Ya Ya Yermo!

Our last night was in Yermo, California, just off the I-15. We arrived at a fairly decent time given that it was our second longest drive of the entire trip, 321 miles, and that doesn't account for side trips to fuel up or just take a break.

The staff were very friendly and helpful, and the campground, like almost every KOA we have stayed at, was clean and well-maintained. We got checked in and into our pull-through site with no problems. Ron took a much-needed power nap while I put together a simple dinner. Afterward, I sat outside and enjoyed the warm, breezy evening, despite the big tree next to our site tossing off needle-like appendages and tiny, hard, white beads. I just laughed and sipped on chilled Pinot Grigio, watching the sun go down. Twilight is such a lovely time.

I took a stroll around the campground and snapped this photo of the rooftop of the office:

Barstow/Calico KOA Campground Rooftop Sign in California

Then I went back to the campsite and watched the full moon rise. I really wanted to take a picture of it, but I was reluctant because 1) my previous iPhones haven't done a great job with night photography, and 2) I don't know how to use my new Canon camera well enough to even attempt such a feat. So I used my phone anyway and here is the result. Well, I edited the image in ON1 with a cool preset I used for the first time, called Gastown.

Mid-Summer Full Moon Over Barstow/Calico California

The phone did a great job, even with all the variable light from the campground, at showing the moon, its rays, and a couple of stars.

As is typical of western summer climes, the temperature began to drop slowly but surely, making for nice sleeping weather; no air-conditioner necessary!

In the morning, we relaxed for a short while over espresso, then packed up for our home-bound journey. It was bright and sunny and starting to warm up. I couldn't help but get one more photo of our nifty little rig: Spicy and Pearl, or Mini-We-Go!

Nice Little RV Rig in Mid-Summer, Southern California

As I was making trips to and from the truck and trailer, I kept noticing this teeny feather, fluttering a bit in the gravel. I really wanted to photograph it, but I dismissed it over and over. Finally, I got my phone and took the picture on my way back to the trailer. When I came back with my next load for the truck, the feather was GONE. Talk about trusting your intuition!

Tiny Feather on Gravel

By the way, this feather was about 1.25 inches long. In the photo, you can see the spiky needle-like things and a few white bead-things that were flying off the campsite tree the prior evening!

We did our travel checklist (got pretty good at that after nearly 40 days on the road) and then headed for home. There was a lot of flat, desert land and some grungy, commercial farm land for much of the trip. But at last, we neared northern San Luis Obispo county, and we were treated to our favorite rolling hills, oak trees, and grape vines. Home at last!

I will be creating a BONUS post for the final "first road trip" series, so look for that notification in the coming days!

Meanwhile, it's been a wild ride through 18 states! Thank you all for joining us in whatever capacity. I know some of you had difficulties viewing the site at all, and I'm still trying to figure that out, because I don't have those issues. Since I plan to use this site for blogging future creative endeavors as well as travel adventures, I will do all I can to mitigate any viewing problems so we can better share the fun!

Ron and Nilla and I want to thank everyone who we met along the way who made our adventure comfortable, enjoyable, and super-fun! We are grateful to have been able just to DO such an epic road trip, and even make music along the way.

As always, I'm sending everyone much love, and Ron and I encourage you all to LIVE LIFE FULLY . . . NOW!💖