Tales from Kansas

♫ ♪  "Aaaa-OOOH...werewolves of London..."  ♪ ♫

Do you know that one from Warren Zevon?  Well, that would be an appropriate theme song for one of our camping overnights on our road trip from the west coast to the east coast about 8 weeks ago.

Our "Werewolves of London" camp out was one of my favorites from the trip.  Which is a little surprising, considering it was Kansas.

Nothing against the sunflower state, but come on - what's Kansas known for? The Wizard of Oz.  And...tornadoes.  Not exactly a top destination for R&R.

But Wilson Lake?  Beautiful!  We scored a prime spot right on the lake, and it was by far our best camp location on this road trip.

You couldn't beat the view, and the breeze off the water was perfect.  Actually, it turned out to be super windy overnight, but it was so fresh and kept the bugs down.

I loved the landscape and our view, but that quickly took a back seat once the sun went down.  I only wish it was because someone was playing Warren Zevon too loud.

Alas, it was more mundane than that.  The short answer?  Rednecks.

We're talking an impressive barrage of cursing, fighting, yelling, and literal howling at the moon by our remarkably inebriated camping neighbors.

Yes...actual howling.  It was sumthin' alright.  I wasn't bothered as much by all the commotion because I had earplugs to block out the nonsense.

The hubby wasn't so lucky.  He got the full brunt of all the angry hollering and f-bombs.  Till about 3 or 4 in the morning.  Nice, right?

But, did I mention the beautiful view?  Ha.

We were ranking our campsites as we traveled, and despite the evening's yokel-tastic entertainment, we decided when all was said and done that Wilson Lake was the winner on this road trip. 

A lovely campsite, a welcome break from the road, and another step closer to our new home on the east coast.

Rowdy rednecks be damned.

♪ ♫ "I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand..."  ♪ ♫

Ta-ta for now.

Monterey

I'd read that the Monterey/Pacific Grove/Carmel/Big Sur areas were among some of the most beautiful parts of California.  Well, thanks to a travel-centric few weeks, I can say with confidence that everything I read was spot-on.

I mean...really.  Just look at this coastline!

Pacific Grove

Pacific Grove

I was in love with the crooked, unique looking Monterey Pine trees.  Just beautiful and windswept all along the coastline.

The hubby was on leave over the holidays, so we took lots of day trips and a few quick overnights while he was off.  December was a very full month!

On one of our trips, we loaded up the Cricket for our first California camping expedition, and headed on down the road to Monterey for New Year's weekend.

We set up camp at a military campground called - appropriately - Monterey Pines.

Of course, the Puggy Boy got his own doggie sleeping bag mat for the occasion. Only the best for the spoiled pup, right?

We spent most of our time exploring the towns in the area, and my favorite was Pacific Grove.  It was such a beautiful coastal town with lots of dog-friendly beaches.  I couldn't get enough of that salty, sea air.

Carmel Beach

Can't you just smell the beach?  It was the perfect blend of breezy, salty, and misty.

We had some excellent meals both out at a few restaurants and a few at our campsite. Overall, it was a great trip!

Pup friendly dining in Carmel

 

New Year's Eve Dinner in the Cricket

I think we've packed quite a bit of travel in our short lived Sacramento tour.  I have a few more trips up my sleeve, but they'll have to be quick because when we blink, it'll be time to move again. 

Such is the nomad Coastie life.  But hey, nomad ain't so bad when we're calling California home.  For the moment, anyway.

Ta-ta for now.

Sourdough & Cottonwood

It feels like a long time ago that we had our first legit, on-the-road experience camping with our new Cricket trailer.  It was only about two weeks ago, but I've decided that a massive road trip has the tendency to warp perception of time.

We're coming to the end of our journey at the time that I'm editing this post - but two weeks ago?  We were Cricket camping rookies.

So I have to say...not too shabby for a couple of newbies.  

Our first two campsites on the road were way nicer than I expected. I had a preconceived notion of, well to be blunt - dirtiness.  I imagined moldy showers, questionable bathroom facilities, and too close for comfort camping neighbors.

Granted, this is coming from someone who has pretty much no experience with camping, campsites, RV's, etc.  So I'm not exactly  working from a vast knowledge base here.  A long winded way to admit complete ignorance!

I'm happy to report that my assumptions were dead wrong. Let's hear it for busting uninformed expectations with reality!  Hooray, enlightenment!

The first campsite was Sourdough Campgrounds in Tok, AK.  We're a little further down the line in our trip as I'm writing this - with several more campsites under our belt at this point - but I can easily say that Sourdough has been my favorite so far.

Our first campsite at Sourdough Campground in Tok, AK

Each campsite was secluded and tucked into the pines.  It was quiet, serene, and relaxing with the cheeps and peeps from the birds and the crisp, clear air. 

Sourdough was a fun little atmosphere, and you could tell that the owners put a lot of love into the place.  There was a self-guided outdoor historical museum, and all sorts of antiques, historical artifacts, & vintage decor displayed all around the facilities. Made for a unique stay.

They also do a pancake toss each evening, but we were a little road weary and didn't make it over to see what it was all about.  We did hear the hoots and hollers, though so I'm sure it's good, clean fun.

The must-do sign photo-op and morning snuggling with the Pugbull in the Cricket

We had breakfast at their cafe in the morning before hitting the road to cross the border into Canada and head into the Yukon.  While we were eating, I couldn't help noticing a yellowing, 1970's era board game on the shelf.

Went along with the whole vintage theme the campground had going on.  Ready?  It was called Alaska Pipeline: The Energy Crisis Game.  How funny.  Fun for all ages!  I wish I grabbed a picture.

Our second for reals-y on the road campsite was across the Canadian border at Cottonwood RV Park in Destruction Bay, Yukon.  Good Lord, the views!

Cheety enjoyed the views, too.  I'd like to think.

The campsite was right on Kluane Lake.  Imagine a startlingly blue lake bordered by snow capped mountains with a truly unbelievable reflection.  Striking!

The hubby wasn't crazy about how open the campsite was.  Not enough trees to hide in for him.  This is a man who values his privacy.  But, I was digging the scenery, and there were plenty of trees for me!

We settled in to relax and cook up some camp dinner - Spaghetti Bolognese a la the hubby.  Tasty and such a satisfying belly warmer after driving all day. We threw in a little vino and we were some happy campers.  Heh.  Couldn't resist.

Our campsite at Kluane Lake & our road trip mascots - Jesus & The Dude

After too much wine and bellies full of pasta, we tucked in to get some sleep.  Destruction Bay isn't hugely further north in Alaska than Kodiak, but I was completely taken aback when I woke up at around 2am to go to the bathroom, and it was full on sunny out.

I thought it was somewhere more like 6am because it was so freaking bright out!  Thank God for sleep masks, I tell ya!

We enjoyed some easy breakfast by the lake before getting back on the road again to Whitehorse, Yukon.  Not much to complain about when the day starts like this.

A little oatmeal, Cheerios, fresh cherries & bananas and coffee to fuel us for another driving day

Our next driving day was a short one of around 3 hours to Whitehorse.  We've been switching it up between camping and hotels, and Whitehorse was a camping break at the Westmark in downtown.

Another day of about this...

So I guess we can say we're not quite Cricket camping newbies anymore.  More like salty road warriors.  Too much?

Yeah.  Too much.

Ta-ta for now.

Inaugural Cricket Camping Trip

Finally!  We've been wanting to bust out our fancy new Cricket for a camping trip since we got it in December, and the crotchety Kodiak cold & rainy weather finally cooperated. It's not easy to plan for a sunny outing around here.  Much less one that falls on a weekend!

Our fun new Cricket camper!

Worth the wait!

We set up camp on the cliff side above Fossil Beach, a local favorite, and our companions were free range bison.  Huge mothers!  They didn't get too close, but they ambled about and grazed near enough to our camp that I was just waiting for the Pugbull to start unhinging.

Surprisingly, the boy never even had the bison on his dogly radar. Well, other than sitting at attention and sniffing the wind in their general direction.

We set up our camp in a field the bison like to frequent, evident by how chock full of poop the whole area was.  CHOCK full.  I won't go into how Cheety found the bouquet irresistible and had a few nibbles and rolls here and there.  He can be a gross pup.

Bison poop aside, the views were spectacular.

This time of year is when gray whales annually migrate past Kodiak, so we saw a few spouts while we camped - which is always a unique & memorable experience.

The sun streaks through the clouds were so pretty

Looking out our little window while we were eating dinner to this magnificent view wasn't too shabby:

Cheety seemed to appreciate the scenery, too.  But, I may be giving him too much credit. Ha.

We kept things simple for meals and stuck with the tried and true Mountain House camp meals.  Chili mac for dinner and a skillet scramble for breakfast. Next time we'll plan to do some real cooking, but the freeze dried meals were surprisingly pretty good!

Dinner time

Breakfast & coffee with the boy

It's such a cool little camper - very cozy inside and it's so well built.  My favorite part is that it's designed to function completely off the grid.

We charged up the batteries at home - basically the equivalent of two car batteries - and then used the solar panels to charge them while we were out camping.  Not that we needed to.  Fully charged, the batteries are meant to last for 3 days with standard, regular use.

It has a little fridge/freezer, a stove top, sink, toilet, and even a shower hook up.  It was a little too cold to be using the shower this time of year though, especially in Alaska.  The Cricket is like rustic, tiny house living.  I kind of dig it.

We hiked around a little bit during sunset and it was such beautiful country.  Chilly in the wind being up on the cliff side, but it's hard not to appreciate that crisp, clear air.  I know I'll miss it.

Beautiful sunset, and one of my favorite pictures from our weekend

Our inaugural camping trip was a nice dry run for all the overnights we'll be doing on the road trip back down to the lower 48 this summer.  Although, I don't know if we'll have the privilege of gazing out at such beautiful landscapes.

Then again, maybe we will.  Stay tuned!

Ta-ta for now.

♪ On Top of Monashka, All Covered with Cheese... ♫ Not Really.

I feel like someone ran over me with a truck.  Like, a giant 18-wheeler.  This is when you ask me, why is that, buttercup?

We decided to do a day hike up Monashka Mountain and camp overnight at the top this past weekend.  It was incredible and I'm glad we did it.  But.  You knew there had to be a but, right?  The short answer is the hike kicked my ass.

The Pugbull is ready to hike!

Put it this way - I've only day hiked.  This was my first overnight.  You know what's a really big deal with an overnight hike?  Weight.  Weight in your pack.  Because you're hauling all that crap up the mountain with you.  Note to self:  do not pack the two lb hard cover library book thinking you're going to read up there.  Not gonna happen.

Thanks for nothing, Neil Gaiman. (It was his 460-something page novel, American Gods)  Go ahead, ask me how many pages I read.  That's right, zero.  Just added a couple of pounds to my back for the joy of it.

Second note to self:  Hoofing twenty lbs on your back up to an 1,800 foot elevation is...intense.  What a friggin' workout!  Oh, but we were so bright eyed and bushy tailed when we set out:

I had no concept of what I was in for!

And hubby was the total pack-horse.  I'm bitching about the weight in my pack, but his was double.  For real - forty pounds of gear.  We weighed it before we left.  He carried the tent, sleeping bags, food, water, etc, etc.  God bless him.

All the stuff!

His pack was designed for loads like this, with a weight belt to counterbalance the load and all sorts of bells and whistles for back country hiking.  But heavy is heavy.  Lesson learned for both of us:  We don't need that much stuff.

After about an hour and a half, I looked about like this.  My sisters will commiserate with tomato face syndrome during exercise.  It's dead sexy.

That peanut butter crunch Clif bar was heaven

Just keep putting one foot in front of the other!  This isn't even halfway.

After the - we'll just call it challenging - hike up Monashka, we set up camp in a nice flat, alpine tundra with a spectacular 360 degree view.

I second guessed a lot of the things I chose to pack, but not one thing.  One of the heaviest items in my bag.  5 cans of Coors Light & a cold pack to keep them frosty.  Probably 5 lbs of weight.  Worth it!

I can't even explain to you how fabulous that first frosty sip was after the grueling trek up to our 1,800 ft camp.  And Coors Light isn't even really my beer.  I thought about that cold deliciousness as motivation the whole damn way up.  Like I said - worth it!

We had a surprisingly tasty dinner of freeze dried chili mac and cheese.  Or maybe it's just that when you burn that many calories at one time, anything tastes good.  Cardboard sandwich?  Yes, please, may I have another?  The hubby was our chef for the evening. And by chef I mean boil water and pour it in the pouch. 

We had a super cool Jet Boil contraption to cook

Cheety was highly interested in my chili mac

Speaking of his highness, in the morning after our camp, Cheety decided to tear ass down the mountain after...wait for it.  Mountain goats.  He bolted after them in a woefully unsuccessful attempt at herding.  I guess he needed a reminder that he isn't in fact a goat herder.  Don't tell him that, though.

I thought he was going to hurl himself off the mountain in his over-the-top exuberance about the goats.  They just casually glanced over at him and toddled away on the cliff side.  Maybe he was a cattle dog in his past life.  After that debacle, his roaming privileges were revoked.  Can't be having Pugbulls fling themselves off cliff sides.

That's a naughty goat dog!

We were treated to a gorgeous sunset at the typical summer in Alaska hour of 11:10PM.  We're about a week from the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and then the days start getting shorter again.  The sunset didn't disappoint.

I'm glad we pulled the trigger and committed to the mountain over night camping trip.  It was beautiful, and unforgettable in all sorts of ways.  Good & bad!  But, I don't know whether I'd want to embark on a part two!  Maybe a less intense hike.  Something a little more low key at perhaps a lower elevation.  And no hard cover books in the pack!  But beers?  Oh, yes.

Ta-ta for now.

I love this family picture!