Poppies ‘n’ Potties — YOFO Adventures

When our first volunteer gig came to an end it was with mixed feelings that we viewed Success Lake and Porterville, California in the review mirror. As we mentioned in our recent blog entitled, “Volunteering at Success Lake.” We made some good friends that we hope to stay in touch with and revisit in the future. Alas, we also left some amazing Mexican restaurants behind, but terrific taco’s notwithstanding, we were itching to resume our travels. So, we greased the wheels and hitch, checked tire pressures, knocked out a final load of free laundry, and set out to find new adventures and new places to hike, bike, and kayak.

New binos came in handy for spotting and condors.

To get reacquainted with our YOFO lifestyle, we made a beeline for the nearest National Park that did not require chains to get to, which led us to Pinnacles National Park. Ok, technically it’s not a “new” place since we had visited there before, but nearly all of our National Parks are worth of a second look, and Pinnacles promises big birds, terrific trails, and superb scenery. It did not disappoint. Even though we arrived on a Sunday when it’s usually easy to get a first come site, the park was more crowded than we expected (it was the end of spring break for much of California). We lucked into an overflow campsite that was better than some of the reservable sites, and our solar panels got a workout for the first time in a while. To jar ourselves out of our sedentary “sleep till you wake up” volunteer lifestyle, we actually set an alarm. One guess as to who’s idea that was (hint: Dawn is allergic to morning alarms). We got up early to do a bike-to-hike ahead of the “crowds” (that never really materialized). Since our bike seats were covered in frost before we set out, Dawn’s allergy may not be unwarranted. Our hike captured part of the High Peaks Loop, Juniper Canyon and Balcony Cliffs and was beautiful. Above us the condors made lazy circles, while around us the wildflowers competed successfully for our attention. The peregrines were nesting and we ate our PB&Js listening to them calling from the cliffsides as ravens wheeled about conspiring. The wet spring delivered a California Poppy super bloom. We only stayed a couple of nights at Pinnacles since we had arranged a rendezvous with Dean’s niece, so we were off to Santa Cruz and the California coast.

We always enjoy hanging with Adina and Trevor.

Adina and her partner Trevor had also agreed to take on special mission for us. We were in need of a new part for the YOFOhome so they graciously allowed us to use their address. We were elated when we got there to see our new toilet! Of course, we were also excited to see Adina and Trevor, but when you have a leaky toilet that doesn’t hold water then you get fired up when the new one arrives! In the vein of TMI about our porcelain problems, RV toilets do not have the normal P or S trap of a household toilet, so standing water in the bowl is your only defense against the dark arts (the noxious fumes that will find their way into your home from the black tank). Despite replacing the seal and any other related part, our old toilet stopped holding water. Oh, by the way, we also had a great time with Adina and Trevor! We took a lovely hike with them through the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park (we LOVE big trees), enjoyed a picnic lunch, and later played cards, drank beer and ate pizza at the local microbrewery. All in all, a great DOFO with them! We also took advantage of our stay there to pick up two new trailer tires as we continue to prepare for the coming trip to Alaska.

Fact: Picnic in the woods makes the food taste better. It is known.

Continuing our trek north we landed for a couple of nights back in a Corps of Engineers Recreation Area north of Sacramento called Black Butte Lake. Corps campgrounds continue to impress us. This one had a beautiful lake and a great trail system that gave us an excuse to slog around the lake and get our shoes muddy. We also took advantage of a little downtime to install the new toilet. The operation was a success, complete with christening ceremony (TMI again?)! Did we mention that the new bowl has a handheld sprayer? Fancy schmancy. (Disclaimer: the model with sprayer was cheaper for some unfathomable reason and we were both slightly, uh, scared might be the right word here, to test it out.) We probably should add that the sprayer is for cleaning the bowl and, um, not for what you were thinking.

Our final destination before we completely left Cali behind was Redwood National Park in the northwest corner of the state, just below the Oregon border. This was another repeat park for us, but it was no less magnificent the second time, and we got to experience it in the spring, with the wildflowers coming into bloom. Our campground, Elk Country RV park was aptly named; we were greeted on our arrival by a large herd of Roosevelt Elk that were grazing very near to the campsites.

The next day we took a variety of short hikes in the national park based on the recommendations of a volunteer (gotta love those volunteers!) at the visitor center. The hikes were wet yet wonderful. We were thwarted in one respect: the helpful volunteer said that white trillium were common but that we should be on the lookout for the red trillium. Alas, after much hiking and trail running, we are unable to report sighting a red trillium (it’s a wildflower, by the way). We shall have to try yet again! Never a disappointment, the nearly 2000 years-old tall trees are awe inspiring, and left us nearly speechless such that all we seemed to be able keep saying to each other was, “look, there’s another big one!” We’re pretty sure John Muir was much more eloquent and complete in his descriptions of the forest, but we’ll leave you with one of his shorter quotes that captures our feeling when we venture out on our seemingly senseless saunterings through the woods, “In every walk with Nature one receives far more than one seeks.”

Next blog, a new adventure: the magnificent Oregon Coast!

Looks like a beautiful short stemmed lily. It’s not; it’s Skunk Cabbage.