Goodbye God, I'm Going to Bodie

A famous quote from a young girl's diary, "Goodbye God, I'm Going to Bodie," was used commonly to express the complete wickedness of the town during its heyday. At the time of its gold rush in 1879, there were 10,000 residents, numerous brothels, and 65 saloons, with daily murders, robberies, stage coach holdups and street fights.

Now, Bodie is a state park with about 5 percent of the original buildings (most of the town burnt down) in a condition of arrested decay. At over 8,000 ft in evelation without a tree to be seen, the climate is brutal. We listened to the docent explain what life was like back in the days of the "wild west." He told of the the notorious Bodie 601 vigilante group who lynched a man, the prostitute who was buried right along the fence of the "respectable" cemetery, the 3 year old boy who burned over half the town because he didn't get cake and ice cream on his birthday.

All of the photos here were taken by my niece, Allison. She asked to borrow my camera and we went around together discussing what would make an interesting photo op for her.

Teepee Camping

This very cool teepee is available for camping at Camp Lotus near Coloma, California. Can't you just imagine sleeping here under the stars? Dreamy!

Santa Cruz is a Great Place to Camp

I LOVE SANTA CRUZ!!!!

The Monterey Bay is ideal for Central California beach camping. There are three wonderful state parks to camp at--Sunsets, New Brighton, and Seacliff. Seacliff only accepts self-contained vehicles. All have access to wide flat sandy beaches.

Junga Game of the Gods

It is astounding that most Americans don't even know Chiricahua National Monument exists. It is more visually stunning than the Grand Canyon. You can walk down around the spires to be awed by their size and shapes, wondering at how they defy gravity and stay in place. I kept thinking how much my dad would love this place.

Eat a Burger, See a Murder

Tombstone is a lot like Virginia City NV; once an important mining town, now just a tourist trap. The main street is lined with gift shops. People dressed in costumes come up to you on the street and invite you into their restaurant or shop or museum. They hold silly fake shoot-outs in the middle of road. One guy stopped us and really said, "Come on in. Eat a burger, see a murder."

In reality, Tombstone was a highly dangerous, nasty place. We went to the Boothill Cemetery, where 250 people are buried. Most of them died awful deaths--found in mine shafts with bullet holes, hanged, lynched, suicides, stoned to death.

The OK Corral is now completely enclosed with bleachers, where they charge you to watch a fake gun battle of a real shoot-out that lasted a total of 30 seconds.

The most worthwhile thing in the town is the old Courthouse, now run as an Arizona state park--a very well done museum.

Patagonia Lake/Madera Canyon

At Patagonia Lake they have avian patoon boat tours for only $3! such a deal! We got an hour ride with experienced birders pointing out all the waterfowl and other birds. My favorite find was the black capped night herons roosting in the trees. Also the brilliant red cardinals were heart stopping. The red headed gila woodpecker, above, spent three days drilling the tree beside our campsite.
An absolute jewel in Southern Arizona is the Madera Canyon. Lovely hikes and spectacular scenery. We got caught in a downpour, but it was worth it to see all that beautiful countryside. From the top of the nature trail, if you look south, it looks like Peru; if you look north, it looks the African savannah. They have a lodge and a B&B, but no camping. I would say it would definitely be worth staying there.

South!

We started out on our five week Southwestern adventure by driving south for seven hours. We wanted to get as far as possible the first day. Choosing an unusual route, we drove down the Extraterrestrial Highway, circling Area 51. They had a little bar called the Ale-Inn, which I thought was kind of cute. No other sightings.

Arriving at the Pahranagat Wildlife Refuge right at dusk, the birds were just settling for the night and we could hear them calling to each other as we set up camp. No other campers were in the whole campground and it was free.

In the morning we walked about three miles lakeside, watching all the migrated waterfowl--tundra swans, mallards, Canada geese. It was chilly with a slight breeze, but not cold at least. Even though it is south, it still high up in the mountains. The lake was mostly frozen.

The winds picked up fericously on Friday. We drove three hours south fighting with them; most the time they were tailwinds and that's okay, but the crosswinds were very scary. We made it to the Colorado River, right on the border of California and Arizona. The winds kicked up and rocked the motorhome during the night. The dust off the fields was everywhere. When they finally settled down staying in a little county park was very pleasant and warm.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about Slab City.....

Half Moon Bay Camping

We headed south to Half Moon Bay State Park for a few days. They have such a nice walk along the cliffs overlooking the ocean. It was thrilling to see the hawks hunting there right up close.

The area is known as the pumpkin capital of coastal California, so they were gearing up for the autumn fun.



The downtown itself is a maze of cute shops, bookstores, boutiques, and an old fashioned grocery store with a butcher and fresh produce. I got a cute little flirty skirt and a scarf that I am madly in love with.

Half Moon Bay – Part II

It is possible to drive in a large loop from Half Moon Bay, winding up into the mountains, circling round through little towns, and then following the coastline back to town. Truly a wonderful way to spend some time.

First, stop in the various nurseries that are right outside of town on Highway 92. Very interesting places with roses and orchids, fountains, and pottery for sale. Huge metal sculptures of dinosaurs, and other animals, real and imaginary, grace the entrances. The Christmas tree farms were doing an incredible business, many families coming out to pick the perfect tree.

At the crossroad of Highway 35 and 84, Alice’s Restaurant is a good place to stop for a pleasant breakfast or lunch, depending on when you arrive. From there take the Alpine Road, one of the twistiest roads we’ve been on. Hiking trails seem to be everywhere on the ridges of Open Range Reserves, views of the Bay Area to the east and the ocean to the west.

Watch out for bicyclists when you follow the road down. You’ll come upon Portola and Butano State Parks, nestled deep Redwood forests. Completely different environment from the wide open spaces of a few miles back. Both are available for camping, although I know we wouldn’t want to pull a RV there.

Charming little stops, like in the town of Pescadero, break up the journey. In La Honda we stopped at Applejack’s, a true backwoods type bar with creaky floors and friendly locals. San Gregorio General Store, which is half old school country store/half hippie funky, has a large bar. There’s an eclectic selection of books, toys, apparel, pottery. They have live music on Friday and Saturdays. Brad and I laughed out loud reading through the wild postcards, buttons, and bumper stickers. Some very outrageous opinions, for sure. Some I even agreed with.

Following the coastline back along Highway 1, past Pigeon Point Lighthouse, you come to Cameron’s Inn, a very authentic English Pub, complete with two double decker buses. We were surprised when Brad asked the man next to us what the football score was, and he was an authentic English man, from London, even.

Half Moon Bay – Part I

Half Moon Bay fulfills all the requirements for a great vacation spot. I know that people usually want a coastal vacation in the summer, but really December is a wonderful time to be here. While the temperature is on the cool side, so are the things to do around here. There are cute little shops on Main Street, including book stores, gift boutiques, and antique stores. The one that you can’t miss is called Half to Have It; what a wonderland of amazing items they sell! Antiques and garden items everywhere. A very nice, relaxing way to get Christmas shopping done without the crowds. Last night, the annual Festival of Lights commenced with a tree lighting ceremony, a hometown parade, and a “sit down” marching band.

Over at the Pillar Point Harbor we had lunch at the popular Barbara’s Fish Trap on Wednesday. And Friday night we dined Italian-style at Mezza Luna, authentic, quality food, quite reasonable prices. Half Moon Bay Brewery, which hosts some excellent musicians. As a matter of fact, we have extended our stay for one more night so we will be here when Daniel Castro plays on Sunday. Brad went to the Flying Fish Grill to get a fresh crab and the man there insisted that he take a loaf of Half Moon Bay Bakery sourdough bread to go with it for free.

There is a bike path the links several beaches along the coast. Near the harbor, we found a short walk through the marshlands. When the storm surge hits, the town is overrun with surfers here for the Mavericks. The monstrous waves can get to be 50 feet high. I’d love to see that. Tomorrow we will explore all the nurseries and Christmas tree farms that are just outside the town.

We’re staying the campground at Francis Beach. Our campsite is literally 50 feet from the beach. Just look at the view out the back window!

Our first night we invited the young couple staying next door to share our campfire. Turns out that they were Australians touring the world..Japan, China, Siberian Express to Moscow, the Eastern block countries, Italy, Spain, England, then to NY, across all of the northern states, down Washington, Oregon, to Yosemite, through the Southwest (Utah, Arizona) to LA and back up the coast to here. Oh, my, what a trip! They were a blast to talk to.

Donner Lake Camping

Donner Lake, originally uploaded by c8mills.

Simply, one of the most beautiful lake camping sites in California, Donner Lake Memorial Park is exceptional. You may have heard of the Donner Party, notorious for rumored cannibalism in 1847. This is the place were it happened; they were trapped by an October snowstorm, making it impossible to get over the summit.

The lake itself is about three miles long at 6000 feet in elevation. Its beauty lies in the water’s deep coloring, surrounded by pine forest and spectacular granite mountain peaks. When we had a house here, I walked in the State Park at least five days a week, three seasons out of the year. 

Today, I was looking forward to taking my favorite walk, until I realized that the temperature was dropping fast and the winds were about 40 mph. It is downright dangerous to walk alone through a pine forest in winds like that, not only do the dead trees fall over, but the five pound pinecones fly through the air like hand grenades.

So, a little change of course, I went to the east end of the lake for some dramatic photos of the whitecap waves. I tucked under the canopy where it was a little more sheltered and took some photos of things on the forest floor, like pinedrops, desiccated tree trunks, light playing in small aspen trees. I heard a funny noise, I thought possibly it was a dog yelp, and looked around the corner. A couple was swimming! It’s about 48 degrees and WINDY! The water must have been about 50 degrees. How could they stand it?

No way was I taking my usual route along the shoreline, so I went toward the campground instead. This is where the original camps were and it’s an eerie feeling to be there all alone. Followed the path along the creek to the bridge and then decided to take some pictures of the statue. I drove passed this statue everyday and I haven’t taken a photo of it in probably twenty years. It’s George Donner and his wife, Tamsen, who actually never made it this far. They both died about five miles back.