Friday, February 28, 2020

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

40 comments :

  1. What marvellous adventures! I'm happy to read about them, here, coughing in my easy chair! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hope you feel better soon. News says California is one of the states with the highest flu rates. Good thing we got our shots before we left. Getting sick would make things much more difficult. - Margy

      Delete
  2. I love those old bridges in the Delta. You've got me wondering if the Husband and I could actually do RV traveling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We weren't sure we could do it so last year we started with a rental. I highly recommend doing that to get a feel for RV travel. You don't need to go far, find a place near home with services to give it a try. - Margy

      Delete
  3. What a wonderful adventure. I'm glad you made the decision to stay out of the dry foothills. Good call!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We've been very lucky getting refunds on reservations when we do it at least a week in advance, sometimes even less. - Margy

      Delete
  4. Your adventure sounds fantastic. Glad you avoided the smokey areas. Thanks for sharing with us. Wonderful photos and have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All the fires in California are so sad. I know it burns every year, but the last few have been horrible with the drought. - Margy

      Delete
  5. We've had a forest fire here in Virginia, one county south of us. It's National Forest and they seem to have it contained.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So many fires right now. Australia is in great danger. - Margy

      Delete
  6. This was a nice photo tour for me to tag along your adventures. I like all your photos, especially the sunset scene at the T-island beach.

    Yoko

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you enjoyed the tour so far. We are having fun visiting some of the places from my youth. - Margy

      Delete
  7. Hello, your camping trip sounds like a fun time. You had a nice spot to park. The views of the reservoir and geese are beautiful. The sunset shot from the beach is gorgeous! Thanks so much for linking up and sharing your post. Enjoy your day, have a happy new week ahead. PS, Thank you for the visit and comment on my blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm used to seeing geese wintering in Washington's Skagit Valley. I didn't realize they can this far south in such large numbers. - Margy

      Delete
  8. Wonderful images, love the ducks marching along in a row!
    I have a link to a service called Boondockers Welcome at the bottom of my blog. www.goodstufffromgrover.com
    I live in a little town called Grover in Northeastern Colorado. It's near the Pawnee Grasslands, which is very popular with birdwatchers. We also have a wind farm nearby!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the Boondockers link. A friend of mine in Powell River boondocks on trips across Canada every other summer. - Margy

      Delete
  9. Wow Margy, what fun. Thanks for taking us along on your wonderful vacation. Going to get cold here. Snowing in the passes already. Stay warm and have more fun
    MB

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is supposed to get down to 25 at night this week. We'll unhook our water hose so it doesn't freeze overnight. We should be fine inside the RV with our propane and electric heaters. - Margy

      Delete
  10. Such a wonderful camping holiday you had. I have never been out camping at all and I am sure it is a great experience out away from the comfort of home.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We've always done tent camping before, but this is a fun way to go, especially when it gets cold. - Margy

      Delete
  11. You're traveling many miles in a great adventure. At 12mpg we couldn't afford that at UK prices, £1.40 a litre! Enjoy and have fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I looked it up. Gas here in California is $3.99 a gallon. That works out at %1.05 US per litre. Back in Powell River gas has been $1.59 CAD a litre. Much more expensive. - Margy

      Delete
  12. Beautiful vacation Margy, lovely places and the camper, superb.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We did a lot of research, but saw this one on the lot and knew it would work for us. - Margy

      Delete
  13. Life in an RV - so much to see - so much to do. Beautiful pictures from your days on the road.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is our second trip through this area. We did it last year in a rental, but had to travel so much faster to get our rig back in time to the rental agency. - Margy

      Delete
  14. ...Margy, lots of wonderful sight on you trip, site #107 isa a dream come true.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was able to look at photos of the sites on the reservation website. Many parks do that now. It really helps making a reservation ahead of time. - Margy

      Delete
  15. Love riding along with you ...beautiful campsite and I know the joy of finding a good one (private, nice view, all the hookups work.....). And the happiness you feel during the roadtrip itself .., somehow you see and enjoy so much more along the way when you have your home with you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It feel like being a turtle, with your home on your back. - Margy

      Delete
  16. Am enjoying the road and even the dry lake. You bring back memories of our first RV trip in Alaska in a 32' with our daughter and family (hubbie & 2 granddaughters). It certainly far exceeded my (pessimistic, anxious, worrisome...) expectations. It was delightful!

    ReplyDelete
  17. You made some wonderful memories on this trip. Thanks for taking us along!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And I'm keeping them to enjoy later on the blog and in my travel journal. - Margy

      Delete
  18. I love reading about your adventures too. I think we all have a bit of wanderlust from time to time. We take more day trips now but that's fun too. Love your photos! Enjoy your week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For quite a few years we haven't left our float cabin home even in the winter. Starting last year we started taking winter trips to get a bit of fun and sun. - Margy

      Delete
  19. nice trip and great shots. Love the beach and canada goose

    ReplyDelete
  20. a fun read about your rv adventures. such a cute picture of the canadian geese, all in a row!!!

    i "think" i would love to do this!!!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by. Comments, questions, and suggestions are always welcome. - Margy