Sunday, October 6, 2013, Watching Boats Along the San Joaquin River, Stockton, CA

I thought I would record some of the variety of watercraft on the river (RiverPoint Landing Marina/Resort along the San Joaquin River in Stockton, CA). It ran the gamut from 800-foot freighters to one man jet skis. Unlike boating on a lake, I never saw anyone tossing out an anchor and just relaxing. Of course, there is quite a maze of waterways leading to the San Francisco Bay. I'm sure there were coves or the river widened where people could spend the night, but near us, people just ran up and down the river.

Sam was unimpressed as this huge freighter glided by our campground.

Wouldn't you have to feel a bit insecure on a 12-foot jet ski playing around an 800-foot freighter?

The Stockton Sailing Club was just down from our marina/campground. There were a lot of large sailboats that must head out to the bay when they have the time. I don't remember seeing any actually under sail in the river.

I was told this ship was carrying fertilizer, which was why it had an armed escort of at least three Coast Guard gunboats. Yes, that guy is manning a 50 caliber machine gun!

This guy was probably doing 60 mph but he was nowhere near the fastest boat. I could not get the camera out in time to catch one guy that was easily topping 80 mph. That boat was little more than a shell holding two people and a full-blown big block V-8. Sounded like a dragster tearing down the river.

Another colorful sunset along the river - time to head in and wind down for the evening.

Saturday, October 5, 2013, Dog Park in Stockton, CA

While staying at RiverPoint Landing Marina/Resort along the San Joaquin River in Stockton, CA, we took Sam to a very nice dog park for a romp. At times there were nearly 20 dogs there. He actually did some running and playing with several of them.

This art piece was unique. There were 8 or 10 huge tags on the giant dog collars. Some of the inscriptions were very entertaining.

We found we were only a few miles from our friends and fellow American Coach owners, Leslie and Mike. They invited us over to their very nice house where we had a fabulous dinner. Thanks again, Leslie and Mike - next time it's on us. 

Friday, October 4, 2013, Watch the Boats on the San Joaquin River, Stockton, CA

It was one of those days where we just took it easy. I washed the car and read a book. From our site at RiverPoint Landing Marina/Resort along the San Joaquin River in Stockton, CA, we saw quite a variety of watercraft, but this one surprised me as it went by. I had no idea Stockton was a port city with access to the Pacific. It was impressive to see this huge ship navigate the river. I found out later the river widens a bit to 1,500 feet where these 800 foot long behemoths are turned around by tugboats - that's tight!

We would like to wish our son a very happy birthday!!!

Happy Birthday, Jon!

Thursday, October 3, 2013, Move to RiverPoint Landing Marina/Resort along the San Joaquin River, Stockton, CA

We pulled up stakes and left Williams by 10:00 headed for Stockton, CA. It was a short 105.6 miles (4,979.0 trip/64,460.1 total) down I-5. Probably as straight and level as any traveling we have done. The park was easy to find in a pretty upscale neighborhood. We stayed at RiverPoint Landing Marina/Resort along the San Joaquin River. Very nice place with a view of all kinds of boats cruising the river and, of course, a beautiful view of the sunset.

We would like to wish our baby girl a very happy birthday!!!

Happy Birthday, Kate!

Wednesday, October 2, 2013, Move to Almond Grove RV Park, Williams, CA

When I have people backed up behind me, I use the pull-outs to let everyone pass. These bicyclers, on the other hand, "owned the road." I don't think it ever occurred to them to use a turn out to get out of the way. We followed them for a while at about 5 mph before we had a chance to pass. I cannot imagine how vulnerable it must feel to be on such a narrow road with cars passing at 55 mph.

We are trying to stay positive and hopeful that Yosemite will reopen before our reservations (Government shutdown has the National Park Campgrounds closed) Oct. 7-10. We moved to Almond Grove RV Park in Williams, CA, a total of 179.8 miles (4,873.4 trip/64,354.5 total). The drive across Highway 20 was very picturesque. The campground's name made sense after we passed mile after mile of almond groves. 

Almond groves everywhere.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013, "Avenue of the Giants," Myers Flat, CA

Humboldt Redwoods State Park turned out to be a very nice surprise. There was a road winding through the park for 31 miles named the "Avenue of the Giants." Markers for different groves lined each side of the road.  

Each grove was named for the owner who donated or sold their land to the park. There was an extremely interesting visitor's center.

1964 flood level!!!

One of the nicest stops was Founder's Grove. Joani liked the group of vintage sports cars parked there. They reminded me of a time long ago when I actually fit in my 1964 MG Midget. Best not to dwell on things like that.

 Little boy's toy...

 ...big boy's toys!

I had the camera on the tripod and I set the timer for a self-portrait. What I forgot was that with the low light and an f/22 setting, the shutter speed was about 2 seconds. As soon as we heard the click we started moving, so we became ghostly blurs in the picture. I only realized what was happening when I got back to the camera and heard the shutter close. Still, an interesting effect.

Oops!

Redwood roots grow only a few feet deep (no tap root), but they can grow a hundred or more feet laterally.

This tree used to be the tallest tree until it fell in 1991 (probably 1600 years old). Now they call it the longest tree at 370 feet. (I'm standing in the middle of the expanse.)

I see two faces in this burl. One profile and one a little more subtle with a beard.

 Taken from inside a burned, but alive, tree (below). I see a howling wolf.

 I used the flash to see what our eye could not, inside this fire ravaged tree.

 Even this one is still alive and growing.

There is just no way to capture the scale and magnificence of these trees in a picture. They must be experienced in person. These pictures will just serve to remind us of our time here.

It was a pretty drive home.