Off to California

Although Tim and I had not traveled since settling into our condo, we decided to look for a winter museum project at a national park with a climate much warmer than Colorado. In October 2019, we happened to see a possible opportunity at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SAMO) and made inquiries. The park was interested in our services, and we made plans to set out for California just after Christmas.

SAMO has no RV sites for volunteers, but we were offered a small apartment at the LaKretz Field Station, where we would be working. We would actually have a Malibu address for two months!

It felt a bit strange traveling to California by car, not by RV, plus staying in hotels, but we quickly adapted. The Kitty also adapted to traveling in the car. We had purchased a rooftop carrier for most of our things, and we gave her the entire back of the Subaru. Although she had her bed back there, she still ended up on my lap for most of the drive.

There was snow on the ground when we left Colorado on December 29, but the highway was clear. We had decided to take our time on this trip and stopped early in Grand Junction, Colorado, for our first night. We then continued to Cedar City, Utah, the next day. Although I’m not a huge fan of interstate driving, I-70 is one of the more scenic routes, and we enjoyed the views.

Colorado to Utah on I-70

The following day greeted us with bright blue skies as we made our way from Utah, through Arizona, and into Nevada.  The drive through the Virgin River Canyon was one of the highlights.

Utah to Arizona to Nevada on I-70

Although we were spending the night in Boulder City, Nevada, we exited the highway early to drive through Lake Mead National Recreation Area.  I try never to pass up visiting a national park unit, even if it’s only a drive-thru. 

Lake Mead National Recreation Area

We arrived in Boulder City in time to have lunch with the National Park Service Regional Curator, with whom we would be working at SAMO.  Blair is based in Boulder City, and we had planned our route so that we could meet her and learn about the project we would be working on.  It was a great meeting, and we felt much more prepared for the work ahead.

Holidays

Holiday time in Colorado wouldn’t be complete without a major snowstorm.  Snow, what’s snow?  We had almost forgotten what that was like since we always tried to avoid winter weather while RVing.  We reacquainted ourselves with the white stuff in late November but sat back while someone else did the shoveling.

Our RV, Covered with Snow

For the first time in many years, Tim and I spent the holidays with family.  We were invited to spend Thanksgiving with Tim’s brother Rex and his wife Linda, and we had a wonderful time. 

On Christmas day, we joined Rex, Linda, and Linda’s brother and sister-in-law, who have a second home in Estes Park.  Another fabulous dinner and great company. 

Sarah and Tim at Christmas