Last summer we sold our beloved little teardrop. After seven years of fun with her, we noticed that the last couple of years we were using her rarely if at all. This was partly due to the difficulty getting camping spots after Covid came along and everyone decided to get an RV. Then we had the summer of the nonstop wildfires in 2021 where the forests were mostly closed. We also realized that we were favoring renting small cabins, condos or townhomes in out-of-the-way spots and venturing out from there. Dealing with the small space in Pearl, especially in inclement weather became a challenge and with our caregiving responsibilities, we didn’t have the flexibility to reschedule when weather or smoke required.

We sold her to a couple looking to downsize from their large RV. We found this particularly delightful, since we were often tucked in between behemoth RV’s when we stayed in RV parks! They said it had become too much work to set up and they wanted the freedom to drop the RV and take their vehicle off for day trips. We hope they enjoy her as much as we did.

We have made so many wonderful memories in her, even though we were ready to let go, I confessed I shed a few tears. Pearl, you will be missed.

We are back from another magical adventure to Northern California and the Oregon coast! This trip has become a fall tradition of ours, usually the last trip of the year, where we recharge our souls with the stunning natural beauty. This year we ventured further up the coast and tried out some of the Oregon State Parks with Pearl, and we recommend them as fine campgrounds to stay in along the way.

We started out the trip at one of our favorite places, Burney Falls. We had never stayed at the campground. It had spacious sites, nice facilities and easy access to the Falls trail.

The next major sight on our journey was Crater Lake. The stunning blue of the water never fails to take our breath away! The Mazama campground inside the park is another great place to stay.

Look what I finally figured out how to do–put a video directly into the blog!

From Crater Lake, we headed out to the coast to Florence, Oregon which is home to famous sand dunes which stretch for miles along the shore. We stayed in the Jessie M. Honeyman campground and had a private site, well protected by bushes and a large tree.

From Florence, we drove down the coast to Bandon and stayed at Bullard’s Beach campground. It was here that the rain caught up with us, so we put Pearl under her rain tent.

But, luckily the rain parted enough for us to enjoy these gorgeous walks among Bandon’s stunning sea stacks. I think this is one of the prettiest beaches to walk in Oregon.

The next day, the clouds parted and we enjoyed this beautiful sight just outside of Brookings, Oregon:

Next stop was one of our favorite places on Earth–Jedidiah Smith Redwood State Park. This was our 3rd consecutive year here among the giants.

Afterwards, we hiked the Boy Scout Tree Trail, one of the longer and more challenging trails in the area. What a magical place! It rained on us a little in the beginning, but overall was a lovely hike through this amazing old growth forest.

Video of the Boy Scout Tree:

I was so happy to be able to do this trail this year. Last year I couldn’t manage it because I still had that nasty cable around my right femur. It’s hard to imagine a year ago I was limping through my hikes, and this year I was pain free! That being said, the last mile or so was tough. Both Scott and I agreed that our hiking sweet spot is about 3-4 miles. But it was worth it to see that big old tree! Luckily, I had no ill effects from this hike, like I did the one to Smith Lake in July.

Our last stop of the trip was Ashland to see a couple of plays and visit our friends, Michelle and Drew. We saw How to Catch Creation and Between Two Knees. Both were excellent–grappling with difficult topics, but interjecting humor and heart, which made the painful things bearable (isn’t that how life is?) Then we enjoyed a great bottle of award-winning Viognier at Trium Winery with Michelle and Drew. It’s always great to catch up with them when we are in town.

We stayed again at Emigrant Lake campground where we enjoyed the full moon and wine overlooking the lake:

It was an awesome trip and we came home soul-filled and relaxed, ready for the fall harvest and the coming of winter in the Sierras.

We just got back from our first trip out in Pearl in 2019! Can’t believe it took this long… We got to try out our new tow vehicle:

We were so impressed with the Highlander’s smooth, continuous transmission that pulled Pearl easily up hills without the lurching shifts of the old 4-Runner. Scott could even put her in cruise control and let the car handle everything, including keeping a safe distance between us and the vehicle ahead. The Highlander got 25 MPG, down from her regular 30 MPG, but way better than the 4-Runner’s 15 MPG. The ride is so much more comfortable and smooth, plus, don’t they look like they were made for each other?

We returned to Graeagle, California to a new campground that we loved! Here’s our beautiful, spacious campsite in the Ponderosa pines:

I was determined to try out my new hips on some challenging trails. We thought we’d try out a 2-mile hike to a lake right out of our campground on the first morning. It turned out to be a 3-mile hike straight up and straight down! Not only did it have steep inclines most of the way, but lots of loose rock. I remember thinking I should have brought my hiking poles. Fortunately, I made it without falling by being very mindful about where I put my feet!

When we finally made it to the lake, we discovered it was down in a hole and decided we weren’t going down there and back up again!

When we finally made it back down in one piece, we took ibuprofen, drank a bottle of wine and decided that just because we can do 6 miles of a steep, challenging trail, doesn’t mean we have to ever do it again. I’ve decided this is the beauty of the wisdom one gains with age.

Luckily there were no ill effects the next day other than a little soreness and fatigued muscles. What a difference from last year when I was still struggling with the cable around my right femur biting me in the butt every step of the way!

On the second day, we returned to lovely Madora Lake to do the 1-1/2 mile loop through the pines and around the lake:

That evening, we dined at the Grizzly Grill. Scott had the lamb and I had the gorgonzola chicken. Both were excellent! Nice way to spoil yourself while camping…

On the third day, we hiked the Upper Salmon Lake trail. It was the right level of challenge for us both and the scenery was stunning! We hiked along the ridge above the lake and then headed over to Horse Lake, which was surrounded by lots of pretty wild flowers and butterflies.

After this hike, we headed over to Frazier Falls which is a short 1/2 mile hike along a paved path that is completely accessible. It is well worth seeing if you are in the area.

It was a lovely trip and we will return again. Graeagle is only about 1-1/2 hours from our house, so an easily accessible spot with great camping, hiking and eating opportunities. It felt great to finally be out in the woods again, and this time, with strong legs under me and no pain! I am so very grateful.

Last weekend, we went to Meeks Bay at North Lake Tahoe for a 4-day camping trip with our neighbors, Bruce and Peggy. It was beautiful! The temps got a little chilly at night, but thankfully Scott bought us a Little Buddy propane heater that made the inside of Pearl nice and toasty. This was our last camping trip of the season, which is always a bit sad, but what a way to end it! I was able to do a 2+ mile hike with them through the meadow which was lovely. We also met a new friend, Sandy, from Oregon who was camped next to us.

We just returned from a beautiful trip to Silver Lake, one of the lakes on the June Lake Loop off 395, near Mammoth, California. I used to ski at June Mountain when I was a kid, but had never been on the Lake Loop before. 

We went with our friends, Lisa and Terry (and their dog, Beauty). They planned the trip last winter and we decided to tag along once we knew my hip could handle it. They are easy to be with and experienced campers. They have a Mercedes van conversion which is very cool! We spent a whole afternoon eating and talking and drinking wine in this sweet spot in the aspens overlooking the lake.

We stayed at the Silver Lake Resort and RV Park and had a great spot looking up at a waterfall.

On the second morning, they went on a hike to Parker Lake, about a 3-4 mile round trip hike. My “girls” said there was no way they were taking me that far! So I stayed back and took a short hike up Rush Creek which meanders through the Silver Lake Campground. It was beautiful and easy.

We stayed two nights and I got this cool, crazy shot of the sunset on the last night:

It was a very relaxing and pretty trip, even with the smoke from all the wildfires. I’m happy to report I was able to stay in my “Goldilocks Zone” and not overdo it like I did on the Graeagle trip! See, old gals can learn new ways of being…

For my 52nd Birthday I decided what I most wanted to do was go camping in Pearl, our sweet teardrop! Here’s some pictures of her:

We bought Pearl in 2015. The first big trip we did with her was for my 50X50. This was an insane trip in retrospect! I wanted to see all 50 states by my 50th Birthday. And wouldn’t you know what was left? North Dakota, Minnesota and Kansas! So, we did a boomerang trip to Duluth, Minnesota for Fourth Fest. We went through North Dakota on the way over and Kansas on the way home. We also passed through Wyoming, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado and Utah! We traveled 5,500 miles through 12 states in 3 weeks! CRAZY! But we sure had the teardrop experience down by the time we got home…

Pearl is an awesome way to camp. She is super easy to deal with because she is basically just a bed with lovely maple cabinets for all your stuff and a kitchen galley in the back. We stay at RV Parks or campgrounds that have bathrooms and they usually give us a spot close by. She is set up and ready to go during season, so all we have to do is pack our clothes, bathroom stuff and food and we’re off! Scott found the most awesome shade structures that we use to protect against sun and rain. Pearl can actually fit under these if necessary.

Here’s Pearl at our camp spot for this trip in Blairsden/Graeagle, CA at the Dream Catcher RV Park, a sweet little campground near national forest, lakes, and great hiking trails:

The nice thing is it’s only an hour from our house! They had a nice, cool recreation room where I set up an office and yoga studio:

One of the things we notice about RV parks these days is most people don’t get out of their big trailers, so we get most of the facilities/amenities all to ourselves.

Our first day we explored Eureka-Plumas State Park and took a 1.5 mile walk around Madora Lake:

We drove to the beautiful Nakoma Resort and peaked into the restaurant at the Lodge:

We had an awesome Italian dinner at Cuccia’s in Graeagle overlooking a horse stable:

The last day, on our way home, we drove through the scenic Lakes Basin area and visited Sardine Lake, passed through Sierraville, and stopped in Truckee for a beer at the Fifty/Fifty Brewing Company. We enjoyed a nice, smoke-free sunset at home in our garden!

It was a great trip to end a wonderful Birthday week for me. This Birthday has been about celebrating that my Hip Adventure is (mostly) behind me and now I have a new behind! The camping trip reminded me that I am not yet that strong. I stood and walked too much and so I am sore, stiff, weak and tired today. But it was worth it! I’ll need to pace myself better for our next trip. I forget how much standing and walking is involved with outdoor life and how much I want to hike! But my girls are always good reminders of my limits and that I am still healing from two major surgeries in one year.

The other thing that was special about this week was all the calls, visits, meals, texts, emails, and cards from the people in my life. I felt very loved! This is my favorite thing about Birthdays! (Well, that and the cake 🙂

Here’s a photo of Scott’s dad-Jim, my mom-Anita, me, mom’s friend-Wanda, Scott, and Jim and Scott’s old neighbor-Kitty having dinner at Jim and Kitty’s place (5 Star, Premier Residences):

A photo of me celebrating my 52nd in one of my favorite places, our back yard: