Running for my Disney - Finally a TR!

[WanderlustNZ]

The town looks cute. Clearly a bit touristy, but I'm a bit of a fan of the Old Wild West architecture.

 

[zanzibar138]

The town looks cute. Clearly a bit touristy, but I'm a bit of a fan of the Old Wild West architecture.

I like the old wild west look too, but I prefer the more authentic stuff. Only one of these buildings was actually original, the one that housed the little museum thing. I guess what bothered me was it was less about the history and more about novelties. There really wasn't much around to read about the original town, and the mine tour didn't help much It was a fun stop though and I'm glad we went

 

[zanzibar138]

Calico Ghost Town - Kernville (via Red Rock Canyon State Park)

We had much more desert driving to do before we hit the forest. Most was pretty boring again.

Unfortunately I hadn’t printed out a map of the directions to Red Rock Canyon State Park, thinking that TomTom would tell us where it was. That will teach me for relying so heavily on technology – TomTom didn’t recognise it! Never mind we thought. There should be plenty of signage once we get closer. Wrong again. Apparently it’s such a small and unknown park, people don’t care where it is lol! DH saved the day with his iPad, using what he could of google maps.

Due to the nature of our navigator, we did get lost a couple of times. One of our wrong turns led us to an odd little town in the middle of nowhere. It had kind of a ghost town vibe, but seemed to be a still thriving little community. I wish I’d have taken photos as it’s really hard to explain.

After we back-tracked through the strange little town, we found ourselves following a train line for a while before turning onto another main highway. This highway cut straight through the middle of the park.





We turned off at the small and poorly signed exit for the park, to get a closer look at the crazy rock formations. The rocks were very fragile, more like mud.



It was unlike anything I’d seen before, and worth a short visit since we were practically going past anyway.

We kept driving down the little road to actually quite a decent looking visitor’s centre. There were even bigger areas of the red rock formations inside the park, but we decided we didn’t have enough time to make it worthwhile paying the entrance fee. If we’d have had an hour to spare, I would have definitely considered it more highly.

Not long after we got back on the freeway, we started noticing some changes in the landscape. We noticed some Joshua Trees making an appearance again, and figured we must be starting our climb. Going through the foothills was really interesting, as the sunny side of the hill was desert, and the shady side was sparse alpine vegetation. This continued for many miles, with the shady sides of the hills getting more and more densely populated with alpine vegetation and larger trees, which eventually started crossing over to the sunny side too.

We started to be able to see Lake Isabella over some of the ridges, and the road starting getting a bit windy. On this whole trip, the thing that surprised me the most is how quickly the landscape and vegetation changes. Within about half an hour, we’d gone from completely barren middle of nowhere desert landscape, to a shady alpine area.

During the drive, we had decided that we would stop at the Kernville Brewing Company on our way through to the hotel. It turned out to be nearly dinner time by the time we got there, so we decided we may as well have something to eat there too. Mum and I shared some quesadillas, which were quite good. All the meals here came with waffle fries, which I’d never heard of, but seem to be quite a big thing in the US.



We all loved the town of Kernville. It was clean and unspoilt. Not a maccas to be seen (or chain restaurants of any description).

As the boys had indulged in a couple of beverages with dinner (they were of course obliged to try several different beers), I took the driver’s seat for the rest of the journey to the hotel. The hotel was a few miles out of town on that same street, but it did become a little windy, and being close to dusk I was a little worried about animals. We did see a small herd of deer in one of the neighbouring paddocks, but luckily none decided to jump out in front of me.

The road followed the river, and we noticed the huge number of campsites all the way along. There were porta-potties and dumpsters dotted throughout, left over from the Labor Day weekend. We couldn’t believe how well set up they were. I’ve never heard of any Australian campsites having extra toilets and bins shipped in for long weekends!

We stayed at Corral Creek Resort, which I think was our favourite accommodation on the trip. It was beautiful and quiet, just opposite a lovely section of river, the rooms were clean and spacious, and had some cute touches throughout. AND there was a beautiful deck where we could gather (there were no suites at the hotel, so we got separate rooms).









The lady who checked us in was friendly and helpful, and told us where some good places were for dinner. She told us how lucky we were that we’d missed the chaotic weekend. They were still catching up on cleaning etc (this was on Wednesday). I told her that was not luck lol! Apart from us, there was only one other couple in the whole hotel. The hotel had thoughtfully placed us at opposite ends of the building.

After settling into our rooms, the boys decided that they wanted some snacks and drinks to sit out on the deck with. Since Mum wasn’t driving, and the boys still couldn’t, it looked like it was up to me again. I protested a little, not being too keen on driving that section of road back into town as it was getting dark, but was quickly overthrown. There ended up being a small general store only a couple of miles from the hotel, so I didn’t have to drive far. The boys picked out some wine for me as a thank you present lol!

When we got back, we enjoyed sitting out on the deck and discussing our adventures for the day, and the plans for tomorrow.

 

[PrincessInOz]

DH has been to Calico but I haven't. We've both been to Bodie Ghost Town, which is much further north in Washington state. DH said that Calico was incredibly touristy.

If you ever get the opportunity, Bodie is worth seeing. IMO, it's the real deal.

Kernville sounds nice. Glad that you had a great hotel this time round. It looks lovely.

 

[zanzibar138]

DH has been to Calico but I haven't. We've both been to Bodie Ghost Town, which is much further north in Washington state. DH said that Calico was incredibly touristy.

If you ever get the opportunity, Bodie is worth seeing. IMO, it's the real deal.

Kernville sounds nice. Glad that you had a great hotel this time round. It looks lovely.

For us Calico was more of a stop to break up the drive than an actual visit to a ghost town. If I ever get more serious about wanting to visit an actual ghost town, I will keep Bodie in mind

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I always feel compelled to take picks of the lamps as well. There is something quite charming about all the animal silhouette lamps they have over there.

 

[zanzibar138]

I always feel compelled to take picks of the lamps as well. There is something quite charming about all the animal silhouette lamps they have over there.

I love them!

FWIW there was also a critter themed toilet roll holder in the bathroom. Mum got the picture of that one

 

[WanderlustNZ]

FWIW there was also a critter themed toilet roll holder in the bathroom. Mum got the picture of that one

It sounds like me taking pics of the bear salt and pepper holder.

 

[zanzibar138]

Kernville (Sequoia National Forest)

We all enjoyed our basic continental breakfast on the deck. The breakfast was available in the check-in area, and was basically a small selection of pre-packaged cereals and pastries. There was a small fridge nearby with milk and juice. We were encouraged to take extras, so we took some extra juice and fruit loops for this morning's outing. Then we hit the road.

It was about a half hour drive up winding mountain roads to get to the Trail of 100 Giants. As we climbed, we noticed the forest getting thicker and thicker, and Dad noticed the petrol getting lower and lower. We figured we'd have enough to get us there and back.

We arrived at the carpark for the trail and spent a bit of time talking to the ranger there. As well as telling us a bit about the park, he confirmed that the closest petrol station was back in Kernville. We had to cross the main road to get to the trail head, but it was pretty quiet that day. I hated to think what it would have been like a few days earlier though on the long weekend.



The trail was beautiful and we were all blown away by the size of the trees. We spent a couple of hours there wandering around. It was a nice cool place to hang around too, with the altitude and the forest both bringing down the temperature.





Along the way there were some fallen 'twins'. Apparently a German tourist had been in the area when they fell, and captured the whole thing on video (after running away of course!). It would have been super scary!





We were very excited to see numerous squirrels and chipmunks in the area. Luckily my camera was still co-operating enough to get some decent photos.





There was another large fallen tree a bit further along. It had been there for a very long time, and where it had been cut to allow access, we were astonished to see that the inside of the trunk was practically solid!



Eventually we came to the end of the trail, and said our goodbyes to the trees. We'd all had a great time and it had definitely been another highlight of the trip. We coasted back down the mountain.



Dad was conscious of the petrol situation, but since it was all downhill and we weren't using much, he allowed us one stop.





We made it into town with plenty of petrol of course (the light hadn't even come on yet ), and decided to have some lunch while we were in there. We ended up at the brewing company again for a very enjoyable lunch.

When we got back to the hotel, I was pretty keen on checking out the river across the road. Mum and DH decided to come with me. It was a really nice patch of river, crystal clear and with a good selection of rocks to sit on. The water was refreshing but not too cold.



Before long, we had all decided to go back for our bathers and have a proper swim! Dad came back with us too, and we spent a couple of hours splashing around and chatting.

Dinner that night was at McNally's Steak House down the road. The steaks were expensive, but pretty good (pretty on par with Australian standard at a normal restaurant). Mum and I shared a meal and for a small surcharge we got our own sides.

We all had a fantastic time in Kernville, and were pretty sad to think that we'd be leaving the next day.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

The Sequoia forest looks great.
We have a forest in Rotorua full of American redwoods and it's one of my favourite places in the country to go walking. I'd love to visit a similar place in the USA where the trees would presumably be even bigger and more impressive.

 

[zanzibar138]

The Sequoia forest looks great.
We have a forest in Rotorua full of American redwoods and it's one of my favourite places in the country to go walking. I'd love to visit a similar place in the USA where the trees would presumably be even bigger and more impressive.

We have some pretty big trees in the Dandenongs, but I'd never seen anything like that!

I assume the Sequoia National Park (as opposed to the national forest) has even bigger and more impressive trees. We were quite happy with the forest though - it was beautiful and quiet (only saw two other groups the whole time we were there) and was much less out of the way for us.

 

[zanzibar138]

Kernville - Santa Margarita

Not too many photos from today, as there wasn't really much to take photos of!

We checked out of our accommodation relatively early and hit the road again. The first bit of the drive, leaving the Lake Isabella area, was a bit arduous. We basically followed the Kern River out, on a narrow windy road with cliffs on either side of us (one up, one down). Mum did not enjoy this part of the drive.

Once we were through the mountains, most of the rest of the drive was on pretty boring straight flat roads, with not much to look at. We passed through a bit of an agricultural area, and enjoyed seeing some of the different crops and trying to figure out what they all were. We also passed a big field of oil rigs all pumping away. We stopped at a Denny's for lunch.

As we got closer to the coast, the land started getting a little hilly again, and greener. When we turned off the highway onto a little narrow windy road through local farmland, Dad thought I was leading him astray I wasn't of course, and it wasn't long after that we had found the Santa Margarita KOA.



The whole campground was set up on a steep hill, and our cabin was towards the top. It was such a serious hill, some of the sites at the top were 4WD only. Ours wasn't, but we were pretty glad we had a 4WD anyway!



We got settled in our little cabin (we were in a brand new one with 2 queen bedrooms). We had purchased a linen package, but were surprised to find that we had to make our own beds. The rooms were pretty small, and it was difficult to fit all our luggage in the cabin, but we managed in the end.



It was still pretty early when we arrived, so we thought we'd check out the lake. It would have been walkable (in fact, my parents ran there the next day), but it was a couple of kms over some big hills, so we decided to drive. Usually you have to pay to get in, but the ranger there gave us a free 20 minute pass so we could check it out before deciding if we wanted to stay longer. It turned out that 20 minutes was plenty of time. As we drove around, we saw plenty of squirrels and deer.





The lake itself was nice, but nothing spectacular, and there was no boardwalk or any trails around it. The only trails were in the surrounding hills.



When we were done at the lake, we decided to check out the town of Santa Margarita to see what our dinner options were. Turns out that the town of Santa Margarita is tiny and really didn't have much available. There was one very fancy restaurant, a couple of bars, and some very basic supermarkets that were more like glorified bottle shops. There really wasn't anything suitable for dinner at all, so we headed back to the campground and figured we'd pick something up at the general store there.

The general store there didn't have much in the way of dinner either. We were hoping for some frozen meals, like a Lean Cuisine or something, but there was really nothing remotely like it. We picked up a few bits and pieces (a can of chilli, a microwave mac n cheese, rolls etc) and had a hodgepodge dinner.

Before we had dinner, Mum and I walked to the top of the hill to see if we would have any luck with the sunset. Backing onto the campground, there was a paddock full of goats and their guard dog. The dog seemed to be fast asleep when we first saw it, but immediately woke up and came running over to see us off. After a while it realised we weren't a threat and went back to sleep.



Unfortunately we did not get a great sunset, but we did have a nice walk.





After dinner the boys started on their beers, while us girls had run out of wine. Dad sent us down to the store to get some more. Unfortunately the store didn't have much in the way of wine either, so we came back with some ice-creams It was a really hard slog getting back up that hill, but I was very proud to make it all the way up without having to stop for a rest! I felt like I deserved my ice-cream after that anyway.



We called it a fairly early night, and DH and I made a start on our packing (he would only have one more night before he left the US).

 

[PrincessInOz]

Glad you got to enjoy the sequoia trees. They are special, aren't they?

So.....did you make up your own bed?

 

[zanzibar138]

Glad you got to enjoy the sequoia trees. They are special, aren't they?

So.....did you make up your own bed?

Yes, we all dutifully made our own beds.

The sequoias really were amazing!

 

[zanzibar138]

San Luis Obispo

Today was the day we would finally make it out to the coast. We had a stop on the way though, for a 1 hour horse ride at the Madonna Inn. We were greeted by their resident goat.



The horses were already lined up in the corral. Like most of the property, there was a bit of kitsch around.



This was my horse, Diesel. He was actually quite a big horse, but he took good care of me.



Everyone else was assigned a horse and helped aboard too.



Although there were a few groups there for the 9am ride, we were split up with different guides. It was just the four of us in our group, and we had a great guide who told us a lot about the property and the horses.

The ride took us up the hill from the corrals, with great views of San Luis Obispo. The land has been opened up to the public, and we shared our path with mountain bikers, hikers, dog walkers, and runners.



The guide told us about how the central coast is in the middle of a massive drought at the moment. It certainly did look very dry and dusty, and the cacti provided the only greenery.







I really loved Mum's horse, as he reminded me of our horse that we sold a few years ago.



In this photo you can see the 'train' of runners coming down the hill. Mum's horse got a bit freaked out with the runners approaching, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.



The ride was over way too fast. Even Dad enjoyed it



After the ride we decided to stop in at the Madonna Inn itself for some morning tea. The whole place is really gaudy and over the top, although it has some nice cottage style gardens.



There is a lot of stonework, and pink is everywhere - apparently it was Mrs Madonna's favourite colour.



This was the main restaurant. It was a bit too formal for us on this occasion.



We went to the cafe area, which was also completely over the top, but a little more casual. We had lemonades, which we drank out of big clear plastic goblets, and Mum and I shared a cake. It was definitely an experience! They do offer accommodation in various themed suites and, at pretty much exactly the halfway point between San Francisco and LA, I think it would be a fun place to stay the night!

To be continued

 

[PrincessInOz]

Until I got to the last picture, I was thinking....."this isn't too over the top"???.....and then I saw the last picture.

Nice dry looking trail. Were the views nice?

 

[zanzibar138]

Morro Bay & Montana de Oro State Park

When we finished our morning tea we hit the road again, heading to Morro Bay. Coming into Morro Bay, we could see the famous rock on the horizon and headed towards it. We found a carpark at the bottom of the rock and wandered around. Unfortunately there was no way to interact with the rock, you're not allowed to climb it or anything.



We wandered along the beach and checked out some of the local wildlife.





It was quite cool on the beach, and it wasn't that exciting. Mum was happy though, as she'd wanted to see a California beach (any beach lol!).



There were a few people out on the water, more in the bay area, on paddle boards etc. We decided not to bother with any of the more active pursuits and instead made our way to Montana de Oro State Park, just down the road. I preferred the view of the rock from further away as part of the landscape.



We didn't have a great map of the area, so my plan was just to drive along and stop wherever there was an interesting sounding sign. Unfortunately the park wasn't particularly well signed, and I feel like we missed something important. Instead, we stopped at a random trailhead and took the walk down to the beach.



To be fair, it was a pretty nice beach. I much prefer rocky beaches to sandy ones. There were plenty of tidepools in the rocks, but none seemed to have any sea creatures in them, so we just admired the rocks themselves.







When we'd had enough at the beach, we took a different track back up to the trailhead, and kept driving.





We passed what seemed to be a very popular spot, and decided that we might stop there on the way back. To my surprise, the road finished not too much further along, so we pretty much headed back there straight away. It turned out to be like a mini bay with a small sandy beach and some more nice rocks.



We headed down and checked it out. A wedding party was just packing up, so we assumed that had caused some of the congestion in the carpark.







It turned out the sandy beach was actually kind of gravelly. It looked nice anyway, which is my main concern with beaches

We moved on from the state park, heading back into Morro Bay for a late lunch/early dinner. We parked in the main foreshore area this time, and walked over to the jetty area looking for some fish and chips. I heard a weird noise walking past and looked down to see a group of seals looking back up at me!



We watched their antics for a while before moving on.



We found a seafood place a bit further up, which was right on the water with a great view of the rock.



We had the worst service ever, felt completely ignored, had our order messed up, and paid far too much for average food. At the end of the meal, we couldn't even find our server, and ended up just going to the cashier ourselves. We did not tip well.

On our way back to the cabin, we picked up some snacks and drinks for later. We enjoyed another peaceful night, the last one of the trip with DH.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Morro Bay is probably the least favourite of the beaches in that Central Coast of California. I think Pismo has a much nicer sandy beach; and the interest of a long pier.

But there is no denying that there is more rocky platform at Morro to explore and look for intertidal organisms.

Glad you found the seals! That's a nice looking seal you captured.

 

[zanzibar138]

Until I got to the last picture, I was thinking....."this isn't too over the top"???.....and then I saw the last picture.

Nice dry looking trail. Were the views nice?

Yeah the outside just looked like a nice (but big) building. We were all blown away when we went inside lol! Looks like I didn't take many photos (my camera was really starting to play up by this time), but here's another one.



The views from the trail were nice, but I don't seem to have captured them very well. Must have been focusing on the horsies

 

[zanzibar138]

Morro Bay is probably the least favourite of the beaches in that Central Coast of California. I think Pismo has a much nicer sandy beach; and the interest of a long pier.

But there is no denying that there is more rocky platform at Morro to explore and look for intertidal organisms.

Glad you found the seals! That's a nice looking seal you captured.

Thanks

No one in my family is that fussed about beaches. Mum didn't care what beach she saw, she just wanted to see one (no idea why ). So we just went to the closest one.

I read afterwards that you can often see sea otters from the base of the rock, and that there is a very nice walk along the top of the cliff at the state park. I don't think I did enough research But at least I found the seals