A Day in Sequoia and King's Canyon National Parks

We were at the Lakes RV and Golf Resort for a couple of weeks and took a day trip south to Fresno and into the Sierras to see Sequoia and King's Canyon National Parks.  

It was a beautiful and warm day for a drive.  We started out in the morning and planned on a picnic lunch along the way somewhere.

 Not far from our Ash Mountain entrance we saw Tunnel Rock which was quite unique.  At one time the road went under it but it is not blocked off.

 This barrier wall was common for many miles up the mountain and reminded us of the work of the Civilian Conservation Corp on similar mountain roads throughout the US National Park system.

 At the top of overlook not far from Hospital Rock looking across the vast valley below.

 We enjoyed the view with another couple (Jordan and Jen) from Chicago who were on a road trip by way of Las Vegas.  Fun to talk to them a bit before we continued up the mountain.

Along the way, Pam notice how dead looking some of the pine trees looked.  

A ranger confirmed that there has been a beetle problem this year killing some pines.

Our next stop was the Giant Forest Museum.

It was a good reference point and display explaining the history of the big trees in the area and point out all the groves of sequoias. Each are named and the trees are actually numbered.

 It was almost time for lunch so we made our way over to another Visitor Center - this one at Lodgepole.

Key people who were pioneers in setting aside lands for public use and protection including the most famous of all - John Muir.

Pam getting some more info from the Park Ranger on the drought and the beetle problem affecting the pine trees.

Then we had lunch at a picnic area near the 'village' center.  It had a small laundry, grocery store and some shaded tables. 

 After lunch we went over to the General Grant Grove and saw the second largest tree in the world and the largest giant sequoia in the area.

Some other trees near the short hike to the General Grant Tree.

Sometimes one can not comprehend how big and beautiful these big trees are!  It was amazing.  

After that, we headed down the mountain and back to our campground in Chowchilla.  It was good to be able to get a sense of what Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are like, but it takes a lot more than one day to see it all.  Glad we were able to spend a little time there though.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles.

Pacific Northwest and the Produce Market

We have been here at Pacific Beach about a week and I wanted to get at least one post on our time here. The facilities here at Pacific Beach Resort and Conference Center are adequate.  The price is right but the term 'resort' gets overused a lot.

The RV park is fine but the facilities need to be upgraded.  The price is right at $20/night with one free night and we stayed a week.

The view from the campsite is blocked by overgrowth and brush along the fence which was a shame.  However beach access is nearby and we could walk a couple hundred yards down to it from our campsite.

Or we could walk downtown toward the Pacific Beach State Park and access the beach there.  We did that a few times for an evening walk and enjoyed it.

We are in this area because we wanted to see the National Parks and Washington/Oregon coast in the Great Northwest.

One day we took a day trip to Olympic National Forest and saw the historic Lake Quinault Lodge.

It was built in 1926 in 53 days by George Garrison who had worked on a similarly looking lodge in Yellowstone National Park.

Not far down the road was the Worlds Largest Spruce Tree.

You can see how the trunk of the tree dwarfed us.

Next we took a leisurely drive around Lake Quinault and into the Quinault Rain Forest.  It was beautiful with lots of growth and tall trees.

The Quinault Rain Forest gets about 150 inches of rain a year.

We made the drive around the lake was a mix of paved and unpaved roads.  It was fine with our Honda Civic but it signs warn again RVs making the drive.

One place we stopped was the Ranger Station where we took a hike to the Kestner Homestead and the Maple Glade Trail.  It lasted about an hour and one half and was very nice.

Later, we concluded our 70 mile day trip after a stop at the Big Cedar on the West side of Lake Quinault.

It was another mile or so up to the top of the hill to the Big Cedar.  The only trees we have seen that are this big are the redwoods of northern California.

It was an enjoyable day with lots of hiking and interesting things to see in the Rain Forest of Olympic National Park.

Yesterday, a few miles from Pacific Beach, we stopped by a produce stand at Copalis Crossing called, "Voss Acres Produce Market".  It had a nice variety of produce and historical interest.  Check out their web site.

We met the owner Sharon was very friendly.  She told us the house they lived in was moved down the railroad tracks 18 times in the late 1800's while the railroad was being built.  The house was the railroad office with a porch and back kitchen added on over the years.

The vegetables in the market were very inviting and we bought some tomatoes, zucchini and corn.  We talked with Sharon some more and she was funny.  I told here about the blog and wanted to take a picture with her and Pam.

She was agreeable but quickly dived into the drawer for some lipstick.  She would not have her picture taken without it!  Funny!

If you are in the area of Pacific Beach, Washington near the coast we recommend you go see the Olympic National Forest near Quinault and make a special stop at Voss Produce Market in Copalis Crossing!

Random Roadrunner Photos

We are here in Pacific Beach, Washington.  We made the three hour drive from Tacoma and it was an easy travel day on Tuesday after the 4th of July.

Over the last couple of months we have seen some random and interesting things I thought I share with you.

Before we left the Fort Lewis/McChord Field area we saw this Chinook Army helicopter do some training a couple hundred yards away from our campsite.  The crazy thing landed in the water, hovered for a while and took off as fast as it arrived.  It blew a lot of water around and stirred things up.  Needless to say it surprised us and we got front row seats!

A couple of days ago we had some excitement with the awful sound of ripping metal.  It leaves you sick in your stomach when you hear it, even if it is not your rig.

We were in the Roadrunner and watched a 5th wheel depart the campground in front of our campsite. Only he made a turn that was too tight.  Ugh!  He stopped pretty quickly but then misjudged things more and tried to drive straight on and get by the corner of the roof he just snagged with his 5th wheel.

After ripping a bigger hole in the side and knocking off a facia sideboard at the corner, he stopped.  A couple of us went outside and gawked a minute but there was not much we could do.  After he got out and looked at the damage, he back up, drove around and maneuvered by it.

This douglas fir near Mt Rainier is pegged at starting to grow in 1293.  That is a lot of years ago.

It was pretty fascinating to see something that old.

During our day trip to Seattle, we saw a lot of street vendors, including one that was selling these two paintings:

Cute.

Recently, sometimes neighbors we hardly know were very generous.  Dave drove in the campsite next to us and he asked if we liked crab.  I almost said 'no' because my experience has been it usually is a lot of work for little satisfaction.  But I said yes and he gave us two large halves to work with.

Turns out he had been crabbing earlier in the day, caught his limit of 'indigenous' crab, and let us have two large halves.

Like always, it was a little bit of work, but this was delicious!  It may have been the best crab I have ever had!

I have often said there are many ways to do this RV thing.  In Idaho we saw a couple in a campsite next to us who had a unique arrangement. They pulled a little trailer that was the size of a pickup.  It had two side walls that folded out for beds on each side.

It looked like a sturdy chassis and a good size tent for their pop up.  The weather was a little cool, but the hardy couple didn't seem to mind it.  They had a screened in gazebo for all their cooking and lounge chairs.

Back in New Mexico, we took a day trip to Bandelier National Monument near where the recent forest fires have been in Los Alamos.

The weather was nice then and we took advantage of it with a day trip there to see the cliff dwellings.  This reminds me of how much we have seen in the two short months since we were there.

Now we are here

on the Pacific coast in the great Northwest and enjoying a different kind of beauty.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Hope you are having a great summer!