First off, I'll give credit where it's due. Many thanks to a fellow TC forum member, Ramblin' Ralph and his website, RamblinRalph.com, for suggesting some of the campsites for this trip. If you like to ramble the west and if you have a rig not much larger than Ralph's GMC 2500 HD hauling a Lance 845, then I recommend taking a look at his website.
Theme song for this trip, "Pacheco," written by Robin Williamson and sung by Kate Wolf. Before the trip, I thought it would be CCR's "Lodi," but "Pacheco" just took over.
Purposes of the trip: To explore the wildlife refuges of California's Central Valley in hopes of seeing sandhill cranes and to visit Henry W. Coe State Park which has been on my go-there list for years and which was set for closing in 2012 due to state budget issues. (Good news - a group of donors has arranged to keep this park open and staffed by state park employees until at least 2015.)
Length of trip: 1564 miles, 9 camping nights (3 at Medeiros SRA, 2 at HW Coe SP, 3 at a KOA near Lodi, and 1 at Los Alamos).
"…drivin' all day up the San Joaquin, turn west again up through Pacheco…"
Camped in the primitive area at the edge of O'Neill Forebay, Medeiros State Recreation Area.
Big Berry manzanita along Flat Frog Trail at Coe SP
owl along Staten Island road
purple twilight from camp in primitive area at O'Neill Forebay
"...the air is cool as music when the day is done, and God paints the sky above Pacheco." (Robin Williamson's song, as sung by Kate Wolf)
Here's a reason to like a short wheelbase: a bit of maneuvering put the Tiger crosswise in this campsite at Los Alamos, level and with a nice view across the valley.
P.S. for any nit-pickers out there: Yes, I know my Tiger is not a TC. However, it is TC size and this is where I hang out. This trip report is a thank-you for all the info I've gotten from this forum.
Thanks for posting looks like a place we need to visit.
Your rig kind of reminds me of ours:
We like the short wheel base of our rig as well. Yet because I'm tall I like our rigs 82 inch inside headroom.
But your rig is better looking than ours I'm afraid.
Twin 36X80 inch North South beds and lots of headroom trump looks for me.
Or at least I keep telling myself that.
Looks like some interesting and beautiful places to visit. Loved the shots of the acorn tree and the sunset.
There's been a stir at one of the wildlife refuges here in Tennessee over the last few weeks. An Asian hooded crane showed up amongst the sandhill and whooping cranes at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge over in the southeast part of the state. Evidently it's only the third time one has been spotted in the U.S. You can see a photo of it here. A Tennesseean article just yesterday said it was still there and that people have driven from 35 states and 5 countries just to see it.
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