Trex is always on vacation!

[Trex]

That's right folks... Even at home, I am on vacation The key is to have a KOA "like" parking area for your RV. In my case...it's a 40 year old Airstream, firepit, veg garden, Cabana, and swimming pool. Life is much to short, to park your RV in some storage area, (miles from your house), or next to the house without hook-ups!

If you have a nice place to park your RV, or have "cool" vacation pics....PLEASE! Feel free to post here. I would love to see where other people are traveling to, and also, post interesting ideas for "using" your RV when it's parked at home. Don't worry, I don't work for the planning department.... PS, I have no CCR's where I live.

Coming at you live, from Cabana central...



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[Trex]

One of the many fun things to do in the greater Northern California area is to go for a "Ride About" with friends. On this trip, Kirk, Bob, and I went on a 250 mile round trip, scouting places to camp. On the Shasta-Trinity, and Klamath National Forests.

Our first stop was at Railroad Park, 20 min. south of Mt. Shasta City on I-5. The RR park has a nice RV park... with really cool motel rooms in old Railroad cars, plus they have a great Bar & Restaurant. All within walking distance of each other. It also sports a great view of Castle Crags wilderness, plus there is camping at the Castle Crags State park....mostly tent site, no hook-ups, (one exit south of RR park exit).

Next stop was at Kangaroo Lake in Siskiyou county, this is a "High Alpine lake" with a campground that is 100% handicap friendly...concrete walkways go to all of the campsites, swmming area, and a fishing deck. This is US Forest Service campground on the Klamath National Forest.

Stop number 3, was at the Historical town of Callahan...the new owners are restoring the old hotel and Bar. This little town is mentioned as a stage stop, in a Louis L'amour's book about a cowboy who races a streamboat from SF to Portland, (I forgot the name of the novel...sorry). The town was built during the 1850 gold rush days.

RR park, Castle Crags, Klamath National Forest, and the town of Callahan all have web sites if you're interested in more information....google!

To be continued.....
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[Sarah in SC]

Our 1976 Airstream Argosy stays set up by the house as extra sleeping space when we have guests. It is a special favorite of those with allergies, as the house is chock-full of cats and dogs. But your pictures are of a way better setup than ours! And I love that outdoor shower--we had one when we lived at the beach and it was awesome!

 

[KingB]

Is that a totem pole that holds the shower? Nice setup.

 

[REWahoo]

Is that a totem pole that holds the shower? Nice setup.

I have a shower in my RV for people, but not one outside - for the RV! Cool...

 

[Purron]

Love the attitude. The Dude Abides!

 

[Trex]

Is that a totem pole that holds the shower? Nice setup.

Mr. King...

The outside shower was a power pole...when The Bunny and I had the pool built, the power company moved there line over to the property line.

I cut the pole down in height, and wrapped the pole with copper tubbing. The following year, Wino Wayne gave me the bird house, because he owned me some money from a fence project he didn't finish at my place.

The water runs up thru the copper tubbing, then back down to the "hot water" side of the plumping. Works pretty good, and gets used more than the swimming pool. I think I have approx. $500 invested in the outside shower, and $50,000 in the pool! Next time I think I will just build the shower.

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[Trex]

The "Ride about" continues...

The "Ride about" continues...​

After leaving Callahan, we continued our day trip, up and over Hwy 3... than down the other side of Scott Mt. to Trinity Lake. We stopped at two of the overlooks on Trinity Lake. Than past Trinity dam, to Lewiston Lake. There we rode past Lewiston RV park, which is across the street from the only marina on the lake.​

We made another stop on Lewiston Lake at Copper's Gulch campground, which is considered one of the most scenic campgrounds in Northern Calif. Based on Moon's campground guide for California. I like this campground because there are only 5 sites, and all have a great view of the lake and incredible sunsets.​

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[Trex]

Our last stop was at Lewiston Hotel...another Historical mining town. A nice place to get a cold beer on a hot afternoon.

Once we left there, it was only a 45 min. ride past Whiskeytown National Park... than back to Shasta Lake City on Hwy 299 east. It was a great loop ride... the following week most of our friends went back to Lewiston Lake for a weekend of beer drinking, fishing, and camping. We went to Feather Falls Casino that same weekend, and are going back this weekend in about 30 min. You all have a nice weekend my new friends.

 

[grasshopper]

I have a great story that involves, me a 1960 Chevy Bel Air, Trinity Wilderness, a logging truck and a 1948 Ford boom/tow/flatbed truck, and a fellow friendly Hippie. The year 1970...........................

 

[Trex]

We just got back from Feather Falls Casino KOA in Oroville CA....approx 2 hours south of Shasta Lake City. We were down there 6 weeks ago and The Bunny won $1,000 at one of there hourly drawings.

The Bunny wins again!!!! This time she won $5,000 during the 10 PM drawing, Saturday night. She had 18 tickets in the bin, out of 350,000 tickets total! I was sitting at the poker table when they called her name. I couldn't believe that she won another drawing...

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We had a great time, but Indian Mike got cut off early, for being too LOUD in the Brew pub bar at the Casino. Now that he sold his Indian Motorcycle, I think his new nickname should be "Tourettes Mike"...

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[travelover]

I have a great story that involves, me a 1960 Chevy Bel Air, Trinity Wilderness, a logging truck and a 1948 Ford boom/tow/flatbed truck, and a fellow friendly Hippie. The year 1970...........................

OK, the popcorn is popped and we have all gathered around the campfire........

 

[Trex]

I have a great story that involves, me a 1960 Chevy Bel Air, Trinity Wilderness, a logging truck and a 1948 Ford boom/tow/flatbed truck, and a fellow friendly Hippie. The year 1970...........................

Well??

 

[Trex]

The Weather was great on Saturday afternoon at Feather Falls KOA, I took the dogs for a couple of walks, used the hot tub for an hour or so, and went for a bicycle ride... love the new redwood bark teepee some of the High School kids from the tribe built.

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[Trex]

Later in the Afternoon, Indian Mike & Chirs came over from the Casino Hotel to the KOA for dinner. I BBQ'ed steaks, and The Bunny made roasted brussel sprouts. Also, The Bunny had a birthday cake for Chirs's Double Nickel birthday dinner party. After dinner, we all went over to the casino....and the rest is history! Bunny wins more money, and Indian Mike gets cut off.​

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[Purron]

You have some fun friends Dude Give my best to The Bunny!

 

[Trex]

The Bunny sent the following photos to me, from her Android phone. The Jimmy Buffet cover band Friday night was really good, and the venue at the Feather Falls Brew Pub is a great place to listen to live music.

The other two pics are of a local bar in downtown Oroville... we didn't go in. But, I thought it was an interesting contrast between the 10 million dollar remodel at the casino, and oldtown Oroville.

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[Sarah in SC]

Great pictures and looks like tons of fun! Thanks for sharing.
And we're still waiting for that story, Grasshopper!

 

[Trex]

Looking at some of the profiles here on this forum....I noticed that many of you love to "Go for Hikes". So, sit back and enjoy this hike to Castle Crags, (CC), State Park and CC's Wilderness in Northern California, between Shasta Lake City and Mt. Shasta City, off of Interstate 5.

Last month, The Bunny was in LA visiting her dad, so I went for a day hike to Castle Crags State Park...this is one of the state parks that our new/old govenor, (Jerry Brown), is planning to close down. That would be the campground section only, Castle Crags "proper" is in the Shasta Trinity National Forest, so one could still hike the Crags. More information on the closure later.

Some pics that I snapped today....
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[REWahoo]

Looking at some of the profiles here on this forum....I noticed that many of you love to "Go for Hikes"....

I think you might be confusing this with the bio of the Playmate of the Month...

 

[Trex]

Here's more pics of my hike to Castle Crags, and one photo of a typical campsite in the campground. As I was saying...the campground is slated to be closed next year. Not sure what they are going to do about access to the trailhead to the Crags.


The campground was built in the 60's? And it has that "old school" look, with mostly tent sites,(no hook-ups or power). Max size for RV/trailers is 27', and I didn't see very many "large" sites, when I rode thru the campground.


The 1 mile road... leading from the campground to the trailhead does not allow RV's, so if you're in a motorhome without a tow vehicle, you're going to have a long walk to the trailhead, (I would hitch a ride myself)

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Just like our Interstate Freeway system in California, the Castle Crags trail system is in need of some maintenance. The brush is starting to close in on the trail along the last 1/4 mile to the "Dome Proper", and many snags need to be fell, before they fall on a visitor, or across the trail.

Castle Crags is a national Treasure...and should be treated that way. I knew that I was walking through a very special place when I was there.

The lower 2/3's of the trail is a mixed conifer forest, with some black oaks, and big leaf mable. Once you get on the trail, you can smell the Port Orford Cedars, Which gives you a glue, that you're walking though one of the most diverse Conifer Forests in California, with 27+ different types of conifers growing between the Cascade, Sierra, and the Costal Mountain ranges...can you say convergents!

Old fire scars on the Doug Firs, Cedars, and Pondrose Pines gives you even more glues.. on how this forest was shaped into what you see today. There are signs of many low intensity wildfires & control burns from the past, (last 200 years). Most of the fire activity was caused by lightning, and/or Native Amercans, burning the understory to improve the acorn production.

The top 1/3 of the trail show "signs" of more "high intensity" wildfire in the past. Large Ponderose Pines are the dominant vegetation left on the landscape, with patches of young White Fir, Cedar, and manzanita covering the understory. Add to that, many large dead and down logs mixed within the understory. This part of the Forest is in it's "Final stage of Succession", showcasing 500 year old Ponderosa Pines....priceless!

If you have a "Bucket List", you need to put the Castle Crags day hike, on it, before they close this incredible place...PS write your State Rep and ask them to save Castle Crags from the cut list!!!!!
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[Trex]

The hike into Castle Crags takes approx. 5 hours round trip...but if you're going to hike any of the side trails, plan on spending 8 to 10 hours in the wilderness.

There's a gas station that makes a great deli sandwich, and carries 50 different types of beer... just outside the State Park entrance. So, get a sandwich and a couple of beers...and make a day of it! PS, you may want to take some water with also.

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[Trex]

This coming weekend The Bunny and I are going to Jackson Casino, (3.5 hours south of Shasta Lake), for our first Airstream Rally. We have never been there, so we're both very excited about camping and meeting other Airstream owners....

 

[Trex]

I wish I had other retirement issues to talk about...but my incoming money is paying all the bills that I have, so I don't have anything to share.

But I did go on a great "Ride About" two weeks ago to Lassen National Park on 9-23-2011...

Today, it was 103 degrees in Shasta Lake City, (SLC), so I went for a motorcycle ride to the high county... First stop was Shingletown KOA 40 miles east of SLC on Hwy 44. I have been wanting to stay here because it's only 14 miles outside Lassen National Park.

The campground is very nice and clean, set in the tall pines & cedars, (approx. 5,000 foot level). The pull-thru's cost $42, cabins are $68, and tent sites are $18. The restrooms are clean with three shower units in each side...the pool was closed for the season.

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[Trex]

My next stop was the Museum and campground at Manzanita lake in Lassen National Park. The campground costs $18 per night...all dry sites/no power, with a dump station located on the way out.

I did notice one Airstream parked in the campground...nobody around. The campground is located next to Manznita lake with a boat ramp and small campground store within walking distance. I noticed lots of campers with lake kayaks...looks like a great place to paddle and fish, max trailer size is 31'.

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