Santa Rosa Lake State Park - New Mexico

Santa Rosa Lake State Park

Santa Rosa Lake State Park is a wonderful place to camp. It's not far off of Route 40, so if you're traveling across the country on 40, it's very convenient. We stayed there for three nights in May of 2010, and really enjoyed it. The campsites are large and well spaced. We stayed on the Rocky Point Electric Loop, which has 17 on-line reservable sites with water and electric for $14.00 a night. We stayed on A004, which had a nice brick and concrete shelter with a picnic table on it and a pretty view of the lake in the distance.

Here's a good video I found on YouTube showing all of the campsites:

During our three day stay, we enjoyed hiking in the park. There's a path right in the campground that goes down to the lake. Actually, it was fun just hanging out around the campsite. Mirra especially enjoyed the shelter.  We were there over Memorial Day, so she had her flag scarf on.

Santa Rosa Lake State Park is only 7 miles from the little town of Santa Rosa where the famous Blue Hole sinkhole is. The Blue Hole is 81 feet deep, and is crystal clear. There's a cave system that generates 3,000 gallons of water every minute and the water temperature is a consistant 61-64 degrees all year. This combination makes the Blue Hole is a very popular place for divers, although when we went there, there weren't any. There were plenty of kids jumping fearlessly into the water, though. I bravely ventured into the cold water, but came out after a few minutes. Brrrrr. Bob said there was no way he was going in, and that I was crazy (he's probably right about that!).

The town of Santa Rosa is right on Historic Route 66. We had dinner out at a the Silver Moon Cafe, which is on the famous route, and got a very good Mexican meal. We bought ourselves a Route 66 bumper sticker for our truck in the gift shop.

Silver Moon Cafe on Historic Route 66

 If you're looking for a good place to stop off of Route 40, or just looking for a great place to hang out for a few days, Santa Rosa Lake State Park is a great pick.

Touring California Wine Country

Sonoma wine vineyards

Bob and I both love wine (especially reds), so during our 2010 trip we made sure to stop in California wine country. We stayed in the San Francisco North/Petaluma KOA for a week because it was close to Sonoma, Napa, and San Francisco. We were somewhat disappointed with the KOA. Our campsite seemed a little cramped, and although the KOA has a large swimming pool and spa, it was so noisy and crowded that it detracted from our enjoyment of the facilities. We were there in June, and probably a better time would be in the spring or fall when there are less vacationers.

We weren't disappointed with the wine tour, though. On the first day, we started our self-guided tour with one of our favorite wineries – Clos Du Bois. We arrived there early – around 11:00, and we were the only ones there. The highlight of that tour was a tasting straight out of the barrel of an Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that would be released in 2011. Our favorite from that tasting was an Old Vine Zinfandel -which we bought - as well as a few other choice selections. We followed that by going to another of our favorites – Rodney Strong. We got a great tour of their winery, and bought some bottles of our favorites from them – a Cabernet Sauvignon, Chalk Hill Chardonnay, and a Pinot Noir.

Rodney Strong Winery

Clos Du Bois Winery

The most fun we had though was finding the small boutique wineries in the area. One of our favorites was Pedroncelli Winery. They offered some great bottles in their free tastings, and even let our dog come into their tasting room. What more could your ask? Another great find was Muscardini Cellars which also offered a free tasting. We joined their wine club because we were so enthusiastic about their wonderful Sangiovese.

One of the important things to remember when doing a wine tasting is the importance of spitting out the wine, no matter how tempting it may be to guzzle it all.  You would never make it through the day if you drank all that each winery gives you without getting a pretty good load on.  Choose to actually drink only the very best, and spit out the rest.

Pedroncelli Winery

We spent another day in Napa, and just the drive was a treat. This is beautiful country, with rolling hills and vineyards everywhere. Our stops there included BV, Robert Mondavi and Kendall Jackson. We were charged for all of the tastings here, and we thought that BV, although offering a great selection, charged too much at $15.00/tasting. All of these wineries are beautiful, however, and well worth visiting.

Vineyards at Robert Mondavi Winery

We made two non-wine related trips while we were in the area. The campground offered a tour of San Francisco, so we thought we'd take advantage of it rather than deal with the hassle of driving to the city. Our tour guide was great, and we had a wonderful full day of touring the city with stops at the Golden Gate Bridge, the Golden Gate Park, lunch on the waterfront, Chinatown, and even a trolley ride. Lots of fun!

Cable Car Ride in San Francisco

Japanese Gardens at Golden Gate Park

A Foggy Golden Gate Bridge

We also took a day to drive to Point Reyes National Seashore. It was a foggy, cool and windy day, which contributed to the wild feeling that this park has.

Pounding Surf at Point Reyes National Seashore

Point Reyes National Seashore

We left wine country with the trailer much heavier from the weight of the great bottles of wine that we purchased, but with out wallets much lighter. However, the whole experience left us wanting to return. The next time we'll be sure to stop in the Pasco Robles area – they have some great wines there.

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park was a big reason that we decided to make our cross country trip in 2010. It was definitely one of the destinations on our bucket list. We decided to spend a full week so that we could get to tour the park adequately.

We stayed at the West Glacier KOA, which was only a couple of miles away from the park entrance. Although a little pricey ($72/night), we splurged, and I'm glad we did.  We really enjoyed their heated pool and hot tub after a long day of touring the park.

The park was everything we hoped for in the way of beauty, with spectacular views as we drove along the scenic Going To The Sun Highway. However, it was pretty crowded, since we were there during the peak season. We were there from August 1 – 8, and everywhere we drove was pretty crowded. Also, the Going To The Sun Road had construction going on, so that made things even slower.  I think if I had it to do over again, I'd choose a less busy time of year to visit.

Lake McDonald

Day after day my husband and I were hoping to spot a mountain goat. We failed to see any on our drives through the park, and would take a nightly drive down the highway to an outlook outside of the park where they were often viewed, but no luck. Finally on our last day we took one last drive on the Going To The Sun Road, right around Logan Pass.  We spotted a mother and baby mountain goat in the distance. Excitedly, I whipped out my video camera and got the best shots I could of them in the distance. We continued on, visited the lodge, and turned around. On the way back, there they were right on the side of the highway, posing for cars passing by. That just made my day!

We managed to stop at a few pullovers along the road, and get in some short hikes.  Below is a beautiful little pool that we saw only a few yards off of the highway.

Pool right off of Going To The Sun Road

I was somewhat disappointed by the glaciers – there are only 25 left, and they are former shells of what they once were. Sadly, it's predicted that there will be no more Glaciers left by 2030.   However, the park was absolutely amazing and I'm so glad we got to see it when we did.

Mount Rainier National Park

Mount Rainier National Park

We visited Mount Rainier National Park in the middle of July of 2010. It was quite an adventure, because snow was still on the ground. However, the weather was sunny and pleasant during our 3 day stay, and we had a great time hiking and driving through the park.

We stayed at nearby Mounthaven Resort. This lovely little campground is only about a half mile from the park entrance, and was a comfortable and convenient place to stay.

Entrance to Mount Rainier National Park

 One of the highlights of the visit was a hike along the Nisqually Vista Trail which is a 1.2 mile trail loop that leads to a great view of the Nisqually Glacier.

Hiking through July snow

We made it!

We took one of our days to drive over to nearby Mount Saint Helens.  It was well worth the trip.  The devastation of the 1980 volcanic explosion is still amazing to see, even with the reforestation that's taking place.

Mount Saint Helens

Fallen trees from 1980 volcanic eruption - Mount Saint Helens

We treated ourselves to a good meal at a nearby restaurant - The Copper Creek.  I enjoyed salmon with some good Washington Pinot Noir.  The Copper Creek Restaurant  is known for its home made blackberry pie, so of course Bob and I had to try that out - it was delicious.

All in all, a great three days that left us with some wonderful memories!

New Jersey State Parks Are No Bargain

Since we got our new generator, we were interested in camping in New Jersey State Parks.  We haven't camped there since we stopped tent camping (about 20 years ago).  I used to love camping in the pine barrens of New Jersey.  As a child my family camped at Parvin State Park, where I eventually lived for two years (after my mother and father were divorced, my mother married the park superintendent).  Later on I took my children to Parvin, and my husband and I camped at Atsion campground in Wharton State Forest and Bass River State Park.  Once Bob and I bought a trailer we stopped camping in New Jersey since all they offer are primitive sites.  Now that we can dry camp, we decided to drive down to check out Atsion and Bass River as potential camping sites.

We were quite disappointed by what we found.  The primitive campsites have hardly changed at all over 20 years, and both parks seem somewhat run down.  It doesn't look as if any improvements have been made at all.  The rates are overly high for these sites at  $20.00/night.  They are very dog-unfriendly, charging an additional $5.00 a night for dogs, and limiting you to particular sites if you have a dog.  At Atsion, the dog sites were the absolute worse, and none of them would accommode a 30 foot travel trailer.

New Jersey State Parks are not just dog-unfriendly, they are senior unfriendly.  They only offer a $2.00/night discount for N.J. seniors.  Comparing this to other states it is no bargain.  Assateague State Park offers a full 50% discount during weekdays for anyone holding a Golden Age Pass.  Florida State Parks offer a 50% discount for Florida seniors.  In fact, almost every other state park system that we've been to throughout the U.S. offers steeply discounted rates for senior residents.  You would certainly think that New Jersey, having one of the highest tax rates in the country,  would offer their senior residents more of a discount.

And guess what - nobody is camping in these parks.  Both were relatively empty, with only a few campers in each park.  Almost every other state park in the country offers  improved campsites, with many offering full hookups as well as primitive sites.  Yes, they are more expensive, but at least people will use them.  The way that New Jersey handles its state park system is only loosing them money.  I know that we probably won't camp in our own state, because it just isn't a good bargain.

Finally We Can Boondock!

Well, Bob and I finally decided to get a generator so that we could do some dry camping.  For years we have been debating whether or not to put out the money.  When we saw a good deal on a Champion 4000 generator at Camping World, we decided to go for it  They had the pull start model at the store, but Bob wanted an electric remote start model.  We ordered it, but it never came in, and it seemed that Camping World was out of that model.

I searched the Internet, and found that Amazon had a good deal - $425 + shipping, for a total of $499 (same deal as Camping World).  We ordered it through Amazon, and it was here it five days. 

Our new generator started up without a hitch.  When we ordered it, we were somewhat concerned about the noise level, but it really isn't that loud.  All in all, we're pretty pleased with our purchase.

So we are finally going to be able to go to many places that we previously avoided because they didn't offer electric.  Our first trip is going to be in September - Assateague National Park for three nights, and Assateague State Park for three nights.

I really want to try out boondocking now that we will be fully self sufficient.   I recently joined a pretty neat site - Boondockers Welcome.  The idea is that members will offer each other places to boondock - although you don't need to offer a boondocking spot to be a member.  What a great idea!  Bob and I are planning on going back down to Huntington Beach State Park, and will be needing a spot to stay overnight in October.  We may stay in a Walmart parking lot, but I think I'll check out the Boondockers Welcome site, and see if anyone has an available place to stay along the way.

I think this will open up a whole new world of possibilities for us.  I hate the thought of throwing away $40-$60 dollars for a one night stay in between destinations.  It seems pretty wasteful when all you do is pull in, eat something, watch some TV and go to bed.  Also, I love the idea of being able to stay in some of the great campsites that I've seen offered in the National Forests that cost nothing or practically nothing.

So we are off on our new adventure.  If any of you with more experience dry camping/boondocking have any suggestions/comments, I'd sure appreciate them.

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park is one of the most spectacular displays of geothermal activity in the world, and if you haven't been there yet, it should definitely be on your bucket list. Yellowstone has it all – beautiful mountains, a grand canyon, lakes, amazing wildlife, and of course the geysers and hot springs. Bob and I have been there twice – for a week in 2003, and again in 2010. There is so much to see and do that it would be impossible to ever get tired of this national treasure.

In 2003 we were lucky enough to be able to stay in the Fishing Bridge RV park, which is within the park. In 2010 they were renovating the Fishing Bridge campground, so we stayed in the Yellowstone KOA which is in West Yellowstone, Montana. Although expensive, the Yellowstone KOA was a great place to come home to after a long day of touring the park. We absolutely enjoyed the indoor swimming pool with the spa. Located only six miles outside of the West Yellowstone entrance, it was an easy drive to get into the park.

You need at least three days to see most of the major sights. The Grand Loop encompasses the Upper and Lower Loops. This takes you through most of the major areas of the park. If you only have a day to tour this park, the Lower Loop probably has the most to see, including

• Old Faithful, of course!
  
  

  

  Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park

  
  
• Midway Geyser Basin and Lower Geyser Basin including Fountain Paint Pot.
  
  
  
  
  
• The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
  
  

  

  Grand Canyon of Yellowstone - Yellowstone National Park

If you get a chance, make sure to take a swim in the Firehole River. We did that in 2003, and it is one of my favorite memories of the park.  Located on the Firehole Canyon Drive, past the scenic Firehole Falls, there's a swimming hole with a changing room. The water is comfortably warm since many of the geysers drain into the Firehole River.

Here's a three minute video encapsulating what we saw on our 2010 trip.

This last trip we took the time to tour the Wolf and Grizzly Discovery Center in West Yellowstone. It was worth the visit just to see the wolves and bears up close. 

Wolf and Grizzly Discovery Center, West Yellowstone

It was more interesting, however, to see the bears in the wild.  We were lucky enough to get a real good view of a mother Grizzly bear with two cubs climbing up Mount Washburn.

w  

As far as seeing wildlife goes, I think Yellowstone is by far the best National Park.  Wherever you go you're bound to see bison, deer, elk and pronghorn antelope.  

Pronghorn antelope, Yellowstone National Park

Bison, Yellowstone National Park

If you're lucky you'll see bears, coyotes, moose, bighorn sheep, and wolves.  The park also has mountain lions and lynx.

We have yet to see the wolves in the wild, although we've traveled to Hayden Valley many times with a spotter scope. Guess we'll just have to go back for another visit!