Merry Christmas from Family RV Fun

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Merry Christmas from The Erwins at Family RV Fun

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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.

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

The Black Oaks of Yosemite

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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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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!

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Sky islands: wild flowers in the high country

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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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One mistake and the pretty pictures you see along the way

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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.

Switching over to LED lights

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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.

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Caspar Beach RV Park – Summer fun but winter temp

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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.

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Moonbows in Yosemite Valley

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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

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

Our Big Yosemite Adventure

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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.

Something New at Avila Beach

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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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A new RV season and an addition to the family

Santa Cruz Harbor RV Park

We  decided to spend a quick weekend at the Santa Cruz Harbor RV Park recently (map). Yes that Santa Cruz Harbor. The one that was hit by the Japan tsunami recently. Though we were there many weeks before the flooding at the harbor.

The RV park looked like it would be a fun trip and no big deal. A 40 minute drive over the hill to Santa Cruz from San Jose for fun on the beach (and a whale watching boat ride on Sat.)

The campground turned out to be a very nice pretty place to camp, even though it is just a strip of asphalt (and a kind of picky camp host) . But it has a nice view of the harbor, full hook-ups and a great kids park just up the hill. Also the beach is a short bike ride. Throw in that we had a fantastic weather (low 70s, sunny and little wind) and you have the makings of another Family RV Fun trip.

But, we had a couple of incidents on our trip where we felt our personal safety and personal property were in question. We almost had a bike stolen and also the same evening a homeless person hanging out outside our trailer at 3 in the morning. Not good.

Kids on the beach in Santa Cruz

I did read about the theft issue on a review of the park on another site, but I didn’t give it a lot of thought. After our experience, and talking with a harbor official, it’s clear that theft has been a big problem at this place and anyone planning to stay here needs to be aware of this.

Apparently neighborhood juvenile delinquents come down in the early morning hours and steal anything left outside. Luckily for us we did have our bikes locked-up but they almost got my bike pulled out of a padlock right before I scared them away.

Frederick Street Park

So do I recommend this RV park and will we come back? I guess it is a yes, mainly because the kids love the park near by and the great beach. Just don’t leave anything out of your rig over night.

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

Santa Cruz Harbor RV Park: Nice Place, But…

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

We were really looking forward to our annual Thanksgiving trip to Avila Beach this year.

Picnic Table Canopy

As soon as we could, we consulted the holiday weather report to make sure we’d have good weather for our Thanksgiving dinner on the beach. Claire went out and purchased a new canopy tent with screen walls so that we could enjoy a view of the ocean from every direction during our dinner and not be harassed by the seagulls while we ate.

And because the temperature looked to be considerably colder this year we splurged on a propane ceramic heater that we could place underneath the picnic table if we needed to. But it turned out we didn’t.

Claire and her pumpkin cups. Yum!

Thanksgiving day was cold but beautifully clear. Claire spent about an hour and a half preparing our dinner. She made the pumpkin cups recipe which is featured in her newly finished book, The Mobile Kitchen (more on that in future blog posts).They looked great and they tasted great too! For our dinner this year we had ham, mashed potatoes with gravy, crescent rolls, cranberry sauce, fresh green beans, corn bread stuffing and topped off with the pumpkin cups!

A little after 1:00 p.m. we were enjoying Thanksgiving Dinner on the beach again. It was wonderful, there was a very light breeze and it felt great even though it was about 58 degrees.

Just off shore there was a bevy of activity with a large pod of seals and sea lions that were feeding, with birds diving into the water also to catch the fish. It was spectacular to see such activity. Not only were we feasting on Thanksgiving, so were they.

After dinner, the kids played in the sand and even though the temperature was cooler this year our kids managed to get into the surf and play in the waves. We had brought extra clothes so we did allow them to get wet.

We had our pumpkin cups with whipped cream and enjoyed the rest of the day till about 4:30 p.m. when the sun went over the hill and it got noticeably cooler. So time to pack-up and call it a very fun Thanksgiving day.

Roasting marshmallows by the fire

We stayed at the Oceano Campground again this year. There were many more families with kids this year that made it all that much more fun for the kids! The kids were well spaced in age and played well in the small sandbox playground. That was a welcome addition to our holiday camping. On Friday, after a full day back at Avila Beach we hosted a marshmallow roasting for the kids in the campground and tried out chocolate and vanilla swirl marshmallows with all the kids in the campground! Yum!

We had a great Thanksgiving! Before we left, we put in our reservations again for next year. Moving one more spot over in the internal circle of the campground so that we have a good view of the playground!

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 2010

This is another great video by Sean Micheal of the Long Long Honeymoon.

You want to get better gas mileage? First step is to check the tire pressure of your rig.

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

RV Gas Mileage Tip: Tire Pressure

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

We recently joined some friends for the long labor day weekend at an RV campground called Cotillion Gardens. It is located in the Santa Cruz mountains near the town of Felton (map). The thought “packed like sardines” comes to mind of our experience.

Kids at the redwoods

We had a good time and all, but man did we feel packed into a very small place. The whole camping vibe gets thrown out the window when the camp site next to you is less than three feet away and you can’t help but hear everything your neighbors are saying (and believe me you don’t want to hear).

We actually got one of the better RV spots at the campground but it still felt way too crowded. Although one good side effect of having a lot of people around is that there were a lot of kids for our kids to play with. But paying $55 per night for a packed like a sardine campsite can feel like a ripoff.

What was good about this place was that we were very close to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park and the Roaring Camp Railroad. We had a great hike on the Redwood Grove Loop Trail that is in the park. This is a really good hike for small kids because it is pretty short and totally flat. Plus you walk among some very amazing old growth redwoods. Our kids had a really fun time.

Very close to the park is Roaring Camp Railroad.  If you have small kids, this is also a must do activity, though the rail trip can be a little pricey.

Next time we plan to camp  at the state park campground that is nearby, but not in, the state park.

This is an iPhone video of the train going by.

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

Cotillion Gardens: Too many people, but the hiking was fun

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

I love Sean and Kristie of the longlonghoneymoon.com web site. They are the rock stars of the RV set. And Sean makes hands down the best videos in the biz. Here is another one on “the scoop” method of backing in your trailer in to a camp site.

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

Trailer Backup Tips from the Long Long Honeymooners

With the President’s holiday  (and the kids being out of school for the entire week!) we decided to go up to the snow for the long weekend Friday through Monday.

We didn’t want to go to Lake Tahoe and deal with the crowds and the attitudes we have experienced there. So we decided to go up to the Southern Sierras and go skiing at Sierra Summit. Which is about one hour and a half East of Fresno, CA.

Sierra Summit is East of Fresno

It turned out to be a really good choice. The roads were pretty much traffic free and the resort was busy, but not uncomfortably crowded.

But before we got up to the snow, we had to decide where we would park the travel trailer. We were a little squeamish about driving up to the snow with our trailer, so we decided to park it at an RV park in Fresno and drive up to Sierra Summit for our day trips to the snow.

Two bugs watching a movie

In hindsight there was no need to worry about taking our trailer up to the snow (there were even RVs camping in the parking lot of the resort). The roads were very clear and there was space at Camp Edison at Shaver Lake. Next year we will probably do that. But only if the weather is guaranteed to be clear and the roads are plowed and dry.

We may have to do a little winterizing of the trailer (maybe buy a heat

Sam learning snow boarding

blanket for the water tank or an insulated water hose), but nothing major because it only get down to around 20F at night.

We drove around Camp Edison when we were up there and it looked like a really great place to park the trailer. They were recently rated very high in a Sunset Magazine article on the best campgrounds in the Western US.

Both kids loved the snow. Sam seemed to take to snow boarding, while Ben liked skiing. They are both now telling their friends they are accomplished at their chosen sport after only one lesson.

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 Snow and Sierra Summit

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

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

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

Cal State Parks – Closure Details Finally Released

This is another great video from Mark Polk of RV Education 101 on the important topic of RV towing safety.

If you enjoy this video, you can see more at his site. Click on the link to the upper right of this web site, where it says “RV Education 101″ for more information.

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

RV Towing Safety

Ken Burns did it again. The National Parks documentary was really good. I can’t tell you how many times I said to myself “I want to go there” when they talked about a national park that I hadn’t been to yet.

Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon are the obvious ones. But others like Mesa Verda in Colorado and Denalie in Alaska will be places I plan to visit someday with our travel trailer.

There was one forest ranger in the documentary that really impressed me. His name is Sheldon Johnson and he really draws you in when he speaks. See this short clip about the Buffalo Soldiers of Yosemite. He tells you all about this untold story of the history of Yosemite.

If you didn’t get to see the series it is available online at the PBS web site at The National Parks – America’s Best Idea Each episode is available for viewing until Oct. 9th.

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

The National Parks Documentary was Amazing

If you love our national parks like I do, you will want to make sure that you see Ken Burns new documentary on our national parks starting this Sunday evening at 8pm.

We will get the history and learn about the heroes that help create our beloved parks. Don’t miss this. Tivo it and watch it later if you must. Just make sure you see the series.

I can’t wait.

Find out more about the series and a schedule of The National Parks a PBS Documentary by Ken Burns.

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

The National Parks PBS Documentary Starts Sunday Night

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

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

As we get ready for the last big trip of the summer ( . . . deep sigh), I’m starting to think about getting prepared for the drive and everything that goes into a care-free trip.

The beautiful Wrights Lake

Also because we are going to one of our absolute favorite places in the world – Wright’s Lake (in the El Dorado forest, south of Lake Tahoe), I want to be ready.

So what is my little secret?

Well, as you know one of the games of RVing is paying the absolute cheapest you can for a tank of gas. And although we’ve had some relief from the worst per gallon prices of last summer, it still smarts every time you pull up to the pump ($2.80 per gallon on average in Northern California).

So this is what we do to get the cheapest gas we can.

We do all our grocery shopping at Safeway (we live in Northern Cal and Safeways are everywhere). They have a rewards program that let’s you rack-up money for up to 20, 30 and some times 40 cents a gallon cheaper when you fill up at a Safeway Gas Station. Sounds great right? Well there is a little bit of a gotcha. Safeway gas stations are far and few between.

Luckily we have one close to where we store our travel trailer in Gilroy, CA. So we have a routine when getting ready to go on a trip. Before I pick-up the trailer I always fill-up at the Gilroy Safeway gas station. The cheapest I’ve gotten there was $1.71 a gallon back in May.

Check-out their program at: Safeway PowerPump Rewards

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

RV Gas Mileage – My little Secret

The below video is an example of what happens to your RV when you get bad (too high or too low voltage) power from the RV park. It isn’t pretty and it cost us $300 to fix it.

Get the surge protector mentioned in this video:Portable Surge Guard

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

RV Accessories: Why You Should Use a Surge Protector

• 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!

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RV Travel News on July 22, 2009

We spent the weekend at a local county park that was a surprisingly great place to RV.

We wanted to go somewhere close to save on gas. So we settled on Coyote Lake Harvey Bear Ranch County Park. It is a park in the foothills above Gilroy, CA and managed by the Santa Clara County.

We weren’t expecting much (it’s a county park after all). But what we found were new and well designed facilities and a near-by lake that was a great place to go boating.

They seemed like almost brand new bathrooms and showers

They supply power and water but sadly no sewer. Though there is a dump station avalable to RVers

The best part of the trip was the friendly people we met who were looking for the same inexpensive, close weekend get away. The kids made quick friends with many of the other kids camping at the park. And we also met other family RVers who we share kids of the same age and a love of RVing.

Another pleasant surprise was that the county park rangers put on a little presentation on Sat. evening complete with a video showing all the wild life that live in the hills around the park. It was very entertaining – and surprising to know the variety of animals who live in the park.

During our stay we saw wild boars (yes there were and a lot of them but they always kept their distance) wild turkeys and deer.

Remember to bring your own shade in the summer

Though be warned: You need to bring your own shade to this park when you come in the summer. The RV campground area is fairly new and void of mature trees for shade. So you’ll need a portable canopy to make shade around your camp area.

Here is how to get there – From U.S. Highway 101 in Gilroy., take the Leavesley Road exit. Proceed east on Leavesley Road 2 miles to New Avenue. Proceed north on New Avenue .5 miles to Roop Road. Proceed east on Roop Road 3.5 miles into the foothills. Turn left into the park and proceed one mile north to the entrance station and visitor center.

The kids put together a talent show on Sat. evening

To reserve a space you can call (408) 355-2201 to make a camping reservation or go online at https://gooutsideandplay.org.

Below is a campground map of the area we camped at.

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

CA Camping: Coyote Lake Harvey Bear Ranch County Park

• 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

This video from Sean Michael of the Long Long Honeymoon has an excellent message about beating the high price of gasoline. In another words there are many ways to go RVing.

Though gas isn’t as high as it was last summer, it is still probably the largest item you pay for on your RV trip.

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

RV Gas Mileage: How to Beat High Gas Prices!

• 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.

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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

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RV Travel News on June 10, 2009

Besides all the other comforts your RV provides, you probably want Internet access in your RV where ever you may be.

The below video gives a good basic overview of the options.

Cellular Internet access equipment mentioned in the above video.

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

Getting Internet Access in Your RV

• 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.

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RV Travel News on June 5, 2009

You may have heard of the budget problems with the state of California (my home-sweet-home). It seems we are $20 billion in the red.

Well the governor is proposing some prettry draconian measures with the State Park system. He wants to close up to 220 state parks with over 50 in Northern California alone.

This could mean that Big Basin State Park (one we plan on camping at this year) could be closing.

There is something we can do about it though. Go to the calparks.org web site and sign the petition to tell the govinator that we don’t want this.

photo credit: jeffk

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California Camping in Danger by State Budget

If you aren’t a member of Good Sam, I strongly suggest you join. It is $30 a year and more than pays for itself many times over in just the Good Sam member discounts at RV parks.

If you are a member, there is currently an extra benefit that I think you’ll be interested in. If you look in the current (June 2009) Good Sam Highways magazine, on page 23 you will see some great discounts for parts and service at Camping World.

You can get up to $300 off their Procare service is you show the discount coupon at your local Camping World among other discounts.Some great deals are offered just in time for the summer.

They also have some good deals online. Click the link below for more info.

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Good Sam Coupons for RV Parts and Service

This is a really informative video, and well worth the time to watch it.

Fun fact: “For every five miles you go over 60 mph you add the equivalent of 10 cents more per gallon you will pay at the pump.”

The following I’ve heard before but none-the-less important. Check your tire pressure when the tires are cold (before you start your trip). Always keep them inflated at the factory recommended level. Don’t run the air conditioning unless you really need it. Use the cruise control as much as possible. It will keep the engine at a smooth level and consume less gas.

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

How To Get Better Gas Mileage In Your RV

You are itching to go and your RV is gassed-up and ready to roll. You’ve reserved and you’re excited to experience the new campground you read so much about in the travel directory. Your ready for the open road.

This is all fine and good but – what about the kids. You know they aren’t going to be angels for the multi-plus hours drive to your RV adventure. So what do you do to keep the kids occupied while you tool down the road?

Below are my ideas on how to reduce the stress and tension when traveling in your RV with the kids.

First some basic travel planning will go a very long way in making the drive time much less stressful:

1. Learn about your travel route as much as possible. Look through the route in a road atlas if you have one. If you have a GPS, program it with the correct address (Confirm the address online or by calling the destination. You don’t want the GPS to sending you to the wrong place. Believe me it happens.)

2. Plug-in your trip destination in Google Maps or another online mapping service. Print it out and have it with you. It is useful as a last resort.

3. Buy the book “the next exit.” It provides exit services info for every exit on the major US Interstates.

So now let’s look at keeping the kids occupied:

1. First the obvious. Have an on-board DVD player for the kids to watch movies. Many vehicles have them built-in these days but if you don’t have one, buy a portable DVD player with a cigarette lighter adaptor. And have a variety of movies on hand so each kid has his/her favorite available.

2. If you are open to it have video games available for the kids to enjoy. This can include LeapFrog system games so they are educational as well. But if you have “tweeners” Nintendo DS or Sony PSP will be your options.

3. Plan craft projects for the kids to do on the road. This can be done safely by having a small portable table for each kid (there are a number of them available. Do a Google search for “kids travel table.”).

4. Reading to your kids isn’t only for bed time. Maybe on a long drive the non-driving adult can read a few stories.

5. Lead road games with the kids. “I spy” is a favorite one of ours. Another one is “who can spot the most out of state license plates.”

6. Potty breaks are an important part of travel. Beside pee breaks kids need to get up and move around during long trips. We usually try to stop every two-to-four hours for a potty and stretch break.

photo credit: House Of Sims

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Thoughts Before Going On a Family RV Travel Trip

• 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

Before seeing this video I wasn’t aware of the issues surrounding RV dump stations. I never though much of it: My black water tank is full, and I don’t want to travel with the un-needed extra weight so it’s time to dump.

But because RV waste is so concentrated (less water, more waste) and the toxic chemicals involved, a dump station can be very harmful to the environment. The answer is to use environmental friendly enzyme-based chemicals in your black-water holding tanks instead of formaldehyde . This will be easier on the environment and do the job needed to breakdown your waste material.

Below are links to the products mentioned in the video:

RV-trine Extreme Temperature Formula

RV-Trine Drop-ins, 12-pack

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RV Dump Stations – Environmential Friendly Materials

This is a great video that demonstrates how special family RV camping is.

KCRA a Sacramento TV station interviews RV blogger Brad Herzog about his (and his wife and two boys’) summer adventures RVing throughout the United Sates. Watching this video I had a few pangs of jealousy as he talked about their travels throughout the US.

One great idea they talked about was having the kids put together a travel calendar. The kids wrote down where they would be on what dates and what they planned to see, complete with pictures and notes.

We haven’t had a changes to do any multi-location trip longer that one week. But possibly in 2010 when Claire (my wife) has a sabbatical scheduled.

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Family RV Camping: There is Nothing Like It

I know people with toy haulers. They are very passionate about their toys, be it ATVs dirt bikes or whatever. So when I saw this photo recently I had to laugh.

I could totally see someone cutting-up their 5th wheel like this (be it from the looks of it an old one) to accommodate their toy of choice. This means they are cutting down on comfort to have their ATV with them on the trip. Not a problem they would say.

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

Toy Hauler – Is this prototype #1?

• 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

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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.

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Road Guide to Know What’s Around The Bend

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RV Awning Care and Maintenance
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This is a great video on RV awning care and maintenance. Also it talks about some awning accessories and RV awning cleaning supplies.

Below are links to the products mentioned in the video:

• Premium RV Awning Cleaner – Gallon
• RV Awning Repair Tape
• Patty O’Shade – RV Awning Shade
• Patty O’Mat™ RV Patio Mat

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RV Awning Care and Maintenance

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5th Wheel RV
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5th wheel RVs have really come into their own over the past five to 10 years. They are growing in popularity and for very good reason. They are a great value and generally are very comfortable rigs to travel the country in. And a very big advantage over class c and class a motor homes is they don’t need a tow vehicle to get around once the rig is parked.

Once we are in the market for a new recreational vehicle we will most likely will get a 5th wheel. You just can’t beat them for what you get in travel comfort and use.

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5th Wheel RV

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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.

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RV Travel Trailer

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Beach RV Camping
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Every Thanksgiving holiday we go to Pismo Beach to spend the long weekend in the sun and fun of the beach.

Pismo is a great place for beach rv camping and November is their summer so there is always great weather.

They allow beach camping so there is always an armada of travel trailers and toy haulers that pay the fee to camp on the beach.

There is always an onshore wind, so what people do is they bring sheets of plywood to block the wind around their rig. It sounds junky, but it does work and creates a wind block for more comfort.
photo credit: bsterling

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Beach RV Camping

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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

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RV Park Camping
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Here are some important pointers to remember before going to a new park for RV park camping.


1. Learn by other people’s experience.
Most importantly look for any online reviews you can on the park, but don’t let just one negative review bother you. If you see three or four, out of 20 or more be wary of camping there. To find a review do a Google search on “review alpine rv park” (of course insert your park name).

2. Look at the park through Google Maps
Again use the value of the Internet. Input the address of the park in Google maps and look at the satellite view of the park. This is a good way to find any obvious problems with the park before you spend the gas to go there.

3. Check out the park’s web site (if they have one)
This isn’t always the case, but if they have a trashy web site there is a good chance the park will be trashy too.

photo credit: ThreadedThoughts

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RV Park Camping

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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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