[Tynor] Last night in sunny (and very hot) California. A quick stay in Oregon and we will be home at last. The site here has a really big drop off down to where the picnic table is along with a fire place. They are really nervous about bears, so they give us a bear-proof box that all of our food is supposed to go. It took a while to get it down there and back, but it saved us the trouble off having to buy new rations![Stacia] This campground is so different from last night! This morning we were on the edge of a blue lake, with dry, bare, brown hills all around and a few little scraggly trees at the campsites. Now we’re in rocky, mountainous bear country with Ponderosa pines and craggy peaks. We can’t see the crags the park is named for from the campsites, but we saw them off the freeway as we arrived and they’re amazing. That’s one thing that is really hard about staying just one night at each campground and having to pack up and head off straight away in the morning is that we don’t have a chance to explore and enjoy each spot. But we’ve gotten to see a lot of different campgrounds at least, so we know which ones we might like to come back to.
The campground was nearly empty so we drove around to see which site might work best. We ended up choosing the one that the park ranger recommended when we arrived since most of the other sites had tiny short car spots that we couldn’t fit the popup and car into, or really steep slopes that we couldn’t get up – or both. It was still a challenge to get the popup backed into place, since I had to back up a steep hill in the loop, then swing the popup into a narrow driveway. The van’s transmission was not very happy about it all, but eventually we managed - without driving either popup or van off the drop-off Tynor mentioned above either (!).
We spent quite awhile gathering all the food from the car and various compartments in the popup to pack them into the bear-proof cupboard down by the fireplace and table. Amazing all the places that you end up stashing food when kids can be hungry for snacks or lunch at any time on the road. If I’d known we’d need to pack up for bears, I would have made sure to have sealed Tupperwares to keep other critters out of the food while it was all in the cupboard. But for the one night, I didn’t see much mice or other nibbling on anything – or ants either (!).This is also mosquito country and everyone got bit multiple times, despite applying Deep Woods Cutter the minute we arrived and staying inside the popup for most of the evening. This is our first round with biting critters on the trip, though, so it's hard to complain too much. It's interesting the different bugs in each location. Ants at San Onofre, flies at San Luis Reservoir (everywhere, despite the pervasive gusty winds). Niall the scientist finds it fascinating. We naturally end up bringing some of the animals with us as we head north, but fortunately not too many survive the whole day's drive, especially with our strong discouragement. Many a fly was shooed out the window on the freeway - amazing how many ended up in the car.
Our lunch stop today was in Sacramento. As I've mentinoed, one of the challenges on this trip is figuring out spots to stop and eat, if I just can't take another fast food joint. We pack lunch makings in the cooler, which we can get to by opening the tent trailer side door. But there aren't any handy rest stop available in the urban areas, nevermind in just the right place. So I have to look for another likely roadside spot where we can park (with the tent trailer, an added complication), stretch our legs, hopefully have some shade, and maybe even find a bathroom so we don't have to make yet another stop. We've gotten pretty lucky so far.
Today we were driving through Sacramento and overdue for our first break of the day, which would be lunch, running around, and bathroom break combined. I saw a sign for "Park Zoo" and took the exit, not having any idea how far the Park Zoo might be. Fortunately, it was just a mile or so from the freeway, another lovely grassy park with lots of big trees. There was also a "Play Zone" there - a small amusement park - but fortunately, only Tynor and I spotted that as we drove by and we proceeded to another part of the park to stop for our lunch. After sandwiches, we set off in search of a bathroom and found one nearby, adjacent to a public golf course. Lucky again! It's really hit and miss, finding these spots - kind of exciting and scary at the same time. The kids really need to eat, so I have to find something, somehow, and being in a totally unfamiliar place, flying by at freeway speeds, it's tough.
In addition to learning about how hard it is to find family-friendly break spots (unless you're in rest stop territory on the freeway), we've also become well acquainted with big trucks on this trip. Cars towing trailers have to travel at truck speeds (55 MPH on most roads), so I spend a lot of time barely passing a truck only to have it pass me again a little later. Or slowly passing a line of trucks, then passing them all again after we'd stopped for gas or a rest stop break. Sometimes one follows behind me, apparently deciding I've chosen the right pace for the road. I employ the cruise control most of the time, to spare my driving leg but also just to make sure my speed doesn't creep up and up.
One of the hardest parts about towing (aside from having to find double parking spots everywhere) is climbing, and even worse, descending the mountain passes. The van takes to shuddering pretty seriously if I brake hard at all going down a steep incline, so I've been taking them slow and trying to brake intermittently to hold off the shudder. I don't know if the braking system with the trailer is working correctly and that's just what you need to do with a trailer, or if it needs overhauling. Since my instinctive technique has been getting us by, I'm hoping I'm doing the right thing. But I will definitely be asking my popup forum folks (and my dad :-) about the officially correct way to drive these hills after we get back.
Did I mention that Cory, bless his heart, has napped just about every day on the road for the whole trip? Very helpful!
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