I got back from a couple weeks in Atlanta last Friday, we left the Wilderness Lakes campground about mid-day on Sunday, and headed up the hill to Idyllwild.  The car and RV were separated for this trip that saw quite a bit of tight curves and hills.  I love it when there is an S curve sign, and it says “Next 22 Miles”.  The RV did pretty well, and the new official Blog Photographer enjoyed the ride.  Molly has taken up to using our Nikon D40, and just snapping pictures of everything.   You’ll see some examples below.

This makes the 5th time that Diane, Molly, and I have been to Idyllwild.  For Molly, the first time she was still in Mommy’s tummy, and she was just one year old for the second trip.  We then had two Christmas time trips, and had Megan, Ed, and Victoria with us for the most recent.  This time, no cabin or rental lodge, but our RV and a nice spot at the Thousand Trails campground.

There’s hardly anyone here, and most of them are the park rangers that have either spent the winter, or moved in to prep for the summer.  The office, pool, restrooms, laundry, and fishing pond are the only things open right now.  For me, the quiet is VERY nice.  The roads around most of the campsites are a bit tight for navigating the RV.  There are some that are even dirt, and with no activity yet this season, it’s sometimes hard to tell where they run.  Finding a spot with sewer seems tricky too, but I’m hoping to investigate more to make that easier in the future.

We’ve got some plans to be back here in late June, but we’ll write about that in a later post.

Since Sunday, we’ve purchased some fishing poles and tackle, and Molly and I have fished in the pond a couple times.  The ranger said there’s only small bluegill left in the pond, but we were able to pull out a tiny trout.  Hopefully it survived being tossed back in.  Based on the bites we were getting, I’m pretty sure there are quite a few small ones in there, and they’re mouths are only big enough to nibble the bait, and not take in the hook.  Molly picked up the casting really well, even with a bobber and bit of a leader on the line.  We found the fish really like sharp cheddar cheese too.

Last night, the forecast called for a significant amount of rain to come through.  The laundry got done about 30 minutes before the sprinkles started, and by about 11, it was raining pretty good on and off.  I got up this morning right after sunrise, and found that it had actually snowed.  We had a pretty good dusting, with about a half inch or so on most above ground surfaces, like the RV roof, the car, picnic tables, and on the ground where there was some fallen foliage.  I woke Diane so she could see, and then took a bunch of pictures for Molly.  You’ll see a couple of these shots below as well.  Unfortunately, the snow was gone by 10am.  It was a bit unexpected, since we’re at about 6200 feet, and the snow level was supposed to be at 8000.  I expect there’s a good amount up at the observation area above the Palm Springs Aerial Tram.  We’d talked about going up there, and may later.  The girls have been congested, and the trip down the hill and back up on Monday kinda did a number on their ears.

We’ll be here till Sunday, and then we’re back down to Wilderness Lakes for a few days, then an event with the Komfort Kruisers in Valencia.  Should be a fun Cinco de Mayo themed event with them, and we’re looking forward to catching up.

And now, some of Molly’s fine photography, and a couple shots of the snow from this morning.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 David Gardner

The main reason we had scheduled a week in Las Vegas was for me to attend a class there on VMware products.  It was a fantastic class, and I learned tons.  This will greatly help me at work, as I’m supposed to be the “VMware guru”.  I feel more guru-ish now.

While there, our fulltime family friends showed up, and we got to spend a few days with them before we split up again.  Lot’s of hanging out and chatting, a trip to the Hoover Dam, and a lovely dinner with super excellent fish taco’s, nacho’s, and such.  I enjoyed the Hoover Dam tour, and getting to say “Dam” without Molly charging me a dollar every time. 🙂

The whole “gang” has kinda been together on and off since early February I believe.  We had met the McCloskey’s earlier, but met up with the Travaglino’s and Garrison’s in Quarzsite for a visit, then “living” with them starting at Pio Pico.  Now, some are headed up the western coastal states, others to the north, then across to the Northeast.  All the talk of moving on, and the planned changes for Megan’s living arrangements have inspired Diane and I to look at making some excursion plans as well.  It looks like our summer will have us touring CA, but the fall will see another trip east.  This time, as far north and east as PA, then down to FL, and then a slow trek back.  We’ll be out there for Halloween in NY or NC, Thanksgiving in GA, Christmas in FL, and just to see if certain family members are paying attention, we should be in IN staying at the Horseshoe Lakes Thousand Trails during the Covered Bridge Festival.

Ok, back to Vegas…

We enjoyed the campground there.  It is a bit cramped, but the facilities were nice, and clean, and the staff was super friendly.  You can see certain undesirables in the area outside the park, but they are kept outside.  We’ll have to check it out again in the future, when the pool is open.  Also, there are a few other RV parks/resorts that are located nearby as well.  They didn’t seem to be gated like the Thousand Trails, but the rates looked low, and the grounds looked well kept.

Our next stop… Menifee, CA, for a week or two.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 David Gardner

Finally adding Nevada to our “Been to” State Map.  Had a nice tail wind for the drive, which is super awesome considering the rise in gas prices.  Hopefully they shift to our next destination on the day we’re heading out. 🙂

The Thousand Trails park here is TIGHT.  Not sure how the 40 foot or 5th wheel people do it.  We got a spot that faces off to the mountains, and we’ll be out exploring soon.

We went out for a bit of an adventure today.  First, some chores around the house such as laundry, and finishing some camp setup.  Then, off to Vegas!  Molly had wanted something from the David and Golliath store at the shops in the Venetian, so we went there first.  This took a bit to park, then walk what seemed like 15 miles to the shop.  From there we went off to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.  Such a great and entertaining dinner, with great music and videos going, plus a touchscreen unit at the booth that lets you browse all the memorabilia they have.  Awesome.  We then stopped by the M&M store and Coke-a-Cola store next door.  Finally, ended the day with a stop by the airport to pickup a rental car.  This way, I can get back and forth to the class everyday this week, and the girls can still get around as needed.

It was a good first day.  Hopefully a bit slower tomorrow. 🙂