June 16, 2020
We were stuck in Tucson, AZ, for the pandemic lock down of 2020. As the heat started spiking into triple digits, we sought a cooler place to spend our time while waiting to get into California to visit family and take care of our annual dental, vision and doctor appointments.
Show Low, AZ, at an elevation of 6,300 feet was where we took our maiden voyage in our first little RV. We knew it would be much cooler there, so we called up our favorite RV park and found out they were just opening for the summer. The drive from Tucson to Show Low was absolutely beautiful, with red rock canyons and twisty-armed saguaros.
On the way to Show Low from Tucson on Hwy 77
Our campsite in Show Low, AZ
We stayed in Show Low for 2 weeks at Waltner’s RV Resort. We loved the quiet and convenience of the location. While we were there, we took a few drives to look around the area. One evening we went to see Show Low Lake that was only a couple of miles from our campsite. The sunset was magical.
Show Low Lake
Show Low Lake
We had seriously considered Show Low as a permanent location when we settle down someday, but we changed our minds after spending two weeks there in spring. In short: cedar trees! Ray has a serious allergy to the pollen from the cedar trees and Show Low has plenty of them. He had a very severe reaction to the cedar trees in Texas when we were there in the winter. Show Low wasn’t as bad, but he was glad to leave the area to get back to feeling normal.
From Show Low, we drove west and stayed a couple of nights in Flagstaff, AZ, Bullhead City, AZ, and then in Tehachapi, CA, before finally arriving at our Thousand Trails campground in San Benito, California. Here are some scenes along the way.
Driving into Flagstaff, Humphreys Peak looms in the distance
Tehachapi, California
Mountain Valley RV Park in Tehachapi is a nice campground next to an airport for glider flights. The above photo is looking across the landing strip at the hills in the background. Tehachapi is an elevation of nearly 4,000 feet. So it is generally cool and windy. In fact, you will see many wind generators on the hills around Tehachapi.
Our next campground was a Thousand Trails Campground near Hollister, CA. It’s a few miles outside the tiny town of Paicines. Situated on a natural preserve, we observed many different kinds of wildlife, including ground and tree squirrels, wild pigs, deer and rabbits.
Our view at San Benito Campground, Paicines, CA
San Benito Campground
We moved to Oakhurst for a week to be closer to all our doctor appointments. We had reservations at an Escapees park, but they closed their office by noon. We weren’t aware of this, since most RV parks are open until at least 4 p.m. We had to quickly find another spot which turned out to be in a better location. It was right along the Fresno River in the middle of Oakhurst. In all the years we lived in that area, I never knew there was a river right through the middle of Oakhurst. We even had our own waterfall. The river was right behind our campsite at High Sierra RV Park.
Our campsite by the Fresno River
Waterfall near our campsite, Oakhurst, CA
The Thousand Trails campground in Oceano, CA, was not accepting anyone into the park outside their county (San Luis Obispo). We had arranged to stay in Paso Robles for a few days because it’s located near our kids and grandkids. It happens to also be in San Luis Obispos county, so we were in luck. When we made our reservations with Pacific Dunes RV Ranch in Oceano, we were able to say that we were coming from within the county!
Oceano is right along the beach. However, it is called Pacific Dunes for a reason. I was looking forward to spending long walks on the beach and being in the cool ocean breeze. On my first attempt to walk to the beach, I hiked up the first hill of dunes and this is what I saw.
I didn’t walk on the beach, but I decided to make the best of it. I remember having a great time with our kids years ago when we went to White Sands New Mexico. So I invited some of my grandkids to explore the dunes with me. They found out that sliding down the dunes is not easy. But they were innovative and did somersaults, tumbled and ran down the steep dunes. The cardboard that we brought to slide on soon formed into a tent fort.
Zoey in her cardboard tent fort.
Noah tumbles down the dune
And I finally got a glimpse of the ocean from the top of a dune that day. It seemed like miles away.
The beach is far away across an ocean of dunes!
There is something beautiful about the dunes at sunset.
The shrubbery is also quite beautiful.
Sometimes it’s better to go barefoot
A beautiful view of Oceano and surrounding area
Though my expectations were far different from what I found, the beauty of the area was an unexpected surprise.