Coarsegold and Yosemite

We've moved on to Coarsegold, California, about 30 miles north of Fresno and 30 miles south of Yosemite National Park. Our reason to be here was to visit Yosemite. We could have stayed closer, but we were attracted by the Escapees RV park here, called Park of the Sierras, or POS for short.

A view of Park of the Sierras

This is the 12th Escapees park that we've visited. Each one has it's own flavor, and POS is no exception. Like its sister park called Jojoba Hills in southern California, near Temecula, it was built from scratch as a coop under the Escapees umbrella. Also like Jojoba Hills, POS is built in the rolling foothills so common in California. The RV sites are scattered around the rolling humps and bumps. Going for a walk here turns into real exercise as no street is level. One advantage to this is that most sites have a view of something.

Likewise with Escapees parks, POS is run by a minimal paid staff of only 2. The bulk of the maintenance is handled by volunteers in the park, who do everything from replacing 4" gate valves in the water lines to repaving the interior roads. This keeps the costs associated with the park at a minimum.

Pothole rocks in Coarsegold Creek in POS

A constant challenge for the crew is keeping brush under control. Considerable effort has been paid to fire prevention and protection. There is a 100 foot fire break around the outside perimeter. In some areas, the park has obtained permission from adjacent landowners to remove brush next to the park fences. In the interior, the bulk of the greenery is live oak and manzanita. The manzanita contains oil which makes these beautiful bushes highly flammable. All of them are carefully pruned.

As a coop, the 250 sites are all owned by Escapee members. About 15 sites per year are being resold by members, against a waiting list of 75 who would like to buy them. If a member leaves for an extended period, they can make their site available for rental. Enough members are usually out to make space for travelers like us who only want to stay a few days.

The Gateway into Yosemite

On Monday, we tripped up to Yosemite. We got an early start for us, leaving POS at around 9:30. The signs said that Yosemite was only 22 miles from here. They failed to say that the valley itself was another 30 miles after the entrance, and that the roads were hilly, windy, curvy roads that kept maximum speed at 35 and average speed much lower. It took us 2 hours to get to the Gateway.

Yosemite is indeed a magnificent piece of land. The valley floor is a meadow surrounding the Merced River, the valley walls curve up to the base of 4000' cliffs rising nearly vertical from the floor. The landmark cliffs have names, such as El Capitan, Two Brothers and Half Dome. Spectacular waterfalls drop thousands of feet into the valley from above. Even though the dry summer conditions sometime stop the falls altogether, we were lucky to see some falling water.

Bridal Veil Falls in Yosemite

We stopped for lunch at the deli in Yosemite Village, in the heart of the park. It was expensive, as we expected, and since we were nearly into winter, many other places that cater to the summer visitors were closed. I stopped in the visitor center, and also checked out the Ansel Adams Gallery next door. Adams made many wonderful photos of Yosemite, as well as other California sites. A few Adams prints were on sale for $18,500 each. I only had $18,000 in my pockets, so I had to pass. But they were beautiful and inspiring.

When we left, we exited through the western side of the park, as Consuelo had requested yarn to be sent to El Portal, a tiny blip on the map just outside the park entrance. Following the river down the hills was a beautiful trip, too, not quite as spectacular as the core of the park. We made our way to Mariposa, then turned east and found our way back to Coarsegold.

It's getting chilly here, though, up at our 1700 foot elevation, and we had enough warmth in Petaluma to want lots more. As soon as our mail arrives, we'll move on south.

More images of Yosemite can be viewed in my gallery.

Warmth!

We're parked in Petaluma, California for a few days, and it reached 80 degrees here yesterday. We haven't seen such warmth since we were in Fairbanks in June. It's a pleasant change from the cool fall weather, often rainy, that we've had over the last few months.

Coastal Redwoods, the tallest trees on earth

We had planned to stop at Mount Rainier and Crater Lake National Parks as we left the Northwest. But it was raining in Yakima, our jumping off point, and there was no relief in the forecast. So we hustled out of the area. Snow was reported after we left in the mountainous areas.

Our next planned stop was Redwood National Park in northern California, between Crescent City and Orick. We found an RV park in Klamath, CA, and settled in for a few days. The first day was sunny and clear, unusual for that area. A significant percentage of the water consumed by the redwoods comes in the form of fog, much more common. I got out to the Pacific Coast and took some pictures of the rugged, rocky shore and the incredible surf pounding the rocks. A surprising discovery was on old WWII radar station hugging the coast. My imagination created a vision of a big dish pointing out over the ocean. The actual site was far less dramatic. It was constructed to appear as a farm along the shore, a small farmhouse and barn like structure, quite innocuous in appearance. Up close, it was obvious that both buildings were constructed of cement block, covered with wood and cedar shingles on the roof. I guess it was successful, since it's still there.

Mahlon and Thumper on the pier

The second day of our stay, rain did arrive, and we used the weather to trip into Crescent City to see the National Park Visitor Center and check out the town. The Visitor Center was small, but informative. They suggested a several places in town to visit, which we did. One was the coastal scenic drive, another great view of the rocky California shoreline. We were surprised that the real estate along the shore was fairly modest, compared to coastal homes most anywhere else in the country. I would have loved to be at some of the scenic viewpoints here on a clear day with the sun going dow. I'm sure the sunset would have been spectacular.

Battery Point Lighthouse

We walked the city pier, which gave great views of Battery Point Lighthouse, a very picturesque structure at the end of town. The breakwater provided storage for dozens of cement beach blockade anchors, likely left from WWII. On this rainy day, the foghorn and bell buoys warned mariners, but got on our nerves after a while.

The final attraction in Crescent City was the seal dock, where we did indeed find a dozen harbor seals resting their hulks and barking at each other.

Seals in Crescent City

The next day I tripped into the National Park. The sun was out, but the fog was thick. I have always been amazed by the magnificent redwoods, huge trees towering over anything else in the forest. 5 of the 10 tallest trees in the world are in this park, and many huge specimens are along the road, some so close that vehicles have hit them, or they are growing into guard rails. Walking a short distance from the road, groves of these huge trees can be seen growing together. Often they are shoots from an older central tree which has died and disappeared, absorbed back into the forest. Four foot diameter limbs high in the canopy collect airborne soil, and plant life takes up residence high off the forest floor.

The forest floor is equally interesting. Ferns cover much of the forest floor, one of the few plants that can thrive in the near permanent shade provided by the giants.

RV in the fog

Later that day we pulled up camp and traveled the length of the Newton B. Drury Scenic Highway which travels through the heart of the park. Every inch of this trip revealed magnificent views of the forest, until we reached the Elk Prairie at the south end of the road. A large herd of Roosevelt Elk roam this area, but our travel at mid-day was the least likely to reveal them, and we did not see any.

Rejoining US 101, we continued south to the Orick Visitors Center, which is right on the coast, but the fog was too thick for us to glimpse the ocean in this location. We did stop in and chat with the rangers, and took in the 12 minute movie about the park.

We continued south through Eureka, entered the Humboldt State Park, another glorious redwood forest. Some section of 101 are 4 lane California freeway, but small chunks meander through the big trees in narrow two lane stretches. More glorious scenery.

We stopped overnight in Redcrest, staying in Redcrest Resort, a facility which disrespects its name. The sites were goofy, utilities strange, wifi not working, staff unhelpful. One of the low lights of our trip. The next day we traveled here to Petaluma, and found a nice place to stay at the Elks Lodge, which has one of the best RV facilities we've seen at an Elks Club... 18 full hookup RV sites, and it was full when we arrived. We stayed one night in the parking lot without hookups.

The weather here is gorgeous. I'm planning to take advantage of it to get some good pictures in Point Reyes National Seashore.