Kings on the Road

Baja, Part 5 – Los Barriles

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Kings On the Road

Our Baja Winters Caravan http://www.bajawinters.com took us to the Playa Norte RV Park in Los Barriles Baja California Sur. The owner William welcomed us and saved several beachfront sites for our group. From this point of the trip we were each on our own. The caravan leaders left us to do what we wanted for the next 18 days. Several members ventured out to Cabo Pulmo, Todos Santos and Cabo San Lucas. Many of us fell in love with the beach and stayed at Playa Norte. The winter beaches on The Sea of Cortez are very popular with kiteboarders and windsurfers. It is amazing to wake up to calm winds, quiet beaches and then about noon the wind jumps up and the beach fills with these incredible athletes. This would happen day after day until suddenly there will be no wind for a few days, then it comes again.

Our campsite

Beach at Playa Norte

Los Barriles town entrance

Kiteboarders and Windsurfers

Cows on the beach

While we loved the relaxation of the beach we also ventured off in various directions in our tow car to explore southern Baja. We visited our friends Grant and Arabelle at Cabo Pulmo. Right at the Tropic of Cancer, Cabo Pulmo is home to a large Marine National Park and a very accessible coral reef. The town itself is on a very dusty washboard dirt road and has only solar power for electricity but very picturesque.

Downtown Cabo Pulmo

Beach at Los Frailes

We also made the obligatory trip to Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo at the southern tip of Baja. The “Corridor” is extremely developed with gated communities and high end resorts cheek to jowl. Traffic was hectic as expected but we made the best of it visiting the Glass Factory to view highly skilled glass blowers. We also ate at The Trailer Park Restaurant, a local place recommended in Church’s Guide to Baja Camping. Turns out we learned a new vegan meal. Spagetti with Roasted Poblano Pepper and Corn Sauce garnished with pecans. Delicious. Who knew that spagetti was a popular food in Mexican cuisine.

The Glass Factory

Treasures

Beautiful San Jose del Cabo

Another day trip from Los Barriles was to the Cactus Sanctuary, San Bartolo and El Triunfo. These were all lcated northeast in the mountains. Our friend Arabelle took a cooking class in San Bartolo and we all had good coffee and local pastries in a beautiful setting. The cactus Sanctuary was a bit of a disappointment. It was not well cared for and the number of varieties was limited. Baja is such a great home for cactus, we expected more. We did have the excitement of finding a rattlesnake just off the trail. El Triunfo was another sleepy old town that was once the center of a huge silver and gold mining operation with 30,000 people. We enjoyed a fine meal at the cafe. There is a lot of restoration going on in town and we learned that a Wal-Mart heiress is funding much of it.

Cactus Sanctuary

Crested Cardon

Flowering Cardon – largest cactus on earth

Resident rattlesnake

Bougainvillea at San Bartolo

Church at El Triunfo

Todos Santos was yet another day trip. We traveled there via a new expressway bypassing Cabo. Everyone was excited about the new road. Todos Santos is a very touristic town with classic architecture, gift shops and restaurants. And Hotel California! We ate at a local fish market/cafe and had the best grilled fish and shrimp tacos (a deviation from the strict vegan diet) and drinks for $9.00.

Welcome to the Hotel California

Todos Santos street scene

Los Barriles was a great base for us. The town was just the right size with a good mix of snowbirds and locals. We could walk for miles on the beach or just relax at our campsite with a view of the beach. There was a nice mix of restauants, shops and a very good supermarket. They even had a farmers market where we could pickup a huge bag of vegies for $3.88. Like our own CSA. We loved eating the local cuisine.

Last sunrise at Los Barriles

Posted in Mexico, RV Travel | Tagged Baja California, beaches, churches, glassblowing, great vegan food, kiteboarding, plants | Comments Off

Whales of Baja

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Kings On the Road

When we considered a trip to Baja, a major incentive was the whale presense in the winter. We had learned the gray whales travel south from Alaska to mate and have their babies in the lagoons of Baja. The mothers and babies then return to the same lagoon the next season.

Wow! If you need just one more reason to visit Baja, the whales are it. At Scammon’s Lagoon on the Pacific coast of central Baja we had the most incredible experience with huge gray whales. Mothers and babies swam right up to our boats, raised their heads to be petted. At least four mother whales with their offspring stayed around our group of 3 small boats for well over an hour. They were very comfortable and relaxed and seemed to look right at us. It was one of the most amazing things we have ever experienced.

The lagoon is part of a huge reserve managed by the federal government. The nearest city is Guerrero Negro, a company town run by the sea salt company. Guerrero Negron is not easy to get to. The nearest airport is probably Ensenada over 300 miles away. There are very few boats authorized to take visitors to see the whales. The cost is little – $50USD per person for a 4 hour tour. At the time of our tour, there had been over 2000 mothers and babies counted in the lagoon. Over 800 were babies. They seemed to enjoy our visit as much as we did. Click on the photo for a larger view.

Posted in Mexico, RV Travel | Tagged Baja California, whales | 7 Comments

Baja, Part 3 – Loreto to La Paz

Posted on February 21, 2016 by Kings On the Road

5 Febrero – 10 Febrero

Traveling south from Playa Santispac we enter the oldest city in all of California, Loreto. It was the capital of all Californias, including what became a US state, for 130 years. The mission was built in 1697. Loreto is a nice, clean small city on the Sea of Cortez. We stayed in an RV park walking distance from the historic center with its beautiful hotel and arched tree shopping areas. I think we all felt very comfortable. And now we are in the tropics. Mango trees and warm nights. There is a Super Ley supermarket in Loreto too. A good chance to stock up on groceries. We stayed 2 nights at Riviera Del Mar RV Park. It was tight with our 13 RVs, but we made it work.

Spanish Capital of all California

Mission church built in 1697

Famous arched ficus trees

Loreto Malecon

We would spend 2 days driving from Loreto to La Paz. After leaving the coast Mexico 1 climbs through the mountains before reaching a huge plateau with many large farms. We passed through Ciudad Insurgentes before reaching Palapa 206 RV Park near Ciudad Constitucion. This was the spot for citrus. Many of us bought huge bags of oranges for 50 pesos, about $2.75. Most of the caravan group gathered to watch the Superbowl off a Canadian dish one of the group had.

Superbowl sunset- Ciudad Constitucion, Baja California Sur

On to La Paz. A mostly boring drive through farms and scrub desert. We saw the Sea of Cortez once again as we approached La Paz, a city of over 200,000. It was Carnaval time. What a wonderful party in La Paz. Thousands of people, locals and visitors, live music, colorful floats, dancing and a family atmosphere. La Paz is said to have the second best Carnaval in Mexico. Mexico City first? It was great. We were so glad we went. And it was so good to go with friends from our caravan. We had a great seats in a restaurant on the parade route. We spent 2 nights in La Paz at Campestre Marantha RV Park.

Bienvenidos La Paz

Carnaval Parade

Fat Tuesday

Huge Carnaval crowd

Posted in Mexico, RV Travel | Tagged Carnaval, citrus, Ciudad Constitucion, Historic Baja, La Paz, Loreto | 3 Comments

Baja, Part 2 – Days 4 thru 7

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Kings On the Road

Baja Mexico Caravan Adventure, Part 2 (Note: Click on pics for a larger view)

Day 4, 1 Febrero. San Ignacio is a typical authentic Baja village built around an oasis in a vast sea of desert. They say there are more palms than people in the town. We stayed at Rice and Beans RV Park. It was a cozy campground with a good restaurant. We visited the town and its historic church. The plaza was dominated by several gigantic ficus trees. Whale watching is available from here to San Ignacio lagoon on the Pacfic coast about an hour drive away.

San Ignacio church

San Ignacio street scene-note the english signboard

Days 5,6,7 Febrero 2-4 We have crossed the Baja Peninsula and arrived at the Sea of Cortez AKA Gulf of California. We passd through the copper mining town of Santa Rosalia before reaching the village of Mulege. Playa Santispac, just south of town, would be our campsite on the beach for 3 nights. We all said “this is it!” Gorgeous views, wide crescent beach, islands just into the Bahia de Concepcion. Paradise. We had another margarita fueled pot luck on the beach. Some of the group enjoyed nearly pure tequila margaritas at Armando’s Restaurant. We met a full time resident who grew up in Miami and attended Killian High school. Small world. Weather was unseasonably cool and very windy. We’ll be back here later in the trip hoping for better conditions.

Entrance to historic Mulege

Classic Baja shop

RVs on the beach at Playa Santispac

Playa Santispac

Bahia de Concepcion, Sea of Cortez

Posted in Mexico, RV Travel | Tagged beaches, desert, Oasis, RV camping | 3 Comments

Baja Caravan, Part 1- Days 1 thru 3

Posted on February 15, 2016 by Kings On the Road

Our great Baja California Mexico tour with John and Becky of Baja Winters began at the KOA in Chula Vista CA, USA. We met and introduced ourselves to our new friends, then traveled to the border for our 6 month tourist card and to buy pesos. We exchanged 1USD for 18 Mexican pesos.

Our Baja Winters Caravan

Day 1, 29 Enero 2016 we had an easy crossing at Tecate. Some of the group of 13 RVs missed a turn and had to find their way back but overall it was an easy start. We all have CB radios and a handle. Our handle is “Greenman”. We visited a wine museum before setting up camp at Sordo Mudo RV Park, an interesting basic campground run by a school for the deaf. We learned it was the primary school for deaf children in all of Baja and survived on donations. We all contributed something in addition to the camp fees paid by John and Becky. A group of us visited L.A. Cetto winery nearby for a tour and tasting. They are a huge winery, the largest in Mexico. A friendly Baja Winters provided chicken dinner and pot luck rounded out a great first day.

On the road in Baja

At the wine museum

L.A. Cetto winery

Day 2, 30 Enero, we continued south joining Mexico highway 1 at Ensenada. Then we camped just inside the dunes on the Pacific Ocean at El Pabellon beach. John and Becky supplied margaritas and tamales and we had a great campfire of mesquite wood. It was pretty cool and breezy. More potluck dishes made it great.

RVs at El Pabellon Beach

View from our rig

El Pabellon Beach

Day 3, 31 Enero. The carvan entered the cactus and boulder country of Baja’s badlands. This area is very sparsely populated with beautiful landscapes everywhere. We camped near Catavina on a rancho. After we set up we had a tour to some spectacular cave paintings and a botanical guided walk. That night we had high winds and rain and the temperature dropped 20 degrees. Baja winter! OK, we can handle this. By now we are getting somewhat used to the roads of Baja. Lanes are only 9.5 feet wide with little or no shoulder beyond the white line. Sometimes the white line is gone! Its still nerve wracking when a tractor trailer or tour bus approaches.

Our camp at Rancho Ines near Catavina

Pictograph cave paintings near Catavina

The landscape in this area is truly a fantastic mix of extreme cactus and thorny desert trees along with exotic shaped granite bouders. The featured plants include the Boojum Tree and the Cardon Cactus, both very unique to Baja.

Cardon – the “official” tree of Baja

Crested or monstrous form of Cardon

Boojum tree – name taken from a Lewis Carroll story

Elephant tree

Exotic boulders

Ocotillo-new leaves backlite by the sun

Posted in Mexico, RV Travel | Tagged Baja California, cactus, desert, Oasis, RV camping | 4 Comments

California Trains – Part 1, Southern Cal.

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Kings On the Road

This is part 1 of a blog that started almost 3 years ago but grew too big to publish. After some editing we hope we have something railfans will appreciate and all will enjoy the pictures.

We start out in LA. The greater Los Angeles area is daunting to say the least. The traffic is legendary and the freeways are everywhere. If there is a problem you are screwed but there are many rail destinations to be seen. And each has something special to offer.

Cajon Pass Railroad Landmark

Visited April 2013. Very busy rail line connecting LA and Barstow CA. Unit trains of double stacked containers dominate the pass coming and going from the Port of Los Angeles to points East. Due to the many trains, beautiful scenery and easy access the pass is very popular with railfans and photographers. Amtrak’s Southwest Chief traverses this route. Union Pacific and BNSF trains dominate the line.

Cajon Pass-East of LA

UP at Cajon Pass

: Travel Town Railroad Museum, Griffith Park, Los Angeles CA

Visited April 1013. A part of a LA city park, this park has a collection of historic steam locomotives and a Disney like small train ride. Good way for LA city kids to learn about trains.

Randy with 0-6-0 “Goat” or Switching locomotive

Randy with 4-4-0 Steam Locomotive

Rail Giants Museum, Pomona CA

Visited April 2013. The Southern California Chapter of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society operates this outdoor museum on the grounds of the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona. This is a volunteer operation that just happened to be open the day we visited. The collection includes many rail giants including UP Big Boy 4014 – a 4-8-8-4, UP 9000 – a 4-12-2, SP 5021 – a 4-10-2, AT&SF 3450 – a Hudson type 4-6-4, as well as many others. The Big Boy locomotive in excellent condition with nearly all appliances intact. 2015 update: Union Pacific has now moved 4014 to be restored to operating condition at their steam program in Cheyenne WY.

UP Big Boy 4014

UP Big Boy 4-8-8-4

Giant 4-12-2 UP Locomotive

Orange Empire Railway Museum, Perris CA

Visited April 2013. This 90 acre museum has a large collection of Southern California rail history including many electric streetcars and interurban cars. Early in the 20th century there were over 1000 miles of electrified rail lines in and around Los Angeles and “the big red cars” were ubiquitous. Imagine this stronghold of the automobile was once served by the most extensive electric railway system in the world. Then the oil and auto industries took over 😦

Los Angeles Railway

The Big Red Car and UP

Amtrak Surfliner – Ventura to San Luis Obispo

Fast forward to January 2016, we are back in Southern California and taking Amtrak from Ventura to San Luis Obispo. This is a 3.5 hour trip on the Pacific Surfliner. This route runs right along the Pacific coast northward often squeezed between US101 and the sea. We stopped at Carpintera, Santa Barbara and Goleto before we reached the very undeveloped rural coast west of Lompoc. Turns out this area is so undeveloped because it is the sight of Vandenberg Air Forca Base, home of a large part of the US missle and space programs. As we passed by the conductor shared stories of the area. We saw an original vehicle assembly building for the Space Shuttle, a currently active ICBM site and the Space-X launch site. The line ends at San Luis Obispo, a favorite smallish California city. Overall the ride was very relaxing and ran almost perfectly on time. What a great way to travel in overcrowded California.

Amtrak F59 Locomotive

Santa Barbara Depot

California coast west of Lompoc

Surf, California

Missle launch site

ICBM site

Mission San Luis Obispo

Tehachapi Loop Civil Engineering Landmark, Tehachapi CA

Visited April 2013. The Tehachapi loop is a spiral or helix through the Tehachapi Mountains in south-central California. The Southern Pacific built the loop in 1874 to connect Bakersfield to Mohave and then LA. A 4000 foot train passes 77 feet over itself while climbing the 2% grade. The now Union Pacific line hosts over 40 trains per day making it one of the busiest single track routes in the world. BNSF has trackage rights.

Tehachapi Loop sketch

Tehachapi California

UP loops over itself

Posted in California, trains | Tagged Amtrak Surfliner, Cajon Pass, Griffith Park, Orange Empire, Rail Giants, San Luis Obispo, Tehachapi, Vandenberg AFB | Comments Off

Food for the Plant Based

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Kings On the Road

You probably know we are fairly food obsessed. For the past several years we have followed a plant based diet also known as a vegan lifestyle so we also have a huge focus on plants. We have had some success learning about wild edibles in Colorado, Florida and now Alaska and Canada.

Searching for wild edibles is a wonderful excuse to wander in the forest, bush or other wild places. While quietly walking we find we meet other creatures of the forest too. Other times we wander noisily so as to let the bear know we are about.

We have learned something of the art of wild mushroom collecting from Chris Ricci http://www.majestymushrooms.com/ in Colorado. In Florida, we have learned to Eat The Weeds with Green Deane http://www.eattheweeds.com/ . In Alaska we learned from the National Park Service rangers that there are no poisonous berries in Alaska and that blueberries (huckleberries) and cranberries are widely collected by visitors and families. Alaskan bears consume around 200,000 berries per day as they fatten up for winter. Red squirrels collect mushrooms which they stash in trees above the ground to dry for later use. Really! We also learned of more mushroom hunting in Alaska and British Columbia. In BC, foragers make a decent living selling Pine or Matsutake mushrooms to brokers who export to Japan. Once you’ve tasted and smelled the pine, it becomes a most sought species.

Alaskan wild blueberries

Collecting along Alaskan Hwy

Cranberries collected in Denali National Park

Birch Boletes collected in Denali

Boletes in the wild

Another forager

Matsutake mushrooms

In the category of Duh!, we learned that Washington and Oregon are huge mushroom collecting areas. Therein is a wonderful upside to all the rain. Greater Seattle boasts more than one mycological club, the largest of which has over 1200 members. Chanterelles we learned to collect in Colorado were about the size of your thumb. In Washington, they are the size of your head. And Pacific Northwest chanterelles are among the tastiest mushrooms in the world. We learned that mushroom collecting is a very localised thing. While in Colorado we were told there is no poisonous bolete look alike, in Washington there are poison bolete types. We also learned some new very easy to ID varieties such as lobster mushrooms and angel wings and had good luck finding them. The Puget Sound Mycological Society http://www.psms.org/index.php offers free ID clinics every Monday afternoon during the Fall season. We took advantage of this to learn all we could in one season.

Chanterelles collected in the Cascades

Lobster and White Boletes collected in Washington

Angel Wings collected in WA

One of our great joys traveling is finding fresh local food. Not only is it the freshest it is also usually a great value since it has little or no transport cost and therefore a reduced carbon footprint. In Washington we spent a day visiting Lopez Island and collected apples from an abandonded farm turned park.

Delicious Lopez Island apples

We found the best fresh walnuts in Oregon sold by the side of the road. In Morgan Hill CA we visited a mushroom farm where we purchased the freshest button and cremini and portobello mushrooms at great prices. We had visited Watsonville CA in the Spring of 2013 and found incredible deals on produce. We went back again in December and found the deals again including 7 artichokes for $1, and 5 avocados for $1. Citrus is also a great value in California.

Roadside markets in California offer incredible deals

Living a plant based lifestyle has its challenges but also its great joys. Its fun to relive and share with our friends.

Posted in Alaska, California, Canada, food, Oregon, RV Travel, Washington | Tagged Ag tourism, apples, artichokes, avocados, blueberries, cranberries, food, foraging, mushrooms, oranges, walnuts | 4 Comments

Hawaii – Part 4, Kuaui

Posted on January 9, 2016 by Kings On the Road

The last stop on our 4 island cruise was Kuaui, the garden island.

Entering Nawiliwili harbor

The first thing we wanted to see was Waimea Canyon. It is called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. The drive took us up to 4000 feet in eleation to look down into the 3000 foot canyon. Its like a miniature Grand Canyon.

View from the highway approaching Waimea Canyon

Waimea Canyon

We also took a boat ride on the Wailua River to the Fern Grotto. The boat concession is operated by the Smith family who entertain as well.

Fern Grotto

Smith family entertains

Over 60 films and television shows have been filmed on Kuaui including Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jurassic Park. The opening scene of the TV show Fantasy Island was shot at Wailua Falls.

Wailua Falls
“De plane boss!”

A highlight of the cruise was to be cruising close to the Na Pali Coast as we left Kuaui. Unfortunately some golfers were late getting back on the ship so our cruise along the coast was 30 minutes later than planned. With the shorter days of December we lost most of our light before we reached these incredibly rugged spectacular green cliffs to the sea. As a result the pics suffered.

Na Pali Coast

Overall we were not disappointed with our first visit to Hawaii. Every island offered something to come back to. We met a couple of full time RVers from Australia who’ve taken the same Norwegian Cruise Line “Pride of America” cruise 4 times. We can understand that. Unpack once, have all our meals prepared for us, and have time on each island. It was great traveling with friends. What a nice way to refresh a freindship. Thanks to Sharon and Mike for joining us. Hope we can do something like this again. Paradise indeed!

Randy, Dianne, Mike and Sharon

Aloha! Mahalo Hawaii!

Posted in Cruises, Hawaii | Tagged Fern Grotto, Kuaui, Norwegian Cruise Line, Pride of America, Waimea Canyon | 4 Comments

Rose Bowl Parade Floats

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Kings On the Road

If you are like most of us you remember watching the Rose Bowl Parade on New Years Day. We haven’t been watching over the last several years but this time we find ourselves pretty close by. While we didn’t brave the crowds to see the parade on the day, we learned the floats are staged for viewing for 2 days after the parade. We couldn’t resist a visit.

In case you didn’t know the floats in the parade are all decorated by volunteers using all natural ingredients. Millions of flowers, grasses, seeds, beans. fruit and vegies cover every square inch of every float. It is quite incredible to see.

Star Wars Millennium Falcon

Singapore

Trader Joes Fearless Flyer

Easy Rider

Made of citrus and blueberries

Heart Health

City of Los Angeles

An RV of course

Burbank has Trains and Planes

California lifestyle

Ice Cream Sundae

It was fun

Posted in California, RV Travel | Tagged California, Rose Bowl Parade | 7 Comments

Hawaii – Part 3, The Big Island, Hilo and Kona

Posted on January 2, 2016 by Kings On the Road

Day 3 of our cruise on the Pride of America was at Hilo on the eastern side of the big island, Hawaii. Hawaii is THE volcano island with 6 volcanoes and a 7th just offshore. Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea volcanoes rise almost 14,000 feet above sea level. Considering the depths of the sea where they rise, the overall height of these volcanos is around 50,000 feet, dwarfing Mt Everest. Volcanoes National Park is a must see on the island. We went on a ranger led hike to view Kilauea crater and the affects of a relatively recent earthquake. Kilauea is not real active right now, so we did not see any flowing lava. We were told the crater does glow at night but we had to get back to the ship. (Gotta come back for that one.) We also took a hike thru a huge lava tube nearby with a valley filled with beautiful tree ferns. Hilo is known for tremendous rainfall, over 400 inches per year. We were lucky with a virtually cloudless blue sky. Hilo has been devastated by 2 tsunamis in recent history and had to move part of the town. We were also lucky there were no earthquakes in the Pacific during our visit.

Kilauea Volcano

Kilauea Iki crater

Entering lava tube

Beautiful tree ferns

Tree fern fiddlehead

Another must see was the Wailua Falls aka Rainbow Falls.

Hilo is a busy port city and home to the majority of Hawaii’s tropical plant nurseries. We saw huge stock fields of plants we were familiar with during our years in the Florida tropical plant business. The scenic Onomea drive took us to many interesting areas we would like to re-visit.

View from Onomea drive

Akaka falls

So far, Hilo is our favorite destination in Hawaii. It is very tropical with active volcanoes and interesting towns. Of course, we were there on a relatively dry day with no tsinami threat.

Our second stop on the Big Island, Hawaii, was Kona on the west side. It was the only stop where we anchored offshore and tendered into port.

Pride of America, anchored off Kona

In Kona we walked the town and snorkled off the pier. We saw sea turtles and lots of bright tropical fishes in the clear water. Kona was the most laid back port we visited on the cruise.

Kona waterfront

Snorkle beach next to the pier

Beautiful tropical fruits and vegies

Kona completes the Big Island story for us this time. We thought the big island had much of what interests us. Visiting the 2 towns was a great sampler tour that encourages us to come back.

Posted in Cruises, Hawaii | 5 Comments