Bullards Beach State Park, near Bandon OR

Wednesday 29 June

Sunny and cool again this am and as we got on the US101 north along the coast, windy as well.

We took a couple of scenic side roads and stopped at Port Orford and Bandon Old Town which is oldest town on the Oregon Coast.  It's a fishing village with no harbour and a good spot for whale watching apparently.  Look at this amazing rock, can you see the face?  

Face Rock, Bandon OR

A few miles on we come to Bullards Beach State Park and decide this should be our stop for tonight.  We have a nice big site, right beside the Tsunami Evacuation Point – I guess that is reassuring?  

Next to our campsite, hope there's not a stampede!!

It’s only about 1.30 pm so we take the bikes and head off to the beach.  It is quite a ride and when we get there it is very windy which we gather is customary for these parts.  There is also quite a tide drop, more than 2.5 metres, but the low tide beach would be awesome for blokarting - wide and smooth.

Imagine Blokarting here!

Kim on windswept Bullards Beach

The park is filling up as the day goes on.  They have vacancies for Friday night here but not the weekend so we will stick to our plan of fronting up as a ‘Walk-In’ at a park further north.  We have seen some off the road options along the roads which usually say no overnight camping but I don’t see how anyone would know, so if worse comes to worse….

It’s hot back at our campsite so we sit outside with our kindles for an hour or so laxing back after our strenuous day (not) and life is good!  There are racoons in the park, we have to make sure there is no food outside, so I will go on a racoon hunt when the sun goes down.

Gold Beach OR

Monday & Tuesday, June 27 & 28

Slept in again – it’s foggy and cool but we did see the weather channel (on our cable TV) and the sun is due to come out this afternoon and stay sunny for the whole week.

Kim has found someone to at least look at doing a repair on the leaking hydraulic hose – yes it still is losing fluid so we will go to him near Eugene when we are up there in a couple of weeks.

We only drive a few miles further up the coast.  The fog dissipates and sun prevails and it gets warm 22C, I have missed the heat. 

Rocky beach - but blue sky!

 

Nice Beach!

The coast drive is really pretty and we cross the tallest bridge in Oregon, the Thomas Creek Bridge at 345 feet.  The wild flowers are lovely.

Pretty Wildflowers

We leave the coast road at  Gold Beach to drive along the Rogue River a wee way and find a lovely RV park at Indian Creek.  The park is bordered by huge trees, the grounds are  green and well cared for and there is a café next door.   We even have a sauna in the bath house and cable TV!  We spend a very enjoyable afternoon mostly outside in the sun. It gets up to 28C – nice!

Lots of sparkly stars out overnight and bright sun in the morning but only 15C so am using the abundant WIFI this morning to catch up with everything.  Still haven’t booked anything for this holiday weekend, that’s next.

To heck with it all, we will wing it for next weekend, haven’t been able to book anything on line after some time trying, but some State Parks have walk ins so if we front up on Thursday or Friday we should be OK  Otherwise we will camp at Walmart, if we can find one!

So now the problem is the earthing of the bathroom ceiling and vanity lighting which became dim just last night.  Kim works his magic so the lights are bright again but he didn’t fix the actual problem ‘cos we don’t know where the earth hides up in the ceiling.  We’ll google it some more.  If he didn’t have these little fixes to remedy maybe he would become bored and just sit in the sun all day!!

Across the road from the camp is the Rogue River and we walk along the trail to check it out. This is a renowned fishing river and there is a hatchery close by.  We see someone trolling but didn't catch anything while we were watching.  There are also jet boat rides for the tourists.

Walking the trail alongside the Rogue River

We will move on tomorrow for a change of scenery.

OREGON

Sunday June 26 

Slept in again ‘cos it’s cold, just 14C! We are on the road though straight after breakfast and drive a few miles before stopping at Crescent City (the bulb capital of CA) for some groceries and RV stuff.

 

Much of the view along the coast road was unfortunately spoilt by the fog which came and went during the day.  There were patches of sunshine though so not all bad.

Foggy morning in the Redwoods

We decide to head up the coast rather than go inland and soon cross the state line into Oregon.  The lady at the Visitors Centre was so helpful, we came away with a large bag of ‘light bedtime reading’ on all the state parks and forest options in Oregon.

Yay - got the "Welcome to" photo

We stop again at Brookings but Radio  Shack was closed.  It’s now mid afternoon so we accept the last site at Harris Beach State Park even though it is only for one night.  It’s a pretty state park and we have our own little hedged site with full hook up including cable and a picnic table and fire ring.  It’s a little bike ride to the beach, easy going down, not so easy getting back!  The beach was pretty rugged, crashing waves and the fog is still hanging around - good for the trees though!

Harris Beach, a small ride from our campsite. Still foggy!

Today we have had cell coverage so have been able to book a park near Eugene for a few days next month to catch up with our American friends, Larry and Lois.  Also spent some time trying to book somewhere for next weekend which is Independence Day long weekend.  I remember having the same problem last year, everything being booked out.    There is a lovely State Park with loads of facilities, called Sunset Bay which we have our eye on.  Will get on the phone in the morning and play the Kiwi card once more!  

North California

Friday, June 24 and Saturday 25

Dammit all, the levelling jacks are still leaking so once we get to Eureka which is a large town about 20 minutes away and one we stayed at on our motorcycle trip back in 2006, we make some calls and visit some repair shops.  Once again it’s Friday lunchtime, so everyone is busy and nobody particularly interested in trying to fix for us.  We meet an Ozzie though who is RVing with his wife all over South and North America and who is having his rig repaired so have a good old chat while we were waiting.  The outcome is we  have the name of a reputable RV place 150 miles away so will make a call and see if we can book in there next week.

We see the coast and the Pacific Ocean today, I know we saw it in San Francisco but this is a long stretch that we drive next to for some miles.  Man is it blowing though, picture a 20 knotter blowing sand up along Petone foreshore!  It’s blowing the coach around a bit too. 

Rough Pacific Ocean

Some good waves for the surfers!

We mosy on to a place called Klamath and get a lovely spot right on the river at Golden Bear RV Park.  The hostess assures us there is a resident bear which is often seen across the river in the mornings.

Our riverside site at Golden Bear. Brown grass though!

Hah, Kim matches the Golden Bear sign : )

As it is the weekend we will stay here for two nights.  The temp range is a bit more comfortable, cool 14C mornings and warmish days up to say 23C so don’t need a pool.  Unfortunately though we have no cell coverage and there is no WIFI : ( so out of touch for a couple of days.

We’ve got the bikes off the back and went for a tiki this afternoon, but we are on a highway so didn’t go far - just along the grass verge to the smoked salmon shop along to the left.  We didn’t take any money with us so will have to go back tomorrow.  There is a Jet Boat Tour place next door to the right, might see what they have to offer.

Saturday morning was sunny but cool.  There is usually a fog which comes in during the morning when it is hot inland but we haven’t seen it so far.  The redwood trees get 30% of their required moisture from this fog, so it is necessary.  There have been extreme drought conditions here for two years!

Warms up enough by late morning to venture outside in the sun and once again the day just disappears although we have read copiously, done crosswords, cleaned and carried out some R&M - nothing on the IPad or Laptop you will note!  Kim has fingers crossed that he may have fixed the hydraulic leak, but will wait till the morning for incontrovertible proof.  He did find a little water leak from the radiator reservoir too but that seems to have been fixed also.  We watch a couple of movies for our evening entertainment – Afternoon Delight and Atonement, the second was the better of the two.

Woke up Sunday to the promised fog which wafted around for most of the day.  Leaks still look fixed but will check again at the end of today. 

Redwoods - Avenue of the Giants

Thursday 23 June – Giant Redwoods

It’s a lovely morning so we have breakfast outside enjoying the scenery and the wildlife!

Beautiful Lake Mendocino - Bushay Campground

American Geckos??

We are on the road by 10.30 am and head north towards Myers Flat where we depart the US101 and meander our way through some of the 32 mile long “Avenue of the Giants”. These magnificent trees are indeed giants.  They are not the oldest trees on earth but these ones growing up to 370 feet are the tallest and some are thought to be more than 2,000 years old.   

The Humboldt Redwoods State Park has 17,000 acres of ancient Coast Redwood and Douglas Fir trees.  In California, more than more than 189,000 acres of California’s redwood forest lands have been preserved.  It is pretty spectacular, although the "avenue" is very skinny and we spend most of the drive skirting the huge tree trunks lining both sides of the road.

Kim is drawfed by this giant!

Amazing trees, photos don't do justice!

We drive along a little further to Fortuna and book into the Riverwalk RV Park for the night.  We have full hook up here so we can recharge everything and do laundry etc.  There is even a pool but it’s only about 23C with a stiff breeze so not hot enough to need to get in the water this afternoon, maybe the heated spa later.

Wine Country and Lake Mendocino

Wednesday 22 June

The lucky lottery shop was not so lucky, sorry guys!  You'll have to find your own way over here. 

We say goodbye to our new BFF’s, Denis and Veronica and head north-west to get back onto more major roads.  We are still in wine country and there are many vineyards lining both sides of the US101. 

Beautiful wine country

How do you choose one, or two??

After an hour and a half of driving we stop for lunch - at Carls Jnr which is right next to a Dollar General so we stock up on cleaning stuff and everyday stuff and stuff you can’t believe you can get for a dollar!  Kim nips next door to O’Reilly Autos for another Tub O’Towels – his everyday fix for dirty feet, dirty hands, dirty body from the storage compartment lids when he forgets to duck long enough - and even dirty carpet… the benefits are endless! $12.90 well spent!

We stop sooner than we originally planned as we see Lake Mendocino to our right so we split from the US101 and check it out.  The first camp is a little tight for us, they advertise maximum RV length 35’ and although we could fit there are some noisy families beside the lake so we drive another couple of miles to Bashay Camp on the same lake.  There is no one at the reception office, no camp host, no answer on the book-in phone and after at least 20 minutes waiting, no answer on the regional park reservation centre either, so we just pick a site and make ourselves at home!  Three hours later we still haven’t heard from the camp commandant so figure we are good for the night.  

Some tenters rock up and they too can’t get any reservations so they also just setup camp the next site from us.  They grow medicinal marijuana and freely offer samples but Kim says NO!!  There is a lovely breeze and although the lake is quite a lot lower down from our site it is still lovely to see the water.  We did get some ‘desert pin-striping’ getting in here but Kim has been up the ladder polishing it all away this afternoon.  Good job!

M txts to say there has been another shooting – some people in a travel trailer near Seattle!  We will take care!

Calistoga CA (still wine country)

Monday 20 June to Calistoga

We are going to have a little day today, so drive only about 50 miles north to get out of the city.  It’s lovely driving through the wine district, there are numerous wineries lining both sides of the road and we check in early afternoon at the Calistoga Fairgrounds RV Park.  It was a pleasant 28 C when we arrived and two hours later it is 35 C!  But that might just be the sun is on the front of the coach right now.  So we appreciate the shade of the big oak trees (we are on Oak Street after all)!

We have a restful afternoon, look around the camp - there is a golf course and driving range on the property, we chat to our English neighbours (although Dennis has been in the States for 18 years so technically an American with an English accent).  There is a shuttle which will take us into Calistoga township, although it’s not a long walk or bike ride, but it’s too hot to do today, maybe in the morning....

Tuesday 21 June

Another beautiful day in Paradise, sunny clear skies and so far only 17C.  While it is cool I walk into the township taking photos while the businesses are closed.  It is a pretty town, tree lined main street with boutique shops and lots of wine tasting. Plus we finally now have tickets in the ‘Mega Million Lottery’ which is being drawn tonight – karma??  Stand by!!  We might yet be sending a jet to NZ to bring you all over here  : )

Lucky $330 million lottery shop!!

By the time I get back Kim is chatting with our neighbours again and we decide to stay another night here. As a result Veronica and I walk back into town for some lunch and to try some of the local wines – it was a lovely day : )

Evangeline, Calistoga, CA - a very nice Charles Krug St Helena Chardonnay

It is hot again this pm so Kim and I bike down a couple of blocks to the “town baths” – local pool, for a swim.  They close at 4 pm so it is quick couple of swims but does the trick to cool us down.  Back to the coach for a well-deserved ‘rest’ – Kim’s having his Nana Nap!!

San Francisco

Friday, June 17

Rental Car is a Nissan Sentra, we take a photo of the rego so we don’t lose the car in some random car park in the city.  We head down to the Vallejo Ferry Terminal area for a looksee and a coffee then along the I80 into the city.  We find a park by the piers and go for a wander.  It’s a little overcast and cool today but it’s still a lovely place to wander, buskers entertaining the people and there are people everywhere.  We meander down to the Fishermans Wharf for one of their famous crab and shrimp salads and spy a nearby park bench to sit and enjoy - but on the way an "enormous" ugly seagull dive bombs me in a frenzy of wings and feathers and steals my biggest, fattest prawn right off my plate – enough to say I am not at all impressed.  At least I got to keep most of my lunch, the poor little Asian women lost all her chips when a squad of the thieving gannets scared the bejasus out of her - she just screamed and threw her food into the air.  Food eaters beware!

Kim didn’t bring anything warm today so he is now the proud owner of a not-so-gaudy 'San Francisco' branded polar fleece!

We drive down the famed Lombard Street, dodging multiple Asian tourists but still managing to see most of this incredible steep, winding street edged with colourful flower gardens.  It's the crookedest street  in the world!

We didn’t book for Alcatraz and the next available trip is July 15!!  Catcha next time Alcatraz!

Next we find a car park and do some ‘inside’ window shopping at Boomingdales.  Everything is so beautiful and uncluttered, I would love to actually shop here which reminds me, must buy one of the US Lotteries, first prize of over $300 million would enable me to shop at Bloomingdales every day of the week.

Michelle’s work is really central and only a few blocks away from here so we get a park right outside and go in and check it out, meeting some of her lovely co workers as well.  It’s a very cool building, like the Wool Store at home, all old red bricks and exposed timbers.  We have a recommendation from ex Cleo Batchelor of the Year (from Gisborne) on where to go for dinner, a little Mediterranean restaurant in the Fillmore, a hip entertainment district which used to be called the Harlem of West.  Very enjoyable.  We drive around doing some sightseeing, spotting a racoon in the Golden Gate Park and before we know it is way past 10pm and we still have an hour’s drive back to the coach.  Make that 1.5 hours - due to roadworks on the I80.

Saturday, June 18

Beautiful, warm sunny day.  Meeting Michelle at 10am.  Our first stop is a photo stop at the Palace of Fine Arts building on the way to the Golden Gate Bridge, the next place where we also pull off for the photo stop. 

Golden Gate Bridge in background - no fog today : )

Next is an overdue coffee stop at Sausalito, just north of the bridge, a picturesque, seaside town reminiscent of Eastbourne.  Then on the road again to the Napa Valley where we rock up to Domaine Carneros (affiliated to Taittinger, no less, so we know we are on the right track)!  We should have made a reservation but we wangle our way in, playing the Kiwi card again.  M and I totally enjoy the quite generous tasting glasses of their four signature bubbles, Kim the just one Pinot (designated driver) and a cheese plate, whilst sitting on the verandah overlooking the vines and basking in the sun.  What better way to spend a sunny Saturday!  Afterwards we drive into Napa township but don’t really see the attraction there, was hoping for farmers markets etc.

Domaine Carneros - beautiful building!

Domaine Carneros - fabulous!

Vallejo is on the way back into the city so we stop to show M the coach, have another glass of wine…. 

Then we head back into the city where we drive through the Tenderloin district (down and outers/homeless people) and the Castro Gay district.  We do see some sights!  Up the winding hill road to Twin Peaks, the base for the Sutra Mast and which gives an amazing 360 degree panoramic view of this very cool city, then to IHOP for dinner – another first for M (along with Walmart, where we see only one guy packing a hunting knife – she was looking for a glock toting Wamartian).

We have seen the CORT Tower (210 feet tall) in Telegraph Hill, the Transamerica Pyramid, both in day time and lit up at night, the rainbow painted pedestrian crossings at the Castro, been over most of the bridges linking the city including the Bay Bridge which we cross every day and is really pretty at night. This is one of the world’s longest steel bridges at 8.4 miles).  Yet I am sure we have only seen a fraction of what there is to see here, you could spend months and not see enough of it.

Sunday, June 19

Another beautiful day in Paradise!  Hot and sunny.  This morning we drive south (a new vantage point for us to see SF) to Google Town where we see the actual (or one of) Google map cars.  There are numerous Google Campasses in this area and they are pretty cool, Google bicycles are provided for the troops to get around, we even see a multi person GBike.

Dusty old Google Car!!

Michelle driving the GBike!

Then we head to the San Francisco Outlets at Livermore for a power shop - both M and I manage to come out with parcels – yay!

We have just about worn ourselves out, we've driven 474 miles in three days, had an awesome time and feel just a little bit sad to be leaving San Fran tomorrow (well me anyway, Kim will be pleased to be out of the helter skelter - they all drive like maniacs)!

California nearing San Francisco

June 15, Lodi CA

Slept in and mucked around, it’s windy again this morning.  We ask the GPS to find us a shopping mall and spend an hour or so there – not really long enough but I managed to do some damage to the Visa.  Kim couldn’t find anything to keep him occupied so he went back to the coach for a coffee and a muffin.  Next stop is a Home Depot to buy a lump of 4” x 2” to lever the road side rear jack which refuses to fully retract.  Yes, Kiwi ingenuity works again!

Allstays App finds us a Regional Park for tonight, near Lodi - Westgate Landing.  This is dry camping again but we are all charged up after the last two nights.  We are beside a levy and on the other side there are about a dozen house boats commandeered by a church group of youngsters, they are doing a skit at 6pm and I am sure we will hear them from here.  It’s still windy but warm  - 23C.

This is agricultural land, lots or orchards, vineyards and right next to us at our campsite – corn! 

Dry camping next to corn!

Houseboats full of young Christians!

The neighbours come back with their three big dogs and chain them up to a run across their camp site.  Kim has decided they are nutters, not the dogs, the two men! One definitely talks to himself! So we don’t hang around in the morning and get on the road by 9.30am.

June 16, to San Francisco CA

It’s only about 30 miles to our next stay so we trundle along and spy a Walmart (no surprises there, they are everywhere) so we pull in and I get my haircut : )  It took ages but Africa did a good job, it’s short!  Meantime Kim had good fun doing boys shopping and came back with some new jandals, a printer and some other boys stuff which I don’t know what it is or what it’s for!

We pull up to the Vallejo Motor Home Park and have to say we are a little disappointed, it is definitely mostly seasonals living here and doesn’t have much to offer in the way of ambience, however it is cheap for a suburb of San Francisco.  We are paying $45/night and the choices a little closer were around $100.  We have booked a rental car which will be delivered at 9.30 am tomorrow and after we lock up very securely will head out for our first sightseeing day.

It’s sunny with a few white fluffies and a balmy 28 C at 4pm.  

Yosemite National Park

Monday, 13 June and Tuesday, 14 June

Millions and millions of bright, shiny stars out tonight, so it’s looking positive for a clear day tomorrow.  Yay, it dawned fine and sunny - but only 5 C.  We are on the road early with only one stop on the way to top up the diesel, just in case!  It soon warms up to 20 C.

The first 12 miles of the Tioga Pass are awesome, then we get into the Yosemite National Park real - the trip from east to west is amazingly stunning!  Glaciers carved this landscape and when the climate warmed the glaciers melted leaving huge boulders, sometimes precariously perched.  We see enormous snow-capped peaks, snow drifts alongside the road (but the road is clear), towering granite cliffs, gushing waterfalls, smooth granite domes, spacious meadows and wild flowers.  I gather snowballs, a big kid at heart!

Snowball right on the windscreen - yes!!

Snow, lake, coach, me at all about 9,000 feet elevation!

Will it topple?  June Lake

There are giant sequoia trees dwarfing the pines, sequoias can live for over 2,000 years and their trucks can get up to 25 feet thick!   There are man-made fires burning, the sequoias need fire so they can reproduce and the plant life on the ground needs the filtered sunlight the open canopy delivers.  There are numerous places to pull off the road, to marvel at the vistas and take photos.

Road cut through scree!  Is that safe?

Smooth granite, road cuts right though!  Is that safe?

We see climbers attempting the sheer granite walls and many hikers.  Interesting, the park conducts 250 search and rescue missions in a year, costing upwards of $1.25 million.    We see push bikers – why would you?  The 39 mile scenic road’s elevation ranges from 10,000 feet down to 6,200 feet.  We drop 5,000 feet in a couple of hours and the bikers were climbing up from the low side!  Loads of motorcycles having fun, some other RV’s and many cars.

Mean switchbacks!

Although there were signs warning of black bear, mountain lions, coyote and deer we don’t see much wildlife.  We do see some red, bear signs on the side of the road and later find out that these mark a place where a bear was hit by a vehicle - sad face : ( 

The second two thirds on the scenic drive were mostly tree clad hills, but still very pretty, as we meander back down to 2,000 feet elevation.

Picture postcard!

Once we hit civilisation again we stop to reprovision and decide on a stop for the night.  From our Allstays App we select the Riverpoint Landing Marina and RV Resort, in Stockton – an excellent choice!  Our campsite is on a spit, both front and back overlooking water.  The first day we had another RV opposite us but on day two we have the whole spit to ourselves.  There is quite a bit of movement on the water, runabouts, yachts, little yachts and jet skis even though the wind is quite strong.

Out site is 31

We were sitting around minding our own business when freaking ‘ell a ship drifts past our front windscreen.  There is a shipping channel right in front of us!!  We subsequently realise the Stockton Port is not far away.

Shipping Channel right in front of our coach!

The delta goes for miles and miles (a boaty's mecca) and we wander up and down the piers and talk to the locals, who are very friendly.  A house boat would be awesome here - we talk to a broker!  Berth fees are about $550 per month for a 45 foot berth, and you can live aboard for another $50 per month.  The berths all have their own power and water and are under cover, to protect from the hot sun.  Insurance seems a lot cheaper than at home and although the boats are registered there is no licence required.  As at home, there are some unloved, unused boats in the marina.  The boat market is depressed, not really recovering from the WFC.  Plus, the Govt, in the early 90’s, put a 10% levy (on purchase prices over $100,000) on all new boats, which sent most of the boat builders broke - nobody wanted to pay the extra for a new boat and there is now a shortage of later model launches and lots of 80’s and 90’s models for sale.

This is parked in our backyard, is it ours?  Coach in background!

Maybe this one is ours, it has my name on it!!

June Lake, CA

Sunday, 12 June

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, lah la lah!  It was my birthday yesterday at home so I have two days to celebrate but am adamant that only one year gets added!  Thanks for all the good wishes guys, much appreciated, especially so for being so far away from home : )

It was a cold and wet night, down to just 7C this morning but at least we know our furnace works a treat!

As it is still raining this morning we decide to head north to Lake Tahoe stopping enroute for shopping - some warm clothes and to get a haircut to make me feel like a new woman!  We get as far as Lee Vining, where the road to Yosemite branches off and decide we really would like to drive through the Yosemite National Park. It's better to do it from this end as we are already at a high elevation and would save us a big climb which would be necessary if we did the trip from the San Francisco side.  However there’s not much point today as the cloud layer is very low and wouldn’t see much.  We watched the movie at the Visitors Centre which made us want to do it more than ever, it looks stunning.  

The weather is supposed to clear tomorrow so we find somewhere local to stay for the night and ditch the shopping expedition.  Never fear though, I have a rock solid rain check!!

We stopped at the local general store to buy some goodies for tonight, it is my birthday dinner after all!  And I will save a nice dinner out for when we are in San Francisco.  Found a bottle of bubbles called Santa Julia, that sounds just like me!

We have ended up at the Oh Ridge Campground on June Lake, it’s very rugged countryside, surrounded by mountains and very much like Queenstown.  There are bears here too and we have another bear locker, I will keep my eyes peeled.

Glass Creek, CA (near Lee Vining)

Friday, 10 June

Meant to post yesterday that we woke to a herd of lowing beeves being driven along the boundary of the RV Park, by cowboys on horseback, a scene right out of High Chapperall.

The muffins were various flavours, but blueberry was the choice. Yum!

We used our new app - Gas Buddy - to find the cheapest diesel in the area, worked a treat, paid $2.359 when some stations have been over $3/G.  Saw two Kombi’s on the road, in the mountain area too!!

Much more variety in the scenery department today - mountains to the left of us, mountains to the right, mountains in front but I assume there is a way through. Lots more green to be seen though, thanks to irrigation.

We climbed pretty high, over 7,000 feet and saw three victims of the climb on the side of the road, overheated I guess.  We were fine, Kim did a good job of not working the turbo too hard.

We're at 7,000 feet

Detoured off the main road to have a quick look at Mammoth Lakes, but the camps were quite a distance down narrow roads, so we drove a little further along the highway and came to Glass Creek Campground in the Invo National Forest.  We had to drive down an unpaved road to get here but we took it slowly and no problems.  This area is obviously under snow in winter, there are snowmobile routes marked out but they are currently being utilised by ATVs, well behaved ones too, wearing protective gear and obeying the no dust signs in the camp. There are 50 camp sites here and we drive around a bit to find one to suit.  I think we have toilets, probably long drops and they might be a hike from our spot, no power or water but we do have a picnic table, grill and a lockable bear-proof cabinet.  Does that mean what I think it means??  I will check in the morning to see if I see any bear prints!!

Bear Box - you can be fined if you leave food out.

Kim got busy doing some maintenance and cleaning under the coach, it won’t matter if we leave a slightly greasy patch when we leave, I hope!

Kim working hard,cleaning the hydraulic jack area!

Evening came around pretty quick and we built a camp fire worthy of our kiwi pyromaniac nature.  Lots of good wood and pinecones within about 10 feet to feed it to a towering inferno!

Kim the pyromaniac!

Saturday, 11 June

The night was cool and this morning is a meagre 14C, hope it warms up soon we are staying here another day.

We inherited a book of crosswords which came out today, to keep the brain working.  We have no TV and you can’t sit around reading all day – can you?  Plus I have decided I need to fire my 500 partner (I have named him Derek) on the IPAD’s card game, he needs to be much more aggressive, he never goes and when he does fails!

Saw some super cute tiny little chipmunks with stripey backs, but they are very timid and wouldn't pose for a photo shot.

We stoked up the fire mid afternoon, the sun did come out briefly but it was still cool.  There was the odd spit too.  We cooked outside on the grill over the fire tonight with baked potatoes in the embers!  Yep, we do have sour cream.

We smell like red indians, from all the smoke though.

It rained through the night and the temp got down to 7 C – brrr!