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Outdoor Life: Holiday traditions
Outdoor Life: Holiday traditions
By: Dick Taylor
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Posted by rdtusmc Wed Nov 29, 2006 10:18:01 PST
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We had a great Thanksgiving here in town and decided to eat out, which meant no food preparation and no cleanup. All we had to do was put clothes on, drive a short distance to the eating establishment, some minor turkey carving action by yours truly, then drive home and waddle from the car back into our house after eating.
We did get some great visiting in with relatives, and our grandkids kept busy during Thanksgiving dinner with some coloring books and crayons courtesy of wifey Cheryl. I think they even managed not to draw on the tablecloths.
After some good visiting, all departed our house and we did a quick change of clothes to engage in another Thanksgiving tradition: camping and riding in the desert.
After some good visiting, all departed our house and we did a quick change of clothes to engage in another Thanksgiving tradition: camping and riding in the desert.
We already had the Lance camper loaded onto our truck and my dirt bike and Cheryl’s Ranger were lashed down on the trailer. Some Thanksgiving leftovers quickly got put in the camper’s fridge and we were set to go. I got a call from one of our fellow campers, Joe Rivas, that he and his wife Tracy were about 15 minutes ahead of us and he said we’d probably catch them on the way to Tehachapi.
Right. I knew that wouldn’t happen. Joe is driving a new Dodge diesel with some trick power-enhancing engine computer software. Nothing against our gas-powered Chevy, but the new diesel pickups are definitely the weapon of choice for hauling a camper and towing duties, especially if your trip involves ascending a grade, which includes most destinations out of Bakersfield.
We did catch Joe as they were pulling down the dirt road from Highway 14 into our campsite. The only reason we even got that close to catching them was that he missed the turnoff in the dark and had to drive several miles down the road to find a spot to turn around off road safely. Our friend Ralph and his family had already staked out a nice campsite for our group the day before.
I’ve seen some potentially deadly traffic conditions in our travels and that weekend was no exception. As we were heading into Ridgecrest on Saturday, I spotted a couple in a Toyota Corolla stopped in the northbound lane as they gawked around looking for a spot to turn off the highway. Keep in mind that this is where cars, trucks, motorhomes and 18 wheelers typically cruise along in excess of 55 mph. Most aren’t expecting some doofus to be parked in the traffic lanes. The couple avoided death this time with plenty of horn honking and screeching of tires from fellow travelers. Idiots!
The only glitch came when we noticed soapy water running out from under our camper while I was showering Friday morning. Crawling under the area where the leak had come from, we noticed the drain pipe was cracked. It’s not as if we are jumping up and down in the shower, so this is a black mark on the Lance for me. A total of maybe 30 showers and two years is a little soon to be doing field-expedient plumbing repairs. So we drove into Ridgecrest, acquisitioned the necessary parts and fixed it right.
The weather was gorgeous, the campfires and leftovers were phenomenal and the riding was great. The nights got down below freezing and Joe had his dog’s water dish outside and it froze solid.
As I write this, we are getting ready to fly to New York to do the sightseeing gig and visit our daughter at the YMCA camp in the Catskill Mountains where she works as a horse wrangler.
Happy Trails!
As I write this, we are getting ready to fly to New York to do the sightseeing gig and visit our daughter at the YMCA camp in the Catskill Mountains where she works as a horse wrangler.
Happy Trails!
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