Lake Cachuma, CA and learnings – later June 2015

Lake Cachuma, surrounded by the Santa Ynez and San Rafeal mountains, is not far Santa Barbara and benefits from the nearby Pacific Ocean.  This is where we have been camping the last 5 days and will stay through the July 4 holiday weekend.  The weather has been ever sunny and temperatures range from a low in the 50’s and a high in the 80’s.   The lake serves as a reservoir and no human touch allowed.  So there is boating but no swimming.  And the CA drought is so apparent here.  Only 25% of the lake remains and it will be down another 8 feet if no rain by October.   Water is such a precious commodity!  Pictures below reflect the lake’s low levels.

So much learning and newness in process..   Steve is getting more and more comfortable driving the RV with a car in tow and has managed exceptionally well through some incredibly tight places.   I’ll take a stab at this on next trip perhaps.   And I’ve become aware of the comfort routines that have been a norm in my life;  knowing how to operate everything around me, where to find items in the grocery store, yoga class schedule, WIFI, coffee shops in walking distance……   They are not here any more.   Sometimes unsettling;  sometimes frustrating.   I am building norms – walks early in the morning, writing at both ends of the day.  I wonder if people ever get to not having routines as their norm??

And interesting incidences abound…         Having the black water hose spring a leak while pumping out ‘crap’….    Trading a bottle of wine for crystallized coyote urine (which wards of certain critters from making homes under the RV, in the generator)…..   When hiking solo, being prepared in case of a mountain lion encounter.

People make such a difference….  The ‘home’ family and friends who continue to be there, check in, keep us in the loop, support/help out.  The    new people, friends we make along the way…..    Receiving a lavender bouquet from Bea, new friend and campground host;  Dave and Mario, from PC Mechanical, working over and beyond on a problem with our RV/car braking system.    And a very special thank you to our home neighbor and friend, Janet, for working through the mail forwarding morass.          We’ve had dinner and after dinner guests;  people stopping by with maps, recommending places to go;  people walking us through a campground to find good spots,  offers to keep an eye on our laundry at the laundromat.     Keeping an open heart and open door brings about great and unexpected returns.

 

Sunset at lake cachuma
Sunset at lake cachuma

 

 

View of the low levels of Lake Cachuma from the boat launch that was in use only 3-4 years ago
View of the low levels of Lake Cachuma from the boat launch that was in use only 3-4 years ago

 

 

Our yet to be named RV at the Lake Cachuma campsite
Our yet to be named RV at the Lake Cachuma campsite

 

 

Red tail hawk at Lake Cachuma
Red tail hawk at Lake Cachuma

 

RV 101 June 16-20

First, it’s called a ‘coach’, which is why I call it a ‘rig’, ‘rv’, ‘motor home’……  Ensures the wonderful folks at the RV dealership know I’m a newbie.  We started serious RV learning on Tuesday, 6/16 at the dealership and shifted to ‘on the job’ training Friday, 6/19, early morning, leaving for the Nevada line to take on ownership.   The two days at the dealership entailed learning how the inside works, how the outside works, the details of how to drive it, including the 3 types of brakes.  (Hope there are only 3 types – cause right now that’s all I remember.) And we did driving training.  Steve did parking lots, back roads and highways;  I opted to practice in the parking lot, e.g., turns, backing up, avoiding overhead tree limbs….We managed to get ourselves and rig safely to a campground in Las Vegas on Friday.  Why Las Vegas with its 110+ degree weather?  It’s the closet location to where we did title exchange at CA/Nevada line and the campground provides the various hook-ups, is easy on/off the highway and good location for newbies and a shakedown cruise.   We will leave here Monday morning to head to Santa Barbara, CA campground, located in the hills and not too far from ocean.

So many firsts this past two days – first time hooking our car up to back of rig, first time driving it on our own, first meal in the RV, first night sleeping in the RV.   We still have much to do to get things settled and are learning much via trial and error method.  The dealership folks are available and we haven’t run into a situation yet where we’ve needed to turn to them.  No doubt we will turn to them in near future.

A few pictures of the inside of the RV;  too hot to take outside pictures!  Stay tuned for outside and other pictures….

 

Looking from front of RV to back
Looking from front of RV to back
RV first supper
RV first supper

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June 12 and 13 – leaving the Rockies; enjoying Utah

Heading down the western side of the Rockies ( Route 70) is not for the feint hearted;  rock formations hanging over the highway, canyons so tight extra wide trucks are not allowed, turns and curves and the routine maintenance work bringing the road to one lane.  The day before we left, Route 70 was closed most of the day  due to a rock avalanche.   Incredible, magnificent views…..

And Utah…..not sure what to say….buttes, mesas, plateaus, canyons;  brilliant earth colors;  towns with such names as Yellow Kitten, No Name, Lone Tree; a hundred miles before an exit with services;  Parthenon-like rock formations, unwelcoming terrain, land where Vulcans might live, set for sci-fi movies, Thelma and Louise drop offs.  Cedar City, Utah is where we landed.

Saturday – our first day off!  We hiked, hiked and took a short scenic drive.  Our first hike was to Spectra Point, Cedar Break National Monument in the Dixie National Forest.  At 10,300 feet of altitude the hike breathtaking and scary.  With exposed cliffs, no railings and a more than 1,500 foot drop to the canyon floor, my fear of heights showed up.  The second drive/hike was to Brian Head Peak, at 11,400 feet.  With the dirt road blocked by snow, we hiked the last mile to the peak.  It was a slow climb, due the altitude and parts of the road covered with 6-8 inches of snow.  The dirt road and the open faced building at the peak were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corp in 1934.

Joan at Brian Head Peak
Joan at Brian Head Peak
view from Spectra Point, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah
view from Spectra Point, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah
Utah terrain
Utah terrain

 

 

 

 

 

Traveling to Los Angeles June 8-11

We’re in Vail, CO today and have four days of travel under our belt, with eIght or so hours or approximately 500 miles each day on the road.  Ct to Youngstown, OH; to Molene, IL; to North Platte, NE, to Vail, and two changes in time zones, the east coast gets further away; the west coast closer.   So many remarkable sites:  the Mississippi River, the windmill farms in Iowa, the incredible storm in Nebraska, with temperatures dropping from high 90’s to low 70’s in a blink and furious winds and rains, the tumbleweed in Colorado and the glorious Rockies.   Such a treasure to see so many different terrains.   And many, many thoughts along the way:  so muchdevelopment/construction on the roads, old infrastructures….an analogy for us?   Some states have posted speeds of 75;  is that because everything is so far away or that they want travellers to pass through as quickly as possible?

We and the car are holding up.  The car gets smaller each time we re-pack it after a night’s stay;  Steve and I have developed rhythms of driving times, quiet times, music times……    Day 4, in the Rockies, and the journey continues.

 

Joan alongside might Mississippi riverSteve and our traveling machine

 

The incredible Rockies