Isn’t that a song?
YES! We are on the road again! With the Spring mowing and weed whacking complete, garden planted and baby chicks settled in, we have left our home in the capable hands of Milada and Ron. We hit the road on June 17 with our first stop in Modesto to celebrate Bill’s birthday, Father’s Day and Molly’s birthday. A handful of Lamkins showed up and we made a trip out to Oakdale to have dinner with Bev and Wade. John Lamkin, Caleb and I made a trip to Smith’s Farm to pick up a flats of peaches, nectarines and apricots. The week ended with Molly burgers and a visit from Mike and Ron. The purpose of this short 2 and a half month trip is to finish the loop we missed out on last year.
Molly, Bill and Pippin
From Modesto we headed South back to where we began our 2015 trip, Three Rivers. This time we planned on seeing Kings Canyon National Park, which had been on fire when we were last there. While at our campsite at Three Rivers we spent a lot of time in the river. The days were very hot and our ACs could not keep up with the heat and then they finally just decided to stop working all together. After some calls to Airstream, and Caleb being the masterful fixit guy, he discovered that we had the wrong circuit breakers installed. Hallelujah for 2 working ACs when it’s 106° – 108°!
Three Rivers camp
On my day off we headed to Kings Canyon. The canyon itself is a very small version of Yosemite valley with the Kings River flowing thorough it without all of the crowds, cars, and shuttles. The Kings River was violently high and dangerous. Signs were posted not to get anywhere near the river! Where it had been well over 100° in Three Rivers this was not the case once we got to Kings Canyon where we encountered rain, fog, more rain and hail. I think the temp dropped to somewhere in the high 60s. And No to your question, we were not prepared for any of this. I had flip flops, shorts and a tank top on. I fell in the mud and we didn’t even have a towel in the car. We never learn do we? However, the takeaway is this — Caleb and I will be doing some backpacking in Kings Canyon in the very near future.
Kings Canyon National Park
As we zigzag our way across California our next stop — Morro Bay to see one of my dearest friends, Kendi. While in Morro Bay we ventured to Pismo Beach where my cousin Angie and her family were camping at the state park. We also got to also see my brother Chad twice! Crazy guy drove from Bakersfield two nights in a row just to have dinner with us.
The Stacks at Morro Bay
The Rock at Morro Bay
My Brother
Morro Bay with Kendi
From Morro Bay more zigzagging to Temecula to spend the 4th with Shelley and John. To our surprise we also got to see a lot of folks from San Diego as well as Bev and Wade! We had an amazing 4th weekend and a very nice week just hanging with the Carpenters. On Wednesday I drove over to spend a few hours with my mom in Palm Springs. She took me to a Powers baseball game and we sat in her box seats! She knows everyone or rather everyone knows her. The Powers took the win in the 9th inning coming from behind after a long hard fight all night long. It was definitely a fun game to watch.
Jertbergs, Poffs, Hammerstroms and Carpenters
Mom and Bill at the Powers game
Leaving Temecula
And you can’t leave Temecula without seeing balloons at sunrise
We left Temecula at 5:30am to beat the heat as we crossed into Nevada by way of Las Vegas. It didn’t work. It was 100° before 10am and well above that as we made the climb out of Baker. It was the first time I was afraid we were going to overheat the truck. It came pretty darn close just under the red line on the water temperature gauge. Needless to say I was very happy when we reached the top of the summit!
We spent a lot of time in Zion in 2015, but Caleb just could not resist another hike up Angels Landing so we found ourselves in Hurricane, UT which is just 23 miles outside Zion National Park. You drive past St. George on your way to Hurricane so we passed through to see the Temple.
Mormon Temple
Zion National Park in the distance
We found relief from the heat in Hurricane at Sand Hollow State Park. Beautiful colors surrounded us.
So, I can say with enthusiasm we are officially on the road again! And our adventures have only just begun. Stay tuned for what’s to come next.