Harvest Hosts

DEATH VALLEY CALIFORNIA

DEATH VALLEY 2019 TRAVELS

We sadly departed Alabama Hills BLM Land and headed over Highway 190 through the Panamint pass, with a 8% grade entering Death Valley. At the very top of the pass a turnout called Father Crowley Vista Point is worth a stop. Just about the time we got out of our truck to enjoy the view fighter jets decided to put on a show of a lifetime for us and before our eyes the jets flew deep in the canyon yet so close to us you could almost see the pilots eyes. The canyon wasn’t straight and to witness the skill of the pilots was spectacular, this went on for over 30 minutes.. From this point on make sure your brakes are good and use your gears, as it is 8 miles at a 8 percent grade yet very scenic.

We have now arrived at the floor of Death Valley, today it is 82 degrees, I can tell you we are not use to heat and it feels so warming and nice. We arrive at Sunrise Camp ground with no one to check you in at the kiosk, it’s kind of cool you go to a self-check in stations ( which are scattered everywhere) enter your information, slide your credit card and presto you go find a site anywhere you want as it is first come first serve. The fees are $7.00 a night golden age and $14.00 regular. Totally dry camping, you do get very clean restrooms, water and free sewer dump. Generators allowed with regulated operating hours. The camp hosts are amazing so friendly and helpful. In addition while we visited it was quiet, well except for the howling of the coyote’s, we chose camp site L1 with a vista view of the Funeral Mountains.

After settling in, we immediately head to the visitor’s center for maps, weather info and info on ranger talks. There is a lot to see and do from trail hiking, biking, arches to view and miles and miles of salt beds Ninety-one percent of Death Valley is designated wilderness, you must use common sense exploring this vast land. Before setting off on trails or roadways the park recommends one gallon of water, a day per person is required and you must stay on all trails and roadways. There are overly friendly coyote’s you must not feed, sidewinder rattlesnakes that burrow under the rocks and sand waiting for kangaroo rats and the cutest burrows that bite and love to block traffic.

PS: Texas Spring is another campground with the same amities. Across the roadway is Furnace Creek Camp Ground with full amities if you desire.

Join us on our next adventure to Lake Mead, maybe the weather will let us launch our kayak and do some water exploring.

CHEERS FROM JUST AROUND THE BEND – JEFF AND LIZ

Redwood National Park CALIFORNIA

From Brookings, Oregon and a mere 30 mile drive the Redwoods begin. Large and empowering giants standing guard on the edges of the Redwood Highway with vista views of the Pacific Ocean. What a beginning to our next ADVENTURE.

You are in Redwood National Park. If you travel north of Elk Country RV park past Berry Glen and turn west on Newton B Drury scenic parkway and stop at the combined California state park and national park visitors center. You can then proceed for 10 miles of amazing redwood trails and vistas.

NOTE: We hadn’t expected that all of the National Parks throughout our journey would be closed due to Political issues, so our adventure was condensed. The National and State Park volunteers and Rangers are so accommodating and helpful they want you to have a wonderful experience in spite of political issues. The main trails to lots of huge Redwoods were closed, Visitor Centers and some restrooms depending on if they fell under State or Federal.

Despite the closers we did get to see a lot of The Redwoods and many large trees and definitely felt the Redwood experience.

Until Our Next Adventure – Cheers from JUST AROUND THE BEND

NEXT STOP NAPA VALLEY CALIFORNIA

ELKS Club Camping – Brookings Oregon

We rolled into Brookings, Oregon heading for Harris Beach State Park. Ok, no we did not have reservations and yes, it was a major holiday weekend and yes, they were full. So, we retreated to our second backup idea, which was The Elks. With 20 sites available and only 3 other RV’s in the parking lot, we were delighted.

Amenities were many: all paved parking, water and electric included and with a very nice RV dump station, all for a donation of $20.00 a night. With a beautiful view of the ocean, it was perfect.

NOTE: You do need to be a club member, which I would highly recommend.

After settling into our very private and quiet campsite we returned to Harris Beach view point to explore the well known tide pools and walk the beaches. It was spectacular!

We were very fortunate that the weather was 47 degrees, no wind and clear skies. Exploring the town of Brooking was fun and enjoyable. I also highly recommend Harris Beach Campground, (with reservations) which is located above the ocean with beautiful views.

Our next Adventure is Elk Country RV Resort in California

CHEERS FROM JUST AROUND THE BEND

Chipmunk Invasion

It was 3 am in the morning, we are peacefully sleeping in our cozy trailer at one of our favorite campgrounds (Union Bay Campground] at Phillips Reservoir, Oregon. When we heard not the sound of music but little teeth gnawing and the precious sound of little feet scampering up and down the inside wall of our bedroom, not 2 inches from our heads. It sounded like they were truly going to chew right through the wooden headboard and the scampering never stopped until early morning. We pounded on the walls, yelled niceties at them and even thought about taking a blow torch to the front of our trailer- just joking !!!. Ok, the next morning it was Chipmunk war, how do you keep these precious little invaders from raising havoc on your trailer not to mention the damage they can do in a small amount of time and remain humane. After much thought and exploring Northwoods RV Owner Associations Forum, Jeff found the perfect humane solution to a very real problem.

With $40.00 of supplies from our local Ace Hardware Store and a half day of crawling around under the trailer we are now ready for the next attack of Chipmunks, squirrels, snakes and any varmint that wants to disrupt our peaceful sleep and destroy or nest in our trailer.

Supplies:

1/4 inch mesh galvanised hardware cloth

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Black foam sealent

Approx. 40 galvanised screws

3 LBS of Repels-All Granules

Mesh bags to hold granules

There is a two to three inch gap between the fiber glass Arctic Fox cap and the frame. Northwood Manufacturing say that they are aware of the problem but it would be to costly in the manufacturing process to fix the problem. Well at least they could of suggested their engineering suggestions which they haven’t so on to my engineering ideas.

I cut 3 inch wide strips of the hardware cloth , covered the opening and screwed the cloth onto the bottom of the fiberglass. The bigger openings I cut out 10″x 10″ squares and trimmed to fit openings. I sprayed the black foam sealant in the places I could not apply the hardware cloth. Northwood says the cap area needs ventilation so solid foam would not be the answer. Well time will tell on round one on the chipmunk war. We will put a mesh bag of Repels-All on the battery compartment to add some extra precautions. Varmints like to chew on your wiring which can be costly. We will put Repels-All mesh bags on each front tire of the truck to keep them out of the engine compartment. Another piece of advice we picked up from our snowbird adventures is to leave your hood open so the varmints dont feel safe.

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Hope this helps to all that may have experienced this problem.

Until our next adventure – Cheers from Just Around The Bend ♥♥♥♥

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Purple Haze Lavender Farm

This is our second Harvest Host experience and believe me another amazing adventure. The hosts and helpers are all so friendly making you feel right at home. Upon our arrival fall was certainly in the air

When you visit the Sequim lavender farm at Purple Haze, you are invited to wander the fields, enjoy the beauty of this sweet smelling herb, pick your own bouquet of flowers and picnic on the lawns. This of course depending on the season. We arrived in late September so the store at the farm was closed, yet we were welcome to wander around and even stay with our RV for the night. As members of Harvest Hosts this was a very nice option. I need to mention that Purple Haze has a gift and ice cream shop in downtown Sequim. The shop is adorable and the lavender ice cream is amazing, well worth the drive into town. At this time the lavender farm is closed so head downtown Sequim to their unique and aromatic store and dont forget the ice cream, it is amazing.

A Little History
Lavender is a plant rich in history and myth. With its roots in the ancient herbalists, lavender’s properties as a disinfectant and antiseptic grew through the centuries, even gaining the reputation of warding off the plague. Lavender’s popularity with the English royalty gave it a berth in the ranks of a cosmetic herb, and it was with Queen Victoria that lavender was recognized as a tonic for nerves.

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Until Our Next Adventure From Just Around The Bend

Langley Washington on Whidbey Island

Perched on a bluff on Whidbey Island, overlooking the waters of Saratoga Passage and the Cascade Mountains, Langley’s quiet streets are lined with historic buildings, bookstores, antique shops, clothing boutiques, cafes and restaurants. So what’s with all of the rabbits???? I mean everywhere you looked there were the cutest rabbits, we even the asked locals, but nobody had an answer?

Langley has its own special character– or “characters”– who turn this small town into a rural Bohemia. One arts festival, “Choochokam,” has run for more than 40 years, and the annual Langley Mystery Weekend, a “whodunit” that involves the whole community, are but two of the notable events that take place in Langley.

But whether or not there’s an event scheduled, Langley has plenty to fill a weekend or more. When when we arrived there was a festival going on with irish dancers performing, super fun. We enjoyed exploring this quaint town, not to mention the geo caching.

Driftwood Art

Rabbits Everywhere

You can walk the beach, go to a throwback movie theater, attend a live performance in a state-of-the art venue, and stay in charming bed-and-breakfasts both in and near this quaint but vibrant seaside community.

Cheers from Just Around The Bend

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Whidbey Island Distillery – Wa

Whidbey Island Distillery is a family owned business run by three generations of the Heising family. They began making distilled spirits in 2009 on Washington’s own Whidbey Island and in September 2011 sold their first bottle of Loganberry Liqueur. Since then their distillery has become award winning and a recognized producer of some of the finest spirits in the world. Among numerous awards is the Blackberry Liqueur which holds a 98 rating by the Beverage Testing Institute making it the highest rated spirit (of any kind) produced in North America.

We stumbled onto the Distillery as new members of Harvest Hosts. The owners welcomed us to stay overnight and wowed us with their delicious hand-crafted whiskey.

Tasting and Tour

Whidbey Island is beautiful in itself. Whidbey Island Distillery is warm and rustic, with award winning liqueurs. A fun and interesting tour with a very unique process with friendly and informative staff.. The liqueurs were amazing, with blackberry being our favorite.

Thanks to our hosts Steve and Bev for letting us stay in a beautiful, quiet and serene camp site. We will certainly pass on our special experience and definitely return.

WHIDBEY ISLAND DISTILLERY

Distillery and Tasting Room

3466 Craw Road
Langley, WA 98260

360-321-4715

hello@whidbeydistillery.com

Harvest Hosts and our Travels

Joining Harvest Hosts

We joined harvest hosts a month ago anticipating our first retirement getaway on Whidbey Island, Washington. We contacted Steve and Bev at The Whidbey Island Distillery a week prior to our departure, asked if there was room for us to stay for 1 night and gave them our date of arrival. They were so friendly and accommodating, gave us specific directions on how to enter, where to park and advised us they even had water and electric for us.

Heading Out

We sailed pretty good through Seattle heading for the ferry at Mukilteo, no problems, even being just under 50 feet long. The ferry ride was spectacular, 73 degree weather, mild wind and clear skies, couldn’t have been more perfect. The ferry landed in Clinton, Wa. smooth sailing and off we headed to The Whidbey Island Distillery for our first Harvest Host experience.

Finally There!!!

Upon arrival, we hurried and secured our trailer so we could get to the distillery for a tour and tasting.

Tasting and Tour

We thank our hosts for letting us stay in a beautiful, quiet and serene camp site. We will certainly pass on our special experience and definitely return.

Cheers From Just Around The Bend ♥♥♥♥♥♥ Next Adventure NAS Naval Base Cliffside RV Park

Even Left a Hand Painted Rock

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WHIDBEY ISLAND DISTILLERY

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