Merry Christmas from The Erwins at Family RV Fun
Posted by Family RV in Merry Christmas on December 27, 2011
Merry Christmas from Family RV Fun
The Black Oaks of Yosemite
Posted by Family RV in Yosemite National Park, Yosemite Nature Notes on December 12, 2011
When you think of Yosemite I don’t think you’d think of oak trees. But they are throughout the valley.
This beautiful video is all about the black oaks of Yosemite and how they are and were important to the wild life and human life of Yosemite.
Wrights Lake 2011
Posted by Family RV in California camping, Eldorado National Forrest, Family RV Fun, LED lights, Wrights Lake on October 1, 2011
Sammy at Wrights Lake
Getting an early start for the long labor day weekend we made it up to Wrights Lake this year on the Thursday before Labor day. This is the latest time of the year we have been up there and it was a good thing.
The campground didn’t open to the public until July 22 this year, so by the time we made it up there on on Sept. 1 the short summer season was already winding down. Though by Friday evening all the RV sites were filled-up and there was a lot of adults and kids out and about to enjoy the long weekend.
Sammy with Joe kayaking up the channel
What we noticed this year was there were many more mosquitoes than in past years (I assume because of the very high percip. this winter). It was just a minor inconvenience because we did bring extra bug spray.
Also this year we invited some friends to join us (Claire had booked an extra campsite). It made it extra fun inviting the family we met on our first trip to Wrights lake four years ago (the Welton’s) to spend the weekend with us.
This year we also tried to make sure we did some hiking around the area. We started out Saturday morning wanting to hike up to one of the mountain lakes (maybe Grouse Lake), but only made it a few hundred feet up the hill before the kids started complaining. So we decide to just hike around Wrights Lake, which was more than worth it and very beautiful. I think we are going to have to wait until the kids are in the teens before we attempt a hike like the Grouse Lake hike.
Ben kayaking up channel
Kids fishing at Wrights Lake
And this year Ben was able to be a little more independent and paddle around in a borrowed kayak. We paddled all the way up the channel to last passable section. And of course the kids tried their had at fishing, but to no avail. Well maybe next year.
Also a little different this year is that we invited are friends the Walhs up on Sunday evening for an afternoon picinic and swim at the lake. The kids had a great time and I think the adults had fun too.
And because we were dry camping we relied on our battery for the whole five day trip. I think the LED lights really did the trick because our battery never got below 3/4 charge.
Sky islands: wild flowers in the high country
Posted by Family RV in Yosemite National Park, Yosemite Nature Notes on September 14, 2011
I always look forward to a new video from Yosemite Nature Notes. This one is about all the wild flowers that grow at high elevations. They call them sky Islands. Rocky plateaus full of wild flowers that only grow at 12 thousand feet and above. Really cool!
One mistake and the pretty pictures you see along the way
Posted by Family RV in Family RV Fun, hazards of the road on August 29, 2011
Sean Michael of the Longlonghoneymoon.com produces the absolute best travel log videos in RVdom.
This one is about a near disaster that was averted, plus some stunning images of the North Dakota landscape.
One Dumb Mistake from Sean Michael on Vimeo.
Switching over to LED lights
Posted by Family RV in dry camping, Family RV Fun, LED lights, Power conservation on August 25, 2011
We are getting close to our annual trip to our little piece of heaven called Wrights Lake for the Labor Day long weekend.
And with that trip it will be our longest “dry” camping trip of the year. Dry camping, for those that don’t know, means that we won’t have a water, sewer or a power hook-up. We will be totally dependent on our batteries for light and propane for heat.
Looking forward to that I began looking into ways to limit the draw on the batteries so we don’t have to worry about them going dead during our trip.
Incandescent and LED side-by-side
One way to save on power is by switching out all the light bulbs in the trailer to LED lights. LEDs are a great way to reduce the use of battery power while still enjoying a brightly lit room.
Using LEDs can save almost 85% in juice. An LED bulb draws an 1/8th of the power an incandescent bulb. But they can produce the same amount of light and don’t generate any heat. What really swayed me towards LEDs (in part) was this cool chart on comparing LEDs to incandescents and compact fluorescents (CFLs). Looking at that chart you can see the environmental advantages as well as the financial.
What was important to me was that by using LED bulbs I would enjoy all the benefits without any downside. So that meant I first needed to test an LED bulb that I thought would replace the existing incandescent while having the same brightness and general color temperature.
I found an LED bulb that, in my tests, seem to generate an equivalent or better brightness of the incandescent but only drew 3.24 watts compared to 23 watts for the equivalent incandescent. That is huge!
LED on left - Incandescent on right
But incandescent bulbs have a more yellow color temp. (that people are used to) compared to LED bulbs. Most LED bulbs will look closer to day light color temps.
It can take a little getting used to, but the day light color temp. can actually be an advantage because the light seem brighter than the yellow incandescent color.
So the LED bulb I bought to switch-out most of my incandescents is the Ming’s Mark 1156/1141 330 Lumen LED bulb. It is only $16.98 and available on dyersonline.com
(The bulbs available on Dyers are the “warm white” version and will be closer to an incandescent than what is pictured above.)
Caspar Beach RV Park – Summer fun but winter temp
Posted by Family RV in Cal State Parks, California camping, California North Coast, Family RV Fun on August 5, 2011
Trailer at Caspar Beach RV Park
We spent our 4th of July week with the Caspar Beach RV Park and Campground (map), right across the road from the lovely Caspar Headlands State Nature Reserve (Caspar State Beach). It was very nice to be so close to the beach. The RV park was pleasant enough (though on busy weekends like the 4th you will be packed in like sardines). The park store was well stocked and the bathrooms and showers consistently clean and open.
But . . . and this is a big but, the weather was quite chilly. Even though this summer has been on the chilly side, I never imagined that I would spend my time watching the fireworks on the 4th wearing a heavy winter coat; but I did this year.
Claire and Kids at Lions pancake breakfast
The Caspar beach lured us to go down everyday and play in the sand (which the kids did). And we did some really nice small town activities, like the Fort Bragg Salmon feed, Mendocino Lions Pancake Breakfast and the annual Mendocino 4thof July parade. All were fun and with plenty of flavor of the local ambiance. Also the kids loved the indoor pool in Fort Bragg.
Fort Bragg Pool
Our neighbors in the RV park enjoyed a great day salmon fishing, meeting their limit. They shared a huge fillet with us and we enjoyed several salmon dinners at home. There is nothing quite like seafood fresh from the ocean!
The drive to Caspar Beach was LONG and filled with pleasant scenery as we took highway 128 to try to avoid a mountain like pass on 120. On the way back we decided to take 120 to get a more direct route to 101 and our drive home. We went from 65 degree weather to 98 degree weather just going from Fort Bragg to Willits.
There are so many State Parks in the region of Caspar State Beach; Hendy Woods State Park, Russian Gulch State Park, Jughandle State Reserve and Point Cabrillo Lighthouse. Unfortunately they are all slated to close next year due to the California State budget issues. Hopefully some will find private management before they close.
The people, the scenery and the food were all excellent and we were glad we made the decision to go more NORTH this year for 4th of July but we also decided our next adventures will be more Southward bound for a bit more warmth in the future.
Moonbows in Yosemite Valley
Posted by Bob in Yosemite National Park on July 17, 2011
I came across this video from a twitter post by Yosemite Science (from the Park Service).
I had never thought of the reality of moonbows before, but with the magnificent water falls in Yosemite on a brightly moon-lit night, you can see a moonbow (from the falls) that must be incredible to see live.
Next year’s trip to Yosemite will coincide with a full moon so we can experience a moonbow.
Our Big Yosemite Adventure
Posted by Bob in Family Camping, Thousand Trails Camping Club, Yosemite National Park on July 8, 2011
School was out for the kids on June 2nd, so we were really jazzed to go out on our first big trip of the Summer starting on the 3rd. But the weather (that is the rain) had other plans, so we didn’t really leave for out big trip until Sunday June 5th.
Just outside the park entrance
Our destination for our first trip of the summer was to Yosemite National Park. Ah yes Yosemite! The land of John Muir. The incredible water falls rushing to the valley floor and the extreme beauty everywhere you look.
Early June was a good time to go to Yosemite. The meadows still had some of their Spring wildflowers, the wild life was out and visible (we saw a bear, a coyote and a lot of deer) and the waterfalls in the valley were close to their all-time high flow level (They did crest on June 16th).
We didn’t camp in the Valley though. We stayed at the Yosemite Pines RV campground (map) just above the little town of Groveland. We drove up highway 120. Going up the grade it is a windy slow process, but coming from the SF Bay Area it is the quickest way to get to the park.
Yosemite Pines was a nice place to stay. The campsites are spacious, most have full hookups and the staff were pleasant and helpful. They also had some nice kid features like a petting zoo and a hike that you could take to an old gold mine on the property (the kids loved this). Though the camp bathrooms could have been closer to our campsite and the pool could have been a little warmer. All-in-all I can recommend this campground. But if you are a member of Thousand Trails the Yosemite Lakes campground is much nicer and closer to the park entrance.
Yosemite Falls
We rode our bikes in the valley just about everywhere. This is definitely the way to go (and the preferred way the park service wants you to experience the park). We just drove in to the Swinging Bridge area. Parked our car there and road our bikes throughout the valley floor.
The kids had a blast and we saw a lot of wildlife. I think we may start making a trip to Yosemite an annual event. Especially now that we have joined Thousand Trails and can stay at Yosemite Lakes for next to nothing.
This bear looks fairly young and kind of skinny, being early in the season
The mine at Yosemite Pines. No we didn't go in. Phoebe didn't want anything to do with it.
Our kids and kids or our friends play in the snow above Yosemite Valley
Something New at Avila Beach
Posted by Family RV in Avila Beach, California camping, Family RV Fun on June 19, 2011
We decided to go back to one of our favorite places for the kid’s Spring break this year.
Yes we went back to Avila Beach yet again (map). But we found so much new stuff to do that it didn’t seem like we were hanging around the same old place doing the same old stuff.
Old Port Beach is a dog beach
We did park the trailer at the same RV campground (the Port San Luis RV park on Babe Lane). But what made this trip a little different was that we had our new dog Phoebe with us on the trip. And with her we spent a lot of time on the dog beach which was just below where we were camping.
On the Saturday that we were there, we spent the whole day on the beach with Phoebe and all the other dogs and people who came down to walk their dogs.
Point San Luis Lighthouse
Also on this trip we had a chance to visit the Point San Luis Lighthouse which was open for the first weekend of the Spring season. We took a short bus ride to the lighthouse and enjoyed an excellent tour of the lighthouse from a very knowledgable lighthouse guide.
Lighthouse Lens
What made this a special trip is that we spent the evening on the dog beach eating our dinner by moon light (a full moon night) and dancing the night away on the beach.
That is the kids did all of the dancing, while us parents talked and drank wine.
Family RV Fun Feed- Merry Christmas from The Erwins at Family RV Fun
- The Black Oaks of Yosemite
- Wrights Lake 2011
- Sky islands: wild flowers in the high country
- One mistake and the pretty pictures you see along the way
- Switching over to LED lights
- Caspar Beach RV Park – Summer fun but winter temp
- Moonbows in Yosemite Valley
- Our Big Yosemite Adventure
- Something New at Avila Beach