November 24, 2001
Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving time. This time of year is a good time to reflect on how much we each have that we feel good about. We all have things in our lives we wish were different and that we're not so happy about, but we all, regardless of our condition or the environment we find ourselves in, have something to be grateful for. Lets focus on the things that are "....true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy...." (the Apostle Paul, while in prison, in a letter to the people at Philippi some 50 years or so after the crucifixion of Jesus).
We're at the Oak Glen Retreat, in Oak Glen, CA about 6 or 7 miles from Yucaipa, which is about 50 miles or so east of Los Angles. At 4,800 feet, with snow predicted at 5,000 feet tonight. Goodie. In light of what I said above, I'm not going to think about it. But I am going to seriously think about taking the awning down before it gets dark tonight. We're in this park because of their reciprocal agreement through Adventure Outdoor Resorts. Cost to us is $6 per night, and we could stay for 21 nights. As you can see, the park is a bit "rustic," but the views (as you'll see later) are great, and we like being able to spread out a bit without intruding on our neighbors.
The main lodge is a truly multi-purpose building. It houses a gift shop, large room with fireplace, bar/restaurant that is open to the general public, and is attached to the swimming pool/spa area and mini-golf range. Apples are a big deal here, in all their forms and varieties.
The big room with the fireplace in the corner was set up for the annual Thanksgiving dinner. Barb made a wonderful gelatin salad that the crowd was nice enough to leave a couple of servings of so we could enjoy it again the next day. Sitting across from Barb (and me when I was eating and not taking pictures) was a neat couple that belong to this park system, and were pulling a travel trailer while they get ready for their youngest to leave home, at which time they're thinking about getting a motorhome and becoming full time RV'ers. It's fun to exchange ideas about the merits of the various RVs, particularly since we've just about "done it all" over the years.
Desserts on the left, and the main course on the right. The lady with the big grin was fun to have around, as you can guess. There was plenty of food for everybody, and the only cost was whatever dish you brought yourself. The park furnished the meat (ham and turkey) and hot veggies, and the participants brought desserts, salads, rolls, etc.
While this area is real quiet during the week, it sure gets hopping on the weekends! Remember about the apples? Well, there are all kinds of little shops across the street and up a bit, including a huge petting farm. This weekend there were members from a hot-rod club that had come up, lots of motorcycles, and all kinds of local tourists buying pies, caramel and candied apples, apple cider, apple toys, and on and on (Barb will probably add something here as she's correcting my punctuation, etc.). (Nope, I didn't do it. bj)
I was fascinated by the woman playing the hammer dulcimer. Electronics not withstanding, she was good on that thing. In the picture on the right is the entrance to the park on the right, and some of the tents and shops that were doing a brisk business. I'm standing across the street in front of another string of shops that is closed during the week.
Yeah, we're on a side hill again, and the landscaping is "natural" for the most part, but the view when the smog and fog and clouds don't hide it is great. We went out early Sunday morning (about 1:30 AM) and laid on the picnic table and ooooh'd and ahhhhh'd at the meteor shower. The valley was all socked in, but it was clear as a bell overhead, and we were thrilled to see so many "falling stars." Dang near froze to death, even if we were all bundled up, but it was worth it.
Did I mention the view from our site was great? Sunsets like this are the norm, what with the pollution from the LA basin giving the sun something to reflect off of. And on the right is our own Thanksgiving turkey fresh out of the oven. After 31 years of being married, this may have been the first Thanksgiving we had all by ourselves. It turned out to be a lot of fun for us, and we ended the day playing Mexican Train just like "real" RV'ers.
Los Rios Rancho (up the hill about 2.5 miles) was at one time a huge ranch, with cattle and all the accompanying "stuff" a big ranch needs to operate. Today it's a tourist stop with mostly apple "stuff." They have a nature trail that we hiked (not just "walked" as parts were plenty rough and steep) and part of the trail led through a small grove of Sequoia Redwoods. Barby loves big trees, and if I'd been willing to take a picture of her backside, she'd have been hugging the tree. My own little resident tree-hugger. Hrumpfh. On the right is a shot of part of their apple orchard taken from the nature trail before it got "interesting." They sure do orchards differently in this part of the country than what we're used to seeing in Washington State. The one thing we've noticed in particular is the age of the trees. Most the orchards we've seen around here have trees that are much older than most the orchards in the Wenatchee, WA area.
Yesterday I dusted off the bikes, put the taillight brackets on, got the helmets, and loaded them back on Moby Dick. We thought we'd hiked the area around us enough and wanted to try out some of the trails on the map we'd picked up from the Yucaipa Valley Chamber of Commerce. Well, after wandering around a bit we discovered the local meaning of "multi-purpose" trail. Horse, hike, or very energetic young mountain bikers only. Dried up, sandy river bottoms were the main trails. We left the bikes on the truck and did some grocery shopping and came home.
The fog is getting a bit heavy (slight drizzle) and if I'm going to post this before it starts to rain again I'd better get up to the office and plug in. At least they have a line I can use, even if they do limit me to 20 minutes and charge a dollar for it. AT&T (my ISP) has a local number I can use, and that's a help. Otherwise I'd be using AT&T's 800 number and paying $.10 per minute for it.