We had breakfast with our new friends and hit the road for Santa Rosa.  There we visited the Charles Schultz museum.  Anyone who knows me, knows I am a huge fan of Snoopy.  Allita and I left GG and Toby in the RV in the covered parking while we explored the world of Charlie Brown and Sparky for several hours.  

From Santa Rosa, we traveled north on the 101 to an RV park, Sleepy Hollow RV Park, just north of Willits.  There, we fully expected to come face-to-face with the angry, headless horseman; however, we spend a restful, uneventful night without actually coming in contact with any other humans and departed early the next day.

There is a town in northern California called Drive Thru Tree.  Honestly.  That said, you won’t be surprised to discover that inside the nearby park, there is a giant redwood tree through which you can drive a small car.  Since we are traveling by RV, we did not drive through the tree but we did drive through the park and do some quality shopping at the little gift shop.  On the way north, we passed through Fernbridge, home of a bridge built in 1911 and also a unique boat festival that we watched as we passed overhead twice.  We stopped for lunch in Trinidad at the lighthouse park.  Allita and I went on a two-hour, gnarly hike on some absolutely stunning trails.  Great views, but mostly we were stunned they were the actual trail!  We climbed to the very top of the hill through vegetation, under trees, over rocks and hanging on the cliffside, saw the cross, admired the sea and harbor, nearly froze to death in the forceful breeze, made our way back down to the lovely beach and enjoyed a warm, cozy meal in the cove.  From Trinidad, we wandered north on the Redwood Highway, through various redwood groves and along a lovely parkway just outside Klamath, and then stopped for the night at the Klamath Camper Corral RV Resort (quite a change from our rustic accommodations the previous night).  

On that note: in the event that you are not a seasoned RV camper, let me give you a little heads-up.  RV camping can happen in a variety of places.   Your “campground” can be as simple as an open field or a concrete pad in someone’s backyard.  You can “boondock” which is basically dry camping without electricity, water, etc. in some remote place (a.k.a. the boondocks) or you can join a gaggle of other RVs at a post resort that feels more like glamping.  An RV park generally has hook-up (electric, water, sewer), sometimes full and sometimes partial.  They may offer showers but not typically.  They also don’t usually provide wifi and sometimes you can’t even get a cell signal there.  Sites are usually not manicured areas or paved spaces but you can easily identify them as they are often numbered, clean and clearly marked as to where to park.  An RV resort, however, is a step above a park.  RV resorts generally have a wide variety of amenities, such as a pool, hot tub, laundry, bathrooms with showers, often outdoor activities such as horseshoes, tetherball, table tennis, playgrounds, etc., a small store where you can purchase a wide variety of items, an “office” for checking in and out, free wifi, trash pickup, and sometimes a restaurant on-site.  Frequently, at an RV park, you do self check-in, which means you find your own space, fill out a form, pay the fees, read the one small sign with the posted “rules”, and drop the form and cash into a box for some mystery person to retrieve at a future date.  You also have to figure out everything like which is your electric and where is the trash can?  At an RV Resort, someone usually leads you to your assigned space – often via a golf cart or quad directly from the office after checking in – and they help you park, show you everything you need to know, and answer any questions.  The office generally provides you with handy map of the campground and several pages of rules and regulations that pertain to camping there.  

After we left Oakland, we stayed at an RV Park.  We picked our site and I filled out the form and calculated the cost for our stay while Mom and Allita hooked us up.  The next morning, we went on a walk and located the garbage cans behind a secured but not locked gate, dumped our trash, and hit the road.  We never met a soul there.  The next night, we stayed at an RV resort.  We checked in at the office and met two gentlemen who live and work here.  One of them led us to our campsite, he drove a golf cart and made sure we knew where to hook up.  The office guy showed us the showers and toilets and built a lovely fire in the open fire pit behind the RV.  Allita and I played an aggressive game of tetherball while GG enjoyed a hot shower at the bathhouse and Toby relaxed in the RV.  Our campground host apologized that the restaurant had to close because of the exorbitant cost of food in northern California.  He also apologized that due to our location, there is limited cell signal and no wifi available.  They do offer horseshoes and other outdoor games and there is a playground, however.  We are only here for one night – not having wifi won’t kill us.  Well, maybe Allita…..

In the morning, we ventured north to Crescent City and the nearby Battery Point Lighthouse.  We also entered the “real” redwood forest (National Park), although I couldn’t imagine how much better it can be compared to what we have already seen.  We would spend the day driving through Gold Beach, Grants Pass, Eagle Point, and Shady Cove (gotta love these names!) and eventually make our way to Crater Lake National Park.  More on that in the next post!