News & Photos - January 2010

Happy New Year!
Current Location: Site C8, Bullards Beach State Park, Bandon, Oregon
Dates: Jan 2-4, 2010
Services: E/W/S; Cost: $16.00; Nights: 2
Current Location: Site A49, Cape Blanco State Park, Sixes, Oregon
Dates: Jan 4-5, 2010
Services: E/W; Cost: $12.00; Nights: 1
Current Location: Site A4, Humbug Mountain State Park, Port Orford, Oregon
Dates: Jan 5-7, 2010
Services: E/W; Cost: $12.00; Nights: 2
Current Location: Site 20, Ireland's RV Park, Gold Beach, Oregon
Dates: Jan 7-9, 2010
Services: E/W/S/WiFi; Cost: $26.26; Nights: 2

It's been a quiet New Year as I slowly head down the southern portion of the Oregon coast towards California. As you'd expect from being in the rainforest during the rainy season, the weather has been wet most of the time; the sunshine appears only every third day or so.

“Bearly” North Of The Border
Current Location: Site B11, Harris Beach State Park, Brookings, Oregon
Dates: Jan 9-10, 2010
Services: E/W/S/WiFi($); Cost: $17.00; Nights: 1

Brookings is the typical tourist town, hoping to get a few dollars from people passing through on their way up the coast. Their downtown has more than two dozen fibreglass bears, visiting Brookings for three months from nearby Grants Pass to raise money for nonprofit agencies.













Land of the Tall Trees
Current Location: Site D6, Bayside RV Park, Crescent City, California
Dates: Jan 10-13, 2010
Services: E/W/S/WiFi; Cost: $24.00; Nights: 3

After a month in Oregon, I've crossed the California state line and entered the land of high gas prices (40¢/gallon higher than Oregon), high state park prices ($45 for a campsite with hookups) and a 12.3% unemployment rate (the third highest in the nation, beat out only by Michigan and Rhode Island).

The area near the Oregon border contains the Redwood National and State Parks, a World Heritage Site that preserves 40,000 acres of the largest trees from logging. Numerous trails and roads wind through the forests, offering access to trees that can grow up to 370 feet and live up to 2,000 years.



Harbor seals


Jedediah Smith Redwoods
State Park












Enderts Beach


More Big Trees
Current Location: Site 17, Chinook RV Resort Klamath, California
Dates: Jan 13-14, 2010
Services: E/W/S/WiFi; Cost: $20.00; Nights: 1
Current Location: Site 19, Stone Lagoon RV Park, Orick, California
Dates: Jan 14-15, 2010
Services: E/W/S; Cost: $27.00; Nights: 1
Current Location: Site 20, Widow White Creek RV Park, McKinleyville, California
Dates: Jan 15-16, 2010
Services: E/W/S/WiFi; Cost: $28.00; Nights: 1





Camping right on
the Chinook River


High Bluff Overlook,
Redwood Nat'l Park








Last Of The Big Trees
Current Location: Site 14, River's Edge RV Park, Rio Dell, California
Dates: Jan 16-19, 2010
Services: E/W/S; Cost: $22.00; Nights: 3
Current Location: Site 69, Richardson Grove Campground & RV Park, Garberville, California
Dates: Jan 19-20, 2010
Services: E/W/S; Cost: $25.20; Nights: 1
Current Location: Site E, Creekside Cabins & RV, Willits, California
Dates: Jan 20-21, 2010
Services: E/W; Cost: $33.00 (10% GS discount); Nights: 1
Current Location: Site 39, Russian River Resort, Cloverdale, California
Dates: Jan 21-22, 2010
Services: E/W; Cost: $34.88; Nights: 1

Rio Dell is at the north end of the “Avenue of the Giants”, a scenic 31-mile road surrounded y 50,000 acres of redwood groves. The poor weather that I've been experiencing all through California is continuing, with rain every day. The television is reporting that some parts of the state are receiving so much rain that there are mudslides and road closures. For me in the northern half of California, it's just been constant rain and extremely poor photography. Hitching up the trailer in the pouring rain is not a fun experience!



Drive-through tree


Two-storey treehouse


20-foot room inside a tree

San Francisco!
Current Location: Site 25, Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Santa Rosa, California
Dates: Jan 22-26, 2010
Services: E/W/S/WiFi; Cost: $25.00; Nights: 4
Current Location: Site North-159, The Fair Park RV, Pleasanton, California
Dates: Jan 26-30, 2010
Services: E/W/S/WiFi; Cost: $28.00; Nights: 4

These two fairgrounds have RV parks which are somewhat reasonably priced, and offer convenient access to all the sights of San Francisco. The city's most popular attraction is the 2.7 km long Golden Gate Bridge, a 6-line (plus two pedestrian/bicycle lanes) toll bridge connecting Highway 101 with the downtown section of San Francisco. Four other bridges cross the San Francisco Bay, including the Bay Bridge (shown in the first photo), part of which is being rebuilt to be more earthquake-proof.

With the California Gold Rush in the mid-1800's, San Franciso's ship traffic had greatly increased, requiring the construction of a lighthouse on Alcatraz Island. Soon after, the Civil War erupted and the island was selected as the site for a military fort. With the war came the need for a prison for soldiers convicted of desertion and enemy sympathisers. In 1934, the prison was reopened as a maximum security facility under the Department of Justice, and housed a few notorious criminals such as Al Capone. It was finally closed in 1963 due to increasing maintenance and operating costs.



Bay Bridge (east section), showing
new construction


Golden Gate Bridge,
view from the south


Golden Gate Bridge toll area





Walking the bridge


View from the north






Heading Inland
Current Location: Site L, Stanislaus County Fair, Turlock, California
Dates: Jan 31-Feb 3, 2010
Services: E/W/S; Cost: $20.00; Nights: 3
Current Location: Unnumbered site, Fresno Fairgrounds, Fresno, California
Dates: Feb 3-7, 2010
Services: E/W/S; Cost: $20.00; Nights: 4

I'm now in the “Central Valley” region of California. The rainforests and giant redwoods of the north have been replaced by palm trees, tumbleweeds, orange trees and the occasional cactus.

Once again I'm staying in fairgrounds, as they are much more reasonably priced than commercial campgrounds. However, they can have their problems! In Fresno, I had planned to leave on Saturday morning, but I arrived a few days before 300 head of cattle showed up for an exhibition. Dozens of cattle trailers and trucks were double-parked along the interior roads, making it completely impossible to get an RV trailer out. I was trapped there for an extra day, until they went home!

Originally I had hoped to visit Yosemite National Park, but many of the roads are closed for the season due to snow, and the other roads require chains. The interesting lookouts and waterfalls are in closed areas, as well. The only area that's open is the ski hill — probably not worth the time and money to visit.
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