Sequoia RV Ranch, Three Rivers, CA

      Are you getting sick of Liam pictures yet???  Liam, Jamo and the entire crew seemed to be doing just fine.  He's making it just as inconvenient for everyone at his convenience, just as a newborn should.  Although Ben seems to be sleeping right through the nightly feedings and fits that occur as Liam adjusts to his new surroundings!  Why Joanne is allowing that is beyond me.  And Jamo seems quite comfortable with the new house guest which we would all expect.  And Joanne's mom and dad were able to escape the cold of Pennsylvania and come out for a visit.

We had a nice birthday for Joanne, and Debbie made her a quilt made from Joanne's T-shirts. So all the kids now have a T-shirt quilt from Debbie which should bring them many great memories as they recount the stories behind each shirt.  I know a tremendous amount of love and work went into each quilt, and I'm sure Debbie enjoyed every minute she put into them.  Now, that only leaves Dad without a quilt.  But I have been promised one, so we'll just have to wait and see.
      Since there was family in town, it seemed like the opportune time to get out of town and see a little bit of what California had to offer.  What we found was California was not ready for what Mother Nature had to offer, and a little bit of desperately needed rain, created havoc with the roadways.  As Debbie and I contemplated the many venues available to us, mudslides struck I-5 at the Grapevine, and Hwy 58, our other option for getting north was completely blocked and closed.  By Sunday though, Cal-trans had I-5 open, and we were set for our journey up to see Sequoia National Park.  Our only obstacle was getting around Los Angeles.  Whatever you have heard about LA traffic is true, and I was not looking forward to dealing with bumper to bumper traffic at 70 MPH!  So my trusty navigator got busy and found us a route around LA proper, and on Sunday morning, we moved out of Santee and headed for the Sequoia RV Ranch in Three Rivers, CA, right at the doorstep of Sequoia NP.

     What a nice little park this is.  I would have to describe it as a rustic park, since there are no pavers to park your rig on.  But each site is gravel, appear to be level, and 30 or 50 amp service is available.  As you can see, there are plenty of shade trees, which is probably very much appreciated during the summer months.  The manager of the park, a retired Air Force serviceman, told me that temperatures in the summer reach 106!  There are riverfront sites, which seem very nice.  I don't know how active the river gets since there is a drought ongoing throughout California.  But there is a pretty good amount of water running through it still.  The brochure describes a swimming hole, but we're not seen it.

     What is most unique about the park, is the fact that there are several bears that have come down from the high country, and have made The Ranch their new home.  They don't seem to bother anyone, and seem only interested in acorns, which are quite abundant throughout the park.  But it appears, that the ones over in the tent camping area are the most appealing.  At least that's where the bears have decided they are going to hang out.  Which is just fine with us.  As Debbie likes to say....don't visit in my house, and I won't visit in yours.

 I would think eventually they have to run out of acorns and I'm thinking that eventually ours are going to start looking pretty delicious.  As you can see on the left, these acorns are pretty huge, and I can see why the bears are devouring them. As a side note....they make quite a noise when they fall from the tree onto the roof of Big Red. It takes a little while to get used to it!
     I have another unusual photo to plug in here.

 Now don't read ahead to find out what this is.  Just let your imagination work on it for a minute.
     Since storage area is always a premium when you're on the road as we are, Debbie has developed a way to store tomato sauce after the jar has bee opened.  She pours it into plastic ice cube trays and freezes it.  How ingenious is that! The half full bottle doesn't take up space in the fridge, and it takes only a few minutes to work up some spaghetti sauce.  Gives her something to do with those old plastic ice cube trays too.

      Here's one last factoid to throw out, and the next story will show the incredible Sequoia National Park.  Debbie and I have seen these vans at numerous campgrounds here in the southwest.  There were tons of them at Monument Valley, and they are really pretty slick in their design and versatility. Inside the van is a complete kitchen set up and ready to go.  The rental includes pots, pans, dishes, utensils, and food.  I haven't checked, but I would guess the renter lets them know what they would like to eat, and it's all ready to go.  The Penthouse on top opens up into a tent accessible by a ladder on the end.  Not very convenient if you have to answer nature's call in the middle of the night.  Watch out for that first step!  But we saw many young Europeans who seemed to be having a ball, touring around the U.S.  What a great idea.

     I've got some great photos taken throughout 3 days of touring Sequoia National Park.  Kings Canyon sits adjacent to Sequoia, and tourists drive from one to the other without really realizing it.  Unfortunately, The Rogue fire had done considerable damage in Kings Canyon, and we weren't able to visit all of it.  But that just means we'll have to return here someday and finish it up.  So let me gather my stories, and I'll get the next post out real soon.