Onward through California and on to Oregon for Recumbent Retreat

We traveled from Fruita, Colorado to Richfield Utah to stay at Steve’s Steak House. This was another Harvest Host. With the temperatures rather warm, we enjoyed a late lunch/early dinner in their air conditioned dining room. A nice afternoon shower cooled things down enough for us to take short walks, before retiring for the night. 

We got an early start and headed towards Boulder City, NV. We had a reservation for a site at the Elks Lodge there and with full hookups, we could run our AC and survive the 100+ degree temperatures comfortably. Driving the rig through the Vegas metropolitan traffic was a study in patience and driving skill. Go Leslie! The Elks Lodge is right across the street from a DQ, so Leslie got an ice cream fix as a reward for a hard day behind the wheel.

After an afternoon and evening hunkered down in our rig with the AC blasting, we arose at dawn and were able to roll before the sun was beating down on us. We had planned on stopping in Bakersfield, but this was another Harvest Host (a golf course) and we weren’t sure we’d have services, so we called our friend Jo Ann in Visalia to see if we could overnight with her. It added about 90 miles to our day, but was well worth it to visit a friend and share a nice Mexican dinner. 

On Sunday, we rolled out of Visalia around 7am and into the coastal fog near San Luis Obispo. It was so delightful to be chilly again. Paula’s sister Barbara was gracious enough to host us at her home in Pismo Beach, CA, which gave us a place to unload the trailer and sleep after we dropped the trailer at Trailer Hitch RV in Nipomo, CA for for its appointment to get the slide-out fixed.

Monday morning we were off to Nipomo. The dealership was ready to received it, and after dropping the trailer, Paula & I looked at the used trailers on their lot. Nothing struck our fancy, so back to Barbara’s we went.

We had a lovely visit with Barbara. One of the places we went was the Gopher Glen Apple Farm that isn’t far from her home. They offer lovely apples varieties that can’t be found in grocery stores.

We also took a lovely walk at Morro Bay. It’s always pretty here…

Continuing our search for the the “perfect RV” for triking, we visited Sky River RV in Paso Robles, and we think we’ve found the closest match we’re likely to get… It’s a Coachmen Cross Trek 20XG, which is a 24’ motorhome on a Ford Transit AWD chassis. Both trikes fit inside a pass through cargo bay, and it’s got a large shower in a separate cubicle from the toilet. No “shoilets” here. Paula test drove it and found it easy to drive with excellent turning radius and a three camera system for seeing all around the vehicle.

We’ll exercise some patience however, based on the price tag. But it was wonderful to find a stock model that will hold the two trikes. The custom builds are even more expensive! Fingers crossed we can find a used one when we’re ready…

Paula’s other sister, Sally, came up to Pismo Beach to see us. It was great to see her also.Who knows, we might even get to do Spring Training with her in the spring in Arizona.

Sunday we left Pismo Beach for Fremont. We stayed at the Elks Lodge again, because it is so darn convenient. While staying there we got to see Diane and Steve, Judie, Sarah, and Chris & Trish. Not enough time to do a visit with everyone, but we’ll catch up with others next time around.

On Tuesday we took a bike ride with Steve, Diane, and their friend Vanessa. We did the Portola Loop from Fremont. By the time we were done, we’d covered 47 miles, at 14.3 mph. Steve and Vanessa definitely provided the push we needed. We typically average around 12 mph. A great ride, and Diane was awesome on her borrowed e-bike. There wasn’t a pace she couldn’t match. Way to go, Diane!!

Today we drove from Fremont to Grants Pass. We’re on our way to the Portland area to see Paul & Bev before heading out to Astoria for Recumbent Retreat. After Retreat, we head for Sequim for a few days before taking off again for the San Juan Islands Tour with Mel and Janet from Recumbent PDX. We’re definitely looking forward to this. More photos as they become available…

On the move towards California

We had a grand time visiting with Amy and Alex at their home outside of Denver. Of course Baxter, Amy’s young miniature dachshund was on hand. What a cutie:

We departed Amy’s yesterday morning, to travel to Fruita, Colorado to stay at the James M. Robb State Park. This is one of our favorite state parks — sites are large, level and paved — and each site has a covered picnic table and room before the next site begins. On a previous trip we triked right out of the campground onto a lovely trail system.

We chose this campground because we wanted to go see Out There Vans in Grand Junction. They are another van customizer that we wanted to evaluate. They do quality work, and felt they could fit our two trikes, but unfortunately if we decide on a van, we want a shower, and they don’t offer that. But it was great to see their work. One of the vans they were working on was for a person with a wheelchair. The van had a chair lift already, but they were installing the bed, kitchen, and cabinetry that was all accessible. Great to see.

We got a chance to walk around the center of Fruita this time. A couple different bike shops and cute shops with great iron art. check it out…

Tomorrow we cross back into California. We’ll have a quick visit with Jo Ann before traveling on to see Paula’s sister in Pismo Beach. Here’s hoping for cooler temperatures!

Fly-over States are HOT

We’re enduring the hot temperatures of the Midwest. Temperatures today hit a high of 97 degrees with 45% humidity. Neither of us are fans of this much heat and humidity. We’re staying at the Blue Springs Lake Campground in Lee’s Summit, Missouri with full hookups thankfully so the loud air conditioner has been getting a workout. It’s been so hot we haven’t been able to explore the bike trail that is right beside us. Darn!

Yesterday we had an appointment at Vandoit, to check out their vans. We’re not ready to make any decisions yet about our travel equipment, but we’ve grown a bit tired of towing a trailer. The van travel we’ve done in previous years has felt much more flexible and easy. Ah well, time will tell. To fit the two trikes in, they spec’d an extra long, extra tall Ford Transit with dualie rear wheels. It will definitely cut into the milage we had on the previous Transit, but again, it’s not time for a decision yet. Much more looking required.

Once we finished with our appointment, we asked our van guru where we should have lunch. He directed us to Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que. We arrived around 2:30 and had to wait in line for 45 minutes. But it was worth the wait. We split a meal of brisket and ribs with cole slaw and potato salad for sides. Yummy!! If you ever go through this area, this is the place to eat!

Before arriving in Lee’s Summit, we had another great Harvest Host experience, this time staying at the Legendary Mustang Sanctuary in Alhambra, Illinios. Our host gave us a wonderful tour of their farm, complete with the history of how the BLM and California Department of Forestry deal with their wild mustang populations. As expected, some horses were shy and had not been trained yet, others were ready for adoption, but all were curious about us. They also are a sanctuary for burros, and they were very friendly. They wanted to check us out and get as many pets as possible. The farm also included two old dogs, chickens and many barn cats. One of the cats thought it should live inside our trailer, and made its presence known by trying to come through the screen door around midnight. Thankfully he didn’t tear the screening, just dislodged it, and I was able to put it back.

Paula & I were able to get out for a 20 mile bike ride on the Nickel Plate Trail in Madison County just a short ride out the front gate of the sanctuary. Lots of farms with corn and soy beans. The trail was in the shade for most of it, and the surface was hardpack. A nice way to stretch our legs after being in the car so long. Along the way we stopped into New Douglas. We have friends with a dog named Douglas, so we thought they’d appreciate the photo below.

Tomorrow we leave Missouri and cross most of Kansas so we can arrive in Denver on Monday. Forecast for WaKeeney, KS is 102 tomorrow. Yeehaw! Wish us luck!

Travel through New York and onto the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania

 On our first day’s travel from Mom’s we stayed in Franklin, New York at a KOA we’ve stayed at before. Here are two photos we took just before we left:

We had a nice visit with Mom, and didn’t elicit too many tears as we left.  Our travel out Rt 2 West of Greenfield was slow but lovely, as Rt 2 is quite the winding road. We arrived in Franklin, New York and were able to get set up before a huge rainstorm. Some of our fellow campers were not so lucky. The thunderstorm reduced the heat and humidity, which we appreciated.

Then it was on into Pennsylvania so we could ride the Pine Creek Trail that is at the bottom the Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon. It reaches parts of the canyon that have no roads and plenty of wildlife. We spent two days riding the trail, as it’s 62 miles of crushed limestone. It is well maintained and nearly completely flat. Here are a few photos:

 

The station at Darling Run — our starting point the first day of triking.

A doe and her fawn right on the trail. Can you see her nursing in the next shot?

We decided these chairs in the river were the way to beat the heat and humidity. Wish they were closer!

 

This suspension bridge to this home looked usable, but we sure didn’t want to try it!

Another doe and her fawn. We also saw a bear on the trail, but we weren’t fast enough with the camera, and didn’t want to get closer.

Love the strata of the limestone.

Can you see the eagle? We saw another one take flight right next to us as we were riding. It had an amazing wingspan.

We also drove to a couple of the lookouts along the two rims of the canyon. While the views don’t compare with the Grand Canyon out west, it was still beautiful. Just imagine what it would look like during fall foliage season!

Our next stop was Hartville, Ohio at the Maize Valley Market. This was a lovely Harvest Host site with lots of farm land. They had wine and beer that they brewed there, a nice restaurant, and a gift shop. We enjoyed a small meal on their outside patio as we were too lazy to prepare food in the heat. We set up camp in a field, and worked to enjoy the small breezes, as the weather was hot and muggy. Overnight we had a huge lightning and thunderstorm — quite the amazing display. But it didn’t do much to lower the temperature unfortunately.

Check out some of their yard art:

Today we drove Miamisburg, Ohio to stay outside the Star City Brewing Company. On our way we dropped into Dublin, Ohio to say hi to my older sister, Wendy. We had a lovely chat before continuing on our way.

When we arrived at Star City Brewing we found that we’re the only camping guests; this has been fairly typical of all of our Harvest Host stays. This site is within a small town that is working to refine its cuteness to attract more tourism. They have some nice bike trails, but unfortunately we don’t have the time to explore them this trip. We did walk into a local bikeshop however — Whitman’s Bike Shop. We had a lovely chat with the owner. She’d been a life long cyclist in the area, and her family has had bike shops before. As a young adult she helped her family do lots of events in the BMX world. Great stories!

Here are a few photos from the downtown…

More news soon….