Plans for our fall trip in 2019 began in the spring with an invitation from Topher to plan a white water river rafting trip for anyone in the family who wanted to go. He set it up on the American River near Sacramento so that d and Zhouyi could join us. However, they moved to Riverside, CA during the summer so only Topher and I ended up making reservations for the rafting trip. When Liz realized that Topher and I would be rafting near Sacramento, she decided it would be the perfect time for her to do an item on her bucket list and bike the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. When Rachael heard about it she wanted to do it too. So that became the basis for our fall trip.
Liz and I had also been thinking for some time of how to address the problem of local transportation when we're traveling in the RV. Most people with class A Motorhomes tow a vehicle. We don't like the idea of towing a car everywhere so we opted for a motor scooter solution. The scooter fits on a carrier in the RV tow hitch and we still have room for our bikes on the ladder. So we got a Honda PCX 150 scooter for local transportation and took it with us to try out on this trip.
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| Liz with her riding helmet on the new Honda PCX 150 |
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Ready to Travel
The scooter on it's carrier with bikes mounted on the ladder |
We left Dallas on August 23 and headed west on Hwy 380 stopping for the night at Haskell, TX (the city has an RV park with free 1 night hookups for travelers passing through). The second night we spent in Roswell, NM. The third day we pushed on to Tuscon, AZ, stopping along the way at White Sands NM. On the fourth day we drove from Tuscon to Joshua Tree National Park in CA. Here we stayed a couple of nights at the Cottonwood Campground. This was our first visit to Joshua Tree so on Aug 27th we spent the day exploring the park on the scooter. It was about 45 miles from our campground to the other end of the park and the temp was over 110 degrees. So we put on lots of sun block, hopped on the scooter and took off. We made stops and the Cholla Cactus Garden (beautiful but don't touch), Jumbo Rocks Campground (well named), and Hidden Valley Campground. Amazing scenery and plenty to do....a must see. We want to go back in the winter when it's cooler.
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| Cottonwood Spring near our campground |
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| We stopped for a picnic lunch in the shade of the rocks |
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| This is a popular rock face for climbing |
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| This is what a Joshua Tree looks like |
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| Rock formation called Skull Rock |
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Cholla Cactus Garden along our route
(their spines are really nasty) |
On Aug 28 we pushed on to Riverside, CA to stay the night with d and Zhouyi. Zhouyi's parents were staying there so we had a nice visit with them. Next morning we loaded Zhouyi, Meila and Euan into the RV and headed north toward Sacramento. d had to work so he drove up later and joined us late that night. We stayed the night at Pinnacles National Park, a NP in California that we had never been to or even heard of. When we arrived I took the scooter out to do some exploring. The park is named for granite rock pinnacles that jut into the sky. It also has Bear Gulch Cave which you can hike through to reach a pretty reservoir at the top. Definitely worth at visit.
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| Entrance to Bear Gulch Cave |
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| Inside the cave |
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| Reservoir at the top of Bear Gulch Cave with pinnacles behind |
Next day we pushed on to Sacramento where we had reserved a spot at the Cal Expo RV Park. This is a large park run by the city and is mainly used for the CA state fair. It is near to downtown Sacramento and with full hookups it met our need nicely. When we arrived we met up with Topher who flew in earlier that day and rented a car. Rachael flew in that night and we picked her up at the airport. So we had a full RV with d's family (4), Topher, Rachael and us...it was cozy and comfortable and great to be with the kids.
On Aug 31 Topher and I got up, hopped in his car and headed for Coloma, CA. This is the site on the American River where OARS (our rafting outfitter) has their base of operation. It's also the site of Sutter's Mill, the location where gold was first discovered in California. We had signed up for a two day rafting trip and expected to be camping on the river the first night. However, it turned out the the river trip was set up in two parts - the first day we rafted down river to Folsom Lake and then were bused back up to Coloma. The second day we were bused up river and rafted down to Coloma again . Camping facilities were provided at Coloma but we hadn't signed up for them so we had no reservation for the night. We decided to just spend the night back at the RV and return the next morning. The rafting was great fun with just the right amount of excitement and our guide was excellent! A great memory for me with Topher.
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| Topher and I getting ready to go white water rafting |
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| Topher with our "dry"bag in case we capsize |
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| Here we are in the white water...getting wet |
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| Site of Sutter's Mill where gold was discovered in California |
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| d, Zhouyi and kids on the dock at Fallen Leaf Lake |
Next day we headed to Reno where we spent the night. On Sept 4 we drove to Lassen Volcanic NP and stayed at the Manzanita Lake Campground for two nights. We took a day to explore the park on the scooter. We were finding that the scooter worked very well for our local transportation. We drove through the park all the way from the north entrance to the south entrance, stopping at the visitors center, boiling mud pots and a trail leading to a pretty waterfall.
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| Waterfall in Lassen NP |
We left Lassen on Sept 6 headed for Mt Shasta. We had seen this volcano from a distance but never explored the area. Liz had just read some of the works of a man who had spent some time in the Mt Shasta area which is known as a spiritual conduit. We spent 3 nights in McBride Springs Campground which is on the slopes of Mt Shasta. At this campground I noticed that something was caught in the awning over the big slideout on the RV. It turned out to be a big sticky pine cone that had fallen on the awning in the Lassen NP campground. It made a nice hole in the awning, which I repaired when we got back home. During our stay we took the scooter to the highest point on the mountain accessible by road and spent some time absorbing the beauty and peace of that place.
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| Mt Shasta Peak as seen from the town of Mt Shasta |
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| Liz at the trailhead to the top of Mt Shasta |
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| The peak from Bunny Flat |
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| Last look at Mt Shasta on our way out |
On Sept 10 we left Mt Shasta and drove to Crater Lake NP in Oregon. Here we stayed at Mazama Campground. The next day we explored the Crater Lake area and did the drive around the Lake on the scooter. We got some amazing views of the lake....the weather was perfect. We also did some hiking around the area to a waterfall and some sand pinnacles created by geothermal venting.
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| Crater Lake with Phantom Ship Island in the foreground |
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| Waterfall in Crater Lake |
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| Pinnacles of Sand in Wheeler Creek Gorge |
From Crater Lake we went to Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho, stopping for a night on the way in Ontario, WA. We love COTM and spent the afternoon of Sept 13th exploring the area.
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| Cinder cone in Craters of the Moon NM |
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| Inside the cinder cone looking down |
Next morning we headed to Tetons NP. We've been to Tetons many times, but always in the summer, so we expected that the crowds would be less in the fall....we were in for a surprise. The park was full of retired gray hairs like us and the campgrounds were full. We were able to get into Gros Ventre Campground the first night and met up with Liz sister Barbara and her husband Frank. They brought their bikes and we took a bike ride on our favorite trail along the base of the Tetons. The next day we moved up to Colter Bay campground for the next 2 nights. On Sept 15 we took the scooter out exploring and went to the top of Signal Mountain and stopped at the Chapel of the Sacred Heart.
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| View of the Tetons from Signal Mountain |
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| Chapel of the Sacred Heart |
The next day I took the scooter on a drive toward Yellowstone to check out Flagg Ranch campground. On Sept 17 we left our campsite in Colter Bay and headed to Bay Bridge in Yellowstone to get a new campsite and meet up with our friends the Graves and the Groves. However, we found that the campground was completely full. We were caught in the Baby Boomer rush; all the retired boomers were thinking the same thing we were. We drove up to Norris campground but it was also filled, so we headed back to Colter Bay. There we were able to get a campsite again and met up with our friends.
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| Mother bear and cubs we saw on the way back to Colter Bay |
On Sept 18 we all piled into the Graves 4Runner and drove the Beartooth Highway. This is a "bucket list" drive because of its magnificent scenery and steep canyons. The highway goes out the northeast entrance of Yellowstone and climbs over the mountain tops revealing beautiful vistas and steep drop-offs. The road closes in the fall with the first big snow so we made the drive just in time. Our route took us through Red Lodge, Mt (a biker town), down to Cody, Wy and back to Yellowstone through the east entrance.
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| Robert, me and Scott at Beartooth Pass 10947 ft |
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| View from the top |
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| Coming down the other side |
The next day was beautiful and we explored the Tetons and went down to Jenny Lake. The following day was not so good but Scott wanted to bike the trail from Jenny Lake down to the Jackson visitors center. So Liz, Scott and I decided to do it and took off. However, we were under dressed for the cold weather and Scott had no gloves so he stopped at Moose junction and bought a pair. We finally made it to Jackson where Robert, Lani and Norma met us and we had a chance to warm up and eat.
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| View of Tetons from Signal Mountain |
On Sept 21 it snowed as we drove to Yellowstone Park. The winter landscape was a new experience for us as we have always been there in the summer. We loved it...it got us into the Christmas spirit.
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| View of Tetons after the snow |
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| Groves, Graves and Daytons at the mud pots |
On Sept 22 we left for home, traveling through Casper, WY and Denver, CO. On Sept 24 we took a detour and drove the scooter up to the top of Pikes Peak. We had never been there before and we're awed by the views from the top of the mountain.
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Parking lot where we left the scooter and climbed aboard the
tram for the top of Pikes Peak |
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Pikes Peak Summit
Major construction was going on at the top |
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| View of the Rocky Mountains to the west from Pikes Peak |
We arrived back home on September 26. This trip had a wide variety of elements. It included both family and friends. It spanned a wide variety of climates, seasons and terrains including deserts and mountains, lakes and rivers, cities and national parks, summer, fall and winter. In the end it was one of the most interesting and satisfying trips we have been on. We also discovered that the scooter is ideal for providing the mobility we need to explore the sights while we are camping in the RV.
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