Pismo Beach, A Wah-Hoo Weekend

Gilbert Martinez

 Yippee Ki Yay and Away We Go! – February 10, 2012

For my 50th birthday I chose to go see one of my favorite cowboy singing groups, Riders In The Sky, who were scheduled to perform in Arroyo Grande and picked Pismo Coast RV Resort as our destination.  We have been planning on visiting Morro Bay and the surrounding area for some time, and now we would get that chance!  So, with everything packed into the RV for a long weekend, we’re off go into the wild blue yonder, with the clear blue skies above us and most people at work this Friday morning.  Traveling I-280, south, we’re soon to San Jose and catch the 101, south.

About 2 hours into our roadtrip, we’re in the Salinas valley and we make our way to the to our first stop, lunch at the Wild Horse Café just off highway 101 in King City.  Of course no trip would be complete without a little unexpected adventure.  Ours came with a loud bang but without a rock or even a slight roll.  After our last trip we instinctively knew what it was…a blow-out.  We also knew it had to be one of the back tires.  We pulled over in what passes for a shoulder around here and took a look at the damage.  At first we couldn’t tell which tire it was as all the tires still had tread on them.  Only one failed the manual jiggle test, the inside back passenger side, my side.  And just like the last one, there was still substantial tread on the tire.  What is up with these tires?

Thank goodness for emergency roadside assistance.  Katherine found us a tire shop in King city that had motorhome tires available and it was only a couple of miles from the café on First Street.  So now we had to decide how best to install the new tire.  A new tire on the inside dooly doesn’t make sense when we had a used one installed on the front from our last blow-out.  It made more sense to install two new tires on the front and move the one of the front tires to the back.  Sounds good until you find out that each 19 1/2 inch tire costs an arm and a leg.  So here I am in what passes as a waiting room at the tire shop documenting the first leg of our journey on our way to Pismo Beach.  Check-in at the RV resort isn’t until 4 pm and we were looking for a side trip anyway.  The Wild Horse café was a nice side trip and the lunch was good, but who would have thought we’d be spending the afternoon in beautiful downtown King City.  Not a bad town by any means, everyone we’ve met here, from the owner and mechanics to a local rancher, to the soldier wearing camo from Fort Hunter Liggett, has been very polite and hospitable.  A very nice town indeed and one we will try to stop at, for a meal, fuel or repairs, whenever we’re in the area, for sure.

With the motorhome now fitted with two new front tires, we’re off to Pismo Beach, still 90 miles away and it’s after 4 pm.  Along the way we pass a rest area just outside of Camp Roberts which looks like a nice place to stop and make lunch on some future adventure, but today, I’ll  just take note of this rest stop and continue down the road listening to my favorite cowboy singing group, Riders In The Sky.  “I got a hundred and  sixty acres in the valley, a hundred and sixty million stars above..…I wouldn’t trade it for a world of gold, it’s my home sweet home.,” always gets this city boy’s country heart.  A little further we pass what looks like a military training event at Camp Roberts in a field next to the freeway.  We honk and wave and they all wave back.  I got a big ole lump in my throat and quietly said a prayer for all of our men and women in uniform.  If I could have a birthday wish this day, it would be that they would always come home safe.

It gets dark purt near quick as we pass through Paso Robles and start to ascend through the coast mountain range outside of San Luis Obispo where the fog is thick and traffic has increased for the evening commute.  We arrive at the Pismo Coast Village RV Resort, check-in, and set up the motorhome which is as close to the beach as one can get.  Being so close to the ocean we get a hankerin’ for seafood and drive to Brad’s Restaurant in the heart of the Pismo Beach tourist district, which in the evenings is lit up with various colors of neon signs, Brad’s being in the shape of a fish.  The weather is mild enough to eat al fresco with patio heaters at full throttle, so much so that we’re almost sweating.  Part way through my shrimp dinner, it starts to drizzle a little and then, a little more.  We order a mud pie to go and head back to the warmth and dryness of our motorhome to relax and be lulled to sleep by the rhythmic sounds of the Pacific Ocean.

Point San Luis and Morro Bay – February 11, 2012

Today we have all day before dinner and tonight’s show, so we decide to leisurely tour the highlights of the small beachside communities of Pismo Beach, Shell Beach, Avila Beach and Port San Luis and then Morro Bay.  All had nice little restaurants and tourist shops that beckoned the casual visitor.  I had planned on taking Diablo Canyon Road around Point San Luis, through Montana de Oro state park, only to find that it’s restricted.  I believe that’s where the nuclear power plant is located, so no wonder.  We make our way to Los Osos and enter the state park from the north.  Montana de Oro is a diverse place from rocky coast to wooded canyons and grassy hills, too big for an intensive visit today.  The view from Pecho Valley Road on the outskirts of Los Osos is beautiful with the Morro Dunes and Morro Rock in the distance.  To get there we drive through Los Osos and Morro Bay state park to Embarcadero Street which follows the shore in the town of Morro Bay.  Here we decide to get out of the car and play tourist and look for a place that had pie.  Pie makes a good day better is Lou’s motto.  We walk along the boardwalk and peek into some shops and take in the maritime atmosphere.  On our way back we do a drive by through Grover Beach to find AJ Spurs, a western-style steakhouse with all kinds of taxidermy in the lobby including a full size bison, and to find the Concert hall in Arroyo Grande.

For dinner I have a filet mignon with a side of sautéed peppers and mushrooms and Lou has a rib-eye steak.  A salad and a skillet of fried potato slices accompanies are meal.  We were one of the first to arrive and by the time we were done, the place was packed with people waiting in the lobby and out the front.  The establishment also has a saloon and offers nightly entertainment.  If we had time, it seems like a great place to hang out for a while.  Tonight, the main reason for our visit, is to see my favorite cowboy country singing quartet, two time Grammy Award winners, Riders in the Sky, who have been going strong for 30 years now and weave comedy into their performances.  Ranger Doug and Too Slim have a weekly radio program, Ranger Doug’s Classic Cowboy Corral on Sirius XM.  Woody Paul, “King of the Cowboy Fiddlers,” has, this year, been inducted into the National Fiddlers Hall of Fame.  Joey, “The Cowpolka King” plays the accordion and completes the quartet. Riders in the Sky are popularly known for their musical performances in Toy Story, and Monster, Inc.  Their performance tonight did not disappoint, singing many of my favorite songs, including Wah-Hoo, and kept everyone entertained with their comedic wit and good ole western songs.  I can’t wait to see them again!  It was a wonderful Wah-Hoo birthday weekend here in Pismo Beach, one I will always remember.

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26 . 02 . 2012
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Zion National Park – A Pre-Thanksgiving Holiday

Gilbert Martinez

The Kolob Terrace Road – November 17, 2011

Lesser known to the average Zion enthusiast is a section of park, the Kolob Terrace road, that bisects Zion at the center with the Kolob Canyons to the northwest and Zion Canyon to the southeast. The Kolob Terrace or plateau refers to section of the greater Colorado Plateau that forms the top rock layer of Zion Canyon’s nine formations.  The Kolob Terrace Road rises in elevation from the canyon’s bottom, Kaibab formation, up to the Carmel formation at over 8000 feet.  It is a drive through geologic time.  Today’s leisurely drive takes us past some very scenic panoramic views of pastures, forests of pine and aspen, red rock formations and black basaltic lava and cinder cones up at the top of the terrace, at lava point, part of the Markagunt Plateau volcanic field which last erupted about 900 years ago.  We didn’t get too far along Lava Point Road as the dirt road transitioned quickly to  slush and snow.  Again, we weren’t prepared for this type of adventure and made a three-point turn in ankle deep snow, before it got deeper, and turned back to the main road and continued further north to Kolob Reservoir where we stop to take a few shots of the reservoir before we turn around for the 21 mile return trip back to the town of Virgin, our starting point, and then back for a late lunch at the Red Rock Grill at the Zion Lodge.  Like all of our great national parks, it has taken a few days just to explore the main and lesser known scenic drives within and near the park.  It would take many more days to explore the more remote wonders of Zion National Park.  I look forward to another, longer visit to this most beautiful of wonders of our American West.

On the way to Las Vegas, the interstate passes through the Virgin Gorge in the northwest corner of Arizona.  It’s another area I’ve been wanting to visit and we finally get our chance.  A developed campground is available on the banks of the Virgin River and the views are spectacular!  We stop and make lunch and decide to eat outside on picnic table, beneath a Ramada, enjoying the view.  After lunch we take a walk around the immense campground and take some pictures.  While taking a picture of the RV in the background I notice a desert hare between me and the motorhome.  I try to sneak closer to get a better shot, only to step on something that cracks under my shoe and the hare takes off.  To my surprise one of those pictures has the varmint in frame!  That photo is in the Zion Gallary.  See if you can find the desert hare!

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24 . 02 . 2012
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Zion National Park – A Pre-Thanksgiving Holiday

Gilbert Martinez

November 16, 2011 – Snow Canyon & The Kolob Canyons

The plan for today was to visit the lesser known Kolob Canyons forming the northwest portion of Zion National Park incorporating an auto tour of Snow Canyon state park and an off-road trek through the Dixie national forest forming a loop back to the campground.  The Kolob Canyons are located along a 120 mile long fracture in the earth’s crust called the Hurricane fault.  The limestone, which was formed in a shallow sea was uplifted over millennia forming grey cliffs.  Interstate 15 runs alongside these cliffs and a short scenic drive climbs along several switchbacks to reach a series of red rock canyons.

The first leg of our scenic drive loop is through Snow Canyon starting at the southern entrance, the we drive by towering sandstone cliffs and black lava fields on the eastern side of the park which themselves form some very stunning views.  The park also has lava tubes and cinder cones reminiscent of Lava Beds or Craters of the Moon national monuments.  Snow Canyon Drive climbs out of the canyon on the northern end of the park to meet state route 18.  We turn towards the town of Enterprise and about 5 miles south of town, we turn off the main road onto West Pinto Road, a dirt road that cuts through the Dixie National Forest past the small hamlet of Pinto.

Pinto is a tiny community located north of the Pine Valley Mountain Range.  Pinto was known as a resting place along the Old Spanish Trail. Travelers stopped here as they prepared to cross the Great Basin Desert to the west on their way to California. Several remnants of old Pinto are still standing and some are quite well-preserved including  the Pinto Cemetery.  Past Pinto valley, the plan was to take Pace Road, another dirt that winds through the Pine Valley and Harmony Mountains, that form a boundary on the west side of Interstate 15, opposite the Hurricane cliffs and Kolob canyons.  Looking down that road into the distance we could see some snow in the slightly higher elevations and I realized we weren’t prepared for this sort of adventure.  An orthopedic shoe, shorts-wearing tourist without water or even a jacket wants to go for it.  Always the cautious one, I talk Lou into maintaining our course along Pinto Road until it meets a real road further north and west of Cedar City.  It seemed like a long detour as we catch the I-15 south and proceed to the Kolob Canyons exit, but we’re finally there.

The Kolob Canyon scenic drive is a short 5 miles that ascends 1100 feet and has magnificent views of rugged and narrow red rock canyons that were lightly dusted with snow.  This section of Zion boasts a natural arch, Kolob arch, one of the longest in the world, but the challenging 14 mile trail to get there is a bit much for today or almost any day.  I’ll settle on a postcard of the arch from the visitors center.  Back at Springdale, I don a sports jacket to go with my jeans and we take an evening drive of Zion Canyon to dine at the Zion Lodge for an encore performance of their signature soups and a rib-eye steak dinner.  We were not disappointed and it was a perfect end to our day.

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24 . 02 . 2012
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Zion National Park, a pre-Thanksgiving Holiday

Gilbert Martinez

November 14, 2011 – Wagons Ho! Onward to Zion!

At first light we’re up and with a few swigs of cowboy coffee, we’re ready to face the challenge of getting the tire fixed in time to drive the remaining 245 miles to Zion campground.  The local garage sends out a mechanic who takes our flat tire and comes back with a fairly used tire ready to be mounted.  We were assured the tire was still in good shape was priced very reasonably.  With our “new” tire mounted we are ready to get back on the road.  First stop of course is a couple miles back into town to fuel up at a gas stationed we had reconnoitered the day before as having the necessary room to maneuver the motorhome and the tow vehicle into and out of the service station.  OK so now we’re off as we head south on the Great Basin Highway, US Route 93.  Again, the scenery along this part of the country is amazing.  We pass Wheeler Peak on the left, part of Great Basin National Park and the highest point in Nevada.  We’ve hiked up from the upper campground to see the ancient bristlecone pines and Nevada’s last remaining glacier.  Today my desire to explore this national park will have to be sated by snapping a couple pictures of the snow-covered peak as we whisk by.  We pass through some beautiful grasslands, ranches it would seem from the fencing.  Further south near the town of Pioche are a couple of state parks, Cathedral Gorge and Echo Canyon, which have been on my list of places we would love to explore, but no time today, gotta keep moving.  At the town of Panaca we turn and head east again on Nevada route 319.  Once again the landscape is gorgeous, hilly and dotted with pinyon pines, the road winds up to the Utah state line where everything turns rather barren.  We catch the interstate south at Cedar City and make our way to Springdale, the gateway to Zion Canyon, to the Zion RV resort near the entrance to the national park.  The RV park is behind a motel, which doesn’t sound very resort-ish, but once there you notice the rocky escarpments on the edge of the park and it is very Zion-y.  Here at last, as the sun is setting, we decide on dining out.  Monday evening during the off season doesn’t leave many choices, but there are a few and we like the home style cooking of Blondie’s Diner.  Tomorrow we set off to explore Zion at a leisurely pace.

By exploring, I mean by car.  On this trip, I was the healthy one and Lou was wearing an orthopedic shoe due to some minor surgery he had had the month before, so hiking was out of the question.  The hike to the Zion Narrows of the Virgin river would elude us again, not that I’m into hiking in knee deep cold water.  Another plus to visiting Zion during the off season is that the road into the canyon road is open to cars, not that I have anything against shuttles, it just more convenient.  The sides of the canyon are monumental in stature, monolithic slabs of red rock jutting into the blue sky.  This time of year, the leaves are turning and are the most stunning shades of chartreuse I have ever seen.  Their swaying in the breeze is hypnotic.  At every turn-out I am entranced by the sheer beauty of God’s creation.

Fall at Zion Canyon

OK, so by this time it’s just after noon and our next stop is lunch at the Red Rock Grill at Zion Lodge where we are treated to the most wonderfully savory soups, perfect for this time of year.  I had a zingy butternut squash soup that just exploded with flavor; and Lou had the ­­­­­­southwestern tortilla soup which even better than the butternut squash soup.  The view from the second floor windows of the dining room was first class and we determined to return for dinner.  The atmosphere was very relaxed, not unlike during the summer months, I imagined.  A mere two people were in front of the lodge seated on park benches in tranquil thought, I supposed, as I tromped across the vast lawn to take a picture of this serene moment.  Back in the car we make our way back to the park entrance and, not wanting to call it quits for the day, decide to venture outside the park along the scenic Zion-Mount Carmel highway which winds and climbs above the canyon to an old, narrow tunnel with barely enough room for two lanes.  Large commercial trucks and RV’s must be escorted down the center of the tunnel, which must take some planning.  Once you’re through the tunnel and the park’s eastern entrance, one can turn around and come back, or continue on to Mount Carmel Junction.  Close by is the Coral Pink Sand Dunes state park which is used by ATV enthusiasts as well photographers.  The dunes are the only major sand dunes on the Colorado plateau and they.  A developed campground offers sites big enough for a motorhome and a viewing grandstand offers bleacher-type seating to watch the ATVs or wildlife depending on the timing of your visit.  It was very quiet during our brief visit and managed to take a few photographs of some flora and a fauna, namely, a raven.  We continued on the Sand Dunes road until we ran out of pavement, which meant we were now in Arizona.  We caught the state route 59 in Colorado City, Arizona to loop back into Utah and then back to Zion and back to base camp, err, the motorhome. 

Coral Pink Sand

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23 . 02 . 2012
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Zion National Park – A pre-Thanksgiving Holiday

Gilbert Martinez

November 12, 2011 – Nevada: Basin and Home on the Range

After almost a year hiatus from traveling, when we went on our annual Las Vegas Thanksgiving holiday, we decided this year we would leave about two weeks prior to the Thanksgiving weekend for a prolonged visit to Zion National Park.  We have been there before but only for a quick visit, a tour of the canyon and the visitor’s center, not really exploring the park and its surroundings.   This time we would travel to Zion in our Gulf Steam Independence motorhome.  Departing from San Francisco means getting there via an indirect route.  Having traveled the I-5/Rte. 58/I-15 corridor more times than I can remember, I wanted a change of scenery.

For this new adventure I decided (being the trip planner and navigator, as well as sandwich maker, coffee re-filler, and on this trip, sun visor adjustor) on taking the northerly route via I-80 through Reno and then taking Nevada route 50 to Ely as our stop over for the first night.  It would not be our first time traveling on the “Loneliest Road” in Nevada, but it would be the first in the motorhome.  It would also be the first time I would be using my iPhone’s map app at its fullest potential.  Though the screen may be small and the map app’s font practically microscopic, I was able to use it to navigate highways that go through towns with which we are totally unfamiliar.  Interstates are great, the signage is excellent, usually.  It’s the state routes that go through towns like Fernley, Nevada that have unexpected turns and intersections and usually poor signage.  But with the iPhone map app, I could zoom in and see where we are on the map (the traveling blue dot) and where we needed to go.  A word of caution, it takes time for the map to update when zooming in or out, especially if you’re in an area that doesn’t have great coverage, or if you’re traveling the maximum speed limit, or  if your turn is imminent!  This could lead to possible confusion and raucous banter with the driver and the need to quickly find an alternate street to get back on track.  To make matters worse, the font for the street names, even with reading glasses of 200, are still too small to read!  I’m going to have to get some 400s for the next trip.  The traffic function of the map app works great, too, and allows us to bypass some if not all traffic where possible.

Route 50 through central Nevada, if not long, is at least interesting, meandering through basin and mountain range, basin and range, ad infinitum, it seems, noting the light dusting of snow on each mountain top.  That’s why early Spanish explorers called this region Nevada, I ponder, which was probably cut short from Sierra Nevada, which means snowy mountains in Spanish.  In any case the scenery was beautiful this time of year and the driving was easy, if not sparse.  The small town of Austin looked just like it did 15 years ago, not much to it and no real reason to ever stop except for fuel if needed.  Outside of Austin, eastbound, are a couple of primitive campgrounds that can accommodate a motorhome.  Bob Scott campground near the summit of the same name and Hickison campground near Hickison summit.  If time had permitted, Hickison would have been a great stop over for a night.  Not only is the scenery great but there are some Petroglyphs along a short trail worth stopping for.  We tent camped here about 15 years ago and found it an ideal location for a quiet respite, however short.

Onward we continued to Eureka, Nevada which has more of an historic feel to the town and still boasts at being the “Loneliest Town On The Loneliest Road” in Nevada, but short of refueling, there’s little reason to stop here unless you stop for the night, though there is the Eureka Opera House, a hall that offers various events.  Continuing eastward I had forgotten how the road climbs up into the next mountain range, again, a beautiful part of the country.  Most people think of Nevada as desert and desert as just sand.  Not so!  These mountains are “islands in the sky” with their own unique habitats; conifer trees, snow, pastures, meadows even glaciers!  One need only visit Great Basin National Park to appreciate the grandeur that is Nevada!

On the outskirts of Eureka, we are 80 miles from our stop over destination at the Ely KOA and it’s about 5 pm; we could possibly make it by sundown, I think to myself.  20 miles east of town just before the route 379 intersection we hear a loud BANG.  We know it was a tire, our first blow out, as Lou pulls over onto a very wide shoulder at the intersection.  Sure enough, it was the passenger side front tire, right under my seat and I didn’t really feel anything.  The Tyron flat tire protection purchased at the time we purchased the motorhome, came through as advertised.  We still had all our tread and were able to maneuver it safely a little further and then off the road.  Perfect, all we had to do now was call our emergency roadside assistance provider, except that “loneliest road” moniker also goes for cell service in these parts.

With only half a bar of signal and 20% battery power left I’m standing on the edge of the highway behind the motorhome talking to Peggy or something in Lake Havasu, Arizona.  I explain I only have limited signal and I’m ready to give my name, member number and location, only to have to go through the list of preliminaries before I give the essential information.  Preliminaries like the tire model number, the motorhome’s VIN number, gross vehicular weight and mileage.  We finally get to location and Peggy is able to find us on her browser’s map.  By this time it’s near dark, getting cold and I’m told we will need to wait for a tow truck to come out of Ely to tow us to our camp site as all the garages in Ely are closed until Monday morning.  Well, that will be just dandy, an extra day in Ely works with our vacation schedule.

With the situation all settled, I make a simple vegetable and hot dog ramen dinner in the motorhome while we wait for the tow truck to take us the final length of the day’s journey.  By 9:30 pm, we’re at the KOA, at our site, level, hooked up and ready to call it a night.  The next morning after attending Mass at Sacred Heart Church, who do we run into but tow truck driver who came to our assistance with a friendly attitude so late in the evening.  After thanking him again, Lou and I head back to our site to spend a relaxed Sunday, as always, watching sports from our recliners, have brunch, read a little, have dinner, watch a movie, all the comforts of home, here on the range.

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22 . 02 . 2012
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Columbia, the “Gem Of The Southern Mines” – June 2010

Gilbert Martinez

 June 5, 2010 – Railtown 1897, State Historical Park

Railtown is what remains of the old Sierra Railway Company that moved timber, freight and passengers in the area.  Started by banker William Crocker in 1897,  the new steam locomotives replaced horse-drawn wagons moving timber and mining material from the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  Soon thereafter, with the mass production of gasoline powered engines, trucking began to replace the need for railroads.  The roundhouse, a semi-circular building housing locomotives, a forge, a machine shop are all that remained of the railway company in the gold country town of Jamestown.  A rebuilt depot station was later added to the site.

The site of the old Sierra Railway Company became a State Historical Park in the early 70s and offers steam locomotive rides.  The locomotives themselves are maintained in only one of two roundhouses left in the U.S., the other being in Pennsylvania.  The park is a working museum and the volunteers are all attired accordingly.  We arrived at 9:30 when workmen start taking the locomotive out of the roundhouse.  To tell the truth, I wasn’t that interested in trains and as I walked beside the old red roundhouse and saw the tracks arranged in spoke-like fashion with a turntable set inside a big round pit in the center, like a big old lazy Susan with one set of tracks on it.  It all looked so old, so unassuming.  A couple of workmen moved the turntable around to match up the tracks on it with set of tracks leading to one set of tall wooden doors of the roundhouse.  Inside was a golf cart like rail car that was brought to rest on the turntable which was then turned around, using compressed air power, to face a set of tracks that went out, away from the roundhouse.  A large iron I-shaped, key was used to lock or set the set of tracks on the turntable with the set off the turntable, so that the speeder could  easily roll off the turntable and onto the tracks.  The gas-powered speeder contains a crew that checks the rails among other duties.

A few minutes later another set of doors of the roundhouse open and inside you see a large dark shape making gurgling noises, which is the sound of water starting to boil.  The turntable was moved once again to match up with the tracks leading to the waiting locomotive.  Inside the roundhouse the dark shape is coming to life.  Steam is coming off the stack and is venting through the roof.  A large round light comes on and then the whistle blows, which means the locomotive is ready to move.  This 102 ton behemoth slowly inches out of the roundhouse toward the middle of the yard where the turntable is waiting.  I’m entranced.  I’ve never witnessed anything so….beautiful.  Glistening black with bells ringing, whistle blowing, steam shooting out the top and sides, pistons moving up and down and well-oiled gears rotating like clock-work, move the axles forward.  All I could muster was, Wow!

In a few minutes she was turned around and out on the tracks getting ready to hitch up with the waiting passenger Sierra Railway cars.  Multiple checks and inspections are occurring unnoticed by us visitors.  The fireman is checking his gauges, adjusting the flow rate of water to the boiler and checking the pressure of the oil in the tender which is used to heat the water to make steam power.  The conductor is checking the gears and instruments and the brakemen inspecting the packed bearings on the trucks, the set of wheels under the locomotive and rail cars.  Suddenly a humungous vent of steam is let out the side of the locomotive to remove any particulates that may have settled in the boiler.  A second time shows the awesome power of steam!

As we wait for the locomotive to hitch up to the rail cars, visitors are taking many pictures and walking along the boardwalk of the train depot.  Conductors, firemen, brakemen and other assorted work personnel dressed in overalls, are having a meeting next to the locomotive.  I wander over to the old-fashioned popcorn vender and get a bag of popcorn.  This Saturday morning is warm and beautiful and it not busy.  Families are here with young children and a grandparent or two, all patiently waiting for the ride to start.  We are all thinking ride like an amusement park ride, like it’s just another ride.  How wrong we are.  The all-aboard was yelled out and volunteer Car Hosts welcomed us aboard.  We sat in a passenger car which had bench-style seating and no windows allowing the breeze to keep us cool.  There was passenger seating available in another car with typical upholstered seats, but our passenger car seemed suitable for the ride this morning, and, with a very loud steam whistle we started moving, very slowly.  This locomotive has a top speed of 15 mph, not exactly a thrill ride, yet there was something different about this ride.  The whole experience thus far was like stepping back in time.  Even purchasing the tickets, the woman was dressed in period attire.  I asked for two tickets to Virginia City for which I got some giggles.  I’m not usually prone to spontaneous repartee with strangers, I must have gotten carried away by the experience.  During our ride alongside Wood Creek to the gravel quarry our Car Host, Eugene, was recounting several facts about the railroad, the history, and the landscape.  He did a splendid job even punching our tickets as we started our journey.  On occasion you could smell the burning oil in the air which harkened back to another era.  I found the aroma particularly pleasant.  In the distance, the speeder was following behind the train.  It’s job was to look for fires and then put them out.  This style of locomotive has an open burner which allows for maximum air intake to make the burning of the oil more efficient, but which from time to time, can ignite a small fire on the track.

At the quarry we stop and the locomotive is unhooked and then moved alongside another set of tracks to hook up with our passenger car to pull us back to the station.  As we started our return journey, we noticed something different right from the start.  It was louder!  The whistle and bell and the engine suddenly made this excursion into the thrill ride we weren’t expecting!  The engine didn’t make the usual chug-a-chug sound because this locomotive had three pistons instead of just two, which gives it a smoother, more refined sound.  Each piston controls one axle on the locomotive. The tender, the cab and the boiler are the three main parts of a locomotive with one axle under each.  This gives the locomotive enormous power for its small size allowing it to go up hills with ease.

Well, the thrill got to me and I had to stand and lean out the window with the breeze blowing by.   What an awesome way to travel, I thought.  I was smiling from ear to ear.  I had learned so much about this locomotive in a short amount of time.  I was entranced by the whole experience.  A guided tour of the roundhouse gave us more insight as to the amount of work and volunteer man-hours required to keep these engines in shape and to keep the park functioning.  Al, who has worked every job, except bookkeeping in his 60 years, grew up around the rail yard here in Jamestown, then later got a job at the roundhouse.  He is now a volunteer, donating long hours maintaining these locomotives.  His passion for this railway is evident in the way he delivers the tour of the roundhouse.  He is a living tie to the past, to all the workers who have come and gone these past six decades, he is their witness.  He says that he has been privileged to have worked here, but I say it is we who are privileged to have him give testimony to the men and women that worked these hallowed grounds.  Railtown is, indeed, a living museum.

Our short excursion into the gold country has once again given us so much to ponder and think about.  So much history, the blood and sweat of generations past, are preserved for us to appreciate and emulate as we create our own history.  What will be said about us?

View of the train depot from the passenger car

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6 . 06 . 2010
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Columbia the “Gem Of The Southern Mines”

Gilbert Martinez

June 4, 2010 – Stanislaus Scenic Drive

Friday morning we once again attended Mass at St. Patrick’s and stayed for Eucharistic Adoration until about 9:30 or so then we went to Outlaws again for breakfast.  This time I did try the Big Gooey Mess which was a hollowed out bread bowl filled with meat and sausage gravy and topped with eggs and cheese.  It was big and gooey more than I could, nay, wanted to eat.  Again, feeling like we’ve had a famer’s breakfast without a farm to tend, we decided on a nice drive rather than a bike ride.  We’d eat lite the rest of the day, I thought.

Our first stop was to Railtown, but we’d gotten there just before lunch and we’d have to wait an hour and a half for train ride and tour.  We decided not to wait and we would return early tomorrow, we were told, to watch them bring out the locomotive.  Sounds interesting.  So next on our agenda was one of our scenic drives that usually involves lots of dirt roads and a lot of arguing about which way to turn.  We drove out to route 108 through the historic town of Jamestown with the typical Western style storefronts and quaint shops loaded with souvenirs and knickknacks for the typical tourists.  No need to stop, but I did at least want to drive through town to see if there was anything different or unique.  From Jamestown we head east toward the alpine hamlet of Twain Harte, which I’ve heard of from time to time.  It was only 14 miles east of Sonora and I had chosen our return route via Google maps so that we would take a nice winding route through the Sierra foothills back to Columbia approaching it from the east.  The scenery along Big Hill Road did not disappoint.  Through openings in the oak and pine forest, we could see the Stanislaus National Forest and the local hills carpeted in green and a blue reservoir in the distance.  Opposite the foothills we caught glimpses of the eastern slope of the central valley as it met the rolling foothills.  From Big Hill Road we caught Yankee Hill Road, but a mile or two on I notice we are going uphill and we are going North.  A quick turn around and we’re back on track as we drive by Marble  Quarry and into Columbia State Park.  No dirt roads but we did make a total of three wrong turns.  All the more reason to zoom in at critical intersections if using Google maps since rural road signs aren’t all that well marked.  I think it’s done on purpose to keep the tourists out, I mean if I lived there, I wouldn’t want everyone driving by. 

Back in Columbia, we visit St. Anne Catholic Church which is a beautiful brick structure that was built during the gold rush era and is now only used on special occasions.  The cemetery is very interesting with dates going back to the 1800s and with people buried there as recently as 2007.  A peek into one of the tall gothic windows, I saw the communion rail intact, yet the alter had been converted for show rather than worship, but alas, this is the time we live in.

Back at camp, we get ready for a cookout and entertainment put on by the 49er RV Park.  They got hot dogs, chili and chips and iced tea and lemonade ready for dinner and a folk musician on guitar singing good campfires songs as well as some old country classics, from Your Cheatin’ Heart to Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette.  They got an array of percussion instruments to pass out to all of us from two sticks, to a maraca,  to a washboard.  They even got a gut bucket with at least two old guys that sound pretty good to me.  A campfire in the middle with marshmallows for roasting.  We all had a great time.  One of the old guys named Roger really got down with that gut bucket, leanin’ that pole back then forward again creating a nice bass sound.  It was his first time playing!  It wasn’t that complicated, a pole with a line attached to the back of a tin wash bucket.  At one point after the song had ended, old Roger was a hankerin’ for more and started the next song on his own, plucking that old gut bucket like a pro shouting out, “You get the line, I’ll get pole, we’ll meet up at the crawdad hole…”  It was hilarious.  I had to look up that song on iTunes and download a nice version by Doc Watson.  Later he brought out what is called a Q Chord soundcard guitar which he taught himself to play with extraordinary flair.  He played “How Great Thou Art” with such emotion, it was beautiful and old Roger, near tears.  Says he takes it out and plays it when he gets lonely.  Old folks, you gotta love ‘em.   Each one of them has a unique story to tell.  The Giants ballgame beckons us from the comfort of our motorhome.   Picnic benches are fine for a while, but we were ready to retire for the evening.  Strawberry ice cream and baseball, what more could we want?

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6 . 06 . 2010
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Columbia, the “Gem of the Southern Mines”

Gilbert Martinez

 Coumbia Historical State Park – June 3, 2010

Our first adventure of 2010 brings us once again to the gold country, not only because of its proximity but also because of a hitherto unexplored, “Gem of the Southern Mines,” known as Columbia.  Situated just north of the small foothills town of Sonora, Columbia is a living historical park which has been restored to its original appearance during the heyday of the California gold rush.  Even more exciting was that we would be visiting during the Columbia Diggin’s Tent Town event a replica of the early days of the gold rush with people dressed in period costume and performing many of the functions of the tent town that we would expect to see in the early 1850s.

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon after about two and a half hours of driving across California from west to east.  The 49er RV Ranch is a rustic park with many long-term residents and with various outbuildings including a barn clubhouse.  It’s way hotter than we thought it would be, but then we don’t usually vacation in June.  It’s actually cooler for this time of years which works for us, still, we can’t wait to get hooked up and get the air conditioning started.  An older gentlemen cowboy named Bill, which I presume is the owner, welcomes us to the 49er ranch and tells us of the forthcoming events this week as we “untie our tag,” as he puts it.  No need to check in right away he says, ‘til we’re settled in and comfortable.  He tells us of the Diggin’s event which starts on Thursday, where they’ll have peopled dressed up in period costume, gambling for real money, saloons serving beer, and, he grabs my arm and leans in close, “they’ll have dancin’ girls, too!”  Well that old guy just made it all worthwhile.  We chose well.

The next day after morning Mass at St. Patrick’s church we got a hankerin’ for breakfast and started rubberneckin’ up then down route 49, the same route 49 from our previous trip to Gold Country two years ago in Coloma.  A window sign with Sunrise Breakfast, $4.99, caught our eyes and we made a neck breaking, swerving u-turn in front of oncoming traffic and landed right in front of the Outlaws BBQ and Steakhouse.  Inside was a typical diner, with country décor, our favorite kind of place and grub.  Homemade French toast and biscuits, country gravy and a breakfast entrée in the menu called, A Big Gooey Mess, caught my eye.  Breakfast was exactly what we wanted, cowboy coffee, eggs over easy, country taters, biscuits and gravy, sausage, French toast and maple syrup.  Mmmm, mmmm!  A breakfast like this, you’d think we’d be ready to continue plowing the back forty, but we’d settle on a bike ride instead.

A bike ride sound nice, it’s not far from the 49er RV Ranch to Columbia, though it’s been six months since I rode it last at our trip to Lassen.  Actually I had only ridden it around the RV park, if that counts.  Columbia historical state park is only about one quarter mile down the road, and by down I mean downhill as well as in a southerly direction.  Let’s just say I couldn’t find the right gear for “coasting really fast” all the while trying to hold on to the handle bars, clicking away at any gear that might help, and avoiding really big cracks on edge of the roadway.  And what is up with these seats?  I have pain receptors going off I didn’t know I had.  I guess we now know how the return trip is going to end up.  So three nerve-wrecking minutes later, we arrive at Pacific Street the northern outskirts of town.  From here, it’s a nice sojourn through to the southeast portion of Columbia where the tent town is situated.

The tent town is actually pretty impressive.  It’s more than just tents.  There are permanent buildings with wood plank floors, wood frame walls, rafters and a roof.  These structures are covered in aged white canvass.  Other structures have simple wood frames and canvass covering and still others, like the gambling tent, were the typical A-frame tents with dirt floors and the front flaps thrown open to reveal typical living quarters for those with means to purchase the most basic of supplies.  At the entrance we were able to convert dollars to golden eagle coins with which we could purchase a cool drink such as Sarsaparilla, candy, specialty syrups, cookies or ice cream.  I supposed at this point I should mention that the park was  overrun with 4th graders from all over  California.  They and their parents and teachers were all very organized and orderly, many of them had purchased period hats, parasols and fans and fit in to atmosphere that was created for the weekend.

There was an actual iron forge and a working bakery with a wood burning hearth oven on the outside which was actually making small round bread loaves and offering free samples of wheat bread and honey wheat bread using old fashioned bread knives to cut the slices.  There was even a boy dressed up pushing a wheel cart filled with supplies he was delivering to some of the artisans and a Chinese worker dressed in typical attire with a beanie hat and ponytail and was speaking in Pidgin English.  There was a semi-working placer mining demonstration with working sluices or series of troughs directing water to where they were washing locally dug soil and gravel, looking for gold and giving the students and opportunity to dig and look for gold.  The excess water ran right through the tent town along a ditch which had several wood planks offering a dry crossing from one side of the town to the other.  It was all very well done and the volunteers were extraordinarily in character and very pleasant.  There was a saloon, a tent shop with a collection of firearms from that time, a place that sold fresh eggs with real chickens in a coup and even a stagecoach drawn by four horses that gave rides from Main Street in the town of Columbia to the tent town just on the edge of town.   We kind of felt out of place in shorts, t-shirt and Oakley’s given the great efforts put on by the town folk, but we were left with the sense of what life was like during the height of the gold rush, which not only filled the coffers of the federal government, but also created livelihoods for a diversity of people that came from all over the world to seek their fortune.  They created outposts of civilization in the wilderness which now can be thoroughly investigated, re-lived and enjoyed.

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4 . 06 . 2010
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The Pacific Coast Redwoods

Gilbert Martinez

The Ladybird Johnson Grove and Fern Canyon – September 9, 2008

 

Today we decided on visiting those sites we didn’t have time to see yesterday.  So after breakfast and waiting for the sun to come out, it’s back north, to Orick to the Kuchel Visitor Center which sits right on the beach overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  It’s a grey day and the fog is starting to burn away, but the beach isn’t why we’re here, so, after a few more souvenirs, we head inland to the Ladybird Johnson Grove.  The parking is some walking distance from the lot, but well worth the short hike.   Beautiful redwood giants are preserved in this grove and even with all the photographs taken, none can really do justice to their majesty.  We spend a good two hours walking through the redwood forest shrouded in a vapory mist with fingers of sunlight penetrating the canopy, caressing the massive tree trunks and lightly touching the undergrowth.

 

After our meditative saunter through the redwoods, we decided to head west to the coast along Davidson Road to the southern-most section of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park to the trailhead to Fern Canyon, a deep cleft in the ocean-side bluff where a temperate rainforest exists in miniature.  The steep walls are lined with a drapery of bright green ferns and trees provide shade.  A stream meanders through the canyon floor as logs provide a minor obstacle.  We go into the canyon as far as we can before it starts to get more difficult and as it starts to narrow and the canyon floor rises.  On the way back, I notice a couple of really cool dragonflies, one repeatedly trying to carry another of the same species.  Both are colored a beautiful turquoise blue and now it appears that one has been weakened, perhaps waterlogged in the shallow stream and the other is trying to prey on it.  So I decide to interfere, doing the unnatural rather than the amoral.  I take a stick and “save” the one being attacked and set it on a log.  It immediately starts to buzz its wings as if to dry them.  At least now, if it is attacked after we leave, it’ll be more of a fair fight.  I know that’s not how nature works, but that’s how people work and what sets us apart from animals.

 

Back on the road we stop at the Palm Café once more for some coffee and pie.  After another delightful morsel, it’s getting late in the afternoon, but we still have a couple of hours before heading back to the motorhome.   We decide to visit Patrick’s Point State Park and hit the visitors center first then to their major exhibit, the Yurok Village of Sumêg, a newly constructed site built by local Yurok people and park staff.  Three typical houses are partially buried into the grassy knoll, while a dance pit and a redwood log canoe offer an interpretation of Yurok and regional native culture.  The rocky coast of the state park offers some spectacular views and recreational opportunities, but not for us; at least not right now.   It now close to 4 pm and we still want to visit Trinidad State Park, but that will have to wait as we make a quick stop along highway 101 to view a herd of elk just a little ways away.  Other cars stop and people are scrambling down a ravine to get better look and to take pictures.  After observing these beautiful animals, we get back to the car and continue south to Trinidad and to the state park.  By this time, the only thing to do is take the road out onto the bluffs and view the ocean and a large pair of birds, osprey or eagles perhaps, gracing the evening sky amid large alder trees.  A fine end to an incredible day and another adventure.

 

Lady Bird Johnson Grove - Redwoods National Park

 

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10 . 05 . 2009
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The Pacific Coast Redwoods

Gilbert Martinez

The Redwoods National and State Parks – September 8, 2008

 

Today was a great day, we said as we made our way back to the motor home after stopping for pie at the Palm Café in Orick.  Homemade pies made by Mrs. Martha Peal, owner of the Palm Motel & Café on the Redwood Highway.  We started our day at the Palm Café, each with a Redwood Country breakfast of biscuits and gravy, eggs over easy, golden hash browns and a slab of ham for me and some bacon for Lou.  Coffee was good, too.  Best home cooked breakfast that rated right up with the breakfast we had enjoyed at the OK Café in Tombstone, Arizona some six years ago or so.  We noticed the pies and inquired about them.  Soon as we found out they were hand made by Martha, we promised we’d stop by on our way back.

 

Our first stop was at the Redwood information center in Hiouchi, just east of Crescent City on Highway 199.  I had planned our scenic drive route the night before and I wanted to make sure the roads were still open and if there were any “must see” stops along the way.  Good thing, too, because we found out about the Stout Grove on the scenic Howland Hill road. that meanders through the Jedediah Smith Redwoods state park.  It was the perfect highlight of our tour.  The drive through these giants was magnificent and the 0.5 loop trail through the Stout Grove was unlike any other redwood grove we had ever visited.  This was called a first growth forest, one that is still growing and the trees are gigantic!  The understory is mainly sword-ferns and some other brush and is kept neat and clean by the regular flooding of the nearby Klamath River.  The rangers at the Jedediah state park visitors center, located in the campground across from the Redwood information center mentioned a bridge on the river that connects the Stout grove with the campground and the beautiful views from the bridge.  They weren’t kidding.  By the time we got there, one of the rangers, Patricia, was already on the bridge and gave us another tip of some otters that were seen up the nearby creek.  So we diverge further from our original trail and wander up the rocky shore of this creek.  I at least have my hiking boots on.  Lou on the other hand is wearing his usual sandals.   I have no problem crossing a downed log across the rushing water of the creek.  Lou avoids a near miss as his sandal loses traction, shredding the side of the log, but regains his balance to make it across safely.  All for not.  No otters could be seen and we didn’t feel like going any further.  We still had to backtrack to the main river and back up to the Stout Grove loop trail. 

 

Howland Hill road continues through more pristine redwood forest and at times narrows and winds between the trunks of massive coast redwoods.  What a delight!  The sunshine streamed down through the canopy to highlight the forest floor and ravines where more giants shot up to the sky.  Soon this impressive display gives way to an ordinary conifer forest as the road leaves the Jedediah redwoods and we make our way back to Highway 101, just south of Crescent City.  Back along the coast, the fog kept the temperatures about 10 degrees lower and made stopping at any of the vista points or scenic overlooks rather pointless.  Continuing our return south on 101, we again drive through the Del Norte Redwoods state park.  Back in the town of Klamath we notice many RV parks on both sides of the highway, the ones overlooking the Klamath River seemed nice with tremendous views, especially the Golden Bear and Klamath River RV parks.  The stay in Trinidad was obviously too far from all the redwood parks.  Klamath would have  been a better locale to start off from.

 

Our last leg of our scenic drive tour went through the Prairie Creek Redwoods state park along Newman B. Drury Parkway.  This is a well-paved two lane road that traverses the heart of another strand of gigantic redwoods and we travel south to the visitors center for yet more souvenirs and information.  We find where the best places to see the Roosevelt Elk, second in size after the Moose.  We had seen a “bagged” elk with an 8-point rack in the back of a pick-up back in Trinidad this morning and took a quick picture of it while it was parked across from the gas station we were at.  Beautiful animals!  Living is better, or course, but the day was getting late and the drive out to the coast through open meadowland to Fern Valley, another loop trail, was to be saved until tomorrow. 

 

Continuing on toward Orick, we notice cars stopped at the side of the highway and people taking pictures of a bull elk in the front yard of someone’s house.  Not wanting to trespass, we stay by the road and take our pictures as the elk lays down to rest under a tree, then scratches his backside ever so delicately with his massive rack.  How cool!  Further down the road, same thing. People on the side of the road, only this time it’s a herd of about 25 does, fawns and youths.  One young buck already has a 5-point rack.  Seems kind of small to be his harem.  They’re browsing on a gravel bar on the Redwood Creek just on the northern outskirts of the town of Orick.  They’re sighting just made our day and we celebrate in town with a piece of pie and milk at the Palm Café.  It may be dinner time, but life is uncertain, so we have a dessert first.

 

21 miles more to the south and we’re back in Trinidad at our motor home to find more RVs have arrived.  We did notice more RVs on the road today than we have on any other day since we started this latest adventure a week ago.  This coastal area must be very popular with us “trailerites”.  Our neighbors in the Itasca Sun Cruiser left on Sunday and we got new neighbors this evening.  Emerald Forest has excellent cable and we’ve been able to catch up with the SF 49ers and Giants and we settled in for the night with another Giants game and some beef stroganoff courtesy of the Helping Hand.

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18 . 09 . 2008
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