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On the Road Again

Once again Kelly and I are on the road; our second trip in as many weekends.  Following a quick work week in Half Moon Bay, last night after dinner we hitched-up Mabel and began venturing northeast, driving about 90 miles, enough to be fully beyond the reaches San Francisco metro traffic.  We’re headed towards southern Oregon where we will be meeting-up with friends in a few days, but not before we partake in a bit of dry camping on BLM land.

We awoke this morning, not knowing were we would land for the weekend.  This being the case, Kelly commenced a bit of internet research while I was driving and fairly quickly decided that Pit River Campground would be our ideal location for two nights.

Pit River Campground entrance sign

Welcoming us to the campground

Like most BLM sites, this campground is low on amenities, but flush with nature and is very peaceful – just what we wanted.  There are only seven sites in the campground, each secured on a first-come, first-serve basis.  We chose a site with full sun then quickly got ourselves situated.

Our site

Our site

Interestingly, even on this long holiday weekend not all sites are taken.  A major State park offering 128 campsites is located about 20 miles away and I suspect most of the crowds chose to park themselves there, which is fine with Kelly and me.  Btw, the fee here is $8 per night.  Our friends 20 miles down the road are paying four times that, plus online booking fees.

Our site from above

Our site from above

Following a quick lunch, we took Lilly for a walk which also served as reconnoissance of the immediate area.  Unless you are keen to fly fish, there’s not too much to do or see within the campground.  That said, the water is quite nice and left me yearning for a canoe – although in this section of the river a kayak is probably a better option.  When the day comes that we hit the road as full-timers, I will be lobbying hard for a canoe.

Banks of the Pit River

Banks of the Pit River

Pit River from above

Pit River from above

WiFi connectivity is fabulous here.  Tethering my iPhone, I pull five bars (-69db) of AT&T at 3G speeds when using my Wilson Sleek (three bars without amplification).  Sadly, the Verizon signal is just ok, which is too bad because 4G LTE speeds would be a luxury.  Regardless, I’ve been streaming music all afternoon and evening with no problems and these blog pictures are uploading quickly enough.  I will definitely keep this location in mind the next time Kelly and I decide to work remotely for a few days.

Speaking of the quick internet connectivity, I spent a bit of time online after dinner and found a few places to explore tomorrow, ensuring we’ll have plenty to keep us busy.  Uninterested in my web browsing, Lilly was instead infatuated with all the critters outside.  I think she would have willingly jumped through the window if not for the screens.

Lilly, watching squirrels

Lilly, watching squirrels

At one point, Lilly moved to the bedroom windows, allowing me to make a play for the couch.  She was not pleased to lose her place and as evidenced within the image below, was determined to minimize my enjoyment of any relaxing.

Lilly, undeterred

Lilly, 100% in my way

I’ll probably cement my revenge by denying her dog treats tomorrow.

Pit River Campground

We’ve arrived to Pit River Campground, a BLM site in Northern California, this spot is our home for the next two nights.

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Well Rested

I chose not to write anything yesterday as Kelly and I were strictly observing a proper day of nothing.  Squeezed in between Lilly walks, we mostly did a lot of nothing … the highlight of the day being my lengthy afternoon nap. Unlike yesterday, our plan today called for a quick morning walk before prepping Mabel for her return home to Half Moon Bay.  The campground we were staying at is located at the far southern end of the park.  There are a number of trails scattered throughout the broader park itself and our plan this morning was to complete a four mile loop located at the far northern tip of the park boundary.  As an added bonus, the trail is also situated atop the highpoint and offers a nice view of the surrounding areas.

Looking west over the town of San Martin

Looking west over the town of San Martin

The trail starts at the Coyote Dam, built during 1935-36 as a WPA effort.  Today, the dam overlooks the mostly recreational lake and is open to any pedestrian interested in walking along the topside.

Coyote Lake placard

Coyote Lake placard

Moving towards the trail – which starts off easy enough – we were greeted by the warning sign below:

Warning sign at the trailhead

Warning sign at the trailhead

We never did encounter any Mountain Lions or Babcats, but did see a lot of cows and a few wild turkeys.

Approaching cows

Approaching the cows

A lone turkey

A lone turkey

Anticipating hot temperatures and having read the trail lacked any significant shade, we got an early start.  The absence of shade and very little breeze propelled hot temperatures, but Lilly didn’t seem to mind too much as there were numerous gopher holes to stick her nose into.  As usual, she found nothing.

The rolling hillside

The rolling hillside

Lilly waiting for me

Lilly waiting for me

Following our hike, we had to hustle in order to pack-up the trailer in advance of the 1pm check-out.  Sadly, our relaxing weekend was ending … it was time to go home and begin thinking about the looming workweek.   Dang.

In Need Of A Day Off

In desperate need of a weekend get-away, Kelly and I left our base in Half Moon Bay last night, retreating about 70 miles to the south.  Roughly 90 minutes later we arrived to Coyote Lake County Park about an hour after sundown, making our efforts to back into our site frustrating for us, but surely comical to others.

We’ve been here once before and made a mental note to keep this place on our shortlist of easy to access parks … especially since the area is very dog-friendly.

The timing of our escape was ideal, affording us the opportunity to watch stage-6 of the Tour of California – America’s largest and most prestigious bicycle race.  This multi-day event kicked-off Monday in southern California and concludes Sunday in the northern wine country town of Santa Rosa.

Today’s individual time-trial – commonly referred to as ”The Race of Truth” was occurring near our campground so Kelly and I killed a few hours this afternoon watching the event.  We rode our bikes to a particularly technical section of the course to view the action.

A BMC rider passing by, followed by the TV motorbike, team car, and race official

A BMC rider passes, followed by an NBC TV motorbike, team car, and race official

We saw some of the world’s top professional cyclists zipping through a downhill s-curve section of road at speeds pushing 30 MPH.  The time trial is set-up such that riders race individually against the clock – in this case 19.9 miles, starting in reverse order of their overall standing in the general classification.  We waited around to see the Maillot Jaune pass by, then hit the road ourselves, as I needed to complete a little RV maintenance project.

Overall leader, Tejay van Garderen (team BMC) wears the Yellow Jersey

Overall leader, Tejay van Garderen (team BMC) wears the Yellow Jersey, closely followed by a parade of race officials

Last night as I was prepping the Airstream for travel, I noticed the electrical cord had experienced what appeared to be damage from a power surge.  The impairment looked fairly significant and I was thankful for my beefy surge protector, which I always keep connected … “just in case”.

Damaged surge protector (left) and power cord (right)

Damaged surge protector (left) and power cord (right)

Initially, my plan was to simply to buy a new cable, but when I saw the whopping Camping World $80 price tag I decided to explore other options.  As it turns out, the solution was quite simple actually – remove the damaged prong head and replace it with a new one.

I’ve always been a bit leery of electrical projects, but I located a replacement part for only $18.  Before talking myself into another course of action, I decided to go for it.

Having convinced myself that if things went horribly wrong and became a complete fiasco, I’d probably die quickly and without too much pain.  With this sound logic in hand, I figured why not give it a try?

I proceeded to sever the damaged plug, prep the wiring, attach to the newly purchased plug, and put everything back together.

The damaged plug, whacked from the cord

The damaged plug, whacked from the cord

All wires prepped and ready to proceed

All wires prepped and ready to proceed

All the wires ready to go

All the wires ready to go

Repairs complete

Repairs complete

<<Spoiler Alert>>

Obviously I didn’t die, as evidenced by me writing this posting.

In the end, the project was quite straightforward and embarrassingly simple.  That said, I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t take serious pause before plugging the newly repaired 30-amp cord into the generator.

Proud of my accomplishment, I embarked upon assisting Kelly with   another project of no less importance – dinner.

Following our meal, Kelly and I took Lilly for a trail hike and I rewarded myself with a cold beer.

Hillside hike with views overlooking the town of Gilroy, CA

Hillside hike with views overlooking the town of Gilroy, CA

All in all, a great usage of our long overdue PTO day.