A few days into one

View from the Point Reyes Lighthouse

The last couple of days have been good, but have had a couple of unexpected turns. A minor injury occurred (not with us, but with Sam’s family) the same day the Charleston shooting happened. Perhaps the universe was telling us that the trip was winding down, or maybe I was just missing Vegas and ready to head home. Either way, Sam’s family left early, and we left the day after.

Latte Love in Point Reyes Station

Diane's heart-shaped latte foam!

We woke up this morning knowing we were going to take the dogs to the beach to get them some exercise. But when I looked outside, I was absolutely convinced that it was raining outside. I guess I'm still not used to the early morning fog here on the coast. Vegas has rubbed off on me in funny ways. Once we got moving, we realized that days don't go quite the way we planned, but different can be better...

A Moment of Silence

I am updating this blog post because I cannot quite fathom what happened today in Charleston. I can't reread how I spent my day, and put that in context with how others spent theirs. I have decided to move the Point Reyes blog information to another post. Instead I take a breath and a moment of silence. I felt I needed to add this and acknowledge my privileges in this world. I'm so sorry to the families and to the community who has been affected by this horrific event.  

Drive from Santa Cruz to Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo from Bay Area's Most Scenic Drives

The whole point of this trip was to meet Sam's family at Olema Campground in California. They have a tradition of staying at this campground and doing some great hiking. Well, with the grace of Sam's driving, we are here! Yesterday's tour from Santa Cruz to Point Reyes National Seashore was a bit hilarious. We took the best route which was through Marin County on Sir Francis Drake. As Sam drove the twisty roads (and made sure to pull over and let faster traffic zoom around us), I giggled that the road cyclist next to us was taking the hill faster than we were... I'm not even kidding about that. This route is a beautiful cyclists' haven that runs through Marin County and passes through the Samuel P. Taylor state park. Huge redwoods dwarf the road, and for a moment, even made our RV feel tiny. We didn't bring our bikes this time, but I could totally see Sam doing this someday... Anyway, we made it to Olema! More adventures to come!

Out and about in Santa Cruz

Boardwalk at Santa Cruz!

So if I were to write about yesterday, which I am, I would write about Santa Cruz.
Let’s be honest. I am not a beach girl. I would love to be because there’s something really romantic about it, but I’m just not. Apparently, I’m a desert girl now. My hair hates humidity, and I’ve never been surfing. Anyway, Santa Cruz, in case you didn’t know, is a surfing’ town. Kind of boho-surfing-hippie-yet-fun-random-California-breezy.

Whalin' then Bailin'

Sam looking for whales in the harbor

No, not bailing the boat!

Sam and I have never been whale watching so we decide that this was a perfect opportunity to go.  I didn't  know this, but Monterey Bay has a thriving underwater environment that provides a feeding ground for the marine life that migrate up and down the coast. This time of year, the humpback whales are doing their thing, eating krill, anchovies, sardines, and other fish. Now, being a midwestern girl, I had studied all those nice BALEEN whales in elementary school--even memorized a bunch of food that they eat, but I had never, ever, seen one before... well, except for our family's non-politically correct trip to Seaworld when I was about ten...

The Coast with the Most

This post is going to be really quick because our WiFi in Santa Cruz is minimal and rather temperamental. After all the talk about water in the valley, we are now in the Santa Cruz area. Watsonville to be exact. In fact, we just reunited our strawberries to its place of birth.

Our "tight" spot!

We're staying at the Santa Cruz/Monterrey KOA, and so far it's beautiful. It's tucked up in the hills above the coast, and our site backs up to a preservation area. Speaking of backing up, you should have seen Sam's skills. I'm sure outsiders thought we were "that couple" with Sam telling me, "If you can't see my mirrors, I can't see you!" but it worked, and we're parked in a really neat spot.

Water, Water, Barely There

We’re on the road again, on our way to visit family in California. I planned on blogging a cute happy blog about puppies, IKEA, and marshmallows, but instead, I’m blogging about water.

Surprising, I know, as I live in Las Vegas.
Like in the middle of a desert.
But this is different.

A Little Love for Our KOA

Sam and I are back home now, but I wanted to share a bit of thanks. Ever since we started RVing, we've stayed at many KOAs. My grandfather used to stay in them, so I suppose it's like getting a big hug when we pull up to the yellow sign. In a past blog, I actually wrote about how nice it is to come home to a KOA--especially when you're on the road for a longer period of time. This past weekend was no different.

I knew we had liked staying at the Cannonville KOA from our previous trip, but we had forgotten what a nice campground it was...

6/1/15 American's Best Hike

After we dropped off the dogs at the trailer, Sam and then headed out for some adult hiking time.

Sam excited for ADULT HIKING TIME

Yeah, that's right, we were gonna hike the self proclaimed best hike in the country, the MUST SEE descent into the amazing hoodoos of Bryce, on the Queens Garden/Navajo Trail/the Rim Loop...

6/1/15 From Slot Machines to Slot Canyons

Dry Forks Slot Canyon

Now I'm not the ultimate guide in what's hip and cool, but it seems the me that SLOT CANYONS are the newest, coolest, thing in hiking. Well maybe only new to me...

So... Way, way back in the day when I was a youthful traveler, I went to Petra. And I vividly remember the absolutely jaw dropping amazement that followed when I walked through the Siq or shaft that led to the massive temple, or Treasury.

Even though the Petra passages and slot canyons are formed differently, the siq has become my image of anything "slotty" which takes me right back to my incredible experience in Petra. Last fall, when Sam and I went to Zion, we wanted to hike The Narrows, but didn't quite have a chance. So after I found out that there were some slotty opportunities in GSENM, we made sure to plan for it...

A Little Gratitude

Lots of love!

OK. I'm a little tired...But in a good way...Once again, I am telling the universe how grateful I am for these experiences that we've been able to have. Even ten years ago it wouldn't have been possible for Sam to have this kind of flexibility in his job, and the ability to work from almost anywhere. I realize that many people don't have this luxury. I feel really spoiled to spend these years of our lives traveling and seeing parts of this country that many people will have to wait years to do.

I never found the Grand Staircase, but Nora Found the Riverbed

Walking up the Grand Staircase

So yesterday was a long day. Loved it, but it was long. I'm not sure if I realized how big this area was but I'm sure realizing it now...

Oh Yeah... Sam let me put stickers in Monty II

Not only did we Ikea-ize, but I got my hands on some decales (let's be honest) stickers. Once we parked in Cannonville, I decided to add stickers and photos to the inside of the trailer. Yeah, my trailer might look like it's owned by a fifteen-year old, but it's got BODY ODOR character...

Paper Towels front and center. And yeah, stickers. Oh and a dog.

How do you pronounce Paragonah

Seriously, is it PER-AH-GONNA? Or PEAR-AH-GO-NAH? Or doesn't it really matter? Either way, we just passed Paragonah on our way to Cannonville, and Nora and I are having a deep discussion about this...

Nora wrapped around Roland while thinking about Paragonah

So, after all the IKEA-izing, it's time we put our rig to the test. We haven't been to Utah since last October, so we thought we'd head on over to the Bryce region...

RV Remodel Part Three: The Valance Angel

Thank you, Valance Angel!

The missing part of the RV? The window valances! In Remodel Part One, I mentioned a certain curtain angel who swooped in and offered her services when our topless windows needed her coverage the most. Before I get to the specifics, I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge all the bad-arse textile manipulators out there--the ones who can crochet, knit, sew, and basically turn a Whole Foods hemp sack into an evening gown. You know who you are... And, let's just get real, shall we? I know that no matter how hard I try to hand-baste my own irregular hemline, I am never going to be one of you. So when something in my life requires this kind of needlework, I must look elsewhere...

RV Remodel Part Two: Ikea-izing our Fifth-Wheel

Uh.... There's nothing to see here...?!

Late last Friday, Sam and I pulled into our spot at the RV park determined to use the last hours of daylight for some hard-core stealthy furniture removal. Unaware of our plans, our nice RV neighbors greeted us and proceeded to apologize for the bad weather in Las Vegas. *Grin*... I quickly forgave them, then prayed to the RV gods that no one would notice any strange furniture items being ejected from our fifth-wheel. I mean, this is normal, right...?

RV Remodel Part One: Removing the Darkness

OK. Yeah. So it was decided. We were going to take out all of Monty II's leather furniture and replace it with Ikea stuff.* And, like usual, the project had "scope-crept" into us removing the valances, switching out the dining room chairs, and even changing up some of the fabrics. And no, this wasn't just my idea. In fact, Sam was pretty excited, too. I think we both realized that with the proper furniture, not only would our RV be bright and cheerful, but it would also be more useful.

So I measured our space and came up with a color scheme and some inexpensive furniture items:

Most was from Overstock & Ikea

Legend of the Slippery Sofa

When Sam and I bought the new fifth-wheel, it was absolutely NOTHING like the original Monty.

The Original Monty with its low-brow look but its fabulous rear kitchen

Monty II was gleaming! We're talking black leather furniture, cherry cabinets, formal valances, and all sorts of classiness. In fact, I really didn't want to touch anything for fear of ruining the shiny interior...

A Little History of our Blog (and our Trailer Obsession)

Sam and I started camping right after we got married, but I had no idea that his determination to make us camp during thunderstorms would lead to us down the path to a fifth-wheel trailer. Here's the short version:

Our gateway drug 

In December 2010, we purchased a tiny Coachman Clipper that we named The Clippah. It was supposed to allow us to camp in Wisconsin and other places without getting attacked by falling branches, raging raccoons, or threatening thunderstorms. But mostly, it gave us the bug to go on a road trip. In September 2011, Sam, Nora, and I took our tiny trailer on a six-week trip to the Southwest, and that's when this blog was born...

And We're Back!

Larry the Truck with Monty II

It's been awhile since I posted on this blog. In fact, I thought this blog was finished. Caput. Finito. Done. Lesson=Learned. And then...we moved to Las Vegas. And we started traveling again, and yep, buying trailers again... and basically just all-around causing trouble. So I had the bright idea to re-open The Clippah blog. Let's be honest, for those of you who know me, I've had a lot of blogs in my day, and I've rarely kept them up. But this blog was different. With CGW there was no pressure to win clients or to create a professional image for myself. When I blogged here, I was basically trying to entertain my family. But most of the time, I ended up just crackin' myself up while I kept track of our journey. We've taken quite a few trips since we moved to Las Vegas, and I posted most of them on Facebook. Here are some links:

• Glamping on the Strip, August 2014. We tested out Monty II for the big-time in the Circus Circus KOA
• Fall in West Yellowstone, September 2014. We visited my brother and his wife, Alice in Montana
• Zion NP. October 2014. We love Zion!
• Joshua Tree NP. February 2015. OK, I totally dig this amazing park. My parents also were with us on this trip... but not in Monty! 
• Death Valley NP. March 2015. No trailer--just tent camping in the heat of Furnace Creek! Thanks, HEATHER HALL, for joining us!

Here's to rving, national parks, trucks, dogs, solar panels, and most of all to Las Vegas, our new home!