2020 Travel

July 2020 in Isolation – we had to escape our house!

declutteringthestuff 2020 Travel, living the life ,

As you have noticed, I haven’t written about July. So much has been going on so here’s the recap since the last post.

We bought Pedego bikes!! These electric bikes are awesome!! See below.

We also: (posts will follow soon!)

  • We went “camping” in Watsonville, California.
  • We went camping at East Fork/Rock Creek area near Mammoth Lakes, California.
  • We’re getting things ready for Kiddo #2 to move back in. More decluttering!
  • We’re getting ready to do distance teaching!

On our trip to the Bay Area (CA) to visit Kiddo #1, Grandkiddo #1, and Kiddo-in-law, we took the bikes and logged 15 miles going to the park and the BART station to watch trains with Grandkiddo. It was an amazing 5 days with them over the 4th of July weekend.

The bikes have pedal assist. If it senses you need a boost (because you slow down while pedaling I think), it gives you a little extra. You can also use it as a non-pedaling electric bike. We played with that feature but don’t really use it. The point of the purchase was to get us moving. Pedal assist is enough for us.

It handles sloped areas well and really rides nicely on flat streets. We went on a few hills while camping and it went well. It was the first time on bikes for both of us in about 25 years so there was a slight relearning curve we had to deal with. Overall, I would highly recommend the bike.

Grandkiddo, who is now 29 months, was in awe of the motorhome parked in her driveway. You should have seen her face when the walls moved out! She even got to take a small ride around the block as we were getting ready to attach the car. MIND BLOWN!!

  • “your house has wheels!?”
  • “your house can move?!
  • “my house doesn’t go bye-bye.”
  • “I want to use your potty.” [her mommy said she had to potty in her house.]

I so wish we could have taken her with us to Watsonville.

Days 89-91 of Isolation – not what we planned

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We were supposed to be in Glacier National Park – instead we went to Prado Regional Park. Definitely not what we planned! COVID sure is putting a crimp in our summer plans! Not sure we are going to make our goal of 20 public parks and/or 20 nights in public parks during 2020. 3 nights of our 20 complete!

The National Park refunded our reservation money about a month ago when it was decided they would not be open this week for camping.

Prado Regional Park is in the southwest corner of Chino, California. It has full hookups (meaning we have water, electricity, and sewer connections), most are long pull-through sites with asphalt pad for parking. A concrete patio area with picnic table and fire ring is also at each site. Cost is $40 per night. The sites are pretty far apart. Good AT&T cell reception.

** 11/2020 – the lake is contaminated and no water activities are allowed until further notice. Please check their website for more information.

South view shows neighboring site and local mountains.
North view from same location, showing patio area and nearest neighbors.
West view showing location of closed bath house and distance of neighbors in that direction. Washer and dryer available for use at bath house.

From their web site: “This park is loaded with outdoor recreation and adventure offering, fishing, camping, hiking, biking and nature trails, splash pad, disc golf and outstanding picnic facilities are just a sampling of what this park has to offer.

A unique feature of Prado is that it has a meeting room that seats 80 people and is ideal for club meetings, parties and receptions.

Additional activities at the park include two 18-hole golf courses at El Prado Golf Course, an Olympic shooting range at Shoot Prado, an equestrian center at Prado Park Equestrian Center and an archery range by Oranco Bowmen Archery Club.”

We had a unique easterly view. Mid-afternoon on Wednesday a small fire started in the equestrian/hiking area. 28 acres burned. Pictures show progression and how close it was to us. Friday morning John saw a deer going towards the river in this area.

My only complaint about this park has to do with the bugs. It is near a wilderness area and has its own “lake” so the mosquitoes and other biting bugs are plentiful. I really don’t like to use bug spray but you really should at this place!

Now I’m off to do laundry – too bad “vacation” doesn’t include a respite from these kind of chores!

PL #1: Grand Canyon National Park

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Public Land #1 – Grand Canyon National Park

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Us and the Canyon!

We visited Grand Canyon National Park over New Years.  This is not our first visit to the park.  We usually stay in Flagstaff or Williams when we visit just about every year, sometimes more than once a year.

It was the first time we actually stayed the night in the park.  We were talking about where we wanted to go over New Years a few weeks before the holiday and John said he wanted to stay IF we could get a room with a canyon view.  Lucky us!  I went online and there was one room available in the Kachina Lodge!  Thankfully we have a flexible schedule during the holiday break.

We spent 2 nights in the Kachina Lodge.  This lodge does not have a lobby or restaurant and is only 2 stories with no elevator.  There is a sitting room with a view of the canyon.  You check in at the El Tovar Hotel.  The room was very comfortable and had a great view of the canyon.  Do you notice all the people???  It was amazingly quiet with few people walking along the icy walkway.  Maybe because it was New Years Eve??

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View from our 2nd floor room.

We ate in both the Bright Angel Lodge and the El Tovar Hotel dining rooms for dinner.  We enjoyed the view and food at the Bright Angel Lodge better than the El Tovar Hotel.  Both lodges were about a 5-10 minute chilly icy slippery walk from our lodge, especially the trip back in the dark.

We brought oatmeal (just add hot water) and fruit for breakfast so we didn’t have to go out early in the cold on New Years Day.  There was a coffee maker in the room but no microwave.

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Our dinner view at sunset from a window table. Weird lights are a reflection of the chandelier.

We woke up our last morning to new snow.  It wasn’t much but this Southern California girl thought it was beautiful!  Glistening snow!  On the drive out, we saw elk chillin’ under the trees.

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Elk in Grand Canyon National Park

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John cleaning off the snow!  It wasn’t much but enough for us!  We even cleared off the windows of the truck next to us.