My sister-in-law, Marcie, and her husband, Ed, work a lot of fairs where they sell shower heads that make your shower water smell like lemons or strawberries or things of that nature. They had a show in Riverside and decided to camp at Bonelli Bluffs RV Resort and Campground. They invited us to join them, and we’re glad we did. Bonelli Bluffs CG is in San Dimas, CA, about 30 miles due east of downtown L.A. It’s a huge CG that has 400 sites, most with full hookups. The really cool part about this CG is that half the sites sit up on these small bluffs where you have fantastic views of the San Gabriel Mountains on one side and views of Puddingstone Lake/Reservoir on the other. Due to the crazy rains L.A. got this winter, there was a ton of snow on the mountains.

We spent 3 nights here. We ebiked during the day around the entire lake and also put the TV on the outside of the trailer and watched some playoff NFL football which was awesome with the view. At night, we enjoyed the fire pit. There is a small airport down the bluff from where we were camping called Brackett Field where we enjoy watching from our site the small, private airplanes taking off.

Cruising around Puddingstone Lake with the ebikes and the dogs was a lot of fun. This was our first time camping and bringing the ebikes with us. Years ago, Lisa and I were thinking about buying mopeds and adding a carrying crate to the back of the RV, but as time went by, ebikes exploded. We realized that with ebikes we could go to more places than just roads, they were half the price, don’t have to pay for gas, and lighter in regards to carrying load, so we went this route. We love the ebikes without a doubt. There’s a 100 ebike companies out there, but after a lot of research, we went with “Murf” ebikes. They’re on the high end, price-wise, but several bike shops told us that with ebikes, you get what you pay for. We’ve been very happy with the Murfs.

We also did breakfast at a mom and pop cafe, Norm’s, right on the runway of the airport which we biked down to.

We loved this place and the fact that it was an hour from Redondo Beach where we live was even more exciting. We’re definitely coming back. This was a hidden gem in the middle of L.A.

My wife and I are big into going to see live music. Back in November of 2021, we got tickets to see Jerry Cantrell, the lead guitarist and sometimes vocalist from Alice in Chains, play a solo show down in San Diego at the House of Blues. Therefore, we decided to camp during the weekend of the show. I searched high and low for a place to stay, but I ran into 2 problems: either the campground was crappy or I found a resort RV park that was just too damn expensive. After a few hours of searching, I found Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve which was a quick 18 miles away. Santee Lakes is smack dab in the middle of a massive suburb, Santee. However, once inside the park, you do feel like you’re camping. The camping here was very clean and well organized. Plenty of space, a pool, full hookups, at this recreation area that has 7 man-made lakes. My first day while Lisa worked remotely from inside the camper, I took a few beers and went to the pool which I was all alone. After a few minutes, I saw this little rattler heading towards the pool.

Wondering if rattlesnakes swim, a guy with his 2 boys were approaching the gate to the pool and I spoke loudly to warn them. They ended up getting one of the campground employees to show up with a snake catcher and put it in a bucket. I asked him where he was going with it, and he told me that they dump the snake outside the grounds in some ravine, but they would not kill it. Apparently, they have dealt with this before, so it was no big deal.

My wife, Lisa, was out of town for 10 days visiting family in Texas, and I was not working for 5 days, so I decided to grab the dogs and go camp somewhere I haven’t been before. I happened to get an email flyer for a dog walk in Sacramento for that weekend in late April. Therefore, I signed up for the dog walk and found a campground an hour north of Sacramento in Browns Valley, CA, at Collins Lake. I reserved campsite #59 which had a great view of the lake which was only about 100 yards away.

Got up there on a Friday, got settled in, and took the dogs for a walk along the lake. There were tons of beautiful bluebonnet flowers near the edge of the water.

The next day we drove down to Sacramento to William Land Regional Park on the south part of downtown just east of interstate 5. There was a dog festival where they raise money to help dogs and cats. So I paid a few weeks ahead to sign up for the dog walk that they had going on. The dogs had a blast seeing and smelling all the other dogs. When I decided to do this trip, however, Kiki, our 12 year old Papillion was in perfect health. By the time we arrived in Sacramento her vision went down the toilet as she couldn’t see 2 feet in front of her. We looked at having surgery to remove the cataracts from both eyes, but apparently, she has cornea disease, so even if they removed the cataracts, she would still not be able to see. Therefore, Kiki has had to adjust to life without vision and this was her first couple of weeks without sight. She did fantastic and really has adjusted quite well, but with the walk, I had to make sure she had plenty of breathing room so as not to overwhelm her. It was still fun, but slow going that’s for sure.

There are a lot of trees at this campground which was fantastic. Also, there were tons of birds, some that did some serious talking above our campsite. I spent an afternoon or two just chilling in the camping chair listening to the birds talk. Nerd alert, I know, but it was pretty cool.

I also spent the afternoon driving up to Lake Oroville which was semi-nearby. After a 3 mile hike which the newly blind dog did amazingly well, we stopped at a local winery, Hickman Family Vineyards. The wine wasn’t too bad and we got lucky that they let us do a tasting since it was supposed to be closed due to a party. Really cool family on top of the fact that they let me taste whatever I wanted and as many times as I wanted. Wouldn’t mind coming back here with Lisa, that’s for sure.

Where do I start? Grab a drink and have patience. I thank you in advance. My wife, Lisa, and I, have been talking about upgrading to a bigger RV ever since we bought our first one, a 26 foot Keystone Hornet Hideout 26RLSWE (rear living space, western edition) in 2017. In fact, when we visited the Pomona RV show that fateful October of 2017, we took my son and the dogs and were simply looking to get some ideas on what we would buy, say, 5 years from then. We found the Hideout and really liked the features and the price, but we were still years away.

A young, 20 something salesman who looked more like a surfer dude ready to wax his board kept bugging me about what it would take to buy this trailer. I politely kept pushing him off telling him we had no interest in buying and that he should spend more time with actual potential buyers-not us. This back and forth went on for about 10 minutes. Finally, he said, “give me a price, any price, no matter how low, we’ll consider it.” I rolled my eyes for the fourth time and looked over at my son and wife. We knew that the RV was going for $33,000 at an RV place. They, at the Pomona RV show, were selling it for the unbelievably low price of $28,500, but so what? WE’RE NOT READY TO BUY AN RV!

“Well?”, he said. “What will it take?” Ready to move on to the next RV to look at, I turned around to him and said off the top of my head, “OK, fine. $24,000, tax free, and you pay for my hitch hook up that I’ll need to tow the trailer. You do that and I’ll sign the paperwork right now.”

Exasperated, I thought I had finally gotten rid of him. The kid made a face like I called him an asshole and responded with, “I said a reasonable offer. C’mon, dude?!” I laughed at him. “I don’t want to buy an RV. We’re years away. So I could care less if it’s a crazy offer. I just want to be left alone.” He shook his head in disgust and finally walked away.

Of course, my son, who’s 15, and embarrassed by my very existence and any and every thing I might do, turned bright red. “Dad, that’s so embarrassing. Why would you make such a low offer? You humiliated us!” I turned towards him and said, “Jacob, I’m holding all the cards, dude. I don’t want to buy an RV.”

We chit chatted among ourselves discussing about lunch options at the Fairgrounds when I got a polite tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw a 6′ 3″ clean cut guy in a business suit with a tie holding a bunch of papers. “I’m ready to start with the paperwork if you are?”

Flabbergasted, I turned back towards Lisa and looked at her with surprise. “Uhhh, what now?”

She smiled and said, “well?”

My wife was turning 50 in 9 months. I had been planning a trip to take her to the Galapagos Islands for 10 days and then hike Machu Picchu in Peru that following summer. The trip was going to cost me roughly $16,000 for the two of us to travel for about 3 weeks. Catching her insinuation, I said, “well, if you’re serious, it’s either the Galapagos or we buy this trailer? I can’t afford both.” The actual truth was that I couldn’t afford either, but I was willing to go into massive debt for one or the other but not both. Knowing there was no way she would say the trailer, I started to turn around and decline the trailer offer when I heard a “give us a few minutes will ya?” from my lovely wife.

“We can always go to the Galapagos, but this trailer, for this price, we’ll never get this offer again.” I still couldn’t believe what she was saying.

“Are you positive?” She nodded yes, I turned around to the financial officer of this racket and asked for a pen.

About an hour later, we were driving home in a car where you could hear a pin drop. Suddenly, my wife and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. My son started laughing and asked what we were laughing at. I finally got serious and looked at my wife in the passenger seat then a quick glance back to Jacob and said, “we know absolutely nothing about RVing.” A long pause and then, “and we just spent $24,000 on an RV?”

It was the boldest thing I have ever done. I am a man of research, sensibility, and careful with my money, and here I was doing the dumbest thing I could think of. Everybody will tell you buying an RV is a money pit, and they’re 100% correct. We learned a ton these past 4 years since we bought this 2018 Keystone Hornet Hideout. Through trial and tribulation, we have, undoubtedly, enjoyed every minute of owning this travel trailer. Therefore, over the 4 years and a ton of experience, we were always talking over the fire pit at night about what we would add to our Hideout if we could. I’ve since read many other stories out there on the internet and chatted with people at campgrounds, to know that this feeling is the norm. You learn what you need, what you don’t need, and what is essential for you to camp in an RV at your most perfect comfort level.

In November of 2021, my wife started looking up what we could get for our Keystone Hideout out of curiosity since everybody was buying RVs due to COVID. We ended up selling it for almost what we paid for it 4 years prior. Therefore, we would now have to upgrade. Of course, the same selling principles apply to us now as buyers: prices are up, way up. After about a week of massive research, we found our preferred camper, a 2021 30 foot Grand Design Reflection. They were selling brand new for roughly $83,000 plus. However, my wife found one in Laughlin, Nevada, that was used, a 2021 Reflection 297 RSTS (rear seating, theatre seating, I think). 4 feet longer, 3 slideouts compared to just the one that we had on the Hideout. Simply put, just more space in every area and storage as well.

By now, you’re on your 2nd or 3rd beer wondering when the hell I’m going to discuss Jalama Beach. Here goes. Jalama Beach is 55 miles northwest of downtown Santa Barbara. However, the last 25 miles is on a slow, windy road that will take you about 40 minutes once off the 101 highway. It is totally worth it. This campground ends up on the top ten list of most “best of” campgrounds in California. So you will have to book 6 months in advance for a weekend. It’s a crapshoot for weekdays, but you have an opportunity to get something a few weeks out for weekdays. Weekends? Forget about it. It’s in a very remote part of the beach. The CG says they only take up to 30′ maximum for the top of the hill, best sites (105-117). Ours is a 34 footer including the tongue but thought we’d take the chance. We learned that to get to these spots, you will need to climb a small tight hill road, and backing into your spot is a challenge. This was my first trip with the new trailer which was 4 feet longer than the old one, so I was doing a 15 point turn there just to get landed. The CG only has electric hookup sites, but there is a dump station that you can fill your camper with water and dump upon your departure. Very dog friendly beach though it does get windy there. They have a camping store that also serves hamburgers which are expensive but incredibly tasty (you won’t mind paying after you had a bite). Make sure you hit Costco or something before you drive out there because other than that small store, it’s a 45 minute drive to Lompoc (the nearest town). There is a small creek that feeds the ocean and I believe you can fish there as well. The water is too rough and dangerous for swimming or surfing, but the views are why you’re here and they are beyond incredible.

We decided to visit Wyoming and Utah for 3 weeks to explore places we might want to retire in 15 years. But different than most travelers, we decided to visit places that most tourists don’t go to. We started our journey on June 19 at 4 am heading up the interstate 15 northeast into Utah. On our way, we stopped at my favorite street sign ever, Zzyzx Road which is 12 miles west of Baker, CA. Then we saw the largest thermometer in the world in Baker, CA.

After 12 hours of driving, we stopped the first night at Rowley’s Red Barn in Santaquin, Utah which was at 4984′ in elevation. Rowley’s is a family owned store that serves farm-fresh food and homemade ice cream. Rowley’s is also a member of Harvest Hosts. Harvest Hosts is a membership program that provides access to “wineries, farms, breweries, museums and other unique locations” that invites self-contained RVers to stay for the night for free. The membership is $60 a year. Most of the time there are no hookups except for the occasional electrical plug in. It’s just a different way to crash for the night compared to a rest stop. At Rowley’s, we parked with 15 other campers just next to the barn in a dirt lot. The nice part about this host is that you have access to a clean bathroom in the store from 8 am to 8 pm. Once we parked the RV, we pulled out our gravity chairs, small dogs on the laps, big glasses of wine in our hands and watched a magnificent sunset over the small western hills.

We drove to our next Harvest Host stopover in Casper, Wyoming, at a place called Johnson Tree Farm at 5118′ in elevation. Ironically, there wasn’t really a tree farm there. It was a farm of sorts and it had trees but I certainly wouldn’t call it a “tree farm”. Ever since I had a kid some 20 years ago, I always seem to rise early. Certainly much, much earlier than my wife who could sleep in to ten am every day if it wasn’t for that pesky thing called work. Therefore, Kiki and I are the early risers and get to see some great sunrises.

As the sun rose, we explored the property.

Next, we were on to a real campground, Deer Park Campground in Buffalo, Wyoming, at 4646′ in elevation. We stayed here for 4 days and relaxed. The campground is a good one. Mostly spacious sites and we happened to get the best one, # 42. As you can see from the photos below, plenty of room, plenty of grass and also plenty of fallen cottonwood from the trees there. If you have allergies, come prepared. It looked like it was a light snowfall with all the cottonwood debris blowing around. There is a pool there, pretty basic but does the job. At most campgrounds with pools, it seems to be a great place to meet fellow campers and swap stories and learn about places to visit.

One day, we took the truck and drove out to Crazy Woman Canyon which is a must do if you’re out this way. This is a drive that you do in your car. Not really a canyon, you’re basically driving through a crevice through the eastern edge of the Bighorn National Forest mountain range. The actual Crazy Woman road is about 6 and a half miles through this slot canyon where you’ll come across various “roughing it” campgrounds that are where you would boondock or dry camp. As you’re driving through this canyon, you are driving along the Crazy Woman Creek that flows through the canyon. You can tackle this drive starting on the western edge and head east through the canyon or vice versa. I highly recommend driving east because you’ll be going slightly downhill which is easier on the car and when you exit the mountains you’ll have a pretty view of the farmlands below. Any car can make this journey but there are points where you’ll have to crawl to about 5 miles an hour to avoid some rough road but certainly doable. The road starts about 20 miles due south of the campground in Buffalo, so head west out of the town of Buffalo and take highway 16 west for about 27.6 miles and you will make a left turn onto the dirt road. Don’t worry there’s a huge sign directing you to the turn off. Here are some shots of the drive.

The next day we ended up driving due north into Montana to visit Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Driving through the high plains, it was about 50 miles to cross the state line into Montana and then another 56 miles to the monument. At the monument, they have a ranger station that has information to check out and a gift shop, but the real reason you go there is to drive through this graveyard of sorts that show you where the battle of Custer’s Last Stand happened. The small, rolling hills have random tombstones placed all over. After the battle, they simply buried the soldiers right where they were killed. We thought it was worth visiting if you’re into American history.

The next day in Buffalo, we decided to do a hike in the Bighorn National Forest. We drove to Circle Park campground which was out in the middle of nowhere, however, there were a lot of boondock campers out there. We went to the Circle Park trailhead and did the 3.2 mile hike up the mountain to Long Lake. This was a brutal hike, not for distance, but for the type of trail. It was loaded with rocks half-submerged in the ground. Really rough on the feet, for sure. It made the 3.2 miles feel like 7 miles. A lot of walking around, over and on top of random shaped rocks. The end result wasn’t quite worth the trouble in our minds, but still it was pretty to see the lake. One note: about .6 miles into the trail there is a barb wire fence that blocks the trail. Simply open it up (on the left side) and go through and then close it again. Not sure why it’s there, but you are supposed to go beyond that barb wire fence.

Once we reached Long Lake, we relaxed and had our lunch.

After 4 days in Buffalo, Wyoming, we headed southwest towards Dubois, Wyoming, and our next campground: Longhorn Ranch Lodge and RV Resort. On the way, we stopped in Thermopolis where they have the world’s largest mineral hot springs. We just stopped for 90 minutes and walked around and then took a dip in the hot springs pool.

After our pitstop at Thermopolis, we then continued on to Dubois, Wyoming, and the next campground. I booked all of our campsites back in January. This particular campground, Longhorn Ranch Lodge and RV Resort about 6 miles east of Dubois is at 6946′ elevation. Anyways, when I called to reserve 3 nights in late June, they told me that for $10 more a night we could stay right on the Bighorn River. Well, they only had 2 of the 3 nights available. I decided it would be worth it to move the trailer after the first night for the river sites. 6 months later, I’m pulling in to the campsite office and they have no mention of river sites for us. Apparently, it never was adjusted. I did this all over the phone, so I had no proof and looking at my credit card statement, they did not charge me the extra money either. So we stayed at site 3 and it was fantastic. Upon exploring the campground which, by the way, is a great campground, we checked out the river sites and it is a ripoff. There is a 200 yard shrub-bush that separates the sites from the Bighorn River. On top of that, the shrubs are 10 feet high, yes, no exaggeration. So glad it didn’t work out for us. We got lucky because I would have been pissed. Back to the campground, this one is a beauty. It’s away from any immediate downtown, so you feel like you’re out in the middle of nowhere even though there are a few houses nearby. The sites were mostly spacious, clean and with grass. They also had a pond with a flock of geese hanging around. One very unusual thing about the campsite was that the water was not only an old school hand pump, it was way up at the front of the campsite while the electric was towards the back like most campsites (see photo below). I grabbed one of the on-site campground workers and he was nice enough to give us a hose extension, so it all worked out.

We spent our first day checking out the small town of Dubois, Wyoming. We grabbed breakfast at the Cowboy Cafe which has excellent food. We checked out the few shops there and decided to hit the supposed happening spot, Rustic Pine Tavern, but the service there was awful. When you’re bartending, rule number 1 is to acknowledge the customer that you’ll get to him when you get a chance. After 15 minutes of him walking back and forth ignoring us, I politely asked “excuse me” and he lost his mind, telling me “don’t you see I’m busy here?” sarcastically. And he wonders why he’s in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, going nowhere. I wanted to leave but my wife told me she’ll “work it” and grabbed a young 25 year old woman who was helping serve tables and she got us some drinks. This bartender wouldn’t last 2 minutes in L.A. but whatever, I told myself. I’m on vacation. My wife got us drinks in another 5 or 6 minutes. We left soon after very unimpressed. We then walked over to a great photo opportunity on the western edge of town. It was a small arch of antlers much like the famous one you see at Jackson square in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The next day, after chilling all day, we went back to Dubois and grabbed an afternoon pizza and some local brews at Noon Pizza. Both the food and beer was quite tasty for a small town in the middle of nowhere.

Our last day at Longhorn Ranch Lodge & RV Resort, we took the dogs and drove the truck up this dirt road that ran along a creek that connected to a bunch of lakes: Julia, Torrey, Ring and Trail lakes. This dirt road is about a mile and a half southeast from our campground entrance on highway 26. The turnoff is road 411 possibly labeled as Fish Hatchery Road but as soon as you turn south onto 411 it immediately splits off and you will take a left onto Trail Road or 411. Go back about ten miles til the road ends. There is a trailhead there but we just did the drive in and it was beautiful. Aside from the beautiful landscape, not much along this road but places to boondock and at the very end of the road was a kind of boys camp. The road was bumpy and dusty, but the drive was well worth it. The views were spectacular.

We left Dubois and headed west on highway 26 towards Jackson Hole where we would stop for lunch and continue on through southeast to Boulder, Wyoming. As we approached Jackson, we were coming down some huge mountains and saw the Grand Tetons getting bigger and bigger.

After we drove through the Tetons, we had lunch in Jackson at Sidewinders Tavern on the outside deck. They had great microbrews and very good food as well as a fantastic view of the mountains across the street.

After lunch in Jackson, we headed to our next campground, Highline Trail RV Park, in Boulder, Wyoming, at 7018′ elevation. Thought this campground was going to be a bit prettier than it actually was. Boulder is not really a town but rather a bunch of small houses on desolate looking properties. Pinedale, the closest town, is 12 and a half miles away. The campground itself was flat, wide open grassy area with a few trees but not enough to give most of the sites shade. So, it’s hot and breezy but the view of the mountains is pretty. The sites were beyond spacious as you’ll see in the photos. This campground is one where it’s a place to sleep. That’s it. There is no vibe here at all. It feels as if you’re in a vast wasteland but with pretty mountains to look at. Maybe I’m wrong but you would never plan to be here as we unfortunately did. Bathrooms and laundry room were clean but far away from most of the spots. Our luck, however, the first night was one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever seen.

We had 3 nights booked at Highline Trail but after seeing it, we decided to only stay for 2 nights. Our one full day there, we went on a 4 plus mile hike at Green River Lakes. Everything I found on the internet said it is a must do, so we must did. The hike is spectacular and worth the crazy drive to get there. The hike goes along two lakes with Squaretop Mountain in the background. The last 18 miles to the trailhead is on a rough dirt road, but not so rough that a regular car can’t drive it. However, it’s a slow and tedious path that will take you 35 minutes to go those last 18 miles. But the drive is beautiful and the trail is totally worth it. I wouldn’t recommend doing it again but you must do it once. The scenery is spectacular I promise. We did 2 miles in and 2 miles back but the full trail is 7.1 miles there and back. Take the trail heading along the left side of the lake called “Highline” trail. Definitely bring food and drinks to munch on.

After the hike and the crazy drive there and back, we stopped in Pinedale and hit the Wind River Brewing Company and grabbed dinner and some microbeers. This place even had a dog menu which was pretty cool.

We left Boulder, Wyoming, and drove 147 miles to Manila, Utah, where we camped at Flaming Gorge / Manila KOA at 6348′ elevation. So we chopped a day off before at Highline Trail and were lucky enough to add a day to this stay. This campground is in a 3 street town, Manila, that is a few miles from Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. This lake is right on the Wyoming / Utah state line.

You could see Flaming Gorge lake from the campground.

Our first day, we relaxed at the campground and then went to swim beach at the lake. We filled our floats that we brought with us from home and just laid around in the water.

The next day in Manila, we rented a 20 foot pontoon boat for the day and explored Green River which is the southern outlet from the Flaming Gorge lake.

The following day, we drove above the gorge of Green River and took some photos of where we went the day before with the pontoon rental.

We left Manila, Utah, and began our 6 hour drive to Fishlake National Forest 302 miles away. About halfway through the trip, we were about as isolated as we could be driving south on highway 10 when the trailer felt like it ran over something and I looked in my side mirror and saw smoke. We immediately pulled over and were able to make it to the only shade for 50 miles. As I parked the car under the shade of these lonely two trees, we saw that the back tire on the passenger side had blown. However, after a closer look, we saw that because it was so hot (116 degrees at the time) and traveling at a high speed for miles, the rubber from the tire had partially melted creating little liquid rubber drops that went up into the undercarriage of the trailer and melted the cover separating the RV’s insulation from the open area around the tires. Needless to say, this posed as a major fire hazard. First thing’s first though, we began to pull out the jack and lift the trailer up so we could change the tire. A few minutes after we got going with the jack, a 65 year old man named Ken, pulled up behind us to see if we needed any help. I said we were ok and thank you, but he mentioned that he had a power tool to pull off the lugs quickly. We had no problem accepting his help and changing the tire went a lot quicker with his tools. In today’s times, 2021, you only hear about the worst that America has to offer: rascism, everybody looking out for number one, people attacking other people for no reason, even a vaccine becoming a political hot point, but here was Ken, a retired energy plant worker for 40 years, taking the time to give us a hand. It made my wife and I realize that there are still good people in this world that help others just for the sake of helping others. Unfortunately, you only hear about the bad shit in America and for very good reasons, but still, it was good to see and experience. Once the tire was changed, we took some duct tape and patched the covering under the trailer so as to keep the insulation from being exposed and more of a fire hazard.

We drove another 200 miles without further incident. We climbed up into the mountains where Fish Lake is.

We got to our next campground, Bowery Haven Resort at Fish Lake, Utah, at 8848 ‘ in elevation at around 7:58 pm. They close the kitchen at 8 pm there at the campground store/cafe. We were fortunate enough to squeeze in an order of two cheeseburgers and fries which hit the spot. We then set up our camper for the next 3 nights at site 41. This site was up on the highest bluff on the campground with a great view of Fish Lake.

We spent one day hiking around Fish Lake.

We then decided the next day, Fourth of July, to take our beach chairs and sit and have some cocktails by the lake.

It was quite cool and it started to rain about 40 minutes after we set up by the beach. The odd thing about this was that another family began to set up next to us as we hurriedly packed up before the rain got harder. Lisa and I ended up having cocktails in the trailer watching “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” for the 40th time. Sounds boring but we enjoyed it actually. Fish Lake is a cool place to visit. Again, we went out of our way to visit lesser known places on this particular trip and thought this would be cool. However, once we got here, we found out that Fish Lake is a huge destination for Utah people. It was a secret if you didn’t live in Utah. We left Fish Lake July 5 and took a short drive to Panguitch, Utah, for our last camping stay on this trip. We stayed at Panguitch KOA at 6627 ‘ elevation. The thing I learned from this trip is that even though the elevation seemed high enough to keep us from the intense summer heat, it was false hope. Panguitch was like 95 degrees and felt even hotter. Once we arrived at the KOA, we noticed that this KOA was pretty basic and other than the pool, not much to speak about. However, we were a half hour from Bryce Canyon which is a place that has gorgeous, bright red canyons. It’s mostly a drive through park with a ton of pull outs to view these beautiful canyons. There are hikes but they’re not dog friendly so we did not hike this go around.

As we drove and hit various pull outs and took pictures, we came across these two crowes. They were not afraid of people by any stretch, and so we got some great photos of them.

Bryce Canyon is just so beautiful. I highly recommend a visit.

Heading back home.

After almost 3 weeks, we returned back to Redondo Beach, CA, on July 7. That damn thing called work came-a-calling. Back to reality. Can’t wait to retire and do this full time with my wife and dogs. I wish I won the lotto.

My parents are 86 and 84 and are past their camping days. However, my wife and I enjoy hanging out with them and therefore, we’re always looking for a way to incorporate them into our camping lifestyle. Therefore, we came up with an idea where we can camp and they can stay in a one bedroom lodge. Well, we found that just outside of downtown Lone Pine, CA. The place is called Boulder Creek Mobile Home and RV. A campground that had a pool, campstore, 3 of these small log cabins, plenty of spots with full hookups and plenty of breathing room between campsites. My sister-in-law, Marcie, and her husband, Ed, joined us as well, but with their camper. The two of them do a bit of RVing and they’re semi-retired, so my wife and I have been trying to hook up with them as much as we can. You might ask yourself, “…her husband? what’s up with that? Don’t you mean, your brother?” Well, Marcie married my brother back in 89 and he passed away and eventually, she remarried. Not sure on the nomenclature, but Ed is family. So the 6 of us met up at Boulder Creek for 4 days of just “chillin” and we did just that. Boulder Creek is kind of a hidden gem. It’s in high desert country at 3727 ‘ in elevation. The days were 90 and the nights were a breezy 60. The cabins were a bit odd shaped inside, but they did the job for my folks.

We decided to meet my sister-in-law, Marcie, and her husband, Ed, for the weekend at the Laughlin / Avi KOA which is 15 miles south of Laughlin proper. Many of the reviews I read were correct. It is a dust bowl. Dirt/gravel open spaces with designated spots with full hookups. The unique part of this CG is that if you have a buddy with an RV, you can pull into one big spot with the front of the RV going opposite ways so you form a little quad area between your sites. The Road Warrior below in the right photo shows Ed and Marcie’s 5th wheel and our travel trailer on the right. However, overall, this CG is pretty drab as far as CGs go but it did have excellent wifi and cable if that’s important to you. It was $35/night. You’re about a ten minute walk east to the Colorado River which is the state line for Arizona, Nevada and California where the 3 states meet. You’re also a ten minute walk west to a golf course which is right next door to the CG.

We pretty much chilled while we were there, doing some day drinking by the firepit and watching the sun set over the mountain range to the west of us. It was more of a catching up with family type of weekend. We did, however, take a 20 minute drive east to Oatman, Arizona, which is an old mining town from the 1910’s that is now more of a ghost town with small gift shops. Located on the old Route 66, the unique thing about this place is that they have wild burros (donkeys) roaming around the town streets. Apparently, back when the town shut down the mines, the locals just let the burros go when the miners left town for greener pastures. The burros have multiplied and live around the town and its neighboring hills. Absolutely recommend going to do this. It’s just one of those weird things of the American past.

We’re from LA, and since the governor shut California down a second time due to the coronavirus, we decided to camp outside of California. We tried to find a spot somewhere in the hip section of Lake Havasu which is what everybody talks about. My wife and I have never been there, so we thought we’d try it. However, even in January, the lake area campgrounds were totally full. One of the people I talked with at Cattail Cove Campground (which was full also) recommended Buckskin Mountain State Park which is about 20 minutes south of Lake Havasu. It’s where the lake turns back into the Colorado River. We got the last spot available, site 56. The Rangers told us that this CG is pretty much full year-round, so be advised. We booked it the day before and got lucky with the one spot, but I’m guessing there are a few spots available each week, but book as early as you can.

Upon our arrival at 7 pm, it was already dark and yet, we already knew we had discovered a gold mine of a campground. The site was very spacious with electric and water. However, there are only a few spots with full hookups, but we didn’t care since there was a dumping station. The next morning we woke up and the river was like 100 yards from our site and we were not in the closest row to the water. Just a beautiful location separated by a small mountain from the busy highway, so not much noise either. The tent sites are right on the river which is cool but there is like a red dirt for a floor so it wasn’t as pretty as one would think but still you’re right there on the water. Bathrooms were clean and well maintained. In fact, I’ve never seen more ranger coverage in a campground. There were at least two trucks driving by cleaning stuff up and doing whatever it is that they do. Very friendly rangers as well. There is a ten minute hike right at the entrance of the CG that takes you up a small hill where you get a great bird’s eye view of the campground. Probably a good place to catch a sunset with a glass of wine as well.

The camp store is really limited, however, one mile up the highway is the River Island Market which has gas and an attached cafe of sorts. It has the best tasting, cheapest pizza you will ever find. A 14″ pizza with one topping only $7.52 out the door. Crazy. Other locals told me the burgers and fries were tasty as well. Highly recommend that if you don’t feel like cooking. You are also 12 miles east of the town of Parker, AZ, which has a Safeway, multiple gas stations and food options. I would imagine during the summer this CG would be a great place as well since you can just walk to the river and drop some chairs in the water and chill. Look forward to trying to do that later in the year. The CG is pretty basic with no frills but great views and away from the chaos that is Lake Havasu. If you want party madness then this is not the place for you, but still way worth the visit.

June 27, 2019, we began a 3 week camping trip up to Couer d’Alene, Idaho, to explore the area for possible retirement in 17 years. Our first few nights were spent on the Bridgeport Reservoir at Paradise Shores RV Camp. Here’s the campground website: https://www.paradiseshorescamp.com We really liked this campground. It’s right on the lake/reservoir at 6463 feet in elevation. There’s a decent size market a few miles away. The view was incredible all day but especially at sunset. We would do our usual and bring our beach chairs and a few bottles of wine to watch the daily sunset. One unusual thing I never saw on the internet during my research was the bird situation. At the campground, there are some bugs flying around therefore there are birds trying to eat them. What happens is, the bugs go near humans therefore the birds will swoop down near you to get the bugs and they occasionally bump into your body. This was jarring at first, but then you get used to it as crazy as that sounds. It’s not scary but I thought it worth mentioning. On both our nights at Paradise Shores, there was huge wind in the late afternoons. One evening I helped a family trying to secure there tent so it wouldn’t blow away. It was at that moment when my wife and I realized how nice it was to have an RV. Bugs and weather did not ruin our camping like it would have if we were still tent camping.

While there, we visited the Bodie Ghost Town which was 25 miles and a 45 minute drive away.

Well worth the visit, trust me. We also visited Travertine Hot Springs which was only 8 miles away from campground. It was a little bit different looking hot springs but worth viewing or sitting in which you can do.

We also spent a day hiking up by Virginia Lakes which is like 20 miles away. We left our campsite and it was noon and 70 degrees. When we arrived at Virginia Lakes Trailhead which is at roughly 9100 feet, you’ll need to a full winter coat, long pants, and for sure, sweaters for your dogs if you bring them. We actually walked half the trail on snow. We didn’t get to finish due to the heavy snow at one point on the trail, but I will say, it was unbelievably beautiful.

From Bridgeport, we did some heavy driving which my wife hates. We drove 730 miles with a sleep stop in a rest area for a few hours on our way to Badger Mountain Winery in the lower central southern section of Washington state. We belong to a group called Harvest Hosts which allow you to camp your RV at farms and wineries. Since we’re into drinking wine, we signed up for this thing. They only allow for one or two night stays, but after paying a yearly fee of $60, you get to stay at these places for free. You can call ahead and book your stay, but be mindful that there is no sewage hookup and half of them only have electric and water, usually, just electric if that. Also, you have to arrive usually by 5 pm at most places. So, we stayed at Badger Mtn Winery and it turned out to be one of our favorite nights of the trip. It was a Sunday and they were just closing up. We parked our trailer, got the last wine tasting and then .went to J. Bookwalter Winery for another wine tasting. Bookwalter had good wine and great hors d’oeuvres. Worth checking out. Got back to “our” winery, and we literally had the whole winery to ourselves as the employees left. We were parked up on a hill overlooking the vineyard and caught a beautiful sunset.

The next morning we had a dead battery as we were trying to pack up and leave the winery. Luckily, there was a Camping World only 20 minutes away. We therefore headed towards my buddy’s house in Spokane Valley for a night. After that, we headed to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and stayed at Camp Coeur d’Alene which we highly recommend. It’s at the very east side of the lake about a 15 minute drive to downtown. It had free firewood which is almost unheard of. Shady spots, not too cramped but not too spacey either. I read a lot of reviews about trouble backing up into your spot if you’re up further on the road, but if you know how to back in a trailer, you’ll be fine. They also have free kayak rentals, a pool to swim, and a small camp store. You’re in the wild yet 20 minutes from a Walmart. Is there anything better? We were here over 4th of July and we paid $80 each to watch the fireworks shoot off from the lake at the second floor roof of the Coeur d’Alene Resort hotel. This also included endless amounts of food and beverages but not including alcohol. Highly recommend that as well and they do fill up quick so if you know you’re in the area for sure, book a week or two ahead of time.

We left Coeur d’Alene and headed towards the California coast. Therefore, we did a one night stay at Sherman County RV Park. This place is in the middle of nowhere. It’s a mile away from a one street town in Moro, Oregon. It’s just a one night, move on kind of place but the fact that you’re in the middle of nowhere, it leaves you with a beautiful sunset of wheat fields. Cheap, clean restrooms and you might be the only person there on your one night. However, one other person was camping for the night a few spots over so naturally, we got to talking and oddly enough, this 70 year old couple was on their way to Crater Lake Resort the next day to meet their kids and grandkids and that’s where we were staying for the following 3 nights. Random?! I love how life creates these random yet connected moments and this, for sure, was one of them.

We stayed 3 nights at Crater Lake Resort. This place has full and partial hookups with great scenery up against Fort Creek flowing behind the sites. Make sure you have plenty of food stocked up before you get there because the market is quite a ways away. We visited the Crater Lake Lodge and had a cocktail outside on the patio looking over Crater Lake which was definitely cool. We then drove almost all the way around the lake and pulled over for photos. We had dogs with us so we couldn’t take the boat ride around the lake but I heard it’s totally worth doing.

We did a one night layover at Durango RV Resorts which was pricey and close to the freeway, but it was a super clean, nice resort with a pool, a spa, clean bathrooms. If you catn, I recommend grabbing sites 97-101. They’re up against the Sacramento River with a good piece of grass between the RV spots and the river which is great for the dogs and to sit in chairs and have a glass of wine. These 5 spots are the farthest away from the freeway. Most of the other spots you will hear a bit of freeway noise since you’re by it.

We spent our last 5 days on the California coast at Mendocino Coast KOA. This KOA is just off the coast of Manchester Beach. The CG was pretty good. Grassy sites, with full hookups, camp store, rec room, and community firepit which quite a few people would hang out at eating the free ice cream cones that they provide. Great way to meet people which we did. We drove the ten miles south to Bowling Ball Beach Trailhead which was a 20 minute hike down to the beach where these bowling ball rocks are lined up, sticking out of the water about ten feet from the shore. Recommend the hike and to take pictures. We took our dogs with us and let them walk with no leashes and they had a ball no pun intended. We drove up to Glass Beach in Fort Bragg which is 40 miles north of the CG about an hour drive. Big letdown. About 120 years ago, the Fort Bragg locals would dump their trash and bottles on the northern beach. Over 100 years later the glass has dulled and created this beautiful looking beach. They tell you not to steal the glass off the beach. Of course, much like Plymouth Rock and Stonehenge, human idiots wreck it by doing their own thing. Therefore, there is very little glass left on beach and there’s not much to see. We also checked out Point Arena Lighthouse. Nothing fancy but still worth a quick look. It was nice to finish the trip here because you’re really removed from most towns and civilization being out there by the coast. One huge note and I mean huge, if you’re towing or driving an RV, do NOT take the Mountain View Road to get back out to the 101 even though it’s close to the campground. It’s way too tight and curvy and absolutely not safe to drive and I’m not exaggerating. To avoid this problem, from the CG take highway 1 north to highway 128 south to the 101. It’s a bit out of the way but truly the best way to get back to the main highway.