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.

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

Wrights Lake 2011

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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.

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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.)

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

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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.

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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.

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

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As I’m writing to you it is pouring rain here in San Jose, CA where we live, with not a chance of sunshine for three or four days – and it’s June 4th!

But it is the beginning of the RV season, even if the weather isn’t cooperating, so we plan a trip very soon to take advantage of the kids being out of school.

This RV season will be a bit different this year because we have a new addition to our family. Her name is Phoebe and she is a little white ball of fur and love. She is a perfect RV size and is a very good traveler (when we’re on the road she just takes a nap).

After our long time family cat “Killer” died in March (he lived 17 years) , we started to look for a new family pet. We got very lucky and found a family that needed to find a new home for their Coton de Tulear breed dog, Phoebe.

She has been a great addition to our family. In the coming months you will see her with us as we go on our summer camping trips.

If I can pass along any tips to traveling with a dog and two very active kids I will definitely add them here.

So please welcome Phoebe to our Family RV Fun blog.

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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

Sunset at the beautiful Wrights Lake

Every August we go to the South Lake Tahoe area to a place called Wrights Lake. If you follow this blog you will know that this is a very special place to our family. It is the place where we caught the camping bug and one of the reasons we bought an RV and started taking all these family trips.

This year was a little different in that we couldn’t get a camp site at the Wrights Lake campground area (it has gotten really popular). So we had to settle for camping in the area of Wrights Lake and then make day trips to our special place.

Sam at Gerle Creek

Our first camping stop was at Gerle Creek Campground (map). It is much farther up the main road (Ice House Rd) from Wrights Lake and much more remote feeling than our past trips to Wrights Lake. One thing I noticed very early is that there wasn’t any other kids at the campground for my kids to play with. One fact about our family camping trips is that if there are a lot of kids at the campground, my kids will have a good time. If there aren’t any kids, my kids don’t know what to do with themselves.

Don’t get me wrong, Gerle Creek is a beautiful spot. It had some of the biggest stands of Jeffery Pine and Douglas Fir I’ve ever seen. And Gerle Creek Reservoir is a beautiful lake and great for canoeing. But the people who were camping there were mainly older or child-less. And the campsites did not get a lot of direct sunlight, feeling a little unfriendly. In short, it just seemed a little too isolating for our taste. But if you want to get away from everybody, and I do mean just about everybody, Gerle Creek Campground is your spot.

Ice House Reservoir

So from there we moved on to Ice House campground (map) along Ice House Reservoir. It is a very nice campground along the banks of the reservoir with great views looking onto the water. If you have a jet ski this is your lake. It is a fairly large sized lake that what I’m told also is a good fishing lake. If you are an RVer it is dry camping but the water facets are close and filling up your water tank isn’t too much trouble.

From Ice House it is a 10 mile drive to Wrights Lake. Not a big deal but not optimal. Four of the days on our trip we made day trips to Wrights Lake. And the lake didn’t disappoint. We made a picnic barbecue on most of the days we were up there and had a really good time canoeing and fishing. Though Ben still hasn’t caught his first fish. We also had a little excitement at the lake. Apparently there was a small fire nearby when we were there and we were able to see helicopters dip down into the lake with water buckets to fly off and drop water on the fire. No worries the fire was put out pretty quickly and we went on to enjoy our day.

This was shot on my iPhone. So I couldn’t zoom-in but you can kind of see the helicopters.

So for next year we are going to send in a campground reservation by mail and see what happens. We really want to stay in the campground at Wrights Lake, like everyone else.

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

This Year’s Wrights Lake Trip

Ben on a rock at Shaver Lake

After a night of refreshing at home: laundry, restocking and love and care of our menagerie of cat, toad, tortoise and fish and a thorough cleaning of the mini van and Suburban we headed out for a four hour drive to the Sierra National Forest at Shaver Lake and the highly recommended Camp Edison (map).

We arrived around 5:30 p.m.  grabbed a bite to eat in Shaver Lake and headed to our great pull through site at Camp Edison.  The site was close to a bathroom and shower building.  You can buy a shower card from Camp Edison, 40 minutes for $5.  We found we could not use this whole card, even taking a nice hot shower every night after a day on the lake.   Highly recommend; just get it when you arrive.

On Wednesday, Claire rented a pontoon boat for the afternoon which was capable of towing an inner tube and she took the kids out for four hours of fun on the lake.  Kids can fish without a fishing license, so both the kids opted to try this and we bought them each a self casting children’s fishing rod and kit.  Though they didn’t catch anything they did enjoy trying.

Kids fishing at Shaver

Camp Edison has daily activities for kids and even art and photography lessons that people can sign up for.  We had the kids do all the activities we could including a storytime and an animal track plaster of paris art project. Samantha and Claire went Shaver Stables to go for Samantha’s first horseback ride.  We highly recommend doing that, she had a great time and did very well on the docile and well cared horse named Tombstone!

Claire and Samantha found out if they wanted to go out canoeing they needed to do it either early in the morning before 9 am or after 5 pm when all the boats seemed to exit the lake.  Then is was calm enough to easily navigate the lake and check out the coves.  They visited the Museum of the Sierras which has a lot of children’s activities books and coloring books that can keep kids busy while the adults visit.  They also visited the National Forest Service Campground of Dorabelle Campground at Dorabelle Cove to check out the sites.  If we ever are not able to get into Camp Edison, Dorabelle Campground would be the alternative.  There are other campgrounds further north of the lake but Dorabelle is right on the water and has beautiful picnic options that overlook the lake.

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

10 Days in the Mountains – Part 2 Shaver Lake and Camp Edison

Our 4th of July week vacation with the travel trailer was spent in two sets of mountains: Mt Madonna (in the Santa Cruz Mountains) and Shaver Lake (in the Central Sierra National Forrest).

The actual 4th holiday weekend we spent close to home in Mt. Madonna County Park.  This was a very nice getaway and allowed for hiking, biking and even some very fun strawberry picking!

Mt Madonna Facilities

The park is tucked up in the mountains above Gilroy, CA (map).  The RV sites are spacious and shady, and many of the facilities are fairly new. The bathroom/shower building by our site seemed almost brand-new and was a very short walk from our trailer. The campground offers power and water at the campground RV sites but no sewer. There is a dump station at the campground though that is very conveniently located.

One word of warning about the road at the campground turn off (at Pole Line Road). It is really steep! Use your lowest gear if you are pulling anything when driving up the road. It is an almost constant climb to the ranger check-in station. The first time up it can be a little hairy.

Kids castle at Mt Madonna County Park

Right next to our campsite site the kids found a grove of redwood trees in what is called a “fairy ring.” Younger redwood trees grow in a circle around the stump of an older tree and take nutrients from the old tree. The kids thought it looked like a castle because the stump was hollowed out making a perfect lookout/castle.  This provided HOURS and DAYS of fun for the children staying in the RV campground for the weekend.

During our stay there we noticed the campground was not as full as the website had indicated. I’ve noticed many times people book a reservation but just don’t show up. It’s always a good idea if you can’t initially get a reservation to try again a little closer to your desired arrival date. You may be surprised a month or so before you want to go…you may actually get in!

Kids at the Miller Ranch Ruins

Our first morning there we went on a guided hike to the Henry Miller Ranch Ruins.  Only the foundations remain of these historical homes, which would have been considered legendary in their day. Henry Miller and his family would love to come to Mt. Madonna in the summer and enjoy the coolness and beauty of the area. It is a short hike, but bring bug spray. the mosquitoes were out on our hike.

The week before our trip to Mt. Madonna, Sunset Magazine’s ran an article on spending a day in Watsonville, which is just on the other side of the ridge in the valley from our campground.

Of the activities listed, we choose to take a bike ride along a wetlands reserve park which was scenic and  beautiful.  The ride began at the wetlands center which we should have taken more time to explore, but the kids were rearing to get going on their bikes.  Luckily there were several informative wildlife stations with information about what you were looking at along the way.

Claire picking strawberries

After the wetlands we headed to a “pick ‘em yourself” strawberry farm. It was really fun and the strawberries were very tasty.  We ran into some friends from San Jose, who had done just what we were doing … following the Sunset Magazine article and enjoying their day.

Sunday (the 4th of July) we decided to go to Morgan Hill for their fireworks show.  The fireworks were set to music and were very well coordinated.  It was a good experience and the kids had a great time.  We were able to take the back-roads back to Mt. Madonna and were in our beds before 11 p.m.

Our final day at Mt. Madonna started with a bit of high fog which burned off quickly but left a breezy day.  We looked at the park map to see if there was anything we could do before pulling out. There was an accessible trail to visit historic twin redwoods which had been deemed to be almost 250 years old!  We headed out on our bikes to visit the trees and walk a bit on a little wooded trail.

Ben tries to climb the giant redwood

We spent the rest of the morning cleaning the trailer for the next leg of our holiday trip which would take us to Shaver Lake and Camp Edison in the Central Sierra Nevada.   The kids spent the time in the magical castle and enjoying Mt. Madonna to the very last minute!

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

10 Days in the Mountains – Part one – Mt. Madonna Santa Clara County Park

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

We were able to escape to Avila Beach for part of the kids spring break this April. This was another AMAZING experience. Our favorite place to camp is on Babe Lane with the San Luis Harbor RV spots. There has been a lot of improvements just since our trip in November. The highway leading to the harbor has been resurfaced and there has been considerable work done to make sure the maximum number of RVs have the best area to park in along the edge of the bay.

We like to stay up on Babe Lane which overlooks the Highway and the bay, we stayed here last April and didn’t have a problem getting in this April. It is a first come, first serve RV area and we’ve heard from others in the area it is nearly impossible to get in over the summer. What we really like about the Babe Lane location is that there are 1. full hookups, 2. a place for the kids to ride their bikes and explore and 3. very little traffic. We took in a lot of favorites and enjoyed some great weather.

Ben and Star the starfish

The first day we spent entirely at Avila Beach. We got there early and we stayed through the Farmers Market which happens on Fridays. While we’ve experience a lot of wonderful sand castle and kite flying days here, this day brought something even more memorable and will cement us to continue our visits to Avila Beach. While playing in the morning surf and all that an earlier in the week storm stirred up, Ben pulled on a long segment of seaweed and came up with a gorgeous ochre starfish clinging to relatively small stones. The starfish was very much alive and seemed to be really healthy. We noticed that a lot of children were going in to the new Avila Beach Sea Life Center and decided to take the starfish over there to see if they could help us with where we should put the starfish.

We found out that the Sea Life Center was still pending their grand opening which is happening on April 24, 2010. We got a great sneak peak and the director of the Sea Life Center took in our found starfish right into their new aquariums. She asked Ben what he’d like to name his starfish and he said…Star. So now we have a permanent place to visit Star every time we come to Avila Beach.

Sammy enjoying the pool

On Saturday we checked the weather and saw that it was going to be a mid 70s day which is wonderful in the area and perfect for swimming at the Avila Hot Springs Resort which has two water slides that my kids would be happy to go down even in low 60s temps. There is also a sulphur hot springs pool where adults and kids 8 and up can warm up! We were pleasantly surprised by the cafe that is now at the resort and they took our orders and brought our food poolside. We stayed from 11 am to 4 pm.

We visited the Fisherman’s Beach which is directly below Babe Lane and the kids helped a friend they met dig a huge sand bunker while the tide came in. In their digging they uncovered a sea slug. These enormous slugs of the sea usually are trollers of the deep and a retired fisherman said we should drop it back out in the ocean as far as we could take it. There was a kayaker there who did the job. I wasn’t able to get a picture of the Sea Slug because I didn’t have a camera but I did find some pictures on line which sort of resembled it.

Sea Slug

After the beach we realized we didn’t have anything to BBQ so we decided to treat ourselves and try out The Custom House restaurant. There was a live band playing at the adjoining Rick’s bar and we enjoyed a great dinner of shrimp and scallops. The kids then enjoyed winding down the evening by flying kites on the beach.

Though our time at Avila Beach was considerably shorter than we would have liked, it is one of the trips we’ll likely be talking about for years!

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

Avila Beach Didn’t Disappoint

Well we’re back from our big holiday two week trip to San Diego. We are back to our every day routine of work and school and all the other activities of every day life.

Kids at the San Diego Wild Animal Park

The trip was a whirlwind of activity. We had multi-day trips to the San Diego Wild Animal Park, Sea World, the San Diego Zoo and LegoLand. Looking at the photos and video from the trip it is great to remember all the fun we had. We kept the kids busy everyday, all day and they loved every minute of it.

The one thing we learned most about this trip, and car traveling with the children, is that they can handle only about four hours of car travel time. Basically the length of two movies and that is it. After that they’ve got to get out and run around and not get back in the car for the rest of the day. For a five year old and an eight year old I think that is pretty good. In the future I think we will be sticking with the four hour travel rule.

That meant that we broke our trip up going down and coming home. Staying both times in Bakersfield along the way. It made the drive less of a grind and we visited friends both stays in B-town.

Kids breakfast on day after christmas

As for making this trip as economical as possible, I give us a C+ grade. Of our two week trip, we stayed one week at a San Diego county regional park called Sweetwater Regional Park. That saved us about $30 per day. Other than that we probably spent too much on everything from treats to food to souvenirs , but man it was hard not to. We are not sure if we are coming back next Christmas, so we indulged.

It was really great that there were other families staying at the park too. We hosted an impromptu breakfast the day after Christmas. The kids loved it.

Elephants at the San Diego Wild Animal Park

The San Diego Wild Animal Park and San Diego Zoo were spectacular and I think Claire and I enjoyed them the most. The amount and variety of animals at both places is amazing.

The below video is of me feeding Lorikeet birds at the zoo. That was a lot of fun and really cool.

Sea World was ok. About like last year, except they had an ice skating rink the kids really loved. Watch the below video of Ben falling on his butt and then skating over to his mom and sister as she throws a snow ball at him.

We spent new year’s eve at LegoLand. They had a fun new year’s eve party complete with fireworks. We counted down to the new year at 6pm. We were back at our trailer and in bed by 9pm.

Kids with Lego Santa

My little, or should I say big, Doh (and this is a Homer Simpson, Doh) is that I left my laptop in the car at Sea World and it got stolen. Luckily that is all they got (and it was a five year old laptop, so there thief who ever you are). Lesson learned: don’t leave valuables in a parked car.

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

Our Holiday Trip: A Ton of Fun, and one Little Doh!

The big tank at SeaWorld

Tomorrow we take-off for the longest (by distance and time) of our family RV trips this year. We are going to San Diego for two weeks. My wife is off work and the kids are off school, so we are going for it. I will have to do a little work during the trip, but when you work for yourself your time is never really your own.
photo credit: kwalk628

We are going to try to be as economical as possible. Our trips to SeaWorld and the San Diego Zoo and Animal Park are already paid for because we bought a year membership to both last year (yes we did this same trip last year).

Panda at the San Diego Zoo

But unlike last year we are trying to stay at county parks and other more economical places. Last year we stayed a really special RV park, Campland on the Bay. It was a little expensive (but very cool), so this year we are going to be staying at three different campgrounds and they are all under $35 per night.
photo credit: PedroCancion

We only considered doing this again this year if we could keep expenses way down. So we won’t be eating out much and we are really going to watch everything we buy. Needless to say our biggest expense will be gas. And the next biggest expense of course will be food. I will be using every trick I know to keep our fuel use to a minimum and most meals will be at the RV. Also the trip will be one of the kids Christmas presents, as we keep telling them.

I think it will be fun to see how cheap we can be. So I will be tweeting along our trip (twitter username: FamilyRVFun).

Follow our exploits in family fun and economy. I will let you know the nitty-gritty on what we spend on and how much. And also I’ll try to pass along anything we learn on economical RV travel.

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

The Big Holiday Trip: On the Road in Economy Class

So we always go to the Pismo Beach area every year for the long Thanksgiving weekend. This has been the second year with our trailer. Before that we rented a house. And before that we rented an RV and spent the weekend before Thanksgiving at a Pismo RV park (we couldn’t get a reservation for Thanksgiving). This was the start of our RV bug.

Thanksgiving dinner at Avila Beach

The weather is always really good during Thanksgiving. The locals call November their Indian summer. And I have to agree with them. We have spent many a sunny afternoon on the beach. And this year we had Thanksgiving dinner on our favorite place Avila Beach, which is just a few miles south of Pismo. We had a really fun time and went to the beach every day that we were there.

We stayed at a really family-friendly RV park in Oceano Beach (just north of Pismo). It is a small county RV park called Oceano Memorial Campground. It has a little kids park at the center and it also has a very large kids playground down the street. For families with kids you can’t ask for a better place to stay. And we are definitely coming back to it next year (we made our reservation for 2010 while we were there).

So if you want to stay at the beach and be at a really family friendly RV campground. Check out Oceano Campground

A really good playground by the RV park

Having fun at Avila Beach

Ben is having fun on the beach. I think he is digging to China.

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

Thanksgiving dinner on the beach

With a couple of days off in the middle of the week for Veterans Day, we decided to take a short trip to the Pinnacles National Monument for some hiking, cave exploration and family fun time.

Pinnacles is a funny place. Driving up highway 25, the area seems unremarkable with a lot of farm and ranch land. Even when you turn off to the park area on highway 146, it just seems like there isn’t much there: Oak trees, grey pines and rolling hills. Ok. so why is this a national monument? Teddy Roosevelt made it one over 100 years ago for gosh sake.

When you get to the campground, there still isn’t much to look at. And right now the campground is in a state of renewal and repair. They are currently building a new RV campsite area in what is currently the group campsite area. They are also building a beautiful new wood rail fence along  the park road – I think they got some Obama money.

The rock formations of The Pinnacles National Monument

The yellow billed magpie

Having fun on the trail

But when you get to the hiking trails it all starts to make sense. When you look up at the rock formations, you’ve just got to say WOW at just about every turn on the hiking trail. It almost seems like you are in the Utah hills with the red rock formations that rise above you. Also the wild life is incredible. We saw tons of deer and an interesting bird, the yellow billed Magpie.

Once the new RV camp site is complete (probably by late spring), we will be coming back to enjoy the hiking trails and spring flowers.

One thing you should know is that there is no water hookup for the RV sites. As long as you bring your own water can to fill-up your tank (we have a six gallon one), you will be fine.

Below is a video of some deer that were grazing right by our campsite close to night fall on Nov. 12th.

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

A Trip to the Pinnacles National Monument

These are trying time for all of us as we weather the economic downturn.

California has been hit extra hard.  The State is trying to cut its budget deficit where ever it can and it has turn its red pen to the state park system. There is a proposal to close up to 100 of the 200+ state parks.

There are events at many CA state parks over the labor day weekend. We will be at the New Brighton Beach State Park to show our support.

Show your support if you can and make a donation or paricipate in a rally.

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

CA State Parks Rally this weekend – Over 100 Parks Could Close

The kids are loving life at Wrights Lake

Well we just got back from Wrights Lake and boy did we have a good time.

If you don’t know where it is, Wrights Lake is located 30 minutes South of Lake Tahoe in the Eldorado National Forrest. The lake looks up at the majestic rocky peaks of the Sierra Nevada and Desolation Wilderness.

We left early Monday morning from our home in San Jose and were up at the lake by 2pm.

The road coming in to the Wrights Lake Campground

When we saw the Wrights Lake campground sign and then caught a glimpse of the lake, we were beside ourselves to find our camp site and get out on the lake.

This is the place where we caught the RV bug last summer when we tent camped here. We thought, wow this is great but sleeping in a tent and cooking over the campfire is just ok. So one month later we bought our Thor Cal travel trailer and yes the rest is history and being chronicled in this blog.

So we spent a full week at Wrights Lake this year, six nights and seven very full days coming home late Sunday evening. We filled our days canoeing on the lake, playing on the beach and trying our luck at fishing up the filler stream for the lake (no we didn’t catch any fish, but we saw a lot of them). Wrights Lake is a totally non-power boat lake. You can only have canoes, kayaks and sail boats on the lake. So this means the type of people who come to the lake are the more “environmental” types and also the campground is quieter in the evening. If you have a power boat I recommend you go to Icehouse reservoir which is on the road to Wrights Lake (about 10 miles below the lake).

The family canoeing on Wrights Lake

We also met a lot of friendly people. And many of them with children the same age as our kids. Our last night we were invited to dinner with a family who were having a sort of family reunion. The grandfather has been going to Wrights Lake since the 1940s!

Camping Recommendations for Wrights Lake
If you are passing through Placerville on your way to the lake (and your a Safeway shopper), I highly recommend you stop at the Palcerville Safeway (at the Missouri Flats off-ramp).  Buy your food there and then fill-up at the Safeway gas station. You can save up to 60 cents a gallon.

Check-in at the campground isn’t until 2pm, so plan a late afternoon arrival.

There are two campgrounds. The one closest to the lake is for tent campers only (sites 1-19). The campground for sites 20 -68   inlcude spaces for RV camping (though no power or water hookup. It’s dry camping only).

One note about water: It isn’t allowed to hook a hose up to the facet to fill your water tank. So bring a large water bucket to fill you tank (I bought a six gallon jug for future trips).

The best spaces for RVs are on the side of the campground of sites 38 – 68 . The campground road is wider and easier to maneuver.

The picture on the right is of a tree on the side of the campground with the narrow road. As you can see many an RV has made its mark.

So we had a great time and will be back next year. And next year we plan to do some hiking up in the hills above the lake. There are many small alpine lakes nestled up among the granite cliffs.

Reservation Information
- CALL 1-877-444-6777, four days to six months in
advance of your first night’s stay.
- WEBSITE: www.Recreation.gov

The campground is generally open between late June and mid-October. These dates are affected by snow conditions. The campground is at about 7,000’ elevation.

Location: 23 miles east of Placerville on Highway 50, 11 miles north on Ice House Road (Forest Road 3), 9 miles east on Forest Road 32 (Wrights Lake Tie Road), and 2 miles north on Forest Road 4 (Wrights Lake Rd).

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

Wrights Lake: It was a beautiful week

• RV rolls over steep cliff as RVer walks dog

July 15, 2009
- Luckily no one was hurt – except the RV (picture included).

Always use the park brake!

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

RV Travel News on July 22, 2009

• The Pit Falls of Trying To Get RV Technical Advice

July 13, 2009
- This is a good article on where to go when you have questions about your RV. What I usually do is first try to find the answer in the RV manual, then the equipment manual and then try an online forum.

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

RV Travel News on July 15, 2009

• Finding Family and Child Friendly US Beaches

July 8, 2009
- Good article on family friendly beaches throughout the US. On the west coast they mention Coronado beach in San Diego and Capitola beach in Santa Cruz. Both great beaches.

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

RV Travel News on July 13, 2009

My family and I spend the long weekend (from 6/19- 21/09) at Calavaeras Big Trees Stat Park. It is located 10 minutes above Arnold, CA in the Southern Sierra Nevada.  Below is the account of our stay and some tips on how to make your stay there more enjoyable.

Getting to the Campground – No Wide Turns
Upon driving into the park, we were so stunned by the beauty of the forrest that we missed our turn for the campsite and we ended up on a dead-end road, which once had been the RV dump station area (now not in service). However, that was blocked off by some very heavy logs, yes, we did try to move them but couldn’t, because making a U-turn was impossible.

As we worked on trying to turn our travel trailer around in the dead-end road, we attracted the attention of a state park ranger who came to assist us in backing out of our mess (which was about 5 car lengths out with cars parked on either side).  It was a real nail biter and we were tired of driving so it just added to the frustration of being at the camp and not yet at the campsite.  We made it though and the Ranger followed us in and helped us back into our wide and expansive site.  He was great!  Thank you Barry!

About the Sites
The sites at Big Trees are expansive and that is a plus, however, many are close to Highway 4 so they suffer from highway traffic noise (not what you want to hear at a high sierra camp site).  We have done a bit of legwork and we’ll recommend the sites we think you should look for when you go.

What we didn’t expect was a spigot that wasn’t set up to accept a regular water hose.  So while there is water…you have to find a way to actually get it into the RV.  We knew this wasn’t going to be an easy fix.  On the second day we did buy an extra water hose and we cut off one end in order to make it larger to fit over the spigot.  That helped us out but we weren’t able to really cut off all the water from spraying out all over.  We will keep this modified hose and a few clasps within our trailer in case this happens again.

We didn’t have electricity and were a little concerned if we could make the two days on the battery power we have with the trailer.  We also did not have a sewer hook up at the site and had to conserve water and how we used our bathroom.  We decided it was only for those nighttime, and early morning nature calls and that by no means would we ever be doing number 2 there.  We used the nice bathrooms that were there at the campgrounds. We did great!  We washed our dishes outside with a collapsible plastic side-by-side sinks and used our outdoor shower to clean up under so that our water usage did wash way into the ground…versus into our tank.  We left with only 1/3 full tanks and drove all the way to where we store the trailer where we can use their dump station.

All the Fun
Big Trees State Park has a wonderful camper activity program.  On Friday night we took in a sing along at the campfire area. It was quite good.  The two who were leading the sing along seemed to be regulars and had strong voices.  They did a lot to involve the children in the audience and had a round of jokes, which both our little hams (Ben 7 and Sam 4) had to participate in twice!  Though we still can’t quite figure out their jokes, they both thought they were hilarious!  The evening finished off with marshmallows over the campfire! We made smore’s as we always have to do at least once on our trips!

On Saturday morning the kids took in the Jr. Ranger programs and they were great!  Ben got to explore and find bones of little creatures that were eaten by owls and Sam learned all about butterflies and made a butterfly kite.  In the afternoon we took out our new Rockport Old Town Canoe and had fun on a small man made like called White Pine Lake, which is just a few miles from the park.   This was fun and we enjoyed breaking in the canoe and finding a nice beach to picnic on.   On our way back we went ahead and drove up to the Stanislaus River and sat along the riverbank where the kids could throw in rocks and just enjoy the sound of the rushing water.

Though not all of us got to go on hikes, I did manage to get in a walk and was amazed by the Big Trees for which this park is named.  The trees are over 2000 years old and massive giants. It was very peaceful and tranquil and would be an enjoyable 1-mile hike for any family.

On our trip the campsites were full of families enjoying the first few weeks off of school.  Our neighbors all had kids and that is where our kids chose to spend their time, playing with the other kids and that really what camping is all about for the kids… meeting new friends who are enjoying the great outdoors as well.

When we go to Big Trees again….
We’ll be sure to turn into the campgrounds….very important.

We’ll also try to go to one of the campsites 4-12 (See North Grove Campground map below). They are far enough away from the traffic noise, but close to activity areas. If you want to get really away from it, you can stay at the Oak Hollow Campground in the park. It is a few miles into the park through a narrow paved road. Though if you have a large RV (28’ plus) I wouldn’t recommend it.

We’ll seek out more hiking, be sure to take in the Campfire singing on Friday nights, go canoeing, maybe at another lake (Alpine and Spicer Lakes are close by).  Be prepared with the modified hose contraption.   We know our battery power can handle a 2-day trip, we only used 1/3 of our battery power.  All in all….we’ll be ready to have a nice, relaxing time at Big Trees again!

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

CA Camping: Calaveras Big Trees State Park- June 19 – 21, 2009

• Extended-Stay Maintenance Checks

June 24, 2009
- This is some good advice from RV Expert Mark Polk.

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

RV Travel News on July 1, 2009

• Best Theme Parks & Amusement Parks in the West US

June 24, 2009
- This is a good article on the best amusement parks in the Western US. My family and I have only visited two of them. As our kids get older I know we will be visiting more on the list.

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

RV Travel News on June 24, 2009

We had a really good time at the New Brighton State Beach park. The state park is located off of Highway 1 just outside of Capitola, CA.

It is a state park (though its not threatened of closing with the Cal budget crisis) sitting on the bluffs above the beach. We had power and water, but no sewer (there is a dump station at the entrance to the park).

A nice campground, though the sites were a little close together. The best sites, the ones with a great view of the ocean, don’t have power and cost extra ($10 more a night on top of the $35 a night).

New Brighton is one of the best camp sites you can stay at in the Cal state park system. It has a nice beach below the buffs and it is 10 minutes from the Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk.

See the video for the highlights of our trip.

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

Camping at New Brighton State Beach

We just got a new canoe last week and we can’t wait to use it.

Luckily we only have to wait until this weekend. We have a trip planned to the Calaveras Big Trees National Forrest in the Southern Sierra Nevada.

It is along the Stanislaus River, so I’m sure we will have a chance to use it. (Video to follow after our trip).

Also in the picture is our two bikes. They just barely fit on the rack with the canoe.

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

A New RV Camping Accessory

• Keeping the Kids Busy this Summer

June 10, 2009
- This is a great kids on the road activity solution. A supply box for craft supplies will help to make the miles go faster on the drive

• Quick RV Safety Refresher Course : blog.rv.net: RV and Camping *…*

June 10, 2009
- To refresh your RV safety knowledge for the summer season checkout these video from RV expert Mark Polk

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

RV Travel News on June 10, 2009

• Replacing Your TV In Your Current RV

June 5, 2009
- Good advice if you have to upgrade your TV to be prepared for the digital conversion of over air tv broadcasting. The TV with antenna won’t work any more

• Camping & Rving: Emergency Planning & Preparation!

June 5, 2009
- This is a great article on being ready with the unexpected happens. If you have a plan it will saves you valuable minutes in an emergency.

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

RV Travel News on June 5, 2009

• California Says “No!” to Formaldehyde Holding Tank Potions

May 20, 2009
- More info on formaldehyde in your black water holding tank: Just don’t do it!

• Steep Grade Ahead? Tips for Driving Your RV in Mountainous Country

May 20, 2009
- This is a great article on braking safety when driving in the mountains. Some of it is obvious, but other stuff (turn on your heater to cool the engine) isn’t.

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

RV Travel News on May 20, 2009

• How To Properly Load And Tow An *RV Travel* Trailer (Hint: Get An *…*

May 6, 2009
- Very good information if you own a travel trailer. The article talks a lot about equalizer hitches and why they are so important to counteract sway.

• *RV Travel* Tips for Beginners

May 6, 2009
- Good basic RV travel info

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RV Travel News on May 6, 2009

]]> http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/rv-travel-news-on-may-6-2009-2/feed/ 0 http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/travel-guide-exit/ http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/travel-guide-exit/#comments Fri, 01 May 2009 01:45:17 +0000 Family RV http://www.familyrvfun.com/?p=199 This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

Road Guide to Know What’s Around The Bend
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I think you know the feeling. Your traveling down the highway and you know that within the next couple of exits you have to either find a bathroom, get gas, get food or do all three. And usually quickly.

But the question is which exist is best. If you have a GPS that can be of assistance, but to have a handy written reference would be of great value. Well guess what, there is a road guide that you won’t want to travel without and it is called “The Next Exit 2009″ The Next EXIT 2009 is an USA Interstate highway exit directory and the most complete guide ever printed. It lists services located at USA Interstate hwy exits nationwide, including gas, food, lodging, camping, hospitals, shopping and attractions. Over one million sold, it is the most trusted travel tool of the interstate highways. It has received 105 five star reviews by amazon readers so you don’t have to take my word for it that The Next Exit, 2009 Edition is a great book.

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

Road Guide to Know What’s Around The Bend

]]> http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/travel-guide-exit/feed/ 0 http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/rv-travel-trailer/ http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/rv-travel-trailer/#comments Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:54:31 +0000 Family RV http://www.familyrvfun.com/?p=69 This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

RV Travel Trailer
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We love our RV travel trailer. It is just so comfortable and feels like home where-ever we are. We



RV Travel Trailer

can be parked at a campground, a fancy RV resort or boondocking somewhere: When the door is closed you really it doesn’t matter, you are comfortable. We having every thing we need and are happy where we are.

I think first and for most the trailer layout and design play a very big part. Out Jazz travel trailer from Thor California is very well laid-out and, after owning it for almost eight months and taking 10 trips, it is very comfortable to live and sleep in.

In future post I’ll go over a check-list when considering an new RV.

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

RV Travel Trailer

]]> http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/rv-travel-trailer/feed/ 1 http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/rv-travel-news-on-april-23-2009/ http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/rv-travel-news-on-april-23-2009/#comments Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:51:25 +0000 Family RV http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/rv-travel-news-on-april-23-2009/ This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

RV Travel News on April 23, 2009
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• RVers Take a Lickin’ … & Keep on Towin’

April 23, 2009
- Good article on getting the pulse of RVers and the RV industry

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RV Travel News on April 23, 2009

]]> http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/rv-travel-news-on-april-23-2009/feed/ 0 http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/welcome/ http://www.familyrvfun.com/family_rv_fun/welcome/#comments Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:37:06 +0000 Bob http://familyrvfun.com/?p=1 This post via the: Family RV Fun blog. Where you can get tips, tricks and valuable info on family RV travel.

Family RV Fun – Welcome
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Welcome to Family RV Fun.

The intent of this site is to chronicle the Erwin family’s (That’s us Claire, Bob, Ben and Sam) travels in our Thor California Jazz travel trailer and offer comments and suggestions on smart RVing in the Western United States.

I will offer suggestions on traveling with kids and how to get the most out of RV trips with out busting the family budget.

I will be writing most of the posts (that’s me Bob) but Claire may add her comments as well.

So please come back often and visit our site often. I promise I’ll have valuable info you can use to get the most of your family trips in your RV or trail trailer.

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Family RV Fun – Welcome

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