Got a chance to break in the new rig. Kept it simple to start so all on asphalt and in campgrounds. Still working out packing details and making it so things stay put when off road. It definitely rock and rolls more than our Tundra/FWC so things move around. Will do a rig report in the future and update with mods as they get completed.
It is getting harder and harder to find places on the California coast that don't require reservations and aren't too crowded. One place that sometimes still works on weekdays is Westport Union about 1/2 hour north of Ft Bragg. It has four separate camp areas. For $35 a night you get a gravel lot, not fully enclosed pit toilets, and is right next to the highway. But it has great ocean views for sunsets and whale watching. Plus people surf fishing for perch seemed to be doing well.
We did not plan it but had fairly big minus tides while there. It made for some fun exploring on the shore. A look ahead shows some even bigger minus tides the last week of June, so plan accordingly if you are interested.
We got the primo site. There is one site that was the first along a roadway of sites. It is still there, but the others got washed out and the road was closed. You can see our nearest neighbors were about 100 yards away.
Our first dinner was a celebration with grilled fresh King salmon, potatoes, green beans, and a nice bottle of wine. And fresh baked brownies for dessert.
On a side note, we opted out of installing the optional oven in the Tiger so we could have more storage space. Instead we purchased an Omnia Stovetop Oven which is how I did the brownies. Along with cornbread muffins for chili that I did on this trip, I have made pizza, meatloaf, and frittatas in the Omnia. Wish we had this when we had our FWC.
Exposed rocks at low tide.
Some critters and and irises.
Rock Crab
Oystercatchers.
Cottontail.
Irises. (All photos taken by Mrs. Ted. I really like this one.)
The coastal winds really picked up after a couple of days. So we moved inland and spent a night at Standish Hickey SP. Not very many people, nicely shaded, and a swimming hole down on the river. Hot water for the showers was not working, no staff or host to sell you the firewood you can see locked up by the entrance (maybe too early in the season), but it does have flush toilets. Still $35.
Overall we were really happy with the rig. Everything seemed to work properly. With 400 watts of solar and dual lithium batteries power was never an issue. We averaged 11.8 mpg which included a lot of winding hilly roads. This is almost exactly what the Tundra/FWC got but this vehicle holds 10 more gallons. This extends our range significantly which also makes me a happy camper.
It is getting harder and harder to find places on the California coast that don't require reservations and aren't too crowded. One place that sometimes still works on weekdays is Westport Union about 1/2 hour north of Ft Bragg. It has four separate camp areas. For $35 a night you get a gravel lot, not fully enclosed pit toilets, and is right next to the highway. But it has great ocean views for sunsets and whale watching. Plus people surf fishing for perch seemed to be doing well.
We did not plan it but had fairly big minus tides while there. It made for some fun exploring on the shore. A look ahead shows some even bigger minus tides the last week of June, so plan accordingly if you are interested.
We got the primo site. There is one site that was the first along a roadway of sites. It is still there, but the others got washed out and the road was closed. You can see our nearest neighbors were about 100 yards away.
Our first dinner was a celebration with grilled fresh King salmon, potatoes, green beans, and a nice bottle of wine. And fresh baked brownies for dessert.
On a side note, we opted out of installing the optional oven in the Tiger so we could have more storage space. Instead we purchased an Omnia Stovetop Oven which is how I did the brownies. Along with cornbread muffins for chili that I did on this trip, I have made pizza, meatloaf, and frittatas in the Omnia. Wish we had this when we had our FWC.
Some critters and and irises.
Rock Crab
Oystercatchers.
Irises. (All photos taken by Mrs. Ted. I really like this one.)
The coastal winds really picked up after a couple of days. So we moved inland and spent a night at Standish Hickey SP. Not very many people, nicely shaded, and a swimming hole down on the river. Hot water for the showers was not working, no staff or host to sell you the firewood you can see locked up by the entrance (maybe too early in the season), but it does have flush toilets. Still $35.
Overall we were really happy with the rig. Everything seemed to work properly. With 400 watts of solar and dual lithium batteries power was never an issue. We averaged 11.8 mpg which included a lot of winding hilly roads. This is almost exactly what the Tundra/FWC got but this vehicle holds 10 more gallons. This extends our range significantly which also makes me a happy camper.
