Road Trip 8, P. 11

The wind finally died down to a gentle breeze, the temperatures were in the low 80's and we found a good place to spend a night. We BBQ'd some country pork ribs, potatoes and zucchini and spent a nice evening here.

Saturday and Sunday, June 14 and 15, Tahoe State Recreation Area, Tahoe City, North Lake Tahoe, California.

This campground is immediately west of Tahoe City within easy walking distance of restaurants, shops, the lake, bike and hiking trails and all of Tahoe City, which is a very nice little resort town.

It's at 6000 feet or so elevation, so it cooled off nicely at night even thought the days we warm.

We stayed two nights moving from a shady spot near the bath house to a more exposed site with a nice lake view the second night.

We set up the screen room to get a little shade during the day.

That greenish metal box is a bear box. You are required to put anything that bears might like to munch on (which apparently includes anything that smells vaguely like food, from toothpaste to bug spray and everything in between, including actual food) in that box. Otherwise, Yogi and Boo Boo will show up and feast on your toiletries or anything else that smells good, maybe even you!

Tahoe City from the van window as we left on Monday Morning.

Monday afternoon, June 16, Chico, CA

We left Tahoe on CA Route 89 and headed northwest to CA Route 70 which took us southwest down to Chico. It was one of the most scenic and enjoyable 150 mile-drive of this trip, or any of the road trips we've made. I guess I should have snapped a couple photos.

In Chico, we met up with the Evers family (minus Sara) plus Ashley's friend Lauren and Lauren's mom Donna.

Ashley (on the right) and Lauren will start college at Chico this fall and they were in town for Freshmen orientation, signing up for classes and stuff like that. They also had sessions for the parents to assure them that their kids would be closely watched and supervised at all times, that Chico, contrary to popular opinion, really isn't a party school and that no Chico students have ever been caught drinking beer and skinny-dipping late at night in the town's famous outdoor, river-fed swimming facility (see photo above). Ha, ha, ha, I crack myself up!

You've nothing to worry about Steve & Lynn & Donna. Ha, ha, ha..

The last night on the road

.We spent out last night in a National Forest Campground near the Grapevine north of LA. It was over 100 degrees in the Central Valley put up here at 4500 feet or so, it was in the mid-70's and cooled off nicely at night. There were only a couple other campers so it was very quiet. For our last on-the-road dinner we poached some tilapia in spicy tomato sauce, steamed some spinach, cooked up some orzo with melted feta, and maybe had a cocktail and then some wine.

So ended another excellent road trip. We made it back to Encinitas on Wednesday, June 18, at about noon.