biking

Rambling Redwoods Campground and RV Park – Crescent City, California

by

We’ve slowed down our travels a bit for a few reasons. The first is Covid-19. We wanted to protect ourselves and slow the spread, and avoiding crowded areas was our best option. The second is David’s Mobile RV Service, which has many great clients who refer other great clients, and David has built himself an active business in the Crescent City area. We still identify more as tumbleweeds than redwoods, but if we’re going to put down some tentative roots, among the redwoods is where we’d like to do it. This campground might be the best-kept secret on the Northern California coast. Nestled in the redwoods along Highway 101, you can sleep among the trees and be part of the forest, but without giving up things like cellular service and easy access to groceries. We decided to hunker down for the winter here, and moved to a long-term spot back …

Read the rest of this post.

Gold Beach, Oregon

by

We did not plan well this summer and didn’t line up a park for July 4th in advance, so in May, we realized we could be boondocking on the beach if we didn’t figure something out. (Which sounds fun, but we need shore power and neither me nor the cats like fireworks.) We also heard the Crescent City area LOVES its fireworks, and we didn’t want to find out how much. We got lucky and found the last spot at Oceanside RV Park in Gold Beach, OR for a nearly-two-week stay that included July 4. It wasn’t the cheapest place we’ve stayed, but it had full hookups and it was right on the beach, and it was available. It was really nice having a short drive to a new place we’ve never been, and the cats appreciated that, too. There were tons of birds for the cats to watch, and …

Read the rest of this post.

New favorite phone app for exploring nature!

by

We’ve been loving the Seek app for identifying plants when we’re out exploring. The app uses your camera and image recognition technology to identify plants, animals, and fungi. It’s a fun addition to stopping and smelling the flowers. It “gameifies” being outside, by giving badges for discoveries and offering optional challenges. They’re cute features but the coolest part really is the identification of plants, animals, and fungi. Seek doesn’t store or transmit location data, and you don’t even need to create an account to use the app (but you can if you want to). The app is totally free from iNaturalist, which a collaboration between the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society. It’s available for iOS and Android, and it does require internet in order to access the iNaturalist database and use the app. We haven’t had luck using it for bugs or animals yet (except humans …

Read the rest of this post.

Jen got a bike! (Updated May 2021)

by

You may not believe this, but I’ve never really ridden a bike before. I had one when I was quite young, but didn’t get to ride it much before outgrowing it. Plus growing up with severe asthma meant I didn’t get to do a lot outside. David has been biking for a long time. When we moved to the Bay Area and realized driving every day is a nightmare, he got an e-bike to commute, and loved it. I never tried it out, because I’m much shorter than he is, with much lousier balance (due to a spinal cord injury). But it always looked fun! Since I didn’t really have anywhere to commute to, I stuck with my wheelchair (with a Freewheel, which I plan to post about here someday), though it’s a manual chair propelled by my own two hands. My speed was limited to how much energy I …

Read the rest of this post.