Our Time Well Spent In California

Catching up.

Western Scrub Jay

Near Coarsegold, CA, we stayed at the Escapees SKP RV Park called Park of the Sierra.  We were about 25 miles south of Yosemite National Park's south gate.  

 

We liked the tiered sites with mature trees that seem to give more privacy.

The sheds here look a little bigger than the ones in Oregon, but they are all the same color and shape.

 Here are some photos of different sites.

The biggest plus was the people.  They were very friendly and went out of their way to welcome us.

They are very proud of their park and they should be.  They did all the planning and the building - roads, sites, and the center.  All well done!

 

Quite a difference between Coarsegold, CA and Sutherlin, OR.  It is certainly a lot hotter at Coarsegold.  We were looking forward to some warmer weather around 80 degrees, but it  was so hot and dry that everything crunches.  Well, except for the cats...they just wilt when we took them outside.

A lot of quails

There were birds everywhere along with lots of squirrels and other little critters.  In the park newsletter, they post a list of who sighted critters where.

During our stay, we were given a tour of the park.  During the tour, we were shown this tree inside the RV park and found it very interesting.  The Escapees put up bat houses around the park, but the most interesting  thing is what the Acorn Woodpeckers have been doing to this old tree.  They also like the sheds and the stagecoach.  Check out all the carving they did on this one limb.

They also store acorns in every little nook and cranny they can find.  If you click on the photo below, you can see the acorns stored in the cut off limb.

Even the bark has acorns stored in it.

The Acorn Woodpeckers were not wanting their photo taken. Sandy managed to get this one of a red breasted sapsucker.

Before we moved on, we decided not to signup with Park of the  Sierra due to  location and traffic.  Now if we can move the park and all the people to a better location....

Yosemite National Park

We visited Yosemite twice during our stay in Coarsegold.  We did not drive the Tioga Road which is farther north and would have turned into a long day of driving.

Come sit a while ~ Wawona Hotel

We walked through the Mariposa Grove to see the Sierra Redwoods.

Standing among the giants

California Tunnel Tree

The scenic views were breath-taking and hard to capture with a camera.  We visited during the off-season and the place was still busy.

Yosemite National Park - Valley

Traffic in Yosemite was almost as bad as being downtown.  They say this national park is one of the most visited parks.

Yosemite National Park - Valley

But, Sandy did manage to get quite a few shots with no people in it.  Timing is everything!

Yosemite National Park - Valley

Yosemite National Park - Valley

We had lunch at The Awhahnee in Yosemite Valley.  A little pricey, but Sandy loved her Waldorf Chicken Croissant.  Sitting outdoors on such a beautiful day was very relaxing.

 The Awhahnee

We had entertainment too.  This is just one of many squirrels that were running around under our chairs and tables.  Snooping for dropped food and every once in a while to look up at people to see if they would take pity on them.  One even tried to go inside except one of the staff saw him coming and scared him away.  

Got lunch?

Funny, he doesn't look like he is starving.  Oh, there were "Do Not Feed" signs up everywhere so it must be all those acorns he has been eating.

After lunch, we went to Glacier Point to see El Capitan and Yosemite Valley.

Yosemite National Park - Glacier Point

Now that's quite a view!

Yosemite National Park - Glacier Point

There was a Black and White photo of women posing on this over hanging.  Three women posing with their arms over each other's shoulders and kicking one leg into the air.  We will stick to the railed in areas...thank you.

Yosemite National Park - Glacier Point



We drove quickly from CA to AZ, spending one night on Barstow USMC base, and one night at Gila Bend AZ USAF base that is contract run.  After that we spent one week on Davis Monthan AFB in Tucson AZ to do some shopping before moving to Patagonia AZ for our winter hosting gig.


Happy Trails!