We drove into the wine country and discovered pretty quickly that there are very few places to park an RV in Sonoma or Napa. We ended up at the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds. It's basically a parking lot with friendly folks and full-hook-ups, laundry and showers...but it was centrally located and fine for what we needed. Kipper found a work spot, and I did some research on what to do with kids in the wine country. Surprisingly, there are some options! It seems so much of this trip has been exploring all of the amazing things volcanoes have done to our world, and how influential they have been over the years to so many parts of nature. Sticking to that theme, we decided to visit the Petrified Forest in Calistogo. These trees were amazingly big, and when the volcano (at Mt. St. Helena) erupted, it knocked down huge trees and lava flowed through the forest. Many of them are still lying untouched, but have turned to stone. It reminded me of those ceramic tiles that look like wood in home remodels...except it was actual wood turned to actual stone! Perhaps the most interesting thing about this forest is that many of these trees were already 2000+ years old when the volcano erupted and knocked them down millions of years ago. That kind of time span is almost too overwhelming to consider and makes us all feel so small in the big scheme of life on earth. How could anything be that old and still exist?!
We also visited the Old Faithful Geyser of California, which is another effect from that same volcano. This was an interesting place because you pay to get in, but then you hang out in this park with hula hoops, board games, a petting zoo and picnic areas while you wait for nature to decide to spray this boiling hot water out of the ground...basically whenever it feels like it. Luckily for us, this time of year it sprays about every 30-45 minutes. But, there are no sirens or warnings to let you know it's coming, no bells and whistles about the show at all...just nature. So, we waited and waited and fed the goats and waited some more, played some checkers and all of a sudden out of nowhere, the geyser went off! It sprays for about 5 minutes and then stops...and then you wait again. It's such a funny concept, but the boys got a real kick out of the whole thing and we studied geysers that week in home school...so it was worth seeing it in person.
The rest of the week we caught up on some school and then headed into San Francisco on a Friday. If you google where to camp with an RV in SF...you'll discover there are about two locations (which are booked solid) and they are $100+/night...so we stayed with an old friend in Berkeley and saved our money. It was such a treat! We went to high school with Carrie...and now she is a mama of two boys and lives in Berkeley with her hubby and pup. Their home had incredible views of the city; their sweet family graciously gave a place to call home for the night and fed us a beautiful dinner. We hiked right out their front door to a nearby steam train for a little train ride, then hiked back. It was a real treat for our little train-lover and the hike was beautiful (minus the poison oak...which we avoided by some miracle! Yay!) It was so awesome to catch up with Carrie...it's probably been 15+ years since I've gotten to see her...but it seemed no time had passed, and I was thrilled to get to reconnect with her. Sending a huge thank you and big love to you Scarvie family!
We planned to see some sights in SF, but on our drive out of town, we decided to drive past the Golden Gate Bridge...and head out of town to less traffic and more peace and quiet again. We realized that we liked being near civilization...there are many conveniences we had missed these last few weeks...but we didn't want to be THAT near it. We wanted a town that offered ATM's and wifi...but when we start seeing Kohl's and Applebees...we run for the hills (or ocean) again!
Our next reservation was at Santa Cruz Redwoods RV Resort...and it was AMAZING! What a place to spend your birthday! Those trees...Oh my goodness, those trees...they are huge; they are peaceful and they are beautiful. There's a vibe in the Redwood forest that feels so safe, so established, so close to nature, so protected because these several hundred-year-old grandaddy trees are standing tall and you feel sheltered by them. I tried to take good pics, but you really need to come stand beneath them and look up yourself...I will never forget waking up in that forest. We spent some time in Santa Cruz, enjoyed the local antique market, boardwalk, downtown Santa Cruz, and Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. We saw trees in the state park ("Redwood Grove") that were big enough for ten people to wrap their arms around and looked as high as the clouds. You could crawl through them, sit under them and something about these big guys made you want to give them a big hug. You know how sometimes when you plan a trip to somewhere you've never been...and you envision it one way, but then you get there and it's not like you dreamed it would be...like the brochure made it seem so much more magical than it really is. Well, this was the opposite of that...the Redwood Forest pleasantly surprised us....it was so much more captivating than we expected, and the energy at this specific campground was fun. We had a hard time leaving this one.
From Santa Cruz, we headed down the coast. We stopped in Monterey so Kipper could find a work-spot and the kids and I could visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This was an aquarium on the ocean with fresh ocean water flowing in for many of their exhibits, and it's a pretty amazing place. I appreciate the work this place is doing to maintain a healthy ocean, help under-populated sea animals and help promote a more ocean-conscious world. Most of their exhibits are with rescued animals, and they keep them until they can release them back into the ocean if possible. They don't keep animals there just for our entertainment, and they have several wonderful ways for us to learn about creatures in the sea without having to see one in person. It was really educational for the boys to see how many different ways we over-fishing in the United States, and how important it is to be thinking about where our food comes from. Highlights - We watched a documentary about the Great White Sharks and how little we really know about them. They have a reputation for being nomads, but this aquarium has been tracking many of them with small gps tags and have learned that they always return to where they came from. No one has yet to find where their breeding grounds are, and no one has ever seen a Great White Shark give birth. They remain a mystery, but a lot of information is surfacing from the research today...without even taking them out of the ocean.
We learned that the kelp forest on the ocean floor is much like the forest we had just been sleeping in...and like most things in nature, one thing depends on another there for survival. Unfortunately, the sea otters population is decreasing rapidly (likely due to ocean environment) and this is making the kelp forests also disappear. The sea otters eat the sea urchins, the sea urchins eat the kelp...if there are fewer otters, there are more urchins and the kelp forests disappear. Once again...nature is amazing, so strategic and it was captivating to learn about a little more of it here.
looking for dolphins and whales
the jelly fish exhibit was SO cool!
Next we drove down to Carmel by the Sea. We only stopped in this gorgeous little beach town for dinner, but it really was breathtaking. The beach there is white sand that feels like all-purpose flour. It kind of felt like a paradise you needed a special invitation to visit...but that didn't stop us from parking the Airstream in the middle of town to play by the water for awhile.
Next we stopped in Morro Bay for two nights, and our campsite was basically on the water. We walked through a little gate and you were on the sand. The bike trail into town was right outside of our campsite, and after a quick five minutes of pedaling, you arrived at the heart of this little fishing bay. It was a breath of fresh air to see this community. It's the perfect balance between peaceful and naturally beautiful...but not entitled or pretentious. We only planned to stay for one night here...but liked it so much we couldn't leave right away.
We planned to stop in a couple more coastal towns, but we needed to be in San Diego by Friday to hang out with some family, so we booked it straight there a little earlier than planned. We were feeling the need to spread out a little and enjoy the comforts of home (at Jaime's home of course ;). The Launais' have taken us in so graciously, and we're so thankful to have them in our lives...not to mention all they've done for us this week. We celebrated Kipper's birthday this weekend, and went surfing in La Jolla and out to dinner.
He also got a haircut and a shave...here's what six weeks in a camper looks like. (before and after) Ha! It's amazing what a little civilization will do to ya! Notice I didn't post any pics of myself here...no way!
Kipper heads back to Colorado for work tomorrow, and the kids & I will stay here for the week and enjoy San Diego. We don't like to see him go, and miss him so much while he's away, but we are so grateful for his job and what it allows us this year. I get to spend more quality time with Jaime, Jon, Niko & Mila until Friday...then we'll head back toward Texas (through the Grand Canyon) next weekend. Our adventure has been so many things...I've been doing so much reflecting about how it feels to be so free. We've gained a lot of perspective and so far, my favorite part is watching the kids see something they've never seen before...over and over again. Watching them take it all in has been a blast. Living so simply is relieving...and it all just feels right.
We do, however, look so forward to seeing our family in Texas again and spending Halloween and the month of November with them as well. Thanks again to all those following our journey...we send our love as always!
xoxo, the Stiever family
Im not sure if you are going 10 or 40 but if you go 40 Stop at the Walnut Canyon National Park. These are are very cool!!! Its a walk and a to of stairs but well worth it. Ancient Cliff Dwellings (outside of Albuquerque). Also there is a town called Williams, AZ that has train tours to GC (we never did the train-- time frame--) but the town itself is super cute and neat things to see. Its off 40 also. Lots of little National Parks along 40. Meteor Crater in Winslow, Az (then you also have to stop in downtown to "Standing on the Corner". Winslow was a stop we would make every time we made that trip. (If you want a comfy bed-- the Motel 6 actually is super clean and has the best beds on 40)
ReplyDeleteoh if you go 10 stop off in Pecos. Sit on the porch at the Sherrifs office Where Judge Roy Bean sat. small little village set up. Never drove through the town just stopped to see the office and the old jail.
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