Rock'N'Roll Trailer Adventures

 Welcome to  Oregon! We continued our adventure into Oregon, a state I have never been to as an adult. I don’t even remember when I was there as a kid. Once again our trip was impacted by wildfires. The original plan was to visit family in the Eugene/Salem area. But, the highway to Grants Pass had been closed and that also meant we weren’t going to be able to visit the  Oregon Vortex  or the  Enchanted Forest . Boooo! But, the weather was great on the coast. The rain was refreshing. And the bridges were my most favorite thing and one thing I didn't really get great pictures of. Each one was so much more elaborate than my usual SoCal overpass. The drive was absolutely gorgeous and exactly what we were looking for as an alternative to the fast and boring ride of the interstate. Yes, That's a Big AF Bridge (Astoria) Lots of Bridge Construction  If we didn't stay on the coast, we would have never found this little gem: The Prehistoric Gardens . It may look campy, and, oh, it is

  Oregon Dunes KOA Holiday : September 2020 This location turned out to be a great spot. We were originally planning on traveling through mid-Oregon, but were detoured due to the wild fires. We wanted a mid-way spot between the Redwoods of California and the Goonies Tour of Astoria and the surrounding beaches. This was perfect.  Turned out it was right next to the Oregon Dunes, which is quite popular and this location relies heavily on it's visitors. Unfortunately, also due to the fires, the dunes were closed. If we had sand toys, this would definitely be on our list of places to play. Night Time Oregon Dunes We were assigned Spot 24, which was right on a end and great. We had a nice tree that we could light up for the couple of nights we were there. We lucked out because the place was practically empty. Which I enjoy during the pandemic. They had a super cute playground, bounce pad and very nice bathrooms and laundry room. The staff was very nice and complementary of our set up. T

After our little Griswold adventure through the unknown of long-term camping, we decided to take another shot just a few short months later. As the time neared and we packed the trailer, the fires began. First near our home of San Diego. Lots of smoke, but nothing like previous years events. We had no problem continuing the adventure as we had house sitters and weren't worried about anything out of the normal. Then, two days before we hit the road it seemed as if the entire West Coast was ablaze. It also seemed our dream of driving Hwy 1 the entire way was going up in flames, literally. We were getting emails with links, social media posts of photos with orange hued skies and general thoughts of concern about our trip. But, we decided to continue Northward and monitor as we went and knew we could change direction at any time. One of the very awesome things of hauling your home with you wherever you go. Be sure to click the links for True Reviews and other fun things. First

Mad River Rapids RV Park : September 2020 We decided to stay here as it seemed a good location to adventure into the Redwoods and I was able to visit with an old pal.  Nothing exciting about it, other than the peeps who run the joint are nice and it's clean. The laundry facilities work well and we enjoyed having some grass instead of all gravel. Completely forgot to get pictures, as there wasn't anything to light up and our shade structure took a hit. Boo hoo. Photo from Site Gallery Proved to be a decent in between stop to reach Klamath (45min) and the Avenue of the Giants (30min).

  Caspar Beach RV Park and Campground : September 2020 SUPER fancy website for this joint. It's a great campsite, but it's very cozy. We were extremely close to our neighbors. It was such a tight fit, that backing in received a round of applause from spectators for Cabana Boy! The photo below was taken when one neighbor had left. Their rig was 6 inches away from our picnic table. Site 20 If you have your own spawn, they will get the dirtiest you have ever experienced. Spawn was covered head to toe in what seemed to be a combination of fine beach sand and ash dust. When she got sand in her eye, she freaked out because everything else she touched to wipe her eye out was just as dirty as her eye. Hilarity ensued as we watched her feel her way to the closest fabric (my sleeve) for relief.  We were butted up against a small creek bed (with poisonous plants) and had a camp visitor a couple times throughout the night. Luckily the little skunk never sprayed. THAT WOULD HAVE SUCKED!   Y

  Monterey Fairgrounds RV Park : September 2020 For those who adventure the Hwy 1 through Big Sur, getting to Monterey, CA, can be a relief. The absolutely gorgeous drive is physically and emotionally draining as it can be full time active driving, especially when hauling a rig.  Getting to the Fairgrounds was very easy. The gal in the office was very sweet and had sanitized pens for use. A strange thing when I first encountered it, but appreciated as the travel continued. She let us drive through and choose our space. The smaller spaces allow for trailer only. The tow vehicle has to be parked elsewhere. The larger spaces near the paddocks allowed for the whole set-up.  Site 33 The space was all gravel, full hook-ups, and included a trash bin and recycle bin, which was very useful. We were camped behind an airport and directly across from the paddock, where an array of animals were living. We got used to the smell very quickly and the noises were hilarious. I actually heard a goat scre

El Capitan State Beach : September 2020 This is one place we have been planning to stay for a few months. As with most California beaches, you have to make reservations up to SIX MONTHS before you want to go. It's insane. We got lucky with it being right after Labor Day, COVID cancellations and mid-week. We only stayed for two nights, but it was an ideal first stop on a very long trip. El Capitan SB Space 70 The campground is great. Our spot was right on the edge of the highway side. It's also where the train tracks are. I like trains more than traffic, so I didn't mind that. But when we go back, I'll look for a beach side spot.  Yes, we will go back. It's a great dry camping location. No generators after 8pm and no noise after 10pm. We were able to use our propane fire pit , which was awesome because the marine layer was thick, moist and cool. Ah... Moist. A friend's favorite word. *ha ha*   Next time we will try and grab a spot on the beach side. It's beau

There's an adventure to start all adventures. This particular adventure inspired this entire travel blog. So many things happened, that I really felt (minus the empty leash/collar off the bumper and the dead aunt on the roof of the car) that we were in a Vacation movie.  COVID quarantine was lightening up. All music gigs had been canceled with none to be rescheduled in the near future. I lost my job and was having a tough time finding a new one. I was also beginning a virtual professional portfolio, which takes SO MUCH time and felt like I was starting from the beginning. So... We decided to go to Colorado and Wyoming and Central California, with layovers in Nevada and Utah. All to see friends and family in the new socially distancing environment. We were going to stay in driveways and try to avoid people as much as possible.  We blasted out to our peeps that this was the plan and with their responses proceeded to plot our course for a three week road trip. The longest any of us ha

The Hitchin' Post RV Park : May 2020 What a cute and affordable little spot in Northern Las Vegas. They have a bar and a pool. But closed due to COVID at the time we visited. Luckily, we were just staying overnight and hitting the road in the AM. The drive from SoCal to Las Vegas always seems to go a little longer than expected and far less interesting than Bat Country in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. We always manage to get in later than expected, sometimes into the early AM. This time was no different, although faster than expected since EVERYTHING fun to look at on the way was COVID closed. The office closes at 9pm. We arrived at 9:08pm. But I had called ahead and the guy on duty was very sweet and very friendly and waited for us.  The park has a security gate, which is reassuring to anyone who has stayed off the strip. Vegas, very similar to SoCal, has a high homeless population. RV Parks tend to draw them in. And as a semi-solution to not becoming homeless, many families cal

  Grand Sierra Casino RV Park : June 2020 You know why there aren't ANY pictures of the RV Park at the Grand Sierra Casino & Resort? Because it IS NOT a pretty place. The place is all concrete. Ok, fine, there is a small hedge between each of the spots, but this is definitely not a GRAND experience. The spots are pricey and all the "amenities" are in the hotel, which is a five minute walk from the RV Park IF you are on the hotel side. A LONG AND HOT FIVE MINUTE WALK. NO SHADE. HOT RENO BREEZE. And the same price as a fraking hotel room AND resort fees. DO NOT stay here is you have kids. The hotel, sure. BUT not the RV Park. This place looks like it was a run down KOA (still featuring old KOA signage) that got bought out by the casino and instead of putting any work into it, they updated the office and let the rest as is. The WIFI blows. Apparently the laundry room is nice, according to Cabana Boy. Since I'm not a fan of taking Spawn into casinos if we don't ha

  Winnemuca RV Park : June 2020 Photo from Website Winnemuca is not one of those places I would really plan to stop in, but it fit our 300 mile limit for each drive day and had some open casinos, even with COVID going on. The website showed a lush for the desert location with amenities like a pool and playground. We got in too late to try the pool, but the playground was open, and right across from our site. Score! And the sites weren't really lush with greenery. There was a tree here and there, but a whole lot more gravel.  Speaking of arriving late, the lobby was closed, but left our reservation information under a rock by the door. Whew!I'm always afraid we'll arrive too late to check-in and then not have anywhere to stay. Not the case this time. Spawn enjoyed the playground. We enjoyed the benches in the playground. We all loved the teeter totter.  The price was right for the location and we were out of the city proper area enough to see an awesome starry night. If we r

  Salt Lake City KOA : June 2020 A little ways off the beaten path, but everything is easy to get to. It's also in a seemingly industrial area, which felt a little shady. All amenities were closed due to COVID while we were there. We needed to get some trailer work done and the staff was really nice about recommending some shops that were in the flyer portion of the site map. Not really helpful, but okay.  It was cold and rainy and even hailed. I think that with better weather and no pandemic, I still wouldn't be super impressed with this KOA. It felt very average to us.  It DID have a hell-of-a view of the snow capped mountains nearby. As long as we walked to the end of the road and peered between the tops of two trees. There is a yummy little Mexican joint on the corner. Thank the gods!  

You've been catching up on the "Roll" part of #rnrta. I'm sure you are wondering where the "Rock" part is. As we travel, we try to stay in places where Cabana Boy can get his music on. Difficult with COVID, as RV parks are afraid of being tagged with instigating a group gathering, so he's been setting up in backyards and mountain sides. Luckily, CB plays really loud, so everyone can stay put and enjoy in the comfort of their 12ft bubble. Shoshoni, WY Here is a very quick preview of his June 2020 performance in Shoshoni, WY. Big shout out to my Pops and the folks up at Flying Squirrel Ranch! If you like what you hear, check out The Anomaly's bandcamp page for his album.