Trailer at Caspar Beach RV Park

We spent our 4^th 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 4^thof 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 4^th of July but we also decided our next adventures will be more Southward bound for a bit more warmth in the future.

This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

Caspar Beach RV Park – Summer fun but winter temp

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We had been to the Columbia State Historic Park before (map). It was a summer time trip and a couple of years before we got our travel trailer.

So when our friends said they wanted to go there I was a little apprehensive about going back to some place that I thought we had already experienced. But we did agree to go and I knew the kids would have a good time with our friend’s kids so off we went.

Well I’m so glad we did. The first pleasant surprise was the RV park we stayed at. Located very close to the historic downtown area, Marble Quarry RV Park is a very nice RV park with full hook-ups and well-maintained facilities. The best thing about the RV park was that you could easily walk to the State Park downtown area, though we drove each time we went (our cop-out was two screaming kids who don’t want to walk anywhere).

The Columbia Historic State Park is basically a restored and maintained old 49er gold rush town that had the good fortune to be taken over by the Cal State Park system (or I’m sure it would have faded away from neglect and non-use long ago).

The downtown area is full of historic buildings along the main street. Some are storefront museums and others are quaint little shops, each with its own specialty.  One we particularly enjoyed was a farmers supply shop that had all means of supplies for the 19^th century rural famer. Others included a sweets shop, and old time restaurant and a gold rush era bookstore.

Stagecoach at Columbia State Park

You can also pan for gold, ride a stagecoach (guaranteed to by held-up be bandits) and drink-in the old time atmosphere of the old west.

The weekend we were there we enjoyed the Christmas parade for the town, which included more horses than you could count from horse clubs and 4H groups. What was great about the parade for us was that we didn’t have to fight the crowds to have a good seat to see the parade.  There was a good-sized crowd to enjoy the event but not too large to be uncomfortable.

Columbia Holiday Parade

All-in-all it was an enjoyable trip and well worth the gas money to get there.

This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

Columbia State Historic Park in December

Unfortunately prop. 21 failed at the ballot on election day. Of the Californians who did vote, the prop went down a whooping 58% against.

It is really a shame when you consider a statistic I read in the SF Chronicle: “Studies have estimated that visitors spend between $2 billion and $4 billion a year on camping gear, food, gas and other goods in communities surrounding state parks. That amounts to about $300 million in tax revenue for the state general fund each year.” This is according to Mike Sweeney of the Nature Conservancy.

Park Use Fees: Case in Point
It seems people don’t want to pay for any services, even the ones they use.

This is what I saw on our last camping trip up to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. Instead of people driving into the park and pay the $10 entrance fee, many were parking along the road outside the park and walking in, so they can dodge the fee.

In my opinion that is the problem with our State trying to rely on park use fees. People will always try to dodge them and expect the State to find the money to run the parks somewhere else. It is really infuriating when you see people so short sighted.

But in an economy like we are experiencing, it is not surprising to see prop 21 fail. People are hurting, and our State Parks aren’t the highest priority for most. I just hope our legislators can find enough money to keep most of the parks open so we can continue to enjoy them.

You can help. Please donate to the California State Parks Foundation. I did. And I plan to keep supporting the Foundation’s fight for the Cal State Parks.

This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

Prop 21 Update: My Take

If you are a long time reader of this blog you know that we love to camp at the many great state parks of the great state of California. This November there is a very important proposition to restore some financial security to the state park system.

Please vote yes on Prop. 21 and keep the state park system strong. You can read more about Prop 21 on the State Park Foundation’s. web site.

This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

Vote Yes on Prop. 21 on Nov. 2

Set for a mid-May trip, we finally got a weekend reservation at Sunset State Beach (Map) located south of Rio Del Mar, CA.

Sunset State Beach campground and beach

We’d heard a lot about the campground and looked forward to going there and having a great weekend trip on the coast.

It being mid-May we thought the weather would be no problem, but this is no usual weather year so yes we did run into some not so perfect weather.

We pulled into our campground late on Friday night with little problems (though me backing-up the trailer always involves some level of drama).

On Sat. morning we got up to a little fog but it burned off pretty quickly. So we packed-up and headed to the beach.

It is a short drive down to the beach with some really nice picnic and barbecue facilities.

Sunset State Beach

What makes Sunset State Beach so unique is that it is an extremely long and flat beach. I’m not sure how long it is but it sure looked like you would be walking for hours until you reached the end of it.

But we never really got the chance to walk along the beach for very long.

The trouble was that the wind was howling in from the surf and making our day at the beach a little difficult to enjoy.

First we tried to make a wind break with our chairs and sun umbrellas. But of course the wind was just too strong and we had to retreat to the other side of the dunes where the wind wasn’t so strong, but alas not on the beach itself.

Of course the kids took the weather hiccups in stride and seemed to have a great time no matter what.

Kids at Sunset Beach Campground

Later at the campground the kids had fun in a field of wild flowers just outside our trailer door.

Sunday morning we woke-up to a cloudy and raining morning. All the tent campers were very quick to pack-up and leave at the first sign of rain.

We also left Sunday morning, but stayed cozy and warm in our travel trailer until we were ready to leave.

This campground does deserve another try when the weather is better. But it is hard to get a reservation in the summer.

Also the campground doesn’t have hook-ups but we could dump our black and gray water at the New Brighton State Beach campground.

This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

What to do when the weather isn’t perfect – Sunset State Beach

Well the last shoe finally dropped on the on-going saga of the California state budget and the Cal State Park system. The “Service Reduction Plan” was released on Tuesday. The Service Reductions are one part of the $14.2 million, one-time budget savings plan Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced on September 25 to keep parks open with the least disruption to visitors.

One of the majestic redwood at Big Basin State Park

It didn’t turn out to be as drastic as we all feared, but the cuts were still pretty deep and wide spread. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and one of my favorite State Parks, Big Basin will see campground closures Sunday through Thursday from December through March. Well I guess I can live with that given how much that the State needs to make-up in the budget deficit. I’m just concerned that these cuts will become permanent. Let’s all hope for a better economy and more tax revenue for the state.

You can read about the details of the park reductions at the Cal State Park Foundation website

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Cal State Parks – Closure Details Finally Released

Watch this impassioned speech by the President of the Cal State Park Foundation, Elizabeth Goldstein.

She lays down the law on what we need to do to save our parks.

The closure list has been delayed until late next week.

Make a donation to the Cal State Park Foundation fight to stop the park closures.

This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

Cal State Park Foundation President Speaks

Cal state parks are still at risk, but there is some good news.

Senate Bill 679 passed the Ca State legislature and waits for the Gov. to sign. It requires that no land acquired for the state park system may be used for non-park uses without the express authority of an act of the Legislature and without a plan to replace those park lands with lands of equal environmental and fair market value.

Let’s hope the state gets creative and works with private business to keep the parks open.

But senate bill 679 insures the state won’t lose State park land.

This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

Cal State Parks Still in Way of Govenor’s Cut