The Biscuit is ready to go adventuring again

   POINT RICHMOND, Calif. - California's state parks are closed, victims of the state's pandemic-related, stay-at-home order. But just before the gates closed across the state in early December, Biscuit and I snuck in a three-day camping expedition to Sugarloaf Ridge State Park in Kenwood (Sonoma County), a place that holds decades of history of me.

     Biscuit is ready to go again. Me, too.

Morning view from our campsite

   Adm. Sylvia Fox took a pass on this trip because of tasks she wanted to do at home. Plus, it was going to be damn cold during the longish nights, which spelled quite a few hours in The Red Writer. It can get beyond cozy with the three of us in cold weather.

     The campground is a dry camping spot - no electricity, water from just a few taps and wi-fi is available at the visitor's center at the far end of the area.  No cell phone service at all. 

     But Biscuit and I worked it out, though he wanted to watch a movie, I could tell. Instead, I read book aloud which put him fast asleep.

Biscuit vs. the gophers   

   Biscuit didn't know it, but the trip was an experiment. I needed to see how he and I would fare with just the two of us. Would he wander off? Would he come back when called? Would he eat and be his sociable self, or miss Sylvia too much and mope. Yes, Biscuit is an excellent moper, if he wants to be.

     He didn't wander. He ate plenty and was abundantly social with other dogs and campers. We are working on the recall issue.

     Overall, The Biscuit is now officially cleared for travel, once Adm. Fox and I get the jab of vaccine and feel safe on the road.

   The nearly 4,000-acre Sugarloaf Ridge park is a few miles from Jack London State Park and hasn't changed much since I first visited it in 1970, just arrived in California with my young family from Lakewood, NY after driving cross-country in a 1964 blue VW bus. A ranger named Martin told me if I was looking for an interesting place to check out, I should try this little town not far away called Napa.

     He was right. And a few years later I had graduated from Sonoma State University and was working as a reporter at The Napa Register newspaper. The rest is history.

Pandemic porta-potties

     Portions of the park have burned in recent years in the massive Sonoma County wildfires. But the campground has been spared. This year the pandemic kept it closed for months, then when it reopened the state put porta-potties at each site, cleaning them thoroughly between camper visits. 

     It looks a little odd. 

     But the benefit for campers is they don't have to use their trailer or camper holding tanks if they don't want to.

     Even with many of the trails closed because of the fires, it's a still magical place. And for Biscuit, it was heaven chasing gopher and squirrels.

   We'll go back when the state gives the all-clear, days are longer (and warmer) and the Admiral wants to join the gopher hunting and other fun.

Campsite in the woods, with a private toilet

One of the trails still open after the fire

I had wanted to climb Bald Mountain this trip - no go though

The water is ok for washing, but not for drinking

The creek had frogs and creatures aplenty

Some low-end glamping tents for rent

The Visitor's Center, staffed by volunteers

Biscuit on point - watching gophers

 

Pandemic prompts local & driveway camping

   POINT RICHMOND, Calif. - The long-planned grand adventure of traveling to Oregon & Washington, then east across the northern U.S. and eventually to the Maritime Provinces of Canada has been downsized.

Camp set up at Olema

     Maybe a better description would be miniaturized.
     Thanks a lot, coronavirus!
     Instead of thousands of highway miles, The Red Writer for the balance of this summer will likely do mostly local travel, going to places like Olema, Calif., adjacent to the Point Reyes National Seashore.
    We did one foray there to shake down the rig last week. Another four-day expedition begins Sunday.
     How local is Olema to Point Richmond and SF Bay?
    Thirty miles.
     But last week's trip proved that 30 or 3,000 miles doesn't make any difference in enjoyment.

Biscuit searching for gophers, moles and voles

     We camped among the trees at a private campground. Our Yorkie pup Biscuit was able to run free. And Admiral Fox and an amiga made it to nearby Limantour Beach for a hike while I stayed at camp and practiced the ukulele with Biscuit as canine critic.
     I think Biscuit would have preferred to go to the beach with the ladies, but he was a good sport.
     The only real excitement came a 2 a.m. the first night when we were visited by a hungry raccoon. He got in the tent and absconded with a ripe avocado, passing up a tray of apples and bananas.
     Because the campground is in Marin County, his choice of foods is not that surprising.
     The state parks in California are slowly re-opening, filling up campsite reservations as soon as gates open.
     Once Labor Day is past however, campgrounds will be mostly empty and The Red Writer can expand our travel radius with plenty of places to stay.
     One arguably big trip is being mulled.
     A few days ago a newspaper story about Modoc County in California caught my eye.
     It's a last-frontier kind of place. Kind of wild west. Undeveloped wooded property there is pentiful and relatively cheap. Maybe buying a few acres might be worth considering.
     Might have to break out my cowboy hat to wear on that trip.
     Oh! And Modoc County has not had a single case of COVID-19.

Downtown Alturas in Modoc County, Calif.

The tent has a footprint as big as the inside of the trailer

Test campsite - at our condo in Point Richmond

New axle, tires and personality for The Red Writer

   POINT RICHMOND, California - The wizardry of Sean Keown, master mechanic at Vogel's RV in Ukiah was clearly demonstrated Wednesday.

Waaaaaay higher off the ground

     He skillfully - and quickly - installed the new axle and boondock-style tires on The Red Writer, boosting the trailer's ground clearance dramatically.
     The new tires and higher ground clearance make the trailer look, well, much beefier.
     But an unexpected outcome from the retrofit was that the rig is much more comfortable to drive. Bumps in the road are just bumps and no longer feel like craters. On the test drive on a bumpy section of Highway 101 outside Ukiah, I hardly felt anything.
     Just amazing, really.
     The one downside to the whole change is that because the trailer is higher, I need a taller stepladder to put on the trailer cover when The Red Writer is in storage.
     Maybe the solution is to keep traveling and not put it in storage at all.
     Now there's a thought.

New axle installed...

Tougher tires, too

The day before leaving to get The Red Writer retrofitted

Home the next day with new tires and axle installed

Spring renovations & maps for The Red Writer

   UKIAH, California - For the last few seasons, The Red Writer has occasionally gone where no T@B 320 probably should go.
     There was that rutted goat trail in Oklahoma and then 'W' Road in Tennessee.

Thank you CSAA for the maps... And the rest I will order

     And so it is that next week The Red Writer will be handed over to a mechanical magician named Sean at Vogel's RV to swap out the axle and tires on the trailer with those normally used on a more beefy unit called the T@B Boondock model.
     With the modification The Red Writer should be about 6 inches higher off the ground - a ground clearance boost that should make my off-roading less stressful.
     Theoretically.
     Pix of that axle-swap operation and the finished install will be posted sometime after Wednesday.
     The other innovation for this spring/summer/fall travel is the addition of paper maps to the navigation department.
     Yes, paper maps. You know, those things that used to fill up your car's glove compartment because you couldn't get them folded back the right way.
     While my Rand-McNally Road Atlas (Big Print Edition, thank you very much) is useful, it lacks sufficient detail for, well, the boondocking I have inadvertently done and some that I want to do - on purpose.
     Today 14 maps arrived from the California State Automobile Association, a good start on the hardcopy map library. Already I spotted some less-traveled roads in the Midwest and East that are likely candidates for this season's travel.
     Two of the maps are for Canada, by the way. Brrrrr...

The Red Writer visits Olema for Biscuit's birthday

   OLEMA, Calif. - We dusted off The Red Writer last weekend for a three-day sojourn to Olema to camp and celebrate The Biscuit's birthday.
     He was one-year-old Saturday and celebrated at a party at the Olema Campground in the company of maybe 100 people.
     OK, they didn't all come just for his birthday. It was a Northern California T@B Rally, a gathering of folks with T@B trailers like The Red Writer.

     Admiral Fox, The Biscuit and I toured a dozen other trailers and found all kinds of neat RV hacks to make things more comfortable.
     Perhaps the biggest single thing was finally getting courageous enough to put up the tent that affixes to the outside of the trailer. Since buying The Red Writer, a dozen tales of mishaps from T@B owners had made me hesitant to try it. But with about 30+ T@B trailers there - a half-dozen of which sported similar tents - we knew we had plenty of backup to make it work.
    As it was, it took just the two of 20 minutes at the most. And it was easy-peasy.
     That might have been because: A. Admiral Fox and I have decades of sailing experience doing similar things and B. The Admiral read the instructions.
     The tent has more square footage than the inside of the trailer. And it is a game changer. Of course, we need accessories now for inside the tent. (I'm pushing for a wine rack.)
     The Biscuit proved that he loves the outdoors a lot more than our Point Richmond condo. He scampered hither and yon the whole time. And as part of our weekend, we took him out to Limantour Beach on Point Reyes where he chased birds and ran like the wind for an hour.
     We hope to get The Red Writer out for another foray in a week or two before the rains set in. But if they do, well, we have tent in addition to a trailer now.

Biscuit was subdued early in his birthday party

Although a good camper, The Biscuit proved not to be a morning dog

A Sunday selfie at Point Reyes

Biscuit thought this was his birthday party...

The Red Writer is safely back in Point Richmond

   POINT RICHMOND - A summer full of travels and adventures that began in early May closed out Sunday when The Red Writer trailer pulled into the condo driveway after the final leg of a cross-country drive - a 250 mile, 5-hour push from Fallon, Nevada.

The Biscuit

     A 3,000+ mile trek from Seneca Lake to California was supposed to go across Ontario, Canada, through the upper peninsula of Michigan and then on a northern route though Montana until turning south in Oregon.
     Note the words supposed to in that sentence.
     What happened?
      His name is The Biscuit, an 8-pound Yorkshire Terrier who joined the family mid-summer and wreaked a certain amount of havoc on travel plans. Ok, a lot of havoc. Originally he was to be a travel buddy on the return trip West. But after only a week in NY it was obvious he was too young and too much a puppy for me handle alone.
   

Admiral Fox with The Biscuit

 Admiral Fox and I flew home with him in mid-July, so he could get settled into a California lifestyle. He's adjusting. We're adjusting. He hasn't asked for a surfboard yet, but he'll probably get one if he wants it. Admiral Fox has had The Biscuit on a daily crash course of learning how to be civilized. His grades are improving she says. (But maybe not quite fast enough!)
      By next spring we all should be ready to drive across the Andes together. Well, maybe something a little less adventurous.
     Wyoming, perhaps? Michigan? Newfoundland?
     After the California hiatus to get The Biscuit home, I flew back to NY to grab the truck and trailer, only to find that the Tundra "check engine" light was on. Santo Crappo. About $300 dollars later - and nearly a week of waiting for the repair shop to fix it - the mighty Tundra and The Red Writer were back ready to roll.
     The quick return drive across the U.S. - a nearly straight I-80 run across familiar territory - was rewarding, if incredibly hot. Every day was 90 degrees or hotter.

     Only two massive thunderstorms overtook me - both times while safely in campgrounds: one in Davenport, Iowa, the second in Ogallala, Nebraska. Quite a change from the eastward trip.
    I have a notebook full of entries about the people, places and adventurous mishaps (of course...) from the westward leg of the trip. Those will spill out here in coming weeks as I try to make sense of my handwriting.
     But for the moment, here are a few photos.

The Red Writer at Bud and Roxanne Hooper's house in Lakewood, NY

Wedged in with other highway adventurers at an RV rest stop in Ohio

The entrance to the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum in Ashland, Neb.

Lakeside campground near Ashland, Nebraska

Near son Jason Fitzgerald's house in Minturn, Colorado

Sunset at Ely, Nevada

Back in California - at Donner Summit

The Red Writer rolls out for a spring shakedown

   OLEMA, Calif. - After a long rainy winter, The Red Writer rolled out last weekend for a three-day shakedown cruise.
     In a little over two weeks, Adm. Fox and I will be pulling out of Point Richmond to head into the Southwest: Cottonwood, Sedona and Flagstaff, Arizona, followed by Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The Red Writer at rest at Olema Campground

     Five months in storage didn't seem to phase any of the systems on The Red Writer. All still operated fine, though my skills at packing need tuneup.
     When I got to the Olema campground what had been a neatly arranged trailer interior looked like a room from Animal House. I suppose I took a few turns too quickly and/or hit the brakes a little to enthusiastically.
     Olema is close to Point Reyes, a fabulous national seashore. One afternoon we headed out with

Sylvia, Deb and elk friends at Pt. Reyes, CA

Brickyard Landing amigos John and Deb Connolly in search of a herd of elk that wanders near the ocean. We found them, not 100 yards off the country road leading to the beach trails.
     Jaysus, those animals are huge.
     Now the serious packing begins for my long-looping cross-country trip this summer that gets underway after Adm. Fox flies home from Santa Fe.
     My plans (written in Jello) call for a trip across the Deep South, then up into Tennessee, North Carolina and eventually the Finger Lakes and the Northeast.
     More later on all that.

Might not look like elk country, but it is

'Harvest Hosts' a part of next summer's travels

   POINT RICHMOND, Calif. - What may prove to be the biggest storm of the 2018-2019 winter is about to bash into California today, bringing inches of rain in the low elevations - and maybe 7 feet of snow in the Sierra.
     Seven feet. Jaysus.
     But instead of watching the sheets of rain pound down or some elegantly coiffed television meteorologist squawk excitedly about flooding, I opted to check out a much-ballyhooed RV camping option: Harvest Hosts.
     What caught my eye immediately was that among the many hundreds of these spots across the nation, right in Hector, NY Hazlitt 1852 Winery in on the list.

   Yes, the same Hazlitt's where for years I have bought bottles of wine, drank wine, danced (occasionally) and even have books for sale in the winery gift shop. (NOTE TO SELF: Take copies of The Devil's Pipeline to Hazlitt's this summer as well as to Rasta Ranch Vineyards and the Hector Wine Company.)
     The deal with the Harvest Hosts is simple. You join for a fee and then get access to park your RV for free at wineries, farms, museums and other spots of interest - including an alligator farm - all over the country.  
     It's a one-night stay with the expectation (but not requirement) that you buy something. These places don't have the normal RV facilities like electrical hookups, either. But even a casual glance at the list indicates there are a lot worth checking out and staying at.
     Plus, it's a flat-out bargain. The fee for my annual membership was approximately $80. The least-expensive RV park I stayed in all last season was in Ely, Nevada - $22 for the night. Most RV parks were $30-40 per night. Plus tax, of course.
     I just noticed as I was planning my trip across the country, the Harvest Host stops I'm charting seem to lean heavier on stops at wineries, less so toward historical sites and museums.
     Wait! Here's an alpaca ranch in New Mexico to throw into the mix. It's now on the list.
     I just love those little critters.

Weathering the storms amid big rigs and RVs

   ASHLAND, Nebraska - The run from Watkins Glen to this idyllic locale just over the Platte River from Omaha was faster than anticipated.
    But that stopped yesterday afternoon when I pulled into Eugene T. Mahoney State Park. I have visited this park several times in the last few years, either heading east or returning west. With the Red Writer teardrop, it's much more enjoyable. And I need a rest after driving too many hours in too short a time frame.

The Red Writer at rest in Nebraska

   Translation? I'll leave Saturday for either Scottsbluff, Neb. or to Minturn, Colo. Or maybe Sunday? Or Monday.
   ?Quien sabe?
   A few days in a nice creek side campsite should put my nerves back into their proper casings after living through twin thunderstorm-related events. If you're from the Midwest, they were just storms. To a Californian-New Yorker, a tad more.
   The first happened in Atkinson, Il.
   The lightning in the distance flashing out of low, the dark black clouds were spectacular and covered the horizon. Had I been sailing on the ocean, I would have turned and ran as fast as I could away from the storm.
   But Interstate Highways don't let you do that so easily.
   And so an hour after first seeing the storm I drove right into, I ended up pulling off the highway in a hasty search for high ground to avoid predicted flash flooding. The rain was coming down so fast visibility was near zero. The town streets were deserted, too...

   When the storm cleared it was off to the next town up a few miles the highway in search of a campground.
   The only one was on the banks of a river outside of town.
   Given that flash flood warnings, plus witnessing the devastation from flooding in Hector, NY, the choice was obvious.

   NO  (&(^^%)*))*Q% WAY!

   A few miles later the Red Writer crossed over the Mississippi into Iowa, where the Interstate RV Park beckoned.
   The park has full RV services and is tucked in snugly amid lots of commercial activity.
   The snug part proved to be really important.
   Just after the Red Writer as all hooked up and settled, another RV owner - who bore a strange resemblance to Mr. Magoo in looks and speech - knocked on the door and warned that a huge storm was headed our way in a half-hour packing 70 mph winds and torrential rains. He said many people were going to "shelter in place" in the building housing the bathrooms and showers.
   I was still trying to decide whether this was a red wine or white wine kind of storm when the wind and rain walloped the campground well ahead of schedule, trapping most people in RVs.

   Luckily, no RVs did a Dorothy, flying off to OZ. All stayed firmly on the ground, though the RV park was a swamp for hours.
   There's more rain in the forecast for the next week here, but no tormentas like the ones in these videos.
   None predicted anway.