Everything Old is New Again.

I wish I could say we have new and exciting destinations to share, but this blog post is really going to feel more like déjà vu all over again. Lol. Our route after we left Rian’s on Sunday, 3/5, hit several of the same stops we made last year. Even though we’re almost a month later in the year, the weather has remained decidedly on the chilly side, much more so than last year.

 

Look closely, that's a double rainbow!

Our first stop was Vista Ranch Winery, a Harvest Host location in Merced, CA. This is one of those gems we found several years ago and keep coming back to. It’s conveniently located and it’s always more fun to spend $ on wine and tasty treats than campground fees. We were lucky enough to arrive while the almond orchards adjacent to the winery were still in bloom. We had passing showers (and that gorgeous rainbow!) on our arrival day and blue skies to see us on our way. We took the puppers for several walks through the orchard and they had a blast racing through the trees. The scent of the almond blossoms was heavenly.

Almond tree blossoms. 

 

On a stroll through the orchard.

The walnut trees were bare, but beautiful too.

Such a lovely, peaceful scene... 

...and then here comes the hooligans. Lol. 

Our second stop at Orange Grove RV Park near Bakersfield on Monday, 3/6, was another repeat performance. The campground really is situated in an orange grove and because the blossoms hadn’t set yet, we were able to pick as many fresh oranges as we wanted. The RV park even supplied the fruit pickers and we put them to good use. We will be having fresh squeezed orange juice every morning for the next couple weeks. Lol. Raney also made friends with Nana, a 2 year-old Newfoundland, in the doggie area.

Rog picking our morning oranges. 

 

The fruits of his labor. Lol.

Raney and her new friend, Nana.

Mommy, where did my friend go?

We had booked two nights at Orange Grove with the express purpose of driving over to Indian Wells Brewery in Inyokern, CA to stock up on some of our favorite beverages – their Lunatic Lemonade and hard orange soda. It’s about a three hour round trip though, so we wanted to be sure they had both in stock. I must have called a dozen times and left two messages, but no one ever picked up or returned my calls. We finally decided to skip it since we didn’t want to drive all that way to be disappointed and we knew that was a real possibility since last year they were completely out of the bottled Lunatic Lemonade. Sigh. As a consolation prize, we walked over to the California Fruit Depot and loaded up on some amazing goodies. And free samples of everything!! They have an incredible array of snacks, nuts, fruits, and other delicacies. The next morning I call a call back from Indian Wells. Too little, too late. She apologized and said the guy who works Sunday and Monday won’t answer the phone. Really? Insert eye roll here.

 

California Fruit Depot, always a tasty stop.

Our third stop on Wednesday, 3/8, at Amboy Crater was one we also made last year. Are you sensing a theme here? This time we stayed on I40 longer and passed huge solar arrays and wind farms. Rog says you can tell you’re in the desert when you start seeing the wind generators. It was a little disconcerting and certainly new to see them on snow covered hills!

Snow in the foothills along CA Hwy 58 at Tehachapi Pass.

Wind generators in the snow. A first for us!

An aircraft graveyard in front of the wind machines.
Coincidence or sacrifices to the wind gods?

We had the entire overflow parking area at Amboy Crater all to ourselves, so the pups got lots of off-leash play time. I must say that Miss Raney has started to show some teenage attitude. Rog was playing ball with Riley, so I took her across the road to another sandy wash to play. She saw that Riley had the ball and took off in his direction. When I called her back, she looked over her shoulder at me and clearly understood what I wanted then looked me straight in the eye and turned around and kept on going. In case you think it’s a mother-daughter thing, she did the same to Rog a few days later. Spicy little wench. Lol. Somebody is getting enrolled in obedience class when we get home.

 

Parked at Amboy Crater.

Our handsome sandpuppy.

Looking for trouble. Lol.

Riley and Rog.

Who says naughty doesn't pay. I got the ball!

We walked the pups to the observation point but chose not to do the hike to the crater. It’s only a little over two miles roundtrip, but it’s up the side of a cinder cone and we didn’t think it would be very dog-friendly footing. The signage also said to leave three hours to do the hike, so I’m guessing it’s not an easy two miles. Lol. We did learn that Amboy Crater is 250 feet high and 1,500 feet in diameter. It is situated in one of the youngest volcanic fields in the United States, with its most recent eruption approximately 10,000 years ago. (Still older than me! Lol.)

 

Amboy Crater.

Since we wouldn’t want to mess with our new tradition of no new places 😊, our next stop on Thursday, 3/9, was La Paz County Park near Parker, AZ. We stayed here for a week last year and really enjoyed it. Last year it was all first come/first served and we got super lucky and scored a site right on the river. This year the park had adopted a reservation system and we somehow ended up in the exact same spot as last year and we even had the exact same neighbors on both sides! Hilarious. Most of the regulars come down from Canada and stay for six months. They are delightful folks, and it was fun to see them again.

 

Site #208. We were so lucky to get the same spot twice.

We also planned to meet our friends Bob and Carole and their pup Ruby at La Paz on Thursday, 3/9. Bob and Carole left Washington a week after we did and managed to hit a weather window to made it down I5 over Siskiyou Pass. Our route and destinations were all different, but after leaving Amboy Crater, we were driving down Hwy 62 when Carole texted me to ask where we were, because she though they might be just a mile behind us. They were! Wow, we couldn’t have timed it that well if we tried. We pulled into La Paz together and got set up in our riverside spots. Ruby is Raney’s BFF and a favorite of Riley’s too, so the puppy reunion was joyful!

Best friends together again.

 Speaking of puppers, how is it traveling with the two big dogs? Glad you asked. And if you didn’t, just skip this part. Rog and I are now Olympic-class dog vaulters. I swear they insist on laying in the most inconvenient spot possible. Most importantly, they are doing great together. Riley has become so much more tolerant of Raney and she has learned to read his mood a lot better. Watching them jockey for position and toys is hilarious. The best spot or best toy is always whatever the other one has. Raney is also pushing limits just a bit more, that teenager thing again. When we’re moving, Riley likes to ride laying next to Rog with the vent blowing in his face. Raney’s favorite spot is on the dog bed at my feet, but she’s not above stretching out so she’s still claiming the bed and nudging Riley aside so she can hog the vent to. The looks he gives me. Pathetic. We try not to intervene too much, so they learn to sort it out themselves, but neither do we let one bully the other. Riley appeals for help more often than Raney. In fact, the other night he got me up in the middle of the night and wanted me to make Raney get off the couch! Nope. You had it and got off; you figure it out. Geesh. Kids! Raney still loves her morning snuggles, but she also would like to expand that window. So every couple hours, I get a whine and nudge, “Is it time yet?”. Anything before 6am and she gets sent back to her own bed. Someday maybe I’ll get through the night without one or the other whining, Mommmm. Bottom line, it’s a lot like traveling with two very large toddlers. Lol.

 

Raney enjoying the view after morning snuggles.

Would love to know just what he's thinking. Lol.

We had three nights booked at La Paz and really wished we could have stayed longer. There is just so much to do in the area. On Friday we took the kayaks to Lake Havasu City and planned to paddle under the London Bridge. I still can’t get over the fact that it’s the real deal. I wrote about it last year, along with more details on La Paz and the area, so check it out here if you are interested: Go Around the Bend: Lake Havasu City and Up SARA's Crack. Unfortunately, the afternoon winds had kicked up and we decided to hold off on the paddle. The trip wasn’t wasted though, because we hit another favorite spot, College Street Brewery. We had lunch and sampled some great beers and filled our growlers for evening Happy Hour. College Street brews Carole’s absolute favorite beer, Big Blue Van, and I gotta say it’s close to the top of my list too.

Now there's a cast of characters.
Rog, Teddi, Carole and Bob.

View from Rotary Park in Lake Havasu City.
It was windy and the water was a little choppy for inflatable kayaks.

College Street Brewery.
No trip is a bust that ends with a "Big Blue Van". Lol.

Saturday was our last day at La Paz and we stuffed it full. Carole and I started it off by hitting the swap meet just down the road. We were happy to find several local crafters, some flea market finds, and an excellent produce stall. I bought two large pieces of elk antler for Raney and Riley. The antlers are even better chewies than bones, but they are pricey and the ones in the pet stores just aren’t large enough for the big kids. Needless to say, they were a hit and I was the favorite mom, for a little while anyway. Lol.

 

We always find fun stuff at the local swap meets.

By 11am we had sunshine, temps in the high 70’s, and almost no wind – perfect weather for kayaking. Bob and Carole have a new inflatable, it’s a Sea Eagle like ours, but a different model. They got the Fast Track, it sits a little lower in the water and is sleeker and faster than our older version. This was the first opportunity they’d had to get it in the water and it was Ruby’s first time kayaking ever. She did great! We paddled down the Colorado River which was lined with RV parks, small vacation cottages, and enormous private homes with just a few stretches of nature on the California side. It’s difficult to imagine this is the same river we spent 16 days floating through the Grand Canyon wilderness. Lol.

 

Bob and Carole's newer model Fast Track on the left. Both are great fun!

An excellent time on the water.

Pulling out of the river right at our rig. Doesn't get any easier than that!

After our successful kayaking adventure, we beat feet to the Nellie E Saloon and Desert Bar. We visited last year and just loved it. The drive there is an adventure in itself. It’s about 5 miles down a challenging dirt road, totally off the grid, and only open 12-6pm Saturday and Sundays. It was also packed and had an excellent band, Mudfish, that we were beyond thrilled to see again this year! We took Ruby and Raney along and were impressed with how well behaved they both were. Also, purely as a public service, Raney ensured that the clean up crew did not have to worry about any stray French fries under the tables. Lol.

Gorgeous drive out to the Nellie E.

Did I mention the wildflowers are blooming?

 

A fun time was had by all. :)

Different perspectives of the chapel built next to the saloon.
Hmmm... drink, repent, rinse and repeat? Lol. 

Raney and I checking out the chapel.

Saturday evening was also hopping at La Paz. There was a private party in the event center and another gathering with live music behind us. Even our Canadian neighbors had a little impromptu jam session. After our busy day, it was delightful to enjoy the sunset and a relaxing fireside chat listening to the music. One of the things we loved about La Paz was how quiet it was at night, especially considering how closely packed in everyone is. We often joked that the Canadians were all in bed by 8pm and up at 6am. Unfortunately, this evening was the exception and the guitarist behind us (definitely not Canadian) belligerently continued far into the night. Maybe we wouldn’t have minded if he had been anywhere near as talented as Mudfish. Lol.

Carole got this stunning shot of our lovely sunset.

Happy Hour(s). 

Lots of Happy Hours in progress down the line. 

A few stars were visible. 
A lovely last evening at La Paz.

Sunday, 3/12, was moving day. We have one more repeat stop and then we’ll be exploring some new territory and…drum roll please…getting to the main event. But that’s for the next post. 😊  

 

And the Winner is…the Coastal Route!

Sometimes we go places to have an adventure, other times just getting there is the adventure! The latter seems to be the case for this trip. We are still having a grand time, exploring new places and revisiting old favorites, but our time on the road hasn’t been as simple as just driving from Point A to Point B.  

Bullards Beach in black and white.

We left Albany Sunday morning, 2/26, after deciding to take I5 to Hwy 38 to US101. We’ve used the coastal route before to avoid the passes on I5 in the winter. This time, however, even 101 had closures due to snow, storm debris, and landslides so it wasn’t a no-brainer. Luckily, we encountered no problems getting to our next stop at Bullards Beach State Park near Bandon, OR. This was a new campground for us and we definitely hope to return!

The campground itself was lovely, with spacious sites under the trees and hook-ups too! But what we really loved was the beach! It helped that the campground wasn’t even a quarter full, so we had miles of beautiful sandy beach all to ourselves. We timed it for a long play session with only minimal rain and Riley and Raney had an absolute blast. We are so happy to see them playing together more and more. Raney will strafe Riley, he will puppy bow, and then it’s game on. So much fun to watch!

 

Miles of beach and not another soul around.

Can I take one of these driftwood stumps home, pleeeeease. 😄

Riley loving the beach.

Rog and the kids.

Raney and Riley at Bullards Beach.

We didn’t get a chance to explore the many trails, but we did stop to take a look at the Coquille River Lighthouse. It is one of eight lighthouses remaining on the Oregon Coast. Built in 1896 to guide boats safely across the shallow mouth of the Coquille River, it was decommissioned in 1939 and replaced with an automatic light on the south jetty. The lighthouse remained abandoned until 1963 when Oregon State Parks leased it and surrounding acreage for the park. It was closed during our visit, but tours are offered in the summer. Another reason to return. Lol.

Coquille River Lighthouse.

We opted for two nights at Bullards Beach to avoid driving through “energetic weather,” high winds are no fun! Rog and I left the tired pups on the couch and drove into Bandon. It’s a cute, touristy little town that was nearly closed down on a winter Monday. We perused the few open shops, and struck gold at Coastal Chocolates, Face Rock Creamery, and Rain Cidery. Gourmet chocolate, locally made cheese, and excellent cider. I’m in!

 

The deco style bridge into town was super cool.
Also loved Face Rock Creamery and Coastal Chocolates is an old favorite!

Fun to find a craft cidery right next to the creamery!

In case you thought we were completely out of the snow globe, let me assure you there was plenty more along 101. Luckily, our weather window stayed open and the roads were mostly bare and wet. CalTrans was busy all along our route, clearing downed trees and storm debris, and scraping slushy snow from the roads. More storms were expected over the weekend and they were staging plows along the highway.

 

Snow along 101.

CalTrans at work. Thank you!

The drive down 101 is beautiful and one of my favorites, weaving along the coast and through the giant redwoods. We stopped for some puppy play on a deserted beach and the kids had another great time running zoomies in the sand.

 

Play time on the beach!

Rog and Raney.

Here comes Riley!

Beautiful spot for a break.

While it wasn’t the horrific knuckle-biter that we did through Portland, I was still happy to descend the final grade and make it into to the lowlands where we should be done with snow – at least for now! We arrived in Arcata, CA, where Randi attended Humboldt University, and pulled into the Mad River RV Park with blue skies and sunshine! To celebrate our successful escape from wintry weather, Rog and I walked over to the Fiesta Grill and Cantina for a delicious Mexican dinner and a margarita. Life is good. 😊

 

Sunshine and, best of all, no snow at Mad River RV park.

Check out this amazing art bus at Mad River. 
All hand painted and glass mosaic. 

Happy campers after a long drive.

We stayed just one night at Mad River and continued our drive south on 101 to a Harvest Host location in Calpella, CA. We had stayed at Testa Vineyards on a trip in 2021 and were happy to make a repeat stop. They have a new Wine and Coffee Shop where Rog picked up a bottle of vino and I scored a yummy blueberry scone. We parked in the fenced area near the vineyard. The puppers loved playing in the fields, the trick was keeping them out of the pond. Lol.

On the road again....

Testa Vineyards Wine and Coffee Shop.

Parked next to the vineyard,

Fun in the fields!

On Thursday, 3/2, we moved on to our next stop in Sacramento, CA. We’re staying for a few days to visit with Rian. One of the downsides of having to divert to the coast was that we missed seeing Rog’s mom in Redding. We have plans (all weather dependent, as we now know!) made for most of our trip, but haven’t chosen a return route yet, maybe we’ll be able to swing by on our way home.

 

Parked at one of our favorite moochdocks.

Rian and I both love to thrift, so we spent some time on Friday and most of Saturday hitting estate sales and thrift stores. I had brought Rian a couple boxes of stuff from home and managed to refill every inch of space with the treasures we found. Lol. On Friday, Rian's furbaby, Floyd, had a vet appointment. He's been having some rear chassis problems, specifically a neurological deficit that was affecting one of his hind legs. The vet put him on anti-inflammatory meds and restricted activity. No more flying off the couch to do battle with the postman. If that doesn't help, next steps could involve a veterinary neurologist, an MRI, and possibly surgery. Every parent's worst nightmare.  The remainder of our time was spent visiting, catching up on laundry, and cleaning the rig and the pupwagon.

 

Riley gets couch privileges at Sissy's house.

Floyd is on light-duty and he is not amused.

Hey, I want couch time too! 
(Notice the nose art on the glass door. Lol.)

Yoga time, downward facing dog?
Rian caught this pic of Riley mid-stretch. Lol. 

Now let me introduce you to the pupwagon. When we got Raney, Rog decided that the rear of the Acadia wasn’t going to cut it for two big dogs. He did a ton of research and decided that Raney needed a Honda Element. Which is ironic since it was a long-standing family joke that the “element” in question was buttuglium. Lol. Unfortunately, Honda stopped making the Element in 2011, so the unicorn search began. We finally snagged a 2008 model in good condition with relatively low miles. Rog bought and installed all the components so it could be towed behind the motorhome. We removed the back seats, which gives the two puppers plenty of room. We're still working out the fine details, but so far it’s a winner and best of all – the suicide doors make it easy for both of them to get in and out without a ramp!

The pupwagon.

We left Rian’s Sunday afternoon (3/5) heading toward another Harvest Host site in Merced. A few more stops until we meet up with Bob and Carole and Ruby! That will be a happy reunion. Lol.

 

The Weather Gods are Laughing…

 The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry – Robert Burns. Did he drive an RV too? The good news: we are on the road again! The bad news: we cannot get where we planned to go, when and how we planned to get there. Sigh. We spent weeks carefully crafting our route, making reservations and plans. I have a spreadsheet! And then Riley’s snow mojo went totally out of control and the weather gods had the last laugh.  

We left home on Wednesday, 2/22, around 11:30am with plans to arrive mid-afternoon at Hazelnut Haven, a Boondockers Welcome site in Hubbard, OR. This is the same place we stayed last July when we first picked up Raney and we were eager for them to see how she’s grown from 9 weeks (28 lbs) to 9 months (167 lbs). We made a couple of quick stops on the way and noticed a few snow flurries around Lacey, WA. No worries. Then it started snowing harder… but still not sticking. No worries.

  

Snowing... but it's not sticking (yet!).

Ok... snowing a little harder now.

And then we got close to Portland. We took I205 and by the time we made it to the bridge across the Columbia Gorge we were driving through nearly white out conditions. The snow was now a couple inches deep, visibility sucked, the winds were howling and even the semi-trucks had started to get off the road. At one point Rog had to brake and the front of the rig started sliding sideways. Now we worry!! We were frantically checking road conditions and weather apps as Rog inched along in bumper-to-bumper traffic, skirting abandoned vehicles and accidents. Ugh! We seriously debated trying to get off the freeway but were afraid if we pulled off in the middle of the snow globe, we might be stuck for days. The traffic cameras showed bare roads just past Portland, so we powered through. By the time we got to our exit at 99E it was clear sailing. We made it to Hazelnut Haven around 6pm. Easily the most snow we’ve ever driven the rig through and one of our most white-knuckled drives ever. A record we hope never to break. Lol.

 

Driving through a frozen hellscape. Lol. 
I didn't even capture the worst of it on the bridge over the gorge. This was bad enough.

Meanwhile, somebody was totally unconcerned. 

Offering morale support to Dad.

We stayed just one night at Hazelnut Haven and I regret that I didn’t take many pictures. Our hosts were suitably impressed with how much Raney had grown and we appreciated the delicious hazelnuts and cookies they brought us. After that exhausting drive we went to bed early, looking forward to a good night's sleep. Unfortunately Raney had other plans. At home she is only allowed on the bed while we drink our morning coffee. She decided she would like some different rules for the RV and made several attempts to climb onto the bed in the middle of the night. Recognizing a fight we dare not lose, I had to wrestle her off the bed while she valiantly tried to claw her way onto it. Girlfriend outweighs me and has some serious WWF moves, but Mom won in the end. Lol. She voiced her displeasure and demanded pets and cuddles every couple hours, but finally settled down. Hopefully, it won't take long for her to get into a routine that allows us some uninterrupted sleep. 

Morning snuggles with coffee.
Raney power napping after keeping us up half the night. Lol. 

We had a light dusting of snow Wednesday night but the skies were clear and the roads were bare into Albany, OR. Yes, our next stop was just 46 miles down the road at the Linn County Expo Center where we had three nights reserved to attend the Albany Dog Show. With a 9am ring time on Friday, we opted to arrive on Thursday. It was bitterly cold the first day, but we did some exploring with the puppers and took them for walkies twice at the nearby Talking Water Gardens. We had a little rain mixed with snow, but then clear skies. Yay!

 

Enjoying our bubble of blue skies and sunshine in Albany, OR.

Raney and Riley with Rog at Talking Water Gardens.

But Mom, why can't I chase the ducks??

Loved the bright flowers floating in the water.

Riley and Raney.

It was a good thing we arrived early, since many folks were unable to get through Portland and only three of the eight mastiffs that were entered on Friday made it to the show. The other two were already champions, so Raney took Winners Bitch, but there was no competition (literally). Lol.

Friday at the Albany Dog Show.

Hitch, Aslana, and Raney.

Friday afternoon we went for a snowy hike in the McDonald Research Forest about 20 minutes west of town. We missed the trail, so ended up walking for an hour or so up a forest road. Both Raney and Riley had a blast! Riley was thrilled to finally get to play in the snow, all that mojo at work and we drove right through it and wouldn’t stop to let him romp!

 

Riley and Raney both enjoyed the snow!

Looks like we have another snow dog. 
Hope her mojo isn't as powerful as Riley's!

Snow walkies are best.

On Saturday we had five mastiffs in the ring. Raney’s breeders, Mai and Dave, arrived with Raney’s Mom, Kiska, and her sister, Nova. Still several no-shows, but Raney was thrilled to see her sissy. Gma Mai also took Raney around the ring for me, so I could watch. They did great, but still took 2^nd place to Nova. No shame there! I handled Raney on Sunday and it was pretty much a repeat performance-wise. Nova is only three points away from her championship and then maybe it will be Raney's turn. Lol. 

No love from the judge,
but Raney did great with Mai handling her.

In the meantime we have spent many hours obsessing over weather forecasts, road closures and conditions, potential routes embraced and then abandoned. Ugh! Seems there are no really good options, so we may be winging it. We must leave Albany on Sunday and have to decide if we try to wait out the weather and stick with the original plan to go south on I5 or head for the coast. Given that there were also closures on 101 and more storms on the way that’s not an ideal plan either. Anyone want to flip a coin?

Whichever we choose, I’m sure it will be an adventure which we will happily share with you!