Hearst Castle,Solvang,Morro Bay

We have been busy here at Avila/Pismo Beach KOA. I have been painting the Men’s Bath House along with doing my regular duties of pool cleaning and garbage patrol among other things. Victoria has been hard at work keeping our guest happy in the office while taking reservations and fielding phone calls.

The weather has been a bit on the nasty side. We have been getting a lot of rain and the temperatures have been a bit colder than we would like. We really can’t complain though, temps in the 50’s and 60’s are better than a lot of the country is having.

Hearst Castle

On our days off we have been lucky and the weather has been cooperative on at least one of our two days off a week. We have been venturing out to see the local sights on those days. On one of our trips we went to The Hearst Castel. It is one of the homes of the late William Randolph Hearst. The estate is now owned by the state of California and open to the public (for an admission fee).

 This is a spectacular place set high on a hill overlooking the coast. We took a shuttle bus 5 miles up the hill side. We toured the main house which consisted of a walkthrough of several of the 150 or so rooms. After that we explored the grounds which included two way over the top swimming pools. There are also several guest houses were guests such as Winston Churchill and Charlie Chaplin stayed. Victoria really enjoyed the gardens that offer all types of flora and a verity of fruit trees.

Back at the visitors center we watched a movie about the castle and then headed down to the coast. We stopped in a local little restaurant that has been there forever. It is called Sebastian’s and we had one of the best burgers I have ever had. Trust me; I have had a lot of burgers. And for six buck you can’t go wrong.

We ended the day with a great west coast sunset.

Solvang

While at Hearst Castle we saw some advertising for the town of Solvang. It is only about an hour away from us so we decided to check it out. It is a little community that was established by the Dutch. The whole town is built to resemble a town back in the old country. It is mostly shops of all types and restaurants.

Victoria and I walked the streets and enjoyed the architecture. Victoria checked out several shops while eyed all of the treats in the bakeries and candy shops that seemed to be at every third or fourth door. We settled on a bakery to have a cup of coffee and a local bake good before heading home.

Morro Bay

Morro Bay is a seaside town that we passed by on our way to Herst Castle. It is hard to miss due to the Morro Rock that is a huge chuck of land that towers over the town and appears to rise right out of the ocean. It is actual attached to the mainland and there is a road out to the rock.

We really enjoyed Morro. The bay is lined with shops and restaurants and there is a walk way that is built right over the front of the shops that wined along the bay front. We walked the boardwalk stopping every so often to enjoy the views of the dozens of boats moored in the harbor.

As we walked we could hear the barking of Sea Lions and we followed the ruckus to discover three of the sea dogs begging for treats as a local fishing boat off loaded its catch of Anchovies. We stood and watched the show for a good half hour or so. One of the best things about our lifestyle for both of us is seeing all the different wild life of the areas we visit.

We wondered down the walkway saying hello to all the dogs (and there people) we met along the way. At the end of the walkway was a harbor side park with a sidewalk that completed this very enjoyable stroll.

We hoped back in the truck and drove out to the rock. It creates one side of the inlet to Morro Bay. We stopped and watched several surfers catching waves on the ocean side before heading out to the end of the road on the opposite side of the rock. There we gathered with the growing crowd to watch another spectacular Pacific Coast sunset.

Our Avila Beach Days

We have been here at Avila Beach for a couple of weeks now and we are getting accustom to our new jobs and our new surroundings. We had a big weekend for Thanksgiving. The park puts on a Thanksgiving dinner for all the guests. The park provides the turkeys, six of them and everybody brings a plate to pass. It was a big success. We had over 100 people and a ton of food. We were able to bring home leftovers and ate turkey for the next few days.

Victoria and Judy guarding the dessert

Dave the boss and turkey cook

Lining up for diner

Our jobs are going well; we are doing similar duties to what we did in Jackson Hole. Victoria is working in the office checking in guest and helping the manager Judy. I am doing maintenance and upgrades to the park. We are replacing sewer and water lines in all the cabins and building privacy fences between the cabins. We also have a nice pool and spa and I have learned how to maintain them both.

This live is not all fun and games

On one of our days off we went to a local attraction. A park where monarch butterflies nest for the winter. It was amazing to see thousands of the little critters all hanging together in the trees. After that we visited a few of the local beaches. This area is a series of beach communities called the five cities. Each one has a public beach and there are 3 piers for fishing.

These are all butterflies, not leaves

We walked the beaches and people watched all the folks swimming and walking along the beach. This is a very beautiful area and Victoria loves being so close to the ocean. This time of year is the rainy season so we have had some rain. It has been a year since we have seen any real rain. Last winter in Arizona and the summer in Wyoming were very dry. That is fun part of this lifestyle seeing and experience all the sights and environments of the areas we stay in.

One of the local beaches

Sand dollors are all over the beach, Victoria has started a clollection

Is It November, WOW!!!

It is hard to believe it has been over a month since leaving Jackson. Let me catch you up on where we have been and what we have been doing. After leaving the KOA we headed south to warmer weather and the weather was warmer. We left the pleasant 60 degree weather to higher and higher temps.

Our first stop other than an overnighter was Moab, Utah. Here there are two national parks. Arches and Canyonlands National parks. We spent 4 days here exploring the parks and taking in all the geological wonders.

Arches is a wonderland of stone arches and rock formations formed by the winds and the sands of time. It is a really cool place and should be on your bucket list. It is a relatively small park compared to Canyonlands or Yellowstone. It has the largest concentration of natural arches and bridges in one place. They are spectacular and it is amazing to think of how they are formed.

Canyonlands is a huge park. It would take weeks or months to fully explore. We drove the “Island In The Sky” area where we got fantastic view of the canyons below. It is an awesome place and I don’t think the Grand Canyon has anything on this national park. The way the sun changes the colors of the walls of the canyons is fantastic.

These parks are great and where else can you get 2 parks for the price of 1. Also the Moab area is a mountain biking mecca with trail of all types including the famous “Slick Rock Trail”. Being a cyclist I considered doing some riding but I am out of biking shape due to not riding over the summer. We spent most of our time hiking the Tetons.

Our next stop was Vegas. We visited here last winter and it was on our way so we stopped for one main reason, FOOD!!! Last year we went to the buffet at The Bellagio Resort and it was awesome. I ate more than I do in a week. We went back for round 2. I managed to eat my share and Victoria’s and also probable a family of 4. I like to get my money’s worth.

We are not Vegas people, we don’t gamble so after eating and a day or so of walking the strip we are ready to head out. We continued our travels south and stopped for a couple of days at a RV park with a nice pool and just relaxed.

We arrived at the RV park where we planned to work and spend the winter and found that one of the couples we worked with in Jackson were already there. Three couples including us had signed up for working at this park.

The park is in the middle of the desert “literally” it is an hour from anywhere. It caters to off roaders. If you like off -roading in the California desert than you would like this place, otherwise there is nothing there. Victoria and I quickly knew it was going to be hard to spend the winter here and started looking for an alternative.

One nice thing was our view of the mountains

And the sunsets

Pretty dead during the week

Me and my friend Ed working in the 100 degree heat

I could go on about what happens at the park but I will spare you the detail. After our first 2 days the other couple left and were replaced by the 3rd couple from Jackson. They lasted about 10 days and left.

To make a long story short we lasted just short of a month. We feel very lucky to have found another place to go. We are now in Avila/Pismo Beach Ca. It is right on the coast of California. It is in a beautiful area. We are 3 miles from the beach and can get there on a bike path. We have all the necessities here and the managers have welcomed us and seem really nice.

The California coast near the RV park

This little guy is sick and will be helped by the area seal resuce

The park is located on the central area of the California coast about 2 hours north of L.A. The area is several beach communities strung together along the ocean. We will start working in the next few days. Victoria will be working in the office and I will be doing maintenance and grounds. Both of our jobs should be similar to what we did in Jackson.

We feel this will be a big improvement for the desilet desert.  The only real down side to this location is we are right next to the 101 freeway and we hear the road noise day and night. They say we will get use to it but I don’t know? We have a grocery store and fuel and entertainment within a few miles not to mention the beach. We are located a couple of hours from L.A. and about 3-1/2 from San Francisco so we hope to make trips to both along with exploring the immediate area.

Real apple cider from a farmers market down the road

Well, there you go; I have caught the blog up to our latest adventures. I will try to post more often in the future.

Summer's End

Wow, it’s hard to believe our summer at Snake River Park KOA and Whitewater has come to an end. We have spent the past couple of days packing things up getting ready to head south for the winter. We have had a wonderful time here and leaving is bittersweet. We have made new friends here at the KOA and in Jackson.

The weather is changing and getting cooler and the leave have turned from green to spectacular gold and red. In just a few weeks the snow will be flying. The RV Park will be closed and we will be in warmer weather of the south west.

Tomorrow we head south for the winter. We have a place to stay and work in the California desert. We will head to our next assignment working at another RV park.

My sister's visited and we toured Yellowstone

A final visit with Chippy Victoria's best friend

One more hike- with our co-workers

The changing colors of fall

The homestead used in the movie Shane
Shane! Shane! Come Back Shane!

Fire On The Mountain

Yesterday Victoria and I had the day off and went out for Mexican before heading out to Teton Park to look for wildlife and enjoy the beauty of the park. It was a great afternoon. We went to the Gros Ventre area, pronounced “Grow Vont” of the park. We went to see the world’s largest land slide that happened back in 1925. It was so large it blocked the river and formed a lake.

The rock here is from the slide which is seen in the back ground

We wondered up the back roads enjoying the scenery and searching for animals. There were a lot of buffalo in this area back in the spring, but none were to be seen on this day. We did see some antelope and a fox.



On the way home there was a traffic jam and we knew there must be some critters up ahead. We pulled the truck over and joined the gathering crowd at a bridge that crosses the Gros Ventre River. There we found 4 moose, a whole family, a good size bull and cow and 2 calves. We hung out for a while watching them and snapping pictures.

Mama and her babies

Papa Moose

As we drove toward Jackson we could see smoke close to town. It looked like it was in the mountains behind the Snow King Ski area. A ski area in the center of town. By the time we made it through town and headed out to the KOA we could see the fire was much closer to town and the KOA then we had first thought.

That doesn't look good

As we drove we could see the hills along the highway were on fire. All of a sudden we saw a plane swoop down at the flames and drop fire retardant. And then another plane and another and then we saw 2 helicopters. Man, this fire was roaring and getting very big. We were amazed that when we passed the area earlier in the day there was no sign of fire and now the hills were a blaze.

Fire bomber dropping his load

We stopped and watched the show of the fire bombers until sunset and then headed back to the house. We are not in the path and we have no concern for our safety. There are a lot of house in the area but the fire fighters seemed to have headed off any disaster. The fire was heading up the hill into a more wilderness area.

Ring of fire

Today as I worked outside I could see the smoke from the fire. It seemed to be much less then it was yesterday. I checked the smoke though out the day and it seemed to be ok. That is until about 2:00 when I looked up and the smoke was bigger and blacker than ever. The fire had blown up again and was growing. I kept an eye on the smoke as the afternoon went on and could see it was still getting bigger.

The fire blows up again today

After work Victoria and I decided to go in toward town and see how the fire control was going. We found a spot where we could park and not be in the way of the fire crews and helicopter to watch the growing fire. The flames were heading away from use but heading closer to Jackson.



This is the view from downtown Jackson



All day long fire bombers and fire fighters have been trying to contain the beast. It is going to take awhile. We have been told that over 700 acres have burned since yesterday. That is amazing. This is now the number one priority fire in the country. It is pretty serious. We are not in any danger but this could be a big problem for Jackson and the surrounding area.