live. work. dream.

I’ve always wondered about what it was like being a campground host. Then, over the weekend, a really nice host named Jim Wagner helped Jim and I back our RV into a tight spot at Silver Lake, off Hwy. 88 near South Tahoe. He seemed to be really seasoned at being a host, and with RVing in general, so I asked him if he would tell me a little bit about how he got to be a host and what it was like.

About 18 years ago, Jim retired from the CA Department of Forestry. He ended his CDF career as Deputy Chief in charge of Conservation Program, after working there for 36 years. While living and raising kids in the Sierra Foothills, he and his wife Jo have been RVing with their family since 1964, making the outdoors a central part of their lives.

Two years ago, Jim and Jo were happily going along enjoying their retirement together, when a close friend told them about the job opening at Silver Lake Campground West, operated by the Eldorado Irrigation District. At first, they wanted nothing to do with the job.

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I sure like the view from my new office – at least this week. And it sure is nice to take a break from working online to go fishing or for a walk in the woods. Earlier today while desperately trying to catch a large brown trout that was toying with me for hours in the creek coming out of Silver Lake, a kid asked me where I lived. I had to think for a moment. I then explained how I lived in our trailer and was traveling full time with my wife and dog. His answer: “Cool. That must be hard work. eh?”

Yes, hard work indeed. The actual driving is still only a bit nerve-wracking. Setting up and breaking camp has not yet become a chore. And the research, web development, and email communication is still exciting. But all of the above is indeed tiring. At least the view from our office makes up for it.

It is, however, quite surreal to be sitting deep in the woods listening to internet radio while making ice thanks to solar power and Satellite internet service. And I was bit surprised to get online here atop Carson Pass when we couldn’t even get a signal at the Nevada County Fairgrounds. One thing to consider, however, is while the armature of your satellite dish may be pointing directly at a mountainside, the satellite itself is probably about 45 degrees higher in the sky.

For what, two years now, we’ve dreamed about this day. Sitting here in the great outdoors, our “office” is a picnic table overlooking a raging brook, with boulders and trees all over. The sun is shining and Jerry’s laying in the dirt soaking up every ray. Solar power allows us to use our satellite internet and charge our laptop batteries. Forget putting on music, the sound of the water below is far more musical than anything I can find on the iPod.

All good things come to those who wait. Your thoughts create your reality. If you think it will happen, it will happen.

This is the proof.

We can officially call the trailer ours now that we’ve given it its first battle scar. But it could’ve been much, much worse. When checking out the forest service campground at Silver Lake East, we came a bit too close to the trees. More than once. Luckily, we only put a good sized mark on our awning. It didn’t even tear through. But I’m actually surprised we didn’t rip the whole thing off. At one point prior, I looked back to see another tree about to rip off out range hood vent. That’s when I decided to take it a bit slower and to never get ourselves into a similar situation ever again.

It didn’t help to be confronted head-on with a big diesel pusher coming through the campground loop in the wrong direction. I guess we were both pretty dumb. Or stupid. Thankfully he realized I wasn’t about to turn around. So a few words of advice for checking out campgrounds where you are not certain you will fit:

• Park the rig and walk the entire loop first to see if any spots are available and that you can maneuver your rig all the way.
• Have your navigator get out and walk behind the rig to communicate any unseen obstructions.
• Use walkie talkies to communicate with each other when maneuvering and backing up.
• Know your limitations.

And here’s one more tip for tight spots from Campground Manager Jim at Silver Lake West: Measure the pull rod for your awning against your slide-out when fully extended and use it to identify any obstructions that might be too close.

I’ve been trying hard to remember that restaurant south of Salem, Oregon with the big fluffy biscuits and great pancakes but just can’t put a name to it, so this will be the first installment of our quest to find the best biscuits and gravy in America.

Marlene and Glen’s Diner in Plymouth, CA is an adorable place in true diner style with a red and black tile floor, jukebox, and swivel stools at the counter. The staff is as friendly as one would expect in this (very) small town along highway 49 and the walls are accentuated with Coca Cola memorabilia and old record albums from the 50’s and 60’s. Nobody seemed to know the true story behind all the dollar bills pinned to the wall but the owner said it was her retirement fund.

The first indication of a good breakfast joint is the coffee, which was brought fast and hot – not too weak and not too strong. The gentleman who looked like he could’ve been Glen from the caricature on the Dead Fly Diner mugs said they call the gravy here “White Gold”. That made the decision simple, and from the looks of one patron’s plate, a half order would definitely suffice.
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Sometimes in small towns, you’ll often find that the businesses located there only exist because they have a captive audience. Their prices will be sky high and quality can really stink, but hey, where else are you going to in a 50 mile radius? Being from a small town, I’m used to that.

Say you’re traveling, and you want to check out a place, but there’s only one RV park in the entire county and nowhere to boondock? Well, you fork over your dough and hope for the best. That’s what we did at Far Horizons 49er Village.

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One bit of advice that I just learned the hard way: when you’re traveling, listen to your body and take care of yourself immediately if you suspect something is wrong. It’s easy to brush off symptoms of some kind of illness when you’re out on an adventure like this and having fun, but ultimately if you ignore what your body is trying to tell you, you will pay a hefty price. This past week, I sure did.

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After chatting with Linksys Tech Support and troubleshooting my router’s Wifi signal for over an hour at the Travelhome RV Park, I went for a walk with Jerry and quickly discovered why there was so much radio interference in the area.

I couldn’t tell if this was a local cable company, television station, or a regional NSA office, but it most certainly wrecked havoc on the local radio spectrum. Just goes to show you – “Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate” – 14th-century Franciscan friar William of Ockham was right…

All things being equal, the simplest solution tends to be the best one. In other words, when you encounter technical issues during your travels, Don’t Panic.

Last week we discovered Lake Francis Resort thanks to our hard copy of the Woodalls Directory, after trying so hard to find a place that wasn’t booked up for Father’s Day weekend. Located in the Gold Country Foothills about 2 hours from Sacramento, we had no idea what to expect.

Pulling into the registration area, we saw a kitschy old west style restaurant, saloon, theater area and swimming pool with lawns and chuck wagons. My first thought was “uh oh, we’ve arrived at Wally World.” We drove back up the hill to the campground. What a relief to see that, as far as RVing goes, it was real camping. Only the pull through spots were paved, the rest were gravel and dirt spots, with lots and lots of shade to help stay cool in the hot afternoons (not so good for satellite internet/TV connections). Although the sites are almost a little too close together when the place is crowded, at less busy times the resort layout offers a lot more elbow room. It reminded me a lot of a great place I used to go to with my family as a kid, Camp Edison Shaver Lake, just outside of Fresno CA.

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After a fun visit with some friends who drove all the way from Oakland to visit us at Lake Francis, we have now made it to Yuba City – just down the road from the RV Service Center where we’ll take the rig tomorrow to get the fridge checked out. Of course, it seems to be working well now. Hopefully it was just bad power at that campground. This trip has certainly become one of discovery.

Good news is, we do have internet access with our dish here. Bad news is, our computers can’t see our wireless network. I’ve wired in to troublshoot the problem and have determined there is just too much WiFi interference here. Various other networks keep showing up and disappearing. Ours was visible momentarily then went away for good. At least we are only here for the night … hopefully!

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