-up keeping our heater humming (yes, it looks like we’ll have to use electricity until we are out of the below-freezing area of the country—not even our solar can keep up with the demanding heater) and we celebrated being one of only three campers on the lovely grounds, letting the dogs run free and having a campfire each night.  It felt great to be out of an RV Park!

The area is filled with hunters during the day (duck, apparently this time of year, evidenced by a very calm, nice-sized deer wandering through our camp one morning.)  We did our own hunting trying to find a hiking trail, but the one we found only yielded only a couple miles worth of hiking—not nearly enough to justify the chips and Manhattan’s from the previous night.  So Day 2 found us hiking the Potholes area where we wandered until the fenced and posted “Wildlife Refuge” area stopped us.  (Truth be told, we did consider crawling through the fence, but River had already crossed over and was barking at something in the bushes.  We thought it wouldn’t be much of a refuge if terriers were allowed to terrorize, so we turned back.)  

It was an enjoyable hike, sunny but cold—a short DITL movie will be posted soon.  We stopped to fish twice in Corral Lake on the way back but caught nothing (I have yet to catch anything with my new rod—its ROI is going to take forever!)  A quick stop at the creek near the campground on the way back to Salt left us defeated and without fresh fish for dinner. Man, were we spoiled in the Eastern Sierras! 

A special note:  This was written on November 30, the three-month mark in our Three Months No Matter What Deal with each other.  So far we are still on.  I’m not saying it as has all been easy, and I will say it’s much easier to live in a trailer in 72 degree weather than in the rain or cold.   So come late January, watch out Texas:  We’ll be shedding Polartec and wool socks all the way to the Gulf!

-K 

PS:  If it is not warm at the Gulf in February, would someone please warn us?  Otherwise I fear we’ll be shedding more than just clothing.

Seattle, WA, USA - Nov. 23-28, 2011

Having lived in Seattle for 12 years, I came to town with my favorites already in tow--no pun intended.  I am happy to report that the top two were visited.


I realize I have some readers who follow this like a travel log, so let me start by saying that November is not the month to visit Seattle.  Seattle is gorgeous when the sun is out and you are most likely to find those days in September (yes, not even August is a totally safe bet--plus August has most of the tourists in town.)  


True to form for this time of year, it rained almost constantly on our visit.  We had the pleasure of spending most of our time with friends and family so the weather wasn't much of a deterrent to our plans, however Rosco & River felt very short-changed at the short, leash-on walks.


Food in Seattle is as delicious as it is pricey but you cannot go wrong at Matt's in the Market.  Get a reservation for this iconic restaurant looking out at the Pike's Place Market sign and you will be surrounded by the best of Seattle.  Food and service continue to be sublime, and the dress code is very Seattle:  Anything goes, but your wait staff will likely be in jeans.


My indulgence for the weekend was not the Mace Pecan ice cream at Matt's but a 90-minute facial with Ollga at Filipi Salon in Belltown.  I discovered Ollga's talents years ago when she was at Yaroslava and she just keeps getting better.  My skin was in heaven after 90 minutes of expensive serums, masks and her (should be patented) facial massage.  Simply delightful.  Ollga's husband, Ginci does fantastic hair - you can read more about him here.


A new favorite find is the Issaquah/Preston Trail, part of the Mountains to Sound trail system.  A welcome benefit from having to stay so far from Seattle.  (We were unable to find any RV parks inside Seattle city limits for some reason, so we chose Issaquah over Kent or Lynnwood as we'd rather drive I-90 to/from Seattle than I-405 or I-5.)


Our RV Park, the Issaquah Village RV Park, is reviewed in detail on our Campgrounds page.

Scenic Drive - Oregon Coast - Nov. 19, 2011

Rainy but still interesting . . . .

Also available on our Movies! Page

DITL - Oregon Dunes Hike - Nov. 18, 2011

The Farm and Mt. Saint Helen’s National Park (Northern Portland & Southern Washington) – Nov. 20-22, 2011

We had heard rumors about the beauty awaiting us at Sue & Rick’s farm in Northern Oregon, but we still were unprepared for the delight of it all.  They had invited us to stop by on our way up, well, it was more like, “You better stop by” and when Rick is part of a statement like that, you just listen.  (Retired from the State Police with a dog named Sniper, you see?)

We were unsure if the invitation included staying the night at the farm and, knowing the maintenance quotient of our two terriers, we just decided it would be best to assume we were camping nearby and arrive on Sunday for dinner.  So we dropped Salt at the Champoeg State Park (lovely, rolling hills near the Willamette Valley [i.e., wine!] region) before heading up to the farm.

Driving down the windy driveway, I was ever so glad that Salt was not in tow. However this decision was an immediate disappointment to Sue & Rick, followed shortly with more disappointment when they heard of our plans to sleep down at Champoeg.  Of course they had prepared their lovely guest room (King size bed!  Flannel sheets!)  which were indeed tempting, but little did they know that I was hooked the minute we walked into the living room and saw the giant HD TV broadcasting a football game.  (Oh, and by the way, there is an awesome view of the valley and a cozy fire in the wood stove in the corner.)

After a tour of the grounds in the Polaris (a short video of this ride will be available on Movies! soon), they graciously invited both dogs inside to meet their two dogs and two cats.  Ours jumped out of the car and immediately chased the turkeys before coming inside and messing on the floor (River) and jumping the cat (Rosco.)  I was back to being glad we were staying at Champoeg.  

It was lovely to visit with friends, enjoy good food and drink and the feeling of your arms flying out to the side and hitting nothing, nothing at all.  We showed up the next morning for breakfast, Salt in tow, but left the dogs in the car so we could truly relax.

Had we not driven more than 50 miles the next day, we surely would have been back at Sue & Rick’s to ride out the storm.  The weathermen predicted 1-2” of rain and they were not disappointed.  However, we had a goal if seeing Mt. Saint Helen's and stopped for the night in Castle Rock (Silver Lake RV Resort), hitting Mt. Saint Helen's the next day—yes, right in the middle of the downpour. 

We drove to the Johnston Ridge Observatory and observed the low clouds, rain and fog hugging the mountains so close you could barely see the snow piled at the edge of the road.   However, having woken up and weighed myself that morning, I was intent on getting in a hike (despite the rain and my cold) so we dropped down to Hummocks Trailhead and hiked 2.5 miles in the downpour.  We were soaked and couldn’t see much, but what we could see was spectacular:  Vistas of hillsides ripped of trees from the volcano now growing green with moss and grass, huge dunes of ash and views down to the Toutle River.  On a sunny day I could have spent hours on these 2.5 miles, as it was, it was the fastest hike we have done yet.

A note here:  The trail is listed as 2.3 miles but we had a detour to chase after R&R who, in turn, were chasing after two elk.  There is a $100 fine for having dogs on the trail, imagine what the fine would be for setting two free?  They eventually returned (River first, if anyone is counting.)

  

We returned to Salt soaking wet with the rain still coming down.  The Pacific Northwest is not an easy place to live in your trailer.  We have lots of good friends and family to visit in Seattle but I will be ready for sunshine soon after that:  Can anyone say I-90 to Eastern Washington?  Cold for sure, but I’ll take snow and sun over rain any day!

-K

PS:  There are no pictures of Mt. Saint Helen’s, but what we could see hinted at grand, so it is on our list for a re-visit.  And yes, that will be more like 2013.  We have seven days left of our “three months minimum” deal but neither one of us can find anything wrong with this life.  As a matter of fact, the Future Farm of The Bryants is beginning to look just a little stationary.

Oregon Coast, OR, USA – 11/17-19, 2011

More Pictures!

What a great ending to our longest drive day yet:  320 miles from Redding to the Oregon Coast, mostly on I-5, then cutting across Highway 138 to 38 to 101, ultimately finding our way to the campground at the Umpqua Lighthouse State Park.  (And, by the way, three cheers to the State of Oregon for putting out the easy to use and informative Oregon State Parks Guide - a must have for this area and free at ranger stations.)

Although I-5 through southern Oregon is undoubtedly the prettiest portion of that [usually horrid] Interstate, it simply does not compare to Highways 138 and 38.   Not only is the drive gorgeous but it also brings you through the lovely town of Elkton, which almost made my cut for Future Farm Land of The Bryants.   I say almost because, (as we have to keep reminding ourselves), this is the Pacific Northwest, the rain that feels so refreshing now feels equally as oppressive after nine months.  Ok, ten months.  Really, it is more like eleven months.  But I digress . . . 

The Umpqua Lighthouse Campground was almost completely empty our first night so we let the dogs run free.   They looked so happy running around we decided to hit the trail around Lake Marie (1 mile) to stretch our legs after that long drive.  Returning to Salt, we prepared the sun-downers, forgot where we were, and lit a campfire.  Just as the fire was getting really nice, the wind kicked up and the rain came down and we rushed inside.

True to form for this part of the country, it was raining the next morning as well but we didn’t let that stop us.  We had only one day to see the coast and, even though both of us lived in Seattle for many years, we had never visited the Oregon Dunes.  So we set off on the 5 mile John Dellencamp Trail across the magnificent dunes to the ocean’s edge.  (See the DITL on the Movies! page, coming soon.)

All alone out there the dogs were running around like crazy until the storm hit:  Not just rain, but hail coming down on us at the ocean’s edge!  So we dashed back into the woods for cover and wolfed down some PB&J’s for energy.

Also true to form for this part of the country, about 15 minutes later the sky cleared a bit and the sun came out.  Our hike back to the trailhead was delightfully warm and sunny and, even better, the dogs completely dried out before getting back into the car.

I wasn’t feeling well that afternoon so Alan went down to fish Lake Marie without me.  Have to admit, although I wasn’t feeling well, it felt marvelous to lie in bed and read a book for a few hours!  We thought we would have so much time on our hands during the Aventura but we never seem to have time to just sit around, one of the many odd things we have discovered so far.

Sadly, Alan returned fishless but he happily made dinner anyway; Chicken Posole which was perfect for a rainy night.   

The following day we headed up Highway 101 but not before a quick stop at the Windy Bay Bakery in Winchester Bay as we had been drooling over their "sourdough bread" sign for two days.  They did not disappoint!  Not only fantastic, fresh bread but they made a vegetarian pizza for us (wrapped to be baked later) on the spot.

It is a lovely drive, that part of Highway 101, and it will be posted on our Movies! page as a Scenic Drive soon.   We made a quick stop for some hiking at Cape Perpetua (in the rain, of course) before stopping for the night at the Lincoln City Premier RV Resort.  Unlike the Redding Premier Resort, this one had great WIFI and at $41/night for a pull-through full hook-up, it was a good deal.

-K

Redding, CA, USA - Nov. 15-16, 2011

A brief stop in Redding for an SAP demo before heading up to the Pacific Northwest.  


We had one night at the Fairfield Inn which was a good deal with their friendly staff, laundry facilities, free breakfast, welcoming dog policy and the ability to park Salt outside.  Our second night was at the Redding Premier RV Resort, selected because it advertised a new area with good Wifi.  The new area is nice with large cement pitches and lots of grass in-between, but the Wifi promise was not fulfilled.  


I was delighted to find a fantastic (and award-winning) walking trail along the Sacramento River of which we took advantage on a sunny afternoon.  There is a cafe near the Turtle Bay entrance serving hot and cold sandwiches and some of the best smelling fries we have ever had the mis-pleasure of sensing.  (Due to a recent weight gain, we are off the fries for awhile.)


We ate out only once at Janya Thai Kitchen, discovered and reviewed on Yelp.


The demo went well and I find myself without an appointment on my calendar for the first time since the Aventura began!  True freedom at last!


Off to the Oregon coast now, we have to skip Crater Lake due to an approaching snow storm.  So it will be hiking in the rainy sand dunes of Oregon instead.


-K

Movie Time: Rosco (WFT) Fishing the Trinity River

Filmed on location on November 10, 2011, Trinity River, Lewiston, CA, USA

Shasta/Trinity National Forest & Trinity Lakes Wilderness – Nov. 9-14, 2011

More pictures!

Thinking about taking up fishing in California?  My advice is to begin in Northern California and then head south to Owen’s Valley in the Eastern Sierras (see postings from October) this way you can be fishless as a beginner but end like a pro.  Although you can see the fish everywhere up here, they are focused on mating and not eating (this is November, after all.)  Such is the setting for our almost fish-less week.

We came here because it was the wildest looking area around Redding, California, and we only had six days before I needed another demo stop.  Most of the government campgrounds are closed this time of year and, afraid of it dropping below freezing at night, (ok, only Kit is afraid of it dropping below freezing!) we decided our first stop would be at the Trinity River RV Park in Lewiston, CA.  It is a funky little place.  So far my experience of RV parks has been that they are either too fancy (including swimming pools and golf cart rentals) or too funky (mostly filled with people living there full time with a few open spots for those of us on the road) with a few charming parks in between (the previously reported Mono Vista RV Park in Lee Vining, CA, being one of them.)    

But the folks at Trinity were welcoming and upon arrival we were offered two choices, a full hook-up spot for $35/night or dry camping along the Trinity River for $25/night.  Gazing across an open meadow to the shores of the river while contemplating these options, we both knew there was little chance that we would start our visit anywhere but at the river’s edge.  The solitude of the wide open meadow and campfire rings were joyous indications of fresh air and freedom after nearly 300 miles in the car.  (Clearly, this was an emotional, not financial, decision—a $10 difference between dry camping and a full hook-up?  Normally that would have been a no-brainer.)

It was lovely down along the shore. The dogs running free and all of us watching the salmon jump up the river (watch the movie of Rosco fishing here – the fish were bigger than he was!)  We also tried our hand at bringing in one of the giants, and Alan had one on his line for a brief period of time, but we never got one to shore.  The weather was sunny and not too cold at night, so we managed to get two nights of dry camping out of our batteries before pulling Salt up to the top for an additional two nights in a full hook-up pitch.

We tried a hike in the Trinity Alps – aptly named for their incredibly high peaks.  Sadly, almost every hike we could find started low (3,500 feet) and then climbed up through the trees to the alpine meadows (and I mean climb!) to above 7,500 feet.   Unlike the trails in the Eastern Sierras which started high and went a little higher, all the altitude gain here is to be done by the hiker.  We went two miles almost straight uphill on the Boulder Creek trail before turning around – it was like 1.5 hours on the StairMaster and we had enough!  Back down to some fishing in Coffee Creek.   (Of note here, Coffee Creek, the town, is a must see if you are in this area.  It’s like a little fantasy land with a narrow windy road, leafy trees, little farms and a running creek.  Delightful, but don’t arrive in a big rig.) 

Fish caught:  0.

Perhaps the best thing to come of this day was the discovery of Ackerman Campground (Shasta-Trinity National Forest) – open all year (but without water or dump after October) and just gorgeous with large deciduous trees (all in color right now) and grassy open pitches right along Lewiston Lake.  We arrived at pitch #44 the very next day. 

Being the only campers at Ackerman we let the dogs run free and they had a blast for a while (cue the Music of Doom.)  We were leaving for our second attempt at lake fishing when I called to River and watched her stumble out of the bushes.  It looked like someone had shrunk the skin on her face:  Her eyes were shut and her teeth were showing, like she was stuck in a permanent sneeze.  And she was pawing the air like she couldn’t breathe.  (She is a bit of a drama queen.)  I ran to her, calling for Alan and we found that she had gotten herself into some kind of a sticker bush which not only has incredibly small and spiky stickers, but also excretes a sticky substance.  She had hundreds of them in her, around her nose and eyes and up her legs.  After about 20 minutes Alan had the stickers off her face and most of them off her legs so we headed down to fish.

Rosco, who by now was as impatient with our lack of fish as we were, decided that he had waited long enough for a fish.  While I was reeling in my cast, he decided to jump out and eat my hook, planting it firmly into his upper lip.  I ran to him, calling for Alan.  (See a pattern here?)  Using his fish pliers (not the true name), Alan worked on the hook while I held Rosco as still as possible.  He’s a tough dog and doesn’t complain about much, but a couple of pulls had him squirming around like crazy.  Alan eventually removed the hook and he was up running around seconds later.

Fish caught:  0.  "Others" caught:  1.

We had a great campfire that night, me sipping Port while Alan held each dog in succession doing the final sticker removal.  Perhaps I had sensed an end to our fish catching on our last grocery trip; I had purchased some chicken and stuck it in our freezer.  We cooked that (marinated in olive oil and Herbs de Provence) over the campfire with some corn on the cob and my Flax Seed Bread right out of the oven. The night was about 40 with a clear, starry sky and the fire kept us toasty until bedtime.

The following day we drove to Rush Creek, having given up on lake fishing.  Alan caught two – one keeper at 10”, the other he let go.  I am still fish-less but at least we are not totally skunked coming out of this National Forest!

We had a quiet afternoon until sticker removal time at which point we discovered three ticks on River.  So instead of watching Episode 2 of Downton Abbey on the last bits of our battery juice, we pulled ticks from the Rivlette.  Just one more way I can tell we are no longer in Orange County.

-K

Reno, NV, USA – Nov. 1-8, 2011

A couple of our friends gave us “Lost In America” the hysterical movie about a couple who “drop out of civilization”, buy a motorhome and hit the road.  Their first stop is in Vegas where one of them loses their entire nest egg in one night.  So when we hit the Reno city line, we looked at each other and warned, “Protect the nest egg!”  And that's we did, only gambling $80 (losing it all, of course.)

Mostly we came to Reno because I needed an SAP demo spot (i.e., hotel with a good internet connection and free telephone service) and the Pepper needed some work (the airbag-  and brake pad- warning lights were on.  A double whammy:  As if to say, “Just so you know, if you try to stop and the brakes don’t work, the airbags won’t deploy either.”)  So we booked six nights at the GrandSierra RV Resort for Salt and planned on the demo night and day being at the HomewoodSuites (leaving Salt alone for two nights in the RV park—it is cold here and we wanted the electricity to keep her warm rather than using our propane.) 

Once here, though, I had a craving for any food of ethnic origin, I guess I had too much fresh trout in the weeks past!  So we set about satisfying that craving:  Our first night we ate at Thai Nakorn based on some Yelp reviews and it was fantastic!  They make a pumpkin curry that is out of this world:  The pumpkin slices are still firm and the curry is rich, creamy and spicy.  Delicious!  Watch out for their spice-star rating though, they are serious about their heat.  The three star “adventurous” rating almost set my mouth on fire.

Another night we tried for Italian – what a bust!  The most popular restaurant, La Vecchia, was closed for a few months so we tried what we thought was the second best, Zozo’s.   I sincerely hope this is not the second best Italian restaurant in Reno.  Yikes.  The main dishes were boring and dull, not even salted correctly let alone cooked with any more exotic herbs and spices.  (The garlic bread, however, is about the best I’ve ever had.)

So for our last night?  We might head back to Thai Nakorn, order twice the amount we want, and stock our freezer for a few days!

Our accommodations were great:  The Grand Sierra RV Park being, as most RV Parks are, just lines of giant RV’s parked close together.  But your “resort fee” ($10 on top of the $20/night for a full hook-up spot) added the ability to use the gym in the adjacent Grand Sierra Resort so that was a treat.  And I just can’t say enough great things about the Homewood Suites.  I know it is strange coming from someone who’s last stay was at the Westin Monache, but this Hilton chain knows what it is doing!  Free breakfast, free dinner (Monday through Thursday), free WIFI, rooms with separate living areas and fully stocked kitchens.  We walked into our suite and found complimentary bottled water and a package of Milano cookies—what’s not to love?  All (in Reno anyway) for $135/night.  Unbelievable.  Plus the staff here at the Reno location was superb, clearly enjoying their jobs and making you feel right at home.

Tomorrow, November 9^th, we are off to the Redding area and the Shasta/Trinity National Forest.  Can’t wait to get my boots back on!

-K


P.S.:  A couple of other great finds in Reno:  The Launder Mutt, a full- and self-service grooming salon for dogs - great staff, wonderful self-service station; and Hidden Valley Park - tennis, dog park and hiking trails, what more could you ask for?  


Anticipating another meal at Thai Nakorn (this time I ordered the Hangover Noodle with Tofu and Alan ordered the Mango Curry with Chicken.)

DITL: Boondocking in Monitor Pass, Hwy 89, CA, USA

Our second DITL is ready!  Hopefully with better narration - I know the transitions are better . . .

-K


P.S.:  Hopefully this copy doesn't have any adds in it!  Sorry about inflicting those on you before.

Yosemite/Lee Vining, CA, USA, Oct. 28-30, 2011

More Pictures!

Some of you already know our plan:  Our goal is to live like this for two years, including at least a year in Europe, but we promised each other to do this for three months no matter what in order to give this life a fighting chance.  (Set your clocks with a start date of September 1, 2011.)  But this stop had the Night Kit Almost Called It Off – Three Months Be Damned.

We arrived at the Lower Lee Vining campground having been assured by the Ranger that, yes, it has no drinking water on site and yes, it is the only campground open on Highway 120 (the eastern entrance to Yosemite), in time to fish for dinner.  Alan caught a nice 11”er in the creek alongside the camp and we had a lovely evening with the dogs running free (we were almost the only campers), a great fire with lots of free wood and, of course, the trout.

Having known about the water situation, we had filled up the fresh tank before arrival.  The Ranger mentioned that there was an “RV Filling Station” just two miles west of the campground, which we saw on our way in, so we figured what the heck, we’ll just take our 5 gallon jug and fill it up every day at the filling station.  What we didn’t know was the state of Salt’s batteries:  Having been dry camping the night before in Mammoth (New Shady Rest Campground, NFS), in a true-to-its-name shady spot, Salt’s batteries were not at 100% when we pulled in. 

Unconcerned with the batteries at this point (thinking the sun would charge them up during the day) we took off the next day for a nice hike around Saddleback Lake (unattractive) to Greenstone Lake (gorgeous) up in the Twenty Lakes Basin.  We did a lot of fishing but no catching until the very end of the day when Alan caught a trout, too small to keep.   We arrived back at Salt tired and too cold to go back outside for a campfire.  (Yes, the time has come for me to stop being fashionable in my ¾ length hiking pants, and start being warm in some full length ones!)   Knowing we had to use the heater all night, we checked on Salt’s batteries:  Not good, they were only at 60%, so we sat in the near-dark eating left-over soup before crawling into bed. 

Thus began The Night Kit Almost Called It Off.   I could not sleep which, lately, is nothing new for either of us.  (You can often hear loving comments like, “Your elbow is in my eye socket” or, “Don’t punch me in the throat”, coming out of our tiny bed.)  But this night was even worse:  The heater is very loud and every time it came on I woke up.  Add to that my fear that the heater would completely kill the batteries and we would end up frozen to death in the no-water campground and you can almost hear my panic approaching.  Somewhere in the dark, cold night, with two terriers on the bed (Rosco underneath a spare pillow he was so cold), unable to move my limbs, I thought, “Three months be damned, I am not living in this dark, freezing capsule another minute.”   Having made my declaration, I promptly fell asleep.

Morning dawned sunny, but not enough direct sun was hitting our panels; they started the day at only 9%.  I plugged in the Pepper for a while so we could have some light for breakfast before we took off for Yosemite, saying to Alan that if we returned and Salt’s batteries were below 75% that I would vote for going to the RV Park back down on Highway 395.

After all the freedom and beauty of the wilderness areas surrounding Yosemite, the park itself was a bit of a let-down for me.  First of all, coming from the east is surely not as grand as coming from the west (at least I hope.)  But also, although they will take your money at the gate, there are no services open inside the park this time of year (the west side might be an exception.)  The Visitor Center was closed, there were no restaurants (we didn’t pack a lunch, thinking we would be basking on a sunny patio eating fries and drinking beer), not even a vending machine was to be found.  So by 1:00 we were starving and, (ahem) simply to keep from passing out, we opened two bottles of Mammoth Brewing Company’s Double Nut Brown Ale which fortified us enough for some fishing.

By 3:00, Alan had caught five Brookies (two went back in—exceptionally small even for a Brookie), and we headed down the mountain.  Too hungry even to stop at Salt, we buzzed right on by and right on into the Whoa Nelly Deli, recommended by Bobbie (the delightful former occupant of Site 86 in French Camp) at the junction of Highways 120 and 395.  Alan had the baby back ribs and I had the famous lobster rolled tacos—both delicious, but not nearly as good as the chocolate layer cake which tastes like heaven and feels like mousse.  (The deli is closed now for the season, our luck having led us there on their last day, but worth a stop next April if you are in the area.)

We stopped at the RV filling station for water only to find that it too had been closed for the season.  No more fresh water for us!  (Neal, are you laughing yet?)  Returning to Salt and finding the batteries at only 50%, we knew we’d be heading to the Mono Vista RV Park for the night.  But not before some fishing!  Within an hour we each pulled out a nice sized trout (10-11”) which were cleaned and refrigerated with the Brookies to be had for dinner some other time (we were still too full from that late lunch.)

Packing up Salt in record time, with the motorized hitch barely running enough to connect to the Pepper, we arrived at the delightful Mono Vista RV Park by 5:00 p.m.  Showers!  Laundry! (Fully dried, I might add) And a delightful and helpful host in a pretty RV Park.  (Closed now for the winter.)

So where did I change my mind about calling it quits?  Not quite sure . . . somewhere between the drive through Yosemite, the river fishing on the way home, or catching my own dinner, the Aventura spirit caught up with me again.  Good thing, as the next day promised to be our biggest adventure yet:  Heading out to boondock “somewhere” in Monitor Pass . . . a DITL coming soon to a computer screen near you!

-K