And so it came to pass that we left Pahrump (we'll always have Pahrump) and drove back across the Mojave into California and the greener land of the Central Valley--land of fruits and nuts--and eventually up into the western foothills of the Sierra, about 30 miles south of Yosemite National Park. Our destination was the Park of the Sierras Escapees' RV park, near Coarsegold, CA. We were there almost two weeks, including an initial stay at the nearby Chukchansi Casino. We were quite enamored of Park of the Sierras, the terrain and natural landscaping, mostly, but also the situation, not too far from Coarsegold and Yosemite and only half an hour's drive to Fresno. It was early spring when we arrived, everything green and budding and blooming, adding to the interest. The Park was still on a mostly buttoned-down basis due to COVID, so we didn't fraternize with the residents much, but we very much liked what we saw.
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| Google view of the Park of the Sierras; all the previous Escapee RV parks we've visited have been laid out on right angle grids...flatlanders... not this park, in the foothills of the Sierras, it's very hilly, but very scenic; getting our daily steps proved to be quite a chore |
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| Our campsite, #314 |
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| The enormous clubhouse |
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| Outcrops like this everywhere, in practically every site |
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| More or less typical site |
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| Despite some uniformity in out-buildings, there was plenty of room for expression in the landscaping; here, the gong show |
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| Californiana |
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| Sunset in one of the park areas |
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| Only half the park is developed; the other half has been left more or less wild, with a mile or so long hiking path; excellent signage... |
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| Coarsegold (or some other) Creek runs through the property; you have to ford it to get to the trail |
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| Vicki braving the raging torrent |
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| The Creek |
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| Interesting erosion, creating many pots and tubs |
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| But the main attraction was all the wildflowers and new green leaves everywhere |
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| We were hoping it might be a California condor, but it was only a (very common) turkey vulture; still, the third largest North American bird, after the condor and the osprey |
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| Parting shot/practical advice department: under the car you'll see a rope of LED lights, something we've seen in any number of RV parks recently; evidently, the thinking is, the lights scare off any rodents that might want to chew on your electrical cables and wires in the engine compartment (a serious problem); we were all set to order a 40 foot length, but then we happened on to the Monday Mousetrap YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/ v=EVN9JXUJXdY&ab_channel= disabused, and much amused, by this and similar episodes...truly, one of the treasures of the Internet... |
