Tag: rving

Our (not so really) AWESOME time in the Kenai Peninsula

We left on a Saturday heading for Seward on the Seward highway. We ended up getting backed up in traffic for the first half of the day. It always sucks being stuck in traffic but we had an amazing view of the Turnagain Arm, which is the body of water that branches from the Cook Inlet. The Seward Highway follows along the Arm for quite a while.

Turnagain Arm

The closer we got to Seward the thicker the clouds started to line the sky. By the time we reached our destination it was cold and raining. Through many sources we found that you can camp off Exit Glacier Road for free. It is a little outside of the town of Seward but we were camping along the Resurrection River, which was also flooded. The next day we woke up and the weather looked the same, cold, rainy and gray. We decided to pack our gear for a day trip and try to make the best of it by going to check out the Exit Glacier in the Kenai Fjords National Park. It is the only section of the park that you can access by land. And it is the first National Park Tim and I have been to that was free. We took the trail to the Glacier and it was very easy and besides the weather the glacier was awesome. We had a good view of it and got some great pictures.

The same day after going to the glacier we went to Seward to see if maybe we should camp there instead but nothing really jumped out at us. They have lots of camping options in city run campgrounds but only a few of the sites had hookups, which we were needing because the solar panels were not getting a good charge. The campgrounds were all packed and the weather was just bumming us out really bad. We decided against going on a cruise since it was storming and I am already prone to sea sickness. We couldn’t go fishing either. Even if the weather was better we were told the fish aren’t running good right now because the water is too high and fast.

Meh….Seward

That night Zygi got his first fever and so we decided to head up the peninsula closer to a doctor in case he needed medicine. We weren’t ready to give up on the Kenai yet though. We found a campground with hookups that also serves as a hostel called Jana House in Sterling. We wanted to stay in Cooper Landing but not only were the campgrounds super expensive ($50/night!) but they were fully booked. So Sterling it was, and I’m sorry to stay that when we pulled in I almost laughed. There was no one camping there besides a couple of seemingly abandoned vans. The campground was a sh*thole. I mean, the sites had huge rocks scattered about and were severely unlevel. It felt like we somehow were back in Mexico or something. But even there the campgrounds were never like this. The first site we pulled into and got set up but then the electric hookup was not working so we had to move to another site. It was a huge pain. The people running were very friendly however and the showers were great, though a little irony…like the metal. Yes the water was yellow because of the excessive iron content. It ended up staining the side of our RV orange.

Although the weather improved a little after leaving Seward we couldn’t do anything outdoors since Zygi was recovering from whatever bug he had. Luckily we didn’t need to go to the doctor since his fever stayed low grade. So to sum it up, our experience in the Kenai peninsula SUCKED! I know that the weather and Zygi getting sick had a big part of it so I’m not trying to discourage anyone from visiting there. But if we did go back I would choose to stay in Cooper Landing along the beautiful Kenai River. The river is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. It is a spectacular turquoise blue like I’ve never seen. I would avoid going to Seward. It felt so touristy and meh. We decided against checking out Whittier after we read that all the locals say, “Everything is shittier in Whittier.” We had our fill of shittiness.

Stopping for a rest along the Seward highway. (Turnagain Arm in background).

 

Goodbye Cassiar, Helloooo Alcan!

It was tough to leave Stewart as the scenery was amazing and our campsite was awesome. We spent a lot of days driving so I’ll sum it up briefly where we stayed. After Stewart we continued on the Cassiar highway to Morchuea Lake Recreation Site. This part of the highway is very remote with limited services. We only stayed one night because the mosquitoes were too bad to go outside. I was working on the batteries and I usually don’t have much problem with flies, they just don’t bite me much. I got eaten alive, my legs had scabs from them even though I didn’t scratch them because those suckers are so big. There was however a nice view of Mt. Edziza across the lake.

The next day we continued on the Cassiar highway passing through Jade City. It’s not really a city but a store that sells a bunch of jade and other precious stones. We thought we would buy a bunch of it for wholesale price but it turns out it was more expensive than buying it from Chinatown in San Francisco. We ended up getting a couple pieces but I later threw it away in the Yukon River in Whitehorse because I thought it cursed us from all the bad luck we started having as soon as we bought it. I figured I would give the Indian ancestors back their jade and it would help us get over the bad luck.

After Jade city we finished up the Cassiar highway at Watson Lake, crossing into the Yukon territory for the first time. We stayed at a Government campground which cost $12($9 American). British Columbia has free recreation sites that you can camp at. The Yukon territory has government campgrounds that aren’t free but $12 a night isn’t bad. For that you get well groomed sites, some of them with lake views, free firewood, and water (not hookups just where you can fill up). Again we didn’t stay in Watson Lake long. We checked out the signpost forest and the visitor center. The fridge was on the fritz and we needed to get to Whitehorse for parts.

Black Bear eating the yummy grass off the highway

After Watson Lake we were back on the Alcan highway and headed on to Whitehorse. Many of you might wonder, “How does Zygi handle all this driving?”  Well on the days we have long drives we leave right before his morning nap.  The hum of the 7.3 diesel engine lulls him to sleep and after about 2 hours he wakes up and we find a place to stop and let him out to explore.  We try to find a visitor center so he is indoors and I don’t have to worry about him getting bitten by mosquitos.  After his snack, I let him crawl around the visitor center or museum and he has a ball.  Everyone else likes to interact with him too so it is a good way to socialize him a little. Then after about an hour and a half we hit the road again in time for his next nap. By the time he wakes up from that nap we are usually done or close to done driving for the day.

Tim wrote about all the bad luck we had in Whitehorse in the previous article, so check it out if you haven’t already.  It was one thing after the other and the worst was Tim sustaining second degree deep burns over 30% of his left thigh. Long distance travel isn’t all singing and dancing. It’s just life, not a vacation in the Caribbean.

 

O Canada! Crossing the border into Vancouver.

We wanted to camp close to the border to do some last minute shopping, get the tires rotated and organize the inside of the RV better.  It was an all day drive for us coming from Riffe Lake to Ferndale, Wa.  We didn’t get much cooperation. The roads were mountainous, there was hundreds of traffic lights, and then when we made it to the highway it was bumper to bumper even though we took 405 around Seattle. Anyways we did finally make it to Silver Reef Casino. There were a number of other people camping out there and they also had a free dump and freshwater fill, so it was a good place to prepare to cross. We had dinner at the buffet one night. Zygi made a mess with the oyster crackers so we left the waiter a big tip.  We felt like we were in the movie, “The Hangover”, walking through the smoky casino with him in the front facing baby carrier.

We got up and left early for the border, we crossed at Lynden because we read it’s not used a whole lot. There was only one other person there and they were seriously checking his car out. I was thinking “Oh boy were going to be here for a while”. Luckily it only took 30 minutes or so. They checked to make sure I gave them the correct serial number on our shotgun and went through our passports and that was it. They didn’t ask for Marilyn’s paperwork or search the RV. Easy peasy, like every border crossing for us so far(crossing my fingers).

Downtown Vancouver

We then went and camped at another casino, Starlight Casino, just outside of Vancouver so we can drive in and see what some people say is the most beautiful city in the world. I agree with them. The mountains and the city planning are both just stunning, one natural and one man made.

We parked the truck a couple streets away from the 22nd street stop and caught the train in to town.  First we went to Chinatown and bought the best falafel I ever had, weird I know. Then I went to a congee restaurant, it’s basically rice porridge with meat or other things in it that is usually a breakfast food. They also use it for baby food in Asia. Anyways, it was fantastic. I’ve loved it since eating it every morning in the streets of Thailand with the locals for breakfast. It’s not something you can find a lot of places. We then got some fantastic Dim Sum and that was as much as we could eat.

We then walked to Gastown, an upscale and historic area. It was beautiful to walk around. Unfortunately we went down one wrong street (Hastings) and saw the homeless problem that I’ve heard so much about in Vancouver. Luckily it was only a small area and it seems lately the west coast has been cleaning up their cities somehow. I for one am glad as it chases off a lot of tourists. We then walked to Canada place which is basically their cruise ship terminal. There are some neat educational displays about the port and train yard.

All in in it turned out to be a fantastic visit to a fantastic city.  Vancouver reminded us of San Francisco but we both agreed that we liked Vancouver better.  Vancouver seems more affordable and cleaner, especially when comparing the two Chinatowns.  The homeless are confined to one area instead of spread about the city.  Even the suburbs feels urban because they don’t allow building single family homes. Instead there are several high rise apartment buildings and town homes.   It really is a cool city.

Riding back home on the train

Up next, driving through some of the most beautiful mountains in the world.

Written by Tim and Victoria

Riffe Lake and Mt Rainier

After Portland we found an awesome spot on Riffe Lake that was beautiful and surrounded on all sides by mountains. It was a pretty popular spot as it seemed a lot of locals came out for the day and to camp.  It is also a landing zone for hang gliders. It was entertaining to watch them glide back and forth so quietly in the air.  They made it look easy!  The boondocking spots are just a mile or two from Taidnapam Park where we also were able to dump and get more fresh water for $5….Well actually it was only dumping but we sneakily got some fresh water too, leave a comment if you want to know how.

We went hiking around our campsite. Apparently the water level on Riffe Lake is low at this time and we were hiking around what appeared to be old building foundations.  Was there a town buried under the lake?  There were big trees that had fallen and made for some cool photos.  We were trying to hike to an old cabin but every time we tried to find the path to it, it disappeared! We called it the Blair Witch cabin and said forget it.  It was too creepy how it kept disappearing.

The drive to the Nisqually enterance of Mt. Rainier National Park only took about 40 minutes from Riffe Lake.  At first we felt like we were driving through West Virginia as we passed by some of the locals homes.  Once we reached the park we had some gorgeous views.  When we got to Paradise visitor center it started snowing and we couldn’t see the mountain at all. We ended up going for a hike on one of the only trails open (which was covered in snow) and let Zygi play in it. Unfortunately all the footage we took for Zygi’s first snow experience got deleted because of my Chinese fleece lined pants. The skin on my thigh touches on my phone in my pocket and ended up resetting my phone because it tried to unlock it to many times.

We also went on a hike to The Grove of the Patriarchs which had some absolutely massive trees. They were Douglas firs, western hemlocks and western red cedars. Some of them were 1000 years old! We haven’t seen trees this big since we saw the Sequoias in California. It was a beautiful hike and we probably would have had it to ourselves but they were training seasonal rangers that day and they were sitting along the trail interviewing each other. It was still amazing, there is just something about trees like that which really impresses you. Victoria says she can feel the energy coming from the old trees.

We never got to see Mount Rainier.  She hid behind the clouds the whole time we were there.  Even on the day we left we saw a tiny glimpse of the behemoth but not the whole mountain. We were a little disappointed, but we had a good time anyways.  We got to play in the snow with Zygi and saw some giant trees.

Can I get a ride?

Next up, crossing the border into CANADA!

  • Writers: Tim and Victoria
  • Photographs, mostly Victoria’s but I took some too, with her directions, lol

 

Portland Part 2

The last time we were in Portland we wrote a bit about how we loved the city but that the quantity of bums and how aggressive they were really spoiled it for us. I have to say that I don’t know if they cleaned it up but we didn’t have anyone aggressively bumming from us. Yes, there were still some bums and some tents but it didn’t feel like they were everywhere. We were really excited to come back and get some awesome street food and a nice hot shower at the RV park.  We also needed to pick up some stuff we ordered from Amazon at one of the many Amazon lockers they have in the city.

On of the trains downtown

Portland to me is one of the coolest cities in the west coast, awesome food scene, giant bike lanes, and good public transit. There also happens to be a very nice rv park in a good location to stay at, called the Columbia River RV Park. It’s next to the river and is only a mile from the closest train station and a mile and a half from a park and ride. You can also drive downtown and park pretty cheaply at the city run parking garages if your only going for a few hours, it cost $5 for around 3 hours. Parking garages make me feel glad not to have a 4×4, we just made it in with our antenna scraping each beam.

Besides all of the awesome restaurants Portland is famous for a foot cart square downtown where you can get good, cheap, authentic food from about 10 or 15 different cultures. Victoria heard about Nong’s Khao Man Gai for it’s famous chicken rice. Then we went to Persian Sofreh to get a Gyro type wrap, it had authentic lamb meat with some delicious homemade tzatziki and hot sauce. It was also much easier to split. The we were full so we went for a nice walk along the river and then came back, still full, and got some stuff to go. I got some rice porridge aka Congee at Bao Bao.  Congee is serve all over southeast Asia and China that is usually breakfast food, and sometimes baby food… Anyways it’s simple but fantastic and is not served at many places so I had to get some while I could. Victoria went to a Korean food stand and got her favorite, spicy chicken teriyaki, she just can’t say no to it.

Later that day we went and met up with an old college friend of mine and his wife. I hadn’t seen him in probably ten years, we lived on the same hall, 2N, in the freshman dorms in Russell Hall at the University of Georgia. We went to Beachside Brewery and I had a cider and Victoria had a pilsner. For food, we got a pretzel (Which was good but not $9 good…) and a Cuban sandwich which was good but didn’t real remind us of a Cuban sandwich. Not enough pickles and mustard and the bread wasn’t pressed. We had a great time and Zygi did pretty good for his first brewery experience.  Unfortunately none of us took any pictures (I guess we were enjoying ourselves too much).

I was impressed with how thick the roots were on the tree.

Next up is Mount Rainier National Park.

Celilo Park – Train Horns and Wind Storms on The Columbia River Gorge

Since Memorial Day was coming up and we don’t make reservations we had to be a little creative in where we could stay. First I tried all the national forest campgrounds in Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington. There were 500 campgrounds including primitive. Amazingly every single spot in all 500 parks was reserved for the weekend. So then we started looking for first come first serve sites. We’d be arriving on a Wednesday so we’d beat out most people for those spots. Unfortunately there were very few spots, maybe 6 total, some of those a ways out of the way for us. Then I came across a COE park called Celilio right on the Columbia River Gorge, it looked beautiful, nice trees and grass in an area that is pretty desert like, they said they had spots for 30 or 40 campers and they were all first come first serve. It sounded perfect but there was one warning, there were two train tracks about a 100 ft from the parking area and since the entrance crossed the tracks they had to lay on the horn as they passed.

When we got there on Wednesday there were only only three other campers that were there and we got a pretty sweet spot where the back half of the trailer would be shaded by trees but the solar panels at the front would still get light basically all day. It was a pretty nice sunny day with maybe only 10 mph winds when we got there and and we walked around and checked out the park.  It has a set of bathrooms but unfortunately the water spigot is chained shut. One nice thing that they offered were free life jackets to borrow they even had one Zygi’s size, so we planned to go kayaking.

Unfortunately the weather changed for the worse the rest of the time we were there, it was generally pretty sunny but unfortunately the winds were a steady 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 40 mph for the next few days. The Columbia River Gorge is famous for it’s wind and therefore famous for it’s wind surfing. In fact someone had set the sailing speed record on one of them in the Gorge, clocking in at over 70 mph. However a few years ago that was beat by a 75 mph run done by a specially designed carbon fiber racing sailboat. Anyways we did get to see some of the wind surfers but it seemed like it was even a bit much for them some of the times. Therefore with our solar panels cranking out more energy than our batteries could take we figured we’d take some time and enjoy a bit of tv (I’ve got all of The Amazing Races on my hard drive 😉

After a day or two of that we were bored and were able to find a spot where there were enough trees and bushes that if you were sitting down you could get out of the wind. I setup a tarp on the ground over there and let Zygi zoom around and play with the grass, sticks, pine cones, and rocks. It was a great way for him to let out some energy.  Zygi didn’t seem to mind the trains too much. Sometimes one would scare him but then we would say, “Chooooo Choo!” with a smile and he would be ok.

 

We attempted to visit The Dalles Dam. Victoria had read on tripadvisor that you could take a tour of the dam and ride on a train from the visitor center. Unfortunately when we arrived the dam visitor center was closed and we didn’t get any dam tour.  After a quick google search, we then discovered that they didn’t offer the train ride anymore since it derailed with a few tourists on it. Sooo we just decided to walk around the dam visitor center and take the dam trail as far as it let us go.

We did have one successful day while visiting the area. We decided we needed to get away from the wind and trains and check out Tamanawas Falls. It was about an hour drive but well worth it, even on Memorial Day weekend with hundreds of other people. On the way, we saw magnificent views of Mt Hood since it was a clear day. We hiked 3 miles out and back to see Tamanawas Falls. It was pretty cool because you could actually hike and sit completely behind the falls. That part was too rocky, slick and steep to climb with the baby so Victoria stayed behind while and I climbed back there and got a few photos for her.

The classic northwest forest was amazing to be in after days in the desert looking part of Eastern Oregon. Even with all the people, we were able to find our own area of the river to have lunch by climbing down off the trail a little bit. It even had a little pool area where you could get in the water. Unfortunately it was the coldest water I’ve ever been in, straight snow melt from Mt Hood. My feet and calves were numb before I had the chance to go any further so I just rinsed off there and got out carefully so as to not hurt my feet. We both loved the trail and I can’t imagine how much nicer it would be on a calm weekday.

After staying five days so we could avoid any problems with finding a spot we were ready to leave and I had a friend I wanted to visit from the old college dorm days, Ron from 2N! Therefore we decided to stay at an RV park we had stayed at before in Portland. It’s a very nice park just off the river and only a mile from a light rail station to take you into downtown. Next up, our return to Portland!

He get’s his feet from his dad…

Bulls Bend CG: Drivin’ Down the Scary Dirt Road to Heaven.

Victoria was looking for a boondocking spot near Bend Oregon using the Days End Directory and was having trouble finding something that sounded good. So I broke out my Oregon Benchmark Topo Map book to look up the National forest and BLM land in the area to see what they have for primitive campgrounds or even dispersed camping. I found an awesome sounding spot called Bulls Bend Campground in Deschutes National Forest. They said it would fit up to 50 ft trailers, had excellent cell service, was rarely used, and was beautiful as it was on a particularly tight oxbow in the river so we would have water on three sides of us.

We first stopped in at La Pine St Park which offered free dumping and fresh water.  I can’t rely on the gauges since they have never worked but I can now kind of tell how much water we have (70 Gallons)  based on the sound of the water pump but nothing I can do about the grey tanks (20 gallons each), the black tank is huge (70 gallons I believe) and we can go weeks so we don’t worry about that one. It’s no fun to run out of water or fill up your grey tanks when you’re out in the middle of nowhere. We conserve our water, shower every few days or wash off in the river or lake if we’re by one. Sometimes we will use that water for washing the dishes.  We honestly probably could have made it but why chance it when it’s free, and pretty much on the way?

Then it was time to head down to the campground. There was a nice large gravel road that we turned on, but wait a minute they have it gated off…  I talked to someone else who was doing the same thing and he said they lived there and came out all the time and the gate was never closed. He however did mention there was another way in and he didn’t want to try it in his 4×4 Toyota and 20 ft bumper pull. So after several very awkward turns around (I’ve gotten much better at least) we found the road in.  It was very narrow, just wide enough for our trailer and we had no way to know if we could make it. Was it tall enough? Was it wide enough the whole way? Did the turns have enough space? Was it all hard packed or were we going to find soft sand? We tried to call the ranger station to ask these questions but conveniently they are closed on weekends, very helpful…

We sat there for a good five minutes discussing what to do. Victoria didn’t want to go, I said screw it I want to stay here and we’ve been looking for this place for an hour. The whole way it was just tall enough that we got a few light brushes on the roof, just wide enough that we on a very light brushes on the trailer, just rough enough that we weren’t sure if our dishes would still be in the cabinets and the turns just wide enough that if I was any longer we would have sideswiped trees. But we did make it!  We had a beautiful spot on the river and the only visible damage was a plastic piece pulled off the bumper which I quickly screwed back in to space.

A view of our camper looking back from the river. Even with the trees we got plenty of solar power.

There was only one other person staying there in a jeep.  We saw some other people drive through all just in cars not another RV in sight much less a 35 ft fifth wheel, lol. The spot was beautiful and the oxbow was so tight that at one spot the river was ten ft away from itself. We thought about getting the kayak out and just floating it, do the 10 ft portage and do it again. Unfortunately we didn’t have a life jacket for Zygi and the current was running strong, so we decided against it (We bought one in the next town so we’ll be ready next time).

So we mostly just hung out on the river and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Even being parked in the woods we got plenty of solar power, no generator needed, as designed (I do have a 2000 watt champion inverter generator just in case, I’ve had to run power tools off the generator before but that’s the extent in 3 years of living on our fifth wheel). We also had excellent cell service as mentioned so we could talk to family and friends, post/work on articles, and plan our next spots. We also walked the closed road. There were four small trees blocking the road. It might take a half day for two rangers to clear. The least they could do was post a warning on the website that the main road is closed and that large RVs are not advisable except for the brave ;).

Beautiful baby

After a 3 days and nights it was time to move on, we had to get somewhere well in advance of Memorial Day since we don’t make reservations 6 months or a year in advance.

Next, The Columbia River Gorge till the Memorial Day Holiday is over.

  • Author: Tim
  • Editor: Victoria
  • Photographer: Victoria

Crater Lake National Park

We were on the fence on which route we should take through Oregon.  Last time we came through on our way to Seattle we took the coastal route up US 1. We ultimately decided to go up through the middle of Oregon via highway 97 because we really wanted to see Crater Lake and Mount Hood. The drive was so gorgeous passing through Ponderosa pine forests with large snow capped mountains in the background.

Mount Shasta

We decided to camp at Hagelstein County Park in Klamath Falls.  The location was convenient being right off 97 and within an hour of Crater Lake National Park. Hagelstein park is large enough to fit any size rig and fairly nice as far as a park right off a highway can be. Unfortunately the spigot for water was turned off, for whatever reason. Instead you were supposed to use a fresh water spring. So unless you have a water pump system or like using water jugs to fill you tanks with somewhat questionable water, be sure to bring your own water. Good thing we always do. The park was big enough for twelve or probably even more large rigs but there were mostly tent campers and car campers. The best spot faces the pond.  It was entertaining to watch the local marmot go about his work building a nest and ducks digging head first for food. It always makes me chuckle to watch them with their butts in the air and legs kicking while they dig with their beaks underwater.

We got up the next day and drove 45 minutes to Crater Lake National Park, which was absolutely stunning. Because there was so much snow, the north and east side of the park was closed. What was nice was they had it plowed 6 miles of road of the west rim, past discovery point.  The didn’t allow cars, only hikers. So with huge snow banks on each side we got to walk to several scenic overlooks of the crater. It’s not just the crater but the surrounding mountains that really make it something special. We could even see Mt Shasta from there. Bikes really would have been the way to go but we had both of ours stolen in different parts of California over the past year unfortunately, cable cut and all. Homelessness and bike theft is a huge problem in all of California and meth is a serious problem in Modesto.  Bikes are like candy to them.

Crater Lake was formed when a volcano, the highest in Oregon at the time, exploded several thousand feet of it’s top off. The little island called Wizard island in the lake was formed later from much more subdued volcanic activity. The water is purportedly the cleanest and clearest in the world with 140 ft of visibility, that would be nice for diving. This is because the only water added to the lake is from each years snow melt. There are no rivers running into the lake. The lake maintains it’s level by seepage out of the mountain. This also happens to be one of the snowiest areas in the world, receiving 12 or 13 ft of snow a year regularly.

We went ahead and purchased an America The Beautiful Pass for $80 rather than pay the $25 to get into a mostly closed park. This pass allows you to enter pretty much any national land for free for a year including national parks, national forests, national monuments, etc. You also receive half price camping at certain nationally owned parks (which we happened to use at our next spot). For anyone who visits any national owned land regularly it’s a great value.

Zygi and Mama

Next spot, camping in the middle of nowhere southwest of Bend on a stunning boondocking spot.

  • Author: Tim
  • Editor: Victoria
  • Photographer: Victoria

Camping on the Beach at Shasta Lake

Our first boondocking spot was Beehive Point on the beautiful Lake Shasta in Northern California. I found the spot using The Days End Directory which list thousands of free or cheap camping spots, it’s awesome and only costs $10. Unfortunately you have to be a member of Escapees to purchase it, which cost $40. It’s a club for full timers but I’ve never used it for anything but the directory.

The beach is massive (even thought the water level was high!) and you can park any size rig on it.  It’s not very flat though (look at my jacks). However, there are also a couple spots more in the woods if you prefer some shade. The only problem with the area is at the campground entrance. The road is severely damaged with huge washout potholes. On the way in we hit it the wrong way and which caused many cabinets to purge their contents. Thankfully no damage was done and we would totally do it again.  From May 15 to September 15th you pay $10 a night in one of those “iron rangers”. Luckily they hadn’t put it out yet the first night so we got the first night free.

Another awesome shot Victoria took

The area is absolutely beautiful and only 3 miles off I-5. The lake is surrounded on all sides by mountains and apparently the fishing is really good. We saw a ton of bass boats. Another vessel popular to the area are house boats.  It’s like an RV on the lake. It’s been awhile since we’ve been camping so maybe this is recency bias but I thought it was one of the best spots we’ve ever camped at. We were literally a 100 ft or so from the lake.

When we first arrived it was beautiful but unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse after that. It got chilly and there was a bit of rain. Our first day it was overcast so we decided to go for a hike. There is a look out tower at the top of Sugarloaf mountain which Victoria thought would be a 3 mile out and back based on the cheesy map the ranger gave us. Unfortunately it’s more like 10 miles out and back so unless you can hike 20 miles in a day or plan to backpack, you’re not going to make it to the top (which we didn’t, lol). Since there’s a cellular tower up there, the road was in decent shape(anything with a bit of clearance could make it.) The road is Forest Road 35N06 and if you just want to do some hiking and get a nice view of the lake there is a place to park once you drive a little past the few houses along the road.

I finally got to test out the Deuter Kid Comfort 2 I purchased used from the Backpackinglight.com forum I’m a member of.  I paid $125 (full price brand new  is $250).  Zygi seems to like it just as much as the front carrier but it has a real backpack suspension to transfer the weight to your hips as he’s a growing boy 🙂 I also ordered the sun and rain roof that goes with it for an additional $30. It helps keep him shaded, dry, or warm depending on the conditions. I’d like to get him some more “outdoors” clothing but they don’t have much of a selection at most places for a baby.

Zygi loves his new carrier

The next day we were more lucky and it was sunny and warm. We got in the lake but I wouldn’t call it swimming, we actually just wanted to wash off. The water is way too cold for two people from Savannah…We wanted to stay longer but with the weekend encroaching Victoria decided we should move on.

Next up Crater Lake, Oregon. Until then, “Buh Bye!”

Marilyn enjoying the sun

Boondocking by the beach with burros, at Los Zacatitos

Where can you be invited to a wedding, chili cookoff and a full moon party and homage to burning man celebration on the beach in one week? Well none other than a little black speck on the map called Los Zacatitos. It is about 8 miles down the east cape from San Jose del Cabo. We would of never even considered traveling here if it wasn’t for making friends along the way down Baja. While attending happy hour at Cielito Lindo in San Quintin a few weeks back, we met Barbara. Barbara lives half of the year in Los Zacatitos and the other in Oregon. Most of the community only lives here seasonally, escaping the sweltering heat of the summer that begins in April/May. We met up with Barb at the only restaurant in town, Zac’s (great food, but wifi not so great). She gave us a tour of town and helped us find a spot by the beach to camp. Like many other rural towns/communities in Baja, there are no paved roads, no street lights or signs for that matter.

Just like Cabo Pulmo, we found a free site right on the beach. We didn’t have any cell or internet service, but we did entertain daily burro visits. A mama and baby came to our camp everyday. The baby was cute, furry and loved to be pet. Swimming can be dangerous in some places because of the jagged rocks and the strong tide. However at low tide you can swim in a natural pool formed by the rocks. We made this a daily experience for us.

The full moon party on the beach started with the locals coming together during the day to build the burning man with wood salvaged from various sources. Everyone brought food, we all hung out on the beach, ate and took pictures with the burning man. Everyone was allowed to write down a wish and place it in a mermaid pinata to be burned along with the man. At moonrise, simultaneous with the sunset, the burning commenced. Afterwards we went to another party down the east cape road at another beach, called Shipwreck Beach. There was a DJ, lights, and many hula hoops of all kind of shapes and sizes. It was funny to watch Tim hula hooping in the laser light show with trance music in the background.

We decided to drive to the wedding that was held in the arroyo on the way to what the locals call the “community beach”. On the way there, our truck got stuck in the soft sand in the middle of the freakin road. We love El Oso, but damn it if we don’t need a four wheel drive. Anyways, usually I would freak out and get all pissed off. However I knew that it would only be a couple minutes before someone would come along and save us. “No worries amigo”, he said as he drove the large bronco around our truck dug about a foot into the sand. Like one of the professional Nascar crew, Tim had the tow strap out and hooked up. We were pulled out in like five minutes. We thought that we were going to be late with the truck shenanigans but literally as soon as we walked up and set the cooler down, the exchanges were made and we witnessed the first husband and wife kiss. There was a Mexican caterer making fresh fish and shrimp tacos, all the wedding guests brought food and there was a huge trough of cold beer and wine for the guests. Various musicians performed, even the groom, and we once again danced through the night, barefoot in the sand.

Because we were so close to popular and chic Cabo San Lucas we drove to visit one day. It is your typical tourist trap town but we had to visit, I guess. We walked around the marina and were hawked by the waterfront restaurant vendors and tour boats. Tim read about a trail you can hike to get to Lover’s beach instead of taking the tour boat, but you have to go through hotel property. So we walked and walked and walked. Finally when we made it, the hotel guard didn’t allow us to pass saying that it was too dangerous to go to the beach. We thought it was BS at the time. However when we made it back to the marina to take a tour boat the captain confirmed Lover’s beach was closed due to dangerous waves. We didn’t get to see the famed beach of Baja, so I can’t say it is the best beach. If I could do it over, I would take tour boat. We did however drive to Medano Beach which was nice.

Medano beach in Cabo San Lucas
Medano beach in Cabo San Lucas

San Jose del Cabo has a “Zona Hotelera” (aka tourist trap zone, aka zone that Americans can brave walking around Mexico without the fear of getting raped or murdered or burned alive) as well. There is an art walk every Thursday evening. I definitely recommend checking out the historic downtown area followed by beer and live music at Baja Brewing Company.

We spent our last night in Los Zacatitos at Neil’s, who hosted the annual chili cook off at his million dollar home situated on a bluff overlooking the community beach. Again everyone brought some food to snack on in addition to the 8 contestants in the chili cookoff. The winners were selected by a panel of 3 judges and ended up being Mark and Lianne, 3 years in a row of winning (one year coming in second). Unfortunately our resistance to leave the party led us to having to ride our bikes in the disorienting darkness. Both of us ended up falling off our bikes on the way home. Now we know why everyone drives around here. Thus it probably goes without saying I highly suggest NOT riding a bike at dark, especially after attending the annual chili cookoff.

One of the cool things about Los Zacatitos is how the entire community hangs out together, regardless of income status. Everyone brings a little something if they can and gets along like one big happy family. Mostly everyone we met was friendly and welcoming. It was a little emotional for me to leave here. It isn’t everywhere we travel that we become one with the community so easily. Los Zacatitios will always have a special place in my heart.

I could get used to this view.
I could get used to this view.