2020/06/13 - Saturday - Vacation - Day 02 - Kings Canyon

We got up a little after 7.  We got things ready for the day and finally left shortly after 9.

First stop was to top of the tank for the van and then proceed over to Starbucks to get our breakfast and drinks.

About 5 minutes back on the road, I asked if we have the cameras, NOPE, so off at the next ramp and headed back to the RV to get them.  That only delayed us about a total of 25 minutes.

We finally made it to Kings Canyon National Park.

 - Big Stump - but we only pulled in to the parking lot and determine we did not want to walk to it.

 - General Grant Tree - we walked the loop and A took a lot of pictures

 - Panoramic Point - we walked out to the vista location and what a vista

 - McGee Overlook - seeing the old burn area down the valley

 - Junction View - looking down and seeing the Middle and South Forks of Kings River

 - (Before Kings Canyon Lodge) - stopped and take pictures of a water falls that some times the wind would not allow the water to reach the ground

 - Roaring River Falls - short hike to the falls and A took lots of photos

 - Drove around at Roads End Permit Station

 - On the way back, drove a dirt road

 - Grizzly Falls - very short hike to get close to the falls

 - Heading towards Sequoia, we drove as far as Kings Canyon Overlook before turning around.

 - Redwood Mountain Overlook

We made the decision not to do Sequoia National Park because it was already getting late, so we headed back to the RV.

After getting things taken care of at the RV (letting Turquoise out and feeding the animals) we headed out for dinner.

I loaded the van back onto the two dolly and we got a few things ready for tomorrow drive.

2020/06/12 - Friday - Vacation - Day 01 - Full, had to find a different location

We left the house shortly after 9 almost on time.  First stop was at a pet store to get some necessary can food for the dog and cats.

The next stop was at Camping World in Bakersfield to get Cheryl some new pots/pans that all stack neatly together and takes up less space and the cupboard will be neater.  While leaving the parking lot the new tow dolly made some clunking noises.

We stopped at the Flying J's outside of Bakersfield to get the necessary go go juice for the RV.  After filling up the RV, I pulled over in the parking area and had my fill for lunch.

The plan was to stop at the KOA in Visalia, but they could not accommodate use for two nights, so A.M. made several phone calls and finally found a place about an hour further up the 99.

We made it to the Arena RV Park and they only had accommodation in the overflow area (along side a building), but it does have full hoockups.

I have been noticing that the bathroom faucet would only trickle out the water, so I took the head off and cleaned the restricter and now it flow good.  While doing the cleaning, I did get A.M. good when the head was not on correctly and when I turned the water on it squirted hear.

I unloaded the van and we headed to a Black Bear Dinner that we have not eaten at before.  They had opened up inside seating and of course with social distancing.

Back at the RV, we organized the pot and pan cupboard and put the new set in and got ride of some of the old ones.

I did forget the power cord for my work computer, so A.M. is ordering it and it will be delivered to L.M. place so I can still do my necessary work.  So between now and getting to L.M., hopefully I can do what I need quickly without running out of power before getting there.

The train track are just across the street from the RV park and it sounds like they are going to go right trough us.

I noticed that there was water around the kitchen faucet, so I cleaned that up, but I wanted to make sure it was not a leak and sure enough it is, so now we have to stop and get a new RV faucet for the kitchen sink.

I was hoping that E.M. would join us for the weekend, but he decided not to drive down and join us.  We will see him on Sunday.

2017/06/16 - Friday - Vacation - Day 02 - Another Tire

We got moving about 8:40.  First stop was at Flying J's to feed the RV the necessary fuel.

Once on the road, the pulsating vibration seemed to be worse.  So I went ahead and stopped at the Barstow Wal-Mart.  Well, the tire I thought was bad is bad.  So I changed the tire.

Now the drive was smother, well as smooth as California roads are.

We stopped at John Wilkie Rest area for lunch.  Amanda would not make my lunch, but my mom did :)

The tire sensors was indicating the tires were getting hot (174) so I slowed down from 60 to 56 and that help lower the tire temperatures.

Amanda did some research and we found out that Kingman does have a Discount Tire store so we stopped there to replace the bad tire and get the front two re-balanced.  The manager noticed that I did not have a spare for the tow-dolly and stated that he can check to see if he had a rim and tire for it.  He did and now I have a spare tire for the tow-dolly. 

Uncle P. came and picked up Amanda and Mom M. while I waited to get the tires done.

Once the RV tires were done, I headed over to get gas at Flying J's, and then headed to family by 4:24.

E made a very good dinner even with trying to learn of all of our restrictions and the home made cookies were great.  We watched a movie before calling it a night.

2017/06/15 - Thursday - Vacation - Day 01 - Heading Out

I worked most of the day today.  For lunch I went to the Bar and Mom M and A.M joined me.

Once I finally made it home, put in the last minutes items and waited for Cheryl to get home.

Got the RV, tow dolly, and the van all together.  Of course the Dog was ready to go, but fishing Amber out of the cat walk was a challenge.

I stopped for gas, because after the last trip I did not fill up the tank and it was over half empty.  We also went and parked to get some dinner.  TGIF had a 30 min wait, Islands had a 20 min wait, but the Peruvian place had no wait.  Peruvian it was - yum.

Cheryl and D.M. went back home and Mom M., A.M., and I headed on the first leg of the trip.

On the way up the pass, the RV felt like one of the tires had developed a bulge, I stopped at Cleghorn Rd, but could not find any bulge.

We stopped at Little Sister's Truck Wash to get the RV and Van cleaned.  Now they look nice, but they did not do a really good job.  They did not do all the tire dressings.  And when I tried to complain they just went back into the bay to start working on another customer and because of that I did not leave a tip!

We stopped close to the Barstow Outlet.  We are camping in the OHV area for the night.  I checked the tires again. I think I might know which tire but nothing visible and purely speculations.

Late night getting the last minutes items put away and organized.  Wish us luck and no major issue with the tire tomorrow...