Category: Harvest Hosts

Anniversary Trip 2025 – Humboldt Redwoods

On By The Flying DutchmanIn Boondocking, Campgrounds, HAM, Harvest Hosts, Lance, RV Life, TravelLeave a comment

Hard to believe that it’s been 38 years since my wife and I eloped; and took my family with us. This year we decided to take a trip up to Humboldt Redwoods Avenue of the Giants for the week. We packed up the trailer and went to church and afterwards headed off to our first stop.

Incidentally, if you look closely you see a white strip above the black bumper of the trailer. Just under the ladder you see a small black dash in the white strip. That black dash is my travel mug for my coffee. There’s no telling how long the mug rode along on the back bumper of the trailer. All I know is that it was never seen again.

Nelson Family Vineyards

Since it was a long drive we decided to break it up into two days. We drove up to Nelson Family Vineyards, a member of the Harvest Hosts program, to stay our first night. It was absolutely gorgeous and peaceful. It was cloudy when we arrived but the clouds cleared off that night and the stars were unbelievable. We enjoyed the walk along the vineyards and the old-school playground they had there for the kids. Probably installed back in the1960’s. Very quiet stay; the only noises we heard were coyotes.

Ancient Redwoods RV Resort

The next day we made the short 2 and 1/2 hour drive up to Ancient Redwoods RV Resort. Per our reservation it told us to drive directly to our site, no check in needed. We did and found our receipt and reservation information on the power pedestal. We were parked up near the front in a pull-thru space. There was no RVs next to us the entire time. There were some 5th wheels and Class A’s clustered together toward the back of the park but we had plenty of privacy and a great view. The pictures below were taken at the entrance to the RV park.

The Redwoods

We spent two days exploring the redwood groves. Not two consecutive days; we tried to break it up between beach days, shopping, and forrest. Here are some of the pictures we took.

Our first redwood day was spent walking on the Founder’s Grove trail. Just a short two-mile round trip walk in the woods.

On another day we visited the Garden Club of America Grove which was technically closed but only to automobile traffic. We walked in and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the end of the season.

We also drove down onto a gravel bar on the Eel River. We spent some time enjoying the peace and quiet of the river.

Victorian Architecture

We also spent some time exploring some of the wonderful Victorian-era architecture of the area. There were two great examples in Eureka and and then the entire town of Ferndale. They just don’t build them like that anymore.

Eureka

Ferndale

Coastal Drive

We also spent a couple of half-days at the local beaches. Just walking and breathing in the clean air. We pretty much had these beaches all to ourselves. The first was Samoa Beach, the second was Clam Beach. I don’t have pictures of the sandy beaches we walked on because they were pretty featureless very long strands of beach. I did get photos of the coastal cliffs and rocks we explored, and those are below. They were taken just south of Trinidad, Ca.

Shopping and Dining

Of course what trip would be complete without shopping and eating out, including coffee-getting. I’ll be honest, we were hoping to get some good seafood being that Eureka is a coastal town. However, the reality is that most fishing off the north coast has been shut down. Most of the seafood is deep-fried, sadly. However, one gem we did find is Vista Del Mar. It’s half-bar, half-cafe that served some killer grilled fish tacos. The other restaurants were so-so. Cristy did do some shopping in their downtown and picked up some oysters at another bar. While she was off doing this I was playing ham radio while parked on a waterfront street. I contacted the USS Iowa in Los Angeles and some guy doing Parks On The Air near Boise, ID. Not bad for a battery powered mobile high-frequency rig.

Coffee

Although it never used to be, coffee has become a passion of mine. I hated coffee growing up but within the last 5 years or so I’ve experienced a sort of coffee renaissance. A few mornings I made my own coffee using some some coffee I pre-ground before the trip. My favorite coffee is purchased from Revive Coffee in Sonora, Ca. Their Confluence Espresso blend is my absolute all-time favorite so far for just straight-up coffee. On one of our coastal excursions we decided to try a local place. The highest rated in Eureka was Witness Coffee Roasters. We ordered caramel lattes, with Cristy getting her customary decaf. We were a little disappointed in how weak the coffee was. Looking to console ourselves we drove to Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate and got THE best coffee of the entire trip. It was rated lower that Witness but was much more flavorful. I ordered ANOTHER caramel latte and it was really good, but the magic happened when we poured the drinking chocolate Cristy ordered into my latte. We mixed to two and Cristy’s brain just lit up! Second best coffee of the trip was at Mind’s Eye Manufactory & Coffee Lounge in Ferndale.

And since all good things must come to an end our trip came to an end on Saturday when we drove back down to Nelson Family Vineyards to stay one more night before driving back home. It was just as peaceful as the first time we stayed there. These trips always feel too short when we’re on them and have to come back. Our consolation this year was that I wouldn’t have to rush home so I could get back to work next year! Looking forward to it!

Pahrump Trip 2025

On By The Flying DutchmanIn Campgrounds, Harvest Hosts, Lance, RV Life, RV Parks, Travel1 Comment

For a few months now I’ve been looking at home prices in Pahrump Nevada. Why Pahrump? Well, it has the cleanest year-round air, no risk of flooding, and no sever weather (unless you count heat). So for my first vacation this year we decided to head to Pahrump and look at the housing market there.

Rather than drive from our home all the way to Pahrump in one shot, a 9+ hour drive, we decided to break it up into 2 days. We stayed the first night at a Harvest Hosts location at the Tehachapi Winery. It’s free to stay but you are encouraged to patronize the host. It ended up costing us more that one night than any one night at both of the other RV resorts we stayed at. Still, it was a beautiful, peaceful place to stop over and break up the trip.

After a peaceful night off the beaten track in Tehachapi we began the drive down to Baker, CA and then on to Pahrump. Our route was Highway 99 to Bakersfield, then Hwy 58 to Tehachapi and on to Barstow. Highway 58 used to be single lane with stop lights through Boron and Kramer Junction. It’s now a 4 lane highway all the way to Barstow. We jumped on I-15 north towards Las Vegas until we got to Baker, CA where we got onto Hwy 127 which took us to Shoshone where we hung a right onto Hwy 178 and then all the way into Pahrump.

I should point out here that I got the best mileage ever while towing on this trip heading out to Pahrump. For most of the trip we either had a quartering tailwind or a full tailwind. I was seeing MPGs of anywhere from 18-22 MPG! I usually get about 12 when towing the trailer. It was all fun and games until I got to a rock formation called the Charlie Brown Outcrop where the 35mph tailwind I had been enjoying turned into a direct cross wind when I rounded a curve. That was mildly exciting but nothing the truck couldn’t handle. Woke me up for sure. After that it was an easy trip down into Pahrump.

Here is a pro-tip for travellers to Pahrump: DRIVE THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT. We were told by the realtor that Pahrump and Nye County make a lot of money from traffic violations and if the other drivers in town are any indication, they have a zero tolerance policy for exceeding the speed limit. Not even the internationally accepted standard of driving 5mph over the posted speed limit!

Now, sadly we didn’t take any pictures of the RV park but you can find many online. The name of the park was Wine Ridge RV Resort and Cottages. It was clean, quiet, and had a hot tub; everything I require of an RV park. We rested the first day and spent the next two days looking at area homes that were for sale. The first day was with a realtor and her adult realtor son. She guided us around to about 5 houses. Some were nice, others were not quite as nice. One home was absolutely beautiful but it was in a trashy area and smelled heavily of cigar smoke. The second day we drove around Pahrump on our own so we could see the neighborhoods at our own pace.

Biggest takeaway from Pahrump is that the city is very spread out. Lots of space between homes and neighborhoods. There is no centralized shopping district unless you count Hwy 160 which runs between Las Vegas and I-95 to the north. Lots of casinos, fast food, and a few supermarkets including Walmart. The city is about 10 miles across as the crow flies which is pretty big for a relatively sleepy desert town. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Pahrump has two brothels on the extreme southern border of town. With a landing strip between them. We didn’t make it down to that part of town but Google Maps showed all we needed to see. Also, we were there in the Spring which is a windy time for Pahrump so windy and dry did not do well with our skin. That was the only major detractor we found.

On Wednesday we drove down to Las Vegas. The reason for the trip was to visit Red Rocks National Conservation Area and also to drop in on a vendor of mine from work to see his new home near Red Rocks. This is an absolutely stunning and underrated area on the southwest side of Las Vegas. We spent some time hiking in Calico Basin which is literally a desert oasis. Red Spring feeds a small meadow of grass and trees in the middle of the barren rocks.

Probably the best view of Red Rocks NCA is on the Hwy 160, also known as Pahrump Valley Highway as it comes into the Red Rocks area.

After our hike we drove to the visitors center and then drove the scenic loop around the canyon. Those puffy clouds you see in the above photos turned into a rain storm along the hills. But it stayed along the hills. All the rainfall in the mountains must be what feed the springs around Las Vegas.

After visiting Red Rocks we drove over to get some lunch at La Madre Canyon Grille. Lunch was delicious and since I hadn’t had my coffee yet that day their Cinnamon Roll Latte really hit the spot for a dessert. Then we headed over to my vendor’s house and was given the grand tour of his home and visited for a while. He and I really didn’t get along very well when I first started my job at San Joaquin General Hospital but we’ve since become good friends. Commiserating about the state of politics and Extreme Networks, the products he sells, helped us build a common bond over the years. Afterwards Cristy did some decompression shopping at Summerlin Downtown, a shopping plaza design to look like a downtown shopping area. Then we headed back to Pahrump.

The only item on the agenda for the next day was to hang around town and relax after all the driving I’d done lately. I did want to tick one more item off my list for Pahrump; to visit the Art Bell Memorial. If you’ve never heard of Art Bell, he was an AM radio personality who had the dubious distinction of having a radio show that played from midnight to 6am in many markets. I began listening to Art Bell on KGO as I commuted from our home in Modesto to my workplace at Lockheed in Sunnyvale at 3:30am. His show was always about UFOs, Sasquatch, chupacabra sightings, paranormal stuff. Think X-Files. It was “out there” but it helped keep me awake on my commute. We found his memorial at a park in Pahrump called the Calvada Eye (because it’s looks like an eye from above). The other pleasantly unexpected surprise at this park was the horse that came galloping into the park while we were there. I’m still not sure if they were wild horses or just abandoned horses. The western romantic in my wants to think they were wild horses descended from the ponies the conquistadors let loose many years ago.

After a few more restful days just hanging around the park and stocking up at Walmart it was time to head back home. The wind had picked back up in the night and it made me a little nervous about what the wind would do the next day but it actually died down a bit. It also had switched directions so we again had a tailwind on the way back to Tehachapi. However, long before we got to Tehachapi, we got caught in the middle of the 34th Annual Baker 2 Vegas relay race. Apparently it’s a big deal in the law enforcement community. A local friend of mine is a police lieutenant has even wanted to run in it. All I know is that it generated a ton of traffic and our only white-knuckle moments as we were driving back. Let’s just say cops generally don’t believe the rules of the road apply to them and leave it at that. Most were well-behaved though. Each runner was followed by a car and they had “stages” of the race they were assigned to run and then hand off the baton. Luckily they were all running the opposite direction. Much to the chagrin of non-participating traffic trying to get to Pahrump.

We finally made it through the races and back over the hill into Bakersfield were we decided to stop for the night at Orange Grove RV Park. The next day we headed home and called an end to our week-long Pahrump adventure. Will we be back to Pahrump, maybe. Will we move there, probably not. The biggest takeaway of the trip was how much we loved travelling. It’s funny, it’s hard to get ourselves to leave home but once we do, it’s even harder to go back. Don’t get me wrong, we love our home and family, but we just want to travel and see more things. Until next time…

Weekend Getaway to Vista Ranch and Cellars

On By The Flying DutchmanIn Harvest Hosts, RV Life2 Comments

I took this past Friday off as my birthday holiday and Cristy and I hitched up the trailer and headed down to Vista Ranch.  Turns out Friday was a good day to head down there as they were set to have live music and food from 6pm to 9pm at Vista Ranch.  I ordered a veggie pizza and Cristy got a farmer’s market salad.  The pizza was delicious.  It was cooked in a woodfire pizza oven onsite.  The salad was made from greens bought at a farmer’s market and was really fresh.  We ate our dinner and then enjoyed the jazz trio for another hour or so.

On Saturday we drove up to Mariposa and let Cristy do a little window shopping in their small downtown.  Then we had lunch at High Country Health Foods & Cafe.  Also great food.  This is a hidden gem in Marioposa right off Highway 140 on the way up to Yosemite.  After lunch it started getting hot so we headed back to the trailer to watch some videos I had downloaded onto the iPad and take a nap.  After dinner we sat outside and watched the sunset.

Sunday morning we had breakfast, watched our church’s live stream and sat out side and just chilled.  We did nothing because we wanted to do nothing.

This was probably the most relaxing outing we’ve had in the trailer yet.  It wasn’t cold, it wasn’t raining, the air conditioner worked perfectly, and the nights cooled down enough to where we didn’t need it.  No allergies, no noise, no worries.  We can’t wait to go out again.

 

Twisted Oak Winery

On By The Flying DutchmanIn Harvest Hosts, RV LifeLeave a comment

Well, after a week of doctor appointments for both ourselves and our conserved son Cristy and I felt a need to get away for a few days to relax and unwind.  We took this opportunity to get our Lance 1995 out of storage for the weekend and take it up to Twisted Oak Winery  which is in the heart of Gold Rush Country near Angels Camp, California.

Twisted Oak Winery participates in Harvest Hosts which allows members to stay for a night or two for free at participating wineries, farms, museums, and golf courses.  Twisted Oak even takes the extra step of offering one free wine tasting for their Harvest Hosts guests.  The hope is that you will like what you taste and make a purchase.

I called the week before and was told that they didn’t have anything happening the weekend that I wanted to stay but I should probably call back the day before to be sure.  I did and they didn’t… have anything happening that is so everything was all set.  We hitched up the Lance the night before and loaded it up with our clothes and groceries for the weekend.  The next day, after seeing Avenger’s Endgame, we hopped into my trusty (if not gutless) RAM 1500 and hauled our little wagon up to Twisted Oak.

When I had spoken to them they said there were two entrances to the winery.  The first one I would come to goes up a dirt road and is a little, um, twisty.  They recommend that people with RVs take the second entrance which is paved.  We took that entrance and pulled into the parking lot.  We saw one Airstream trailer parked at the far side of the lot.  I went in to ask where we could park and was told I could park anywhere along the edges of the parking lot, on any side as long as I didn’t block a driveway or their gravel “party area”.

Looking at the Airstream I could see that they were parked in full sun, and had one of their wheels on blocks because the parking lot wasn’t level over there.  That’s not good because I’m lazy.  I elected to park on the west side of the parking lot, in the shade of the trees, where it was level.  It was a really good spot not only because it was level but also a stand of bushes and lavender blocked our view of the Airstream trailer across the parking lot.  We couldn’t see them, they couldn’t see us.  Wonderful!

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After setting up the trailer and unhitching we decided that the first item on the agenda was a nap.  Cristy read for a while but I guess my napping called to her because she soon laid down on the bed with me and we were both snoozing away.  After our naps we went into the tasting room and that was when we found out that Harvest Host guests get a complimentary tasting.  We tasted a few of their wines but honestly, we’re not wine drinkers, I don’t drink alcoholic drinks at all.  I’m sure their wines are very good but I’m not the best judge.  We thanked them and then headed back outside.

They are very family friendly here with games and toys for the kids outside.  Plenty for both adults and kids to do while there.  They have picnic tables so you can make an afternoon of it and have lunch.  And the views are wonderful!

It was getting late so we decided to drive up to Murphys to find some dinner.  We ended up at El Jardin.  It’s a local Mexican restaurant chain that we’ve eaten at before but this was our first time in their Murphys restaurant.  It’s smaller than most but they have a great outside patio to dine at.  A small creek runs right past the tables.  Dinner was great as usual and the staff were very friendly as you would expect in a small town like Murphys.  After dinner we headed back to Twisted Oak, enjoyed the sunset, watch a movie I had saved on my iPad and then went to sleep.

The next morning after a sniffley, sneezey night we awoke to a beautiful, peaceful morning.  After breakfast we took a walk down to the vineyards.  It was a warm Spring weekend and the air temperature was perfect at 65 degrees.  Since I didn’t buy any wine I paid them back by putting the chickens back up in the trees in their Rubber Chicken National Forest.  We enjoyed the quiet of the vineyard and grounds since they hadn’t opened yet.

Once back to the trailer I had to succumb to taking some Benadryl.  After about an hour it hit me and I had to take a quick nap.  Cristy took some soon afterwards and was conked out next to me on the bed.  After we woke up we decided to head back in to Murphys for lunch and some shopping.  That’s Cristy’s favorite form of relaxation! We had lunch at Alchemy Cafe.  Always delicious and then walked the main street poking our noses into the shops and boutiques.  Cristy bought some of her favorite spices at The Spice Tin and then we decided to head back to our trailer to nurse our allergies some more.  Back at the trailer we watched another movie, took another nap, and then watched the sun set.  It was probably the most awesome day we’ve had in a while. 🙂

I need to insert something here about the roads leading to Twisted Oak.  The first entrance is a twisting dirt road that takes you up to the winery, the second is a shorter paved road that also takes you to the winery.  If at all possible take the dirt road, the first driveway.  It’s easily passable by any car, just don’t try it if you’re towing a trailer.  You’ll be rewarded with some of the most entertaining signs you’ll ever see.

The next morning we hung out, had some breakfast, and after watching our church service on our smartphone we hitched up the trailer and headed back down the hill to home.

Even though it was such a short outing, and we were sneezing almost the whole time (we went through 3 boxes of Kleenex) we still felt really relaxed and refreshed.  I’m already trying to plan our next outing and more than likely, it will involve Harvest Hosts.

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Our Second Harvest Host Stay

On By The Flying DutchmanIn Aviation, Harvest Hosts, Lance, RV Life, Travel4 Comments

img_20190223_165745Well, a mere one week after our first Harvest Host stay at Klinker Brick Winery in Lodi we stayed at another winery.  This time we stay in Merced at Vista Ranch and Cellars.  My brother was going to be staying the night after we did.  I would have liked to have stayed the same night but I had work the next day.  So we spent a nice afternoon walking around the vineyard and orchards, dodging the bees who where busy doing their jobs, and just enjoying the break from the rain.  We stopped by the tasting room but since I don’t drink, I had a bowl of lobster bisque.  It was delicious!  Cristy tasted some sparkling wine and bought something in the gift shop as a thank you for being able to stay in such a beautiful location.

Most Harvest Host locations are boondocking only, meaning, there are no facilities available.  You bring your own power and plumbing.  This winery is different in that they provide three spaces that have water and 50 amp electric service.  No sewer service or dump station is available.  However, having electricity is AWESOME!  And if I’d known they have water, I’d never have filled up my fresh water tank to save some weight.

We spent the evening reading and catching up on some TV shows I downloaded to our iPad.  We heated up the soup she had brought and enjoyed a nice quiet dinner.  Even though there was a high school dance going on at the event center also located on the winery grounds, it was still very peaceful

That is, until a train went by.  And they go by very often.  There is a very busy stretch of railroad right on the other side of the street.  At times during the night it sounded like some of the trains were going to come right through our trailer!  But I fell right back asleep each time.

The next day we slept in.  I cooked some eggs for breakfast, and then we watched our church live on their website.  Just as church was ending my brother and his wife showed up.  We caught up a little, gave them the grand tour of our little Lance, and then headed back up to the visitor center to have some lunch together.  After some great conversation I had to start packing up.  Amazed that three hours could pass so quickly.

Vista-Ranch

It was really nice catching up with my brother and just enjoying a quiet getaway to Vista Ranch.  We will definitely be back soon!

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Our First Harvest Host Stay

On By The Flying DutchmanIn Harvest Hosts, Lance, RV Life, Travel1 Comment

Many RV’ers take advantage of a website called Harvest Hosts.  It is a searchable map of wineries, farms, museums, golf courses, and assorted other attractions that allow RV’ers to stay overnight for free.  The assumption is that you will patronize their facility.  Cristy and I found Klinker Brick Winery in Lodi, CA through Havest Hosts and stayed there this past weekend.

They have a great facility with LOTS of RV parking behind the winery right next to their  vineyards.  It’s a beautiful view!  The only problem we ran into was that it had rained heavily off and on for the past two weeks.  This made for some very large puddles and some very soft ground.

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I did my best to find a high spot to park the trailer but we were tip toeing around puddles all weekend.  Still the folks at the winery tasting room were really friendly and understanding.  They offered to pull out their tractor if I got stuck in the mud. And the view during breakfast was outstanding!

After breakfast we took a walk before heading over to the tasting room.  I don’t drink wine and Cristy can’t drink wine so it was a short visit.  However, since we wanted to support them Cristy bought a T shirt.

We really enjoyed our stay at Klinker Brick and can’t wait to try another Harvest Host location.  Which, incidentally, will be next weekend when we stay at Vista Ranch and Cellars in Merced, CA.  We’ll let you know how that went.

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Beautiful walk!  But COLD!