Letter 9: Monterey to Kings Canyon
From the Traveling Harrington’s.
Thursday we drove to the Chevrolet dealer in Salinas to have the Suburban oil changed and tires and brakes checked. Since it was about 4:00 when we came back to camp we decided to visit the wharf and read all the menus until Fred decided which would be the best for the price. It was very good. Olivia sure is enjoying the crab meat. Fred has had a crick in his neck for a few days and he wants it to quit hurting.
I think Fred has fallen in love with this area. The water is so clear and the color so pretty. Because of Fred’s neck crick, we are taking a day off from sight seeing. There are some ELKS camped nearby and we have made friends.
It seems that all ELK clubs have home RV spaces and a visiting ELK can stay for $15 a night.
They sure can drink! It is noon and they are already sipping brandy. They are from Modesta - Gallo is headquartered there. Plus all the ELK clubs are drinking places. This is a camping group of ELKS. Most have huge motor homes. According to other ELKS, one ELK paid almost 2.5 million for is motor home. They have given us some tips on places to stay and where to find the Almaden winery and RV repair places. They have been very friendly and inclusive…we have enjoyed them very much.
We are in a county park and have a beautiful site. We thought we would have to move this morning, but the Elks had a lot of cancellations so they said, “Stay”! We did! It didn't take any encouragement to stay put. They are leaving now for the day to go to town for a visit with the local Elks and then shop and eat out. They have invited us to their campfire tonight. Wonder what they will be drinking then?
We did do a little sight seeing in the afternoon. We drove to Carmel valley, sampled wine at a winery, and drove to the Carmel by the Sea beach. A volunteer took our picture of us on the beach with Pebble Beach Golf Course in the back ground for our local newspaper – The Waxahachie Daily Light. We found the “Monterey Fish House” and had crab cakes and bouillabaisse. Fred was totally exhausted from that much driving.
Saturday, we declined the ELK’s campfire invitation. Fred was hurting too much so we hit the sack early, as usual. This morning we were invited to have omelets in a bag with the ELKs. This was a new experience for us. Every couple brought something to add to breakfast. There were the makings for omelets, eggs, ham, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, etc. Fruit, toasted English muffins, honey, & tator tots. Also, blenders were going for strawberry or vanilla gin fizzes and bloody Marys. Everyone furnished their own plates, cups and silverware, napkins.
The process was for each person to take a Ziplock freezer quart bag and put the ingredients for their omelet into it and write their name on the outside with a sharpie. Then there was a huge pot on a butane burner with boiling water. We dropped our bags into the pot and let it cook at least 10 minutes or until we thought it was done to our liking. Actually it was quite good. This would be a neat thing to do for youth groups, camping, sunrise service. It made me think of the Hartgraves’s Tex-Mex Breakfast on Christmas Eve morning.
One of the couples furnished lunch for the christening of their new rig – the 2 million dollars plus motor home. We toured the interior and it was beautiful. Instead of hitting one bottle of champagne on the rig, they all hit the bottles of champagne. Sandwiches, chips, almonds (the owners have an almond farm), cookies and cupcakes were provided.
After a nap and game playing, the group cooked on a grill. We ate our leftovers then enjoyed a campfire with them. They served port in little sippy glasses and chocolate. What a day!
Sunday we were glad to go to church at the Pacific Grove 1st UMC. It is a beautiful church in the woods, with Spanish moss on the trees. The right side of the sanctuary is sliding glass doors opening onto their garden of azaleas and orchids. The alter backdrop was a stain glass window of butterflies. Pacific Grove is the monarch butterfly capitol of California. They winter in this area. Too bad we were too late to see them. Please show Brenda this picture, she needs to come here to this wonderful area. After church the congregation gathers for coffee and goodies in their garden patio. The purple flower in the front of this picture is lavender. One of the members took our picture. They will be having a Mother Daughter Tea Party and one of the members offered her vintage hats to wear to the Tea. This Sunday was a big day for this area with the Big Sur marathon. The pastor had created the whole service around running and Saint Paul’s travels.
After church we drove to San Jose hunting for Almaden vineyard, with no luck, but found a private Iris garden open for viewing. We enjoyed seeing many blooms. 4 pictures.
Monday was moving day and it was also a long day. We moved inland to King’s Canyon and Sequia National Parks. In the San Jouquin valley we played guessing games as to what was growing. We identified squash, grapes, strawberries, grapes, artichokes, lettuce, lots of unknowns, and grapes. As we left the valley going east out of Fresno we saw Almonds, grapes, pistascios, grapes, citrus trees, and more grapes. When we approached the mountains we were about 20 miles away from the NP’s and the elevation was 1000. Our campground elevation is 6490 feet. All but a mile or two was on the side of the mountain. Fred figures constant 4% + grade. We pulled it fine. This climb was a big surprise to us both.
Now I wish we could express in words what we see as we look outside the windows in this campground. 
Big beautiful trees all around us, washed by such a wonderful blue sky. It is so quiet. We haven’t seen a sequoia yet. We met our neighbors and they warned us about black bears. Each campground has a metal locking bear box. They told us to put all our food in the box! It was after 7 when we set up camp. After we chose our spot, a nice wide one, parked and put the car in a little parking lot with 3 spaces, we sat down to drink in the peace and beauty. Then slowly we realized we had taken 2 camping spots for the trailer and another camping spot for the car. Thankfully the campground is not crowded. There were lots of empty spots when we drove in. We had our choice. When we registered, Fred told the ranger we were in spot number 103, 105 and one 109! She just laughed! She said they didn’t expect a crowd and she would list us as spot number 103, but it wasn’t a problem. What a relief – a benevolent government employee!
Tuesday, what a glorious day Olivia had today….. Fred survived.
We started out by visiting the Grant Grove, Robert E. Lee Sequoia and the Grant tree which is the 3rd largest tree in the world, 40’ in diameter. We also walked through a fallen tree that was used in the 1800’s as a bar, office and stable. Well, maybe not all at once. Then we drove to King’s Canyon. Canada is going to have to go a long way to beat this. The view as we came around the road to the junction view was breath taking. The canyon to the right is the upper end of Kings Canyon. The river runs through all the way and every time we saw it there was white water - level 10 rapids! On the way we crossed 
10 mile creek and the one in Duncanville has nothing on this one. Grizzley Falls was not high on our stopping list until we passed the parking lot and spray hit the car. It was right there and so pretty. There are signs everywhere saying it is prohibited to canoe or raft the river and we can see why. Olivia trusts Fred’s driving all the time, but certainly on roads like this. Fred says just let me see the white line or center line to the right, which ever is further from the drop-off. Is it legal to drive 5 MPH on a California highway? Well maybe he drives a little faster. The King’s gate is carved from marble. 
At canyon view we saw the end of the canyon and at a point named “road’s end” we could look up to the Grand Sentinel and North Dome. Everyone, this is certainly one of God’s many creations and it needs to be at the top of your list to visit. Make a special trip if necessary. God has made many beautiful places and a lot of it is in the USA. So, get up out of your easy chair, work chair, or your comfort zone and see them. This is a place where you walk around with your head up and your mouth open. This drive is better than Cimeron Canyon, Big Thompson Canyon and the train ride out of Durango. Stokers we thought of you. Muddie, I can’t believe you and Cecil didn’t find this.
Tuesday, we covered the south side of Sequoia and Fred thought it was gorgeous. A beautiful forest with snow under the trees. We were above the clouds so we didn’t see the distant views, only the close-ups. Cruise America does a good job publicizing America in foreign countries. They have rent-a-motor homes and there are surely a lot of them on the roads around us. We have been told to watch out for them because they like to take their half out of the middle. We saw 6 in the parking lot for the General Sherman tree x2. It is the largest tree in the world. Fred enjoyed getting as close as he could to the snow banks. We have met a neat couple of search & rescue volunteers from the Los Angeles area. She is a CPA, so they took a break after April 15th for some R & R. There are only 2 campers on the end of the loop. We can only see one other camp form our spot(s).The other trailer is across the street from us. We have enjoyed sharing campfires the last two afternoons. They have a new trailer and are enjoying the upgrade from a tent trailer. We built a campfire and shared with them. The coals were so inviting we put potatoes in to bake and an onion. We had those for supper along with Pam Stoker’s Chicken & Dumplings, YUM! Thank you Pam. Olivia introduced our neighbors to “womp warmers” – a serving of coals under your camp chair for warmth. It works! They were amazed! In this park, the low temperature was about 30 degrees. We set our thermostat about 63 degrees and sleep very well. We have tried warmer settings, but it isn’t as comfortable for us.
For all non campers, we offer the following. At this location, there are NO campsite utilities. No water, electricity or sewer services are available. Most call it “dry camping”. We use our propane for heating (ducted furnace) and cooking – cook top and oven. Our twelve volt batteries supply the power for lights and operate the fan for the heater. We bring in fresh water in our sealed water tank and carry out our “used” water in sealed tanks under the trailer, which we dump at the next available location.
From the Traveling Harrington’s.
Thursday we drove to the Chevrolet dealer in Salinas to have the Suburban oil changed and tires and brakes checked. Since it was about 4:00 when we came back to camp we decided to visit the wharf and read all the menus until Fred decided which would be the best for the price. It was very good. Olivia sure is enjoying the crab meat. Fred has had a crick in his neck for a few days and he wants it to quit hurting.
I think Fred has fallen in love with this area. The water is so clear and the color so pretty. Because of Fred’s neck crick, we are taking a day off from sight seeing. There are some ELKS camped nearby and we have made friends.
It seems that all ELK clubs have home RV spaces and a visiting ELK can stay for $15 a night.
They sure can drink! It is noon and they are already sipping brandy. They are from Modesta - Gallo is headquartered there. Plus all the ELK clubs are drinking places. This is a camping group of ELKS. Most have huge motor homes. According to other ELKS, one ELK paid almost 2.5 million for is motor home. They have given us some tips on places to stay and where to find the Almaden winery and RV repair places. They have been very friendly and inclusive…we have enjoyed them very much.
We are in a county park and have a beautiful site. We thought we would have to move this morning, but the Elks had a lot of cancellations so they said, “Stay”! We did! It didn't take any encouragement to stay put. They are leaving now for the day to go to town for a visit with the local Elks and then shop and eat out. They have invited us to their campfire tonight. Wonder what they will be drinking then?
We did do a little sight seeing in the afternoon. We drove to Carmel valley, sampled wine at a winery, and drove to the Carmel by the Sea beach. A volunteer took our picture of us on the beach with Pebble Beach Golf Course in the back ground for our local newspaper – The Waxahachie Daily Light. We found the “Monterey Fish House” and had crab cakes and bouillabaisse. Fred was totally exhausted from that much driving.
Saturday, we declined the ELK’s campfire invitation. Fred was hurting too much so we hit the sack early, as usual. This morning we were invited to have omelets in a bag with the ELKs. This was a new experience for us. Every couple brought something to add to breakfast. There were the makings for omelets, eggs, ham, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, etc. Fruit, toasted English muffins, honey, & tator tots. Also, blenders were going for strawberry or vanilla gin fizzes and bloody Marys. Everyone furnished their own plates, cups and silverware, napkins.
The process was for each person to take a Ziplock freezer quart bag and put the ingredients for their omelet into it and write their name on the outside with a sharpie. Then there was a huge pot on a butane burner with boiling water. We dropped our bags into the pot and let it cook at least 10 minutes or until we thought it was done to our liking. Actually it was quite good. This would be a neat thing to do for youth groups, camping, sunrise service. It made me think of the Hartgraves’s Tex-Mex Breakfast on Christmas Eve morning.
One of the couples furnished lunch for the christening of their new rig – the 2 million dollars plus motor home. We toured the interior and it was beautiful. Instead of hitting one bottle of champagne on the rig, they all hit the bottles of champagne. Sandwiches, chips, almonds (the owners have an almond farm), cookies and cupcakes were provided.
After a nap and game playing, the group cooked on a grill. We ate our leftovers then enjoyed a campfire with them. They served port in little sippy glasses and chocolate. What a day!
Sunday we were glad to go to church at the Pacific Grove 1st UMC. It is a beautiful church in the woods, with Spanish moss on the trees. The right side of the sanctuary is sliding glass doors opening onto their garden of azaleas and orchids. The alter backdrop was a stain glass window of butterflies. Pacific Grove is the monarch butterfly capitol of California. They winter in this area. Too bad we were too late to see them. Please show Brenda this picture, she needs to come here to this wonderful area. After church the congregation gathers for coffee and goodies in their garden patio. The purple flower in the front of this picture is lavender. One of the members took our picture. They will be having a Mother Daughter Tea Party and one of the members offered her vintage hats to wear to the Tea. This Sunday was a big day for this area with the Big Sur marathon. The pastor had created the whole service around running and Saint Paul’s travels.
After church we drove to San Jose hunting for Almaden vineyard, with no luck, but found a private Iris garden open for viewing. We enjoyed seeing many blooms. 4 pictures.
Monday was moving day and it was also a long day. We moved inland to King’s Canyon and Sequia National Parks. In the San Jouquin valley we played guessing games as to what was growing. We identified squash, grapes, strawberries, grapes, artichokes, lettuce, lots of unknowns, and grapes. As we left the valley going east out of Fresno we saw Almonds, grapes, pistascios, grapes, citrus trees, and more grapes. When we approached the mountains we were about 20 miles away from the NP’s and the elevation was 1000. Our campground elevation is 6490 feet. All but a mile or two was on the side of the mountain. Fred figures constant 4% + grade. We pulled it fine. This climb was a big surprise to us both.
Now I wish we could express in words what we see as we look outside the windows in this campground. Big beautiful trees all around us, washed by such a wonderful blue sky. It is so quiet. We haven’t seen a sequoia yet. We met our neighbors and they warned us about black bears. Each campground has a metal locking bear box. They told us to put all our food in the box! It was after 7 when we set up camp. After we chose our spot, a nice wide one, parked and put the car in a little parking lot with 3 spaces, we sat down to drink in the peace and beauty. Then slowly we realized we had taken 2 camping spots for the trailer and another camping spot for the car. Thankfully the campground is not crowded. There were lots of empty spots when we drove in. We had our choice. When we registered, Fred told the ranger we were in spot number 103, 105 and one 109! She just laughed! She said they didn’t expect a crowd and she would list us as spot number 103, but it wasn’t a problem. What a relief – a benevolent government employee!Tuesday, what a glorious day Olivia had today….. Fred survived.
We started out by visiting the Grant Grove, Robert E. Lee Sequoia and the Grant tree which is the 3rd largest tree in the world, 40’ in diameter. We also walked through a fallen tree that was used in the 1800’s as a bar, office and stable. Well, maybe not all at once. Then we drove to King’s Canyon. Canada is going to have to go a long way to beat this. The view as we came around the road to the junction view was breath taking. The canyon to the right is the upper end of Kings Canyon. The river runs through all the way and every time we saw it there was white water - level 10 rapids! On the way we crossed 10 mile creek and the one in Duncanville has nothing on this one. Grizzley Falls was not high on our stopping list until we passed the parking lot and spray hit the car. It was right there and so pretty. There are signs everywhere saying it is prohibited to canoe or raft the river and we can see why. Olivia trusts Fred’s driving all the time, but certainly on roads like this. Fred says just let me see the white line or center line to the right, which ever is further from the drop-off. Is it legal to drive 5 MPH on a California highway? Well maybe he drives a little faster. The King’s gate is carved from marble. At canyon view we saw the end of the canyon and at a point named “road’s end” we could look up to the Grand Sentinel and North Dome. Everyone, this is certainly one of God’s many creations and it needs to be at the top of your list to visit. Make a special trip if necessary. God has made many beautiful places and a lot of it is in the USA. So, get up out of your easy chair, work chair, or your comfort zone and see them. This is a place where you walk around with your head up and your mouth open. This drive is better than Cimeron Canyon, Big Thompson Canyon and the train ride out of Durango. Stokers we thought of you. Muddie, I can’t believe you and Cecil didn’t find this.Tuesday, we covered the south side of Sequoia and Fred thought it was gorgeous. A beautiful forest with snow under the trees. We were above the clouds so we didn’t see the distant views, only the close-ups. Cruise America does a good job publicizing America in foreign countries. They have rent-a-motor homes and there are surely a lot of them on the roads around us. We have been told to watch out for them because they like to take their half out of the middle. We saw 6 in the parking lot for the General Sherman tree x2. It is the largest tree in the world. Fred enjoyed getting as close as he could to the snow banks. We have met a neat couple of search & rescue volunteers from the Los Angeles area. She is a CPA, so they took a break after April 15th for some R & R. There are only 2 campers on the end of the loop. We can only see one other camp form our spot(s).The other trailer is across the street from us. We have enjoyed sharing campfires the last two afternoons. They have a new trailer and are enjoying the upgrade from a tent trailer. We built a campfire and shared with them. The coals were so inviting we put potatoes in to bake and an onion. We had those for supper along with Pam Stoker’s Chicken & Dumplings, YUM! Thank you Pam. Olivia introduced our neighbors to “womp warmers” – a serving of coals under your camp chair for warmth. It works! They were amazed! In this park, the low temperature was about 30 degrees. We set our thermostat about 63 degrees and sleep very well. We have tried warmer settings, but it isn’t as comfortable for us.
For all non campers, we offer the following. At this location, there are NO campsite utilities. No water, electricity or sewer services are available. Most call it “dry camping”. We use our propane for heating (ducted furnace) and cooking – cook top and oven. Our twelve volt batteries supply the power for lights and operate the fan for the heater. We bring in fresh water in our sealed water tank and carry out our “used” water in sealed tanks under the trailer, which we dump at the next available location.
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