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Randy and Carmen's First Real RV Adventure...

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  • Trail Run: Randy and Carmen's First Real RV Adventure...

    Carmen and I set out on July 2nd for our first extended adventure in the RV... Our plan was to head north... no real destination in mind... just north...

    We had a personal reason for taking this trip when we did... to share a little... On October 7, 2007, we lost our beautiful daughter Jessica at the age of 22. Jessica's birthday was July 4... We knew we didn't want to be home... we knew we didn't really want to be around people (no offense to anyone)... We thought it would be nice to just get a way... Spend quality time together, bond, and be there for eachother... We had a great trip! We were able to talk, reflect, think, and enjoy being together.

    Our plan was to head out early on July 2nd and head north... As is our way, we were a little late departing... at 3pm, we pulled away and headed north on the 15, up the Cajon Pass, to Hwy 395. We flat-towed the Jeep...

    A map of our journey...



    About 9pm, we decided to make our first night stop... near Bishop, CA... at a reststop... We parked, extended the slide-out, and crashed for the night. We awoke to a fantastic view of snow on the mountains and the sounds of a running brook...







    Day 2 started after breakfast in Bishop.

    We loved the spectacular scenery! We stopped to look at as many of the small towns as we could, stopped at Crowley Lake, and headed into Lake Tahoe.







    Abigail is learning to travel... she muscles Kahlua and Bugsy out of the way so that she gets her way...



    We arrived in South Lake Tahoe... checked in at the KOA... I have to add that Nancy and the staff at the KOA were fantastic! Super friendly! Really helpful! Just great!

    Our campsite was perfect!





    Here are a few shots of the small river that flowed through the campground.







    I share the picture of the playground because we had a visitor one night... a huge black bear thought the campground would be the perfect place to find dinner... I didn't even hear him... Carmen told me he was there and I think I wet myself... not sure... he was literally about 30 feet from where I was sitting enjoying the peacefulness of the campfire... Carmen thought it was the coolest thing in the world to have the bear in camp... Needless to say, I was not so excited!

    Day 3 we headed out to explore and get to know the Tahoe area... Since we were alone, we didn't want to chance any of the difficult trails... so we headed out on some of the fire roads. Aart, these were real fire roads... Our first venture was to Blackwood Canyon...

    We came across some amazing scenery and natural waterfalls! There was still a bit of snow on the ground too...





    We went all the way to the end of the trail...



    Off to the Ellis Peak area...









    Will continue the adventure in the next post...
    Regards,
    Randy

    "An army of asses led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by an ass" George Washington

    www.youtube.com/user/MyBrokenJeep

  • #2
    Randy, good to see that you and Carmen had a wonderful trip. Glad the motorhome and the not so broken Jeep took you two to all the places you desired.
    Great pics, there are just so many beautiful places in our state.

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    • #3
      That is the river gorge north of Bishop isn't it? I fish there a lot.



      Sorry to hear about your daughter; it seems you two figured out a way to deal with it. Good for you. That's what it's all about; being there for each other.
      [CENTER][COLOR=#ff0000]Resistance Off Road
      [/COLOR]Join the Resistance...
      http://www.resistanceoffroad.us[/CENTER]

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      • #4
        Our trip continued...

        Day 4 was spent driving around Lake Tahoe and getting to know it a little bit...















        Emerald Bay was so beautiful!


        Tahoe City was pretty cool too...





        Day 5 wasn't so thrilling for us... got up in the morning and I noticed a little drip coming from under the Jeep... and further investigation, found that it was coming from the front of the transfer case... seal and front yoke needed to be replaced... and of course, the parts were not available locally. So, Carmen, the dogs, and me headed to Reno to pick up the parts...

        Day 6, we headed towards the west... well, really north then west... We were heading to Lassen Volcanic National Park...

        North of Reno, we came upon a little tornado...



        Driving through Susanville, we passed a beautiful Victorian bed and breakfast.



        The views on Hwy 44 were great!







        We stopped at a picnic area with a beautiful flowing river! There was a guy there fishing, catch and release, who had just realed in a 4lb brook trout! What a catch!







        The Pitt River...



        We finally arrived at Lassen's... and much to our disappointment, 90% of the park was closed due to either snow or new road construction... making the best of our trip, we made camp, ate some Manwich's, and went for a walk to Manzanita Lake.







        Continuing in the next post...
        Regards,
        Randy

        "An army of asses led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by an ass" George Washington

        www.youtube.com/user/MyBrokenJeep

        Comment


        • #5
          A journey continued...

          Day 7 we made our way to Shasta Lake, the Shasta Lake Caverns, the Sun Dial in Redding, and down through 7 Rivers National Forest to Eureka...



          Carmen had no fear of the bears...



          I don't like them at all...



          In the caverns...



          Our guide told that this hole goes back about 70 - 80 yards... they had planned on blasting it deeper, but someone heard running water... so, using their better judgement, they turned back and decided to head in a different direction.



          They call this "cave bacon"...



          Our guide showed the differences between pure and dirty crystal...



          in the 1940's, there used to a "club" in the area that used these caves for their initiations... they brought in ladders and ropes and brought the new pledges in a told them they had to find their way out... without lanterns...





          The first explorers of the caverns signed their names...





          After Shasta Lake, we headed to see the world's largest sun dial...



          In Whiskeytown, we found a cool little pub...



          Then off towards Eureka...



          Day 8 we headed south from Eureka to Ferndale... Ferndale is the oldest, preserved, still standing Victorian community in California...





          Andy and Barney must have been out patrolling the town...





          If you remember the movie "The Majestic"... it was filmed in Ferndale and featured this theatre...



          From Ferndale we headed south just past Santa Cruz to camp at another KOA...

          Day 9, we headed down the 101, spent sometime on Pacific Coast Highway, stopped at the beach to see the giant elephant seals, and then headed home...











          We stopped at Avila Beach... to let the dogs run in the water... Abigail and Kahlua loved it! Bugsy hated it!



          We had a great trip! but no matter how many comforts you have in the RV or how comfortable the campgrounds are... there is nothing like home!





          Regards,
          Randy

          "An army of asses led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by an ass" George Washington

          www.youtube.com/user/MyBrokenJeep

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by aw12345 View Post
            Randy, good to see that you and Carmen had a wonderful trip. Glad the motorhome and the not so broken Jeep took you two to all the places you desired.
            Great pics, there are just so many beautiful places in our state.
            Thanks Aart! it was a great trip and we had a great time! I must say that we couldn't have had that much fun if it were not for the work you did on the Jeep... Thanks!
            Regards,
            Randy

            "An army of asses led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by an ass" George Washington

            www.youtube.com/user/MyBrokenJeep

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by rat patrol View Post
              That is the river gorge north of Bishop isn't it? I fish there a lot.



              Sorry to hear about your daughter; it seems you two figured out a way to deal with it. Good for you. That's what it's all about; being there for each other.
              Kurt, you are right! North of Bishop... That river was really moving!
              Regards,
              Randy

              "An army of asses led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by an ass" George Washington

              www.youtube.com/user/MyBrokenJeep

              Comment


              • #8
                For anyone interested in seeing the other pictures... here is the link... http://s937.photobucket.com/albums/a...0%20RV%20Trip/

                We are editing all the videos together as well... will post it up on YouTube shortly...
                Regards,
                Randy

                "An army of asses led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by an ass" George Washington

                www.youtube.com/user/MyBrokenJeep

                Comment


                • #9
                  Envious! What an incredible trip. Thanks for sharing.
                  "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." -- Ben Franklin

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                  • #10
                    Randy great report and some awesome pictures. Looks like you guys had a fantastic trip. So very sorry to here about your lost!
                    IN A LAND OF FREEDOM WE ARE HELD HOSTAGE BY THE TYRANNY OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS!!

                    Better To Burn Out Than To Rust Out!

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                    • #11
                      Nice trip report Randy. Looks like you and Carmen had a wonderful time and created some great memories.
                      Check out .

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                      • #12
                        Randy and Carmen,

                        What an awesome trip. Glad you had the needed diversion. I love Ferndale, what a neat area. Sorry I didn't get the extra cards to you before. Thanks for sharing with us.

                        Mitch

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                        • #13
                          Thanks for taking us on a photo journey of your trip. There is so much to see in California.

                          Side note: Did you know that in the 70's there was a gun smithing shop class at the high school in Susanville? I wonder if they still offer it....
                          SBCO Fire Dept. CERT volunteer
                          MJR moderator
                          MJR Adopt-a-Trail Crew member
                          Jeep Patrol Leader
                          Reforestation Supervisor
                          Licensed Ham - n6ujm
                          Eagle Scout

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                          • #14
                            What a great time you must have had!!!
                            Thanks for sharing al of those pictures, the areas look amazing. Absolutely beautiful.

                            I See Detroit's in My Future:gun:

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by MrBash View Post
                              What a great time you must have had!!!
                              Thanks for sharing al of those pictures, the areas look amazing. Absolutely beautiful.
                              Bash, there were some amazing fishing spots! fly fishing, worm fishing, casting... it was all great!
                              Regards,
                              Randy

                              "An army of asses led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by an ass" George Washington

                              www.youtube.com/user/MyBrokenJeep

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