Adventures of Spawn and Her Mom

DIY RV Project: Zero Gravity Blinds With all the fun of open and closing and toddler tinkering, our strings were on their final strand. Here are the steps I took to repair our zero gravity blinds, along with a link to the handy YouTube video that guided me through the process. I would've made my own video, but it would have been a Marx Brothers comedy in comparison. Something I'll save for another time.     Above, you will see the issue of the last strand. As I removed the valance, I discovered (as will most removals in our trailer) that the manufacturer took shortcuts on the installation. Instead of installing brackets, they screwed the valance directly to the wall, luck to find a stud, and through the blinds themselves. I'm afraid what I'll find on the next window repair... Once I carefully held the valance away from the blinds, I was able to weasel into the space and remove the blinds from the wall. Here's where the YouTube video comes in handy for the actual rep...

Howdy! It's been a crazy year and definitely one for the books. So long 2020 and hello to 2021!  Upon the return from our last trip, we received enough "How do you plan?" questions, that I felt it was worthy an address on the blog. Especially since it's going to be new trip planning time soon! It all starts late at night with a thought and then muttering as we are falling asleep... "What do you think about going to..." Then the next morning I'm online obsessing about our next destination. I start with Google maps and begin shaping a road trip between home and the destination. Some of the ideas out floating around in the ether are Route 66, Grand Canyon, Disney World, East Coast in the Fall, National Parks, Burning Man (but not Burning Man), weird roadside attractions, etc. Fire Tour 2020 was "What would it be like to take Highway 1 all the way up West coast?" that turned into a friends and family tour. Plus a hunt for Bigfoot through the Redwo...

 La Jolla Indian Campground: October 2020 Site: Area 4 (Tent Camping) Boondocking (Dry camping, no hookups) I'll start with the website is a little cumbersome if you aren't straight forward RV camping. I also feel like their rates are a bit high for what the amenities are. It makes me wonder what the rates will be like when they finish "reconstruction." Oy! Rates are decent for tent camping as it's per car and first come, first serve camp sites. We decided to go social distance friendly camping with a small group of friends and relied on past experiences at the La Jolla Indian Campground (& Zipline!). Difference being that this was the first time in the trailer. We love this campground and they have RV full hookup sites, but we haven't used those yet. And security was pretty impressed that we got the trailer all the way back into the tent camping area.  We've attended a couple events here over the years and it's a gorgeous location with a running c...

 Welcome back to California ! Back in September 2020... As with most extended family vacations, we were beginning to get excited to get home. I mean, we had been on the road for three weeks now. Since we had missed out on Crater Lake, I was adamant about checking out the Lava Fields and Lassen Volcanic National Park. It's like California's very own miniature Yellowstone. On the way to Klamath Falls, we decided to continue onto California, instead of the visit to Crater Lake, which was recommended that we unhitch for the drive. We didn't have a safe spot for the trailer without paying for another night at Klamath Falls . They didn't have any vacancies and we didn't have any interest staying again. We had a few choices of campgrounds near Lassen, but it was a Sunday. And a lot of the offices seemed to be closed on Sunday. Except Hat Creek RV . They answered and we booked a few nights. Relief knowing we would be able to check out the area. This whole trip had been a re...

Bertrand's High Desert Mobile: October 2020 4331 W Inyokern Rd, Ridgecrest, CA 93555 (no website) Site 3(?): Pull thru, full hookups   As this was an overnight stop because the drive was just a little too long to get to home from the Nevada border. I spoke with whom I'm pretty sure was Bertrand late the evening before we pulled in. I was expecting a voicemail, but I guess the number might just be his home. And a land line. I imagined him sitting in his Lazy Boy recliner with a Miller High Life in one hand and his old dog within arm's reach on the other side. Very nice and had an immediate tone of respect and engagement when I called him "Sir." Place was very affordable and worked on the honor system with all the social distancing in place.  The area around the park was shady in more ways than one. This is definitely a stop for the wayward folks and people keeping a low profile. Or someone looking for a deal. Or to be abducted. Also located near a military base out...

 Coleville / Walker KOA: October 2020 Site 409: Pull thru, Full Hookups GORGEOUS!  We loved this campground so much we are thinking about using it as a basecamp for all the things nearby, whatever that may be. Strange I know. The spot had plenty of space. It was level. We were right next to the freeway, but it was quiet. The amenities were great. Nice clean bathrooms and laundry room. The staff was super friendly. Cute little store. Wish we were there for more than one night. It was a rest stop, but we could've stayed for two or three nights. Right by Topaz Lake. Great spot!

  Hat Creek Resort and RV Park : September 2020 Site 34: Pull Thru, Full Hookups We booked this spot last minute, day before. I called on a Sunday. Tried a place up the road, but the office was closed on Sundays. The folks here answered the phone and we booked a spot. Winner, winner, chicken dinner! This location was right at the halfway point of all the things we wanted to see (i.e. McArthur-Burney Falls, Lassen Volcanic National Park, etc.). Pulling into this place I had no clue how we were going to get the trailer through the trees. But, Cabana Boy did it, lit up the site and we had a great stay. Kudos to Cabana Boy for parking the rig! He's getting REALLY good at it! We had a lot of compliments on the lights and the tiki torches . It was great to be someplace with sun to charge them up during the day... The trees in this place were SO tall. The moon was almost full and the stars at night were big and bright. It was a beautiful campground and we would recommend to anyone.