It’s that time of the year for some warming drinks!
Currently reading: The Frozen River: A GMA Book Club Pick by Ariel Lawhon 📚
Turkeys in the hood!
Looking out my window I noticed turkeys are showing up for Thanksgiving. No worries I did not use one for dinner, I made beef stew.
Taking a trip before it gets cold at the end of year
Local camping trip, after a night at a hotel in Ukiah.
We started off the trip staying in Ukiah at the Fairfield Inn. We ate lunch at our favorite place, Ellie’s Mutt Hutt . However we struck out on finding a brewpub that was open (closed due to COVID), I survived without the beer that evening. The next day, I had coffee at my favorite coffee shop there, Black Oak Coffee Roasters.
Ocotillo Wells Winter Rally FWC Owners 2019
Our 2nd Four Wheel Campers (FWC) event now.
The Ocotillo Wells OHV is a great place to camp in the desert, this spot is shared with the ATVs but they were all having a blast so you get used to them! The customer support that FWC does is excellent, we enjoy these rallys they provide.
I say, our Hawk sure does blend in good with the scenery!
Plumas Americana Festival in Quincy 2019
This was our first time attending this festival and will not be the last.
The Plumas Homegrown America Festival is in the beautiful town of Quincy which has a great brew pub called Qintopia Brewiing. The brewpub is very close to the Pacific Crest trail, so it is not unusual for someone hiking the trail to shop in when they are doing this re-supply. One young gentleman did just that and a couple of us bought him beers! The festival was fantastic, it was on the smaller side so easy to get around, camping was included and at the same location as the music venue. We found a quiet spot by some animal barns.
On the way there, I am not sure if I am more excited about the new Truck Camper or going to a festiva,l but either way both are a thumbs up!
Our 1st group caming trip
For our 1st group gathering we hooked up with the Ski3pins and several others for a campout organized through the Wander the West forums for Pop Up Campers.
We had a great pot luck and lots of time to talk our favorite topics about all things outdoor related. However before we arrived we did some dispersed camping by a stream. We intended to go to a campground we paid for that night. As the night got darker we could not find it. However in the am we discovered it was just 3 minutes away. We liked our spot a lot better anyway so a win!
The wooded spot complete with fire pit and a stream. We will have to go back to this place for sure Steve!
Next we drove about 1/2 an hour to the Wander the West event and did our set up. In the am we were not sure if some would look at us with a scowl. We are not sure how it happened but our car alarm went off, thankfully we had the truck keys close to us. We knew we were in bear country but as Steve went to check on things, no bear that we could see. That is all we needed would be to have a bear attack the new truck! However there was a bear in the camp that night with cubs.
Father's Day Bluegrass 2019
The 1st Festival in the Camper
A first for us, not in respect to going to the Father's Day Bluegrass Festival put on by the California Bluegrass Assocaition, but bringing the camper to a music festival. That was one of many reasons for the camper as we love music festivals (not to forget to mention beer fests are high on the list also).
The plus is our camper is small enough to fit in with the tents and vans. We camped with our good friend Judy who at the time just moved to Sisters, Oregon.
Outdoor concerts rock! Can I say that being it is a bluegrass event? Anyway what a great venue as always and most of all the fun is where you camp. There is music everywhere, friends jam in their camps into the wee hours of the night. I enjoy laying in bed hearing the music flow.
This is the main stage but there are also 3 other stages that have line ups. Sometimes I find I enjoy the smaller stages for music.
Home sweet home with the tree's and fiddles (and of course a beer site-ing at this camp - thanks goes to Judy with bringing the Deschutes). It was thanks to Judy that we have been attending when she found out that we loved Bluegrass.
Four Wheel Camper Spring Rally for Owners 2019
The Annual Four Wheel Campers (FWC) Event for NCAL owners
We finally attended as owners after being "lurkers" for a couple of years at these events. The FWC event includes lots of shared time with other fellow owners, camper walk arounds and time to hear about the latest models and get questions answered. The meals are prepared by FWC staff for us and they readily make themselves available for questions or small fixes. This is what drew us the the company, there is a great owner community and support from the factory. The event was held in Beckwourth, Ca which was a perfect location for the event. We could camp in the field and there was a barn (complete with a bar) for the meals, entertainment and socializing.
Home for the weekend
Our First Adventure to Sugerloaf Campground - short but a good shake down!
The Kramme's journey, a huge distance of 51 miles! Sugerloaf Ridge State Park 2019
Time to journey out and have the fun of this new camper. Our 1st destination was to travel locally as we only had a weekend. Our location, Sugarloaf State Park, was the same place where the Four Wheel Campers (FWC) factory had held several of the bi-annual events for owners. For a couple of years we "lurked" amongst these camper beauties in the Redwoods.
One New Camper for the Kramme's coming up!
The evolution of the Kramme camper
Our camper that was built was from Four Wheel Campers and has been in the planning for a few years. Being retirement was coming up, a more comfortable means of travel was going to be in order, rather than the previous "roof top tent" setup however that served us well for several years. The new plates read MELS4WC camper. My retirement gift, but it is also Steve’s of course, I just retired before him.