Go Around the Bend: California Sunshine & Family Time

After leaving South Beach on Monday, 3/26, we stopped to refuel at the Fred Meyer in Florence, OR. Much to Riley’s delight (and ours) the Freddies backed up to a huge area of dunes. We had a great time racing up and down the sandy hills.

Dune Dog.

Puppy Portrait.

We pulled into Valley of the Rogue State Park without a reservation. We didn’t realize this is spring break for Oregon schools and all the regular spots were full. We were very happy the park hosts had “unofficially” opened up a couple of extra loops. Holidays and school vacations can throw a wrench into the best laid plans, guess I better start paying attention! We stayed just one night and enjoyed an evening walk along the Rogue River.

Riley takes a quick dip in the Rogue River.

The next leg of our trip is all about moochdocking with family, so feel free to tune out here and tune back in for the next post at Pinnacles National Park. Our first stop, a visit with Roger’s Mom in Redding, CA. It didn’t hurt our feelings to bask in the sun with temps in the mid-80’s. Aaaahhhhhhhhhh. Finally!!

Riley on the other hand, is missing the cooler weather. He has his personal fan running at night and it didn’t take him long to remember how much he enjoyed a quick dip in the pool to cool off. He still doesn’t get off the top step (at least not intentionally!), but given time we might make a Splash Dog out of him yet. 😊

Pool time!

We spent four busy days in Redding and enjoyed visiting with Roger’s Mom and Ed. Rog did some maintenance on the coach, I caught up on the domestic goddess duties including more loads of laundry than I care to count, hit Costco and Camping World, and finally got all our gear in the side compartments cleaned and dried. Two weeks of rain and snow had left things decidedly squishy. Of course we also found time for several walks on the trail to Starbucks, a trip to the dog park, a new ice cream spot and dinner out.

On the trail to Starbucks.

What's a guy gotta do to get a muffin around here?

Our second moochdock stop was St. Helena, CA with Roger’s 94-year-old Grandma Ardys. We settled in on Saturday, 3/31, and then had a lovely family get together for Easter. Roger’s Mom drove down, our daughter, Rian, came up from Sacramento, and Roger’s sister and her family joined the crowd. We did what most families do – sat around yakking and eating. For entertainment, we took pictures of Riley. (Consider yourself warned.) 😊

Family time!

I am the Big Dog. :)

Rian captures Riley as a handsome boy...

... and in total goof mode.
Hard to believe it's the same dog! Lol.

We stayed in St. Helena six days and appreciated having the time to visit with Grandma. Rian stayed overnight with us in the RV and did her best to convince Riley the bed is more comfy than the floor. We made the 3 ½ mile roundtrip trek to the coffee shop several mornings. Riley is always a hit with the locals and he usually manages to score a bite of our morning muffin too. St. Helena is a beautiful town in the middle of wine country. Grandma Ardys has lived here over 60 years and it’s fun to listen to the stories of how things were before it became a mecca for wine tourists.

Slumber party!

Lovely walk to coffee shop.

Ever hopeful.
Need any help with that muffin dad?

Our last family moochdock was a quick two nights in Danville, CA with Roger’s sister, Nancy, and her family. The weather took a turn for the worse and we arrived on Friday, 3/6, along with the wind and rain. Riley got acquainted with cousin, Rowdy, and they both had a blast.

Riley and Rowdy - fun times with the cousin.

We had a lovely dinner out and listened as the rain continued throughout the night. At the top of the agenda on this stop, Rog and his nephew, Max, wanted to tackle the Diablo Mountain trails on their mountain bikes. Max is an athletic 14-year-old, so Rog anticipated a challenge if not a spanking. 😊 By Saturday morning the skies had finally cleared and the boys even had some sunshine for their ride. That is not to say the ride was dry – yesterday’s rain had turned some of the trails into a mucky mess. This area is known for its adobe mud and the guys had to pick their route carefully to avoid the worst of it. Even so, they were smiling mud puppies by the end of their 13-mile ride.