Snowbird RV Adventure Part 1: Chowchilla to the Visalia/Sequoia KOA

Part 1: Days 22 - 24

The entrance to the Visalia KOA and its office/store.

November 25: We arrived at the Visalia/Sequoia National Park KOA a day earlier than planned due to our cancellation at San Luis Reservoir.

Storms, including rain and possibly even snow, are forecast in the coming days. We didn't want to drive in unsafe conditions, so adding an extra day each to The Lakes and the Visalia KOA took care of our overnight needs.


They sell propane, so we decided to fill up before going to our site. Our refrigerator, stove and heater run on propane. The fridge has dual modes. It runs on electricity in RV parks and propane while we are on the road. That saves on quite a bit of gas.

We only needed 2.3 gallons in our 9.8 gallon tank for a cost of $9.09. That was amazing since we went out on four multi-day trips in the summer, and 22 days so far on this adventure.

Our Sunseeker RV in Site A-5 next to a Cruise America rig.

We stayed here last year on our Rental RV Trip. It's a typical KOA (Kampgrounds of America) layout with gravel sites and some trees. With our $30 annual Rewards Card, we get a 10% discount. For our three night stay, we saved $15.26. It doesn't take long to get your investment back.

If you are traveling through the Central Valley, it's close to Highway 99. With a toad (towed vehicle) or rental car, it makes a good home base to visit Sequoia National Park. 

Each site comes with water, power, sewer, fire ring and picnic table.

November 26-27:

On Tuesday, we took an Uber downtown for a movie. We saw Ford vs. Ferrari with Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby. While the movie was about the development of the Shelby race cars for Ford, the 1964½ Mustang made a cameo appearance. My first car was a 1965 Mustang. Afterwards, Wayne and I went to the Sequoia Brewing Company for a tri tip sandwich dinner.

Tuesday night and Wednesday, the rain storm arrived. It was too much all at once, causing floods in the valley and blizzards in the mountains. We even got a few thunder claps and a pelting of pea sized hail. There's more rain to come. Hopefully it will lessen the fire danger situation throughout the state. -- Wayne and Margy

Trip Mileage Log

Leg - 75 miles

Total - 1149 miles

Cut a piece of pool noodle and slit it with a knife.

On our first few trips, Wayne misjudged the headroom when he was stooped under the bedroom slide-out. Our utility connections and a locker are underneath. After standing up too quick, he learned the hard way that sharp edges hurt.

I read a tip to use pool noodles. Cut two pieces. Slit them lengthwise part way down from the outer surface to the central hole. This leaves one end to be a bottom cushion. Slide a noodle over each corner to catch your attention and protect your head in case you forget.

Our bedroom slide-out with pool noodle bumper guards in place.

Of course, they must be placed on the slide-out after it's extended, and removed before it's retracted.