Friday, August 31st, 2007
We’ve been “OFF THE GRID” for nine days now. No cell phones, no computers, no Internet, no electricity, no hookups, not a single luxury. Well we’re in a trailer so, OK, we have a few luxuries. But with no electricity it cuts them back tremendously. Our first experience at what they call in the RV’ing circles, “boon docking”. We were totally unprepared and as a result learned A LOT of good lessons that we hopefully won’t forget.
Here is a recap of what we did these last nine days.
Wednesday, August 22nd we left Tehachapi for Kings Canyon National Park. We braved the narrow canyon roads to get to the Cedar Grove camping area, an area in Kings Canyon we were told was very beautiful. The rangers were amazed we got the rig down there. They said it was the biggest they’d seen down there yet. Robert was amazed we got it out of there! There were a few parts where the rocks seemed to jet out almost touching the trailer but we made it and we are glad we did.
The campsite had one pull through big enough for our trailer and lucky for us it was available. With the schools starting earlier each year quite a few of the campers had already cleared out. We had a lot of privacy and that was ok with us. This area sure is beautiful. We stayed in the Sheep Creek campground where the Kings River runs right through it!
The kids had a blast. We rode bikes through the campgrounds, hiked to waterfalls and caves, took walks and just plain enjoyed the beauty surrounding us. I loved listening to and watching the kids as they experienced nature. (Don’t forget, we’re from the L.A. area) A day into Kings Canyon the kids were still reveling at the nature. Out on a walk one morning Sawyer yells at the top of his lungs “MOM!” I was right there with him so I knew he wasn’t in danger so I just said the usual “yes?” He yells again at the top of his lungs “A TREE!” I laughed a little bit because there were trees all around us, literally, all around us. But he was so excited about this one that I was excited too. I had to laugh. A little later Sawyer went though the same yelling when he saw a bridge and each bridge after that for at least five days. Then the excitement wore off!
The boys had no problem making friends. At each campsite they made multiple friends to bike with. The very first day as we were walking Baylee she helped us meet some new friends. Two boys wanted to pet her. They had bikes, Robby and Sawyer had bikes, instant friends, that’s all it took. They were riding bikes together all over the campground. As long as Robby has friends to bike with, he’s happy. And, when Robby makes friends Sawyer gets to come along too, then they are both happy…win-win!!
Robby discovered a favorite hobby of mine on the trip, playing cards. He’s really getting good at Texas Holdem! I think he likes it as much as I do now. (Just kidding) Any minute he was not riding his bike, eating or sleeping, he wanted to play cards. We played Crazy 8’s, Old Maid, Uno, Go Fish and now Hearts, over and over again. If he didn’t win it made him want to play more to beat us next time. He’s likes to win but I actually think he just likes to play more. He is really good about asking Sawyer to be on his card “team” so Sawyer doesn’t feel left out. They also get to gang up on mom and dad. They really like that.
We toured two caves while there. Boyden Cavern is in Kings Canyon National Park. It is smaller but really great for younger kids. A lot of things to look at up close. The kids and us learned so much about caves like what actually lives in them. We bought a book on it for school. At one point they turned out all the lights so you can get a feel “total darkness”. The other cave we visited is Crystal Cave, in Sequoia National Park. To get to Crystal Cave it’s quite a hike down and an even harder one on the way back up. The part the kids liked the best about Crystal Cave is the spider gate covering the entrance. They thought that was really cool. They liked the crystals too.
My favorite day was the day we got to swim in the Kings River at our campsite. The photos will never do it justice but it was amazingly beautiful. The water temperature was perfect for how hot it was out side. We had the whole part of the River to ourselves. Robby is just like Robert on the rocks, very goatlike! Joss on the other hand got the award for falling face first into the river the most. No better way to get wet quick then face first into the rocks! Robby just wanted to be in the deepest part and where the water was moving the fastest. Sawyer preferred staying close to mom or dad. He’s not quite the dare devil that Robby is. Robert and Joss each took turns taking some time to meditate in the middle of the river while the boys hopped rocks, looked for water bugs and ate snacks. It was beyond relaxing.
After the total relaxation, reality hit when Joss had an idea for our first whole family service project, collecting trash. Joss was a girl scout many years ago, so it comes naturally to her to collect trash wherever she goes. She used to take walks around Chino Hills with a shopping bag collecting trash. (She did more trash collecting then walking, I think.) By the time we were done hunting for trash along the King River we had a bag full of plastic, yogurt containers, a sandal, cigarette butts, cups, water bottles and much more. We continued this whenever we could throughout the trip and we will continue to do this throughout the year. We will post this service project (with photos) on the “Being of Service” page. Yes, Robert and Joss did most of the hunting but the kids did help and at their age we feel being a good example is the biggest message. It’s amazing how little time and effort it takes to collect a bag of trash. Take a bag with you next time you’re out walking the streets!
Being new at this we made some mistakes along the way. I know, it’s hard to believe the Mr. A/R made some mistakes but yup, he (I mean we) did! We forgot to ask when we entered the park if and where we could dump our tanks. We got all the way into the canyon (an hour of curvy canyon road) before we found out we couldn’t dump. So we were very careful to use the camp bathrooms whenever possible and we used a bucket to empty some of the grey water half way through our stay. The kids did great with this and didn’t seem to mind at all. Just another reason to hop on their bikes.
One night we all went for a bike ride after dinner together. Robby wanted to show Joss around all the places he’d been riding with dad and the other kids. Joss stayed with Robby and Sawyer and daddy stayed together. Our angels were watching over us as Sawyer almost had a bad accident. He was heading down a paved trail when his bicycle chain came off. Without a chain, his sprocket brake wouldn’t work. He was going faster and faster when daddy figured out (by seeing Sawyer’s backpeddling) that he had no brakes. Poor little guy was careening toward a curve with large rocks on the opposite side. Dad was able to catch up to him and pulled him off his bike before he crashed. Dad’s shin was banged up, Sawyer’s right arm is a little longer now, but he’s unhurt!
Of course we enjoyed the typical camping stuff like campfires, roasting hot dogs, marshmallows and pop corn over the fire. (Easy dinner for mom! Yes!) Rather than eat the marshmallows, Robby likes to burn them so badly they look like meteorites. Sawyer just crams as many marshmallows in his mouth as he can before mom and dad cut him off. Robby and Sawyer are the BEST helpers when it comes to building a fire. They are at attention and reporting for duty as soon as daddy is working on it (and before if they can get away with it). It’s pretty much the only “duty” we don’t have to con them in to somehow.
One night the trailer was determined to teach us more lessons about boon docking. The battery went completely dead. Bummer! So, instead of using lights we got the flashlights out and a great battery operated lantern that Joss’ friend Stacie gave us. We read stories by lantern and put the kids to bed. We’ve had to do this a couple times, as we tend to be slow learners. LOL! Unfortunately because the battery got so low it caused all sorts of other problems, like blowing fuses, shutting off the alarms and the refrigerator! Apparently 12 volt appliances don't like it when the voltage gets to 9.7 volts! All the reading and research that we did before the trip cannot compare to real life experience. We are getting a whole years worth of RV’ing experience in the first month! The generators weren’t working properly (we were doing those wrong too, oops.) so we just hooked the truck up and ran it to charge the batteries. This was a “band aid” we used until today when we were able to get back to civilization.
The last day in Kings Canyon was spent washing two weeks of clothes at the lodge’s laundry room. Mom and Robby did laundry while daddy, Sawyer and Baylee went exploring for waterfalls and wildlife.
We packed up on Monday, August 27th and searched out a place to dump ALL our tanks that were now practically overflowing. Now that’s a picture you don’t want to see!
Two hours away in Sequoia National Park at Lodgepole Campground, we were able to dump the tanks and fill our freshwater too. They had one spot big enough for us, in the overflow parking area! It was actually quite nice, right near one of the few areas of the river where the kids could swim. We ended up staying for 4 days.
We were now in the part of the park where the really big Sequoia trees live. In fact the largest tree in the world, The General Sherman, lives right near there and we were determined to see it. We hopped on a tour bus and headed for the largest tree in the world. It’s not the tallest or the widest but it is both really wide and really tall so it gets the record as the largest (click for more info). It is magnificent and amazing and again photos can never do it justice. Robert and Joss both love the Sequoias for their beautiful cinnamon colored trunks. They really stand out from all other trees. The kids like that they are fire resistant. That’s cool! We spent the day hiking and eating lunch among some huge Sequoias and touring the Big Tree museum.
Robby and Joss met a very nice family from San Diego while climbing on a huge rock called Beetle Rock. They had a ten-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl. We ran into them again at the bus stop where the kids talked about their favorite TV shows. The bus broke down so we ended up talking to them for quite a while. When the bus let us off right in front of our trailer (remember we were in a parking lot) we invited them in for a tour. They ended up joining us for swimming, biking and a cave tour over the next two days. Again, the kids had some friends to play with and that made them very happy. Robby also met a very nice boy named Ayden whom he biked with after dinner one night. Ayden already emailed Robby when he got home and we got it today. That got Robby really excited to now have an email buddy. Thanks Ayden! Making friends all over the country!
We packed up today and drove to the closest place in civilization with complete hook ups (click for details)! We are thrilled to have lights, water, poop disposal, cell phone, Internet, heated pool and much more. We love nature but we were ready for some conveniences again. We went from one extreme to the other. There we had total beauty all around us but no conveniences. Here we have all the amenities we could want, perfectly manicured lawns, fake man made lake, and lots of rules. My goal is to find the beauty and the amenities together in one place. I know it’s out there. I know it is.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
We're packing up the trailer, saying goodbye to our dear friends the Ahadoberry's and heading to Kings Canyon/Sequoia National Forest. We plan on doing a lot of ...nothing for about a week. Don't worry, we'll update the site (assuming there's an internet connection!)
Sunday, August 19th 2007
Today at the 44th Annual Tehachapi Mountain Festival we went to the Rock and Gem show. We all love rocks and gems so everyone had a good time. Joss and Robby had such a good time they went back while Daddy and Sawyer took a nap. Both boys learned about fossils. All of the people working the show were so nice they gave Robby and Sawyer lots of freebies. They seemed genuinely happy to see kids so interested in their “products” from the earth. Sawyer got a shell fossil and Robby was given a 3 million year old sand dollar fossil by the man who dug it out himself. They had so many beautiful stones and crystals. Robby and Joss learned how the weather or big earth changes from things such as a volcanic eruption can change the look and growth pattern of a stone. Joss found some beautiful healing crystals that she’d been wanting since she took a class on using stones during the energy healing work she does. She bought a red and green Watermelon Tourmaline, a green Apatite, a Labradorite and a very interesting Bloodstone Jade that is red and green. She is eager to use them in a healing. Now she just needs some local volunteers.
After the Gem show Robby and Mom went on their first grocery trip since living in the trailer. Robby practiced writing his letters by writing out the grocery list and he did very well. Then he helped at the store by being “in charge” of the cart. He even pushed that cart when it was completely full, and didn’t hit a single thing. He’s going to be a big help for mom.
The stress of packing and leaving caught up with Robert and he is sick. He has a sinus infection and it may be in his chest too. Tomorrow he will get checked out and hopefully some medicine to kick it out of here. We like it here in Tehachapi so we’ll stay a couple more days until Robert is feeling better. Thank you Spirit for our gracious host and hostess. The weather is beautiful here and so is the view. Baylee and the kids are having a terrific time exploring, watching for wild life, playing in the rocks and dirt, all the things kids love to do. We are grateful for this opportunity and thank God every day.
August 17, 2007
We've made it to a friend's house in Tehachapi, CA. Josslyn drove the first segment of our journey. We're parked on their driveway, atop a hill overlooking cattle, horses, hawks and an occasional raccoon. For you with Google Earth or other map program, we're at lat/long 35 05' 27.40" -118 35' 38.88". It's a wonderfully comfortable 78 degrees and dry. We were not sad to leave the triple digits of Chino Hills and the smog, that's for sure!
We will post some pictures from the Mountain Festival after the weekend.
August 13, 2007
We have left our "bricks and sticks" house and are staying at the East Shore RV Park in San Dimas, CA. It's located on the hills overlooking Puddingstone Lake (AKA Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park). We're taking a few days to decompress from the craziness of the past few months and especially the last couple of weeks! We figured it's just safer for everyone on the road if we had some down time!!!
From here, we're heading to Tehachapi to visit a dear friend and her beautiful family and partake in some of the 44th Annual Tehachapi Mountain Festival.
