Yosemite

We pulled into Oakhurst about 3:30 or 4 yesterday afternoon. After registering and finding our camp site, we pulled back out and headed on up the road to Yosemite National Park, purchased our $20 one-week visitor's pass, and headed toward the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia Trees.


We found out an important tip for RVers, that only vehicles under 25 feet can access that road, so we were especially glad we had selected the 24 foot RV! (The same length limitation applied to parking at the Fisherman's Warf in Monterey, so a longer RV would have seriously limited some of our experiences.)



Even stopping for frequent rests, I was disappointed that my body just couldn't make it very far along the 2-mile trail to see landmark trees like the Tunnel Tree. I did get to see the Fallen Monarch as it's just at the entrance to the path, and I made it a bit further before sending Rick and the older two on ahead while the 3-year-old sat with me having a delightful time stirring up great clouds of dust with his stick in the dirt.


By the time the rest of our family rejoined us, you couldn't even tell what color his clothing had been and he had to be stripped outside the RV before we could even let him back in, but he sure had a blast! :D We drew lots of letters in the dirt and he identified all but one for me. When I drew it, he looked at me and said, "That's not a letter, Mom. That's an X!" (I guess buried treasure isn't marked with an actual letter.)

The older kids took their Dad almost all the way to the Tunnel Tree (found out after we made it back to the RV that they had been only about two tenths of a mile away when they had to give up the climb, but as there had been no maps available, they had no way to know that at the time). The hike was quite steep and exhausting. While the 9-year-old really wanted to push on and see that Tunnel Tree, we will just have to save it for another visit, but they did get to see sights like the Bachelor and Three Graces along with the Grizzly Giant.

To give the kids a bit of perspective, we held hands and tried to wrap our arms around one of the "smaller" sequoias at the edge of the path (in an area that wasn't roped off with instructions to stay on the path) and even with that relatively small Giant, our family of 5 could not come even half way around that tree!

We were back to camp by about 7, dark fell quickly as we ate dinner, and we were all in bed (and almost instantly asleep) by only 7:30! After being pampered by our great accommodations at Marina Dunes, I'm sorry to say that we were all pretty disappointed in the RV park here in Oakhurst, enough so that we plan to forfeit our second pre-paid night and either dry camp somewhere in Yosemite tonight or possibly even go on across Tioga Pass before dark. Again, the website description and the actual RV camp location were very different from one another, and while High Sierra RV Park had a slick website and great marketing materials, they just didn't live up to our expectations. Oakhurst itself seemed like a wonderful place to visit, we just won't be choosing this specific park again in the future.


(See the head of our oldest just beginning to pop up at the bottom of this picture? Gives a bit of scale to what you are seeing!)

To Speak of Many Things

One of my favorite poems as a kid was The Walrus and The Carpenter. I especially loved the lines,

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings..."

Well, here we are, a little more than a week out from our first RV Adventure, and the time has come to speak of many things. No, not shoes (but that does remind me to add them to my packing list!) or ships, but of the specifics of RV travel.

Did you know you need special toilet paper for an RV? I just learned this little tidbit this week. My friend describes it as the kind that "basically starts dissolving in your hand as you are using it." Ewwww! LOL

While we were quite tempted by the huge luxury models, we intentionally chose a small 24-foot diesel RV for our maiden voyage, in hopes of better gas mileage and maneuverability. I just came across this video on Driving Your RV Like a Pro so hopefully that will give us a little more confidence as well. It's my hubby who is going to primarily be behind the wheel, but I want to be able to drive it if I have to.

I've been able to rearrange my IV appointments so I get them just before and after the trip but won't have to do any on the road. Hubby will get extra training in care of my PICC line this week, then I think we have our medical bases all covered.

I guess the big things yet to do are get our shopping and packing lists together and actually get ready. Any advice from seasoned RVers? We are getting excited to be on our way!

Taking Great Vacation Photos

Let’s start with the basics. And yes, I do mean basics, those things so simple that they are easily forgotten or overlooked until it’s too late. I know because I’m guilty of missing them myself. So even though you are probably much more organized than I am, thank you for indulging me with this basics checklist:

- Do you have fresh batteries in your camera along with a couple of sets of back-ups and/or a charger?

- If your camera is new, have you read the owner’s manual or practiced taking several pictures around home so you won’t miss those picture-perfect moments on your trip as you try to figure out the technology?

- Do you have a large enough memory card (or cards!) to capture all those treasured memories? Consider when you will be able to download your pictures to a computer, while still on the road or not until you are back at home?

Only once the basics are covered is it time to start considering your actual photos themselves. You will want to remember both where you went and with whom you experienced your trip, so be sure to seek out a nice mix scenery and society (your family, friends, or even local who made your vacation a richer experience) with your lens.

Candid shots are more likely to capture the true spirit of your trip than a “vacation line up”. Remember, the reason you are taking pictures is to capture real-life memories. You don’t want those memories to simply be, “Mom was always making us pose for pictures and we missed out on all the fun!” Especially when photographing kids, document them “doing” something (running, building a sand castle, flying a kite, throwing a ball…) and you will avoid many of those cheesy posed camera grins.

How many times have you come home from vacation with a camera full of pictures that were just too dark? If you want bright memories, give lighting some consideration. According to eHow photography expert Richard Burke, bright midday sun “is ideal for taking pictures of textured objects like rocks.” If your camera ha an F-Stop feature, Mr. Burke suggest setting it “to F-16 or smaller to increase the depth of field which allows you to get sharp focus across and through the textured object.” Be aware of shadows as details will be hidden in these areas of your photo, but when captured with care a strong shadow can actually add much drama to your image. To document scenery you may also find exciting low-light photographic opportunities at dusk and dawn; think sunrise, sunset and great silhouettes.

It’s actually OK to have the main subject of your photo placed a little off center. When processing visual input, the human brain looks for the brightest areas of a photo first, then scans top, bottom and sides before looking to the center of a picture. Placing the person or object you are photographing in one of these areas that draws the eye may evoke more powerful emotional response than a picture in perfectly centered balance.

None of these tips matter a bit though if you forget the most important basic of all, having fun! While the craft of photography can be exciting as you find unique angles and subject to photograph, don’t worry so much about posing your picture for perfection that you loose sight of building wonderful memories. The great thing about today’s digital photos is that you can snap a lot and save only the best, not worrying about the cost of film and developing. Out of 100 pictures you may find just five you love, and that’s OK. On the other hand you may capture dozens of treasures and the hard part will come in deciding what handful you love the most.

When your trip is over, don’t let your memories languish on your photo cards or hard drive forever. Relive the moments by uploading your favorite images to sites like Flickr, the site recommended by my photographer husband, or any of the multitude of similar services that you can find on a basic web search. Many of these sites will allow you to edit your photos, share with friends via email, order prints for home delivery, and some even provide tools to help you put together a memory scrap book online or for purchase as a coffee table book for ongoing enjoyment.

How to Find the Least Expensive Gas

When filling up the tank on your RV, you want to make your money stretch as far as possible! Did you know that MapQuest offers a Gas Price Map? Type in your address and/or the address or your destination or points along the way, and find out where to get the most bang for your buck at the pump!

RVing Resources

I've gone from knowing next to nothing about RVs to learning quite a lot this past weekend. I had no idea there were so many RVing resources out there! Here are a few I've found so far:

Classic Adventures RV - our local dealership that helped us catch the RVing bug!

RV Tips on Twitter

RV Bookstore

RV Trade Digest

49 ways to save money on the road

Do you have additional RV resources you can share? (Please note, I'm not looking for any additional RV dealerships as I want to support my local dealership with this blog, but rather RVing resources and tips to help newbies like me learn how to make the best out of the RV lifestyle.)