Myers Flat, OR - Ukiah, CA - Sacramento, CA - Pollock Pines, CA

 August 8 - 15, 2024

On Thursday, August 8, we drove to Giant Redwoods RV & Cabin Destination in Myers Flat, CA for one night.  It was 50 amp electric and water for $71.82 per night.  

This campground was about halfway between Klamath and our next stop in Ukiah, and was a pretty drive.  It's claim to fame is that it's on the Avenue of the Giants, and in the redwoods, as you can see by the big redwood at our campsite.  It also runs by the Klamath River, and we took a walk down there after dinner.  

Otherwise it's a campground, not a resort.  The drive from 101 to the campground was through a very rundown area, which was probably why they had chains across the gates.  We probably wouldn't stay here again.

We decided to go to the visitor center just north of the campground.  I bought a t-shirt and we took the nature trail through the redwoods.  God's creation is just so beautiful!  Some of these trees are a thousand years old.

On Friday we moved on to Redwood Empire Fairgrounds RV Park in Ukiah, CA for two nights.  It was full hookups for $36 per night.  It wasn't fancy but had a little shade and was what we needed for a reasonable price.

When we got there my phone SIM card died so we went and got a new one.  We also went and got fuel at a tribal gas station that was quite a bit less expensive than the stations in Ukiah.

Sunday we drove to the Cal Expo RV Park in Sacramento for 3 nights.  It was $50 per night for full hookups in a parking lot, but it was actually quiet.

Since this was John's old stomping grounds we wanted to drive around and see where he used to live, work, and go to school.  It was fun driving around seeing those places again and what had changed.  He showed me the hill by the American River that they used to ride their motorcycles on.  It's a wonder they weren't all injured or killed.  Of course there weren't any houses at the top then.

We drove to Folsom and had lunch at In-N-Out, then I did a little shopping at the outlet mall.  We drove up through Shingle Springs, Diamond Springs, and Pleasant Valley, and back through Placerville.  John used to live in this area so he knew all the roads and was telling me stories as we went, like how he used to ride his bicycle on these narrow windy roads.  God sure had something for him to do because between the hill on the American River  and these roads (a 10% grade) it's a wonder he's still with us today.  We stopped in Placerville (Old Hangtown) to walk around downtown.  This guy has been up there a long time!

On Tuesday, August 13 we went down to Old Sacramento to the California State Railroad Museum.  We had been there when our children were in grade school and wanted to go again.  It wasn't nearly as big a I remembered it, but it was worth it.  What they have is very well restored and you can go into a lot of the cars.

Big Boy forward cab locomotive.

Dining car.

They had displays of the china used on different trains.  Many were made by Syracuse China, where John's great-grandfather worked.

The sleeper car.  The seats turned into beds for two people.  They weren't as tall back then!  Pretty tight fit, but much better than sitting in a seat all night!

The postal car.  About every six months the workers would have to pass a speed and accuracy test.  If they failed they were fired.

They had a model train set up on the third floor.

This was an actual working model of a steam train.  The above information is interesting.

Going through the museum didn't take as long as we thought it would, so we went home and had lunch, then went to the mall to get some See's candy for me.  :-)  I remember when it was $1.99 a box, not $32!

Wednesday, August 14 we drove up US 50 to Sand Flat Campground, a forest service campground with no hookups for $14 per night.  It's between US 50 and the South Fork of the American River.  Before we left Sacramento I showed John a video someone had done of the campground and he said sites 21 or 22 would be good for us.  It's a first come, first serve campground, and when we got here site #22 was open.  God is so good!  

Here's a picture out the back window.

After we set up and had lunch we decided to take a drive to Sly Park where John used to live.  Here's the house now and it's up for sale for only $465,000!  It's really a nice house.

Then we drove out Iron Mountain Road aka Mormon Emigrant Road.  The Cal-Dor fire went through here three years ago and it's really sad to see.

Here's Sly Park Lake.

The temperature here has been warmer than we thought it would be (mid-80s) but we just open the windows and turn on the fans.

Tomorrow we'll be roving on...

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".

Genesis 1:1

Prospect, OR - Sunny Valley, OR - Klamath, CA

July 23 - August 7, 2024

It looks like I have some catching up to do.

On Thursday, July 25 we left Crescent Lake Junction.  It was just too smoky and they said as long as no structures were threatened they were going to let the Red Fire burn.  We figured we had wheels and didn't need to stay, so we left and went to Crater Lake RV Park in Prospect, OR for one night.  It was full hookups for $46.40 per night.  It was a pretty park with trails through the woods to the river.

The next day we went to Sunny Valley, north of Grants Pass and stayed at the Sunny Valley Campground for 8 nights.  Originally we were going to stay 4 nights but since we left Crescent Lake Junction early we just added nights on the front of our stay.  It looks like an old KOA with the A-frame office and the camping cabins.  It was $42.50 per night for 50 amp water and electric.  They have a dump station but it's really narrow.  It was nice with the big trees and shade, as the temps were in the high 90s and low 100s.

The reason we were there was to visit my cousin and her husband, Rebecca and Ralph.  They live about a mile away so the campground was really convenient.  We had a great time getting together in the evening for dinner and playing games.  She is an excellent cook!!  We taught them some new games and they taught us some.  Rebecca asked if I wanted to go with her to a garden tour on Friday and of course I said yes!  We went to one of the garden club member's home and toured her gardens.  She had so many hydrangeas, sunflowers, and other beautiful plants.  

After the tour the two of us had lunch and did a little shopping.  It was a really special time!

I hadn't realized I was so much taller!

On Saturday we drove southwest to California.  As we went down in elevation the temperature also went down.  It's been in the 50s and 60s the whole time we've been here.

We're at Chere'ere Campground in Klamath for 5 nights.  It's full hookups for $45.60 per night, and on tribal land. It's quiet and much nicer than the other parks along 101, which are right on the highway and packed in.  It's about a 20-25 minute drive south of Crescent City, but between Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park.

We met the very nice couple next door, Dan and Pam, and plan on keeping in touch.  She made a chocolate sourdough cake and they didn't want to eat all of it so shared with us.  It was yummy!

On Monday we drove south to the Newton B. Drury Parkway in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park and hiked a few of the shorter and easier trails through the redwoods.  To say it was beautiful is an understatement.  God's creation is truly awesome.  No picture can capture these magnificent trees, but here are a few anyway.

This is not the largest tree in the surrounding area but it's pretty impressive.  I posted a video on Facebook.

John has lost around 30 pounds.  Doesn't he look great?

We also did the Coastal Drive just south of where the Klamath River meets the Pacific Ocean.  These are from the High Bluff Overlook.

Unfortunately it was a cloudy day, but still beautiful!

Also along the loop there was the remains of a World War II radar station.  Because of attacks on Pearl Harbor, the Aleutian Islands, California, British Columbia, and Washington, a decision was made to create a network of 72 radar stations along the coast.  Although only 65 were built, they stretched from the US/Canada border into Mexico.  You can read about how they disguised the station to look like a farmhouse and barn:  https://www.nps.gov/places/redwoodradarstation.htm.  Here are a couple of pictures I took from the road.

Barn

Farmhouse

When we were in Alaska I loved seeing the fireweed.  I didn't know it grew this far south.

The last stop for the day was part of the old Klamath River Bridge.  I love the architecture they used to use on buildings and bridges.  This one got swept away in 1964.  The whole town was flooded and moved to it's current site.

Top: Notice the bears (you have to look hard to see the one on the left).  Bottom: Klamath River.

On Tuesday the sun came out and we went north to the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.  We took Howland Hill Road scenic drive.  Their literature says that motor homes and trailers are not advised and I can see why.  There are a couple of tight squeezes and corners so I wouldn't take anything bigger than the truck on it. I posted a video on Facebook.  Again, the redwoods are so awesome.

We went on the Stout Grove loop trail.  More pictures...

Love all the burls.

Above picture you can't even see how long the tree is.  Bottom picture is the roots of the tree.

After a picnic lunch we did the Simpson-Reed Grove Trail.

An even bigger tree!

I thought this root was interesting.

After our hikes (walks/strolls) we drive to Point St. George, north of Crescent City.  What a view!  I posted a video on Facebook.

We drove to another viewpoint. That's Crescent City way off in the distance.  It's awesome the way you can go from redwood forests to beaches within a few miles.

One more beach photo, this one south of Crescent City.  I posted another video on Facebook.

On the way back to the campground we drove over the new Klamath River Bridge.  It also has the California Golden Bears.

While we were in the area we stopped for fuel at the Tribal Gas Station just south of Crescent City.  Diesel was $1 a gallon less there than any other stations.

Tomorrow we will be roving on...

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth".

Genesis 1:1