Travel Through California

We have moved on from Southern California to about 60 miles north of Sacramento with stops in Bakersfield, Lemon Cove, Raymond, Valley Springs, and Colusa, California. We attempted to see Sequoia National Park but due to the heavy snowfall they have had and the fact that we didn't have snow chains, we only got about 15 miles into the park before we had to turn back.  Because of this, we decided to pass on Yosemite as many of the roads are closed due to record snowfall amounts.  We will come back and see Sequoia and Yosemite another time.

Our current plan is to go on to see the Redwoods and then travel up the coast of Oregon.

 Our Route 

Entrance To Sequoia National Park

Tunnel Rock at Sequoia

Sunset at Horse Creek COE in Lemon Cove, CA

Lots of olive tree groves along our route

as well as orange, tangerine, and  lemon groves

View from Horse Creek Campground

Marina (mostly houseboats) and dam at Horse Creek Campground

Creeks are rising due to runoff from the snow

Ground squirrel sunning himself

Osprey with a pretty good size fish

Our campsite at Horse Creek Campground

Lupine

Near Hidden View Campground

Our campsite at Hidden View Campground

Snowcapped Sierra Nevada Mountains from Hidden View Campground

They were checking us out as we walked a trail at Acorn Campground 

Photo was taken at Calusa National Wildlife Preserve in Calusa, CA

Wild California Poppy at the wildlife preserve

Owl Canyon BLM Near Barstow, California

We have spent 7 days (leaving tomorrow) at Owl Canyon BLM campground just north of Barstow, CA.  This is a nearly free ($3.00/night with Senior Pass) campground about 8 miles from Barstow.  We are trying to stay a little longer at places waiting on it to warm up further north.  Our plans are to go on to Sequoia National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Redwoods National Park.  We are going to see as much as we can at Yosemite but it is early in the season and many of the roads are still closed due to snow cover.  From Redwoods we plan on heading north to Oregon to see the southern part of the Oregon coast that we didn't get to see when we were here last year.  

Our Route

Our site at Owl Canyon

The latest addition to the camper - we added an extendable pole to our cell phone booster when we were in Virginia over the Holidays.  Though we don't always extend it, it has proven to be a good addition that has improved cell and wifi hotspot reception particularly out here in the desert.  Here at Owl Canyon we had no usable cell service from the ground but with the booster on the pole we have 4 to 5 bars of 4G service - we have been able to stream Netflix consistently with no buffering.  We have had the cell phone booster for about a year but this extendable pole which gets the booster antenna about 18ft. off the ground has made a big improvement - we rarely have unusable cell service now.

View of our campsite from the rim of the canyon 

Looking up the canyon

The wash that runs through the canyon - it rained some the day we got here and it is surprising how much water ran through this wash the next day - the following day it was pretty much dry

View of the campground from the north end of the canyon

A natural arch in the rim of the canyon

View from the rim of the canyon looking south towards San Bernadino which is past the mountains - the snow-capped mountain in the center is 10,000+ foot, Mount San Antonio

Joshua Tree National Park - Desert Super Bloom - Chiriaco Summit

Joshua Tree National Park is named for the Joshua Tree that grows primarily in the Mojave and Sonoran  Deserts. Legend has it that Mormon pioneers named the tree after the biblical figure, Joshua, seeing the limbs of the tree as guiding the travelers westward.   This is a huge park - we put on over 100 miles driving inside the park.

South Entrance to Joshua Tree National Park

We were fortunate to have been here when a rare "super bloom" was in progress in the desert.  Above average rainfall and moderate temperatures produce this rare occurrence where the desert floor is blanketed with wildflowers in early March.

Cholla Cactus Garden - a rare concentration of 1000's of Cholla Teddy Bear Cactus

Skull Rock - the park is noted for its many unusual gneiss rock formations 

Skull Rock

Another view

Joshua Trees

Joshua Tree 

Another

Nearly 11,000 Foot Mount San Jacinto (snow-capped peak in clouds just right of center) taken from  Keys View, the highest point in Joshua Tree National Park 

Coachella Valley, the Salton Sea, and Palm Springs in the distance - it was hazy so they are difficult to make out - taken from Keys View

Chiriaco Summit - a small community that is primarily a travel stop - it has a store, restaurant, Post Office, antique shop and gas station along with a free RV campground and the General Patton Museum. This area was used by General Patton for a desert training center in WWII.

Lots of relics on display around the grounds - this is a Model T Dump Truck

Visible Gas Pumps from the early 1900s

History of the Chiriaco family who founded the village

Large prickly pear cactus in bloom

Some old tanks behind the museum

Our RV behind the tanks (last one on the left)

Our site

Some of the desert flowers and cacti near the campsite

California barrel cactus - rare and endangered due to loss of habitat