The camp at Oak County Park in Simi Valley was quiet and it was probably nice in its day, but that day is past. We found out that they are closing April 1st so we just made it. The absolute best part of that stay for me was going to Keith and Christi’s for dinner on Saturday night. They were kind and gracious. It was wonderful fellowship with a sincere Christian family. They have two children, Nicole, who never seems to get girls her age as part of the guest list, and Kyle, who had a great time playing with the boys. They invited Gene, a friend who rode both days with Keith and Greg, and his family for dinner, also. Unfortunately, Gene was called in to work at the last minute, but his wife Sandra still came with their two boys. They have a pump track in their backyard which only Greg and Henry were willing to try of our family, but the other boys rode like crazy. Foosball was another favorite along with running, chasing, etc. Everyone was ready for sleep by the time we made it back to the trailer.
My cousin Leslie and her husband Chuck, with their two older children, Jackie and John, live in Southern California and invited us to stop by their home. They even offered us food and the opportunity of using their washer and dryer and their internet (that is how I posted the blog before this). They have a beautiful home and yummy food; we felt welcome. Thank you, Chuck, Leslie, Jackie and John!
We then continued our journey to Oak Grove Campground in the Cleveland National Forest.
We arrived just as dark was setting in, but found a great site close to water and flush toilets, a luxury. We stayed there five nights. The place was alive with rabbits and squirrels. We had cool nights and a fair amount of rain, but Greg rode and Tuesday with Doug and Jeremy from the San Diego BOMB. He was scheduled to ride Thursday, but that was Louis’s eleventh birthday so he stayed with us and played. We were there long enough that I was able to get some more things settled in the trailer. It has been a challenge to figure out where to put everything (have I said that before?). There are still things that get moved around constantly, but it is getting better. We left on Friday (now March 23) and made our way to Laguna Campground in the same forest. It had obviously had a fair amount of rain and we wondered if they would be able to ride the trail they had planned, Nobel Canyon.
A strange fog rolled in that night, but Saturday the sun rose bright and beautiful. I can not imagine more squirrels that they had at Laguna, and woodpeckers and blue jays. I hadn’t thought before about how much wildlife we would see. Louis was working on his math one afternoon and later told us how he had made up a story to go with the squirrel play he was watching out the window, full of names and all the movements of the squirrels.
Laguna Campground has several trails from the campground including Nobel Canyon, so after his ride Greg rode the Big Laguna trail back to camp. He said it would be great for the kids and me (we had ridden a little of it on Friday when we were just exploring around). Sunday morning Louis, Otto and I left camp, rode to the trailhead and followed the trail back to camp. It was such a surprise when we were getting close to find Greg, Henry, Solomon and Olivia had walked out to meet us. This trip is full of fun times, love and laughter. There is a lot of stress, too, and we are trying to let that bother us less and less. It will take time, but we are getting there.
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After we got back to camp I rode my bike a couple of miles (nearly all uphill) to a store to use the phone. Out in the forest our cell phones have no coverage and we wanted to call a couple of campsites to see where we might stay the night on our way to Arizona. We had hoped to get close to the border, but ended up extremely close to where we were. The decision was based completely on internet access. We want to keep our family and friends up to date with how and where we are, but time on the computer is a challenge.
Actually, it’s not just internet access, but access to electricity. We opted not to get a generator because they are just so expensive and we haven’t needed it except when it comes to charging our batteries and using the computer. We will see how things continue. We are learning a lot. Tomorrow we will head for Arizona and some parks near Phoenix. We do not want to spend the majority of the day driving, but sometimes it seems the best option. We will let you know how it goes when we can.
My cousin Leslie and her husband Chuck, with their two older children, Jackie and John, live in Southern California and invited us to stop by their home. They even offered us food and the opportunity of using their washer and dryer and their internet (that is how I posted the blog before this). They have a beautiful home and yummy food; we felt welcome. Thank you, Chuck, Leslie, Jackie and John!We then continued our journey to Oak Grove Campground in the Cleveland National Forest.
We arrived just as dark was setting in, but found a great site close to water and flush toilets, a luxury. We stayed there five nights. The place was alive with rabbits and squirrels. We had cool nights and a fair amount of rain, but Greg rode and Tuesday with Doug and Jeremy from the San Diego BOMB. He was scheduled to ride Thursday, but that was Louis’s eleventh birthday so he stayed with us and played. We were there long enough that I was able to get some more things settled in the trailer. It has been a challenge to figure out where to put everything (have I said that before?). There are still things that get moved around constantly, but it is getting better. We left on Friday (now March 23) and made our way to Laguna Campground in the same forest. It had obviously had a fair amount of rain and we wondered if they would be able to ride the trail they had planned, Nobel Canyon. A strange fog rolled in that night, but Saturday the sun rose bright and beautiful. I can not imagine more squirrels that they had at Laguna, and woodpeckers and blue jays. I hadn’t thought before about how much wildlife we would see. Louis was working on his math one afternoon and later told us how he had made up a story to go with the squirrel play he was watching out the window, full of names and all the movements of the squirrels.
Laguna Campground has several trails from the campground including Nobel Canyon, so after his ride Greg rode the Big Laguna trail back to camp. He said it would be great for the kids and me (we had ridden a little of it on Friday when we were just exploring around). Sunday morning Louis, Otto and I left camp, rode to the trailhead and followed the trail back to camp. It was such a surprise when we were getting close to find Greg, Henry, Solomon and Olivia had walked out to meet us. This trip is full of fun times, love and laughter. There is a lot of stress, too, and we are trying to let that bother us less and less. It will take time, but we are getting there.
.JPG)
After we got back to camp I rode my bike a couple of miles (nearly all uphill) to a store to use the phone. Out in the forest our cell phones have no coverage and we wanted to call a couple of campsites to see where we might stay the night on our way to Arizona. We had hoped to get close to the border, but ended up extremely close to where we were. The decision was based completely on internet access. We want to keep our family and friends up to date with how and where we are, but time on the computer is a challenge.
Actually, it’s not just internet access, but access to electricity. We opted not to get a generator because they are just so expensive and we haven’t needed it except when it comes to charging our batteries and using the computer. We will see how things continue. We are learning a lot. Tomorrow we will head for Arizona and some parks near Phoenix. We do not want to spend the majority of the day driving, but sometimes it seems the best option. We will let you know how it goes when we can. 
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