2025

For over 450 miles, from Monterey County in the south to just south of the Oregon Border in the north, California’s redwood coast is breathtaking.   Dave and I visited the northern end, from Eureka to Crescent City, specifically to visit the Redwood National and State Parks in the area.   From smelling the fresh ocean air […]

After leaving the acres and acres of lush vineyards in Napa, our next stop was a campground at Folsom Lake (near Sacramento, CA).   Why Folsom you ask?  Folsom is infamous for its prison which achieved notoriety in Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues. https://youtu.be/AeZRYhLDLeU?si=E1VQlDTXwQY9gWS4 Murphy and I enjoyed sunrise walks to the lake (and I played

Isn’t the proverb, ‘When in Rome…do as the Romans do”?  When in Napa, I am not sure what the Napans do (or the “Napkins” which is their informal nickname).  I do not think they do a lot of wine tasting, as it has become quite expensive.  I read the cost of tastings soared between 2021

After leaving Yosemite National Park, we headed toward Pinnacles National Park, just south of Hollister, California.  It was supposed to take us a little over 3 ½ hours, but Pacheco Pass was showing a long red line on the map that kept growing, so we headed south and went around.  It added another hour of

Yosemite is one of America’s most famous national parks, and rightly so, for its landscape is truly breathtaking. The iconic granite cliffs are seen throughout the valley, including the sheer face of El Capitan—a legendary challenge for rock climbers—to the majestic Half Dome. The park is also home to spectacular waterfalls, including Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil

This blog will feature pretty much one thing:  Giant trees!  Oh, and a few side trips for Murphy.  Like most national parks, dogs are not allowed on the trails, so Dave snagged a campsite in the Sequoia National Forest, where Murphy is allowed to hike.  There was a beautiful trail that led through a forest

You might be thinking why did Dave and Brenda stop in Tehachapi, CA?  Well, it was a good place to stop between Joshua Tree and Sequoia National Parks.  And, Dave found a unique RV park on the grounds of a small airport which hosts a glider flight school.  Surprisingly, Dave did not want to go

Joshua Tree National Park is about 40 miles northeast of Palm Springs and is famous for, yep, you got it, its Joshua trees!  It also is known for its rock formations, smoothed and shaped by wind and water over millions of years.  Rock climbers and boulderers love this park.  We had planned to camp in

As we continue to drive west toward California, Dave found we could drive a bit on the Route 66.  After leaving the Grand Canyon, we were able to get off I-40 and head west for a bit on Historic Route 66.  The 2,447-mile highway originally ran from Chicago, IL through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New

First, thank you so much for reading the last blog.  I am so sorry it was so long.  When there is such good eats and fun sights in Tucson, what’s a girl to do???  I promise, this one will not be so long.   Before arriving at the Grand Canyon, we stopped for a few