Travels with Gidget

You know how you really need to clean out your closet (or, insert any tedious overdue project around the house here)? And you tell yourself you will do it when you have some time, you know, like 2020. Well, as it turns out, I didn’t clean out my closet (or many of the other tedious overdue projects around the house), not because I didn’t have time last year, but because I didn’t WANT to do those things. I also had the best of intentions of doing – but didn’t – losing weight, getting in shape, reading more and posting to “Travels with Gidget.” A veritable hit parade of New Year’s resolutions that I held over my own head for most of 2020. I found during the surreal and unprecedented world of 2020 that it was really hard for me to care about doing much of anything. Maybe it was that we lived in a solitary state of limbo for so long while the world flailed around trying to navigate shortages (because of hoarding!) in the supermarkets, social distancing and a new addition to our wardrobe – the face mask, while hyperbolic political theater played in the background. One uncertain day followed another and apathy came to visit – and overstayed its visit. I can’t possibly be the only one, can I???

But I am back and ready to recount our adventures over the last year as RV travelers.

We have continued to travel with Gidget around California since our return from the El Racho Retro Virgin Voyage – Heartland 2020, and I have many stories to share.

Let’s start with this weekend. We visited the eastern Sierras and stayed in the Coleville/Walker KOA in Coleville California. This is a great campground, clean and well kept. There are showers, laundry facilities, a pool and, we were told, a dog trail. We rented a “premium” spot, that included a paved patio, table, chairs, umbrella, a BBQ with propane, a fire pit and wood brought to our site each night and the fire pit cleaned out for us every day. (About $85 per night, learn more at https://koa.com/campgrounds/coleville/)

Coleville/Walker is close to the middle of nowhere, but nearer to Topaz Lake on the Nevada/California border and is sparsely beautiful in the way that only the eastern Sierras can be. Spring hasn’t quite gotten there yet. There is snow on the surrounding hills and peaks and the trees are still bare.

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We set out on a day trip to Bodie State Park and when we rolled into Bridgeport we found it was an expensive time to need 3/4 of a tank of gas. $80 to fill the Tacoma! They know they have you because of the area’s remoteness and they are clearly charging what the market will bear. Upon our return to Coleville, we found gas prices more closely aligned to those at home (at LEAST a dollar less a gallon).

Bodie State Park is a ghost town way out in the middle of the sagebrush of the eastern Sierras. When we got to the gate we found the road was closed and we were unprepared for a hike of 1.5 muddy miles that would take us into the ghost town. The cute park ranger says that the road should be open in the next couple of weeks. We happened to visit at a strange in-between time for the roads. We will be sure to visit again (for more information see http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=509). RV’s are not recommended on the road to Bodie. As we headed back to camp, I couldn’t resist the sagebrush and snow scenery.

Then we headed back to camp to spend a relaxing afternoon napping, painting and writing – there may have been drinking too . . . Life is good with Gidget and there is no end in sight.