Snowbird RV Adventure Part 1: Travis AFB to Woodward Reservoir Regional Park

Part 1: Days 11 - 13

November 14: Before we left Travis AFB, we stopped at the Commissary one more time. We will be away from grocery stores for the next six days so we wanted to restock our fridge.

We took Highway 12 through the Sacramento Delta. Rich soil and water make it fertile. We passed through more rice fields, vineyards and two new crops, solar and wind farms.

After a gas stop (we are getting about 12 mpg) in Rio Vista, we joined Interstate 5 near Stockton then jogged over to Highway 99. Mariposa and Dodds roads took us through almond, walnut and peach orchards, and our destination, Woodward Reservoir Regional Park.

Woodward Reservoir Regional Park T-Island Site #107.

We had a reservation for three night at T-Island Campground. It's almost surrounded by the man made lake and reached via a causeway.

Sunset from the T-Island beach.

I'm familiar with Woodward Reservoir because my Great-Aunt Mar and Uncle Chet lived in nearby Oakdale. When I was little, Uncle Chet would bring me here fishing near the dam. In those days camping was unregulated. Today there are several campgrounds around the lake, and three have full hookups.

November 15-16: California has been going through a drought, so the lake is very low. Rather than being surrounded by water, the shoreline is a dry lake bed.

In the distance you could see lots of birds on sandbars including white Egrets, Canada Geese, a few white Snow Geese, seagulls and ducks.

From our campsite we can see four elaborate duck blinds anchored offshore. Hunters can apply to build and place a blind for the hunting season. Each morning we were awakened to several shots being taken. Hope our Canadian compatriots weren't on the menu.


Our campsite was right on the edge of what would have been the lake in wetter days.

We had a great view and with no one next to us, it was very private.

The driveway into the spot was sloping gravel, but a cement pad just our size gave us a level spot to park. We had a picnic table (which we did use) and fire ring.


From our spot we could barely see the foothills and the high Sierras not at all. They were shrouded in a smokey haze. Our next destination was in that direction,

Getting ready to leave on our final morning.

Wayne and I discussed our options and decided to stay out of the dry foothills due to the ongoing fire danger. I called Don Pedro Recreation and they graciously gave us a credit on account for future use. That's great customer service.

We invite you to come back soon to find out where we headed next. -- Wayne and Margy

Trip Mileage Log

Leg - 81 miles

Total - 985 miles