California! Sequoia National Forest

September 7, 2026:   I drove to Fresno for Whole Foods and Walmart shopping. I thought I could stay the night and have my oil changed the next day, but it was 91 degrees! I parked in the Whole Foods parking lot for a bit, testing my resolve, and thought I would melt. How am I ever going to get back to Tucson if I can't tolerate even a little heat?? So I cancelled the oil change and headed back to the Sequoia National Forest. With plenty of food to hopefully last more than two days, my new plan is to stay here for as long as I can before I get the itch to drive then head to Visalia which is out the exit of the park heading south. That's the plan...which can change every fifteen minutes! (Still dreaming about Gluten-free Chocolate Cream Pie and although Corvallis is 11 hours and 30 minutes away, I could do that in one day!! LOL!)

Dispersed Camp Spot #2

I overnighted at another camp spot just south of Tenmile Campground, just west where I stayed last night. This one seems to have more sun and a level parking area, but I'm parked right next to the highway. The high is 72 degrees - sunny, cool, comfortable, and quiet. The low is 60 degrees! No freezing at night!

September 8, 2026: I have been having the weirdest, wildest dreams lately. I have no idea why? Am I eating something toxic? Even though I buy organic and gluten-free, one never knows what is being slipped in or if the customer is being lied to about ingredients. For instance, "natural flavors." I refuse to buy anything with "natural flavors" on the package. I'm sure I've complained about this before. Product labeling for transparency is a joke.... Maybe it's in the air? I don't know. As usual, health is a mystery.

I woke up out of a weird dream this morning with the epiphany that I can't remember if I rinsed the hydrogen peroxide out of one of my gallon water jugs! When they are empty, I usually put about a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide in the jug and swish it around. I leave it in for a time then rinse it all out twice to make sure there is no left over residue. I think I forgot to rinse it out this time?? Which jug is it in? I can't dump all this water or just use it for handwashing clothes because I am two hours away from a water source and I need to be able to drink water if I am to stay multiple days in the woods. Is it safe to drink hydrogen peroxide in small amounts diluted in a gallon of water?

I looked online and it says HP is often used for various health-oriented therapies like teeth whitening, fingernail and toenail whitening, and wound care disinfecting. I've used it for wound care many times since my chefs knife is so darn sharp! It says online is not a good idea since it also destroys good cells which slows healing. Who would have known? Age-old traditions are so often refuted with modern science. I know a woman living in a van who uses HP to rinse her mouth after brushing her teeth so I know she's ingesting small amounts everyday. I tried that once. So gross.

I decided to stop the incessant worry. I'm not dumping this water. I'll drink it and if I get any side effects (stomach pains, nausea, throat burning, esophageal pain) I'll know which jug it is in. I think it'll be fine. Van life is a constant adventure!! Life threatening even!

Speaking of life threatening...I kept seeing this bush on the sides of the roads wondering what it was. Looks like lilacs from a distance, but there is a bush in my camping spot. Blue Elderberry. I wonder if bears eat this? It says online it's used medicinally for gut health. Well! If I'm poisoned by hydrogen peroxide, I can eat these berries! 

I am reading The Alice Network. It looked like a great story until I opened the pages and got slammed with some stupid woman's perfume. I almost threw the book away, but I need something to read and I had looked forward to it! I put on N96 mask and plastic gloves, sat outside in the mosquitoes, and tried very hard not to rest the book on any clothing. Pain in the ass! But it's a great story!

Sunset! The skies have been clear the past few days so no sunrises or sunsets, but all afternoon has been cloudy which was nice or it might have gotten too hot. When I first saw these dazzling colors after months of watching the wildfire warnings, my first thought was, "OMG! The sequoias are burning down!" Thankfully, they are not! Weather here is holding around 75-78 degrees for the high, and 60 degrees for the low. It's NOT been freezing these last couple nights which is nice, but the mosquitoes are out. In the valley both Visalia and Fresno are over 100 degrees. I'm patiently waiting to return to Tucson - even though I really don't want to go back.

September 9, 2026: Around 8am a white truck pulls up. I'm wondering if it's a forest ranger, but it's this random guy. He stopped because I had my hood open and thought I was having mechanical issues. He did NOT look like a mechanic so I'm not quite sure what his plan was. Nicely dressed, short, small for a man, dark hair, with a knife on his belt. I think he had a mustache. I explained I have the hood up to deter rats from chewing up the engine wires and I am fine. He said he would have felt bad just passing me if I needed help. Then he said just a little hostile, "Maybe you should put a sign?" I thanked him and told him I'll close the hood so others don't feel they need to stop. He left continuing toward Hume Lake.

So an hour later he stops again on his way back from the lake. I was outside sitting in my lounge chair reading. He says he hasn't eaten all day. (So what? It's only 9:00am and doesn't he carry snacks if he came to this park for the day?) He claims he went to the lake, but they had no restaurants. Now I came through that way and although I didn't pay much attention, it looked like there were restaurants or at least hotels where one could get food. It was a very big resort with lots of tourists. I said, "That is very strange. I would think they'd have food." He wondered if I had a sandwich or something he could eat. 

Now I'm sure he knows I have food if I'm camping. I said "I'm sorry, no, I don't." I did not explain why I wasn't going to give him food because it's none of his business. But, for your information, it's two hours to food plus another two hours to return. I'm not giving up my food or I'll run out besides I don't want him here, sitting around, eating it while invading my privacy. Is he just lonely or is he a serial killer? He whined with just a hint of hostility like I owed him something he'll have to go all the way to the information center and drive all the way back to the lake to get there. (Oh, poor baby...it felt like it was a sociopathic targeting, like he was testing how compliant and empathetic I am. Maybe he thought I would care about him so much I would cave?) I said, "No, continue in the direction you were traveling. Drive up to the highway and take a right. The information center is not that far." He said, "Thank you. Sorry to disturb your reading." He left. 

Now is that weird? Does that make your instincts tingle and your adrenaline flush? First, I think he's lying about no food at the lake. Second, who in the hell stops some random person camping and asks for food? Would he stop and ask a man? NO. Did he stop at the lake and ask all those RVers for free food? Third, he can't be that hungry. It was all very suspicious. 

Normally if a man made me feel that uncomfortable, I would have left, but damn! I'm not giving up this spot and I refuse to let a man intimidate me. If he comes back, I'm locking myself in the van. I already pulled one of my knives out so it's waiting. I'll be defending myself to death. I couldn't help but feel irritated on how men always see everything as transactional...he stopped to check on me now he expects I should give up my time to feed him, cater to his needs, and entertain him???? WTF? He never came back. Maybe he made it all the way to the info center figured it was too far out of his way to return? I said, "It's not that far." LOL! Good riddance.

I was just thinking this morning, summarizing the brilliant and the bad, the fun and the frightening, the good and the ghastly of this trip and honestly, I haven't had that many scares this time. Maybe I'm due one?

Van life is a never-ending adventure!

September 10, 2026: This was a lost day! I thought it was the 9th and it's the 10th. It was hot so I was sweltering and with no books to read, it was long, sweaty, and boring. Quiet day, too, hardly anyone on the road.

September 11, 2026: It's hard to believe 9/11 was twenty-five years ago!

I got up early and did a garbage dump run at 6am before anyone was on the road. I'm sure I've complained about this before, and although staying in one place saves on gas, the accumulation of garbage is such a horror! Especially when the van gets hot - it starts to smell! I had a Whole Foods grocery bag full, wrapped in small bags in case I have to be stealth when dumping it at a gas station or a store where they don't want household garbage. There is a trailhead and campsite three miles up the road with multiple garbage recepticles for campers. Even though the national forests provides this service, I still feel guilty so I went early before anyone was awake. There is also a restroom/pit toilet that I would have loved to use, but it stunk to high heaven with flies. Nope.

As I've driven this road several times now, I've always been curious where the other dispersed campsites are. There are dirt drives into the trees. Are they campsites or private property? I decided to explore. I found a dirt drive, parked the van by the highway, and hiked in. I found a doozy!!! 

Dispersed Camp Spot #3

It has a fire ring, picnic table, and room for about ten vans. Enough sky for solar and Starlink. Maybe even some shade if it gets too hot. (It's supposed to be in the mid-70s today so should be perfect.) Gorgeous view of the mountains in the distance. The problem is it's huge and there is a weekend coming up. That means I'd have to share if someone shows. Thankfully this park doesn't allow anything over 22 feet so at least I wouldn't have to deal with one of those huge RVs that look like houses filled with a dozen people, BUT I don't want to deal with free roaming dogs, unsocialized teenagers, or drunken young adults, or...anyone. I like the solitude. It's SO QUIET especially since it's off the road. I don't want to share! Later in the day I plan to hike across the road to another dirt driveway and see what's there. (It was a bigger campsite, but the road in is a little scary.)

Time for a review! I constantly see ads for "Who Gives a Crap" toilet paper. I love their marketing! It's brilliant. Every roll is wrapped with a designer paper cover (which seems an excessive waste to me, but I love the cheerfulness!) and they currently have national forest themes. Whole foods has a small four pack for about $7.49 that isn't the national forest design. This is a lot more than the cheap Walmart pack which is six rolls. One can sign up for a subscription membership and receive huge cases at a discount, but first, where would I put it? There is no room in this van for copious amounts of toilet paper! Second, where would they send it? Is it worth it the extra cost?  I've read too many marketing ads saying the cheap stuff is bleached or riddled with chemicals that could cause cancer to the girl parts. Hmmm...maybe I should spend more money and do better? I decided to test it.

"Who Gives a Crap" is made from recycled paper which is admirable. "Made from stuff like books and love letters." The things we love! Great marketing! They also, according to the box, donate 50% of profits toward clean water and people in need. "Your bum is a hero. You should probably get it a cape." HA! I'd buy it just because the box makes me laugh!

It does feel like paper, a little like the cheap toilet paper Europe has made for decades. Europe is probably far ahead of the U.S. for healthier toilet paper! If I use it for wiping any surface, it falls apart into tiny pieces. It doesn't soak up much liquid. I'm sure it's biodegradeable. One of their selling points online is it lasts a long time. We'll see. I started one roll yesterday so I'll keep track. (One roll lasted about five days....) Walmart toilet paper is soft, pliable, soaks liquids well, easy on the nose, and one roll lasts about four days. I like the individual wrappings and they can be recycled for...letters? Gift wrapping? Envelopes? Scratch paper? I'm saving it all!

I've discovered some "challenges" with this "perfect" camp spot. Pitch. It's all over everything! I found out the hard way. I couldn't figure out why my bare feet were sticking to my rugs. I tracked in the pitch with my shoes then walked in it! I had to spend too long rubbing mayonnaise on the spots and then cleaning the mayonnaise off with rubbing alcohol. My "welcome" rug is a small rug I often put on the ground under my side door...what a mess. I cleaned the pitch spots, shook the dust out of it, folded it up, and plan to take it to the laundry facility at the Sequoia National Park information center on the way out. I also climbed up to the solars to find they are covered in a thick layer of dust and have globs of white-transparent pitch all over them. Damn.

Look at this massive pine cone! Maybe it's a sequoia?
All that white stuff on it is pitch.
The toe of my hiking book is for size comparisons.

Besides the dust, pitch, little pieces of branches, seeds, needles, and pinecones compromising how much light gets to the solars, I'm also having difficulty charging them. Although there is clear sky, there are so many trees they filter the sun rays. I went to bed with only 30% power praying it would stay on until morning keeping my refrigerated food refrigerated! I think I need to move. There is always something that prevents me from staying in one campsite too long!

September 12, 2026: Have I mentioned my plans can change in a heartbeat? Today was one of those days!

It was a rough night. Lots of dry dust making it hard to sleep. You wouldn't think in the lush forest there would be dust, but it's been a very dry summer and this is a dusty forest. The ground, although it looks like it's covered in pine needles, the dryness pulverizes them into powder and the wind kicks it up.

Where's the sun? All morning I moved my van following the small patch of sun trying to get as much solar charging as possible. This was frustrating! Finally I packed up and headed to the trailhead parking lot at the top of the road - the one with the garbage receptacles and smelly bathroom. By the time I arrived I notice my CHECK ENGINE LIGHT was on! OMG! It's a solid light, not blinking, which indicates it's something minor, but one is instructed to get it checked out so it doesn't develop into something worse. I can't imagine being stranded way up on this mountain!!! I search to see what mechanics might be open on a Saturday in the valley and headed down.

 

It's Saturday in the Park! (Isn't that a song?) This is not good. Traffic on a weekend in a national park is hellish. I wanted to see some of the sites on the way down, but I doubt now if that is possible. Maybe I can come back after I check out the van? I still stopped at the Lodgepole Visitor Center and Village for a couple loads of laundry (I washed that little rug twice!) and a shower since it's on the way. Beautiful visitor center! The washing machines were only $2!!! In California??? At a tourist site? No way! Drying was only 25 cents for 7 minutes!! The shower, although rather cold especially if someone flushed the toilet, was only $1 and good enough!

I stopped at the information counter in the visitor center to ask if anyone had a code reader. I didn't really want to leave the park without seeing it. They did not, but they gave me a list of the local AAA group and other emergency contacts just in case. The woman told me she has driven for too long with that light on and as long as it's not blinking, don't panic as I should be fine. She also said going the way I came up and over Kings Canyon National Park is a much less challenging ride. I didn't want to go backwards and I assumed I'd be going downhill so I can just coast and brake all the way down without stressing my engine.

After getting all these things done, I head out to the van to leave...the check engine light is OFF! What a relief!!! I wondered if it was the dust that somehow got into the exhaust system? I have no idea, but I was thrilled!

I drove down the General Sherman Highway into the Sequoia National Forest. The sequoias are gorgeous: orange bark that looks like sponges and the trunks are MASSIVE! Unfortunately, but expected, all the parking lots were full so I didn't get to see the General Sherman Tree or walk among the giants. No photos! However, "more challenging" is an understatement! Especially for a Saturday. The highway was straight down, the deepest canyons and valleys I've ever seen with drop offs. The twisty turning switchbacks were ten miles an hour sharp and the traffic coming UP the highway was bumper to bumper. It was slow going! In the valley the temperatures climbed to 100 degrees!

I had a list of things to do in Visalia. First, oil change. Then shopping for food and water. Library to try to find free books (none) and make copies of a complaint letter to Ford. Then I left for the coast where it is in the 70s! This is what freedom looks like!! Pick your direction and drive! The mechanic at the oil change place gave me all kinds of tips. The most valuable - don't attempt going straight through to the coast as the steep hills will destroy my transmission. Do the interstates and highways to Monterey and drop down to Highway 1. It was a hot drive, but dropped from 100 degrees to about 75. Heading west, the sunset ended up in my face making driving dangerous so I pulled off to the side of Highway 152. The highway traffic noise was horrible all night. I guess Californians don't go to bed. To make up for it, here is the sunset view:

California! Kings Canyon National Park

September 5, 2026: I didn't get to sleep until about 2am! Noise from the highway continued ALL NIGHT! I awoke early anyway and headed to Kings Canyon National Park hoping to beat the weekend crowds. The highway was fairly empty...then I got to the ticket gate and there is a line up of about ten vehicles. Behind me immediately pulled in ten more. OH! Not only is it the weekend, but it's LABOR DAY WEEKEND! OMG! I had no idea! What was I thinking?

Even with a holiday weekend the park wasn't bad at all. I was anticipating bumper-to-bumper traffic and it wasn't. The only horror are the Californians. Impatient, rude, thoughtless. I drive the speed limit, first because there are stupid people always milling about looking anywhere but at my van coming toward them. Second, there are bears and other wildlife. I would be horrified to run anything over that large and cute! Third, these park roads are very narrow and with Californians behind me riding my ass and Californians coming at me crossing the center stripe, it's dangerous especially with a drop off into the very deep canyon on one side. Last, I like looking at things. Why go to a national park just to be in a hurry? I hate people behind me, especially rude people, so I constantly have to pull off on the pullout to let them pass. I cuss them out when they do pass. Toward noon the parking lots were full. I avoid people so I don't bother stopping. The highways were still quite empty. I'm happy I'm here in September and not July or August!

Nice park. Not as beautiful as Yosemite, but lovely drive into the very deep canyon. It smells like the desert plant creosote. I love that smell as long as it's not strong or it gives me a headache.

I stopped and saw the General Grant Tree and a giant hollow log.

I love the giant logs that have been hollowed out. They are so huge!

Drove  the Kings Canyon Road with gorgeous views of the canyon. At the bottom of the canyon was Kings River with giant boulders and lots of rushing water. 

Continued to the Cedar Grove Visitors Center where they have a laundry ($3.00) and showers ($1.50 for a token for five minutes). The shower was hot and seemed to last longer than five minutes.

I kept noticing vans, trailers, and even a bus parked along side the park road. I always thought once you were beyond the national park gate camping was limited to official park campgrounds and no dispersed camping was allow. Then I saw a sign that said, "No Dispersed Camping Beyond This Point". WHAT?!! I stopped at the next national park information center. Kings and Sequoia National Parks are right next to each other but there are spaces in between and along the sides that are part of the Sequoia National Forest.  Dispersed camping is allowed in these locations!

Unfortunately, I don't have enough food to stay too long, but enough to survive the holiday weekend. I'll be famished by Tuesday morning. I plan to carefully use the food I have and then head to Fresno where there is a Whole Foods, maybe get an oil change while I'm there, and then come back to see Sequoia National Park.

Dispersed Camp Spot #1

I'm in a gorgeous camping location just south of Tenmile Campground in the woods which is in the Sequoia National Forest, on the side of the road to Hume Lake, but with enough sun to use Starlink and get solared. So relaxing and beautiful! Living my best life! I'm loving this!

September 6, 2026: Very quiet night. I usually go to bed hot because the sun has been beating down on the van all day. In the middle of the night I wake up freezing. It's hard getting out of bed in the cold, but it's intolerable to stay cold so unwrap my blankets, put a wool sweater and happiness sweats on over my pajamas, my red, oversized hoodie over everything, and put the wool blanket over all my other blankets. I really hate nights and look forward to the morning.

This camp spot is also anything but flat. I think I've moved the van ten times trying to find a spot that didn't tilt, then finding afternoon shade, and later sun to keep the solars charging. I pray I don't get stuck in the dirt. My constant fear. No rain in the forecast or I'd head to cement! It's raining all over Arizona...

California! Yosemite National Park

September 4, 2026: It was 41 degrees last night in the desert outside of Bodie! Brrrrr...My sinuses and lungs hurt from the dust. I got up in the middle of the night and turned on my air purifier which helped a lot.

I couldn't decide where to go first. I didn't want to do Yosemite on the weekend for fear of heavy traffic, but I didn't want to drive two hours out of my way to see something else then come all the way back...so I went to Yosemite! 

So beautiful! Gorgeous drive! This might be my favorite national park! For a Friday morning, there was no traffic entering the east side and driving through on Highway 120. I had seen some videos of bumper to bumper traffic, but I think waiting until September helped. Some of the trailhead parking lots were full early in the morning.

Tenaya Lake in Yosemite

I love the big white rocks all over.
Nice contrast with green trees.

I drove to Yosemite Valley. The valley has huge rock cliffs, green trees, and a river running down the middle. It was so gorgeous!

And then there was El Capitan! I've read about and seen videos on this rock climbing challenge. I always wished when I was younger I would have gotten into rock climbing. (I dated a rock climber once. Short lived.) Maybe I would have never had the energy. I don't now! It was hard enough to hike to the base (only .4 miles), let alone have the energy to climb a rock mountain! I can't imagine the stamina needed to scale the wall. A friend of mine told me thirty people have died trying. I sat on a log staring at it for a while. I could hear clicking or tapping, but couldn't see where it was coming from so did not see climbers on the face.

El Capitan

I left and opted to drive Highway 140 to Merced, but there were lots of warnings on a wildfire in my path called The Colorado Fire. I asked at a local store and they said the highway is open and shouldn't be a problem. I was nervous!  I imagined the wind blowing the raging fire right onto my van, surrounding me with no way of escape as it chokes the life out of me! Why do I always imagine the worst scenario?? The drive through the river canyon was gorgeous although there were two sections of single lane "BE PREPARED TO STOP" signs. Most of the fire was up on a mountain top, but I passed one section that was still smoldering down by the highway. No problem though! It's an adventure!

Merced seems very organized, clean and spread out with all kinds of amenities. The four-way stop signs nearly drove me insane, but they are ALL OVER California! The highway was 65 mph and every mile was a four-way stop! WHY? I'm guessing California doesn't like traffic lights, but on a highway??

In Merced, I shopped at Sprouts. I don't like Sprouts so I didn't buy enough, much to my dismay later. I bought some new solar rat blinkers at Harbor Freight and took the van into Discount Tires (called America's Tires in California) for a free tire rotation. I thought they did oil changes. No. What a waste of time. I could have gotten a free tire rotation with an oil change in a lot places. Oh well. Live and learn! I'll have to go some place else for the oil change.

Since I dropped in and didn't want to stay overnight in Merced for an appointment the next day, they couldn't get me in until 5pm. I should have left. I thought about it. I selected an overnight spot on Highway 180 on the way to Kings Canyon National Park in Google Maps, left around 5pm, but by the time I was getting close to it, it was 8:30pm and pitch black. I couldn't see the side of the highway to find the spot. I found something that might have been someone's driveway entrance. I didn't care. It was too dark. This is the first time all summer I got stuck driving in the dark. Never again! I hate driving in an unknown location in the dark!!

CALIFORNICATION!! Tourist-ing on the Return, or Be Prepared to Stop

SEPTEMBER!!! 1, 2026: Back to California! SO HAPPY TO BE IN CALIFORNIA! Although the gas prices are around $5.59 per gallon or a dollar more than Oregon. Drove south on Highway 97 watching Mt. Shasta grow huge in front of me:

I LOVE MT. SHASTA!

It's a little hazy and the air quality index is around 162 which isn't good, but still better than yesterday. California highways are good. Most of them well-maintained looking like park drives.

Continued southeast on 89 through the Lassen National Forest and then into Lassen National Park. The sky got really white. Smoke or clouds? The National Park ranger didn't know and they've also been wondering. It's very disturbing. My sinuses were burning so I assumed maybe smoke in the east, but later it cleared to blue skies. There was a gorgeous lake in the middle of the park and I thought, "Oh! Some fresh water swimming?" Until I looked at the temperature...48 degrees. No thank you!

The park was beautiful but so much of it was burnt! Too many acres of all national forests in California have been blackened with fire! Is it any wonder campfires are not allowed all over?

These yellow wildflowers were all along the sides of the highway:

I considered overnighting in the burn area on highway 36 where I stayed last May. Still incredibly quiet. The tiny pine tree starts I photographed in May have grown!!! The forest will grow back quickly at that rate!

I'm so happy it's September and I'm in California!!

Have I ever disclosed my plans change every fifteen minutes? So I'm sitting in Big Blue in the dusty burn out on Highway 36 just west of Chester and I check the weather as I always do. I was hoping I had traveled far enough south to avoid rain, but no, rain is predicted for tomorrow. HELL NO! I left heading south and stopped in Chester for a van wash. I left and not five miles out of town a one lane road construction stop where we sat for about twenty minutes. 

Californians love the sign, "BE PREPARED TO STOP". When confronted with road construction, they will put this sign every one hundred feet starting ten miles from the actually flagger just in case you can't read or didn't understand the message of the first sign. Continuing over the hill I discovered why there is a flagger...the road is dirt! Not only dirt, but they watered it so it didn't create dust. MUD! I wanted to scream at those men, I JUST WASHED THIS VAN! UGH! Oh well! It's not their fault I just washed the van. I found a camping spot in the Plumas National Forest on Highway 89.

September 2, 2026: GOAL FOR THE DAY: OUTRUN THE RAIN! At 7am I checked the weather before leaving, it's due to rain at 10am and it takes 2 1/2 hours to get to a southern location that has no rain forecasted. Will I make it?

After further assessment, California's roads are just OK. Most of the main highways are very nice, some not so nice with patches, but never as bad as Arizona. California is not like Oregon where every road is paved. The roads to campgrounds, recreation sites, off-shoots, small roads to towns, etc. are dirt. Blah. More importantly, too many highways are being repaved so I suffered constant one lane stop and go with flagger warnings. BE PREPARED TO STOP! The slow progress was so frustrating. I kept watching the weather and the further south I got, the rain was more delayed. I was constantly thirty minutes to one hour ahead of it!

I headed south on Highway 89, but with every tiny bump I heard banging. Is it inside the van or on the roof? I pulled over to the side, got the telescopic ladder out, and checked the solar panels. Hmmm...seemed sturdy. I figured since I went to the trouble of getting the ladder out I should clean the solars and there I discovered one of the screws holding down a solar panel had become loose. Not at the van's roof, but right at the panel. I tightened the nut holding the screw. Thankfully it was still there and did not fall off. Whew!

The west side of Lake Tahoe was gorgeous! Unfortunately the parking was filled or the parking cost $6.00. I couldn't take my eyes off the road as it was twisty turning sharp switchbacks at 5 miles an hour! I was driving so slowly every now and then if no one was behind me I'd stop and take a gander. The views of the lake were spectacular with turquoise water. I stopped at Whole Foods in South Lake Tahoe then continued south. Gas was $6.39 a gallon even though I crossed over to the Nevada side.

Got to Bodie State Historical Park. I have wanted to see this ghost town ALL MY LIFE! The summer I graduated college my boyfriend wanted to do a road trip. I declined because I had sent out dozens of resumes and desperately wanted a job so I didn't want to miss interviews. He went without me sending me postcards everyday. I regret too often in my life I've been too responsible instead of too fun!

The road into Bodie was paved for six miles then the worst washboard for the next four miles. Big Blue was fishtailing all over the place, new tires be damned! The Californians continuously passed me spewing dirt, dust and gravel all over my newly washed van! So thoughtless!

Yes, there is a car in all that dust!

BUT Bodie did not disappoint. It's huge! A ghost city! It felt very "ghostly" with abandoned buildings still intact and looking like they did back in history. So cool.

Almost every house had an outhouse...

Wallpaper, fabric for insulation...

Metal siding...

The brick building is the saloon...still has all the interior furniture covered in dust.

Schoolhouse with desks and other educational things.

Camped overnight on Highway 270, the road into Bodie, only I headed for the paved part. I did NOT want Californians spewing dust and dirt all over Big Blue while I was parked. Online someone said the desert here is beautiful. They must have been on crack:

Early evening...

I've seen beautiful deserts and this is NOT one! The wind is blowing. It's desolate and dusty. If Big Blue wasn't already covered in dust, she sure would be by morning! But it's very quiet here. 

September 3, 2026: I'm planning some California excursions. One was to Big Sur as a fellow nomad told me it was her favorite place of all. But it's currently BURNING DOWN! Big fire over there so I will not be going to the coast! Just hanging out in the desert. Sunshine. Cool temperatures. No rain. Quiet. Relaxing. Planning my Tucson return and watching the weather.

Living in a van this year is so much easier than last year! I know how to use Google Maps. I know how to use iOverlander. I've travelled to states that have easy access to healthy food. I study the weather so I know how to avoid rain, snow storms and heat waves. I know how to find good laundromats and wash my clothes safely. The van is organized and I have everything I need. I also know where things are stored in this van. I just know how to do this better! I actually love van life aside from the stress worrying about this van that is soon to reach 200,000 miles. Most of those miles I put on the van. I love the simplicity of not owning much, not being in such a hurry, not doing constant errands (aside from grocery shopping), not living in an area with too many people who demand your time and energy. I like the relaxation that makes me realize I don't have to worry unnecessarily. There are negatives, but I've discussed them before, ad nauseam.

Based on the photo above, there really isn't much to see where I am parked. I hope to be here a couple days. What do I do for entertainment besides lay around, look at computer, or read? As I scan the desert, I see a tree on a hill. 

Can you see the tree? On the hill above Big Blue? Maybe not! But you can judge how far away it is from this photo. Here is a close up:

There is a dirt drive from where Big Blue is parked that goes back into the desert and I wonder if the road goes up to any of the hills in the distance which would provide an excellent view of surroundings. Sounds like an adventure! I start my hike in the morning.

The road ends about 100 feet. There are several other campsites along it, but they all have dried grass and I have no intention of setting the desert on fire with my exhaust pipe so I'll stay on the gravel. I was disappointed there wasn't a road or even a trail. Did that stop me? No! I was determined to see that tree close up. I tried following what looked like deer trails, but even the deer trails stopped. If I had a machete I would have bushwacked my way through the tall-ish bushes. I carefully made my way around them. I hoped there were no rattlesnakes. It's pretty cold here at night so I assumed all was safe. The lack of route was a little treacherous, but I continued slowly, stomping on the ground, clapping my hands, carefully avoiding being tripped by a bush. Are there poisonous insects out here? Ticks? Would I break another ankle or trip and fall on a stick that goes through my eye and renders me brain dead on the spot? Did any of that stop me? Nope. I refuse to let fear control me yet I worried every second that today this would be my undoing!! I made it to the tree!

I continued to the top and took a glorious photo of Big Blue at the bottom. The desert is beautiful from above! All one needs is a new perspective! (That should be my motto for life! Currently my motto is "I am too old for this!" It's not very positive.)

View to the east

View to the west

How to get down? I could have gone down the way I came, but there wasn't a clear trail. I thought maybe there might be one on the other side. This is typical. I always make a hike harder than it needs to be. I ventured over to the edge of the top and it all looked like drop offs. I saw what looked like a trail or dried creek bed to the left. It was a dried creek bed with loose, rubble rocks, sand, and boulders. It was scary, slippery, and I hesitated to grab something for stability for fear a rattlesnake would be hiding. I could see the highway in the distance. This is the view about half way down looking up:

Good god! It spit me out on the highway about a half a mile from Big Blue. The hike up the road was more strenuous than the hike through the desert since I was hiking so slowly down the dried creek, but not as dangerous with each step flat and few vehicles passing.

Nice California highway...for six miles until it turns to hell!

There is no better feeling that to make it back to the van after a challenging hike, sponge bath the sweat off with cold water, changed into clean clothes, drink a gallon of water, then crawl up into bed and lay flat on my back relaxing. Wonderful! The wind started howling around 10:30 keeping the van cool. I love the weather here. It's like Tucson in the winter: sunny but cool.

My solar blinking lights have died! How? They were working fine and then both dead. I NEED rat lights!