This post is about miscellaneous sights as I traveled north through California.
More information in several of the photo captions.
California Travel
Yosemite Videos
Miscellaneous videos from my time in Yosemite National Park.
Last Days at Yosemite
After being fortunate enough to grab a campsite at the Valley’s North Pines Campground, I enjoyed a full day in the Valley plus a little more time as I made my way out of the Park on my last day. Part of the reason I left when I did was a forecast of a wintry mix–which did happen. Spring is a great time to visit Yosemite because of all the water, but I will probably choose another time of year next visit, if for no other reason than to have access to all roadways. What a beautiful, beautiful place. ‘Can’t wait to return and visit the parts I didn’t see on this trip–and to see the same parts again! I highly recommend a visit. Just be prepared for the inevitable sea of humanity. Reserve early and also leave early each morning. Enjoy!
(I plan to have one more Yosemite post with videos)
Meadow Loop Trail Incident – Yosemite NP
One day I went into the Park but stayed on the south side for a 3 1/2 mile hike on which Sadie was able to go. It was a beautiful hike on a beautiful day. Unfortunately, when we were about halfway around the mostly-flat loop trail, Sadie started throwing up and then had diarrhea and then had both over and over. I panicked and started calling veterinarians. I found one in the next town and, leaving my trailer in the Park, made a crazy fast light-flashing, horn-honking dash to the clinic. I was so afraid she was dying, I completely lost it. When I got there, they immediately took her back. When the vet came out, much to my relief, the first thing she said was Sadie was going to be OK. The vet thought she had been stung by something and was having a bad reaction. Then they brought Sadie back out to the waiting area and she promptly threw up again–in a big way. That did nothing to calm my nerves, of course, but the vet didn’t seem overly concerned. Anyway, some time later, all seemed to be well and we left. I didn’t get much sleep that night worrying about her but she was fine. We took a “zero day” the next day to recover from that frightening experience.
I do recommend the “Meadow Loop Trail” near the Wawona Hotel–especially if you have a dog. It’s an easy and pretty hike.
Yosemite National Park
My next destination was one of my bucket-list parks, Yosemite NP. When I first arrived, it was early in the day, so I went in the south gate, got some information, and looked around at the Pioneer Yosemite History Center. I found out from the visitor center employees that I could drop my trailer at the Wawona hotel overflow parking lot whenever I made the long drive to the valley. This was extremely helpful as I did not feel my trailer would be secure where I was camping outside the south entrance. I really appreciated that.
At first, I dispersed-camped outside the south gate. ‘Had a scary experience with some aggressive locals so I later moved to another spot in the national forest. I kept trying to get a reservation down in the valley and, after a while, finally snagged one for a couple nights. (In this case, some spots had opened up because of receding flood waters!)
The first time I headed to the valley, what was supposed to be a one-hour trip turned into two because they were doing tree-work along the road. That’s a tough job for the workers with all the traffic.
The valley was just stunning. There’s a one-way perimeter road through the valley to accommodate all the humanity. I found parking pretty easily despite all the people. It was amazing to be in a place I had wanted to see my whole life.
Point Reyes & ff
I suspended my posts a few months ago – possibly from burnout, possibly because at this point, I had multiple, stressful problems with my rig.
After almost losing a trailer wheel, for a time, I was stranded right next to a busy road while I waited on a non-responsive wrecker service to pick up the trailer. When the wrecker finally showed up, the driver was unfortunately rude and chauvinistic. And, the mechanic to which I told him to take my trailer on the weekend would not service the trailer when Monday came. Long story short, a mechanically-knowledgeable nomad friend drove several hours to come fix the problem (replacement of the entire wheel hub). His kindness was deeply appreciated. It was such a relief to get back on the road after all my problems. Mechanical problems are a part of nomad life, of course; however, they can be tough.
There is no doubt California is a beautiful state (I love all the trees and the green), but it doesn’t hold particularly good memories for me because of this and other incidents while there. I will simply have to make some better memories here later.
Point Reyes National Seashore
I spent some time at the NPS Point Reyes National Seashore. It was too late in the day to tour the lighthouse but it was a beautiful drive.
First, I’ve included a short video of this and surrounding areas and then a gallery below.
Picturesque “Goat Rock” & Other Beaches
At a random place along Hwy 1, I stopped and looked down onto a beach from the highway above and then found my way down to the same “Goat Rock Beach”. I ended up spending quite a bit of time there – Surfers, a roped-off seal nursery, a beautiful seascape, and exceptionally magical light.
Fort Ross State Historic Park, CA
While camped in Bodega Bay, I drove up and down the nearby coastal areas while my friend worked. I happen to come upon “Fort Ross”, an early 1800’s Russian-American settlement which I had never heard of. I’ve included a sign with more information in the gallery.
On this occasion, a large group of school children were visiting. Chefs were grilling outdoors for them, and I found out they were actually spending the night at the Fort. They were having a ball!
There was just enough time before closing to see the Visitor Center and then to peek into each of the Fort buildings. After that, I was able to leisurely explore the extensive grounds and coastline adjacent to the Fort. Interesting place.
First is a short video of the coastal areas and then a photo gallery below.
Bodega Head and Stump Beach, CA
I had forgotten to pull images from my phone, so I’ve included a few more here from Bodega Head, but the majority are from a really nice hike in the Stump Beach area. I highly recommend a visit here–especially in April of the year. Although I didn’t include many photos of them (long story), the wildflowers here were amazing.
I decided to try something different for this post and make a video instead of creating a regular gallery. I’m interested in feedback on video vs still photos. Thanks!