We had planned a Spring RV trip to New Mexico with a stop at San Diego Padres Spring Training in Az on our drive back. But a cold snap in weather and the baseball lockout changed our plans. Fortunately, the baseball lockout ended before the season started and we had a 3-week window to see two Spring Training games in Peoria. With family joining us this trip, we opted for an AirBnB vs our original RV camping plan. We saw two games to get us ready for a full season of baseball. With my UCSD Photography Interest Group theme of ‘motion’ this month. I took my Olympus OM1 Mrk III and 100-400mm lens to catch some baseball action.
We left Anza-Borrego on such a high note, seeing & photographing Bighorn Sheep. I felt less enthusiastic moving on to Joshua Tree. Last time we camped there in Feb 2021 was such a short visit, we wanted to see more of the National Park. After the excitement of successful wildlife photography, landscape photography seemed less interesting to me. But if anyplace can get a person excited about the landscape, it’s Joshua Tree. Unfortunately, all the campgrounds in Joshua Tree were booked and we did not feel like chancing one of the ‘first-come first-serve’ no-reservation campsites on a long President’s Day weekend. Fortunately, we were able to reserve a full-hookup campsite at Twentynine Palms RV Resort. After dry-camping for 4-days in Anza-Borrego, we missed having full hookups. Twentynine Palms RV Resort is a few miles from the north entrance to Joshua Tree NP. So it’s a great option when campsites are unavailable inside the park. Yucca Valley, 15mi west near the main park entrance, also has RV campgrounds but these were all booked for the dates we needed.
An interesting side-note: in the evening at this RV Resort dozens of turkey vultures soar above the golf course next door. They eventually settle for the night into the tall trees that stand between the campground and the golf course. Tom, a resort regular, told me they can number in the hundreds at times and return every year to roost in these tall trees which are unusual for the area.
Our original plan to head east through Arizona to New Mexico this month changed because of the cold front that hit much of the US mid-Feb. On our way back from New Mexico, our hope was to stop in Peoria & see a few Padres Spring Training games. So with Spring Training being canceled & Albuquerque down to 18°F, we decided to camp closer to home where we knew it’d be warmer.
Since we enjoyed our stay last month at Indian Waters RV Resort, we booked 3 nights this trip. This would give us a chance to visit family on Valentine’s Day. We picked a premium grass site this time since last visit they looked nicer. Turns out grass vs gravel really didn’t make much difference for us. Perhaps if we spent more time outside the RV in the evening. The only issue with the grass sites is lawn maintenance every few days plus sprinklers. Mowing means you have to move any gear onto the concrete pad. After staying in Indio for 3 nights, we moved to Anza-Borrego Palm Canyon Campground and dry-camped for 3 nights. On our Jan 2022 trip to Indio, we day-tripped into Anza-Borrego and saw there much more we wanted to explore. So, although we couldn’t get more than 3 nights, we were able to dry-camp in the park. I really hoped to see & photograph the Bighorn Sheep that are often spotted around Borrego Palm Canyon. After Anza-Borrego, our next stop was TwentyninePalms/Joshua Tree National Park. Every campsite inside the park was booked so our only option was to stay in Yucca Valley or TwentyNine Palms. TwentyNine Palms RV Resort had full-hookup sites available and is just a few miles from the North Entrance. We wanted to camp inside the park but enjoyed the full hookups after dry-camping 4 days.
After a lot of driving to Anza-Borrego & Fonts Point yesterday, another long drive into Joshua Tree will wait till next trip. So while Carol visited family, I did a shorter drive to the Salton Sea. I’ve seen photos of this area and thought it looked interesting photographically. It was still windy and there were great clouds that made for beautiful light.
Route to Fonts Point & Anza-Borrego State Park Visitor’s Center
Although we have lived most of our lives in SoCal, we’ve never visited Anza-Borrego. It’s always been on our list of places to go but we’ve just never made it out there. Working as an oceanographer, with month-long cruises in Jan and April, kept me busy during the prime months to visit. Now that we are retired, it will become a regular destination when we are itching to get away during the winter months. The park’s visitor center is 75mins away from Indio/Indian Waters RV Resort. There are some great hiking trails there but we opted to hunt down the metal sculptures that are a mile or so east in Borrego Springs. These are another group of local landmarks we have never visited. Note: parking & hiking at the State Park Visitor Center (and two other popular parking areas in the park) requires paying a day-use fee but everywhere else is free and open. Dry RV camping in several areas is ‘no reservation first come first serve’.
Our Indio family, Jim & Susan, had posted beautiful photos of Fonts Point (see map) they took while off-roading in their new Jeep. The amazing panoramic views of the Badlands looked worth the slow 4-mile washboard road trek. Like their Jeep, our Tacoma TRD Offroad 4×4 is also very capable on roads like these. We made it a point to visit in late afternoon and wait till sunset. As the sun set, the wind really picked up and it got cold quickly. The drive home in the dark through a dust storm added to the adventure. Directions to Fonts Point Trail Junction can be found using Google Maps. Note: this is the turn onto the 4mi dirt road leading to Fonts Point. There is a small sign but its easily missed. Navigating to Fonts Point using Apple Maps will take you to the wrong endpoint. To reach Fonts Point lookout, you drive 4mi south on a washboard dirt & soft sand road. It’s mostly wide and level with sections of soft sand, a 4-wheel drive is recommended but not necessary. We saw many 2-wheel drive vehicles parked at the lookout. Just avoid the soft sand.
Our first trip in 2022 was a short 5-day trip to visit family in Palm Desert & Indio, CA. This area is popular with snowbirds this time of year, their peak season. The weather in this area is perfect for escaping the frigid north and east winter conditions. Even though we live in SoCal and could find warm places to RV closer to home. We prefer the Palm Springs area because of family, the hiking & photography possibilities. Joshua Tree National Park, Anza-Borrego State Park, and Salton Sea Recreation Area are an hour out of town. We stayed in-town to be close to family, at a RV resort with full hookups – Indian Waters. It has great reviews on the Good Sam’s website. It’s just a few miles further away than Shadow Hills RV Resort, where we stayed the last time we rv’d to Indio to visit family. Indian Waters has a variety of activities and perks like complimentary breakfasts. Pickleball games & socials, water aerobics & yoga classes keep the many snowbirds busy. We didn’t stay long enough to enjoy all their hospitality but will definitely stay here again. I highly recommend the lawn sites versus gravel but they are all spacious with large close-to-level concrete pads.
When we first brought our 20ft travel trailer home in Nov 2020, we wanted to camp locally to practice & learn. We ended up staying at Campland-On-the-Bay, which was a great 1st trip. But we also were interested in staying at some other beach campgrounds like Silver Stand State Beach in south San Diego. Unfortunately, it was booked solid for months but Carol found a block of three nights available. This opening was Oct 17-19 2021, late into our camping season. In fact, pretty much ending our summer camping season. This state beach is open year-round and a great place for winter camping although the ocean is obviously colder in autumn or winter. Across the bay from Sun Outdoors RV Resort, which we enjoyed in August. Silver Strand State Beach campground is a small, beach-front ‘parking lot’ with water & electric hookups. There is a fee-based ($10) dump station but we noticed most rv’ers preferred to hire a mobile pumping service. The campground is the last of three large parking lots next to the road so road noise is noticeable, louder that the waves. We brought our e-bikes since we figured this flat stretch of beach would have good bike trails and we were right. There is a great bike trail next to highway 75, Silver Stand Blvd, dedicated to pedestrians, joggers, & (e)bikes. Being later in the season, the beach weather was cool and windy so we did not spend too much time on the beautiful, wide sandy beach. We brought our dog Bodhi, our ~38lb terri-poo, since he did not travel with us to Zion. Bodhi tolerates RV travel because he loves being with us 7/24. But because we started rv’ing later in his life (9yrs old), he does not adapt well to the tight confines of Howie & trailer living. But he does enjoy getting out with us, he just doesn’t have the stamina for long outings. Coronado has a great dog beach about 6mi north so we took him in the late afternoon when the tide was low. Both the bike trail, which we rode to the Hotel Del Coronado, and the dog beach are highly recommended if you stay in this area.
We finally planned our first out-of-state National Park RV trip, to Zion National Park. It’s 470mi away from Oceanside so we planned on two travel days. This is our first trip with our new Lectric E-Bikes. They add ~130lbs to our truck’s payload so we moved as much weight as possible to Howie. Instead of bins, we opted for bike bags to transport our folded bike since they take up less room. Bodhi stayed home with Sean & family because Zion doesn’t allow dogs on the trails & the heat in the RV would be too hot if the AC failed. He’ll go with us on our next trip to Silver Stand State Beach, San Diego.
21 Sept, Travel Day: we left Oceanside ~1140am and drove east, stopping at the Barstow for a break – Flying J for gas & a late lunch. Then we drove another hour, stopping for the night in Baker. We knew it would be over 90degF, so we decided not to boondock. Baker RV Park has full hookups for $25/night but no other amenities – it’s essentially a parking lot with hookups. You call the number posted and the manager tells you which site is available. We parked across the street from the Mad Greek’s Cafe and were thankful for the electrical hookup that let us run our AC. Since most of our trips have been on the coast or cool weather, we’ve never really had to use it. This trip was a good test and the AC worked well, without the freeze-ups that some other GeoPro owners have experienced.
File under ‘fascinating people you meet on the road’: Jim “Jet” Neilson. In Baker, the only campsite open at the RV Park was blocked by a rocket car(!). We met Jim as he was kind enough to move his rocket car trailer so we could pull in. Of all the stories I’ve heard about Covid affecting people, his is quite the tale. Covid has slowed one of the fastest man on earth. He’s hold up in Baker until he can make it back to his home in Panama. Stop by Baker’s Country Store/76 Gas Station, check out his impressive rocket car, have a chat & get one of his signed t-shirts.
22-27 Sept, St. George/Hurricane KOA: Like most KOAs, this campground was located well out-of-town, about 13mi north of St. George. It’s very close to Leeds, UT and 23mi from Zion National Park’s west entrance – Kolob Canyon. Zion’s southern entrance campgrounds were book solid so we opted to stay here then move to Zion Canyon RV Resort after 5 days. There is plenty to do on this side of the park and it is less crowded than Zion NP proper. Kolob Canyon has some great hikes as well as some of the other regional parks like Quail Creek (next door), Red Reef (across the road), Sand Hollow (10mi away), town of Hurricane (6mi).
27-30 Sept, Zion Canyon RV Resort: Now this is the place to stay with your RV when visiting Zion National Park. 0.4mi from the south entrance, walking (or ebike) distance to both the park, groceries, and food. We were fortunate, since we postponed our trip a week, to get a riverside site (130). This campground has full hookups, small pool, two restroom/showers, cable TV, and other amenities. They are still rebuilding from damage caused by the recent flash flooding of the Virgin River. So backhoes and rebuilding is going on during the day. The laundry is closed because of flash flood damage (as of OCt 1, may be open now).
With full campgrounds, wild fires, and heat waves in areas we’d like to camp. We were lucky to find a vacancy at a campground an hour south at Sun Outdoors RV Resort San Diego Bay Sun Outdoors is a chain of upscale RV resorts which opened a new campground in Chula Vista CA in Spring 2021. They have a lot to offer rv’ers who like “glamping”, offering resort-style amenities. Like Campland-By-The-Bay, it’s “urban camping” and near San Diego points-of-interest such as the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Coronado, & Petco Park. They are also located next to the Living Coast Discovery Center – an educational place to learn about our coastal environment & wildlife. Entry is complimentary for Sun Outdoors RV’er families.
With our grandkids starting school in a few weeks, we took them here on a 4-day trip, July 29-Aug 1st. It’s very family-oriented, with lots of activities for young people (crafts, foam party, playgrounds), adults (fitness classes/gym, casino nights, live music, bar, bird watching), and families (arcade, movies, pool, Discovery Center tour, shuttles into San Diego). There’s even a small fenced dog-park & multiple dog stations scattered throughout the park. Unlike dry camping at San Onofre, where activities are the beach, biking, & hiking. This place is a resort with places to dine & play away from the RV. Great for camping with young kids 3 & 5yrs old. If you like camping in the mountains or by a peaceful river, this is not the place. There is a lot of open area west of the RV park with views of south San Diego Bay & Coronado Bridge so you are not in the middle of town. But it is urban camping/glamping.
After a one week trip from Oceanside to Pismo Beach in February 2021, we wanted to do another trip there during summer. Our trip northward, we kept to the “2-2-2” rule – “take a break every 2hrs, drive 200mi, stop by 2pm”. Our arrivals were often closer to 3 or 4pm but we stuck to the other suggested “rules”. Stopping at a rest area to have lunch, check tires, and hit the restroom after a couple hours. Our Tacoma’s range is only about 180-200mi so we’ve been limiting ourselves to that distance each day. But at that pace, you don’t get very far so now that we are gaining more experience. We will gradually extend our time on the road and make fuel stop with the trailer attached. Something we’ve been reluctant to do but after pinpointing RV-friendly gas stations, on the two legs to get home – Monterey to Buellton 212mi; Buellton to Oceanside 220mi. We will fuel up near the freeway and get back on the road without taking a break.
Since Pismo State Beach is a bit farther than a tank of gas. The first leg was to our first KOA at Ventura Ranch for 2 nights. We met our son Matthew in Camarillo for an early Mother’s Day lunch and spent the day with him. After postponing his wedding in 2020, he’s finally able to get married with friends and family May 28th, two weeks away. So shopping for wedding clothes and checking out the venue was something we wanted to do. So we did not sight-see or explore much of the Ventura Ranch area. Next, we camped 4 nights at Pismo State Beach, occupying the same site as our Feb trip. All the site are pull through with water & electrical hookups. The coastal weather this early summer felt cooler then February. We just happened to hit Pismo State Beach during a cooler weather window so we did not really enjoy warmer summer beach weather. It was a cool, foggy “May Grey” on the coast but a little further inland the marine layer burned off. Our primary destination was Monterey since we were lucky enough to get tickets to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Carol scored some tickets the first weekend open to the public since Covid lockdown. The Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay KOA is 28mi north of Monterey proper.
As mentioned, limiting our daily travels to under 200mi makes for slow travel. So we wanted to drive further each day heading homeward. Flying Flags RV Resort in Buellton was midway so we stayed there two nights. Some RV’ers recommended staying two-nights when stopping instead of one. It has its pros and cons: pros you have a chance to rest & check out the area; cons it takes you longer to get home. So it really depends on your schedule. We had the time but we have yet to adjust to the RV retirement lifestyle of taking it slow. When we arrive someplace, we want to hike, bike, and enjoy the area.
